WEBVTT 00:00:01.419 --> 00:00:05.940 Welcome to the Plant Wisdom Circle. This is a 00:00:05.940 --> 00:00:09.240 space to share the wisdom of the plants, letting 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:12.300 their voices ripple outward into ever -widening 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:16.019 circles. Together, we honor the plants as medicine 00:00:16.019 --> 00:00:19.000 guides and living beings of healing consciousness. 00:00:19.620 --> 00:00:24.370 I'm your host, Amy Tarepka. Welcome back, folks. 00:00:24.489 --> 00:00:28.609 I'm your plant guide, Amy Turepka, and I'm so 00:00:28.609 --> 00:00:31.670 excited to be sharing the medicine of Western 00:00:31.670 --> 00:00:35.850 Red Cedar with you today. I have been learning 00:00:35.850 --> 00:00:39.289 from the plants for nearly two decades now in 00:00:39.289 --> 00:00:42.890 this energetic and psycho -spiritual way, and 00:00:42.890 --> 00:00:47.049 they have taught me so much. Part of what they've 00:00:47.049 --> 00:00:51.189 been asking for for years now is to share their 00:00:51.189 --> 00:00:53.750 voices and their medicine to a wider audience. 00:00:54.090 --> 00:00:58.049 So this podcast is my gift to them and to you. 00:00:58.909 --> 00:01:02.810 The plants weave themselves into everything I 00:01:02.810 --> 00:01:07.030 offer from my one -on -one healing sessions and 00:01:07.030 --> 00:01:11.069 my practice groundwater healing to most of what 00:01:11.069 --> 00:01:14.189 I teach inside my school, the Golden Stone Wisdom 00:01:14.189 --> 00:01:17.500 School. Everything I share in my work is supported 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:20.500 by the plants to help you remember the magic 00:01:20.500 --> 00:01:24.540 of being a body on the earth. They are so committed 00:01:24.540 --> 00:01:28.319 to this for us and they are so graciously willing 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:32.200 to support us if and when we ask. If you want 00:01:32.200 --> 00:01:34.980 to learn more about how to work with me, take 00:01:34.980 --> 00:01:37.219 a look at the show notes where I have links to 00:01:37.219 --> 00:01:40.140 my free online community inside the Goldenstone 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:44.659 Wisdom School, as well as a master class on communicating 00:01:44.659 --> 00:01:49.180 with plant consciousness. So today I'm going 00:01:49.180 --> 00:01:51.719 to be sharing the medicine of Western Red Cedar, 00:01:51.859 --> 00:01:55.400 another plant I've had significant depth with 00:01:55.400 --> 00:02:00.030 over the last 15 years. And when I share my experiences 00:02:00.030 --> 00:02:02.950 with red cedar and the experiences of others, 00:02:03.150 --> 00:02:06.909 I'm mostly sharing the embodied and spiritual 00:02:06.909 --> 00:02:10.270 experience of ingesting a few drops of the tincture, 00:02:10.310 --> 00:02:14.090 which is the plant material extracted in alcohol. 00:02:14.250 --> 00:02:18.810 In this case, we use the western red cedar fronds, 00:02:18.810 --> 00:02:22.270 the leaf, to make the tincture. And I'm specifically 00:02:22.270 --> 00:02:27.090 speaking of experiences with Western red cedar 00:02:27.090 --> 00:02:31.009 or Thuja placata, which actually isn't a true 00:02:31.009 --> 00:02:35.449 cedar, not in the cedrus family. So just know 00:02:35.449 --> 00:02:38.129 this when I'm sharing these experiences, it doesn't 00:02:38.129 --> 00:02:45.069 refer or hold true for all cedars. My experiences 00:02:45.069 --> 00:02:48.229 also include times I've sat with a tree in person 00:02:48.229 --> 00:02:51.509 without ingesting any of the medicine. And you'll 00:02:51.509 --> 00:02:55.810 also hear from folks inside my online membership, 00:02:56.110 --> 00:02:59.129 the Circle of Interbeing, where I guide them 00:02:59.129 --> 00:03:03.310 to connect with the soul scape of the cedar. 00:03:03.569 --> 00:03:06.770 And in that case, some of them are not ingesting 00:03:06.770 --> 00:03:12.949 any of the medicine either. You don't need to 00:03:12.949 --> 00:03:15.629 ingest any medicine to sit with the plants, but 00:03:15.629 --> 00:03:18.270 it definitely can help, especially if you're 00:03:18.270 --> 00:03:22.469 new to this. I'll share a bit about Red Cedar's 00:03:22.469 --> 00:03:26.090 physical medicine, and then I'll go into general 00:03:26.090 --> 00:03:30.250 spiritual and energetic themes of Red Cedar while 00:03:30.250 --> 00:03:34.629 weaving some of my own. experiences with Red 00:03:34.629 --> 00:03:38.530 Cedar Inn and other people's experiences from 00:03:38.530 --> 00:03:42.129 both the Plant Wisdom Circle and the Circle of 00:03:42.129 --> 00:03:46.530 Interbeing calls, and I'll share my own experience 00:03:46.530 --> 00:03:49.710 from the latest Plant Wisdom Circle as well. 00:03:50.469 --> 00:03:54.490 So Western Red Cedar lives in the Pacific Northwest, 00:03:54.569 --> 00:03:59.729 mostly, comes down into northern Montana and 00:03:59.729 --> 00:04:04.830 Idaho a bit too. and is a grandmother tree in 00:04:04.830 --> 00:04:08.770 this ecosystem. She grows very tall and very 00:04:08.770 --> 00:04:13.069 straight and lives thousands of years. She is 00:04:13.069 --> 00:04:16.949 seen as one of the pillar trees in this ecosystem 00:04:16.949 --> 00:04:20.750 where so much life is taking place or finding 00:04:20.750 --> 00:04:26.709 home upon her body. They have always been important 00:04:26.709 --> 00:04:30.209 medicine of the peoples living in this region. 00:04:31.310 --> 00:04:35.209 A couple Salish names for Western Red Cedar translate 00:04:35.209 --> 00:04:40.930 to long life giver, tree of life, and mother. 00:04:41.389 --> 00:04:45.509 And she is truly a generous giver of life. She 00:04:45.509 --> 00:04:51.170 has provided everything from medicine to cribs 00:04:51.170 --> 00:04:56.170 for babies, wood for canoes and houses, bark 00:04:56.170 --> 00:05:00.850 for weaving baskets and fish traps. cordage for 00:05:00.850 --> 00:05:04.430 ropes, clothing, sleeping mats, and so much more. 00:05:05.129 --> 00:05:09.110 She really offers us so much and I'm so grateful 00:05:09.110 --> 00:05:13.649 to her. Red cedar prefers her roots to be wet 00:05:13.649 --> 00:05:19.069 and the hot summers here in the past handful 00:05:19.069 --> 00:05:21.810 of years have been really hard on the red cedars 00:05:21.810 --> 00:05:24.829 because their roots are actually quite shallow 00:05:24.829 --> 00:05:28.089 and widespread and so they're not very drought 00:05:28.089 --> 00:05:31.110 resistant. So I am Definitely concerned about 00:05:31.110 --> 00:05:35.649 their well -being in these lower reaches of their 00:05:35.649 --> 00:05:40.329 habitat, but I've also sat with them so much 00:05:40.329 --> 00:05:44.569 and can feel their peace and resolve and trust 00:05:44.569 --> 00:05:48.589 in all that's happening. Red cedar is powerfully 00:05:48.589 --> 00:05:52.750 antimicrobial and antifungal, and I've read can 00:05:52.750 --> 00:05:57.410 be both warming and cooling, but for sure drying. 00:05:58.220 --> 00:06:01.199 So she dries out hot and wet conditions like 00:06:01.199 --> 00:06:05.000 fungal infections, but can also be warming and 00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:07.300 invigorating, moving the blood flow, clearing 00:06:07.300 --> 00:06:10.120 stagnation throughout the body, especially in 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:13.000 the respiratory system. So great support for 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:16.720 the lungs and the chest. And there's so much 00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:19.399 more about her physical medicine, but that's 00:06:19.399 --> 00:06:21.040 not the purpose of this podcast. So we're going 00:06:21.040 --> 00:06:24.240 to get into the psycho -spiritual and energetic 00:06:24.240 --> 00:06:27.980 qualities. that we find time after time there 00:06:27.980 --> 00:06:32.379 is one note of caution that i will share about 00:06:32.379 --> 00:06:36.500 red cedar that she's a very strong medicine and 00:06:36.500 --> 00:06:40.399 you don't want or need to ingest much of her 00:06:40.399 --> 00:06:44.199 she has some strong volatile oils that if you 00:06:44.199 --> 00:06:47.319 ingest too much of or over too long of a period 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:52.620 of time they can be damaging to the kidneys So 