Plant and Tree Observations 2007 to 2023
The following are my observations, paying attention and listening to Plants while connected to Music of the Plants (MOP’s) synthesizer and their response to what is happening in a given environment [1].
There are also some real life stories where Plants are not hooked up to the MOP’s device.
Please take note of few important points:
the word Plant is generally applied to the whole of the green world, being Plants, Trees, Grass, Shrubs, etc. When a particular green being is referenced they will be referenced by name.
also referring to Plants as an ‘it’ is refrained from, out of respect for them being alive, aware, intelligent creatures and having self-hood.
some liberties were taken in assigning human qualitative values on what I and others have personally witnessed with and in the Plant realm. There are definitely Plant qualities that interfaced human qualities. This I believe helps us better understand and comprehend their senses.
Okay so maybe what I did and continue to do is not very conventional - applying human qualities to broadly explain what I thought we might be seeing as inter-relational with us. But I did it anyway. One, I’m not the very conventional type. Two, we’ve got to start somewhere. Three, why not. Who’s the official authoritative who knows Plants are not like humans? From my interactions with them all my life, they may be green and woody and rooted, but they have feelings, senses and desires.
For the record, the last 9 years experience with them and MOP’s device - different Plants communicate differently. That makes sense. Plants from the same family communicate differently. Okay, that makes sense too. And ever every Dandelion has their own frequency too. Their own persona so to speak, as every human does, as every blade of grass does. All resonate in frequencies of their own capacity, patterns and personalities. Just because a human is Latinx does not mean every Latinx sounds alike. My mom and dad both vibrated at different resonances as well as my brother and I. And we all had white skin.
4) The purpose of this ‘manifesto’ is not to try to convince anyone on whether or not Plants are communicating with humans. Rather it’s about how we can pay attention to the varied nuances in how Plants have been making contact with humans and maybe learn from these stories so you can start making your own inter-Kin-nections with the green world.
- Heal our relationships with them - EVERYDAY. Not just now and then. EVERYDAY.
Because don’t forget, everything in our world of living is because of them. Starting right from the
cloths we wear, the air we breath to the coffee we drink.
- Become better listeners, treat them rightly, learn from them…EVERYDAY, not just now and then.
- Be better humans to them, Land and Earth, EVERYDAY, not just now and then.
- Be better humans to each other, not just now and then, EVERYDAY.
This is my commitment to expanding our human-Plant potential. For their future. For our future. For Nature. For Earth. And for the humanity that we are and can be to each other. Re-learning how to be good humans and whatever it means to be a good steward, now. Through their eyes. The eyes of Plants.
There are numerous ways for humans to interact, listen to and communicate with Plants. MOP’s electronics is just one way. It’s a doorway opener.
There are numerous other ways mostly through the tools we have in our body. They’re actually skills that lay dormant and can be re-ignited. Must be re-ignited. Resurrected.
If you are interested in learning more on how you can do this at home, work or play, go to my workshop page and read more about EarthSchool – Cultivating Cognitive Agility with Our Plant, Tree and Nature Allies.
We would love for you to join our trainings to relearn and re-Kin-nect with our Plant and Nature allies.
Sign up to attend our free monthly Zoom Cultivating Circles. This work is for everyone because everyone takes from the Plant world. We see this as learning to give back to them everyday. And this is difficult because we weren’t brought up this way. So our Cultivating Circles support us to be there for Plants, Nature, Earth - EVERYDAY. You can register here: 3moonsisters@gmail.com
So, the following pages are for the most part about my encounters using MOP’s device attached to Plants. Most stories are mine. If you have any, I would love to add yours. Please share with me. I’d need your name or initials, date, time, location. Send to: 3moonsisters@gmail.com
The below is what I’ve learned from working closely with MOP’s in 2015. And before that, since childhood in the back yard in Manahatta, Greenwich Village. In 2017 I added Cymatics thanks to a student of mine, Nisha Bansil. And now since February 2023 Crystallography which is still very new and exciting to see Water express and imprint Plant consciousness in Hydroglyph formations.
One personal endeavor is to introduce and demonstrate - to as many people as possible - that Plants and Trees are always making contact with humans! Communicating with us! All the time. If we’d only stop, pause and listen. But how would most Western society persons know how to do this? They did not grow up this way. Their family, friends, school, media, books, structural and traditional has always left Plants out of the equation. Like they didn’t even exist. The Western mind culture has underplayed, undervalued and disrupted Plants and Nature on such a massive scale that their science can be seen as condoning and or the cause of climate change and the genocide of indigenous peoples the world over. They’ve never valued Nature as the Indigenous peoples of the world have and still do. Nor does the Western mind way of being even know how to start. To date, they have never given Plants the time of day or even considered that they are really alive, … not just, alive, but really alive. You know like living, breathing, thinking, feeling, tasting, smelling and being self-aware alive and having self-hood. Western mind is so on the human blind time scale that is so fast paced, moving, making sounds so loud how that how could they hear anything or anyone else for that matter. Plants are on their time, Plant time. Meticulously slow. Exceptionally deliberate. And making subtle resonances that are not audible to our ears but can be registered in other ways by the human body. Refer to my Cultivating Cognitive Agility workshops.
