What Nature has taught me about privacy.
Is there anything more relaxing than walking alone through a garden, a park, the woods? You have time to decompress, clear your mind and let go of all the little dramas after interactions with friends, family and co-workers.
Ahh. Totally alone, no one watching, free to be completely yourself.
I can confess to holding this unconscious assumption, and have more than once been startled out of my human-centric thinking by the perspective of Nature intelligence.
One of the most vivid experiences was when I met a Salvia. I was fascinated by the plant, as I knew Dan Shen to be an important herb in Chinese Medicine. But I had not yet made a connection to the spirit of the plant, as I would do before making an essence.
So, I sat down next to the group of sage plants, pulled out my notebook, and began making careful notes about the features, the growth habit, flowers and leaves. Careful observation is a good starting point when you want to start to develop an understanding of the qualities of the plant and is part of my practice as I get to know a new plant.
After several minutes of studious examination and note-taking, I heard a very clear and direct voice in my mind asking “Well, now that you have looked us over, would you like to talk?”
Chagrined, I realized I had been examining the plant and treating it as an inanimate object. Imagine someone walking up to you, never saying a word of greeting, and pulling out a hand lens and writing down details of your appearance. How rude!
Duly chastened, I apologized to the vibrant intelligence I had ignored up to that moment, and explained my interest in making a healing essence. Immediately, it began to explain how to dig up the roots and start to prepare the medicine. Then was my turn to explain that this was going to be different, and the process of co-creating a flower essence. There was a definite moment of surprise, as this sage knew very well how it had always been prepared as an herb. But, after I explained the process and intent, it was willing to try something new.
And, so we began.
Making the Purple Sage flower essence was a remarkable experience, and each time I attune with the plant I gain new understanding of the essence. I find it hard to sum up the qualities of the essence in just a few words, and each time I explain the essence to someone I describe it slightly differently.
Perhaps the best explanation comes from the plant itself. From my attunement notes:
The primary use of the essence is of throwing off undesired energies. These energies can take the form of unwanted attention, of notice when privacy will better serve.
If a person is to take our essence, several effects may be noted. The primary noting is that one feels a deeper sense of privacy, no matter how much outside stimulus there may be.
You view privacy as the mater of excluding outside influence. As you are seeing in your world – the technology today makes this an illusion. The fact is, all can be known. Secrets can no longer be kept.
Now, what is privacy in truth? When you are here in the garden do you feel privacy? Are you kidding? Living beings surround you everywhere – the attention of multiple conscious energies is always upon you. Do you you feel differently now?
So – the notion of privacy illustrates the fallacy of human illusion – the illusion that you can ever be alone, that what you do can ever be in secret. This has never been the case.
Now, we get to the point. In the world of humans, you may experience unsought attention from other humans. On some level, you draw these attentions, even though you may fear and reject them. But, they are drawn in your direction for some reason. Why would they be drawn?
Our essence can begin to clarify your field of the energies that attract the attention. In this way you will experience privacy from unwanted attention – it is more that the signaling stops drawing them in.
This concept was unfamiliar to me, but the longer I think about it the more interesting I find it. And, I think, more and more relevant to our lives as we navigate 21st century concerns about privacy and data gathering.
The lesson I take from the Purple Sage is how to dance with the reality that we are always being witnessed by Nature, and now, by human-created algorithms. But, intent is all, and benevolent helping forces surround us, waiting for us to become aware and ask for help. Now too, as participants in digital culture, we can become more aware of how our data is being collected and used – and if it is being done to serve us better, anticipate our wishes and generally be helpful, all the better. Recognizing our interconnection with all beings, and engaging with flower essences like Purple Sage in order to keep our energy fields clear to avoid attracting unwanted attentions can be a good energetic hygiene practice, in addition to more mundane practices of becoming a better informed consumer of web and social media.
Making flower essences can be an “Alice down the rabbit hole” experience, often surprising and even mind-bending. You may read more of my attunement notes from Purple Sage here. And on the more mundane level, this post was inspired by all the waves created by the GDPR and my adventures in updating my privacy policy. Rest assured in my commitment to be a good and trustworthy partner in conscious business – I appreciate your trust and engagement in this process of making the world a better place for all forms of life.
