Keeps nothing it does not need
Day 63 of my tree puja.
Amidst the complexity of human society, the lessons from the tree are simple.
It has been raining. I have been away for a few days in northern Tasmania, visiting and interviewing for my work…
Comfortable in earth and sky
Day 62 of my tree puja.
Yesterday I put the sprinkler on to water the tree. Today, I sense her relief.
The tree is no longer thirsty…
Thank you for the water
Day 61 of my tree puja.
Winter and spring were non-stop rain. Now the soil is dry, the days are hot, and the tree is stoic.
I have no incense and it’s too dry for flames…
The ritual is peace
Day 60 of my tree puja.
New insights into the ritual are revealed to me. I develop an understanding of esoteric ideas in the yoga tradition associated with Hindu deities.
It’s like a mudra, an energy conductor. It is the energy of shelter, and protection, and compassion, which is also in the whole ritual…
Outside my bedroom window
Day 59 of my tree puja.
I suppose that feelings of acceptance and belonging go together.
Today I felt simple acceptance from the tree.
Offering and sacrifice open a pathway
Day 58 of my tree puja.
Important insights and realisations continue.
Suddenly I realised the sacrifice of life that is in the offering of a flower…
Everything is about energy
Day 57 of my tree puja.
Structure and energy and continuum are the themes at the moment.
…the energy of the ritual has somehow been captured, stabilised, and strengthened.
The tree responded
Day 56 of my tree puja
Sunrise is at 5:40am, so even if I’m late, it’s still early!
All those months last year I would not offer a flower. Then in India I spent ten days decorating a shrine with flowers, culminating in an amazing marigold extravaganza…
It is all a language
Day 55 of my tree puja.
I realise that the offerings made in the puja are more than symbols, or gifts. They are a language.
It is all a language, for me and for the tree. I will leave it to the tree now, to begin to listen again, when she wants to…
Today I am better prepared
Day 54 of my tree puja.
Earth, water, fire, air, ether… the elements are the foundation of ritual in India, acknowledging the building blocks of life.
I squatted on the earth and my feet felt how hard it has become.
I am back from India
Day 53 of my tree puja.
I return after more than a month. It’s midsummer and the tree is coping with midsummer heat.
While I was away, all the long grasses and undergrowth were cleared from the front garden, so that there is open space through to the road. I gather that this disturbed the tree at the time and still does. I apologised. But where are the devas to live?
Sydney, then India
Day 52 of my tree puja.
I can roam but the tree cannot. I say farewell until December 30th.
I assured the tree that I will return. The ritual creates these feelings and connections, by whatever means.
Birds are the Voice of Trees
Day 51 of my tree puja.
This one’s for the birds.
The tree holds arching branches over me, it reaches wide, giving shelter – to birds, to flowers, to me.
Humanness and Treeishness
Day 50 of my tree puja.
At times the business of life makes connection with the tree’s energy difficult.
Humans think and feel and make choices…
Deep In.
Water at their roots, light on their leaves
Day 48 of my tree puja.
The showiness of spring has another side to it - nature is just getting on with being alive. Flowers, leaves, roots, branches, everything working together.
…warmth above and below and nothing to fear. The rose is sending long, ambitious red arms up into the tree…
I, the human, the gardener…
Day 47 of my tree puja.
Why can’t I connect with the tree today? I suggest a few theories.
I felt separate, so I started weeding. I, the human, the gardener, the controller, the one who kills, and cuts, and pulls out by the roots…
The Emergency of Flowering
Day 46 of my tree puja.
I realised that the tree has been desperate to complete drama of flowering and finally grow new leaves. No leaves, no life.
No longer living on stored food, the tree has passed the time of hardship and the emergency of flowering. There is water in the soil and sun from the sky. The earth and air are warm; it can finally retreat and be at ease, all is taken care of.
Nature is on Tiptoes
Day 45 of my tree puja. Blossoms all but gone, lengthening days feed an abundance of light to the eager leaves.
This morning has the quality of mist – like a cat’s fur without the cat, or cherry blossom without the tree. Still, silent, and soft, nature is on tiptoes, quietly breathing, nothing else.
Leaves are the Support Team
Day 44 of my tree puja. As leaves replace the flower festival, the tree seems relieved. Now she can relax and replenish.
A glowing morning, after blessing rain.
I stood with my face in the tree, amongst the new leaves, and said hello to them, and welcome to them.