In my last post I talked about comparisons of how trees grow in similar ways as we grow. Knots, broken bits, growth spurts, reaching for the sky, connected to the earth. Look at this wonderful example of adaptation! I'm guessing this tree was happily moving up in the world while having to deal with the circumstances of its environment. Flooding in the spring, swampy conditions and sometimes dryness in the summer, a huge amount of organic matter dropped at its feet every fall, freezing temperatures, ice, snow, critters pecking at your bark, critters gnawing, critters perhaps taking refuge under you. I'd love to journey to the spirit of this tree to see if it wants to share its story. That's the beauty of learning the shamanic journey. You are able to venture to a non-ordinary reality to spend time with helping spirits, your power animal and spirits of the land. You can ask for advise, ask how an area is doing health-wise, ask to be shown how you can help or in some cases, not help. Nature spirits can be quite clear when your help isn't needed but also very helpful in showing how we can help in ways that are sometimes unexpected.