00:06:52.620 --> 00:06:54.920 her medicine should not be used during pregnancy, 00:06:54.980 --> 00:06:58.800 while breastfeeding, or if your kidney function 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:03.439 is weak. But you can always go and sit with her 00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:09.060 in the wild. So some themes we find with Western 00:07:09.060 --> 00:07:14.019 Red Cedar. One of the biggest ones is how she 00:07:14.019 --> 00:07:18.160 aligns us with our center and the truth that 00:07:18.160 --> 00:07:22.279 lives within us. This sense of finding our place 00:07:22.279 --> 00:07:27.160 or taking up our place and finding that home 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:31.139 within our bodies. One time I was sitting with 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:35.699 her and I felt her centrifuging me, like solidifying 00:07:35.699 --> 00:07:39.699 me in my center. And what wasn't actually me 00:07:39.699 --> 00:07:44.680 was just flying off. And she told me, it's time 00:07:44.680 --> 00:07:47.829 to reclaim your truth. Reclaim the definition 00:07:47.829 --> 00:07:52.129 of who you are over and over and over again until 00:07:52.129 --> 00:07:54.769 you've peeled away the excess and you just remain 00:07:54.769 --> 00:07:59.290 in your center as the truth of who you are. And 00:07:59.290 --> 00:08:02.709 the first time I ever sat with her in 2010 in 00:08:02.709 --> 00:08:05.509 one of Scott Close's circles where we took the 00:08:05.509 --> 00:08:08.310 tincture blind and didn't know who we were sitting 00:08:08.310 --> 00:08:12.769 with, she told me, I carry so much of other people's 00:08:12.769 --> 00:08:16.720 stuff in me that I can't find myself in me. And 00:08:16.720 --> 00:08:20.399 she had me hug her trunk and pour everyone else's 00:08:20.399 --> 00:08:23.800 stuff into her trunk. And it fed her roots. And 00:08:23.800 --> 00:08:27.220 I could feel how much she could hold and transmute 00:08:27.220 --> 00:08:31.899 for the collective. So again, this idea of finding 00:08:31.899 --> 00:08:36.539 yourself, finding your truth amongst all the 00:08:36.539 --> 00:08:40.879 noise. And this is something she often does, 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:44.759 showing us how much she can hold. How she isn't 00:08:44.759 --> 00:08:47.960 phased by us offering to her what we can't carry. 00:08:48.419 --> 00:08:52.720 She's so strong and weaves such a wide and rich 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:57.039 ecosystem and foundation of support that she 00:08:57.039 --> 00:09:00.059 holds things really gracefully. And she knows 00:09:00.059 --> 00:09:04.519 how to transmute and compost and have everything 00:09:04.519 --> 00:09:08.820 have its place. And she feels like the center 00:09:08.820 --> 00:09:14.100 of the home, the central pillar. just inviting 00:09:14.100 --> 00:09:18.919 us to lean into her for support. Someone on my 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:21.919 Circle of Intervening membership call had this 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:26.740 experience as well. Amy, you said you felt like 00:09:26.740 --> 00:09:31.740 surrendering, and what I heard very clearly was, 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:38.000 I am a sponge for your surrenders, and put your 00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:41.059 hands on me and surrender, and I will compost 00:09:41.059 --> 00:09:44.950 it. there's a lot of red cedars in my local park 00:09:44.950 --> 00:09:49.570 so like I touch them often um and it was like 00:09:49.570 --> 00:09:52.289 this invitation to like really like give it to 00:09:52.289 --> 00:09:56.230 me I can take it and then I asked what I could 00:09:56.230 --> 00:09:59.269 offer um and she said also felt like very much 00:09:59.269 --> 00:10:02.570 like a great mother archetype energy to me like 00:10:02.570 --> 00:10:05.029 the space felt like very burgundy and just like 00:10:05.029 --> 00:10:08.889 very like great mother energy and she said um 00:10:09.610 --> 00:10:12.750 You know, it can, like, I can take it and I want 00:10:12.750 --> 00:10:15.190 it and it can get kind of heavy sometimes. So 00:10:15.190 --> 00:10:17.330 if you could bring me a joke, that would be awesome. 00:10:17.649 --> 00:10:21.509 Never heard that one before. So that felt pretty 00:10:21.509 --> 00:10:25.669 delightful. We also find themes of being more 00:10:25.669 --> 00:10:29.009 lighthearted and you can hear that in what this 00:10:29.009 --> 00:10:32.149 person just shared about give me a joke, you 00:10:32.149 --> 00:10:36.549 know, bringing the lightheartedness into life. 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:39.919 clearing out what has been weighing us down so 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:42.980 we can be more playful in life and you'll hear 00:10:42.980 --> 00:10:46.620 more about this theme later in some of the plant 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:50.820 wisdom circle shares we also find themes of mother 00:10:50.820 --> 00:10:54.700 or mothering energy as you heard in this last 00:10:54.700 --> 00:10:59.259 person's share and not only that but the ancestors 00:10:59.259 --> 00:11:02.600 and ancestral support so this mother energy and 00:11:03.279 --> 00:11:06.000 The support from that and the support of the 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:11.700 ancestors and ancestral wisdom. She once told 00:11:11.700 --> 00:11:16.580 me, feel the red cedar inside of you. Feel the 00:11:16.580 --> 00:11:20.639 strength of your wood, yourself. Feel yourself 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:24.600 centered in your trunk. I anchor you here and 00:11:24.600 --> 00:11:27.460 allow you to feel firmly where you've come from 00:11:27.460 --> 00:11:31.580 and how you're supported. These things that give 00:11:31.580 --> 00:11:37.679 you strength. In 2012, she told me, I hold everything 00:11:37.679 --> 00:11:41.379 so you can see that you are all of this too. 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:44.779 I reflect this truth back to you so you can feel 00:11:44.779 --> 00:11:47.559 this within. I am a part of you that you can 00:11:47.559 --> 00:11:52.600 call on. In another sit with her later in 2012, 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:56.519 she brought me back into my body and it felt 00:11:56.519 --> 00:11:59.139 like she was centering me and opening me so I 00:11:59.139 --> 00:12:04.019 could hold more in my life. So I could release 00:12:04.019 --> 00:12:06.840 the things that I'm holding that are not serving 00:12:06.840 --> 00:12:10.080 me and be open to holding more of what does feed 00:12:10.080 --> 00:12:13.500 me with grace and ease and strength. So she's 00:12:13.500 --> 00:12:19.360 simultaneously being the pillar of strength for 00:12:19.360 --> 00:12:25.440 us to pour what we cannot hold onto her. And 00:12:25.440 --> 00:12:28.220 she is that strength for us while simultaneously 00:12:28.220 --> 00:12:32.659 mirroring back to us the strength that we do 00:12:32.659 --> 00:12:36.919 have within ourselves and helping us build and 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:41.360 grow that resilience within ourselves so we can 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:46.049 hold more. So again, this... aspect of creating 00:12:46.049 --> 00:12:49.490 resilience and not just having us release because 00:12:49.490 --> 00:12:52.629 it's too much but teaching us resilience to be 00:12:52.629 --> 00:12:55.610 able to withstand the hardships that come without 00:12:55.610 --> 00:12:59.090 breaking and learning how to stay present with 00:12:59.090 --> 00:13:01.710 ourselves and our bodies increase our capacity 00:13:01.710 --> 00:13:07.429 but also knowing when and how to let go or transmute 00:13:07.429 --> 00:13:11.509 the energy and there's something that happens, 00:13:11.549 --> 00:13:14.210 especially with empaths and highly sensitive 00:13:14.210 --> 00:13:17.250 people, a lot of the people I work with, where 00:13:17.250 --> 00:13:23.950 we've taken on so much of the world in our bodies. 