Awareness
Grasses, herbs, flowers, and trees are conscious beings.
Through roots and leaves they receive nutrients and vitality.
They reach toward the light, desiring to grow and be radiant.
They set boundaries, yet live with ease in a diverse community.
They offer their gifts of pollen, fiber, food, beauty, and oxygen.
You can learn from plants’ awareness of their value in life.
— Miriam’s Consciousness Guides
This is the first of 3 messages from my Consciousness Guides. We are asked to look at what we have been taught about consciousness, and explore ideas that may differ from current cultural and societal beliefs. What follows are some thoughts of mine to expand on their words.
Grasses, herbs, flowers, and trees are conscious beings.
We live in a conscious universe, and we are all bathed in the vibrations of its self-awareness. The God our religions teach us about can be seen as that supreme knowledge of All That Is, the Great Spirit that infuses the galaxies, stars, planets, and all creations on this planet. We are each part of that whole, and have some portion of that great consciousness within us, so that what we learn through our experiences can also be shared with that total consciousness. Every aspect of nature is filled with consciousness, the essence of harmony and wholeness. Have you ever felt comforted from sitting under a tree? Or soothed by seeing the beauty of grasses being blown by the wind? Have you been drawn to a specific plant or herb, and then learned that it has been used in natural medicine to treat symptoms that you have? Is there a favorite flower that fills your heart with joy? Notice how you can connect with the consciousness of the plants around you.
Through roots and leaves they receive nutrients and vitality.
What a wonder it is that plants receive all that they need, simply by living! They don’t have to work, use money, walk, talk, maintain a house, or anything we do. They exist, and the earth and sky supply them with everything. Some of that is molecular in a chemical form, and some of it is energetic through vibration, sound, and light. What if you could enhance your vitality by receiving as plants do? Lying, standing, and walking barefoot on the earth has been shown to decrease stress and inflammation in humans, and increase immunity and a sense of well-being. Imagine yourself with your feet rooted in the earth, and eyes and hands raised to the sky: notice what happens within you. Does your heartbeat slow? Your breath deepen? Your anxiety lessen? Explore how your body can be like a plant, so that you can receive, without effort and concentration. Simply be.
They reach toward the light, desiring to grow and be radiant.
Growth from a seed into a plant is as miraculous as human growth from a fertilized egg into an adult body. Sending roots into the darkness and shoots toward the light can be a model for us of the need to be grounded, while expanding upward and outward. When free to follow the divine template encoded in its seeds’ genetics, the plant develops into a healthy, vibrant, beautiful being. Plants ‘eat light’ (as a recent book by Zoë Schlanger presents), and it nourishes them in wonderful ways. Indigenous cultures of humans around the world celebrate the return of the light at their Winter Solstice, honoring the importance of light and sunshine in their lives. My body tells me it has ‘sun sensors’ that soak up the light, and lets me know when they are full so that I don’t burn. Can you feel when your body needs to eat light? You may be drawn to sitting in the sunshine on a cool day, basking in its warmth and light. Can you invite the light in more frequently, filling you with radiance?
They set boundaries, yet live with ease in a diverse community.
Plants set boundaries with chemicals they release into the soil or emit from their leaves into the air. Then they co-exist with their plant neighbors; with the micro-organisms, the mycelia of fungi, and the insects below ground; and with the insect pollinators, birds, animals, and humans above ground. Diversity is necessary in the natural world, as is creating a niche in which to grow and thrive in harmony with the surroundings. Take a look at your life and pay attention to your boundaries. Do they need to be larger or more defined? Do you comfortably co-exist with your neighbors, whether plant, insect, animal, or human? Have you found your niche, that place where you fit into the diverse world around you? Do you need to open your eyes and heart more frequently to see and honor the other beings who live around you?
They offer their gifts of pollen, fiber, food, beauty, and oxygen.
Each plant has its gifts, or its species would have died off long ago. It shares itself freely with its community, and others arrive to receive the gifts. Bees, butterflies and other insects collect the pollen; birds and mammals use the fibers to soften their nests; insects, animals and humans are nourished by their food; humans definitely appreciate their beauty; and all on the planet benefit from the oxygen produced by green plants and trees. How can you become more aware of and appreciative of the gifts that plants bring to you? Your conscious attention is a good place to start. Also make the intention to offer your gifts to your greater community.
You can learn from plants’ awareness of their value in life.
Plants know that they are part of a bigger picture, and that they are not the only organism in town. Scientific studies have shown that they communicate with their kindreds, they protect their young, they attract specific pollinators to ensure their fertility and reproduction, and they form relationships with companion plants and insects. They have a job to do, even if to human eyes it might seem insignificant or even be invisible. Do you recognize your value in life? Do you know that you are part of a bigger picture, and that you have a job to do simply by being you? The truth of who you are is all that is needed, with the radiance of your soul shining through the miracle of your body. Find your plant self within you and become like the ‘lilies of the field’.