Western mind does not take the time to slow down and pay attention to the fact that Plants may just be relating to us. [See my blog “When the Trees Spoke”] Even if Western mind did give Plants an inkling of attention and the time of day, do they even know the language of Plants or how to interpret felt impressions? Would they know what they are noticing? Many have suppressed their primitive (?) listening and sensory skills. That is, what is known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge; our innate wildness (?), instincts, intuition, imagination, sixth sense, perceptual fields. All credible qualities that are not recognized as pertinent living skills by Western mind but that strongly enable us to be able to comprehend and listen to Plants and Nature regarding their needs, desires and wants.
Oh wait, do Western minds ever consider Plants have needs or wants beyond water, soil, nutrients, light or lack thereof?
I differentiate between “us” and “Western Mind” because I believe it is that mindset, that world view, that belief system that we have all been indoctrinated in but must rise to the task to undo. It does not define us, as long as we know this. The undoing and unschooling of Western thinking in this area or any other area in our life is a daily task that is an hour to hour, minute to minute, second to second self reflective rewiring of our brain undertaking. It is mindfulness to the max. It is tiring, endless, and ceaseless undertaking.
At EarthSchool we believe that MOP’s makes a great bridge to help Western minds understand just how alive and aware Plants really are. We also believe that we can fine tune our deep listening skills to hear and understand them with our own sensory systems. And we also believe that this will then change the way humans approach not only Plants and the environment but as importantly, maintain clean, healthy and regenerative ecosystem that no longer for human benefit. Its for the benefit of all.
The realization becomes … we’re doing this for them! Its no longer about being an environmental activist. Its about being a conscientious, dedicated and generous Earth steward. Living to care for the Earth.
About the Observations and Grouping of Plant Qualities.
We stand by our compartmentalizing and humanizing of Plant observations. Plants are way beyond the scope of our understanding with senses, qualities and aspects that science has yet to understand. So since we feel we deeply understand them and more so every year, as you read my and others transmission, you can trust what you read and start there for yourselves.
We hope these pages bring you to a place where you feel you are beginning to understand your role in their lives. Where you might feel you’d like to join our free monthly Cultivating Circle to have discussions, updates and shared real life applications or you may want to take the training that can thrust you further from our combined work.
You will soon see that they do have human-like personalities and emotions and that’s why the stories are grouped under these qualities for your ease of comprehension. As you read through these pages, some points will overlap. I point this out by referring to the number and letter I think they relate to.
A Little Bit About Music of the Plants Device
MOP’s is one of our entry level programs where we demonstrate how Plants are alive, thinking, feeling and communicate through an electronic medium - Music of the Plants, developed by Oberto Airaudi of The Federation of Damanhur, Italy. Though this is one approach, we have found this entry level one to two hour program to be highly effective, meaningful and essential approach to opening hearts and minds to this possibilty.
How Does Music of the Plants Device Work?
Wires that extend from the pre-programmed musical synthesizer is clipped to either a Tree or Plants leaf. This wire receives Plant or Tree impulses which are then sent to the device. The device then assigns each impulse a note which we hear with our ears, the Plant’s impressions as musical notes. Basically, the Plant is playing the musical instrument within the device with their metabolic electrical frequencies. Once a Plant learns what is going on, the pace and sonic variations become more elaborate and synchronized with controlled musical sounds. We may even get lucky and experience them responding to persons in the room.
Plant Qualities:
Entrainment Qualities
Telepathic Qualities
Community Awareness Qualities
Responding to Negative or Positive Energies (Bioelectrical and Biomagnetic Fields) Qualities
Human - Animal Relational Qualities
Self-Awareness Qualities
[1] Ethology…the objective study of animal behavior, usually on the behavior under natural conditions and viewing behaviors as an evolutionary adaptive trait. [2] Deep Ecology an environmental movement and philosophy that regards human life as just one of many equal components of a global ecosystem. In 1973, Norwegian philosopher and mountaineer Arne Naess introduced the phrase “deep ecology” to environmental literature. http://www.deepecology.org/deepecology.htm
1. Entrainment Qualities
Over all definition: Plants pick up frequency patterns from sounds in a given vicinity / environment. After a Plant has played some time with MOP’s hooked up to them, after we remove the MOP’s wires from this Plant and hook it to a nearby Plant, they first produce their own sound patterns for a minute or two and then coordinate their sound patterns with the first Plant’s rhythmic sound patterns that had played first. Sometimes the Plant will return to their own pattern, then go back to playing the patterns of their neighboring Plant.
