All Praise To Affric
Many years ago I read a book called the Celestine Prophecy, by James Redfield. It is a novel set in Peru about the discovery of ancient manuscripts, which contain prophetic information concerning the end of the 20th Century, and beginning of the 21st. These manuscripts describe the state that we as a people will be in around this time, in terms of our energetic state. The book paints the picture as to how there will be greater jostling for energy between individuals, between groups, and between nations. These power struggles will arise, say the manuscripts, because individuals will feel increasingly energetically drained in these current times, and this is will give rise to struggles for supremacy. This dynamic will be played out across the whole spectrum of human interactions, ranging from personal relationships, all the way up to wars between nations. The book's focus is on this increasing tendency to fight for power, and how this situation can be remedied, though this post is not intended to be a review of the Celestine Prophecy. I wish to merely highlight in this post a particularly poignant part of the book, which remains impressed upon me 15 years after reading it. It is the section that talks about the unique energy vibration of ancient forests, and the important role these forests play on the planet.
According to the author the manuscripts urge us to become aware of the futility of struggling to exert power over someone else in order to feel better about ourselves. The problem is that leeching energy from another individual has consequences for both parties concerned, in that both end up suffering for it. Instead of seeking to gain power over someone else, the manuscripts appeal to humankind to turn to the truly limitless source of energy - the universe. By connecting with freely available universal energy, we can gain all the power we could ever wish for, and this, without having to steal from someone else's' reserves. By gaining energy from the universe not only do our levels rise in a wholesome way, but we also automatically resolve conflicts that arise due to power struggle dynamics.
Over the past few months I have had personal experience of plugging into universal energy, and raising my vibration. My new routine of daily spiritual practices has dramatically increased my energy levels, which have been soaring more consistently than I have ever known in my life. The transformation within me has been nothing short of revolutionary; more can be read about this in my previous post, ‘Take a long, deep breath in…..'
The Celestine Prophecy describes specific ways we can tap into universal energy. One of those ways is by spending time in ancient primeval forests and connecting with their unique, healing vibration. The manuscripts stress the importance of ancient forests, and why it is very important to cherish and protect them. Mankind seems to have this obsession with taming the planet, and ancient forests by their very nature exist in their most unadulterated form - wild and untamed.
I have lived in London for most of my life, which has a completely contrasting energy vibration to that of ancient woodland. London is almost exclusively comprised of concrete, throngs of people, traffic, noise and grime. Indeed, there is a genre of music called grime, which hails from my neck of the woods – East London – and the name is most certainly an apt description of the overall feel of the area.
There are, of course, some nice oases of relative natural beauty - Hampstead Heath, being an example - but it can hardly be described as a virgin natural habitat. A great deal of ‘taming' has gone into Hampstead Heath, courtesy of the Corporation of London. The Capital City as a whole is as far removed from being totally harmonious with Mother Nature as can possibly be. London and ancient forests are at two completely opposite ends of the spectrum.
Of course it is more than possible to raise one's energy vibrations through some kind of cultivation practice, living in London. I myself have succeeded in doing so, even living in the ‘hood' of East London. And there are quite a number of ancient trees to be found dotted around London, including places like Hampstead Heath, or Epping Forest. To be fair to London, it does seem to value its ageing trees, but it is not remotely the same as wondering around an ancient forest, in a true wilderness. That said there are precious few natural wildernesses left today, owing to our obsession with planetary tinkering.
In our current times the planet's energy is largely of a lower vibrational quality when compared to ancient times. And big cities in particular, with all the grime and coarseness, are an outward reflection of this degraded energy state. The very few places where ancient woodland can still be found, offer a haven of invigorating and calming energy, especially if the surrounding environment is wild and untamed.
