Tree hugging

 

 

Since ancient times humans have treated trees with respect and awe.  Indeed trees were worshipped in some cultures and healing qualities ascribed to them. It was not uncommon the God or gods where worshipped (for instance, by the Jews) in tree groves.

 

So what message does a tree transmit. Well the answer is simple. A tree states: ‘I’m a tree’, period! And since ‘the meaning of a message is the response it gets,’ any other meaning than ‘I’m a tree’ happens courtesy of, hence as superimposition by, the observer. For, as the ancient Greek stoic philosopher (ca. 55 to 135 AD) Epictetus opined:

 

“Men are not moved by things but by the views which they take of them.” 

 

From which follows that you can use a tree (or a stone, a mountain, the ocean, a religious icon, your neighbour’s lizard, you partner, you priest or accountant) to move you (to wit, reconfigure and thus reset your biological navigation system and thereby your physical setting to a more promising initial state) any which way that helps you achieve an imagined (hence virtual) as desirable outcome. In short,

 

1.    You can confide (your unresolved hence chronic, thus traumatic (because self-harming) unresolved conflicts) in a tree (stone, mountain, priest and so on), meaning you can use a tree to confess (thus emotionally discharge and thereby let go of the stress of an unresolved conflict and become free (i.e. liberated, enlightened and so on).

2.    You can use a tree as a projection screen, meaning, you can develop and intensify any emotion deemed beneficial, positive (for instance, love) or negative (for instance, anger) and offload it onto (for instance by hugging) the tree (i.e. plant, priest, pet parrot, partner, punching bag and so on).

3.  You can interact with a tree (i.e. your grandmother’s fake Ming vase) stone and so on) as tree, in a stress neutral way, hence remaining (almost) unmoved. Such non-moved (meaning neutral stressor) interaction puts you (as does mindfulness meditation) in a zero data/stressor impact coma/trance/sleep state (to wit, a short nap or holiday) and which allows your brain and body to recover and recuperate to a more wholesome biological response state.

 

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