Magical Tree - A Guided Visualization Story

**Our hearts and prayers are with the victims of the Boston bombings this morning.  As we think of these people and others around the world that are victims of violence brought by another, may we offer a prayer of healing for their bodies, minds and souls.  In gratitude may we realize the beauty and fragility of our lives and those around us, cherishing ourselves and them in love for the moments we have them.  Today is a gift.**

Magical Tree

I sat at the base of a towering, sparkling, magical tree.   It towered above me and glistened in the sun.  It's leaves looked as though they were silver, sparkling butterflies as they danced in the slight wind and the reflections of light played on them from the sun.  The outreach of it's branches encompassed over head like a protective umbrella and the beams of light danced around me and my feet as they playfully peeked through the leaves.  I felt a rush of delight then felt a pulsing coming from the tree as my back pressed against it.  I closed my eyes.  It was the heart of the tree.  A heart that had a song that only the birds could hear.  It was then that they joined in with their song from the nearby trees, while a blue heron came to sit on mine.  "What are you doing here?" I asked.  "Why I have come to sing with the tree.  Isn't that why you are here?"


I thought for a moment.  "Not really." I said "I never knew trees could sing."  The bird looked at me in surprise "You never knew a tree could sing?!  Why that's the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of.  All of life is music.  The trees, the leaves, the wind, even the ocean.  Creation itself started with a song called OM.  Why it's the sound of the universe itself."

I was surprised.  I had never heard of the music of life before.  "How can I sing with the tree?" I asked. "First" he said "you must find your own song".  "How do I do that?" I asked in wonderment.  "You must be like the tree", he said.  "Be still and grounded.  Allow light to dance within and around you.  Let your thoughts be a gentle wind, dancing like butterflies in your mind.  Soon you will hear your song and then you can tune in with the song of the tree, our song, and the song of the entire universe."

I sat for a moment and tried to be still remembering the words of the wise bird.  I felt the base of my spine tingle and connect somehow, instinctively feeling the roots of the tree beneath my bottom.  I listened.

I began to hear the sound of my childhood.  Children were laughing and playing and I felt my heart grow lighter.  "This must be how my music can be heard" I thought.  I waited and soon I let my imagination take my thoughts like the gentle wind on the wings of butterflies.  I soared through the air and flew over the mountains.  I climbed a tree and whispered sweet nothings in a sweet girls ear.  Pretty soon my heart was so full of light I began to hear it's pulse.  The song of my heart was released and I understood the words of the bird at last.  The magical tree stood there to remind me that it was all I needed to do to find my own music.   God has placed magical trees all around us.   They stand in testament as silent witnesses and symbols of our strength within.

"Just when the caterpillar thought its world
was over it became a butterfly"

When you see one today, remind yourself of it's magic and when you do, let the thoughts in your mind become like butterflies and let them dance and play until the magical song within you is released into the universe and we all begin to sing our song together.

The blue heron - "Heron links two worlds: the waters of life—the Unconscious, and the air—the realm of the conscious mind. He feeds on fishes, which symbolize the treasures of the Unconscious mind: spiritual nourishment for the Seeker. Yet he is also a creature of the Earth, so he is a grounding influence for people who spend too much time in their minds and who are called to ‘fish’ in the waters of the unconscious."