There has been occasions where the sounds a Plant mimics will be from an inanimate sound, such as church bells near that Plant, as you shall read next.
a. Observation: May, 2016:
Maple tree that lives outside an Oneonta church for over 100 years picked up the church bell sounds and cadence when playing MOP’s. The Maple tree was hooked up to MOP’s and everyone listened. Then, while they were playing, the church bells started to chime. After some seconds, the Tree started to mimic the sounds of the church.
[Presentation for the Mind, Body Spirit Collective].
b. Observation: August, 2016:
Oak Tree (only 1 foot tall) and Moss picked up Club Moss sound patterns and cadence who was the first Plant to play MOP’s device. [at Judi Millar's woodland home].
c. Observation: September, 2016:
Hosta & Dandelion picked up Yellow Dock sound patterns & cadence out back from my home. Yellow Dock was the first to play.
2. Telepathic Qualities.
Plants send our messages. And we can “hear” them. But we rarely if ever notice this. For me, Plant messages come through my heart or my gut.
a. Observation:
Yellow dock sent a message to me to ‘stop harvesting’ when I had harvested enough, but, I did not listen and this is what happened. It was summer, 2016: each morning all summer long, I’d sit with a group of Yellowdock Plants outside my back door for a couple of hours, to have my coffee and this one Yellowdock I’d always hook up to play MOP’s every so often. This amazing Plant knew its cadence and each time and would always play the same way.
Here’s what transpired: On the morning of September 1, 2016, this one Yellowdock I hooked up to MOP’s and was playing for 10 minutes while I sent my thoughts towards the Plant, asking and discussing with the plant as well as all the other Yellowdock family Plants that I’d like to harvest a few leaves. I “heard” the message that all felt well received and that it was ok. I asked the Plant that was connected to MOP’s to let me know when I should not harvest any more (as they usually do in my heart).. So I slowly proceeded to trim one to two leaves from each Plant, including two leaves from the Plant that was attached to MOP’s. Each time I trimmed a leaf, I’d wait, listen or feel in my heart if Yellowdock was connecting with me. I’d continued to clip, keeping in receptive flow with the remaining group of Yellowdocks too.
At one point I heard / felt in my heart, “no more”, I was about to stop but I saw one leaf that was just so green and so plump and looked so delicious. I just had to have that one more leaf. Besides, there were sooooooo many more leaves. How could one more make a difference. Disregarding what I had heard / felt in my heart, I cut ‘just one more leaf’ and immediately, the Yellowdock that was hooked up completely stopped playing and remained silent for the rest of the time until I have to unhook MOP’s — it was over five minutes before I removed the machine.
Important point: Remember, Yellowdock had been playing nonstop for 10 minutes. The whole experience lasted 20 minutes, and I have this recorded. I sensed Yellowdock ‘speak to me’, in my heart. This is a place Plants connect with many of us, and that we connect with them, as we connect with each other. This is the place we can “hear”. What happened? I did not abide by what Yellowdock wanted from me, no matter how many leaves were on their family, even though there were large amounts of leaves, no more meant no more. This day was a big learning lesson for me. And I’ll always remember to stop now even if there’s lots of plants.
2. Telepathic Qualities (cont’d)
b. Observation: November, 2015:
Night-blooming Cereus that lives in my home while I was meditating with Cereus, I asked her if she would please play healing sounds for my cat, Sweet Pea, as we had just found out she had liver cancer. Cereus had not had much practice of playing MOP’s synthesizer, yet what she played was an incredibly beautiful melody (and I’m assuming for me too because I was so sad about my kitty girls diagnosis) she played these notes for over 10 minutes. I was so overwhelmed with the sound patterns that she chose this day and she has not played in that same way since.
Important point: This is a similar experience of those at Damanhur, and others who own and work with this type of synthesizer and their Plants. Over time Plants learn to influence the synthesizer in greater melodic ways through regular practice sessions with the synthesizer. It turns out that there are some plants who learn much more quickly than others. And in this case, it seems Cereus was already deeply connected to Sweet Pea and myself and wanted to serve our need.
c. Observation: November, 2015:
On one of the very first days Night Blooming Cereus was playing her beautiful sounds, Sweet Pea (my kitty girl) walked in and lay down facing Cereus … to listen to the sound patterns Cereus was playing. Sweet Pea had never done this before with any type of music, ever. She layed down and faced not the speaker where the sounds were coming from, but faced Cereus Plant. Sweet Pea knew the plant was playing !
Important point: Before this moment, Sweet Pea had never come into the living room to listen to music. After this time and for quite a few months, Sweet Pea continued to return to the living room area each time she heard the Night Blooming Cereus playing MOP’s in the living room.
Additionally: After Sweet Pea heard Plant music the above first time (Nov. 24, 2015), over the next weeks Sweet Pea would actually “ask” me to play MOP by coming into the living room area where Cereus sits by our window, walk over to Cereus, face the Plant, lay down on the floor and wait. I’d either hook Cereus up quickly or just play a recording I had made of the original play (2b). Sweet Pea would just sit there, listening closely to the entire recording. When done playing, she would walk away!
