A Free Spirit. Betty Shine

eat’ is a slogan that has been used many times to encourage people to cut out unnecessary (and possibly harmful) foods. But it applies equally to so-called healthy food such as fruit and vegetables when it has been grown on contaminated land. It is extremely difficult to find land that is clean, and in some cases it will take a hundred years or more for contaminated land to recover.

      If they have a choice, animals, birds and bees will frequent areas that are undisturbed, because their natural instincts tell them that these places have not been contaminated.

      Some farmers, who were considered too old fashioned when they kept to the old ways of farming, are now reaping the rewards. People are now prepared to pay a higher price for food that is truly organic, so that their children will have a better chance of health and survival. It is better to eat a not-so-perfect apple, grown organically, than the designer apple which may be suspect.

      Wherever you are, even if it is in the heart of a city or at the top of a tower block, you can still close your eyes and allow your mind to visit beautiful places. Free your mind and you will open your life.

      At one time I lived in the very heart of the country. Surrounded by trees, woods and valleys, it was easy to enjoy the beauty of all the seasons. But on one particularly gloomy day, I felt as though I needed something beautiful to brighten up my life, so I sat down and dreamed about the colourful birds that I had seen whilst meditating. I suppose my daydreaming lasted about fifteen minutes.

      An hour later, I decided to pick some herbs for my dinner that night. I opened the door that led into the back garden and saw, sitting on a wall immediately in front of me, two of the most beautiful peacocks I have ever seen. Our eyes met, and we stood transfixed for about five minutes. Then I quietly moved into the main part of the garden. They didn’t move an inch – and they never took their eyes off me the whole time. I stayed with the peacocks for two hours. Then, when I went back into the house, they flew away.

      I lived in that house for four years, but I never saw them again. Then again, I never dreamed about birds from the spirit world again. Magical moments come in small doses, and I didn’t want to push my luck.

      To enable you to understand what it feels like to be at one with nature I would like you to take a virtual walk with me. First of all we are going to walk through some woodland.

      Because it is spring, there is a feeling of expectancy in the air, and if you are intuitive you will be able to perceive this and absorb the energies. The crackling of the leaves underfoot will open up your senses to the past, and in doing so will automatically propel you into the future. For example, the very sound of the old leaves will remind you that in the previous year they had been fresh and green. Now dry and crunchy, they will decompose, adding nutrients to the earth which will then sustain the new life that is about to burst from the buds. If you close your eyes now, not only will you be able to visualise this, but you should also be able to hear it happening before the event. It may take time before you can experience this, but the more aware you become of your surroundings, and of the creatures that lurk in the undergrowth, the more it will become second nature to you to hear sounds and vibrations that have eluded you in the past.

      The next step is to hold out your hands as you approach a tree. Take note at what point your hands begin to tingle. This way you can judge the health of the tree by the size of its aura. The size of the aura will also depend on the type of tree you are dealing with. As you get closer to the base of the tree the strength of the aura will increase, and if you lean against the trunk, you will feel the full impact. In summer, when there is a canopy of leaves, the aura will naturally become more intense, because every leaf has an aura of its own.

      If you would like to experiment with self-healing, then you can do no better than to sit under an ancient oak tree. Noted for their longevity – a life-span of three hundred years in some cases – they also have magnificent auras. Their auras are so powerful that under favourable circumstances they can elicit a mental ‘timeslip’ which can allow you to decode the memory blueprint contained in the tree and propel your mind into a bygone age.

      Once you are able to feel the aura of trees, you will be able to detect when they are diseased, even if there are no outward signs. Walking around the perimeter of the aura, slowly closing in on the tree, it is possible to make an accurate diagnosis and pinpoint the diseased areas. I have often used this method of diagnosis, and in many cases it has prevented the need to cut down the whole tree. It is also possible to use this process for the whole of nature, because every living thing has an aura.

      Don’t forget the birds that frequent these same trees. Each species has its own call, its own language, and yet they all have a sixth sense that enables them to understand and react to the whole. We have to make this sense our own before we can even begin to understand them.

      When I was living in the middle of the woods, my garden was frequented on a daily basis by three types of woodpecker. The lesser-spotted woodpecker is tiny and secretive, so you are less likely to see it than the greater-spotted and green varieties. It was a joy to watch them as they took food from the bird table. In fact they were quite tame. This might have been because I used the garden for healing and meditation, which always casts a calm spell over the immediate vicinity.

      Back to our walk. Whilst you are standing in the middle of the woodland, close your eyes and visualise the bird you would most like to see sitting in the trees above you. Then imagine it in the palm of your hand. If your particular favourite has coloured feathers, gently move the feathers and separate the colours. This action will enable you to feel the heartbeat and warmth of its body. When you have interacted with the bird for several minutes, open your hands and let it fly away. From that moment on, the sense of belonging to the world of birds will be with you for ever. You might also want to repeat the process to bring back the magic of those moments.

      Feathers themselves are fascinating. When you hold one in your hands, you will automatically stroke it. I know people who cope with stress by stroking their cheeks with feathers. They have strong associations – without them a bird could not defy gravity and fly above the Earth. They are symbols of a free spirit.

      Try this exercise. Find one or two feathers – the size is immaterial. Stand out in the open, preferably on a hill, and hold the feathers in the air. Close your eyes, and when you feel a strong current of air, let them go, knowing that all of your problems are leaving with them.

      Sometimes, rather than floating away, the feathers will turn around and drop at your feet. When this happens, it is a sign that you have to become stronger and more determined in your efforts to bring calm into your life.

      Repeat the process until the feathers disappear. You will have taken the first step to inner peace.

      Feather magic has been practised since the beginning of time. If you find a feather, make a study of the bird and its habits. You may find that the feather is trying to tell you something. For example, if you find the feather of a dove and place it on a table in the centre of a room, it will bring you peace. If you are lucky enough to find a feather belonging to a bird of prey, it might tell you that you need to be free of encumbrances, to soar above the earth, to find the stillness you seek.

      The easiest way to achieve this is to meditate. Allow your mind to soar, to travel through invisible curtains which will show you that gravity cannot keep you locked in.

      There are many pocket books on birds that you can buy, and reading through them can help you enhance the image whilst you’re practising this exercise.

      Here is a self-healing exercise. Sit under an oak tree, and feel the energy currents running through your body as you absorb the tree’s aura. Then, holding a feather in your hands, take a deep breath and then breathe out through the feather, knowing as you do so that you are ridding your mind and body of toxins. This feather must never be used by others.

      You can use feathers for physical healing too. You should keep a particular feather for healing, and store it in a box when it is not in use. When you need it, place the feather over the part of the body giving you a problem and blow through it.

      To the uninitiated, feather magic might seem a bit far-fetched, but you’ll never know whether it will work for you until you try.