I have been acutely sensitive to the harsher energetic quality of London from a very young age. I have felt so completely out of my comfort zone living in a proverbial concrete jungle like London, and, on many occasions, have felt downright depressed. Furthermore, these frequent bouts of depression that I used to be prone to, I believe are in large part due to living in an environment that is not in harmony with the natural rhythms of nature. I have actually read that there is a relationship between a person's mental state, and the environment in which they live. It only takes awareness to see that in big, busy cities, there is a high incidence of stress related mental disorders and this is by no means confined to London only. I believe strongly that city life is simply not conducive to our natural way of being, which would seem to concur with the high incidence of depression that exists in modern society. City living is not energetically harmonious living at all.
If someone were to fly over the British Isles or many other places in the world today, they would see enormous areas of land given over to either agriculture, which is completely tamed and manipulated land, or concrete jungles, which utterly consume and alter the natural face of the land upon which they are built. There are precious little actual wild habitats left because we seem to believe that it is our God-given right to mutilate the environment beyond recognition – all in the name of ‘progress'. We seem to believe we own the planet and can do with it what we will. The truth of the matter as I understand it is that we are merely custodians of the earth, and that invests in us a moral responsibility to take care of it, and live harmoniously with it.
It is said that people of old, when making a decision regarding their environment would ask themselves what impact would the proposed action have on 7 generations hence. Indigenous people such as Native American Indians, Shamans from Mongolia, and Aborigines, all have in common a deep reverence for Mother Nature, and even regard all life as family. Many of such people have been displaced, in the name of ‘modern development', and a good example of the consequences of this , are the serious levels of alcoholism that exist within Indian reservations in the US and Canada. Reservations are also totally out of alignment with the natural harmonious way of life that these people are accustomed to, and the symptom of this malaise is problem drinking.
Today, corporations – oil exploration companies being a poignant example - merely ask what impact their proposed actions will have on their shareholders. This totally baffles me as our planet is our home; the place that has supported and nurtured us for millennia that we once regarded with the same reverence as indigenous people do. I'm really not sure as to where intelligence has migrated, by so indifferently altering the natural balance of nature to the point that we find ourselves at today. We are, after all, allegedly the most intelligent of all the species on the face of the planet, yet our behavior of delightful abandon is nothing short of a suicide pact with ourselves.
A great many people are completely oblivious or indifferent to the vital importance of living in harmony with nature, and there are also many who do not even give it a second thought. The primary concern of many does not extend much beyond their creature comforts being taken care of, in their immediate surrounding environment. There are also those who are aware of the damage being visited upon the planet - and are concerned about it - yet feel powerless to do anything about it. So it is easier for such people to stick their head in the sand and live in sweet denial. I myself was in this position for many years because it was convenient not to care about the natural environment, especially living in a big city, where I could conveniently forget about what was going on outside of the London orbital! Living in a city and being completely absorbed in the established commercial system that provides everything on tap, it is very easy to lose touch with nature.
When I first read about the value of ancient forests in the Celestine Prophecy, with their healing energy vibration, and spectacular wild beauty, I was immediately attracted. Something resonated deep within me, and a seed was sown that was to be germinated many years later. It was around July 2009 that I felt drawn to actively seek out the existence of an ancient forest ecosystem in the UK, as I was too caught up in my own apathy prior to that. I wanted to plan a wild camping trip - something I very much enjoy doing - and it was then that I reconnected with what I had read years previously.
Upon doing a Google search I discovered that the Scottish Highlands are home to ancient woodland, way up in the North, near Inverness. I became consumed with a school boy-like excitement at the prospect of going, and decided there and then that I would go, be it alone or with friends. The Glen Affric Nature Reserve, which is approximately 45 miles West of Inverness, and almost right in the middle of the thin neck of the North of Scotland, is also known as the Caledonian Forest. I was incredibly attracted to the idea of going, even though at that point I only had pictures, information and some videos on You Tube to go by. Around 6 weeks after discovering Glen Affric, I was on my way, camping gear in hand, and a head full of dreams and expectations as to what I was about to experience. This anticipation was heightened by learning that Glen Affric is one of the last remaining true wilderness areas in the UK. Indeed, one would be forgiven for initially thinking they were somewhere like Canada, if they were simply dropped there with no information.
When I arrived in Glen Affric I was overwhelmed with awe, upon seeing it. The forest has an air of stepping back in time - that time has stood still - and I connected experientially with what The Celestine Prophecy talks about, in terms of the energy vibration. It felt mystical and primeval in nature; I had never experienced anything quite like it before. Yet at the same there was a bizarre sense of feeling comfortably familiar, as if I was at home being there. Glen Affric has been described as being like something out of the Jurassic Park movie, made all the more tangible by the gnarled, mature Scots Pines of around 200-300 years old, silently proclaiming their presence. The stillness and silence was profound, especially at night, when the darkness adds a wholly different dimension to the forest's aura, and the sky is totally awash with the most dazzling stellar display. It is a truly wonderfully magical environment of old trees, crisp air, and river water which can be drunk without purifying. The forest's energy and presence conjures up images of elves, pixies and fairies, in a magical world which is absolutely removed from London.
Such was the impact Glen Affric had on me that I went there 3 times in the space of 3 months. The Caledonian Forest, once the domain of Clans, touched me on a soul level. It profoundly resonated with me and I became - and remain - intimately connected with it. Knowing the forest has been there since the retreat of the glaciers of the last Ice Age, only served to enhance its wonder. In short I fell in love with Glen Affric; it was most certainly a story instant attraction.
However, as the nature of this physical plane is one of duality, I felt an equally strong response at the opposite end of the emotional scale, being there. The reason for that was, as stunningly beautiful as the Caledonian Forest is; it is but a tiny fraction of its original, untamed size. Today the forest is a mere shadow of its former glory - only 1% of what it was –due to the result of unrelenting human interference. There was a stark contrast that was glaringly apparent, between forest, and the now barren hills, which surrounding the reserve. These bare, green hills that forest once adorned reduce the nature reserve to a tiny oasis, in a huge desert of grass and fern. The awareness of this, which was impossible to shut my eyes to, elicited a sadness equal in intensity to the sense of joy and awe that I felt for the forest's breathtaking beauty.
I would like to give a brief outline of the natural history of the Caledonian Forest, and how it developed, following the retreat of the glaciers at the end of the last great Ice Age. I am no expert and this information is only my own understanding, based on a small amount of research. Around 12,000 years ago - the actual time may be open to debate, and is irrelevant as far as I'm concerned – approximately a quarter of the globe was covered in massive glaciers, including the whole of Scotland. Gradually, over time, the climate began to warm (there have been cycles of cooling and warming throughout the history of the planet) to a point where the average temperature was high enough for the ice to begin retreating northwards, to its current permanent abode of the North Pole. As it retreated it left in its wake uninhabited land, which was exceptionally fertile, because the enormous pressure of the ice created what is known as powdered glacial rock. The immense weight of miles thick ice ground up the rock to a powder, which is incredibly mineral rich. It was this powdered rock that made the land so fertile, and was Mother Nature's way of setting the scene for the life that was to come. I understand this process as being like the planet's metaphorical game of ‘Etch-a-Sketch', ‘shaking clean' the land and preparing it to give birth to new life. As nature abhors a vacuum, to coin the phrase, it was inevitable that life went forth and multiplied on this land that had been wiped clean of all traces of previous existence, whilst it was held in sway by the formidable glaciers.
The first life to fill that vacuum was vegetation, which migrated northwards from the warmer South, and this is how the Caledonian Forest came into being. In total around 80% of the Scottish Highlands subsequently came to be covered with extensive woodland, which formed part of the Boreal Forest of the Northern Hemisphere. It comprised of various trees, such as Scots Pine, Birches, Alder and Rowan, and a whole array of interconnected flora on the forest floor, like various mosses, heather, fungi and lichens, for example. Mother Earth at this time was in her prime, resplendent glory, and the Caledonian Forest was vast indeed, blanketing an enormous 1.5 million hectares in area. If one were stand on the top of a hill at that time, they would have been greeted with a vision of a seemingly endless carpet of trees, stretching in all directions to the horizon. This virgin forest was humming with primeval energy of the purest form imaginable, for it was absolutely unadulterated. It sang metaphorical praises to the natural forces that created and sculpted it, with care and intelligent determinism. It was indeed an exquisite masterpiece of natural craftsmanship - a temperate and pristine wilderness of staggering beauty.
