Hello Bennie,
I was at Big Bear for The Gathering. I was the one that gave you the blanket with the lapiz blue in it. I just got notice of the medicine Wheel ceremony, so I will not be able to come, but I want you to know what happened to me there. I had quite an experience with the trees, I'll call this story, Tears of the Trees, the Beetle Sickness. I hope you receive it before you leave for Big Bear.
When I arrived at Big Bear, the spicy fragrance of the rain soaked trees was so strong. I felt immediately connected from my childhood experiences of the tall pines of East Texas. When I noticed sap coming out of a lot of trees, I put some on my forehead between my eyes to sort of "be one with the trees." Little did I know that would happen literally!
At first I did not notice it happening. There was no pain, no itching, no redness, just that pleasant zesty feeling on my skin that one gets using pinon salve or touching raw pine sap. It made me happy to connect with them physically the way I had in childhood. By that evening, I noticed a faint redness. Thinking that I had put too much on, I tried to get a little off with some cold cream. It did not budge. It was stuck to me like glue, so I left it alone. What is, is as the Kalahari pointed out.
On Friday, my face was more swollen, and red. One of my carpool members noticed and did a healing for me. By that evening, it was more swollen and red, my eyes were very swollen and I looked freakish. I wore sunglasses to hide that hoping it would diminish. A lady in my carpool gave me some antihistimenes and another cabin mate gave me some medicine also. I applied some salve. I received another healing from someone whose name I can't remember.
By Saturday, it was much worse and itched a little and I felt fever in it. On Saturday, I was at and recieved a healing from Lauro, the healer from Peru. Although I felt energized and light, my face remained swollen.
By Saturday night, it was even worse. I stayed in my cabin that night when all those wonderful workshops were going on, no longer able to conceal my eyes with sunglasses. That gave me time to think, in the quiet of the empty cabin, about the sequence of events, the trees and the healings that had not worked. I came to know that what I had was the tree's sickness, that was why the healings for humans had not helped. It came to me that the beetles were sick and their bite was infecting the trees. They, like myself, were swollen inside because the beetle's bite had infected them. They could no longer get water from their roots to their limbs. I felt very strongly that this was so.
On Sunday morning, at the campfire for the Kalahari, I spotted the girl from New York who had had the dream about the trees talking to her. The story had spread throught the camp by then. Many of us had already been hugging trees in an attempt to help them. I was frantic to tell her. There was just a moment that I could speak with her. I did so. You can see my picture in the crowd on the Journey's website, still wearing sunglasses!
During our time at the campfire, we did get a chance to embrace the trees and try to help as a group. It felt good that all our thoughts as a group were directed to their healing. I have since wondered how much it healped as there were so many sick ones.
When I arrived home, after a few days rest, I looked up pine beetles on the web to see if there was any info about the beetles and possibly the beetles being sick. There it was . Yes, they were sick! It seems they get a blue fungus which does infect the tree when they bite. It does indeed cut off the water flow from the roots. Not only that, the beetles become very frantic eating and mating, making more hungry beetles. It is not only the lack of rain, the rain helping the trees to exude sap to dislodge the beetles, but the beetles are sick and cause the trees to be sick also!
I met with friends to bring the messages I was given at The Gathering, one being the story of the trees. I gave them pieces of bark from the trees and asked them to pray for them as they held it, envisioning them as green and healthy.
My instincts, though have told me to take the one piece of bark I have that is beetle shaped and burn it, symbolizing the burning of the blue fungus to rid the beetles of it, therefore helping the trees. I have not done so because I felt this was just a foolish thought. Had I checked on their health by calling the camp as I intended, I would have done so. I regret that life got in the way and distanced me from doing so.
The swelling did go away, but I still have yellowish skin where the sap was and enlarged pores between my eyes and in my eyebrows where I oozed a liquid that looked like sap.
That's my story. I hope it helps to understand what has happened in order to help the trees. I very much regret not following my instincts, not staying connected as I should have. My tears are for the trees. I will burn that piece of bark and hope it helps.
Thank you and bless you for helping,
Margaret White |
