Connection with the Vastness
Day 133 of my tree puja. The final day.
I can’t remember if I knew that this was the end of my tree puja sadhana. The journal entry is fitting. Revisiting and posting this journal after 15 years has been a sadhana in itself, affirming why all civilisations across all time have valued ritual and offering as means to expand consciousness beyond the limited self.
Every time one does puja, or prayer, or deeply loves, one is lifted out of the little self…
I invoke your energy
Day 132 of my tree puja
In which I witness the exuberance and love of life the tree is expressing.
The tree is having an epiphany in its great giving forth of beauty, fertility, abundance and expression…
You are dear to me
Day 131 of my tree puja
In which I am immersed in the wondrous energy of spring.
I went to the tree this cold spring morning. She is overcome with flowers below, and blossom heavy on her arms…
Bathed in Pure Energy
Day 130 of my tree puja.
In which I feel the power of nature and puja to uplift the mind, dissolving negativity.
When I go to the tree, I am bathed in pure energy…
Tree puja realigns us with positivity
Day 129 of my tree puja
In which I experience the power of the tree to lift me out of negativity.
The tree is sattvic. Each time one goes to a tree in puja, one aligns oneself with sattva, harmony…
Living in the Elements
Day 128 of my tree puja.
In which I reflect on the extension of my tree puja beyond one year, the expansive experience and awareness of belonging in nature.
I was reminded of camping in the mountains, living in the elements, how right it always feels.
The relentless years
Day 126 of my tree puja.
In which I experience instant peace.
Something is taking its toll, perhaps it’s the winter, the moon, or simply the years, the relentless years…
Like a lost child
Day 125 of my tree puja.
In which I feel welcomed into the community of nature.
The tree is such a friend! She pulls me outside to visit her in the chilly dark moments just before dawn. You only do that for a friend…
Strong, happy and in love.
Day 123 of my tree puja.
In which I feel the power and resilience of nature.
In spite of all that has been done to her…
Still as a Tree
Day 122 of my tree puja.
In which I experience a feeling of oneness as the wind blows me and the tree and everything that is there with us.
Delightful winter has fully settled in, the tree is happy to have dropped her load of worldly attachments and renounced even the clothes she wore…
Transformed into Nourishment
Day 121 of my tree puja.
In which I perceive freedom in the nakedness of the tree, and in its loss of finery, the passing of time, from which comes wisdom.
The leaf samskaras lie rotting into the earth whence they came, the tree is naked …
The Great Teachers
Day 120 of my tree puja.
In which I acknowledge the wise ones who teach us important things for navigating life. The tree has become such a one for me.
This morning’s puja was for the great teachers …
The Human Madness
Day 119 of my tree puja.
In which I acknowledge that humanity has created an alienating, mechanised world which is a form of madness.
Bathe me in your purity…
Puja for two trees
Day 118 of my tree puja.
In which I compare my experience at home with offering to a tree in the bush.
Yesterday I did tree puja elsewhere. We held a retreat. Everyone did tree puja at dawn…
Offer your mind
Day 116 of my tree puja.
In which I reflect on patterns of energy.
Puja is all about lifting up energy. That’s it.
Breathe and Grow
Day 115 of my tree puja.
In which the tree reveals a simple truth.
Thank goodness for the tree, she pulls me outside, out of the walls and into her world.
The flame of her renunciation
Day 114 of my tree puja.
In which the tree’s renunciation of her leaves and their flame-like appearance, heightens my connection with her.
The shift into spiritual life
Day 113 of my tree puja.
In which the metaphor of renunciation continues as I perceive the tree’s withdrawal of energy from the external to the internal.
I went at dusk, after gardening all day. When I returned from India last summer to find the undergrowth all cleared and the ground naked, I promised the tree I would plant things, and now I have.
Like the naked sadhus of India
Day 112 of my tree puja.
In which I see the autumn tree as a metaphor for the renunciation practised by Indian sadhus.
I have been away, now I am back. In the meantime, she, the tree, has dressed herself in burnt orange, terracotta, which is like the geru (orange) robes of swamis.
I have befriended the tree
Day 111 of my tree puja.
In which I reflect on the transformative power of friendship.
In the past year I have befriended the tree.
For years and years before that, the tree was right there beside me, looking beautiful, sheltering birds, giving shade, but I never thought to give back…