By Jessie Klassen, Wake Up World

As someone who “talks to trees”, I find it incredibly exciting that there is now scientific research to support what our ancient ancestors always knew, that “trees can speak.” The great work of the scientists involved with organizations such as the Heartmath Institute in California have proven that trees are dynamic, multi-faceted beings, capable of not only communicating with one another, but also of feeling emotion and helping and healing one another.

Trees are capable of this kind of relationship with us as well, provided we ourselves are open to the possibility.

Living immersed in Nature all of my life, I have been blessed with the opportunity to grow up in the “school of Nature.”  And I am still learning.  I will always be learning.  Nature teaches us what we are ready to learn.  She is gentle, kind, patient, and ever-loving.  Sometimes she will practice “tough love”, but it is only when we are not hearing her, and is always a last resort.

This past year, I was experiencing great heartbreak here with the trees, as not far from my home, acres upon acres of ancient stands of oaks were being bulldozed for farmland.

I was sick at the sight of these sacred, wise, loving elders being crashed.

Trees are our connection between the Universe and our Earth.  They pull in light, wisdom, and the memory of who we are, and they ground it here for us.  They are the keepers of the ancient knowledge and know the secrets of our Divine lineage.  They store it here for us so that we will not forget.

So suffice to say, the more ancient the tree, the more knowledge and wisdom it holds.

The trees have also shared with me how important it is for them to “ground” these intense cosmic energies into the Earth for us at this time or else we wouldn’t be able to handle them.

Not only that, ironically, they also attract the moisture that the farmers so desperately need for their crops.  They communicate their needs with the Sky and of course, this benefits us.

There has become a sad disconnect between farmers and the land that they farm. While most do have a genuine love of the land, as I have seen, it seems that the ability to cover so much ground in such large machines is making them take more than their share.  It has become out of balance.

Many believe that we need to do this to “feed the world.”  The truth is, we already grow enough food to feed the world, if the food would only make it to those in need.  Not only that, growing massive amounts of GMO crops is not exactly feeding the world quality food.

I thought of all of the beautiful nutrition that was piled up along with those oaks.  The saskatoon trees, cranberries, and hazelnut bushes.  All of that free food that nature was happy to share with us.  Free food with superior nutritional value than anything we will ever grow on that land ourselves.  But it seems if we didn’t place it there, than it has no value to us.

I understand the cry of the farmer.  Land values have soared over the past few years.  Cost of production has soared along with it.  The profit?  It doesn’t match up.  And no incentives are given to not clear land.  Even though we know the value of trees, there are no tax breaks for keeping them there.  Farmers feel that they have to make every available piece of their land grow a crop just to pay for itself.  We want massive fields for our massive machines.  We hate turning around bluffs of trees.  Not that we are in discomfort in these machines.  We are in air conditioning, have GPS, radios, and iPhones to keep us company.  And yet it should be even more simple, like not having to turn at all.  The auto steer on the tractors already makes it so that you don’t have to steer as you drive up and down the field.

I feel the pressure here where I live.  People seem to have this belief that Canada has unlimited trees and wild landscape.  But here in rural Manitoba, it is starting to feel small.  Mega corporate farms and Hutterite colonies who can pay top dollar have driven up the prices to the point that a small farmer cannot compete.

Most farms are not the quaint operations they once were.  I grew up riding my tricycle in the alley way of our barn while my parents milked our cows.  We would have to walk the pasture of our farm to bring these cows up for milking.  I remember exploring these winding cow trails through the trees and hazelnut bushes.  They were magical.  They STILL are magical.  Most farmers are not forming this kind of connection with the land and it is a shame.

Faceless corporate investors who have likely never stepped foot on this soil take their priveliges with our Earth.  People who do not support our small communities in any way, nor care for the landscape.  Yardsites and tree lines vanish as well, as these mega farms and colonies have no use for them.  These places exist only in the minds of those of us who will remember they were ever there.

And what of the people who are selling?  I don’t begrudge people for not wanting to farm.  It certainly isn’t for everyone, but can’t we consider who we are selling to?  And how can you not care?  Many people who have sold around here had inherited their land from their parents.  It was their ancestors before them who had immigrated to Canada for a better life.  This land took care of them, sustained them.  Is there any thanks given back to the land?

It is just a lifeless thing that now funds their retirement and winters down in Texas and Arizona.

Yardsites that took others a lifetime to establish, trees that were there for centuries, all levelled in days.  And it’s not that there isn’t still smaller farmers that would purchase this land for more than they can afford and would take much better care of it.  We are still here and we are certainly trying.  But it seems that this has become a world where money wins, and it is at our own expense.

Not long after that very special bluff of oaks was crashed, I had a dream where I was standing with some of the trees that had been left at the top of a ridge.  I could feel their upset.  I could feel how they missed their family.  They are truly connected and bonded to one another.  They also let me see their surroundings the way that they do.  Once you see the world from the perspective of a tree, you realize just how limited our vision is.  You realize the light that exists within everything.  Trees can see the “sparkle” that lives within all of us, and in all things.  And they can also see how absolutely nothing is “solid.”  Trees see the movement, the rhythmic dancing of the molecules that make up our forms.  They are wise beyond words.  And because they can see the light and the dance that exists within us all, they do not hold hate within themselves.  It simply cannot exist within their high vibration.

The trees shared that land ownership should be regarded more like becoming a parent.  It is a privelige to have this child, and you feel a love for them like you have never felt before.  It is unconditional.  You do not own this child, nor do you want to control them.  You want to nurture them so that they can reach their full potential in the time that you have with them.

I’m not saying that we can’t cut down any trees at all, or that there can’t be fields.  There are certainly ways to farm while being kind.  More than half of the wildlife population has disappeared since the 1970’s.  Leaving tree lines and bluffs of forest and yardsites is crucial to helping them survive.  They need to live somewhere.  They do an amazing job of avoiding us, but in the odd case that they don’t, we become so offended that they came onto “our” property.  Shot for no good reason other than the irrational fear of what they “might do.”  We are the ones to fear.  Unfortunatey, our fear feeds upon itself, as does our greed.  And our appetites will never be satisfied.  As long as the world feeds on greed, the world will starve.

Bush land not far from my farm was being cleared last fall by a man who farms with the money of corporate investors.  His workers had disturbed a mother bear and her 2 cubs from their den, as they were already tucked in and hibernating for winter.

She came out and was growling at their machine.  Her cubs, in terror, ran up a nearby tree.

The men taunted her.  They laughed.  They joked.  Then they shot her and stood smiling around her lifeless body.

Her cubs ran off, destined for certain death as winter approached with no mother to care for them.  I still weep for her as I write these words.

Fortunately, there was someone watching that day.  An elderly gentleman who reported these men.  They received a fine, but was it enough to teach them anything?  Does taking money on people teach them anything when their hearts are hardened?  Ironically, this elderly gentleman is a trapper.  I certainly know a lot of farmers who would not treat an animal with such cruelty, but this shows the disconnect from our Earth by some of the people who are growing the food that we eat.

My ancestors moved here to Tenby in the 1940’s, leaving the dust bowl of southern Manitoba behind them.

My great granny, Maria Klassen, called Tenby, “the garden of Eden,” as it was like paradise to her.  There was beautiful clean water to drink only 6 feet in the ground, wild fruit to pick, bush rabbits and deer everywhere to sustain the family, and trees to fuel the woodstove. (she had to burn dried cow and horse manure where she came from.)

I feel my granny with me and I know that she is concerned for what is happening to our beloved Tenby.  There is a gross imbalance between the Earth and man’s ego and fear driven domination.  Farming was different then, and I am certainly not saying that I would like to go back to horses and ploughs and no running water.  But people could just not take too much back then.

It seems that our massive machines have made us deaf to the voice of nature, the soul of our Earth.  We can sit comfortably within them and manipulate and control.

And what are we teaching our children?  That trees are worthless?  That they were never here?

I have been told, “trees have only moved into this area in the last 100 years, before that it was open prairie.”

It is true that the landscape was more open, but it also had bio-diversity.  Pristine natural grasslands and marshes, not the mono-culture of today.  And not all of the harsh chemicals either.  And judging by the rings of the oak trees, they were definitely here 100 years ago.

We have been experiencing relentless winds here in Manitoba this spring. It is heartbreaking to watch black clouds of soil drifting into the ditches.  The number of wide open fields is increasing, and it really was not long ago that our own ancestors experienced the “dirty 30’s”.  There are still  berms of soil between fields that accumulated there during that era.  And yet, “we don’t need trees.”

I have also been told, “well, you never go there (to a certain area of trees), so what do you care if they are there?”

