Some aspect of me has merged with the tree.
Day 30 of my tree puja. I realise that the ritual has become part of me.
Something pulls me now to do the ritual and I don’t resist.
The tree is so silent.
Day 29 of my tree puja. I hear birdsong as the voice of the tree. I consider the importance of ritual, and the disturbance of its loss when tradition is trampled by modernity.
I was there at the grey time, listening to the silence of the tree, thinking how I talk too much.
The tree cannot walk but it never ceases to grow.
Day 28 of my tree puja. The seasons do not stand still. The brightness of flowers sprinkles the earth, while the tree is yet to emerge from her slumber. And yet, she has a message that helps me stabilise my mind today.
The tree said to me, be steady, be steadfast, one foot in front of the other, keep walking.
I went outside. The door slammed behind me.
Day 27 of my tree puja. Things do not go so well.
The tree, like the Divine, is forgiving of my stumbling efforts.
A rainy mood
Day 26 of my tree puja. I’m early today but the rain goes on and everything is soggy, including the tree’s mood.
I woke very early, as if having learnt my lesson…
The tree ignored me completely.
Day 25 of my tree puja. Dawn is the traditional time for the spiritual practice of yoga and meditation, when we are transitioning from the unconsciousness of sleep to the activities of the day. There is a special atmosphere of peace and quiet which we become part of. Today I discover the power of that time, by missing it.
I went after sunrise when it was light; it was too late…
I felt the tree as Mother Nature
Day 24 of my tree puja, in which I experience the tree’s embrace as Mother Nature.
A rooster in the distance, birds awakening – the dawn always reminds me of India, for in India I am always outside at dawn.
The ground is not so cold anymore.
Day 23 of my tree puja, in which I move from inner disturbance to inner peace.
Awoke feeling inner disturbance. Don’t know why. At such times I wonder …
I listened, sound by sound
Day 22 of my tree puja. The tree stands within the activity of air.
I heard the sounds of dawn and tried to imagine not hearing them but experiencing their vibrations, as the tree does and as we do too.
I knew that something had changed
Day 21 of my tree puja. Sensing shifts in the tree’s energy according to the seasons was a remarkable aspect of the tree puja. Our urban, house-dwelling lives have desensitised us to this subtle knowledge. Reconnection comes with the routine of ritual.
And I knew that the tree was preparing for Spring, that its blood was starting to flow and its buds to swell.
Because my head needs sorting out.
Day 20 of my tree puja. I use the tree puja to help me move on from the death of my teacher.
…looked up through its naked arms to the remaining stars, planets, the simmering light of dawn and said, I’m out of here, as the cold ate into my pink skin, and bits of wet stuff stuck to me.
I made myself go to the tree.
Day 19 of my tree puja. Eclipse of the new moon.
As I placed the incense in the wet soil, I asked that all people be loved and respected as my teacher was.
For my teacher
Day 18 of my tree puja. I had news that my yoga teacher from the 1970s had died. She was a precious person, so the puja was dedicated to her.
The tree and the rain are old friends
Day 17 of my tree puja. I almost don’t go because of the cold and rain… but the tree and the outside summon me.
I turned my face up, and the softest rain was sprinkling down upon me. I opened my mouth and felt the gift of the sky…
…as tired night lets go and day edges in.
Day 16 of my tree puja. In case you are wondering, the winter of 2009 was one of the wettest on record in Hobart. Stay with me, because eventually Spring bursts upon the scene! We’ve a way to go yet though.
I move from the inside realm, and into the presence of pre-dawn, still and pregnant, as tired night lets go and day edges in…
Curious about the image? Keep reading…
The dawn sky was dim and holy.
Day 15 of my tree puja. Full moon, snow on the mountain, winter silence is on the tree.
The tree becomes a projection of my mental state sometimes
Day 14 of my tree puja. In which I share my misery in the cold and wet. Oh well.
I offer my soft, warm breath
Day 13 of my tree puja. I realise things about the transformation of fire from the furnace of the sun, to the warmth of my breath.
The ground is like a full-soaked sponge, the water very cold. The sounds are of drips and drops and flowings. Everything is touched by rainwater…
Transformation is everywhere. It is the key to life.
Day 12 of my tree puja. It was my daughter’s 20th birthday. She was in London. I was southern Tasmania with the wintery tree.
As I squatted under her limbs, I felt my own limbs – legs holding me upright, strong, and true like the tree’s trunk, my arms free, like her branches…
The tree is silent, still, and receptive
Day 11 of my tree puja. I hear the sounds of silence, touch her bark and drink the rain.
In the drippy, damp dimness I listened to the sounds – water flowing in the drain, drops falling on leaves and from leaves, distant hum of traffic with Doppler effect…