...lets talk about Trees please?

Trees, forests, nature are central to my Jedi path.

In "raw" nature we are immersed in an immanent and richly immediate experience of the interconnecting Force.

The forest is my Temple.

forestjedi wrote: Trees, forests, nature are central to my Jedi path.

In "raw" nature we are immersed in an immanent and richly immediate experience of the interconnecting Force.

The forest is my Temple.

Glad your still around Stu. May the Force continue to be with you.

https://www.templeofthejediorder.org/forum/Clergy/123569-a-modern-day-jeddist-book-of-change-a-shepards-journal

Feel free

Eqin Ilis wrote:
Living where I do, I notice I have a connection to two species that are frequently overlooked and under-represented. Mesquite and manzanita. Mesquite was once common in my area of desert, and has little seed-pods that make excellent rattles, in an area with rattlesnakes. The closest thing I can think of in public consciousness is cedar, because it just comes to mind instantly as a tree that drives off negativity, and is dead useful for nearly everything. I have many rattles I collected from a healthy mesquite tree near me. (They all dropped off naturally, and were not in a natural environment.) Manzanita is a gorgeous twisted thing with incredibly hard wood, and a brilliant red bark. It tends to have a lively feel, full of hummingbirds and bees. Looking at it feels like a reminder of summer, even in the cold. It's also hardy and fire-resistant, which feels like a lesson in resilience and beauty, especially with the most recent fire and the prevalence of manzanita in that area.

I'm so glad you have that relationship with mesquite! It's hard to believe that it was cherished widely by native Americans of the southeast, but now many people view it as little more than a weed. There are so many tree species where we've forgotten the relationship we used to have with it. Where I live (Iowa), Honey locust, mulberry, and Osage Orange (in the southern part of the state) are viewed as invasive weeds, but they can be processed into sweet breads, delicious jams, and stout bows, respectively. Not to mention all the benefits they provide to wildlife. Another book I'd recommend is "Tree Crops" by J. Russell Smith. The book is almost 100 years old, but the author talks about how we can rekindle our ancient relationship with trees in the "modern" world. Each chapter is devoted to a single species of tree - and he discusses its awesome history as well as ways it can be used in industry and agriculture. Eqin, it would be worth reading just for the chapter on Mesquite!

Also Carlos, I understand how certain smells can be connected with certain livelihoods. I spent two summers chainsawing cedars out of prairies (where they are considered an invasive species) and as a result I love gin :laugh: . The deep smell of cedar, or a refreshing drink of gin, reminds me of long days spent in the prairie among good companions.

Stu said it best. Forests are a conduit that grounds us to the present Force. Especially after a deep rain, when the saturated soil seems to breath with a host of fragrant smells and water drips from the branches. The line between human and forest diminishes and I (we) feel the closest to truly connected with the Force.

Carlos, I feel you on how prickly mesquite can be. lol That tree demands its space, like a grumpy old man. I think that was another reason we associated the rattles of the tree with the rattles on the snake. Rattlers aren't mean or vicious. They just demand their space, and bad things happen when they aren't respected. I've been lucky to never have a deep scratch or bite from either tree or snake. After I fell into a cactus as a kid, I wasn't taking any chances with other sharp lifeforms. And I think the smelliness and smoking ability was the first thing that made me relate it to cedar. Mesquite smoked jerky is my favorite, and I would use it for my cooking all the time if I could. (It isn't sold here in many stores that I can find, and is rare enough harvesting would be a bad idea.) But the medicinal qualities felt important, too. Like the way cedar is able to drive off moths if you put it near your wool clothes, mesquite "drives off" certain illnesses, at least in an older way of thinking about medicines and sickness. Even if our current understanding of the chemical ability is more complex now, the use is functionally similar in feeling.

I might have to look into that deck, and the book Skryym mentioned, too. I love learning about nature, and as my girlfriend is practicing a nature-based path, we could share in exploring new info. And yeah, around here we always say things like, "you can take the rat out of the desert, but you can't take the desert out of the rat." (Perhaps not the most pleasant name for ourselves, but my little town called all the kids either desert rat or marine brat depending on where they were from.)

To answer your other question, I think mesquite is the only tree seed I have on my altar at the moment. I don't carry them only because they break open in my pocket, but a little sacred space is helpful for things like that. I've been known to carry an acorn for awhile when I find one on a hike in a area with oak, and I like collecting pinecones, too. One of my cloaks has some kind of nut as a button. I don't know the type of tree, but on a visit to Oregon, I found a really good one that was perfectly in half, with the seed part already missing. It really called to me, and the owner of the land we were on said it was very common in that area. So it always reminds me of that trip and the way that particular forest felt.

Thank you, Skryym! This is great, my list of resources keeps growing. Before it was mostly those books you get from National Parks in the gift shops and guides to local plants and wildlife. My family was always big on that kind of stuff. But it is really nice to have an added layer to it, like our ancestors did.

First i ve to tell all of you who have written here , i see you. The first thing i wanted to do after i found the Jedi Temple was to actually write about trees. Then i wasnt very confident and i thought that maybe i would be judged as some kinda weirdo illuminated or what ever else, so you can imagine how glad i was when Carlos shared this link with me.
I spent most of my free time in the forest when i was kid, when JC talked about that grand feeling entering a Cathedral like notre Dame or the Cathedral of Chartres my mind went automatically to the trees, they are my Cathedral. I believe that humans underestimate Trees all too much, when we talk about living beings, plants and trees often do not come in the classification. But they are, plants have feelings in ways , some experiments have shown that they are receptive and sensitive to their environments, plants being exposed to hardcore music, some kind of bulling etc. New research have found that trees are far more than what we thought so far, they communicate one with an other, form alliance, help each otherhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-whispering-trees-180968084/, even it s been found old stomp of a tree long so thought dead still kept fed by his neighbors https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/tree-stump-alive-superorganisms-24072019/. Exemple the Acacia will communicate to his neighbors when a Giraffe for exemple come to graze, he will send an alert signal via his roots so that the other tree will change a chemical in his leaf making them distasteful for the hungry Giraffe.
Beside this, trees are amazing for their extremely long life, only trees are capable to live for thousands of years and by so many human standards a living being who lives for hundreds or thousands of years are some kinds of gods! Just saying .
I am an earth Jedi ,Trees are part of me and i part of them.

Thank you for the post and chat. I do have a circle of trees in my yard. Cedar. I hd always heard of people saying the old saying, "Well I can worship any where I want, when ever I want." The results can be for me forgetfulness. Trees, in my path are great reminders as much as book markers as well. I have one tree I use to remind me of time as per tree and how it differs from my time. One tree reminds me of time, one reminds me of grace and yet another reminds me of potential. All within a glance.
I do think more and more Modern day Jedi tend to have a active "NATURE-istic" balance of some sort. I see it every where. Nature sure is LOUD some days in its silence. Happy seeking.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM0yZFK-I54&t=56s

Not our platform not our rules and it may expire and be subject to all that jazz...



I am still amazed to be able to share this. Without technology how could we? Technology can be a amazing thing. I watched trees for years and remember them. Now we can share them. What a time to live in. What do you think when you see things like this? Any thoughts?
Edit after posting: We just shared 15 years with this tree.
Pastor Carlos

Carlos.Martinez3 wrote: I
Any one actually carry Tree seeds in their pockets purse or sac??
Which and why?.

Juniper, for protection.

I have tree seeds a bit everywhere in the house, some time it s in our pockets (kids and me) if we find a tree that we havent seen before we try collect seeds, let them dry and someday try to germinate them. Not an easy thing really.