Divine Nature Revealed

By DR. PETRA WELDES

This article appeared in the August 2022 issue of Science of Mind magazine

Some of my favorite people are trees. From the towering matriarchs of the forest to the ancient twisted alpine spruce, from cathedral groves of moss-covered maples to the solitary pine clinging to sheer rock, each one inspires me to see and be more of myself. I find the strength of being rooted. I find the power of a strong core from which the myriad expressions of myself dance and sway in the wind, bendable and pliable before the storms, yet steadily providing shelter and feast for life around me.

My religion has always been rooted in nature — its beauty, its seasons, its truthfulness, its interconnectedness. Like Ernest Holmes, the transcendentalists, the Romantic poets and the impressionists; like the deeply rooted traditions of native, indigenous and feminine spirituality, I, too, find heaven expressed through Earth and Gaia, the living embodiment of Spirit.

Walk through the woods, clamber over the rocks, sit by the stream, breathe the fresh air, feel the flow of life, vibrant, pulsating, being. Every aspect is a sermon and a poem and a soliloquy to the nature of the Infinite Life eternally pouring Itself in, through and as creation.

Are we listening, reading, sensing, feeling, being Presence? Are we following the advice of Albert Einstein, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better”?

Drink Deeply and Be Nourished

The ocean is the mother of life, with its immeasurable depths that undulate with currents at once formidable and gentle, from which all water comes and to which all water returns.

Every individual drop is part of the circulating currents of the cycle, from vapor to cloud to falling droplets, to brook and stream, river and lake. Everywhere water moves it flows around or through every obstacle, nourishing life.

May I be so in the flow. May we sit by the brook and hear the voice of joy babbling regardless of anyone listening. Rest by the pond or placid pool in the river and feel the peace of quiet. Notice how the reflections of the clouds change only the surface, while leaving the depths unchanged. Toss in as large a rock as you can manage and let the sound and splash and ripple bring excitement, even laughter, while everything effortlessly returns to calm and poise.

Drink deeply, and let your soul be nourished by the truth revealed.

Ceaseless waves, from the lapping of the lake to the crashing surf, are rhythmic, powerful, yet surprisingly restful. Are waves and shore in conflict, like the meeting of an immovable object and an irresistible force? Or are they caressing and creating together a teeming incubator of tide pools, coral reefs and countless phytoplankton that feed a staggeringly huge chain of life? Yes, the storms are huge, but the surf calls us to ride the waves, balancing and rejoicing in the dance of power and flow.

A Trek to Deeper Insights

Mountains, silent sentinels of presence, are ever beckoning the climb, the strenuous action of scaling, surmounting and overcoming, all the while providing moments of breathtaking grandeur and intimate surprises. On my first hike, carrying a weekend backpack up a long, steep climb to a saddle over which we would arrive at the most gorgeous valley, carpeted with wildflowers along meandering streams, I witnessed the watchfulness of snowcapped peaks.

Here I learned the value of gratitude. Every agonizing step offered an opportunity for despair and pain weighing more than the 65 pounds on my back. I began to practice saying one thing I was grateful for with every step. Hard at first, this litany of gratitude became the wind beneath my feet so that when I reached the top, I found myself surprised and elated.

I made it, despite the obstacles and challenges. I endured, and the mountain rewarded me with an exhalation of crystalline air, pure snow and dancing breezes.

So many times I’ve felt that steady strength pour through me as I’ve faced life, knowing that every climb in consciousness is rewarded by a larger vista, a shifted perspective and a deeper insight into the truth of how life really works. As Sylvia Plath wrote, “I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery—air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘This is what it is to be happy.’”

Divine in Every Step, Every Breath

Flowers – what a riot! What in the world does Spirit need with so many types, sizes, colors and even varieties within varieties? Ahhh yes, an Infinite Life needs an infinite number of ways to express Itself. Each type unique, precious and beautiful, never completing with any other type, from orchid to rose to plumeria. Within each type, every single individual blossom different, on its own time and schedule, swelling in bud until it simply must burst forth into its own glory — unique, precious, perfect despite the insect nibble or the misshapen petal. Ernest Holmes wrote, “Unity, not uniformity … . Oneness doesn’t mean sameness.”

Why is a violet shy, a mountain proud and a sequoia stately? Because we recognize a way of being being expressed. No flower or tree or mountain requires us to be present for it to have value or to express itself. Nature is not for our consumption but for “the delight of the Divine,” as Holmes quotes Sri Aurobindo. Walking in nature reveals the Divine and Its nature in every step, breath, sense and view.

“A beaver? Are you kidding? Couldn’t it be something majestic, like an eagle? Surely that’s more appropriate, don’t you think?” These were my thoughts after my first shamanic journey to meet my totem or spirit guide. Discovering my spirit guide would help me access a deeper understanding of myself and my relationship with life, I was told. But no one told me it would be disappointing.

Until I listened to what Beaver had to say: “I am a builder of spaces and places where life flourishes, where all are welcomed and where my work contributes to transformation that helps life thrive.” Oh, well, yes, that pretty much sums up what I believe is my mission in life. Who knew? I realized that leading with Beaver rather than Bear (fierce and protective), who more properly belonged at my back, made me less intimidating and more approachable. Since then, I’ve discovered Doe (alert and shy) at my left and Panther (powerful and focused) at my right, Hawk (visionary guide) circling overhead and Mouse (curious and intelligent) running incessantly around my body and the bodies of those with whom I do healing work.

Animal medicine is not something we take, nor is it anthropomorphizing. Rather it’s a revelation of qualities, expressions and ways of being revealed in physical form that may inspire or guide us. Animals themselves have so much to teach and reveal about life — Its nature, expression and being. All we have to do is pay attention.

We are all living in a world of continual change, a world in which thought, thing and experience are all in a constant state of flux. It is the very nature of the universe that there should be continual change and variation.

It is a living world, the creation of a living creative Intelligence, not a static world created by a God now dead or departed who has left it to decay. No. It is vital and alive. The Mind that created it is not apart from it, but is always active in and through it.

But behind that which changes, behind that which causes the change, we have found that there is something stable and changeless, Something eternal upon which all of the external events depend for their very existence. Behind the endless process of change and the infinite variety of experience and expression there is That which does not change. — ERNEST HOLMES, “A NEW DESIGN FOR LIVING”

For me, learning about ecosystems and studying them in person opened the doorway to the revelation of oneness, unity, interconnectedness, presence, purpose and my place in the whole. I discovered I belong in the universe. I am necessary and important, just like you. And, just like you, who I am and what I do matters and makes a difference.

Everywhere we look we see that nature is lavish, abundant, extravagant. Nothing is ever lost to God; everything that manifests goes back into an unmanifested state to appear again in a different form. No matter how much we take out of the Universe, if we take out with one hand we have to put back with the other because the Universe is everywhere and it is one system. — ERNEST HOLMES, “CREATIVE LIVING”

Is not all this Divinity precious and worth every ounce of our work to preserve it?