Lessons from the Aspens
Aspen trees are intriguing to me. Do you know that a grove of aspen trees shares a single root system? That’s right. These magnificent and unique trees share a root system through which they are nourished for greater growth.
Consider this definition from the Aspen Grove Project Organization: The aspen grove is the world’s largest living organism. A single grove can grow large enough to cover an entire mountainside while the trees within the grove are interconnected through their shared root system. Each tree stands as an individual and at the same time is connected to the whole.
It sounds a lot like humanity doesn’t it? We are each so profoundly special and unique and yet we are part of a greater humanity.
For those of us that have
been actively involved with our individual processes of conscious evolution, we can find ourselves experiencing peak mystical moments of conscious awareness that help us remember our true Divine nature.
Add up a few of those moments and you can find yourself motivated to continue your personal journey of awakening with passion and commitment. If you remain dedicated to your awakening, there is a point at which you realize the great awakening is when we all realize our Divinity from the very depths of our being.
Then at this juncture in the spiritual walk, you may find yourself committing to the service of a bodhisattva (one who dedicates their life, throughout lifetimes, in service to the enlightenment of all, so that the suffering of humanity might be alleviated).
Even if you don’t take the vows of a bodhisattva, somewhere deep within most of us know that true freedom occurs when we are all free. And the good news is that when we choose to attend to the evolution of our collective consciousness, we assist in the awakening of our unique selves along with humanity—because we are like the aspen trees.
In my training with my elder, I was taught to attend to my inner development while also growing with and being in service to my spiritual community. I now understand why my elder encouraged attention to growth personally and within community.
There is an evolution of consciousness that occurs with others that simply doesn’t happen in the same way when you are alone. Have you ever gotten up from your private meditation, centered in peace and harmony, to then interact with people around you that were not centered in peace? It’s challenging isn’t it?
Have you ever been with a group of people who were so centered and loving that in their presence you were able to heal old childhood or karmic wounds? Have you ever experienced a group meditation in which you were able to awaken in Divine awareness in ways you had not been able to awaken on your own? Have you ever experienced first hand the healing power of collective intention?
Years ago, I travelled through Egypt with a group of 300 psychics and intuitives. Between the land, the temples, the meditations and prayers, the consciousness of the people of Egypt, and the consciousness of the group I was with, I had multiple peak experiences day after day.
When I returned home, I was changed forever, with a level of awareness that carries me and sustains me even today. As the collective consciousness of the group awakened, so did I. And as one of us awakened so did the collective consciousness of the group.
For too much of my life, I was more concerned about how special I wanted to be. I wanted to be more conscious, more awake, a more powerful healer. It’s true. I was more concerned about my own awakening than I was about others, because I wanted to be special.
It took many years of diligent self-introspection to realize there is no difference. When one awakens, all awaken at some level. My elder helped me greatly when she said to me, “Misa, it can be very lonely being awake among those that are not awake.”
Now I know that true joy occurs when we all awaken. True joy is when we know we are all special—wonderfully special, and yet, we also share one root system—one source of life. We are unique and we are one.
This is one of the reasons I have been so dedicated to holding space for New Dream’s VisionQuest, Rites of Passage Ceremonies, and Women’s Retreat. These are moments we create when, like the aspen trees, our individual and collective consciousness awaken together.
At New Dream we are here to support you in your individual awakening through the Sacred Feminine, and we are also here to hold space for our collective awakening. We look forward to your sacred revelations. Thank you for sharing this aspen grove with us.
