The Tree of Life

I don’t often see the “tree of life” symbol like the one etched into the cover of the Dream Book that Shakti Malan gave to Tiffany Stone, shown above. (See article, "Are you paying attention to your dreams?") That symbol was the first “hallucinated” image I saw while on a spiritual quest 30 years ago when I was still an atheist, and for most of those years it was the only one.

An older girlfriend who, years before, had an amazing Oneness experience with a tree while on LSD, told me the story and wanted me to have a similar experience. She looked for some LSD and couldn’t find any, but was able to find some pharmaceutical-grade MDMA (ecstasy) for me, and had me fast for a day before taking it, then be with close friends who knew what I was doing and why, and have them drive me if there was anywhere to go.

As I was riding in the car with them, the image of a full tree -- with roots rising up to nearly meet the leaves, enclosed in a perfect circle -- appeared before me long enough for me to get a good look, then disappeared. That image made a lasting impression on me, and the Oneness it conveys gave me insights into consciousness that finally bore fruit for me 4 years ago.

We can more safely access the unconscious through our dreams, meditations and hypnotherapy though, and even the world before us when we think we are awake is really a hallucination of duality -- "the knowledge of good and evil". As we view that which appears to be an external world, we are really looking at the intolerable or inadmissible within. Our very bodies are a mental projection.

The symbol itself reveals the unseen subconscious mind constantly giving life to visible reality. "By their fruits you will know them."

As we bring our subconscious mind up to our conscious awareness for inspection and forgiveness, may we be blessed. And we are blessed!