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Plant Dreamworld

PLANT ATTUNEMENT: 

This is the art of awake dreaming. First we explore dreams of the plant domain. The practice of attuning is vital to the art of dreaming. You will learn this craft quickly with practice. This way of working with plants changed my life. 

The beginning of the Herbal Healing Journey was marked by a very special event. It was the last evening of a series of evening classes I had been teaching. The students were doing their projects. The last student was my dear friend Stan Tomandl. He passed around a charcoal salve that he had made from the Devils Club plant. He asked us to place it anywhere on our body that needed healing or attention. Next he began a healing dance using two deer antlers. His dance was very entrancing and the class continued late into the evening.

Stan and I left for home in my red van. We took one look at each other and knew that we wanted to go further with the wonderful state we were experiencing. I suggested that we go to see my Oak tree in Beacon Hill park (a local park in Victoria, B.C., Canada) I call it my Oak tree as I had been doing intensive attunement work with it over the last few years. It was the first plant that I did an attunement with. 

It was snowing as we drove into the park and parked my van. We got out and started for the tree. It was a magical night and the snow was gently falling through the giant oaks. We came over the crest of a small hill and my heart leapt into my throat. There laying on the ground was my friend, the oak tree. I was stunned. Next I saw this beautiful blue glow coming from the base of the tree where it had snapped. 

As I approached the tree, there was an incredible female deva bathed in blue light, hovering just above the broken stump. I gazed at her in wonderment. She smiled and spoke to me. " I called you here tonight to say goodbye. I could not leave without saying goodbye. Thank you for your love and friendship. I am now finished here and ready to move on. Goodbye."

Three weeks later the first Herbal Healing Journey was begun. I have conducted many Herbal Healing Journey Intensives since 1986 and am now expanding it to include this present work. 

Plants are powerful allies that share our world with us. They are there to offer us support, guidance and healing. Plants are the foundation of all systems of herbalism. You can tune into plants anywhere in the world.

Guided Plant Meditation

Do This! 

Exercise 45 • Guided Plant Meditation 

Find somewhere comfortable where you can sit or lay undisturbed. Warning, if done outside, the insects may disrupt your concentration. Take a few deep belly breaths to get centered and relaxed and let your body sink into the ground. When ready imagine that you are a seed. Focus your attention in the centre of the seed. Feel the seed coat surrounding you. Enjoy this deep protective internal space for a few moments (pause). Sense a slight restlessness as you feel the environment surrounding you starting to change. Slowly begin expanding allowing parts of you to reach out into the surrounding earth. Feel your tiny roots growing and penetrating. Feel them connecting and drawing in water and nutrients. Absorb this new energy and substance. Feel part of you beginning to expand upward. Feel your stock reaching up ready to penetrate the surface. 

When ready allow yourself to break the surface and spread your first tender leaves. Look around at the surrounding environment. Are you in a field, on a mountain, in a garden or where? Is the sun shining or is it raining? Who are your neighbours? Feel the sunlight on your 

leaves and allow the magic of photosynthesis to generate new energy that you absorb. Feel the energy coming from your leaves and roots filling you. Use this energy to expand your growth upward, downward and maybe sideways. Feel your plant body growing out into the environment. Notice that buds are beginning to form. Feel them swell and unfold into flowers.

Now look at yourself. What plant are you? Look around and see\feel who is around. Maybe there are insects, birds, animals or people? Experience the interaction between you and your environment. Maybe there is 

Sensing a change in the weather and in your self, allow your flowers to fall off and imagine your seeds beginning to ripen. Notice your leaves changing color. Begin letting your leaves fall off. Feel the seasonal change and begin to draw back into your core. It is now time to release your seeds. Does the wind come and float them away? Do they stick to the fur of a passing animal? Do the birds eat your berries and carry away your seeds? Or maybe a gardener gathers them for next year's planting? Let them go. Continue to draw deeper into your core. The weather has grown cold so withdraw to where it is warm and snuggy. Rest and relax for a bit and reflect on your experience. When complete, record your experience in words and pictures.

(This is the end of Exercise 45...Keep scrolling for Exercise 46)

Exercise 46 • Tuning into Plant Spirits 

Choose a favourite tree. Trees are elders of the plant kingdom and usually the easiest to work with. The faculties used and developed by this exercise are your imagination and intuition. If your imagination is rusty or undisciplined, don't worry, with a little patience and practice it will reawaken. First observe your tree with all your senses. How does it smell, feel, look and taste (be certain it is not poisonous)? As you examine the tree, immerse yourself in it's energy. Go slowly, gently allowing your energy field to blend with the tree's energy. 

When you feel connected, you may want to present any personal concerns, emotional, mental or physical, to the tree. When I first tried this it felt awkward, strange and a little silly. That quickly changed when the tree responded. The response may be communicated in any path. It might come as a thought, sound, picture, feeling or even a movement. By amplifying the message a sound may turn into a song. A vision could be expanded into a short movie, a drawing or a painting. A feeling may open deeper layers of unexplored feelings. A movement may turn into a dance. 

Since I am shy, my best experiences usually happen when I am alone or with a close friend. Sharing my experiences with a companion helps bring the experience more alive. 

Once you have completed the exercise, thank the tree. Record your experience in a journal. This helps you remember, reflect and integrate your experiences.

I encourage students and clients to spend time with the herb or herbs that they are using internally, i.e. when using Hawthorn then attune with a Hawthorn tree.

• Record your plant attunement experience: