Tree Energy

Trees emanate a palpable energy. Stop next to a tree, be quiet, and you can feel it.

In my book, Heaven is a Garden, I have a chapter titled, 'Calling on the Trees'. It touches upon the unsung aspects of our woody grand neighbors. Now, with the public's renewed focus on trees, I feel it is the right time to share a short excerpt from my book with you:

"The Celts of ancient Europe believed that Nemetona, goddess of the grove, resided in the hushed atmosphere of forest glades. She could be found in a needle-covered pine forest, beneath a group of towering beech trees or in a sun-dappled birch grove. These woodland clearings were called nemetons and were seen as being awash with the enchanted energies of trees.

Trees: Nature’s Recharger

The Celts attributed the charged atmosphere of woodland clearings to shunnache, the life energy of trees. Interestingly, this ancient notion is similar to the invisible energy fields of modern physics, and Albert Einstein’s famous equation, E = MC², that states that all matter is made up of light and energy. Perhaps the Celtic shunnache, the Hindu tree devas and Greek dryads are really references to Einstein’s light energy, perceived or sensed by our ancestors. As the popular movie Avatar postulates, trees may be made up of energizing light fibers that permeate the area around it. It would seem that this force field is what uplifts us and gladdens our heart when we are in an undisturbed forest.

The philosopher Edward Carpenter (August 29, 1844 - June, 1929) described a certain tree energy that he encountered in early spring.  He writes that one afternoon, as he passed a particular beech tree, “Suddenly I was aware of its skyward-reaching arms and up-turned finger-tips, as if some vivid life (or electricity) was streaming through them far into the spaces of heaven.” The Chinese call this energy chi. In fact, feng shui practitioners use the chi of healthy trees as a visual barometer to determine propitious locations.  A vigorous tree indicates a healthy area."