Tears Of The Forest

TEARS OF THE FOREST

by Lori Mellott

As I slowly walk in this warm-blooded, vibrant, lush ,green forest fragrant with the scents of cedar, pine and a plethora of flowers all lovingly kissing me, I inhale the pungent, pleasing scent of earth enfolding me in Mother Earth's loving embrace. All that surrounds me pulsates and ripples with the melodious rhythms of life.

As I strip and stand contemplatively in the midst of this unending beauty, my senses pause, absorbing the exotic, erotic, beauty of it all. Hugging sister cedar tree I feel her heartbeat bursting with rich, robust life! She is strong and happy! Gazing at her I see her uncompromising strength, her magnificent size speaks to my soul telling me she has stood sentinel here for many, many moons

Listening to all her voices, I hear my feathered relations singing and nesting, bringing new life forth from the safety of her luxuriant hair. Her sweet, gently spirit speaks to my soul of spiritual freedom and honoring of the spirits. "Protect and treasure it" are the words and feelings flowing into my soul

Breathing deeply of the acoustically scented air, the sacred cedar's breath calms, cleanses, blesses and bolsters my spirit, giving me clarity of thought and renews my inner being. Contentment and connection flow within my spirit. All is walking in beauty

The harmony and tranquility of this sacred, honored place is suddenly shattered by the horrific, thoughtless intrusion of modern technology! An ominous sound echoes throughout this sacred haven, a sound that promises death! a chainsaw! Big. Loud. Deadly. It is here to keep its deviant promise Its mechanical teeth, honed to razor sharpness glint in father suns brilliant light, flashing its message of death to all Mother's children. The mechanical blood of this steel demon drips silently onto the ground below polluting all it touches, finding yet another way to kill

The human force guiding this instrument of death's construction tightens its ghastly white grip and stands in front of my beloved and beautiful sister with grinning anticipation. It cannot wait to destroy this Mothers child!

The sharpened chain teeth bite viciously, mercilessly into her soft, yielding, tender flesh

I feel my spirit weep and shudder with anger, pain and disbelief as sister cedar calls out to me in unendurable pain and agony, "why, Why do they do this to me?" She shudders, cracks and stumbles as she sings her death song and dances her death dance. She is falling, falling to Mother Earth below. Before she strikes the ground I weepingly watch as her body slowly, painfully sheds the tears of the forest onto Mother Earth. Cascading down as if in slow motion, they know the end is here. Gentle as a feather they alight on the forest floor.

A final unforgiving crack, groan and thunderous roar and my vibrant, beautiful sister cedar lies on a soft bed of moss, silent. Still. Still. Blinded by my tears, I find my way to her side and gently, lovingly stroke my fallen sister and feel her strong spirits fire fade. Oh, sister, I feel your pain and muted sorrow! I only I could stop it, change this path!

The human creature again grasps the instrument of death and destruction and gladly walks on to its next condemned victim. And the next... the creature smiles maniacally, finding in these mindless, needless deaths, perverse, sadistic joy

Sister cedar, I cry for your death and the death of all the children you will never bear! Barren sorrow crowds my spirit, darkens my soul! You have stood watch over these majestic woods for centuries and now your wise, sweet voice is quelled. Forever,

How do I stop the many human creatures from delivering deaths swift blows? Oh, I cry dear, dear fallen sister, I , too, shed the tears of the forest onto Mother Earth. For you and all Mother's children, whose lives all to the human creatures deadly white mission

"What can I do sweet sister?" I feel as if my hands are chained, poverty, inaction shackle my spirit. Beseechingly, I pray to the Grandfathers, Grandmothers and sister cedar's spirit as the wind blows gently from the East. "Much" whispers east wind, "Much"

The Web

One afternoon, my husband and I were cleaning the house with a high-pressure hose and along the way battering the top of a plastic watering can.
“This hose is cleaning the house,” he said, “but it won’t budge this.”
In the mouth of our watering can were strands of a cobweb that would not break even under the force of the water. The silk is so tough it can last for years if undisturbed, which is why cobwebs seem to appear wherever you look. In fact, there are all kinds of spider webs practically everywhere. Our deck on summer mornings looks like a construction site, with guy wires strung from house to chair to geranium plant.

