September 1, 2024
“Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”
– Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
How are you all? I haven’t led a hike in a couple of years. For our upcoming hike, Sebene wrote these beautiful questions for exploration:
– How do we heed the call of indigenous communities who insist that land acknowledgements are not enough?
– How do we forge a connection to the Earth that goes beyond ideas of ownership and extraction (even recreational extraction) to ones of reciprocity and stewardship?
– How do we cultivate a restoration of relationship to nature?
As I am contemplating these questions, asking permission and making offerings come to mind as a starting point. I first encountered the practice when I was learning to give tree meditation and solo retreat instruction from Johann Robbins, who learned it from a Mexican indigenous elder. Anytime before you can interact with a living being, as a tree is, you need to introduce yourself, share your intention, and ask for permission. If we set up a tent and stay overnight in a forest, we scan the environment of the campsite and ask for permission. We ask if we can be granted shelter here for the night and ask for blessings for protection and safety.
This simple act changes our orientation in the world. It brings in humility and reverence. It acknowledges that humans are not the center of the world and the only living beings. When we go hiking and camping, harvest a plant, or use plant medicines, we are interrupting existing life cycles. Asking permission helps us acknowledge that. If we take something, we reciprocate—taking only what we need and giving back in return. It’s an orientation toward mutual care. When we receive, we express gratitude and make offerings. It’s relational instead of extraction. It forges a sacred bond that Robin Wall Kimmerrer speaks of.
Recently I learned from an indigenous plant medicine healer that we ask permission even when we are the caretakers of plants in gardening or farming. The act of asking permission gives us a pause to contemplate our relationship with the being in front of us and guides us in understanding our impact and responsibilities. We ask, “Am I the right person to do this? Do I have the knowledge to do this?” and “How will taking this flower, plant, mushroom, or seed affect the surrounding beings?”
And how do we hear the answers? In my experience, it’s an energetic feel. We tune into an intuitive listening that comes from the body: a sense of ease and relaxation may signal permission, while tension may indicate otherwise. And making offerings can be anything from giving water to the plants and trees, to energetically and verbally sharing gratitude.
Join Sebene and I on the BIPOC hike as we feel into the energy of the fall and explore these practices and questions – registration is closed on Thu. 9/5. In addition, I am starting a new round of Soul-Centric Midlife course starting in November at New York Insight and registration is now open.
May you journey well into the fall, as we tune into the season of harvesting and letting go.
Blessings,
Lin
p.s. I am excited to share with you that I am joining Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leadership Training Program (CDL7) from 2025 – 2027. This program is dedicated to nurturing the next generation of dharma leaders, cultivating them to guide and inspire diverse, multi-generational, multi-ethnic, and multi-cultural communities.
This program includes five retreats over two years and costs ~$14,000. To help cover these expenses, I’m hosting a GoFundMe campaign. No contribution is too small—every donation is deeply appreciated.
Photo: Nature Mandala, New York Insight Family Gathering, Central Park, August 2024