As the forest took up and established residence it was followed closely behind by animal life that came in search of the new abundantly rich sources of sustenance. These included the likes of the giant Reindeer, with its huge palmate antlers, wild horses, oxen, sheep, boar and brown bear. Following them, were the predatory beasts, such as the lynx and the wolf. There was a huge array of other fauna, including small mammals, birds and insects, which completed the complex and intricate balance of life. The sheer range and amount of life that thrived in this endless forest was mind boggling and totally awe inspiring. At its pinnacle the Caledonian Forest was the veritable priceless Jewell of Scotland.
This wild and rugged woodland for a time had no human inhabitants, until the arrival of the early hunter-gatherers. These people, who most probably lived life according to Shamanic principles - the worship and reverence of natural forces -,would have lived in complete harmony with their environment, taking only what they needed to survive, and no more. And as their numbers were low, there was well in excess of what they needed; times would have been exceptionally bountiful. They lived in conical shaped tents, which were constructed out of animal skins, and wooden poles, and they used tools made out of flakes of stone, as well as wood and bone implements. The harmonious way of life of these early inhabitants continued for many centuries, during which time the Caledonian Forest continued to flourish in its entirety. These people were essentially nomadic, moving according to the needs of survival.
Then at some point the tide began to turn, with the arrival of the first communities of people who introduced primitive agricultural methods. This marked the onset of a more stationary way of life, and a marked change in the way people sustained themselves. People, at this point, began making tangible changes to their surrounding environment in order to support the developing agricultural methods that were beginning to be used, though these changes were initially minimal. They started altering the land to suit their needs, clearing areas of forest to make way for crop plantations. They used methods like ‘slash and burn' which involved the building of fires around trees in order to clear them. The attitude towards the forest was changing from one of living in total harmony, to one of manipulation, to suit a newly developing lifestyle.
Progressively over time, the Caledonian Forest was subjected to continuous and sustained depletion, following the end of the era of the hunter gatherers. As agricultural methods became more established and the human population grew, increasing tracts of forest was cleared. And energetically speaking the forest's vibration was progressively degraded. As time elapsed and ages changed, the Caledonian Forest was increasingly viewed merely as a resource, rather than a pristine wilderness to be revered, in the manner of the early hunter-gatherers. Humankind seemed to be slipping into a kind of comatose state, whereby they were numbed to the huge scale of destruction they were causing. And indifference and denial were the ‘antidotes' to waking up to the reality of their damaging actions, and the consequences they were causing.
With the arrival of the Industrial Revolution, and beyond, the pressure on the forest was turned up several notches. The rate at which it was being cleared – particularly during the World Wars – increased dramatically. The forest was quickly disappearing, leaving behind a barren, ‘wet desert', as the Highlands came to be known. The Jewell of Scotland was rapidly diminishing in grandeur, and the indifferent attitude responsible for this had an inevitable knock on effect on the animal life that lived there for aeons. Species wiped out included the brown bear, the wolf, the wild boar, the giant Elk, and a number of birds. They were driven out of the ecosystem because the rapidly diminishing forest could no longer support their survival needs. To use the wolf as an example, areas of the forest were burned down simply to kill this beautiful and intelligent animal off, as it came to be regarded as ‘vermin'. This was probably because it, being a carnivore, began hunting sheep on farmland that was once forest. The fact that this land would have been part of the wolf's natural territory was irrelevant. It was seen as a pest, an inconvenience, and the consensus was that it needed to be culled. This animal's ‘crime' was that it got in the way of man's new lifestyle; his cattle were more valuable to him than the ‘big, bad wolf'. Perhaps this phrase from the well known nursery rhyme was designed to poison and brain wash the minds of impressionable young children, which ensured that the wolf was well and truly erased from existence in the Caledonian Forest. It became an animal to be afraid of, so said the indoctrinating rhyme, and was dealt with accordingly.