These wires are the initial bridges of the familiar spiral-shaped orb webs. To set one up, the orb-weaving spider trails a strand of silk from a prominent spot like a grass tip or a deck chair, and the breeze catches it and tacks it serendipitously to another blade of grass or corner of the house. The spider then walks this bridge back and forth paying out silk to reinforce it. When the bridge feels sturdy and taut, the spider ties another line to it and drops down to secure it below. Next, in a methodical, craftsmanlike process, the spider builds radial spokes and two sets of spirals – one temporary scaffolding, then one permanent — until the day’s web is complete and ready to snare flying meals. A black and yellow garden spider takes a half-hour to an hour to complete the engineering of an orb web 1 to 2 feet in diameter.
I’ve never seen the whole building process from start to finish, but I watched an Araneus diademetus spider ride an orb web fastened between the outside mirror and the door of my car unharmed through 55 mph wind all the way to my house one evening. When we stopped in the dusk light in the garage, the spider fussed with some threads for a minute or two, and then in less than five seconds dismantled the whole thing and retreated under the mirror for the night.

Orb weavers are programmed by instinct — whatever that is — to construct orb webs, while other spiders make cobwebs, sheet webs or funnel webs, which you can see on the lawn covered with dew in the morning. They’re a few inches or a foot wide, and have a funnel in the center where the grass spider, for example, waits for insects to get tangled up, then darts out to capture them. There also are minimalist “reduced webs” that may be only an H shape or even just a single strand.
The silk of an orb-weaving garden spider is about .00012 inch in diameter; at this size, it’s stronger than steel and more difficult to break than rubber. Spider silk can stretch up to 15 percent of its length before it breaks, and in some cases more. This toughness has been compared to Kevlar, which is used in bullet-proof vests and stretches to about 4 percent before breaking. The strongest natural fiber known is the silk of Nephila genus spiders in the South Seas, which islanders make fish nets out of.
You’d think a fiber like this would be manufacturable, but so far no one has been able to figure out how to farm it. To produce the silk in sufficient quantity, you need a lot of spiders, but it turns out you can’t keep too many spiders together in one place because they eat each other.
Spiders’ silk, which is a protein, is produced by glands in their bodies and dispensed through spigots mounted on spinnerets on their abdomens. They spin tiny threads together into single strands, and can generate seven different kinds of silk for different purposes, including insect traps, as well as shelters, egg cases, and nests for mating and in some species nursing their young. Some spiderlings throw out a line of silk from a high place, let the wind take it like a sail, and go “ballooning” off to seek their fortunes in parts unknown. Great clouds of voyaging spiderlings have been reported miles out to sea.
I’ve watched garden spiders carefully making repairs to webs, working the claws at the tips of their legs as dexterously as if they were sewing or knitting. It seems there must be some consciousness of what’s happening in an operation that intricate — the spider clearly makes judgments about strength, tautness, elasticity and shape. Some orb-weaving spiders are more attentive to symmetry and perfection when young, then get a little sloppier as they age. Are spiders aware of what’s functionally necessary and of what’s decorative, or beyond?
How you would ever know the answer to this question, I’m not sure. What spiders think of their silkwork, I do not know, though I’d like to. At least, it’s my instinct to wonder, and I’ve left those cobwebs practically everywhere in one form or another.
Here is one of the stories of Grandmother Spider:

When the Universe was still so dark that not even shadows could be seen in the night, Grandmother Spider sat in her web in the Sky World, waiting and watching. No one knows how old Grandmother Spider is, or how long she sat waiting for the Universal Mind to awaken. But, every Creature Being who has ever lived knows her song and dance as the weaver of the Web of Life.

From her web, Grandmother Spider observed the first thoughts as the Universal Mind awakened from the dream. Seven energy beings floated out from the shining light in the center of the Universal Mind and solidified into bright, shining stars who went out to take their places in the Sky World. Grandmother Spider took a very deep breath and softly began to sing her weaving song while she danced across the Sky. As she spun her thread, Grandmother Spider envisioned the Web of Life. Within moments, she had woven her web connecting the seven stars and creating the Spirit Doorway through which all of the rest of life would enter.Art by Lyndia Radice

The seven stars reflected the spectrum of all colors within their glow. Dancing with the colored light, shadows came into being as the darkness took form. More thoughts flowed from the Universal Mind, entered through the Doorway of the Seven Stars, and took their places in the Sky World. These became more stars, suns and planets. Then, many other thoughts entered the Universe, each one taking a specific place according to the universal dream of harmony.