00:13:24.049 --> 00:13:28.610 We feel so deeply. We are filled with other people's 00:13:28.610 --> 00:13:31.830 energies, especially if you're an empath. And 00:13:31.830 --> 00:13:36.600 there is this balance of being able to discern 00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:39.399 what is yours and what's not yours so clearing 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:46.519 out giving away the emotions the the pain the 00:13:46.519 --> 00:13:50.240 trauma that is not yours to hold while at the 00:13:50.240 --> 00:13:53.100 same time building resilience in these sensitive 00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:58.480 systems so we're not so phased and thrown off 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:03.419 our own center when the inevitable hardships 00:14:04.379 --> 00:14:08.039 come our way or hard emotions or painful experiences 00:14:08.039 --> 00:14:11.700 come our way. So I really do think Red Cedar 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:15.019 is an amazing ally for highly sensitive people 00:14:15.019 --> 00:14:18.980 and empaths. I had a really powerful healing 00:14:18.980 --> 00:14:23.019 experience in 2014 that I want to read some of 00:14:23.019 --> 00:14:26.139 my experience for you. So sitting with Red Cedar, 00:14:26.259 --> 00:14:30.389 I was feeling very centered. I was feeling big. 00:14:30.509 --> 00:14:34.610 I was feeling the pressure on the boundaries 00:14:34.610 --> 00:14:38.570 of who I am. So feeling myself expanding out 00:14:38.570 --> 00:14:42.850 to the edges of who I knew myself to be. And 00:14:42.850 --> 00:14:48.029 I felt deep silence and stillness and this ancient 00:14:48.029 --> 00:14:51.649 and loving wisdom with me. And then she was coming 00:14:51.649 --> 00:14:55.110 into my heart and my chest and kind of pushing 00:14:55.110 --> 00:15:01.710 it out. my center expanding and the sense of 00:15:01.710 --> 00:15:05.110 how I needed to create more space there. And 00:15:05.110 --> 00:15:07.909 it hurt. It was so tight and I was holding so 00:15:07.909 --> 00:15:11.429 much and it hurt. And so I was starting to cry 00:15:11.429 --> 00:15:14.610 and just move and let go of a lot that I was 00:15:14.610 --> 00:15:17.870 holding and storing in there. And I felt my heart 00:15:17.870 --> 00:15:22.389 expanding and creating more space and more openness, 00:15:22.470 --> 00:15:27.860 but also feeling more and more firm and grounded 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:33.320 in myself and then red cedar spoke to me and 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:38.559 said be strong in your truth my child you have 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:42.480 felt it and know it but it's up to you to stay 00:15:42.480 --> 00:15:45.919 aware and integrated with it your choices matter 00:15:45.919 --> 00:15:49.860 every time you choose it's a choice to move towards 00:15:49.860 --> 00:15:53.500 or away from your truth and your center It's 00:15:53.500 --> 00:15:58.240 not a stagnant point. It moves as you grow. You 00:15:58.240 --> 00:16:00.840 need to move with it as your spirit leads you. 00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:04.100 Move with it or you fall out of balance, out 00:16:04.100 --> 00:16:07.700 of center. Draw upon what you know, your tools, 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:10.980 your guides, your wisdom. You're afraid because 00:16:10.980 --> 00:16:13.899 the more you find your center, the more you realize 00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:17.889 how off balance you are in your life. This makes 00:16:17.889 --> 00:16:20.009 you afraid to fully center because it will be 00:16:20.009 --> 00:16:22.809 harder to go back to the extremes in imbalance. 00:16:23.649 --> 00:16:27.850 Don't worry. The opposite is true. The more solid 00:16:27.850 --> 00:16:30.509 you get centered here, the more you can swing 00:16:30.509 --> 00:16:33.190 your life at home back towards center, back towards 00:16:33.190 --> 00:16:36.429 health, towards fulfillment, because your life 00:16:36.429 --> 00:16:39.970 will then reorient towards your strong pillar 00:16:39.970 --> 00:16:44.350 of center and truth. You must stay strong and 00:16:44.350 --> 00:16:47.669 firm in it. That's all. Stay strong in this feeling 00:16:47.669 --> 00:16:49.990 of your center, your truth, and know that everything 00:16:49.990 --> 00:16:52.210 will easily fall into place once you're there. 00:16:52.710 --> 00:16:55.889 Have the courage to stay there. There's a lot 00:16:55.889 --> 00:16:58.809 out there to bring you out of balance. Take time 00:16:58.809 --> 00:17:01.649 to rebalance every day to remember this feeling. 00:17:02.450 --> 00:17:05.450 I'm opening your heart so you can hold more, 00:17:05.569 --> 00:17:09.569 so your being can hold more space. But don't 00:17:09.569 --> 00:17:12.029 let anything come and take it over. In order 00:17:12.029 --> 00:17:14.950 to maintain this, you have to be strong in yourself. 00:17:16.500 --> 00:17:20.940 So I feel like this message from her ties together 00:17:20.940 --> 00:17:23.400 a lot of what we've been talking about so far. 00:17:24.220 --> 00:17:28.980 There's also a major theme of inviting rest, 00:17:29.220 --> 00:17:35.500 a place to find refuge or solace or the sense 00:17:35.500 --> 00:17:41.910 of home in our bodies on the earth. In that circle 00:17:41.910 --> 00:17:44.710 of interbeing call when we sat with Red Cedar 00:17:44.710 --> 00:17:49.950 last month, so many of us were invited into this 00:17:49.950 --> 00:17:53.589 experience of being held and resting. And I'll 00:17:53.589 --> 00:17:56.210 share a couple of those with you here. There 00:17:56.210 --> 00:18:00.869 was this huge cedar and I felt like I was supposed 00:18:00.869 --> 00:18:04.930 to climb it. And then fairly quickly it split 00:18:04.930 --> 00:18:09.049 into two trunks. And as I kept climbing, there 00:18:09.049 --> 00:18:13.349 was sort of a interlocking, interwoven branches 00:18:13.349 --> 00:18:17.910 making kind of a platform or a bed. And that 00:18:17.910 --> 00:18:20.930 was, I was like, you need to lie down. So then 00:18:20.930 --> 00:18:25.089 I did. I laid down on the floor. And what happened 00:18:25.089 --> 00:18:31.529 was my heart sprung all these roots down into 00:18:31.529 --> 00:18:35.579 the earth. Which I was kind of surprised. I thought 00:18:35.579 --> 00:18:37.859 it would be my root chakra, but it was definitely 00:18:37.859 --> 00:18:42.880 my heart chakra. And then this, you know, this 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:49.220 trunk emerged and grew up into the sky. And then 00:18:49.220 --> 00:18:54.519 I just sort of dissolved into the tree, into 00:18:54.519 --> 00:19:00.200 the earth, into everything. And then just was, 00:19:00.319 --> 00:19:04.130 I don't know how to describe it. Not filled with. 00:19:04.369 --> 00:19:13.190 Left with. Became. Was. Love. The sense that 00:19:13.190 --> 00:19:16.529 by becoming part of everything, I don't know, 00:19:16.589 --> 00:19:19.930 I'm still processing, obviously. It was a very, 00:19:19.970 --> 00:19:26.660 very quiet, quiet journey. There was a forest 00:19:26.660 --> 00:19:29.259 and I was surrounded by these huge tall trees 00:19:29.259 --> 00:19:31.619 and they kind of quickly I could see they were 00:19:31.619 --> 00:19:36.579 shape -shifting into huge beings. And the trunks 00:19:36.579 --> 00:19:41.500 were like rust colored dresses. They had long 00:19:41.500 --> 00:19:46.720 black hair and kind of pointy faces. And it was 00:19:46.720 --> 00:19:49.380 really like there wasn't much happening at first. 00:19:49.460 --> 00:19:53.240 I felt like they saw who I was. They could see 00:19:53.240 --> 00:19:56.960 my essence. They stripped away everything else 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.160 and they could see the essence of who I was, 00:19:59.279 --> 00:20:03.599 which was nice. It felt like a feminine energy. 00:20:04.700 --> 00:20:08.420 And I also felt kind of protection, like it felt 00:20:08.420 --> 00:20:13.140 really protective. And I asked if they wanted 00:20:13.140 --> 00:20:15.740 to tell me anything and it was just one word. 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:19.640 It was rest. And they just kept repeating that, 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:22.819 rest. And I felt this real pull to just kind 00:20:22.819 --> 00:20:26.900 of like stop. you know, and they showed me a 00:20:26.900 --> 00:20:31.200 bed and said, you know, go lie down. You need 00:20:31.200 --> 00:20:35.559 to rest. They kind of surrounded me in this protective 00:20:35.559 --> 00:20:39.000 bubble of energy and it just felt really safe. 