3. Community Awareness Qualities.
a. Observation:
Yellowdock stopped playing when being over-harvested (see 2a).
b. Observation: September, 2016
At a friend’s home in Bovina Center, New York, she had a young Norfolk pine, a small cactus and a succulent (?) in her home. All would not play individually in their far away locations in my friends home. However when we brought them all next to one another, slowly, one by one they started to play.
c. Observation: February, 2016
At 7 Sisters Center in Oneonta, NY: Plants that lived at this location and were alone quite a lot (no humans around on a daily basis), these Plants played either sparsely or not at all!
d. Observation:
In the spring of 2016, Night Blooming Cereus had not been hooked up to the synthesizer for over a month as I had wanted to give my other plants a chance to play MOP’s synthesizer and hear themselves. When I returned the MOP’s synthesizer to the other side of the room and reconnected Cereus to play, no sound came no matter how I positioned the synthesizer, clips, ground, more sun, less sun, water, in a few days less water… nope, there was no playing going on. This lasted for two weeks and then one day, Cereus decided she was going to play. What was wrong? Was this plant upset because there was no play-time and the others got to? Just questioning.
e. Observation:
When traveling to give MOP’s demonstrations, over time, I found that I’d have 100% success in Plants feeling safe enough to play for the public by bringing 3 plants with me instead of just one. Now, I do this all the time.
f. Observation:
In addition to 3e, even if all plants are together, if we’re giving a presentation to a large audience, we set up a shelter for the Plants from where the audience will be as this prevents plants from getting stage fright. Then, slowly we reveal the audience to the Plants as they’re playing and they’re much happier about this and continue to play.
3. Community Awareness Qualities (cont’d)
g. Observation: May 18th, 2017
When recording 10 different plants on one sunny, there was a gentle breeze, dry and very comfortably warm spring air, I found myself on two occasions, as I listened to my garden weeds, wanting to give ‘more room’ to the particular Plants that were playing.
I had noticed Grass had seemed to encroach way too close upon two Plants. And so while Dead Nettle was playing joyfully [and then later on Blue Vervain], on both these occasions, I started to gently lay down the grass around them with the palm of my hands so that Grass wouldn’t be in the way. But as you would know it, Grass wouldn’t lay flat from either plant so I decided to do a little trimming with my scissors. I did consider that I’d trim a very small portion of Grass.
When I did this, this is what happened with both Plants. They both became erratic in their musical cadence. Stopping and starting and then completely stopping and then starting again. They both consistently did this until I completely put away the scissors. What I found was that I couldn’t just stop using the scissors and keep the scissors out of the bag or on the ground. I had to take the scissors and put them completely back into the bag before both plants would return to playing like they were initially.
Since I wanted to make sure that what I was experiencing was so, I repeated these actions several times, of removing and replacing the scissors in the bag. It was clear to me without a doubt, as long as I kept the scissors out of the bag in line of sight with these Plants, both Plants played erratically until I put the scissors away.
h. Observation: Sept. 19th, 2021 by Carolyn Clark Pierson
While Cliff Eaglefeathers was speaking at Bushel this one Sunday, I was home on my deck and a Vine nearby was playing on the MoP. When he (Cliff) spoke in his native language, this Vine became very quiet, slow and barely audible. When he returned to English, the Vine returned to playing loudly and rapidly. Since then I've been asking the Vine their name. So far I'm not getting anything. Question from Carolyn’s experience: Can a Plant forget their own name in this consumer culture we've created?
Marguerite’s follow up question to this experience was: are we (colonial mind transplants) as sick as we are because Plants and Trees have forgotten their real name or … don’t see themselves for who they are?
4. Responding to Negative or Positive Energies (Bioelectrical and Biomagnetic Fields) Qualities.
a. Observation: April, 2016
I went to a spiritual arts fair that took place at an old, unused elementary school in Cherry Valley, New York. Two students and myself was to give a MOP’s demonstration to a small group of people. Our demonstration became a short lecture because the Rose Scented Geranium that I had brought from home with me would not play at all, even though before leaving home, I dowsed to find out if Rose Scented Geranium would like to perform. At home, the dowsing responded with a yes so this is why I brought this Plant along. As a matter of fact, Geranium played for me at the house before leaving that morning. Yet Geranium would not play at the school no matter what I did. When I returned home that day, I hooked up Geranium again and . . . she played! Right away!
Bad vibes?
Important point#1: After describing this experience to my husband, he surmised that there may have still been some poor energies in this area related to the site being the Cherry Valley French-Indian Massacre.
b. Observation: July, 2016:
During a Plant walk at a friend’s home, we dowsed to see which Trees and Plants wanted to play. Some seemed to express they were interested yet, they were still very weak at playing or played and then stopped completely and would not return to playing. This happened to many of this womans Plants or Trees including those in the vicinity of her home. We wondered if this was because this was the home and land were where Turkey’s and Goats were regularly slaughtered?
c. Observation: September, 2016
Rose Scented Geranium was next to me one morning, playing away, nonstop as I saw two clients at a clinic I work at. Both clients did not give a thought to what was going on. The music they heard in my office hadn’t peaked their interest. And, they didn’t give the Plant any type of attention or even ask what type of music that was. Geranium continued on playing. Around noon, a former herbal student of mine, Kaela van Breevoort Reed came to visit for a little bit. Its important to note here that Kaela had just completed a four-month long intensive course in plant communication where sitting quietly to feel subtle Plant vibrations to better understand them was what she did day in and day out. Kaela was looking forward to hearing Geranium play. So I brought her into the room where Geranium was still playing.
4. Responding to Negative or Positive Energies (Bioelectrical and Biomagnetic Fields) Qualities. (cont’d)
(4c cont’d)
As I opened the door and walked in, Kaela followed, entering the room slowly, she walked slowly up to Geranium and keeping a respectful distance as the Plant played ... I loved the interplay between Kaela and Geranium….Kaela was so very generous with her space and presence in this plants space as Kaela gave the Plant much space and moved in a time-like slowness for the Plant. She waited at the door and looked at Geranium playing MOP’s. Suddenly, Geranium completely stopped playing. There, before my eyes, I swear it was like both Kaela and Geranium were entranced by each other’s direct attention. I watched the two of them in silence, ‘looking at each other’. Yes, looking at each other. Such a quiet and direct space. Keala didn’t say a word. Neither did Geranium. There was this long music-less pause. Perhaps a minute or so, before Geranium started to play again.
No words could describe my awe and appreciation in this passage of quietude between a dearly beloved student and Geranium that I tended to from a leaf clipping years before.
e. Observation: June 11th, 2017
I gave a Plant walk for a group of 6 children ages 8 to 12 yrs. old at the International Herb Symposium with their 20 something year old sitter. They were learning about Plant intelligence and so the children became so excited and asked to hear a particular tree play (MOP’s). So we all went over and connected Sugar Maple to the synthesizer. Almost immediately, Maple began to play... and a lot.
The children became intensely animated so we asked them to sit down on the ground around Maple and listen. As they did this, I noticed one boy seemed a bit impatient as he was bouncy and played with the wood chips around the tree. I didn’t think this unusual. And right out of the blue, he picked up a chip and threw it at the tree. Not aggressively. Just threw it. As it hit Maple, immediately Maple just stopped playing. All the children and teacher were amazed at what happened. They all got to experience first-hand, Tree awareness. About 1⁄2 minute or so later Maple started playing again and continued until we disconnected the synthesizer.
4. Responding to Negative or Positive Energies (Bioelectrical and Biomagnetic Fields) Qualities (cont’d)
f. Observation: June 25th, 2017
In Caledon, Canada at one of my Human-Plant Dialogues weekend retreats, I was giving an evening workshop to a group of 25 adults and one 3 y/o boy with both his parents, were also present. This young boy sat quietly the whole time with his parents and listened intently as I spoke regarding my one on one experiences with MOP’s. Lacy Johnson was also present (a student, Herbalists, helper and Plant Pioneer partner). She and I had hooked up African Violet to MOP’s device whom was playing very well the whole time we were talking so we kept it hooked up throughout class.
The entire presentation African Violet, a small and dainty plant played deep low notes the whole time. The deep notes were quite remarkable for such a light appearing plant. And here is what changed the sounds. After a while, the boy became antsy while class was well into 20 minutes and so his father took him out of the room for a bit to calm him. When they returned, the boy was calmed again. As we continued to have group discussions the young boy began to really fuss. This time, both parents took him out of the room.
As both parents carried him away through the back door, the young boy started to cry. They closed the door behind them and we could all hear the little boy in the distance crying …. and so did African Violet, who immediately went from deep low notes to an erratic cadence, stopping and then starting up again, but now played high pitched notes, the whole time, until the boy stopped crying and returned to low deep pitched notes. This was witnessed by everyone in the room. This was remarkable. When the boy stopped crying, African Violet stopped playing and then, returned to playing their low notes again.
g. Observation: July 31st, 2017
Two Wild Ginger plants were separated (not on purpose) by David Kenny ... he thought they needed more sun and had to separate them to put them into the sun (they had been in the shade, together, in one end of his office). What we're directing your attention to is when we re-united the two Wild Ginger Plants, side by side, touching each other, they apparently liked being re-united because the one that was hooked up to MOP’s sounded like it became animated with double the sounds.
5. Human – Plant Inter-Relational Qualities
a.Observation:
(see 2b and 2c above)
b. Observation: December 28th, 2016:
Friend Renee’ Barchita, pianist Sonny and vocalist Perley and myself were together in Sonny and Perley’s home in Albany, New York. MOP’s was still very new to me at that time, only a few weeks in my work. Sonny and Perley had heard of MOP’s and wanted to play music with one of their house-plants. As I hooked up their Norfolk Pine tree to MOP’s Norfolk Pine almost immediately played. We all listened for a while and then Sonny decided to try playing the piano along with Pine.
