Grow like a tree.

One day I'll write about journeys with Elephant. For now I'll share a message.

A shamanic healer taught me how to access Elephant. What a gift that was. Each journey, I ask her a question. When I can quiet my mind enough to listen, she shares some comforting wisdom. Here’s one Q/A:

How can I create change when there is so much adversity?

Be there. Witness. Love. 

Look at the trees. They are immobile. We can look at them as helpless, but look at how strong they are and how much adversity they are able to face.  Healthy trees, with powerful roots and connection to earth, are flexible enough to bend when strong winds come. They can endure the weight of snow and the force of hurricanes.

When you come upon resistance, first explore why it’s there. It’s not always necessary to push back against it. A healthy tree is flexible enough to move with the wind and allow it to course through without sustaining damage.  Rigid and brittle trees are inflexible and tend to lose branches.  In Chinese medicine they would be considered “Yin deficient”, lacking the emolliating and nourishing fluids to allow that flexibility – something akin to tight muscles.  That rigid tree would need nourishment – more water and better soil – to feeds it’s roots. 

Much like trees, we have to connect to our roots and be nourished from that deep place within us in order to thrive.  And much like those roots, we have to learn to filter in what is nourishing.  And on the opposite end, we must go out into the environment and find the light.  It’s up to us to grow towards the light and transform it into something nourishing that we can share.

What you are seeing in the world is a lot of resistance.  When you see this in your practice, you don’t push through.  You explore that space.  Why is there resistance? Why are the muscles here so tight?  Are they trying to protect an unstable joint?  Why is the patient so reluctant? Is he or she frightened?

Once you understand where the resistance is coming from, you can address the patient’s needs much better.  It helps to make a person feel safe and understood. 

You need to create this safe space to heal.