Scottish Pilgrimage #5

As I hiked in Abernethy Forest the Scots Pines just kept getting bigger and bigger, too big to take a photo of a whole tree. This old grandmother filled my heart with joy.

Sacred Reciprocity

You may or may not know me. And even if you know me, you may or may not know about the years long ordeal, physical and spiritual that nearly destroyed me and ultimately reforged me and opened my heart to a subtle ongoing ecstasy of communion with the world, an ongoing spiritual practice of healing all that I encounter, myself included, but mostly the earth and all of the beings — human and otherwise — who are part of the web of life. I work with a pulsing breath from the light of the heart of gratitude, expressing gratitude to the rocks, the land, the trees, the plants, the creatures, and being bathed in love and joy in turn. This is the practice of sacred reciprocity, the acknowledgement that we are all in relation, all part of a unified web of being.

We live in a time of crisis for humanity, for the earth itself, for the web of life on which we depend, with whom we are inextricably in relationship, whether we recognize it or not. All of us as a species, with a few exceptions are engaged in the deception of self-reliance. It is one of our highest cultural values and it is an absolute delusion that sets the conditions for destruction of the web of life upon which we depend.

As individuals most people I know are overwhelmed and exhausted by the parade of bad news, wars, the reemergence of fascism, and lurking like a giant monster we dare not look at, the ecological disaster unfolding around us, the alteration of the climate, the mass extinction events, and the dawn of new ominous geological epoch, The Anthropecene. 

Most people I know are either stuck in a state of impotent vitriolic outrage, or pulled back into cocoon of willing forgetfulness that seems necessary for to sustain sanity. Those who choose to engage in taking action teeter on the edge of burnout. Some who bring their justifiable anger into the action create further divisions. It’s a gloomy picture.

For me, and for other’s I know who practice sacred reciprocity, it is a deep ecological practice, a deep practice of relationship and a practice that the web of life desperately needs. Long long ago, before we began taming the plants and animals, sacred reciprocity was the way that humans lived, fully integrated into the environment. This at least, is what Leif, my neolithic ancestor and guide let me experience with him. 

While in shamanic trance and spending time with him, he showed me the world as it was, and yes, it was a hard life, but it was a sacred way of living. Leif looked me in the eyes and asked me to create this world again. I have no idea how I, or any other person can do this. But starting with my personal practice of moving from a life of profane sacrilege to a life of sacred relationship, and sharing this practice with others is a start.

If we can start feeling it in our core that we are not separate from life, that humans are not separate from nature, if we can do that the results are that we will be nourished by love and joy, motivated by grief and outrage, and begin to find a way forward.

Personally, what I love most, is trees. When I was a child, I had a special ancient oak tree right in my back yard, whom I called mother, and went to with my trials, and who bestowed me with love. Now, I love to walk in the woods of Rhode Island and admire the oaks and beeches. 

When I was preparing for my pilgrimage to Scotland I read about the ecology of Scotland and learned that much of the landscape, the open hills of endless pasture, is in fact a devastated landscape. All the natural predators have been exterminated, and the deer overrun the landscape. The highlands were once forest, coast to coast. Through logging, through the clearances — in which traditional farmers were evicted and their land turned over to more profitable sheep pasture — along with the grazing of the deer, the forest disappeared. The remaining Caledonian Forest is now only 1% of its past range, with pockets here and there.

Before I started on the West Highland Way I traveled north to the Abernethy Forest to visit and be with this, the native landscape of Scot’s Pine, Yew, Rowan, and a forest floor of heather, blaeberries and mosses. I met pine trees that were hundreds of years old, let my hand sink in to the soft sphagnum moss, I breathed in the clean air and let myself be blown through by the fierce winds in the mountain passes. I was nourished.

Scotland is also a model of what can be done to restore the environment. Through out my walks in the last few days I found many new forests of Scotch Pine and other tree species, which have been planted in the past decades. Each forest, no matter how large is surrounded by 6 foot high fencing, to protect it from the deer, who would otherwise eat the pine seedlings and kill them before they could grow. Everywhere, people are also growing trees on their land, each tree protected by sheathing. There are plans to reintroduce wolves, bears and lynx. May it be so.

I decided to  support the work of Trees for Life, an organization who’s mission is to rewild the Scottish Highlands, through a pragmatic collaborative and innovative approach. If you want to join me in funding a grove of trees, donate on this page (never mind the UK Pounds to US dollars, the conversion will happen automatically) You can sponsor 1 tree for 6 UK Pounds. 

If you want to learn more about the practice of sacred reciprocity subscribe to my blog, or look for upcoming classes I’ll be offering in Living with Joy through Breathing Time Yoga, online and in person in Providence, RI, USA.

I welcome your remarks.

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