And this is what happened:
When Sonny started playing his Piano, Norfolk Pine immediately stopped playing the synthesizer. Sonny continued to play for a couple more minutes and then stopped because Norfolk Pine did not pick up playing again. So, Sonny stopped.
As soon as Sonny stopped playing the piano, Norfolk Pine started playing the synthesizer again. Soooo, Sonny went back to the piano and started playing again. Norfolk Pine immediately stopped playing again. So Sonny played a while longer thinking there may be some play time happening and then he stopped because nothing happened. Then, Norfolk Pine started playing again.
I must tell you that this happened about 5 or 6 more times. Each time Sonny stopped playing, Norfolk Pine would play. Each time Sonny played, Norfolk Pine would stop. We all just listened in amazement. I did not have this recorded. I wished I did. Later, we all talked about this experience and what was going on, and Norfolk Pine was continuing to play. Sonny never did get to play with Norfolk Pine that day.
c.Observation:
Mz Imani practiced with Jack in the Pulpit singing and playing her hand-pan with Jack who responded almost immediately to the inter-play. Jack in the Pulpit was in a potted planter in a chapel that had great acoustics. [we have a video recording.]
5. Human – Plant Inter-Relational Qualities (cont’d)
d.Observation:
Joshia Johnson, guitarist who plays the blues played with the same Jack in the Pulpit, but this time, Jack was in the garden soil out back. Joshia practiced and played slowly for over 20 minutes trying different cues. I asked him to use rhythmic cues … and then, after about 30 minutes, I tried changing the synthesizer over to a guitar so that the plant could sound the same as Joshia. Within 2 minutes Jack in the Pulpit started following Joshias cue. [we have a video recording of this.]
e.Observation:
The Blues Maneuvers, after seeing the above two video’s were willing to try to do the same. What they did was take one of my Plants bringing them to all of their gigs. On the day of their West Kortright Center gig, most were chickening out except two musicians. It’s a little hard to hear because the crowd is so loud. [we have a video of this.]
f. Observation:
Heart-leaf Philodendron played in three high school freshmen science classes in a Bronx school. March 2016:
Ms. Gifty’s class:
Plants did not play in this particular class at all. Half the class was interested and hovered intensely over the plant. Poor Philodendron was probably frightened, as students had never paid attention to these plants ever before and were touching and prodding the Plant. But this was good. Opened up their idea of what this could mean. The other half of the class were noisy and angry (not at us).
Ms. Alston’s class:
About two-thirds of the students were interested. The others were mostly giggly. They were all asking questions though and seemed interested, but in an unfocused way. There was so much frenetic energy, Philodendron wouldn’t sing. We tried another plant, still no music. However, ... when the recess bell rang, as the kids stood up and became unfocused on Philodendron that’s when Philodendron began playing up a storm sounding so joyful.☺
Mr. Castro’s class:
This whole class was interested. Quite. And patient. They asked questions and answered questions. At some point, Philodendron started playing. The students applauded. Philodendron never stopped playing that at the end of class, we had to end up unhooking Philodendron. As these students were leaving, most all of them came up to Philodendron, touched and thanked the plant— and said goodbye!
5. Human – Plant Inter-Relational Qualities (cont’d)
g. Observation: October, 2017
A meeting of two minds. At my home office, a snazzy talking ad developer came to talk to me about advertising in their Journal, Chronogram. Nice lady. I enjoyed her high powered-ness but felt some caution. Not sure why. When it came time for me to introduce her to MOP’s I had my top player, Angel Winged Begonia, play. The poor lady never did get to hear my Begonia play. Just wouldn’t. I took that que to mean, don’t buy. So this ad person left empty handed. That was a sign for me that, something was just not kosher and that I should not go with this ad agency.
h. Observation: November, 2017
Music of the Plants Experience
Sharing a Memory...Creating a Memorial
Judith Millar
Recently a friend and colleague purchased a Music of the Plants device. Since she and I will be presenting Music of the Plants to the public at Georgian Court University in November, becoming familiar with the device and engaging in a variety of plant interactions and experiences was paramount. I was beyond excited when she dropped the MOP device off at my house for several weeks as she traveled for another training.
After reading the "Quick Start" directions, I needed to choose which plant to try first. I gazed at all the plants on my windowsill, asking "Who'd like to be first?"
A quick response came from an orchid...an orchid with a special history. It was sort of jumping up and down, waving a long floppy leaf at me. "That's so like you," I thought, grinning at the orchid in its fancy Zentangle™ pot. This particular orchid (Phalaenopsis--exact cultivar unknown) had been part of a larger plant. My good friend Jan grew and cared for a number of orchids in her Colorado home. Her husband Peter had gotten her interested in them, being quite the fan himself (His license plate reads "ORCHIS") Whenever I'd visited Jan, I'd seen her lovingly give the orchids their weekly soak, heard her coo in admiration at those who were in bloom.