Each thought was a spirit essence who dreamed an individual dream for manifesting life. Grandmother Spider spun her web around each new energy being and the Universal Web of Life shimmered in the reflection of Great Mystery's light.

Singing her song and weaving the Web of Life, Grandmother Spider continued with her work. The Sky World filled with light and life as her creative process unfolded. As the stars, suns and planets prepared to give birth to their children, Grandmother Spider spun her cord even longer, so that all of the newly born could be included in the Web of Life. Grandmother Spider continues to weave the Web of Life throughout every cycle of creation.

All life everywhere in the Universe is connected by the Web of Life. We are not separate beings. We are each a part of the Great Mystery, manifesting as an individual awareness in a separate physical body, but sharing the same energy as all other life. The energy web is anchored within our center and is our connection to the Great Mystery.

Along with Grandmother Spider's web cord, we carry within our center our dream for living that includes a promise and a purpose. Before we came into the Earthwalk, we chose the gifts and talents that help us create the reality that we envisioned. We also chose the lessons and challenges that motivate our learning and growth.

Our dream for living carries a specific vibration of sound and color that guides our spirit essence in it's flight from the Universal Mind, through the Sacred Cave, and into the womb of our physical mother. During our Earthwalk, we live our choices and lessons, and develop our talents and gifts, as we meet each situation and challenge of our growth. We must remember our purpose and promise and focus our life in this direction if we are to be happy and fulfilled.

Grandmother Spider weaves the Web of Life around us when our spirit essence enters its physical body inside the womb of our mother. From feet to head, our spirit essence is woven together with our physical body as Grandmother Spider sings her weaving song to us.

When she completes her weaving, Grandmother Spider does not cut the cord, but leaves an energy trail with her weft thread that goes out from our center to connect with the next Creature Being that will enter the Web of Life.

The gift of Grandmother Spider is the personal energy web that we walk with throughout our entire life. This energy web allows our spirit essence to experience our senses, emotional feelings and physical pain and pleasures. This connection also allows our physical body to develop an intuitive perception of Universal Wisdom. Through the web, we can work with energy for creativity and healing. Our personal energy web maintains our connection to the Web of Life and the Great Mystery. This gift of Grandmother Spider insures that we are never alone, for through it we always share the love of All Our Relations.

Our energy web surrounds our physical body, enveloping it with a vibrating energy that is our personal rhythm. Our energy web is connected to our physical body through energy centers that are the communication channels between our physical body and spirit essence. Our mind is the link between body and spirit essence, interpreting and directing the flow of energy back and fourth. Breathing and movement enables our body to direct energy and our thoughts to affect our physical health. To live in comfort, we need to maintain a balance of body, mind and spirit within our personal energy web.

Grandmother Spider is always busy with her work, as the creation of life is happening at every moment. After connecting each Creature Being within her vibrating threads, Grandmother Spider goes on to the next, spinning out a continuous cord in her never ending dance. A Creature Being enters the Earthwalk, then a Plant Person, a Stone Person, a Water Person, a Four-Legged, a Two-Legged, and on and on. For each of these, Grandmother Spider weaves a personal energy web and extends her cord out from this Creature's center to continue on with the weaving of the Web of Life.


The Web of Life is a beautiful braid that holds the energy of all life together. Grandmother Spider's dance of spinning and weaving continues indefinitely, as new patterns within the web are being woven every moment when each new life enters the Earthwalk.

At the other end of Grandmother Spider's tapestry, the web is always unraveling, as every spirit essence travels back through the doorway of the Sacred Cave to the Spirit World when life is complete.

All life shares an equal place within the Web of Life. The gifts and contributions of each and every Creature Being are very important for the survival of MotherEarth. Each Creature Being, in following through with the performance of their specific life task, affects the welfare of all the other Creature Beings in the web. Without the benefit of even one Creature's work, the Web of Life would lack the energy of wholeness necessary for the circle of life's cycles to continue on with their rhythm.

For Akasa Wolfsong

>You are so intricately woven into my life,I cannot recall when you were not.I could no more walk without you than I could stop breathing.I know and I understand that we've always walked together...as do you.That is how it is,and will always be.I know we'll always be there for each other;and,you know it as well.
There's no explaining this awesome gift,it just is.I can merely whisper,"Thank you God,for this timeless friend,as often as possible.Please know how much you have given into my life...all of which is a Sacred Privilege for me.

