The world is full of trees. They are magical beings. I love their slow time, their slow mind. I bought a property with a huge Ficus virens. It was so large I could climb into caverns of the trunk to meditate. During storms, I sat in its wooden body, and at night its auric branches reached out, touching my dreams. I felt like I was sleeping in a nest. Large trees have an incredible presence.
Years ago, I visited the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gayā, and now I had one in my yard. It was a universe of its own. I found myself thinking of it as a teacher, inviting me back to the wild. At the center of the tree was a space, a place, a seat. I imagined it being a portal to other worlds. This is where I would sit in myself.
I imagined branches growing through the top of my head and through my fingers and feet. I would feel my nervous system soften and connect to the tree, linking with a slow wise network of a being feeling and listening to the universe. They say all trees are one; they talk through their roots. I found myself falling into the tree’s inner labyrinth and waking up inside not just this tree, but many trees. This was a journey to other magical trees: the Axis Mundi and the mystical Tree of Life at the center of the Kabbalah.
I found myself browsing through my Mum’s childhood library and found forgotten early editions of The Far Away Tree. (Whispering) Magic is hidden, this is a secret: I am a fairy.