In 2016, Jan was rapidly declining due to metastasized breast cancer. I'd spent considerable time as one of her caregivers, and one of our shared small joys was caring for the orchids. When she passed in August, I carried a small piece of a large overgrown orchid back home to NJ with me. Several months prior, Jan made me a beautiful hand-painted flower pot using Zentangle™ designs---an art form she'd taught me in those many quiet hours we spent together. So you can see why this orchid was eager to be first!
I checked the settings---all on standard mode, synthesizer as the "instrument", slid the root probe into the bark, moistened a vital looking leaf and attached the leaf connection...and waited.
5. Human – Plant Inter-Relational Qualities (cont’d)
h. Observation: November, 2017
I didn't have to wait long. Within a few seconds, the room filled with sweet and melancholy notes. My dog leapt up and ran over to the table where I'd set up, head tilting and ears pricked up---furrowing her forehead in wonder. The plant played continuously for about a minute, and in that magical moment I was flooded with memories of Jan and I caring for the orchids together, tears streaming as I held that vision. The orchid stopped playing. Was it picking up my strong emotion? Could it have felt the shared memory? Did it "recognize" its former caretaker? At the moment it stopped, I was holding a clear mental picture of Jan and her plants. I felt a powerful heart-connection with the orchid.
After a couple minutes I pulled myself together, thanked the plant for sharing the moment with me, and "told" it I'd be happy to continue caring for it. Took several deep breaths and sent love to it and to my dear friend. The music suddenly began again--this time, more lively, with higher notes, a decidedly lighter feel to the melody. It continued for more than an hour. I recorded a portion.
I later shared the recording and the experience with Jan's closest loved ones. Soon after, her husband Peter called, and we shared thoughts on love, loss, grief, and the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Other conversations ensued- equally touching and full of wonder.
The experience was much more than I expected. I try to approach working with the plants with an open mind, without preconceptions or expectations, so as to limit skewing the experience. I can't explain nor prove what the plant might have perceived. My inner scientist can only postulate theories. My heart only knows what it felt. Someplace between lay the truth. Note: I've cared for this plant for over a year, watching it grow many healthy emerald leaves. On this day, I saw its first flower spike!
i. Observation: July 30th, 2023
I wanted to share that I did the 3-2-1 meditation this morning for the first time since I did it a few weeks ago and got all dizzy/lightheaded. I felt grounded the whole time and was able to come out of it well. I received this message that I thought also might be relevant to all of you as well:
"Use the tools and resources that you have (including/especially communicating with Plants). You have been given a gift that many people are unaware of. If you don't use what you've been given, it's worse than if you had never received it at all."
I'm feeling like I'm "waking up" with the help of these Plants and you all after a challenging year where it feels like I've lost some of my sense of self. Partly pregnancy related but partly other stuff, too. I'm so grateful to you, Carolyn & Marguerite, for creating such a powerful space for all of us to learn together within, and for giving us more tools to listen and communicate and support and feel supported by our friends and relations, Plants, an extension of the Earth, just like we are. – Chelsea Frisbee Johnson
j. Observation: July something, 2023 [no MOP’s Device]
One pine tree is growing so well, I wanted to give it a loving hug.
I felt a nice pleasant energy.
A second tree called me and it wanted to GIVE ME a hug.
It feel like I was receiving love and very very surprisingly I gave out a BIG yawn that I only feel when I am practicing Qi Gong which is an indication that a blockage has just been released. Wow!
I went to hug the 3rd tree and it was a very different energy. Subdued, like a watchful mother teaching her children and watching over them
IT was then I realized each tree had it's own personality. Just the same as several human children from the same parent each have a distinct personality and role. Something new for me to learn and know now. Wow!
25 of my koi fish have names and I know their individual personalities very well. I an thinking to start paying closer attention the each tree's individual personality. Hmmmmmm.:) – Ken L., Lives in the Catskills of New York
3. 4. and 5.
Observation, October 27th, 2016 [No use of MOP’s Device]
My home office houses many beloved Plants. One of whom at the time was White Orchid that had been with me in my office for about 3 years. Along with them was my dearest feline familiar and soul-mate, Sweet Pea, who would sit with me there, through clients or my computer work or phone sessions. When Sweet Pea passed away, it was a most profound time for me and an experience that is still deeply felt. The love we had for each other on this plane was equal to any of my human relationships. And in some way it was the same for White Orchid. The day after Sweet Pea passed, all of White Orchid’s flowers went from perky to dried up. And by the next day, they were all starting to fall off.