The gift of you is one of the most precious gifts I have ever received.I treasure this gift always and,The Giver.We have been brought together for reasons reaching far beyond ourselves.What a glorious journey !

From your Flannel Robe Sister

Harvest Prayer

You, O God, are the Lord of the mountains and valleys. You are my mother and my father. You have given rain to make the corn grow, and sunshine to ripen it. Now in your strength the harvest begins.

I offer you the first morsels of the harvest. I know it is almost nothing compared with the abundance of the crop. But since you have provided the harvest, my gift to you is only a sign of what you have given to me.


You alone know how many suns and moons it will take to finish reaping. You alone know how heavy the crop will be. If I work too hard and too fast I forget about you, who gave me the harvest. So I will work steadily and slowly, remembering that each ear of corn is a priceless gift from you.

Tall and Straight

Earlier today I was looking at this photocopy of a painting of my Great,Great Grandmother.I thought,"You suffered and endured so much pain,loss and agony at such a young age...Almost immediately,a thought,(her answer?)followed,"Yes,but I also knew goodness and love. I knew life as being kind and gentle,and hopeful..."
Unlike Grandmother,we(today)do not know the true meaning of persecution. We do not know what true deprivation is.We do not know the horror of ignorance and hatred based on color of skin,or ethnicity. She did,and so much more that even recorded history cannot relate.
Is there a defining line between resignation to fate,and the primal instinct to survive despite the hell and agony involved? I think there is a difference based upon the individual's perception;and innate ability to cope,even in the face of death and destruction.
Grandmother's brief account of her own experience(in my mind,) and as has been handed down thru generations,reveals no less.I cannot begin to grasp,(say nothing about appreciate,) what hell she endured as a child...the persecution of her existence,the loss of her dignity and life's purpose.The attempt by ignorance and hatred to reduce her,(and her own,) to less than human.
Yet,being who she is,she could tell us today,"I learned to love..." This woman's character,her vision of life,her very essence,is my heritage. Through me, she walks tall and straight. She walks with incredible dignity,with love I have learned to appreciate her with increasing clarity.
She knew what it meant to truly Live and love.
I Take my heritage with me trough each day,there-in is my shield of strength and wisdom,and vision of courage. I will walk tall and straight because she walks with me...Dancingfire

The drums sound...distant,yet none-the-less present. I see a campfire. I see a solitary one dancing. It's a measured step...a deliberate,emphatic step.It's a message of power,of wisdom,of extraordinary vision.
The hypnotic cadence brings me to the circle of fire,and the one dancing. She stops,and gazes into my eyes. I feel and hear her heartbeat,her breath as she inhales and exhales.Her eyes draw me ever deeper within,until I am moving thru them...moving toward a sunbathed meadow filled with glorious wildflowers.
That hauntingly beautiful song drifts on the gentle winds. Again ,she stands within arms reach of me,and she smiles."Welcome,Dancingfire.It is good that we are together again,after a time of(seeming) absence.It is a delight to watch your mind leap and dance as you always have done.I see you have a ways to go for patience. Come,sit here with me."
We sit down near a brook. She places her hand to my forehead,telling me to relax,and listen to the voice of the wind."close your eyes. The wind will speak to you." I close my eyes,and suddenly I hear a soft whisper that becomes louder...enough for me to hear a voice saying,"Now!It is time.It is time for you to increase, to expand your vision. It is time for you ,Dancingfire,to open wide the gate that brings you to the greater path. Do it! Now!"
I hear the drums again.She stands before me and says,"You know what to do,and when you are to do it.You will be given flashes of remembrance,as you are able to receive them.We will help you,guide you,Dancingfire.You cannot recall exactly (where you are this day,)But you and I have shared similar paths before.Be at peace.Walk very close,very attentive to our precious one.Know that we do no less for you, and for her."
The drums begin to fade.I am drifting. The winds carry me gently thru many layers of mist.My eyes will not stay open. As they close,she whispers,"Sleep ,my sister.Listen to the song."I hear that haunting song.It surrounds me,envelopes me;and it is so alive with love,and gentleness. I give myself over to it. I drift in it,and with it...on and on,and on.

When I was very young and I first started to travel,long before Grandmother,Grandfather and the Ancients began to appear to me, in Dream time,I heard
these words spoken,"There are so many treasures."
here are the questions I asked and the answers I got .
Q.What treasures do you mean?
A."Each dimension, or level of consciousness has it's own treasures."

