Expanding the Tree Torus

Expand the tree's torus from the shift of material and energy to associations between the tree and other organisms: between other trees, between insects and the tree, between birds and the tree; between people and the tree. Cycle all of these associations through the torus flow.

As you think of the flow of relationships, focus on how the elements and energy flow from the torus of one being to the other. For example, oxygen from the tree entering you, carbon dioxide from you entering the tree, each becoming part of the other. Insects eating the leaves, the elements and energy from the leaves becoming the insects, the insects being eaten by birds, the bird droppings returning the phosphates and nitrates to the earth. The great multitude of creatures in the soil turning dead leaves and branches into themselves and then into fertile soil for the tree and its seeds.

As you think of each of these other beings, the birds, the insects, yourself, shift the focus of the torus from one to the other and be aware that as you do this you can also shift your viewpoint from your own torus to theirs. You can visualize the tree as the bird sees it, entering into the flow of awareness of the bird. The more you know about the bird, the more accurate your own visualization of what the bird is experiencing.

Finally, gather some broken branches and leaves from the tree and burn them. As they burn, see the smoke as the water and carbon and oxygen escaping from the old form of the tree. The ashes left over are carbon and trace minerals like phosphate, copper, etc. Some of these leave as particles in the smoke, too. The heat and light you will recognize as the light from the sun, escaping.

All of this is very easy to see if you make your fire in the evening and just look into the flames. You will see the spirit of the tree clearly as it returns to the air, the soil, and the sky.