The ‘wet desert', mentioned above, is the thing that drew such a sharp and harsh comparison for me, when I first visited Glen Affric. Scotland's Jewell has been trampled upon and tossed aside by countless years of ecological rape. Today a mere 1% of the original size of the Caledonian Forest remains. Glen Affric is breathtakingly beautiful, but is a mere shadow of its former pristine state. When people see pictures of the Highlands today, what they are looking at are miles and miles of this ‘wet desert', which would once have been covered in trees, and abound with animal life. Nature did not intend the hills and glens to be bare and barren; the responsibility for this is wholly and squarely on man's shoulders. With the retreat of the glaciers, life flourished in great abundance, and the actions of so-called intelligent man took that life away again, in the blinking of an eye.
I believe that as humankind turned more towards materialism, and more away from their true, original nature, they, in turn, lost their sense of reverence and respect for the planet. Spiritual values, I believe, go hand in hand with conservation of the natural world, like with the Shamanic practices of early people, for example. Unabated consumerism as we know it today has much to answer for, as does human conflict, in terms of the scar that has been left on ecosystems like the Caledonian Forest.
In spite of the tiny proportion of the Caledonian Forest that is left today, I am of firm conviction that it is vitally important to focus on the positive. What can be done to regenerate the forest is a far better question to pose, rather than how to stop the current rate of deforestation. Focusing on the negative will do little to bring about positive change. On the contrary it will only create more of the same, for this is an immutable universal law - the law of attraction - that works very effectively indeed. And it works whether we focus on what we don't want, by creating more of that which is undesired, just as it works by focusing on what we do want. I believe it is important to acknowledge the current state of our forest, but so much more can be achieved by focusing on how to improve the situation, instead of lamenting on how many trees have been cut down, and how to stop deforestation.
There are challenges associated with regeneration of the Caledonian Forest, but these are surmountable. For example, how to protect new tree shoots from being overgrazed by the deer population, which is too big for the size of the forest available, to adequately support them. With no native predators left, natures' way of keeping the population in check, in the form of ‘the big, bad wolf', has been compromised. One solution to this challenge is to fence off areas of land to keep out deer, and then plant new trees within that sectioned off area. Doing so allows these trees to grow to a certain, sustainable size, before taking down the fencing, and allowing the deer free access again. I also – perhaps controversially - believe that there is a place for the re-introduction of the native predators, at a point when the forest becomes able to sustain them. This would restore the natural balance and order, keeping deer numbers down to a sustainable level, for example.
I want Scotland to regain its priceless Jewell in the Highlands, on a significant scale. I want to see the Caledonian Forest regenerated to a sizable scale, and I absolutely believe that it is more than possible to achieve. This may well be a sizeable challenge, though I am convinced that it is well within the realm of possibility. Ultimately what is possible is only defined by the limitations – or lack of – those who conceive it. Everything that has ever been achieved started its life cycle as the conception of a thought, an idea, before being manifested on this physical plain. The Allerdale Estate in the Highlands is one example of what a grand vision can achieve, and a quick search on Google will show what has been created there. And an organization called Trees For Life are making grand efforts to restore the forest. They have a vision to regenerate an area of around 600 square miles, surrounding the Glen Affric region, and whilst that is still tiny compared to what it once was, it is most certainly a step in the right direction. And it is most certainly recognition of the importance of taking positive steps.
Save Britain's Forests are an online community who have established themselves primarily for the purpose of raising awareness of new government proposals to sell off possibly the entire estate in England, currently under control of the Forestry Commission. A number of these sites under consideration include ancient woodland, such as the Forest of Dean, Sherwood Forest, and the New Forest. The government is seeking to raise as much capital as possible, in the wake of the large scale cuts that they have been making, due to the current economic climate. If these sales go ahead, it is argued by protesters, there will simply be no guarantee that the new owners will have the forests' best interest at heart, and that some may even seek to cut down as many trees as possible, in order to realize a profit.
