Tree Spirits

This morning, i again meditated out in the "paradise" parking lot behind the condo where we are staying. My Rhode Island meditation friend, with whom i Skype-meditate every morning at 6 a.m., said that she saw how perception worked this morning. She was looking at the Skype image of the trees in the woods, and she saw a face. A sad face with deep compassionate eyes. A face of benevolence.

People of the Buddha's time believed in tree spirits. Cultures who have had animistic beliefs still have many of those old beliefs. Thai people provide spirit houses for the tree spirits to live in after their tree homes have been cut down.

Our culture doesn't believe in such spirits. Perhaps it's more accurate to say, we don't see such spirits. Our perception has been trained to see trees, so we see trees.

Unless you see something else.

Paved Paradise

Our Airbnb condo in Puerto Rico faces a beach park, so we are in a great location. But every time we go out the back door to the parking lot to get in the car, we slow down and listen. It's so quiet back there. The parking lot faces a woodsy low land of about 5 acres. It feels like a bird sanctuary. The parking lot is not only quiet and spacious, we hear birds singing, and we feel.... What is that? Paradise?

How can a parking lot be paradise? I am reminded of the Joni Mitchell song, "They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot." That's what this parking lot feels like.

This morning i took a beach chair out behind the industrial-sized generator and sat there for an hour meditating, gazing at the woods, and listening to the birds of paradise singing.