Q.Please give me examples.
A."While we converse,you experience(in many ways,) the treasure of communion,which is not of the earth plane.Your physical body is passive during this communion. A higher level of sense overrides the physical;yet,what you experience is no less valid,no less real,as is your physical body.This is something you already know.'

Q.How,who,initiates this communion?
A."The invitation is given.You choose to accept or not."

Q.Is there any danger(remotely or at hand,)to me should I choose to accept?
A."No! The invitation is offered only to those who are long prepared to accept."

Q.What is the preparation?
A."It is a process that evolves from before the 1st incarnation,up to(and including,) the current one.During each respective incarnation,there are fleeting glimpses of previous incarnation(s) given.
Some will dismiss those glimpses. Some simply cannot make a connection.Some find them amusing, only in passing. The few,(comparably speaking,) claim the images,and ponder their validity...all the while,recognizing(at a higher level of awareness,) that the images are not only valid,but vital to their personal evolution. Thus,the images serve to prepare one for the visitations to increase and intensify."

Q.Is one left to experience such visitations on their own,so to speak?
A."Only at the physical realm does the word "alone" have a place; and, that is only possible,by choice.
In reality,you are an integral part of the whole and complete.Consider ,for a moment;While on the earthly plane you live among countless people,near and far.Some you know,while many,many more you will never meet.You know this in countless ways;yet you also know the latter have ever been with you,from your 1st incarnation unto the present.Thus,"alone" is non-relevant.
When it is time to make the transition from the earthly plane,you are prepared by those who will accompany you home.

Q.When I experience a visitation do I leave my physical body?
A."No!You remain in the physical realm,while the higher consciousness(the REAL you,) steps beyond the earthly plane.It is this very fact that should clarify for you,the false notion of"alone."

Q. How many levels of consciousness are there?
A."There are as many levels as is necessary to bring you to fruition,to that whole and complete state.All of which,depends on how many times you will incarnate,in order to complete your mission."

What other treasures are there?
A."I suggest you study closely the previous dream time travel you have experienced. I will say,however,each level of the conscious,each incarnation,(which is one and the same,)Holds it's own unique"treasure." It is part of your mission to recognize each,and use it for the greater good.

Q.Can one choose not to incarnate again?
A. No! Because you chose to make this journey. You committed yourself to this noble mission involved.You were offered this mission with full knowledge of what would be involved.
With each incarnation,you have left some sign(image) of the previous incarnation,which you would call upon to help you re-focus whenever the clouds of confusion,might overwhelm you.(One of the 'treasures" of your 1st few incarnations.)

Q.Thank you,these insights are deeply appreciated. May we meet again,for further discussion?
A.When you need to do so.

Q.Who are you? Are you a guide,an Angel?
A. I am you...you,who is from before forever. I am you..."you," who are the greater love,the greater good. I am "you,"You,here on the earthly plane,who will continue to expand your true essence,ever deeper and wider...

Grandmother seems to convey a determined look on her face. What might be her determination,do you think?
Perhaps,it's focus rather than determination...perhaps both. I suspect you cant have one without the other.
We have soared the heights on eagles wings.We've danced upon the waters.We've traveled so many dimensions,so many levels in a very short time.We have sat in council. We've heard the many voices;Raven,The drums,the ancients. We've beheld the glorious Fire of Infinity. We've walked the woodland path,stood upon the high cliffs,and wandered the valleys below.We've been in the awesome presence of pheasants and kings.
The velvet night sky surrounds me...from afar I see a tiny speck of light.It continues toward me...increasing in size and brilliance.

I hear the pulsing beat,as it continues to advance. I hear the drums,the chanting,and the velvet night sky is consumed by the massive light. It stops...a hush,a deep all-embracing calm pulsates noiselessly.

From the centre,there appears an oval shaped portal;then,she appears...so silent,so vibrant,so alive.She smiles and whispers,"Come to me. Look into these ancient ageless eyes. Tell me little sister,what do you see? I am entering her eyes. I see not her,but I see three pillars of fire. I see beneath each one an inscription,which read(respectively) 1. Soul 2. Heart 3. Mind. From aside she whispers,"Which of these do you claim for your own?I try to speak,but no sound comes forth.The incredibly deep silence wraps me with in itself. I am drifting.There is only the wondrous silence.