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:42.859 And it also made me rest like it compelled me 00:20:42.859 --> 00:20:46.099 to rest. They also kind of gave me the sense 00:20:46.099 --> 00:20:50.339 that that seeing me, seeing my essence, the message 00:20:50.339 --> 00:20:54.039 was, you know. You're totally okay just exactly 00:20:54.039 --> 00:20:56.759 as you are. You don't need to do anything. Yeah, 00:20:56.779 --> 00:20:59.420 and I just kind of existed in that state. And 00:20:59.420 --> 00:21:00.940 then when I was leaving, I said, thank you. And 00:21:00.940 --> 00:21:03.640 then I felt this pulse of energy from them. And 00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:05.440 it was like, it was still surrounding me. And 00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:08.599 it was like repelling away from me anything that 00:21:08.599 --> 00:21:12.440 was harmful. It felt like a really powerful blessing, 00:21:12.500 --> 00:21:21.660 actually. My experience also demanded rest. And 00:21:21.660 --> 00:21:26.359 this like matriarchal figure who was like all 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:30.960 of the kinds of grandmother at once. And she 00:21:30.960 --> 00:21:34.920 was very reassuring and was like, you know what 00:21:34.920 --> 00:21:39.660 you have to do. But first you have to sit on 00:21:39.660 --> 00:21:43.960 this couch and drink this tea and take a nap. 00:21:45.039 --> 00:21:50.539 And in my, in my, the dream in my nap. I became 00:21:50.539 --> 00:21:55.920 a tree and like shot upwards really quickly and 00:21:55.920 --> 00:22:00.160 had in that experience a lot of somatic release. 00:22:01.059 --> 00:22:08.259 Yeah, it was very nurturing. I also napped and 00:22:08.259 --> 00:22:11.380 I also had the nurturing grandmother experience. 00:22:11.500 --> 00:22:15.619 I felt at the beginning, like when we went across 00:22:15.619 --> 00:22:18.460 the threshold, you know, there's this huge. cedar 00:22:18.460 --> 00:22:22.700 tree and really beautiful. And, um, you know, 00:22:22.740 --> 00:22:26.220 I was like, listen, I'm, I'm so tired. And I'm 00:22:26.220 --> 00:22:30.619 like, I feel like I'm unworthy of your counsel, 00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:34.319 red cedar. Like I'm too drained. She was like, 00:22:34.339 --> 00:22:38.480 you know, there's this, like, just lay down, 00:22:38.519 --> 00:22:43.319 just lay down here. And, uh, and so I did, I 00:22:43.319 --> 00:22:46.720 like lay, I just napped for a long time like 00:22:46.720 --> 00:22:50.359 snuggled up on my sofa here in this space and 00:22:50.359 --> 00:22:54.160 then also just laid there and then then eventually 00:22:54.160 --> 00:22:58.660 she kind of swept me up in her trunk and to the 00:22:58.660 --> 00:23:03.539 very top and we looked out over this forest that 00:23:03.539 --> 00:23:06.579 was glistening with raindrops and sunshine and 00:23:06.579 --> 00:23:10.079 this setting sun and the you know the mist kind 00:23:10.079 --> 00:23:13.809 of coming off the trees the way it does and The 00:23:13.809 --> 00:23:18.710 message was just around enjoying, like just enjoy, 00:23:18.990 --> 00:23:23.730 just enjoy this. You don't have anything to prove. 00:23:23.930 --> 00:23:31.670 Like just enjoy your experience of life. And 00:23:31.670 --> 00:23:35.130 on that call, when I was sitting with Red Cedar, 00:23:35.230 --> 00:23:39.769 my experience started by entering into the center 00:23:39.769 --> 00:23:44.619 of a giant trunk. kind of hovering midway up 00:23:44.619 --> 00:23:48.579 the trunk and i felt i had a choice i could either 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:52.279 go up or down and i decided that i needed to 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:56.740 go down so i started falling pretty quickly but 00:23:56.740 --> 00:24:00.119 also gracefully and I wasn't scared. I was just 00:24:00.119 --> 00:24:03.859 falling and falling and surrendering fully with 00:24:03.859 --> 00:24:06.200 no fear. I mean this was a huge trunk so I was 00:24:06.200 --> 00:24:10.420 falling for a while and I was caught at the bottom 00:24:10.420 --> 00:24:15.980 on the very soft forest floor with just like 00:24:15.980 --> 00:24:20.240 layers and layers of red cedar. branches and 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:24.299 leaves and just the softness of that and i was 00:24:24.299 --> 00:24:30.279 invited to rest and things were clearing up and 00:24:30.279 --> 00:24:33.740 out of me through the trunk up to the sky but 00:24:33.740 --> 00:24:36.859 mostly i was just resting she wanted me to be 00:24:36.859 --> 00:24:41.200 in this space of rest so then i can help others 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:45.579 rest more fully too and the energy felt light 00:24:46.359 --> 00:24:51.200 and graceful amidst the sturdiness of her trunk. 00:24:52.240 --> 00:24:56.519 Many people also have the experience of having 00:24:56.519 --> 00:25:00.059 their hair or their body stroked by red cedar 00:25:00.059 --> 00:25:04.240 fronds. And it's been so fun to go back and gather 00:25:04.240 --> 00:25:06.740 all of this information for this podcast because 00:25:06.740 --> 00:25:09.680 this is something I didn't realize was a common 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:12.039 theme until I went back to my experiences and 00:25:12.039 --> 00:25:14.440 other people's experiences. But there is this 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:20.200 theme of her fronds gently lovingly gracefully 00:25:20.200 --> 00:25:24.960 lightly caressing us and helping soften the nervous 00:25:24.960 --> 00:25:29.940 system red cedar is a beautiful support for anxiety 00:25:29.940 --> 00:25:37.420 she is one of the best that i know of for helping 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:43.319 calm anxiety and bring us into that sense of 00:25:43.319 --> 00:25:47.900 being held and sturdy, and stable, and centered. 00:25:49.460 --> 00:25:53.980 This is not to say that Red Cedar is good or 00:25:53.980 --> 00:25:57.319 will heal all of those experiences, and this 00:25:57.319 --> 00:26:00.319 podcast is definitely not giving you any health 00:26:00.319 --> 00:26:05.619 or medical advice, but Red Cedar can bring us 00:26:05.619 --> 00:26:09.079 home into our bodies and help us land, and how 00:26:09.079 --> 00:26:12.400 often that does support feelings of anxiety. 00:26:13.769 --> 00:26:19.869 In regards to the cedar fronds stroking and caressing 00:26:19.869 --> 00:26:23.569 people, in my very first sit with her in 2010, 00:26:23.769 --> 00:26:27.549 I had that sensation of being caressed and soothed 00:26:27.549 --> 00:26:32.710 by the fronds. And in 2011, during a meditation 00:26:32.710 --> 00:26:36.529 with cedar where my mind was just going all sorts 00:26:36.529 --> 00:26:40.519 of places and very scattered, I felt... Red Cedar 00:26:40.519 --> 00:26:44.079 just completely stopped my mind. And she laid 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:48.160 me down on her bows and started brushing me with 00:26:48.160 --> 00:26:52.279 a bow, soothing and clearing my body and mind. 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:56.059 And she started tapping on my heart and singing. 00:26:56.160 --> 00:27:00.589 And I just remember being so peaceful. And, you 00:27:00.589 --> 00:27:02.289 know, so I've, I've mentioned a couple of stories 00:27:02.289 --> 00:27:05.529 where she's come into my heart and I feel there 00:27:05.529 --> 00:27:09.309 is a very heart centered component to her medicine. 