“Cherish the natural world, because your are a part of it, and depend on it."

“There is a serene and settled majesty to woodland scenery that enters into the soul and delights and elevates it, and fills it with noble inclinations.” - Washington Irving

1. Trees, some over 80 years old, are called Mothers as their roots are connected to every tree around through a network of fungi.A Mother tree feeds her community as long as she lives.Trees are telling us,  "We trees are not individuals; we are a forest family, and a forest takes care of its own",  
2. Trees exhale phytoncides, chemical defense compounds that boost our immune system when we breathe near them. The roots of Oak trees ground us deeper than Pine. The tree you are drawn to might be exactly what your nervous system needs that day.  
3. When America was starving and broken FDR gave millions of men shovels instead of breadlines. They became Roosevelt's Tree Army, planting 3 billion trees, and building the parks we love today. 

“Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”- Franklin D. Roosevelt

4. More than 20 African countries have joined together to plant a giant belt of trees to stop the spread of the Sahara Desert. Called the "Great Green Wall' it will stretch west to east across the continent.
5. Remember the slogan, "Go paperless, save trees, save the planet"?  Now we have gone digital, and it is consuming enormous amounts of water, destroying ecosystems, harming bees, and contributing to environmental damage on a scale trees never did.
6. A single large tree can release up to 100 gallons of water into the air thru transpiration in just one day, cooling the surrounding area as effectively as approx 5-8 small air conditioners running for 20 hours
7. Children who are raised in rural areas with animals and nature are 55% less likely to develop psychiatric disorders than urban children.  They develop a much stronger immune system as current research indicates thatseeing the color green slows heart rate, the scent of trees decreases anxiety, and hearing birds sing improves focus.  
8. Maine school offers students a choice; sit in detention for 3 hours, OR take a guided hike through nature. The overwhelming majority are choosing the trail and teachers say the impact is life changing.

“Be as useful as a tree! Give life to others; be shelter to everyone; grant fruits to all! Be good like a tree!” — Mehmet Murat Ildan

At a star-studded black-tie gala in London, Sir David Attenborough took the stage to receive a Global Impact Award. But instead of the gentle wisdom everyone expected from the legendary broadcaster, Attenborough delivered a moment of truth. He looked out at a room full of people whose net worth could transform entire nations, and said:   

“I’ve spent my life observing the natural world, and what I see today frightens me more than ever before. Looking around tonight… it feels wrong, doesn’t it?” ……….“We’re sitting here drinking champagne that costs more than what some families survive on in a year, congratulating ourselves for being ‘visionaries.’ But if you possess this much influence, this much wealth, and you are not helping the people and the planet that are truly suffering… then all of this becomes little more than performance.”    The ballroom went completely silent. They didn’t clap right away. Truth lands differently when it comes from someone known for calm wisdom rather than confrontation.

The ancient masters of cooperation,kindness & Healing. Judith Polich

Scientific research has completely revolutionized how we think about trees. 

“Scientific research has widened our understanding of formerly hidden worlds, and allowed scientists to ‘see’ precisely what happens deep below the forest floor down to a cellular level.. They have determined that plants not only communicate, but also cooperate. These technologies allow us to see with a new level of consciousness and analyze the complex dynamics of plant communities. We know of complex signaling pathways (communication networks) do exist between tree roots and fungi, and we can observe their interactions.

James Cameron, in his movie "Avatar," brings this to light. The Hometree is a gigantic, ancient tree serving as the ancestral  communal home for the Omaticaya clan of the Na'vi, one of many massive trees that could be found on Pandora.. It was over 20,000 years old and over 985 feet tall, roughly same height of Giant Sequoias and Coast Redwoods formerly in Northern California. Its vast root system is part of a planet-wide network that connects all living things.  The Hometree symbolizes the clash between the indigenous way of life and the human exploitation of Pandora's natural resources. Although the Hometree in "Avatar" is fictional, it serves as a compelling symbol for interconnectedness, spirituality, and the delicate balance of ecosystems.

After the destruction of Hometree the Omataikaya were forced to flee to the sacred tree of the Tree of Souls on foot to protect their cultural identity. The Tree of Souls, a giant weeping willow-like tree, is the most sacred place of the Omatikaya clan being considered their closest connection to Eywa, (the Eye of God) on Pandora. Spiritually, this tree connects to Eywa, the planet's goddess or spiritual force, through a network of bioluminescent tendrils. These tendrils work similar to synapses, allowing the Na'vi to link their minds to the tree and, by extension, the whole planet.

Trees live a long time hundreds of years.  They will stand in a forest for their entire life with their roots intertwined with those of neighboring trees  and communicate with each other, share food, and defend each other. “It’s true  trees will compete for sunlight, but their care for the community  transcends any individual competitiveness.  They are careful not to grow thick branches in the direction of a neighboring tree, They don’t take anything more than they can utilize from their other ‘tree friends’ and in fact, will transfer food and nutrients to them. Trees share resources under the ground at the root level, so they all can produce the same amount of sugar per leaf.  Sugar nutrients are transferred to those who are lacking through their roots.” 

 The earth’s forests are under assault around the world. Forests are essential to our survival. Not only do they soak up rainfall, feeding streams and rivers and mitigating floods and droughts, but they also absorb and store carbon. That makes them a key ally in our battle against climate change. Cutting them down—at a rate of 13 million hectares a year, an area roughly the size of Greece—sends more carbon into the atmosphere than all the world’s cars, trucks, buses, airplanes, and ships. It’s also devastating to biodiversity. Forests are home to more than 80 percent of the plant and animal species that live on land, many of which teeter on the brink of extinction. “We need to remember the forests even outside the Year of Forests,” Shiva insists.

