"If you'd like to relate with this tree more imaginatively, try a few of the following exercises; each one will help you engage a different part of your awareness. These exercises aren't meant to be linear, but rather to engage your imagination. Whatever you discover will help you understand your own associations with the tree more fully.

"Sketch the tree in your Nature journal. Study its form and try to capture it on paper. Don't worry about making your drawing 'good,' just let the process show you what the tree expresses through its shape and form.

"Dance it. With your body, adopt the same posture that you see in the tree. Feel your roots go into the Earth. Feel the support they give you. Move as the tree might move in the wind. Stand still as it might in the rain. Notice how you feel. What do you learn about yourself and the tree in this manner?

"Sing it. If this tree could make a tone or a sound, what might that be? Make the sound — if possible. How does it make you feel?

"Free association. Speaking aloud — and filling in the gap — repeat the phrase: 'This tree makes me feel…'. Say it over and over again. Complete it with whatever words come to your mind. Not all your responses will make 'logical' sense, but you'll gain a deeper feel for your own associations with the tree.

"Imagine that the tree is another human being. If you saw a person on the street with the same posture and personality as this tree, what might that person look like? How would they be dressed? What would their outlook be? What would you imagine that person's life to be like? Of course, it's all conjecture, to give yourself permission to play.

"Dialog. Imagine that you could talk with this tree. What would you ask it? What would you like to learn from it about itself or about the world of Nature? Ask and then imagine what the answers might be. Listen carefully. What insights would this tree share with you?"