APPLE TREE

The Apple tree was located on a hillside amongst other old apple trees. There was fruit on the ground and overhead on branches that arched away from the tree's central trunk and drooped close to the ground, seemingly defying gravity. This ceremony took place on a Friday afternoon in a quiet spot on the 100 acre wooded campus. Apple's magical properties were healing, removing shame, and restoring innocence. Apple's message was: Wherever you go now is your journey. Do it with innocence. My heart's affirmation was joy, wonder, and playfulness. The words in my journal say: Out of ignorance, let the light in. You are chosen. You are one with all. I do not recall which of those words were spoken by Amba as a guiding influence and which ones popped into my mind on their own. Regardless of the source, after the meditation, I wrote down what felt important, relevant, true, or mysterious. I planned to ponder these words more indepth later because they held personal significance.   

My temple journey with Apple started with a beautiful walk through a golden door into the tree and to the garden of eden past a body of water. As I looked up to marvel at the light shining on the abundant apples suspended in the surreal garden's sky, I saw a cocoon in deep outerspace. Inside the glass front pod was a baby smiling with eyes wide open, floating upright, bathed in light while traveling through infinite blackness, from left to right. I asked who it was. It was me. On my way somewhere in the cosmos. On a journey. This apparition surprised me. I did not share my complete temple journey with the group when we spoke after the ceremony. I recall feeling happy about the vision and needing time to think. Without fear, I remained open to future visionings. 

I was very tired that evening. I jokingly wondered if I had been microdosed because my steps felt spongey and I had finished watching the series Nine Perfect Strangers with Nicole Kidman the week prior to the retreat. I was aware of a shift happening in my perspective about life and realized (in real time) how I was getting so much from the way Jeff and Amba held the space, thus allowing our group to participate fully in the tree ceremonies. I was grateful and enjoying the entire experience and the place and the people. I noticed I was processing my thoughts differently or changing my brain's energy pattern. I was coping better with thoughts about the many disconcerting and dire situations in the world. I began to see a path forward with dealing with my deep concerns about the natural environment, the species lost, the lack of fresh air and water and livable temperatures for all life forms, including the incongruity of it all and the massive amount of information available (about everything) that sometimes contributes towards a sense of being overwhelmed or helplessness. 

Painting a synopsis of my Apple story proved to be challenging. At first I tried to create the physical characteristics of the scene where we sat, knelt, or laid down around the base of the tree on inclined ground with blankets and gazing overhead. An earlier version of this painting did not embody the profound and wondrous adventure to my satisfaction. Eventually the Apple painting's visual characteristics evolved and took on meaning through texture, color, symbolism, proximity, and recognizable forms. The final version shows (to me) a primordial mix of changing surroundings, time passing, protection, ancient wisdom, and future growth. Next tree...