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| Mary as the Tree of Life |
During the first seven days of Thirty Days with Mary, we focused on the imagery of Mary as the Tree, the grove of trees or the Tree of Life.
During the Thirty Days with Mary we immerse ourselves in the spiritual practise and discipline of meditation, chanting, visualisation and sun gazing. All these practises are designed to help clear the mind, sooth the nervous sytem and create new neural pathways in the brain. As spiritual initiates our subtle senses are awakened through spiritual practise and we become aware of our etheric body and very importantly, we become more and more aware of consciousness.
The brain has neural pathways which developed through the span of your life. Your brain was shaped and formed by those around you, your parents, your caretakers, your society and culture. And of course certain experiences, both positive and negative, shaped your brain and created patterns. Patterns which to a large extent, create your belief systems and mental constructs and according to which you live your life. Becoming a spiritual initiate means that you have decided to become open to inspiration and new ways of seeing and sensing life and letting go of fearful belief systems.
The etheric body carries the nadi, or spiritual veins and then very importantly the ida and pingala energies and the kundalini which flows through the shushumna.
During the first seven days we focused on the image of Mary as the Tree. There are many myths which include the story of the Tree and many which appertain to Mary specifically.
When we hold the image of the Divine or a deity or any object or idea in our mind’s eye, we are entraining the brain to the energy of that image. An image is more than just an idea or a picture. An image is filled with consciousness and also specifically with the consciousness of the deity or divine archetype. We have come to understand that there are forces which act which in ourselves, our religion, our culture and our family, which is beyond our personal control. At times they act in accordance with our conscious desire, but at other times we are subject to ill health and difficult experiences which seem to indicate that we heartily participated in events which brought us to the painful place. Or we seem to live the same cycle of victimhood over and over.
The more we clear our minds of our repetitive conscious thinking through meditation and visualisation, the easier it is for inspiration to reach us. Inspiration means inspired thinking which implies that we receive thoughts and ideas from the place of spirit, beyond our own limited mind.
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| Mary The Cosmic Tree of Life |
For the next three weeks we will enter into a deep relationship with Mary the Great Mother, through our daily practise and especially through our contemplation.
If possible, do one of your daily meditations outside or near a window where you have a view of the outside world and especially a tree. You can take a daily meditative walk in a field or forest near you.
We start the day at dawn, your time. We do sun gazing – you can find the full post and instructions here :
http://bookofmarysacredheart.blogspot.co.za/2015/04/surya-yoga-or-sun-gazing-and-sun-bathing.html
This is followed by chanting the AUM for ten to fifteen minutes and then our daily prayer.
You may use the prayers from last year’s Thirty Days with Mary – the link is here :
http://bookofmarysacredheart.blogspot.co.za/2015/04/rosaries-for-thirty-days-with-mary-part.html
Then we enter into contemplation and meditation and we focus on the imagery of the tree, the holy rood, the forest and the sacred grove of trees and what these images and symbols are trying to tell us.
If you have any questions or anything you would like to discuss or share, you can email me
at [email protected].
Blessings on your thirty days
Hettienne BhaktyMaria Ma