Since when does a tree need us to justify its existence?  And besides, since when do we need to enjoy an area to make it valuable?  Wildlife enjoys that area, needs that area, and those trees are benefitting the world, regardless of whether we know it and are enjoying them or not.

Humans seem to be the only species on this planet that are convinced that you have to need something to be kind to it.  If we can’t somehow see why we need it or how it will benefit us, it is of no use.  Even when we have scientific proof that we need them, we would still rather see monetary rewards.  That somehow nature is worth more to us when it is dead.

We have convinced ourselves that we are progressing, but as a species, we are digressing.  When we can no longer listen to the voice of our mother and honour the very land that sustains us, then we have indeed gone backwards.  We criticize earlier civilizations, and yet, they were not in danger of destroying their planet or themselves.  There was a reverence for the Earth, as she was sacred.

I will forever be grateful to my family that I have had the opportunity to be a land “owner.”  I was given the rare childhood privilege of freedom to explore nature and connect with the earth.  But I have also seen the ugly side of land ownership, of people who take it for granted.  Many are genuinely believing that they are good stewards of the land, in a logical sense of course.  But the land is more than soil composition and yields of crops.

Not only that, many “good stewards of the land” are not organic farming.  I can feel that the earth is not happy with this.

Unfortunately, for a farmer to be “certified organic”, and to receive top dollar for your crop, you have to be practicing organic farming methods on your land for 3 years.  I have seen conventional farmers deterred by this regulation.  I understand that we don’t want our organic food chain to be contaminated, but there needs to be better incentives for farmers to make the switch.  They will be making the switch into a realm of farming that they are unfamiliar with, with an unknown of their income for 3 years. They have been using certain techniques, and controlling weeds with chemicals their entire lives.  There is a lot of unlearning of the old and learning the new.  It is a daunting idea, especially when the bills are steep and the overhead is high.  Perhaps there could be better support for these farmers that are determined to transfer their farms over to organic.

But as more and more people “wake up” and support the organic farmers by choosing organic in the grocery stores, the demand will rise, and conventional farmers will follow because that’s where the market will be.

My dad grew up in a Tenby where the wild honeybees swarmed thick in the summers.  I have never seen a swarm of wild honeybees.  That is in just one generation.

I keep several hives of tame honeybees in my backyard.  After talking to many experienced beekeepers in my area, the feelings are unanimous; it is much harder to have bees now than it was even 10 years ago.  They are running out of foraging areas, as well as there is just too much spraying of harmful chemicals going on.  The disappearance of trees also means the disappearance of the pollen each spring that the bees depend on before the flowers and crops are blooming.

So how do we connect deeper and communicate with Trees?

When I am out walking, I tend to allow myself to just wander and feel “led” to where I need to go.  When I do this, I often find that there was an experience or a lesson that I needed to learn.

Not long ago, when my family and I were camping, I felt drawn to a particular oak tree.  As I approached, I could see that this was indeed a very special tree, as there was a very obvious face forming within the trunk.  There were also many other faces forming within the bark throughout this tree.

Trees have the ability to manifest into the form that they choose, and many choose to manifest a face.  Perhaps this is why trees have been given the title as “The Standing People.”  Many faces begin first as only a single eye, as they take years to evolve into form.

My family wanted to carry on with our walk, so I promised this tree that I would return the next morning, alone.  I knew as I stepped away that this was a tree with a story to tell.

The next morning, as I approached the oak, I heard the gentle words, “the older the tree, the more faces you see.”

“Awe, yes, because they take time to form and evolve,” I replied.

I could feel the welcome from the tree, so I sat down beneath its branches and closed my eyes.

An important element in speaking with trees, well, at least I have found, is to have an open heart.  Simply place your hand on your heart centre and breathing in for 5 seconds and out for 5 seconds, imagining your breath flowing in and out of your chest.

This will relax you and harmonize your energy.  Then simply notice what enters your awareness.

I often ask, “what does Nature have to teach me today?”

This way, Nature knows that I am open to learning and am listening.

As I sat beneath the tree, I couldn’t help but notice the roar of traffic as the Trans Canada Highway was less than a km away.  Where I come from, the only traffic is the occasional passing by of a neighbour (usually a family member).

“You never get a break from this,” I said to the tree.

“I remember when there were no vehicles,” replied the tree.  “All was quiet.  Now I have to imagine back to that time.”

As I sank further into the awareness of the oak, I felt how Nature was coping with the noise.  She was filling herself in as thickly as she could with hazelbrush and chokecherry trees.  The sweet scent of their blossoms was thick in the air and the morning birds were singing while the dew illuminated the light within the leaves.

