LISTENING TO TREES

I moved to Colorado with my parents when I was 16 years old. Like many young people I was trying to find my place. Life had been a little rocky before the move and I took this as an opportunity to redefine myself. Nobody knew me or my past. I was a clean slate.

My sister inspired me with books. As a gift she sent me a copy of the I-Ching, the Book of Changes. Hungry for new direction, I took this odd yet intriguing book up to a mountain park and sat under some tall trees. I read a little, and then sat. I just sat, unintentionally meditating. 

It must have been spring because I remember patches of melting snow. I remember the smell of the earth and the warmth of the sun. I remember looking up through the trees, realizing I was part of something big, something nurturing. Nature.



Taoist philosophy and TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) observe nature, providing an understanding of where and how we fit in. Connection. These observations go back to ancient times. Early Shamans gained inspiration from animals, from elements, from the stars, from light and shadows, from the seasons.

A common thread connecting all living things is Qi, energy. Qi exists in nature. We cultivate Qi from the foods we eat, from the air we breathe. Practicing Qigong outside connects us with the five elements common in TCM and Taoist philosophy: trees (wood), the sun (fire), the earth, metal (found in rocks) and water. The elements teach us how to get unstuck, how to move. If I’m feeling stressed, I remind myself to move around obstacles like water. If I’m feeling unbalanced, I root myself like a tree and reach towards the sun.

Now, let’s look at this Shaman business.

A Shaman - or wu 巫 in Chinese, is a person who can mediate within the powers of nature. Shamans are viewed as bridges between the natural and the spiritual world. They observe nature, they become what they are observing and gain insight. Shamanism dates back to 40-100 thousand years ago, and is considered to be the oldest spiritual and healing practice known to humankind.

During Qigong practice, we observe and imitate the movements of animals, mythical creatures, swaying trees, streams and ocean waves, children playing, clouds drifting. We learn by becoming these things.





Guidance and inspiration is also drawn by observing the changing seasons and the associated elements.

The most common diagram of the seasons is the circle with the pentagram. We can connect the five elements with a clockwise circle. Wood feeds fire. Fire feeds earth. Earth feeds metal. Metal feeds water. Water feeds wood.

The hexagram in the middle shows the Controlling Cycle. Wood holds earth in place. Earth shapes water flow. Water dampens fire. Fire melts metal. Metal chops wood. Sort of a simplistic view of things, but you get it.

Each element is paired with a season. 

• Wood = Spring: growth. 
• Fire = Summer: expansion, heat. 
• Earth = Harvest (late summer): abundance. 
• Metal = Fall: inspiration and letting go. 
• Water = Winter: stillness, conserving of energy. 

The early Taoists used another model which I’ve grown to love. Earth is in the middle. The other four elements are to the north, south, east and west. This orientation of the elements is rooted in Feng Shui, the art of balancing Yin and Yang to encourage the flow of Qi.

Notice how this diagram shows the association of the organs with the elements.

The four seasons are determined by the equinoxes of spring and fall, and the solstices of summer and winter. Let’s look at four seasons but five elements.





In the Feng Shui model, each of the four seasons lasts ~73 days. Before each equinox or solstice we have ~18 days of earth time. The earth element is nurturing and seeks to draw all things together within itself, in order to bring harmony, rootedness and stability.

Ponder this: 

Winter officially begins December 21-22, but December 4th sure feels more like winter than autumn. We're in that earth time. 

Spring, March 20-21, but we all want to start planting seeds in earlier March. 

Earth times... you get it.


A note about Taoism:

Taoism is a philosophy. You can be Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Atheist, Agnostic… and still be inspired by Taoist thinking and practice Qigong. There are those who practice Taoism as a religion with rituals and icons. Deities, often borrowed from other cultures, are assigned particular roles. But, there is not an omnipotent being, a god.

But, I do bow.

At the end of each Qigong practice session I bow three times. By bowing I am showing reverence and connection.

The first bow is to my teachers which include all living things; the people I study with, practice with, the people and animals and living things that I come in contact with. I learn from all of them.

My second bow is to my body, my biology, the Jing I was born with. Biology shared with children, brothers and sisters, parents, ancestors…

My final bow is to the Tao, the Way, my place in nature, perhaps a collective intelligence. I call it the Tao. The Tao unifies all living things.

This is what I discovered decades ago as a kid sitting under a tree in a park on a mountain on a cool and sunny day with an odd little book about changes.

Collected together, the ethers of the universe constitute a unity; divided they constitute Yin and Yang; quartered they constitute the four seasons; [still further] sundered, they constitute the five elements. These elements represent movement.

-Tung Chung-Shu

Now, go find your tree.