Trees filter out toxic chemicals from the air.  Forest absorb about a third of global emissions every year.

“It’s pretty clear from the research done in the last 30 years or so that the well-being of a tree depends on the well-being of the forest community,  Balance, harmony, and cooperation are the keys to survival, not ‘survival of the fittest’.

ENTS - means Giants  They were tree-like creatures who over millennia became more and more like the trees they herded  Usually very peaceful, patient, deliberate beings, they became angry and marched to the tower of the evil sorcerer Saruman, whose army had been cutting down a large number of their trees. Ents were very strong, "Their punches can crumple iron like tin, and they can tear apart solid rock like breadcrusts."  During this assault, they destroyed the dams built by Saruman's minions and flooded the place. Following this, the Ents intercepted the huge army of invading Orcs. With their huge size and feet as roots they chased the violent orcs,  crushed them to death with their massive feet of roots and demolished Saruman’s army.

We tend to see things not as they are but as we are. Becoming quiet like a tree and simple inside is a first step to seeing things truly. When I work with other people, I learn to understand them and learn more about myself and I, like a tree learn to use my strengths to support others. If trees had souls, the quality most attributable to them would be gentleness. Gentleness is not a lack of strength but a quality which doesn’t disturb, doesn’t push, yet knows its power and can provide protection and shelter.

God provides spiritual energy and nature provides physical resources.  We human beings represent both God and nature.  It is up to us to apply both these resources and build Heaven, the World of Happiness.  Heaven is not merely a world of palaces, beautiful gardens, spring-like weather, and an abundance of wealth.  It consists of much more; a society living together with love, happiness and harmony.  To build such a world can become a reality if we understand apply the science of both physical and spiritual energy. If I want more roses in my garden, I start planting them. If I want more love in my life, I start spreading it. Surround yourself with what you like by continuously generating it!

Physical energy is governed by the law of entropy, a law of deterioration.  However, spiritual energy is governed by the law of reverse entropy, a law of rejuvenation. We can move the declining order into a rising curve by applying the law of reverse entropy found in spiritual energy, a dynamic force that does wonders through meditation. We say love can move mountains and love can melt a stone. Happiness generates pro-active energy in the mind and body and brings success in personal, family and professional life.

Meditation Effect of Vibrations on Environment. What is it about meditation?  It is not just working on the mind but meditation allows the highest and deepest qualities innate deep within the soul within our very core being to emerge and be expressed.  Meditate longer and longer, the more peaceful you become and even impact the atmosphere and other people, animals, nature.  Ex of GS.  Acquired it because milk families found soil infertile and not nourishing their cows so came and asked us if we could take it.  And now so many beautiful flowers, trees, plantation of fruits, apples, mangoes sub, and kilos of them ad veg and in just a few years the land had become fertile, What happened. Positive thoughts and feelings through  Vibrations can change everything.

“The Ancient Masters of Cooperation, Kindness & Healing”

1. A new memorial effort is putting roots in the ground across the country. Called Together We Grow, the initiative aims to plant 3,000 trees across the United States to honor each of the lives lost 25 years ago on 9/11." "A tree is a simple but powerful symbol of that remembrance. It gives us a chance to honor the past while doing something good for the future.  The project's first tree was planted at a 9/11 memorial in New York City at Battery Park. From there, the plan extends nationwide. “Together We Grow is about coming together, caring for a place we share, and creating something living that continues to grow for generations.
2. If trees have personalities, then Ginkgo biloba is a wise old warrior, survivor of eons of change and catastrophe. When the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, six Gingko trees were the few living things to survive within a short radius of the blast site—and they’re still standing today. Thus, the Japanese regard the gingko as “the bearer of hope”, also known as “the survivor” and “the living fossil.” Ginkgos grow slowly and can live to be 3,000 years old; their energy is put toward defense rather than rapid growth.  As a medicinal, Asian cultures have used them for thousands of years to improve blood flow, memory and eye health, among other benefits.  The stress of an urban environment doesn’t phase a gingko; it makes a fantastic street tree that far outliving the trees around it. With fan-shaped leaves glowing gold in the fall, gingkos weather big storms, tolerate pollution, aren’t picky about soil and are virtually pest free.
3. Tongass in Alaska is the largest intact temperate rain forest left on Earth, and the single greatest carbon sanctuary in our entire national forest system, - the chainsaws are coming for this last untouched forest in America! The current administration moved to cut down the Roadless Rule, the 25-year-old line standing between the saws and roughly 45 million acres of national forest that has never been cut, drilled, or paved. Ground no bulldozer has ever scarred. Its headwaters feed clean drinking water to tens of millions of Americans and protect around 81,000 miles of rivers. A grove of thousand-year-old trees is not forest management or inventory. It is sacred ground, and the desecration is permanent. Once the road goes in and the saws start, no future election, no reversal, no apology brings that forest back. It is gone.

Ref: Why Can’t We Be More like Trees?- Book by Judith Polich- “A remarkable book written so beautifully, it has a healing energy that can be felt through every page.”

 
Sister Chirya is a student and teacher with the Brahma Kumari's World Spiritual University for over 40 years. She is published globally.