I opened my eyes and noticed an oak tree with a crooked trunk, not far from the oak I was sitting beneath.

“Did she choose to grow that way?” I asked the oak tree.

“It was not her choice,” the oak replied.

I then seen an image of a cow stepping on the oak when she was a sapling and snapping her trunk.

The oak continued, “She healed, because like you, these things happen for us, not to us.”

I felt the acceptance of Nature, and that everything happens for a reason.  Nature moves on and makes the best of what is available.  Just like with the noise, Nature was now dealing with what life was offering.

I gave my thanks to the Oak for his lessons, placing my hands upon his bark and caressing the many faces.

“You are beautiful,” I sighed as I pulled myself away.

It is important to step as lightly as you can when you walk through Nature.  Show respect and mindfulness of all who reside there, even the mosquito and the poison ivy.  They are all part of an intricate system of life.

I have also felt the reverence that trees feel for those who have fallen, and the appreciation that they have for their contribution to the soil that now feeds their roots.  They honour one another at every phase of life, and know the importance of playing their role.

A couple of years ago, the Maple trees in my yard told me a story that they wanted me to share with the Children of Earth. The trees feel that it is time for the children of Earth, of all ages, to remember who they are and what they are capable of.  To remember how powerful they are.  And above all, to be true to who they truly are, because this is how we will make the world a better place.

Nature always provides powerful lessons that are easy to understand.  She knows how to speak to the knowing within our hearts.  All we are really doing is remembering, or “waking up.”

They wish to inspire us to grow without the fear of falling.  That even though growth can hurt and it isn’t always easy, it is always worth it.  That each and every one of us is important and meant to be here, and how critical it is for each of us to accept who we are and grow into who we are meant to be.

This story has become a children’s book, “The Sapling” which will be released late this summer.

It also honours the cycles of life and that there is no death, only transformation, therefore, there is nothing to be afraid of.

The trees have also shared with me how they have noticed how unaware most people are of their energy and of what they are doing with it.  Of what they carelessly “put out there” into the Universe and take in as well.  From my perspective, it seems that they see our energy pathways like giant branches growing out from our bodies.  These pathways are either thick or skinny, depending how much we are “feeding” that pathway with our beliefs, thoughts, emotions, energy and focus.

They said that we are the creators of our reality, and how people are literally creating the world that they live in with the energy pathways that they are feeding.  We often “pinch” ourselves off from communication or other profound experiences simply because we haven’t strengthened that pathway with the belief that we can do it.

This is why I have included energy exercises within the book, inspired by the trees, to help children and their parents be aware of their energy bodies and pathways.  There is techniques and advice on how to balance and harmonize them as well.

Thank you so much for reading and to all of you who have “heard the call” or are just remembering that you have heard it.  Nature is speaking to you, do not doubt yourself.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.  We chose to be here.  We are powerful creators creating a peaceful, radiant Earth, or else we wouldn’t have come.

I hope that you have found this article helpful and I would love to hear what the trees are saying to you. You can contact me via my website jessieklassen.com,  me, or .

Love and warmest blessings,

Jessie

Recommended articles by Jessie Klassen:

• 5 Lessons From The Animal Kingdom
• Speak to the Trees – A Spiritual Perspective on Nature
• 5 Important Lessons for Raising Children in The New Energetic Paradigm
• How to Communicate With Our Pets and Honour Their Soul Purpose
• Parents: We Are The Ground Crew of the Awakening
• 6 Simple Ways to Keep You and Your Family Grounded
• An Empowering Energetic Healing Exercise for Children
• Embrace the Shift Through Solstice Energies
• 12 Simple Steps for Guiding Our Children Into Their Highest Expressions

About the author: 

Jessie Klassen is a writer, farmer, and the mother of 3 sensitive children. She is also a Reiki Master and empath herself, who is committed to raising her children in an accepting and spiritually-connected environment, grounded in Nature. Through her work, Jessie is inspired to help others connect with the magic of Nature to rediscover the magic of their own lives.

Jessie is releasing a children’s book, “The Sapling” on Amazon in 2017. It is the story of a little sapling who with the help of a wise old tree, overcomes her fears of growing big and becomes the tree she is meant to be! A portion of proceeds will be donated to the  and the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

You can connect with Jessie at jessieklassen.com, follow her on , or contact Jessie via email .