Talking With Trees

For years, I have denied that trees communicate with me. Yet, on some level, I knew it to be true. This has been my secret, until now…

It feels good to finally share this experience from my world, which is what Branching Out was birthed for.

I know there are others who share a similar tree-communication experience. I’m not the only one. Perhaps they too, will start to speak up and share. I get it though! I kept quiet for a long time. Initially, I did share my discovery of talking with trees and as you can imagine, it was not received well. I learned to keep quiet. And no longer can I keep quiet! I will now do my best to put this into as simple of words as possible, for it is a hard thing to describe properly, with our current language.

Setting the ‘stage’

Have you ever played with magnets? They are fascinating items. Set two magnets on a surface, apart from each other. Take one and put it near the other one. Does it attract or repel? Reverse the magnet in hand and put it near the other one again. Now what does it do? Are you able to see or easily describe the magnetic power that is causing the pull or push of the other magnet? Most of us cannot.

Certainly there is someone or perhaps a pet, whom you love so deeply, that when apart, your hearts yearn for one another. You know that feeling, right? A feeling of love. Can you see love or easily describe it? No. And that is how it is with me and trees. There is something about trees that draws me to them. Like a magnetic pull. As many of you know, I have always been a lover of nature…but there is something special about the trees of my world. They easily grab my attention and capture my heart. Trees literally call to me. Not in words. It’s an internal thing, like a true love.

My first ‘talking tree’ experience

Many, many years ago, I was walking the woods when movement caught my attention. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a leaf on a tree that was moving. Just one leaf, the rest were still. “Huh, how ’bout that? Must be wind coming from somewhere”, I justified and went on my way. That moment has always stuck with me. What caused that leaf to move?

Since then, I have seen many leaves move precariously, which I would justify, be amazed by and then move on. Until one day about five years ago, when I was walking the woods of northern Michigan…

One thing northern Michigan has, is lots of trees and this trail was no exception. I was maybe a mile or so into my walk, when I saw a leaf moving. This time, I just stood there, spellbound, watching the leaf flitter and flutter as if by its own power. {…by its own power… its own power… own power…} I wondered if anyone else ever saw such a thing. And I asked the tree, “How do you do that?” And the fluttering leaf stopped. I moved on, but the essence of that leaf stayed with me.

I do not recall at what point I stopped being ‘amazed’ with the free-moving leaves and sometimes, branches. Somewhere along the way, I accepted their movement as their way of saying, hello. Eventually, the day came, when I reflectively responded to a free waving leaf with something like, “Hi! Are you waving at me?” And I kid you not, that leaf started waving faster. I instantly felt a connection with the tree, deep in my heart and knew I was in love. A new kind of love. This was very exciting and expansive. Soon, more leaves and more trees were waving and dancing with joy. It was a full blown fiesta and I cried. I finally understood! And my heart began to grow.

Now, when I am near trees, I no longer wait till I see a leaf, leaves or branches moving. Quite often, I am the one to initiate conversation and the trees reciprocate. To this day, I continue discovering new things about trees.

New discoveries…

In the past month, I discovered that trees love music. I was parked under a large weeping shade tree, with branches hanging low. I had music playing. Movement caught my eye again and I glanced up to see the branches dancing to the beat. So, I turned up the music and they danced harder, while nearby branches joined in. I was captivated. Was this really happening? Then suddenly, there were nearby sirens from emergency vehicles and the branches stopped moving, even though the music was still playing. They remained motionless, until the sirens began to fade away, then they resumed dancing to the music again. Yep, this was really happening.

Another thing that is really happening, is science, as they continue changing what they first thought to be true in our world. Just as you should always question everything you thought to once be true. Do you know that science has recently discovered that trees have a heartbeat? Yes, it is true! Beats about once every two hours, that’s why it was easily overlooked. They now know it is not osmosis that moves water through a tree. Read more about it HERE.

Also, you can find several articles about how trees communicate with each other both above and below ground. Learn about their friendships, how they feed their young, what steps they take to warn others of danger. When we know that trees communicate with one another, then my sharing that trees and I communicate, certainly must not be all that surprising. Right?

That is where I will ‘leaf’ off at. As I said early on, I know that I am not the only one who communicates with trees. Does what I share, start to ring true with you? I’d love to hear about your tree experiences.

Thank you for being here with me,
ren