If you don’t know about these types of Orchids, the falling off of their flowers might seem coincidental. But it is not. You see when these type of Orchids lose their flowers, the process is a slow and methodical one. One flower at a time, every few days to a week will dry up then fall off. Then the next flower over the next few days to a week. And then the next and the next. So you see, this was not a coincidence. It was more than evident for us that Orchid:
1.missed Sweet Pea.
2.recognized Sweet Pea’s absence.
3.felt emotional pain from Sweet Pea’s death themselves.
4.felt my emotional pain from Sweet Pea’s death.
5.all of the above?
6. Self-Awareness Qualities.
a. Observation: August 4th, 2017 around 6:00 p.m.
Foresters Ryan Tripani and John MacNaught of the Catskill Forest Association along with Michael Kudish, a Catskill Forest Historian and environmental scientist were all together at this one Apple Tree with me. Ryan Tripani had grafted this Apple tree maybe 7 years before. This Apple tree had been growing nicely ever since, but never bore any fruit.
We hooked MOP’s synthesizer to the original tree, the leaves played quite a lot of music. However, when we connected MOP’s to the grafted leaves - nothing happened. No music that is. We attempted attaching the synthesizer to numerous leaf locations and leaves, on the grafted tree, none would play. We kept this up for 10 to 15 minutes. Nothing at all was heard.
Additionally, any and all previous qualities I sense include Plants and Trees being Self-Aware too.
Below is one experience I have had with Dandelion.
[The information given to me by Dandelion was gained prior to any detailed readings about Dandelion plant.]
One early, sunny morning, I sat with Dandelion in deep inquiry. Some questions came up for me in how Dandelion presented patterns to the landscape that I noticed over the months that summer. In particular, was how they grew differently in different spaces.
I’d notice, stop, and observe. So this one time, I sat down and felt deeply into Dandelion’s life. I felt deeply infused with their blend of alchemical language and their patterns of innate intelligence [today this is being coined as embodied cognition]. At some point, I became very clear of the following. But I believe it was only after I became centered to our oneness.
First, I asked out loud, “Dandelion, why do you grow where you grow, from places in the sun to places in the shade?”
Here’s the blissful ode to Dandelion ...
Ode to Dandelion
Early one sunny summer morning — I sat with Dandelion,
As I looked at her, a spark of musings arose from deep within my belly.
Oh how Dandelion presents her patterns to the world.
How Dandelion grows differently in different spaces.
I noticed, stopped, sat and felt into Dandelion,
who lured me close to her,
infusing me with her alchemical messages of
beauty, …ages of innate intelligence.
Asking out loud to the spaces to all of her
I said, “Dandelion,
why do you grow
the way you grow
from places in the sun
to places in the shade?”
I noticed our heart of hearts, centered.
Transpirations and exchanges welled up in me,
and I was suddenly aware of her lessons.
My simple inquiry opened the door
to our exchange, because I cared enough to ask.
And the answers came flooding in.
When I asked, … Dandelion, in direct sunlight I find that your …
• your basal leaves are spread wide and far, and close to the earth.
• your leaf edges to their very tips are directing themselves back toward
your body’s center with a sense of rigidity.
• your leaves are so deeply dissected, right up to your center vein.
• and your leaf color, they are a deeper and darker richer green than usual.
I continued, …and Dandelion, in the shade I find that your …
• your basal leaves grow closer together in a more-full cluster that reach up, seemingly fluidly to the sky.
• your leaf edges to tips of leaf, point outward more and maybe even in a more
relaxed and curved way, slightly downward to the ground.
• and wow, your leaves are much less dissected than they are when in direct sun, much more full, very tall and quite large – your leaves appear a richer, yet a bit lighter color of green.
And Dandelion responded as quick as the questions came to me.
In the sun …
• my leaves stay close to the earth to absorb and retain water; since earth holds a cool moistness for me, and the air above me is hotter and drier.
• my leaf edges direct themselves to the sun energy back towards my body in this way since the angle of my leaves help direct moisture back onto myself.
• my leaf center vein is a cooling system for me; that’s why my leaves grow with deep dissections— so that I may cool myself efficiently; plus, I don’t need much leaf mass in this area in direct sun for chlorophyll production because all the sun touches me here.
• and, my deeper, darker leaves are drier and have higher concentrations of green energy.
In the shade…
• my leaves can capture moisture in this reaching-up direction as well as capturing more light to produce food for me.
• my leaves don’t need to compete or compensate for moisture here as there is plenty of reserves in this shady area, so I’m in a more relaxed flow than when in the sun.
• and my leaves are free to grow and may not lose a lot of moisture here; but there is a lot less sunlight here in this shade, I need more surface to develop my green energy.
• and, my leaves are a lighter rich green hue related to slightly less green energy; and my leaves don’t need to be as deeply dissected here in the shade since its cooler here and there’s plenty of moisture.
Today, each time I see Dandelion,
I remember the above transpirations.
They are sealed in my memory.
Our relationship.
That goes beyond words.
That just is.
Marguerite Uhlmann-Bower
June 2007
