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PHOTO from vancouverislandbucketlist.com
Cathedral Grove is a rare and endangered remnant of an ancient Douglas Fir ecosystem on Vancouver Island in British Columbia (BC), Canada. The biggest trees in the Grove are about 800 years old and measure 75 m (250 ft) in height and 9 m (29 ft) in circumference. (https://portalbernivisitorcentre.ca/find-your-to-do/catherdral-grove)
I've been there before, before I knew trees could communicate with each other and before I understood what these giants were. I will be going again.
Consider a mature-growth redwood or cedar forest. Picture a grove of ancient trees in the midst of that forest. Those colossal trees are the crown jewels of the ecosystem. Not only do they, in their lofty presence, constitute evidence of a healthy forest community, but they also are a principal factor in generating and maintaining the health of their biome. Those elder trees provide shelter and a stable environment of air, soil, and water for the growth of other trees, bushes, flowers, and grasses, and consequently, food and home for a great variety of animal species. Mature trees sustain their world — sustain our world. Maintaining the world’s integrity, they are unsurpassed preservers and nurturers.
Robert Schiffman wrote an interview-style article for Yale Environment 360 (e360). He says right off the top:
In his bestselling book, The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben argues that to save the world’s forests we must first recognize that trees are 'wonderful beings' with innate adaptability, intelligence, and the capacity to communicate with — and heal — other trees.
Schiffman, Robert. https://e360.yale.edu/features/are_trees_sentient_peter_wohlleben
Information about trees and their importance has been exploding in the last approximately ten years. Peter Wohlleben published his book in 2016 to rave reviews despite the scientific community's reservations about his work with trees. In my life, I've always had a relationship with trees. When I was about eleven, I took a picture with my old Brownie camera of a young aspen that had been used as a scratching post for an itchy cougar. At sixteen, I'd find a spot in the forest to play my flute during the summer when the family went camping. The sound was different there. Trees also heard my tears and comforted me when I was heart-broken.
A dream I had in my early twenties featured trees. The dream was vivid, like I was actually awake, but I wasn't. I'd been on a long trip at the beginning of the dream and found myself walking down a road with thick forest on both sides. At one point, I saw a driveway into the forest and walked down it. Since it was now quite dark out, I could see the light from a log cabin in the distance. There was more to this dream but the most striking thing I remember was a pervasive feeling of love, contentment, and what I recognize now as the feeling one has when engaged in a passion that lights you up. Again, I could smell the forest scent of evergreens and damp, spongy ground cover.
I always found a tree I liked that seemed to exude just what I needed. Now, well beyond my twenties, I returned to the trees of my dreams. I'd been having visions of an old crone-like figure. She'd just appear always seated on the ground drawing patterns with her stick, and I always felt her frustration. Was she just ornery and why? I'd been listening to one of Robert Moss' webinars. (See https://mossdreams.com/ for more information) In the webinar notes I took, he'd recommended setting intentions for dreams. I set an intention to find out what the old healer woman wanted to say to me and had this vision:
I immediately found myself in my safe spot in the clearing surrounded by wise, very old trees. I was surprised to see a fire going and wondered aloud about what the trees thought of this fire.
Without skipping a beat, they answered, 'Dead wood, the wood no longer resilient to bending, needs to be removed and destroyed.' That made sense!
On the other side of the fire was the old healer woman. I could only see her face and her eyes appeared enormous in the fire light. She said to me, 'Empty your mind,' and kept saying that when I got distracted.
I saw her eyes change from human to a lioness and back and said, “I hear you,” and kept trying to empty my mind until I fell asleep. The Clearing Visions--Dead Wood, Journal Entry, February 19, 2020.
The Ancient Ones, the Grandfather trees, as I called them, didn't speak a lot but when they did, their words were wise. They were talking about the dead wood in me that needed to be removed and destroyed. I wasn't aware at the time of the dream that the fire was also a symbol meant to convey the importance of getting rid of dead wood. It was a purifying fire. These trees didn't just speak, they breathed their messages right into my heart. In my dreams I could still smell their scent and the air seemed purified as it reached my lungs. The old woman didn't appear in my dreams again. She'd given me her messages and I was grateful. It was as though the old woman had passed the baton to these old, wise trees and it was their turn to communicate the messages I needed to hear.
The Ancient Ones were an integral part of the Clearing where I received those messages and instructions. In time, as I was finishing my first book, the Clearing faded away and my guides began to make themselves known. Even the trees where I walked began to speak in language I could understand. I'd been reading a book by Jane Warren Campbell called Conversations With A Tree and was prompted to put my hands on the old oak tree I passed quite frequently. I'd done this many times before but this time was completely different. I felt its life flow into my hands as I was sending my life energy to it. I wondered what was happening.
Startled, I heard the tree tell me, Yes, we are one, and then, Welcome truthsayer.
I started to bow before its incredible majesty, how did the tree know about truth saying?
The tree responded emphatically and quickly for a tree and said, We are one. We are not separate.
I thought I was bowing out of respect, but in the sense that we were one, I realized my penchant for acting and feeling 'less than'. The tree was acknowledging there was no otherness in exchanging life energy. In that moment, we existed in a place that had no division, no hierarchy.
So now you know why I want to revisit Cathedral Grove again. Perhaps one of the Ancient Ones would love to talk and share their wisdom with me.
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