There was a large scale protest in the Forest of Dean earlier this month (Jan.2011), which was attended by some high profile figures – including novelist Bill Bryson, conservationist David Bellamy, politicians, and members of the clergy. They are understandably against this proposed sell off taking place, and are arguing that these forests should continue to remain under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Commission. There is a Bill that will be shortly going to the House of Lords, for debate on what action to take, regarding this matter. The government says that they are hoping that much of the forest land will be bought by communities to be managed and maintained, and that they want to see more land actually forested. This argument is not bought by opponents, like those present at the Forest of Dean protest, and also Save Britain's' Forests.
I believe that if these protesters, and groups such as Save Britain's' Forests focus on strongly urging the government to take steps in the direction of conservation, protection, and regeneration of our precious forests – particularly ancient woodland – and that enough people with passion and vision rally behind this cause, then it really is possible to achieve the above goals. It is very important, though, to look at what we want to achieve (reforestation), rather than what we don't want (deforestation). This will make a huge, massive difference to the outcome, even though it is only a subtle shift in focus. Actually, I cannot stress this enough.
Our forests are the lungs of the planet, mopping up carbon dioxide, pumping fresh, clean, oxygenated air into the atmosphere, and supporting a whole range of other associated life. It is no coincidence that our own physical lungs resemble the shape of a tree. We need trees and we need our forests, and their importance ranks way above the economic needs of a nation. To place financial needs higher on the list of priorities, demonstrates blatant short sightedness. Our forests have been created for a very specific purpose and I passionately urge that we return to the attitudes of the people of old, who revered the habitats in which they lived.
There is a woman called Anastasia who lives in an ancient Cedar forest, which is part of the Russian Taiga, also known as Boreal forest. This woman allegedly has lived in this forest for the majority of her life, and is said to be some kind of a saintly figure, who stresses the importance of the connection between spirituality and living in harmony with nature. She was once known only in Russia, but has since grown in popularity throughout the world, due to her profound message of conservation. She says that modern life with all of its technological advances is in opposition to living an ecologically sustainable life, and urges us to return to sustainable, ecological living. She proposes that we all own a piece of land, on which we grow and maintain an area for forest, as well as becoming self sufficient, by producing our own food on this land. She advocates returning back to our roots, as early people lived, who were much more in tune with nature than we are today.
Some say Anastasia is real, whilst others say she is just a legend. Either way I believe her message is very relevant indeed in this chaotic world of massive change and disorder. We live in a world that has lost touch with its roots, and indigenous people know this all too well. These people have long recognized the special relationship between man and nature, and have for many generations, revered nature and special places, like ancient forests.
I have only very recently learnt about Anastasia and find it very synchronistic, given my own vision for forest regeneration. Though I am keeping the finer details of this close to my chest for the time being, suffice to say that I resonate very strongly indeed with Anastasia's message. I have ordered one of her books, which is called, "Anastasia: Ringing Cedars Series, Book 1," and I'm very much looking forward to reading it.
In summary, Glen Affric is an incredibly beautiful native forest ecosystem, which certainly sings the praises of the natural forces that created it. It has been there for thousands of years - what is left of it - and deserves to be both cherished and massively regenerated. By singing praises to Glen Affric, Scotland will truly have something to be proud of; a priceless Jewell in the rugged beauty of the Highlands.
About the Author
I am a new writer who has the intention of establishing a readership, who resonate with my work. This readership will perhaps go on to buying and reading my first novel, which I am currently working on. I have dreamt of writing for as long as I care to remember, though I have kept this gift locked inside, until recently. This was when I began to affect a dramatic turnaround in my personal life for the better, which gave me the inspiration and motivation to simply take long overdue action!
Although ancient woodland and reforestation are are my main passions, I am also moved to write about other subjects, too. In particular I am very interested in the field of personal growth, from the perspective of my own life experience, and you may well see related articles from me on this subject, too.
My intention is to remain open in terms of what I want to write, and, in fact, this site is meant as a personal forum for experimenting with my writing. At the same time, I will be sharing my work with you, the reader. Your comments on what I submit would be very much appreciated.
Tibby Savvides - Party Political Broadcast on behalf of the CatLib
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