00:27:09.470 --> 00:27:12.470 And like I mentioned earlier, there is an affinity 00:27:12.470 --> 00:27:15.210 for the respiratory system and the lungs and 00:27:15.210 --> 00:27:17.569 the whole chest area. So I think that's part 00:27:17.569 --> 00:27:19.690 of it. She just really likes working in this 00:27:19.690 --> 00:27:23.430 area of our body and helping clear and open up 00:27:23.430 --> 00:27:28.900 the chest in general. And it's reminding me of 00:27:28.900 --> 00:27:33.119 a dream that I had with Red Cedar. I think it 00:27:33.119 --> 00:27:43.400 was in 2023 where I had just woken up and I was 00:27:43.400 --> 00:27:45.559 falling back asleep. So I wasn't quite asleep 00:27:45.559 --> 00:27:48.920 yet. So I was really lucid the whole time. And 00:27:48.920 --> 00:27:52.680 I had this experience of just being. pulled super 00:27:52.680 --> 00:27:57.420 fast from my feet like barreling through time 00:27:57.420 --> 00:28:00.599 and space and I was pretty scared because it 00:28:00.599 --> 00:28:04.000 was a very palpable physical sensation and I 00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:07.839 had this sense like I could land anywhere in 00:28:07.839 --> 00:28:11.079 the universe and so I started calling in protection 00:28:11.079 --> 00:28:14.059 I started calling in the directions and the elements 00:28:14.059 --> 00:28:18.220 around me but I could feel a trust in it at the 00:28:18.220 --> 00:28:21.569 same time I was protecting myself and then underneath 00:28:21.569 --> 00:28:25.029 it I was like I'm going somewhere important is 00:28:25.029 --> 00:28:30.869 how it felt and through the blackness of space 00:28:30.869 --> 00:28:36.309 I start to slow down because I was moving very 00:28:36.309 --> 00:28:40.589 fast I start to slow down and I see the outlines 00:28:40.589 --> 00:28:46.450 of trees in the distance and I come closer and 00:28:46.450 --> 00:28:52.940 I then get pulled up into right in between the 00:28:52.940 --> 00:28:58.220 trunk of the tree and the the fronds so I'm hovering 00:28:58.220 --> 00:29:02.500 in the middle of the tree facing outwards towards 00:29:02.500 --> 00:29:06.240 the the leaves and the boughs and I could just 00:29:06.240 --> 00:29:10.579 see the outline of the leaves and this they were 00:29:10.579 --> 00:29:15.339 white it was like a white crystalline pattern 00:29:15.339 --> 00:29:19.200 of the leaves almost like they were snow but 00:29:19.200 --> 00:29:23.180 they were just the leaves and I start just spinning 00:29:23.180 --> 00:29:27.220 around very slowly in this very calm peaceful 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:33.759 realm and I was like oh my gosh here I am this 00:29:33.759 --> 00:29:37.539 is red cedar I think it's red cedar and I kept 00:29:37.539 --> 00:29:41.880 looking up to the top of the tree and confirming 00:29:41.880 --> 00:29:45.279 it was red cedar and i was so excited to just 00:29:45.279 --> 00:29:48.599 be there with her and you know again i'm lucid 00:29:48.599 --> 00:29:52.380 this whole time and when i'm lucid in dreams 00:29:52.380 --> 00:29:57.500 i i often can pull myself out of them if i'm 00:29:57.500 --> 00:29:59.660 not careful so i was just trying to be really 00:29:59.660 --> 00:30:06.859 really present and watch the scene unfold and 00:30:08.559 --> 00:30:11.859 the spinning around the trunk in this very slow 00:30:11.859 --> 00:30:18.079 graceful manner began to start to fade and I 00:30:18.079 --> 00:30:22.079 had this thought of like oh no I'm leaving or 00:30:22.079 --> 00:30:25.319 I'm being pulled out and then at that moment 00:30:25.319 --> 00:30:28.819 I become I'm kind of like pulled right into the 00:30:28.819 --> 00:30:32.140 center of the trunk and it's like this home and 00:30:32.140 --> 00:30:37.829 I see red cedar she has this very round face 00:30:37.829 --> 00:30:40.470 she's all green different shades of green her 00:30:40.470 --> 00:30:47.130 hair is the is the fronds and she's this beautiful 00:30:47.130 --> 00:30:51.950 grandmother figure but not beautiful in the conventional 00:30:51.950 --> 00:30:56.430 sense and she says don't worry I'm not going 00:30:56.430 --> 00:31:01.220 anywhere and she beckons me to lay down on a 00:31:01.220 --> 00:31:04.359 table and then she tells me that she's gonna 00:31:04.359 --> 00:31:10.279 work on opening my chest fascia and that was 00:31:10.279 --> 00:31:13.900 it that was the dream and it was so powerful 00:31:13.900 --> 00:31:18.220 and again just in the dream she's working on 00:31:18.220 --> 00:31:22.700 my chest and helping me open that that fascia 00:31:22.700 --> 00:31:25.779 and just this message of I'm not going anywhere 00:31:25.779 --> 00:31:33.240 I am here I'm with you. And it was so powerful. 00:31:34.960 --> 00:31:39.380 Something else we often find with Red Cedar is 00:31:39.380 --> 00:31:43.779 she often shows us other plants to work with. 00:31:44.039 --> 00:31:49.140 She's very community oriented. And there have 00:31:49.140 --> 00:31:51.759 been so many examples of this over the years. 00:31:52.059 --> 00:31:55.400 The first time I sat with her in 2010, I was 00:31:55.400 --> 00:31:59.740 shown... her holding space for all the other 00:31:59.740 --> 00:32:04.119 plants and she's you know one time she told me 00:32:04.119 --> 00:32:07.400 to take her with yarrow she's brought in many 00:32:07.400 --> 00:32:09.640 other plants over the years for me and other 00:32:09.640 --> 00:32:13.819 people who have sat with her just showing them 00:32:13.819 --> 00:32:16.299 like oh you might want to work with this plant 00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:23.039 she's kind of that matchmaker between members 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:27.210 of her ecosystem and she's also brought in animal 00:32:27.210 --> 00:32:32.269 guides as well particularly owl for me and someone 00:32:32.269 --> 00:32:36.250 else in this month's plant wisdom circle also 00:32:36.250 --> 00:32:41.069 had owl come in for her too so you know again 00:32:41.069 --> 00:32:45.990 this sense of community ecosystem minded the 00:32:45.990 --> 00:32:51.339 way we're all interwoven and interconnected And 00:32:51.339 --> 00:32:55.980 maybe most frequent or interwoven of all the 00:32:55.980 --> 00:33:02.079 themes is the sense of being held, which is common 00:33:02.079 --> 00:33:06.299 for a lot of plants. But with her, you just really 00:33:06.299 --> 00:33:10.259 feel it because she's so big and wide and sturdy 00:33:10.259 --> 00:33:16.420 and grounded, and you really can trust in her 00:33:16.420 --> 00:33:21.109 holding you. There's also... an aspect of her 00:33:21.109 --> 00:33:26.230 medicine that is very clearing and like i mentioned 00:33:26.230 --> 00:33:30.009 in the physical medicine of stimulating and warming 00:33:30.009 --> 00:33:35.250 and clearing and moving blood there is a sense 00:33:35.250 --> 00:33:41.029 of rising energy alongside the grounding energy 00:33:41.029 --> 00:33:48.670 connecting us to the stars and the sky And I 00:33:48.670 --> 00:33:54.890 see Red Cedar as this pillar of center that allows 00:33:54.890 --> 00:33:59.329 us to feel our deep interconnectedness with the 00:33:59.329 --> 00:34:02.250 depths of the earth and the expanse of the sky 00:34:02.250 --> 00:34:08.250 and how our bodies, like Red Cedar, are channels 00:34:08.250 --> 00:34:13.389 for the magical qualities of above and below. 00:34:15.179 --> 00:34:19.920 And Red Cedar helps us anchor in our center so 00:34:19.920 --> 00:34:24.340 that we can be the channel for these energies. 00:34:24.539 --> 00:34:28.960 And you'll hear a little bit more about some 00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:33.400 of those themes of the stars and moving energy 00:34:33.400 --> 00:34:38.820 a little bit later. So to tie these all together, 00:34:38.940 --> 00:34:44.829 when you feel so held in this way, You remember 00:34:44.829 --> 00:34:49.929 you're not alone. And also you come home to yourself. 00:34:50.769 --> 00:34:54.050 There's an inner stillness that can be accessed, 00:34:54.150 --> 00:34:59.329 an inner centered truth. And then everything 00:34:59.329 --> 00:35:03.909 external sort of falls away. Anything that's 00:35:03.909 --> 00:35:07.829 not the heart of your own stillness and center. 00:35:08.289 --> 00:35:11.110 And in that way, you become more aligned with 00:35:11.110 --> 00:35:14.260 your heart and your soul's truth. You can listen 00:35:14.260 --> 00:35:16.699 more deeply to your own wisdom and the wisdom 00:35:16.699 --> 00:35:19.840 that wants to come through you. And you can feel 00:35:19.840 --> 00:35:23.579 yourself as a part of the wider ecosystem of 00:35:23.579 --> 00:35:26.940 the earth and the stars. And for many of us, 00:35:26.960 --> 00:35:32.420 the first step towards that is to rest. So now 00:35:32.420 --> 00:35:35.260 I'll share a little bit about other people's 00:35:35.260 --> 00:35:38.679 experiences at the Plant Wisdom Circle this month. 