Monthly Columns

Book Excerpt – The Magic of Nature: Meditations & Spells to Find Your Inner Voice – Earth Meditations by Jessica Marie Baumgartner

April 1, 2021 /

 

We’re just a month away from my first release with Llewellyn Worldwide! I am so humbled and happy to share what I’ve learned with everyone. The hope is that anyone can test these simple meditations out and breathe a little easier. I’m a fire sign by nature, but connecting with our planet starts directly with earth, so I’ve offered up that first little bit of love.

Please practice with caution. My Climbing Tree Meditation is for those who are avid climbers, but the rest require very little physicality.

All the sunshine,

Jess

 

Chapter 1: Meditations to Connect with Nature 

Earth Meditations 

Trees, meadows, and caves hold more magic than anyone can harness. They host life and death with balance. Harsh rules and tender moments exist in vast example. Breaking free from the pretentious expectations of societal strain provides the calming effects one needs to be at peace with themselves and find the answers they seek living captive within. 

Tree meditations remind me of my own potential. Everything starts small. No matter what shape or size the seed, there is opportunity for growth if nurtured properly. Even when deterred by storms, fires, or unnatural destruction, trees will bud, bloom, and regrow?sometimes from the center of their own decimated stumps.  

Trees represent longevity. They mark the passing of eras and generations. Regardless of acknowledgment they shelter and nourish life by their existence, and in doing so produce enough energy to aid individuals on their specific quest for purpose and accomplishment.  

If mobility is an issue the easy meditations frame the groundwork for more challenging mental explorations. Opening windows and procuring potted trees, grasses, and sand gardens allows these connections to be cultivated without as much physical strain. Once a person has trained their mind to work with the body and spirit to connect with the earth, they can extend beyond and use visualization for further development.

   

Easy Tree Meditation 

This practice is an exercise in patience and humility. It displays how small the human world truly is when separated from the bosom of the forces that birthed it. Best done without shoes on, this tree meditation drives a deeper influence between instinct and consciousness. 

The Easy Tree Meditation requires one to stand before a tree trunk. 

    1. Place hands against the bark.  
    1. Stare up the grains and focus on the network of leaves, limbs, branches, and twigs above.  
    1. Feel the air pass through the lungs with each breath.  
    1. Allow the energies within the wood to mingle with skin and drive new thoughts.  

 

Sitting Tree Meditation 

For longer explorations, it is best to sit before a tree resting with back against trunk, preferably in-between any roots that may stick up. Instead of relying on the sense of sight in combination with the others, this meditation requires more trust which will deliver a new perspective. For the Sitting Tree Meditation:

 

    1. Close eyes.  
    1. Press hands on the ground on either sides. Or let them rest on nearby roots. 
    1. Hum with the wind, or if none, let out a quiet tone. 
    1. Listen to the vibrations. Feel the energy of the tree. The life. The structure. Mingle the vibrations with that electricity. It may tingle. 
    1. Allow time to fall behind. Remain fixed to the space as if rooted until called back to earthly ties by either a vision, whisper, or tingling stops. 

 

Climbing Tree Meditation 

More agile bodies, stretched and practiced for endurance can partake of meditations up in the boughs. A different atmosphere rests in the arms of our towering oxygen makers. Pulling one’s self up limb by limb requires endurance, patience, and trust. Extending trust to one’s physical prowess and that of their ability to estimate the strength of a limb is like air for thought.  

Instead of solving equations on paper, they rest in the physical world. Tangible solutions are more necessary and detrimental. One false move and injury can occur.  

Tree meditations first require the climb (or proper mental image of climbing), but that is the precursor. Once situated as high as comfort allows, then the Climbing Tree Meditation begins:

 

    1. Sit on branch strong enough to hold weight 
    1. Slide fingers over the bark 
    1. Breathe deep and imagine the roots digging as deep under the dree as the branches reach.  
    1. Think of their purpose, their continuous reaching for a sun they cannot touch. 
    1. Imagine life struggles and how they relate to personal goals and future plans. 
    1. Think of the growth, the journey. Imagine the brain as if each crease were a branch reaching for more knowledge. No one can learn everything, but to seek answers is part of the human condition. Let the questions dance with what answer have already been found.  
    1. A sense of peace and calming should conclude the meditation. 

 

Easy Field Meditation 

Children find happiness easily. They are more in tune with their instincts. They trust themselves more than anyone else. Their wants and needs come first. Not to be mistaken with immaturity, the inner child is that part of ourselves that gets excited and loves deeply without fear. I still roll down hills and chase butterflies through fields because it connects me to my environment. Simply sitting in a field or meadow and soaking up the fresh air and sunshine hold the power to recharge the human body.

Easy Field Meditation is enlightening and effortlessly done: 

 

    1. Find a spot to sit on the grass or dirt and do so. 
    1. Rub palms over the ground around body. 
    1. Close eyes and breathe in.  
    1. Open them and look to the sky. 
    1. Close eyes again and breathe in.  
    1. With each breath feel the rhythm of the ecosystem. Hear the animals. Smell the air.  
    1. With each exhale glance at the habitat, appreciate it for what it is.  
    1. Think of how people fit into this. What they can do to better complete the areas they inhabit. Focus on the births and deaths that must take place to allow life to continue its purpose and find peace in that.

 


The Magic of Nature: Meditations & Spells to Find Your Inner Voice on Amazon
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About the Author:

Jessica is a Pagan mother of four, whose children’s books about diversity and acceptance have received critical acclaim and multiple awards. She is the author of “Walk Your Path,” and the new upcoming Llewellyn release, “The Magic of Nature.” Her work has been featured by, “Sedona Journal of Emergence,” “Light of Consciousness Magazine,” “Conscious Shift Magazine,” “The New Spirit Journal,” “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” “Circle Magazine,” “The Witches’ Voice,” and many more. Find her at jessicamariebaumgartner.com