Recently, a CUUPS Gathering featured a ritual and meditation about deep listening to the spirits of the earth around us. Before I started the ritual and meditation there were many questions about what connecting with the spirits of the land meant and how it was done.
I do this in a few different ways, but they all involve deep listening to the world around me. As I explained my methods I remembered when we moved into our new house how I spent hours outside in the backyard inspecting, looking, listening and breathing with the plants, animals and unseen on our property.
Out of that interaction with our new home and land I felt a choking sensation and knew that the trees were crying out for help because the invasive ivy was choking out everything they had. I had already seen the devastation of this ivy on the side yard where an oak tree stood dead due to ivy’s destruction.
In my mind I can do all this, I can live with so much love through deep listening to the land I’m on, but I can’t quickly fix the problem. So I made a promise to my land to listen to it with love and do all that I can to fix it. It will take time and love for my body as well, but that means I’m listening, right?
~Candice Carver