00:35:38.679 --> 00:35:43.599 And you can... see how they weave into all these 00:35:43.599 --> 00:35:47.000 themes we've talked about. So this first person 00:35:47.000 --> 00:35:52.639 felt like the ancestors, their ancestors are 00:35:52.639 --> 00:35:57.300 being drawn here by Red Cedar and felt like Red 00:35:57.300 --> 00:36:02.420 Cedar exists out of time. Like Cedar has always 00:36:02.420 --> 00:36:08.300 known him before birth and Red Cedar felt like 00:36:08.300 --> 00:36:12.079 a healer to him. And that Cedar wants to particularly 00:36:12.079 --> 00:36:17.400 help him with healing ancestral trauma and healing 00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:21.420 those relationships and feeling like she can 00:36:21.420 --> 00:36:25.219 help him and his ancestors feel whole again, 00:36:25.340 --> 00:36:30.909 which I think is so beautiful. weaving in that 00:36:30.909 --> 00:36:34.170 experience of the strength that comes through 00:36:34.170 --> 00:36:37.570 from those ancestral relationships and really 00:36:37.570 --> 00:36:41.550 helping him be able to find and feel that strength 00:36:41.550 --> 00:36:46.630 and support again and he was feeling bad about 00:36:46.630 --> 00:36:50.929 drawing so much support and energy from her but 00:36:50.929 --> 00:36:54.980 then he was shown the analogy of the ocean And 00:36:54.980 --> 00:36:58.159 an ocean of power that is so immense that it 00:36:58.159 --> 00:37:02.820 almost feels endless. This next person came into 00:37:02.820 --> 00:37:05.500 the meditation hoping for some guidance and support 00:37:05.500 --> 00:37:09.880 around mothering. And she immediately felt like 00:37:09.880 --> 00:37:12.400 she was being rocked in a branch like a baby. 00:37:12.760 --> 00:37:16.420 And it felt a little playful. And then Red Cedar 00:37:16.420 --> 00:37:20.460 was saying to her, you are a mother and you are 00:37:20.460 --> 00:37:25.179 you. I am a mother and I am me. You already know 00:37:25.179 --> 00:37:30.860 mothering, so we can just play. And then she 00:37:30.860 --> 00:37:35.119 looked down and her bottom half was all roots 00:37:35.119 --> 00:37:39.619 and she felt very warm in the roots and her cheeks. 00:37:39.820 --> 00:37:44.539 And Red Cedar told her, you've forgotten to look 00:37:44.539 --> 00:37:50.469 down and you are as old as me. And then she noticed 00:37:50.469 --> 00:37:54.630 their roots entangled and felt a flirtatiousness 00:37:54.630 --> 00:37:57.750 and this feeling of them being lovers so many 00:37:57.750 --> 00:38:01.909 times. And again, this sense of ancientness of 00:38:01.909 --> 00:38:06.409 time and being known far beyond this lifetime. 00:38:06.750 --> 00:38:09.969 And it was very pleasurable and joyful and felt 00:38:09.969 --> 00:38:14.489 really light to her. And this kind of reminds 00:38:14.489 --> 00:38:19.719 me of the person who was sharing. earlier from 00:38:19.719 --> 00:38:22.659 the circle of interbeing who felt like red cedar 00:38:22.659 --> 00:38:24.960 could just see her essence and she just knew 00:38:24.960 --> 00:38:28.619 her the same way of just being seen in that way 00:38:28.619 --> 00:38:32.420 and another person at the plant wisdom circle 00:38:32.420 --> 00:38:37.659 curled up into red cedar's branches and was expressing 00:38:37.659 --> 00:38:43.739 some grief to her because she hadn't she had 00:38:43.739 --> 00:38:47.489 just uncovered or discovered their friendship 00:38:47.489 --> 00:38:51.650 and their relationship and how their friendship 00:38:51.650 --> 00:38:54.349 has gotten so deep in such short a short amount 00:38:54.349 --> 00:38:57.570 of time but feeling the grief around how long 00:38:57.570 --> 00:39:02.989 it took to become this deep together and Red 00:39:02.989 --> 00:39:05.849 Cedar was offering her the message of you've 00:39:05.849 --> 00:39:08.710 been laying on my roots your whole life I've 00:39:08.710 --> 00:39:11.889 been here all along this is just a new chapter 00:39:11.889 --> 00:39:15.650 of this relationship so that seems similar to 00:39:15.650 --> 00:39:20.110 me, that same essence of the message there. Someone 00:39:20.110 --> 00:39:24.889 had the experience of playfulness again and the 00:39:24.889 --> 00:39:29.210 lightness coming into and being shown a prism 00:39:29.210 --> 00:39:32.769 in a window with the rainbow dancing all around 00:39:32.769 --> 00:39:39.730 the room and the amazingness of one small thing 00:39:39.730 --> 00:39:45.150 creating so much whimsy and felt This sense that 00:39:45.150 --> 00:39:49.110 when you're so held and relaxed, you're able 00:39:49.110 --> 00:39:53.750 to play. And then was shown images of children's 00:39:53.750 --> 00:39:57.449 books and this message of, I got you. You can 00:39:57.449 --> 00:40:02.010 relax and play and live into that sweet energy. 00:40:04.590 --> 00:40:08.889 Another person had playful energy come up as 00:40:08.889 --> 00:40:13.440 well. The taste of the medicine felt familiar 00:40:13.440 --> 00:40:17.039 and felt like it was spreading through her tongue 00:40:17.039 --> 00:40:22.760 like roots. And she had a sense of cedar saying, 00:40:22.940 --> 00:40:26.480 when it's raining, you can shelter here under 00:40:26.480 --> 00:40:30.079 me. She also had the message of not needing to 00:40:30.079 --> 00:40:32.940 change what she's doing, but how she's doing 00:40:32.940 --> 00:40:36.519 it. And the encouragement to rest. Again, the 00:40:36.519 --> 00:40:41.280 rest comes in. For her, it was in both body and 00:40:41.280 --> 00:40:45.019 spirit, rest in both her body and her spirit, 00:40:45.079 --> 00:40:48.840 giving herself over to Red Cedar and Red Cedar 00:40:48.840 --> 00:40:52.239 caressing her hair. Again, that theme comes in 00:40:52.239 --> 00:40:56.800 and just being held. And for her, it was overwhelming 00:40:56.800 --> 00:41:02.239 how beautiful it felt to be so held. And the 00:41:02.239 --> 00:41:07.000 final message for her was, you can do hard things. 00:41:07.800 --> 00:41:14.199 rest and find joy in it as well. This next person 00:41:14.199 --> 00:41:18.940 experienced a very playful and bright energy 00:41:18.940 --> 00:41:25.219 and had red cedar boughs hanging over and touching 00:41:25.219 --> 00:41:30.699 her face and caressing her cheek and a very deep 00:41:30.699 --> 00:41:35.469 sense of support. Very grounded. And again, this 00:41:35.469 --> 00:41:38.969 message of I got you no matter what. No matter 00:41:38.969 --> 00:41:42.389 what decision you make, I'll be here. This person 00:41:42.389 --> 00:41:46.110 was grappling with the decision of what to do. 00:41:46.150 --> 00:41:49.090 And Red Cedar is just like, I got you. Whatever 00:41:49.090 --> 00:41:54.090 you do, I'll be there. And the message to ground 00:41:54.090 --> 00:42:00.030 into the wisdom that this land holds. This next 00:42:00.030 --> 00:42:03.849 person felt deep support. curled all the way 00:42:03.849 --> 00:42:07.949 down into a ball and felt like they were sinking 00:42:07.949 --> 00:42:11.469 into the soil and into the roots and felt like 00:42:11.469 --> 00:42:15.949 a little baby bunny so safe and held inside the 00:42:15.949 --> 00:42:18.750 roots and then she'd kind of pop back up into 00:42:18.750 --> 00:42:21.369 her head and start thinking and then was just 00:42:21.369 --> 00:42:25.550 gently brought back down into the soil and read 00:42:25.550 --> 00:42:28.349 cedar saying no matter what this space is always 00:42:28.349 --> 00:42:34.510 here for you This next person felt a really strong 00:42:34.510 --> 00:42:38.909 sense of home and also the grief of leaving home, 00:42:39.170 --> 00:42:43.789 but a confirmation that home is always here and 00:42:43.789 --> 00:42:47.949 the home of being in her body and feeling her 00:42:47.949 --> 00:42:53.030 own heart and every aspect of her physical presence 00:42:53.030 --> 00:42:59.019 and remembering the feeling of holding her dog's 00:42:59.019 --> 00:43:02.400 body close to hers and feeling her heartbeat 00:43:02.400 --> 00:43:09.019 in her hands and on her body and she cried when 00:43:09.019 --> 00:43:13.300 she realized how much love is in that connection 00:43:13.300 --> 00:43:18.059 point between her palms and her dog's heartbeat 00:43:18.059 --> 00:43:22.079 so the beauty of this connection through the 00:43:22.079 --> 00:43:28.889 heart and This idea that every moment is rich 00:43:28.889 --> 00:43:35.849 with so much to notice, that it is a lifetime 00:43:35.849 --> 00:43:40.769 of things you can notice, even if you stay still 00:43:40.769 --> 00:43:46.590 and at home forever. This idea of Every moment 00:43:46.590 --> 00:43:49.010 is home and there's a million things in this 00:43:49.010 --> 00:43:53.389 one moment. And there's endless time in endless 00:43:53.389 --> 00:43:57.309 presence. This next person felt like she approached 00:43:57.309 --> 00:44:00.610 Red Cedar very pointedly, like she was an arrow, 00:44:00.769 --> 00:44:04.349 compact and pointy. And after a while, she felt 00:44:04.349 --> 00:44:07.309 Cedar inviting her to let that shape go. And 00:44:07.309 --> 00:44:10.710 then she just spread out and widened. And after 00:44:10.710 --> 00:44:13.800 a while, she could feel Cedar. bringing her down 00:44:13.800 --> 00:44:18.239 through vibratory layers, helping her deepen 00:44:18.239 --> 00:44:22.239 the structure that she felt herself to be. Then 00:44:22.239 --> 00:44:24.519 Cedar started to show her where she has this 00:44:24.519 --> 00:44:29.239 idea of who she is and feeling all this pressure 00:44:29.239 --> 00:44:32.840 to keep up with this idea of who she needs to 00:44:32.840 --> 00:44:36.139 be and all the ways she's not keeping pace and 00:44:36.139 --> 00:44:38.679 all the ways she sets herself up for failure. 