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The Art of Tree-Hugging

by Ernst Johannes Soltermann

Although it might seem odd at first, hugging a tree is a beautiful and profoundly healing experience. Our brothers in the vegetal kingdom can teach us many things, and especially how to feel the inner, spiritual connection that exists between all creatures on earth.

Do you deem it odd, hugging a tree? Well, then you are in good company. I thought so, too. But you may as well feel naturally drawn to trees or plants, embrace them as a normal expression of your Self.

There are many ways to live a life. And there are as many ways to approach a tree. I tend to touch trees whenever I walk by one. It's an urge I try to follow without drawing too much attention from bystanders. It feels to me like touching an old friend. It feels like healing.

Rediscovering a Natural Relationship

Having a natural, relaxed relationship with plants and nature is something not everyone of us grew up with, feeling no barrier between you and other living creatures like bugs, your parents, grasses, classmates -- or a tree. (You may have climbed one but that does not imply that you really connected with it.)

As a kid I used to "swim" through summer meadows, flowers around me rising higher than I was. So it was natural for me to regard them as equals. On the other hand, I've watched kids throwing stones at cats or geese, or cutting with their knives through trees barks as if killing and hating was the most natural way of things.

Looking closer we can discover that trees are open for us. We humans may have our intellects stronger developed; but the trees have an easier time fitting into living connectedness between all creatures. So we both have something to offer each other.

It is widespread knowledge that older cultures like many Native American tribes or peoples in New Guinea or Australia are deeply in touch with the mysteries of nature. And -- like all so-called mysteries -- the deeper we go the less a mystery they become. It's direct experience.

"Natives" of the world connect to their "sisters and brothers" trees like you and I connect to a relative. These people may have a hard time to handle modern, hectic city life, but they sure are rich in openness towards the Life-Stream, perceiving all participants in the Great Game as interconnected.

How to Hug a Tree

Great things are simple. What are great things? Going to the woods, for instance. Experiencing their soothing effect. I remember how out of place I felt there at first. As a city boy, I was not prepared. But over the years I opened up. Trees helped me a great deal on my way. Especially the tall ones. I find their might encouraging.

Go to the woods. Possibly alone. However you feel comfortable. But you shouldn't have to feel watched or embarrassed. That's why alone is better at first. Take a stroll. Calm down from your speedy pace. Breathe as deeply as you want. Take your time. Relax. Stop worrying.

Pause at the tree, touch it with your hand, or lean against it. Listen to your heartbeat. Then feel the tree. It will respond to you in time. You may not see or hear it right away, but you may know it. Sense it in a way. It's an inner communication rather than an outer. And it's not spooky at all. Rather silence, filled with something.

That something is the Life-Force, flowing between you and the tree. Why is it beneficial to connect to a tree? Besides the feeling of calmness and joy which many of us experience by just being near trees, it's also that trees are much more simple than we are.

We get lost in our complicated minds and in our emotional bodies littered with tensions. Hugging a tree is one of the most beneficial ways I know of to get back on track.

Most trees are open like kids. That means that we are responsible for not only meeting our own needs but also realizing that we are moving in a two-way street. It is an exchange. It is a simple touch, joy in what we do, which is love.

Breathe the beauty. Touch a tree whichever way you like it (except a hurtful one). Stay with it as long as you want. Don't push, and remain gentle with yourself. It is your birthright to be happy, inside, and trees are glad to share on the way.

Back to our roots

Many of us specialize in the Western Adult Consciousness, which prompted us to un-learn how to feel ONE with creatures around us, be it people, animals or plants. We don't roll over the grass freely any more, but instead sit on a plastic chair and type into our computers, feeling "cutoff."

Sometimes we think it is easier to take a Prozac instead of loving ourselves and being patient with ourselves. It's not about escaping modern life with its challenges and going back to the "stone-age." It's balancing ourselves. About going home. Our real home. Where all things meet. Where we all come from. And where we all belong.

If you feel drawn to a tree, give it a hug. The tree might need it as much as you do. Some of the greatest spirits on earth, like Alexander the Great or the Tibetan master Milarepa were tree-lovers. They hugged them, they thanked them, and they even talked to them.

So you are in good company.

Copyright © 1997 E. Johannes Soltermann