Rooted in the deep earth, they absorb from the earth all that is needed in order to maintain their form and life. This life-force moves through them with a gentle murmur, like the hum of a distant plane. At the same time, the tree receives from the sky, the light it needs to nourish its foliage, to convert carbon dioxide to oxygen, and to replenish the earth's supply of atmospheric nutrients.

The inner being of a tree is both a part of the earth and an individualized life-form - not a physical spirit in the sense of one that could independently move, speak, or think on its own, but a spirit with feeling, consciousness, and a capacity to remain in continual communion with the state of the earth and with its own participation in that state.

When man, through, greed, indifference, selfishness, and a departure from the sacred, assumes that the life of a tree can be used indiscriminately for his own purposes, this assumption is a violation against the law of life which grants to all beings, whether human or non-human, the respect accorded to those possessing the essence of the One divine Spirit that pervades all. Not only do trees feel and respond when they are indiscriminately cut down, but the earth feels this as well, and where such wanton or indifferent action takes place without reverence for the needs of the earth, there, a wound grows that is often very difficult to heal.

The spirit of each tree can speak to those who listen, sometimes with words, but often in the hum of its existence - the vibration of its life-force which connects its roots with the tips of its branches. These giant beings are willing communicators as friends of the earth, friends of souls, and guardians of the planetary atmosphere. If they were given more in the way of respect and appreciation, they would be able to produce more replenishment for the earth's atmosphere than what is currently thought of as possible.

Today, by contrast, trees in many places of the world are in a sad state. Their spiritual vitality has been diminished by wanton logging practices and their strength and beauty have been affected. Ultimately, when the earth's cries can be heard by a sufficiently awakened humanity, trees, as well as the earth herself, will be found to have suffered through a great ordeal at the hands of men and of human greed, and a way will be sought to correct the balance with which we relate to the natural world. At that time, the spiritual nature of trees will shine once again, and we will return to a more authentic way of respecting the earth and all that she contains than has been possible since the departure from the sacred that took place long ago. In the meantime, it is possible to act in recognition of the sacred life of trees, and to begin the process of restoring to nature the gifts that have been given so abundantly to mankind over the years, centuries, and millennia of human history.

Julie Redstone is a teacher, writer, and founder of Light Omega, a center for spiritual teaching and healing in Western Massachusetts. The purpose of Light Omega is to create an understanding of the sacred transition into light that the earth is presently going through and the changes this will bring to individual and planetary consciousness.

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