00:44:39.679 --> 00:44:42.320 carrying this idea of who she should be, like 00:44:42.320 --> 00:44:45.480 it's who she is, but then she doesn't fully live 00:44:45.480 --> 00:44:49.659 up to it. And so she fails. But if she can just 00:44:49.659 --> 00:44:54.699 release the idea and live more from her authentic 00:44:54.699 --> 00:44:58.599 self and just be in her heart, that's who she 00:44:58.599 --> 00:45:04.400 is. And she isn't so much of an idea as she is 00:45:04.400 --> 00:45:08.960 a beingness. And in that space of her own beingness, 00:45:09.139 --> 00:45:11.539 she's not failing because there's nothing to 00:45:11.539 --> 00:45:17.500 fail. So how beautiful is that? And this person 00:45:17.500 --> 00:45:23.739 had tons of grief come up and movement in the 00:45:23.739 --> 00:45:26.920 chest and the lungs and the heart and the sense 00:45:26.920 --> 00:45:30.190 of being in the soil and the earth. and getting 00:45:30.190 --> 00:45:33.750 pulled up and stretched out inside of the trunk, 00:45:33.829 --> 00:45:38.269 tall and wide and expansively, and had this message 00:45:38.269 --> 00:45:44.250 come in of self -acceptance. And Red Cedar wanted 00:45:44.250 --> 00:45:49.349 for her to keep merging with her and expanding 00:45:49.349 --> 00:45:55.659 high up to the sky while staying grounded. So 00:45:55.659 --> 00:46:00.360 we see this theme of Red Cedars medicine also 00:46:00.360 --> 00:46:05.559 connecting us up to the stars and the sky that 00:46:05.559 --> 00:46:10.539 comes through occasionally. And like I mentioned 00:46:10.539 --> 00:46:13.440 earlier, this idea of coming back into center 00:46:13.440 --> 00:46:16.659 and being that pillar that is connected above 00:46:16.659 --> 00:46:21.690 and below. Staying grounded and centered while 00:46:21.690 --> 00:46:24.929 also understanding and knowing that we are star 00:46:24.929 --> 00:46:31.610 beings. And she helps us really embody the spiritual 00:46:31.610 --> 00:46:35.670 nature of our truth here on Earth. This knowing 00:46:35.670 --> 00:46:38.269 that the Earth isn't separate from the stars. 00:46:38.550 --> 00:46:42.949 And she shows us how to stay anchored here while 00:46:42.949 --> 00:46:47.469 connecting up to a more refined structure or 00:46:47.469 --> 00:46:52.019 blueprint of who we are. On one of the forest 00:46:52.019 --> 00:46:56.940 medicine trips in 2014, someone had the experience 00:46:56.940 --> 00:47:01.539 of the energy rings of cedar pulsing up and up 00:47:01.539 --> 00:47:04.460 and up towards the sky, this really powerful 00:47:04.460 --> 00:47:09.300 way and then arcing back down and around grounding 00:47:09.300 --> 00:47:15.400 into the earth. And someone in Call into Darkness, 00:47:15.579 --> 00:47:18.440 the six -week plant spirit medicine course I 00:47:18.440 --> 00:47:23.000 run in the dark six weeks of the year, a couple 00:47:23.000 --> 00:47:26.820 years back she had this experience of connecting 00:47:26.820 --> 00:47:31.079 with a star, which she said was actually a planet. 00:47:31.900 --> 00:47:35.699 And she was told by Red Cedar that she was a 00:47:35.699 --> 00:47:38.460 seed from this star that was planted on Earth. 00:47:38.659 --> 00:47:42.079 And she had never heard the term star seed before, 00:47:42.239 --> 00:47:46.260 which is really interesting. And she was being 00:47:46.260 --> 00:47:53.179 radiated with waves of neon red magnetic energy, 00:47:53.519 --> 00:47:57.920 almost like an all red bright psychedelic light. 00:47:58.019 --> 00:48:02.059 And the waves were... going to the center of 00:48:02.059 --> 00:48:06.280 Mother Earth. And she kept hearing in her meditation 00:48:06.280 --> 00:48:10.880 that everything about me is medicine. My words, 00:48:11.019 --> 00:48:15.719 my work, my actions, my smile, my love, my presence. 00:48:16.460 --> 00:48:20.420 And this was really powerful for her to understand 00:48:20.420 --> 00:48:24.860 and know that her medicine is her. Everything 00:48:24.860 --> 00:48:27.079 about her is her medicine. It's kind of this 00:48:27.079 --> 00:48:30.820 idea of The more we align with the authentic 00:48:30.820 --> 00:48:35.199 truth of our soul print in this body, the more 00:48:35.199 --> 00:48:37.780 we just are home in our medicine for the world. 00:48:39.079 --> 00:48:43.619 And finally, one last share from the plant wisdom 00:48:43.619 --> 00:48:49.599 circle that also ties into my share. This person 00:48:49.599 --> 00:48:53.679 was being told that we're all supporting one 00:48:53.679 --> 00:48:57.510 another. When something is built so perfectly, 00:48:57.809 --> 00:49:02.250 everyone can hold everyone else and we can all 00:49:02.250 --> 00:49:06.269 hold each other. So it's the intention and the 00:49:06.269 --> 00:49:11.849 integrity of the structure that matters, which 00:49:11.849 --> 00:49:19.349 I find so beautiful, this idea of the ecosystem 00:49:19.349 --> 00:49:24.349 and how we're all supporting one another. And 00:49:24.349 --> 00:49:27.949 how it doesn't ever feel like too much of a burden 00:49:27.949 --> 00:49:32.650 when we're all sharing that load if the structure 00:49:32.650 --> 00:49:38.929 is built soundly. And that reminds me of something 00:49:38.929 --> 00:49:43.869 in my share. So I'll share about my plant wisdom 00:49:43.869 --> 00:49:47.969 circle experience now. If you recall back when 00:49:47.969 --> 00:49:51.269 I shared about my experience just a couple weeks 00:49:51.269 --> 00:49:54.429 ago in... the circle of interbeing membership 00:49:54.429 --> 00:49:57.550 call where i entered into the middle of the trunk 00:49:57.550 --> 00:50:01.369 and decided to go down this time when i took 00:50:01.369 --> 00:50:04.769 the medicine i felt immediately like it was time 00:50:04.769 --> 00:50:08.730 to go up and so i started shooting up and up 00:50:08.730 --> 00:50:11.429 and up towards the stars and it honestly felt 00:50:11.429 --> 00:50:15.909 so similar to that dream experience when i was 00:50:15.909 --> 00:50:21.119 just flowing super fast through time and space 00:50:21.119 --> 00:50:25.579 it was kind of that same movement there's a lot 00:50:25.579 --> 00:50:29.019 of very fast movement but i felt really protected 00:50:29.019 --> 00:50:34.300 and held and in this shooting upwards i still 00:50:34.300 --> 00:50:37.880 felt very grounded like i felt very connected 00:50:37.880 --> 00:50:43.579 still to my body but here in the starry realms 00:50:43.579 --> 00:50:49.920 i was shown image after image of pure crystalline 00:50:49.920 --> 00:50:54.619 structures. So crystalline snowflakes and crystalline 00:50:54.619 --> 00:51:01.679 energies and this sense of this perfect delicacy 00:51:01.679 --> 00:51:07.099 balanced with strength of the structures. And 00:51:07.099 --> 00:51:09.880 it felt like she was showing me that this is 00:51:09.880 --> 00:51:14.360 not only her medicine, this delicate and graceful 00:51:14.360 --> 00:51:17.340 strength, but it's also our innate blueprint. 00:51:18.539 --> 00:51:21.699 you know, drawing from this crystalline structure 00:51:21.699 --> 00:51:25.400 of the more universal consciousness or maybe 00:51:25.400 --> 00:51:28.599 the crystalline structure of our soul's energy 00:51:28.599 --> 00:51:33.239 and how balanced and harmonized and beautifully 00:51:33.239 --> 00:51:38.980 structured it is. And it reminded me of the person 00:51:38.980 --> 00:51:45.519 Cher who was talking about the idea that when 00:51:45.519 --> 00:51:51.820 a structure is So harmoniously set with intention 00:51:51.820 --> 00:51:55.699 and integrity, then everything is supporting 00:51:55.699 --> 00:51:58.539 everything else and everyone's supporting everything 00:51:58.539 --> 00:52:01.400 else. It kind of reminded me of that same idea. 00:52:02.300 --> 00:52:06.119 And I could just feel her helping us connect 00:52:06.119 --> 00:52:09.659 with the crystalline energies of who we are at 00:52:09.659 --> 00:52:13.079 our truth. And then kind of simultaneously while 00:52:13.079 --> 00:52:15.619 that was happening, I was also very present in 00:52:15.619 --> 00:52:21.460 my body and I could. and feel her delicate bows 00:52:21.460 --> 00:52:26.840 and fronds caressing me and I felt so held and 00:52:26.840 --> 00:52:30.900 loved and like the fronds and the leaves were 00:52:30.900 --> 00:52:33.840 coming into my chest and opening up my chest 00:52:33.840 --> 00:52:38.000 and my heart space and the entire center there 00:52:38.000 --> 00:52:43.440 and feeling so much spaciousness entering into 00:52:43.440 --> 00:52:47.039 my chest cavity. And almost like I was being 00:52:47.039 --> 00:52:52.699 hollowed out. And I had this sense that Red Cedar 00:52:52.699 --> 00:52:59.280 was channeling star beings and that she was helping 00:52:59.280 --> 00:53:04.239 us open up our channel to do the same. And this 00:53:04.239 --> 00:53:08.280 song came into my head with the words, she is 00:53:08.280 --> 00:53:11.940 the mother of all life here on earth over and 00:53:11.940 --> 00:53:14.820 over and over again. That was repeating. And 00:53:14.820 --> 00:53:22.440 this sense of this great mother who is the mother 00:53:22.440 --> 00:53:26.739 of all life residing here on earth in this form 00:53:26.739 --> 00:53:33.699 of red cedar. And I asked her if she had a message 00:53:33.699 --> 00:53:39.679 for us, for you. And what she really wanted us 00:53:39.679 --> 00:53:44.769 to do is to be slow with one another. to make 00:53:44.769 --> 00:53:50.090 eye contact, to hold eye contact, to have gentle 00:53:50.090 --> 00:53:56.949 touch, to be present. Like the power and the 00:53:56.949 --> 00:54:02.230 grace of that and how healing it is. And the 00:54:02.230 --> 00:54:06.349 image I saw with this was soft, slow falling 00:54:06.349 --> 00:54:13.010 snow and how all of those delicate snowflakes 00:54:13.599 --> 00:54:20.199 piled up create such a heavy strength. This lightness 00:54:20.199 --> 00:54:25.380 that's also very grounded. And so just being 00:54:25.380 --> 00:54:30.920 present with each other with the likeness of 00:54:30.920 --> 00:54:36.059 snow, which I was very surprised by that that 00:54:36.059 --> 00:54:41.280 was her message. So taking a moment to breathe 00:54:41.280 --> 00:54:48.170 that all in. All of this swirl of Western Red 00:54:48.170 --> 00:54:53.949 Cedar experiences and teachings and wisdom. And 00:54:53.949 --> 00:54:58.030 just noticing how it feels in your body to have 00:54:58.030 --> 00:55:02.789 listened and to have received some of the medicine 00:55:02.789 --> 00:55:07.110 and the teachings of her. Taking a moment to 00:55:07.110 --> 00:55:10.920 close your eyes if you can. and inviting Red 00:55:10.920 --> 00:55:13.719 Cedar here more intentionally to be with you, 00:55:13.820 --> 00:55:18.559 breathing her in, seeing if you can call her 00:55:18.559 --> 00:55:25.800 spirit here to be with you. So just to sum up 00:55:25.800 --> 00:55:31.019 a little bit, Red Cedar is a powerful being of 00:55:31.019 --> 00:55:35.280 the center, of helping align us with our true 00:55:35.280 --> 00:55:40.139 nature, not just as earth beings, in these bodies 00:55:40.139 --> 00:55:44.760 but as star beings and helping us anchor into 00:55:44.760 --> 00:55:48.840 that innate soul blueprint that we can then bring 00:55:48.840 --> 00:55:53.559 down and embody and find a sense of home with 00:55:53.559 --> 00:55:57.619 in and through our lives the more present we 00:55:57.619 --> 00:56:01.300 are here the more we get to embody and bring 00:56:01.300 --> 00:56:07.300 this soul print this blueprint into lived earth 00:56:07.300 --> 00:56:12.659 experience And she wants us to rest, rest more, 00:56:12.800 --> 00:56:16.320 go slower, knowing that who we are is enough. 00:56:16.780 --> 00:56:20.699 She wants us to feel held and supported and loved. 00:56:21.300 --> 00:56:25.000 She wants to be an ally who can take the gunk 00:56:25.000 --> 00:56:28.900 we've accumulated and help compost it and transmute 00:56:28.900 --> 00:56:33.079 it, help us clear space in our bodies and in 00:56:33.079 --> 00:56:38.519 our lives so we can be slower we can be more 00:56:38.519 --> 00:56:41.059 present we can be aligned with the ecosystem 00:56:41.059 --> 00:56:45.719 and so we can really live our truth in this world 00:56:45.719 --> 00:56:49.679 and also to find some lightness through it all 00:56:49.679 --> 00:56:54.619 some playfulness and joy in embodying the vastness 00:56:54.619 --> 00:56:59.360 of our soul blueprint here she wants us to own 00:56:59.360 --> 00:57:04.739 our place not just with strength but with levity 00:57:04.739 --> 00:57:10.360 as well thank you so much red cedar for all of 00:57:10.360 --> 00:57:14.260 the wisdom you've imparted to me and to this 00:57:14.260 --> 00:57:17.679 community and to so many others over the years 00:57:17.679 --> 00:57:20.920 we're so grateful to you and all you channel 00:57:20.920 --> 00:57:24.380 for these lands and all the medicine that you 00:57:24.380 --> 00:57:28.280 bring all the time for us and for the earth thank 00:57:28.280 --> 00:57:33.519 you so much If you want to connect with the plants 00:57:33.519 --> 00:57:37.079 in this way, all you need to do is to go outside 00:57:37.079 --> 00:57:41.219 to find a plant or a tree like red cedar and 00:57:41.219 --> 00:57:44.679 open yourself up to listen. It's really simple 00:57:44.679 --> 00:57:49.440 and it's in your bones. It's in your DNA. It's 00:57:49.440 --> 00:57:54.719 so ancestral to every human here on earth. The 00:57:54.719 --> 00:57:58.639 plants long for this connection with us. So please 00:57:58.639 --> 00:58:02.789 go out. and open your heart to them. And if you 00:58:02.789 --> 00:58:06.610 want to learn from me, I have a pre -recorded 00:58:06.610 --> 00:58:10.550 one -hour masterclass called How to Connect with 00:58:10.550 --> 00:58:13.309 Plant Consciousness Without Psychedelics, and 00:58:13.309 --> 00:58:16.650 a free community space to begin connecting with 00:58:16.650 --> 00:58:21.610 my work and a lot of other plant people. I trust 00:58:21.610 --> 00:58:24.829 that any way you choose to move forward with 00:58:24.829 --> 00:58:27.789 your relationship with the plants, is going to 00:58:27.789 --> 00:58:31.909 be meaningful to both you and them. So until 00:58:31.909 --> 00:58:38.530 next time, may you rest. May you move slow. May 00:58:38.530 --> 00:58:41.610 you feel the ways in which you are so held and 00:58:41.610 --> 00:58:46.550 supported. May you be light and graceful and 00:58:46.550 --> 00:58:51.469 strong and sturdy, aligned with your truth, home 00:58:51.469 --> 00:58:55.170 in your body. Thank you for joining the Plant 00:58:55.170 --> 00:58:58.130 Wisdom Circle. May the teachings of the plants 00:58:58.130 --> 00:59:00.809 continue to ripple through your life, guiding 00:59:00.809 --> 00:59:03.849 you and nourishing you in the days to come. If 00:59:03.849 --> 00:59:05.769 you'd like to keep weaving with the plants, you 00:59:05.769 --> 00:59:08.309 can subscribe to the show, leave us a review, 00:59:08.429 --> 00:59:10.510 and share it with others who would love to listen. 00:59:10.949 --> 00:59:13.690 This would mean so much to me and to the plants. 00:59:14.369 --> 00:59:17.170 Make sure to check out the show notes below to 00:59:17.170 --> 00:59:19.849 learn about any links, events, or classes I shared 00:59:19.849 --> 00:59:22.940 with you today. You can find the next Plant Wisdom 00:59:22.940 --> 00:59:26.199 Circle and other classes and resources at groundwaterhealing 00:59:26.199 --> 00:59:30.380 .com. Until next time, may you walk gently with 00:59:30.380 --> 00:59:32.599 the earth, with the plants by your side.