Complement to Raquel Cachafeiro’s intervention in the «Emotions&Wellbeing» panel
Sages&Scientist Mallorca, October 2024
Chopra Foundation, Sadhana Works
Look to See
To remove the veil that allowed me to look in order to see, it was necessary to intertwine two paths: Scientific observation, structured and methodical, and the inner calm that meditation brings.
I created the Conscious Gaze Method as a form of contemplative observation that combines the virtues of an objective gaze with inner work. This exercise serves to achieve excellence, or at least improvement, in the use of the observer’s abilities.
There are faces in the trees—this is a botanical fact that should have its place in textbooks to bring joy to children during their long hours of study. Yes, there are faces in the trees; they look like elves. There are also faces or vegetal figures in churches, cathedrals, in paintings, and they are called green men in Anglo-Saxon tradition. There are also leaf women.
It is mysterious knowledge, curiously hidden by being too exposed. Something that has been present through ancient art and in many cultural traditions for centuries and is still represented today. In our more modern creations, we have The Hulk.
I tried hard to look, but I learned to see because I was taught to do so properly. And thus, I continue—fortunately, logically, by God’s grace, and hopefully it will never cease…
Who helped me?
Without a doubt, the elves, whom I also call Intelligences, that I encountered while learning to look and see in plants. The pleasure of meeting is mutual. The excitement and thrill are mutual too. Each time there is an encounter, three worlds are stirred—two of them are theirs and mine. My alert presence in their world creates an effect similar to that of a stone falling into a calm lake—ripples and ripples.
The third world remains unnamed, though it is already beautifully populated and has its own charming, captivating glow. It is the world created by the encounter between both, the space-time awakened by the meeting between the Open Intelligences and human senses. It liberates them, while it enchants us.
In other words, we live among elves that seem to watch us from the trees, with their «portraits» in profusion and on a large scale. I am a witness to this, I am not making it up. This is not some fairy tale to fool children.
I didn’t come across them by chance; my method of structured observation and the help of these intelligent beings led me to this and many other surprising, fun, and practical discoveries. If we cooperate, intelligence to intelligence, we can solve part of the eco-social crisis we face. We can co-create solutions.
In the year 2000, we published The Tree Faces Book—a compilation of nearly 100 photographs showcasing this fascinating fact. The more loved and observed trees tend to create more faces… at least this happens quite often. After two or three years of contemplative observation, they reveal themselves and confront us.
Do they peek at us as well? Are they trying to speak our language by imitating the most expressive part of our anatomy—the face?
In any case, there is a response from the tree that is observed, there is a message returned to the observer, and a system of communication opens up… which we continue to reveal through tenacious and structured observation.
The Book of Faces is a true «Wow!» case that was born within the School of Nature we created, where I taught Nature Observation.
Those were wonderful years in which we explored an authentic dialogue from Being to Being, from intelligence to intelligence, with the trees. Francesca Zúñiga, co-creator of this initiative at the beautiful La Chopera estate, also brought her passion for bringing yoga to city people. And so, we continued bridging worlds.
It’s too late to save the planet if we don’t consider trees and plants as intelligent actors, as truly living beings. We continue to treat them as objects that simply grow.
I’ve always been fascinated by what happens around a rose that is being contemplated by someone who loves or adores roses. It’s obvious that a special flow of energy moves there, something happens that causes the surroundings to awaken.
Several decades ago, I decided to dedicate my life and efforts to naming this phenomenon. I research the field of the relationship between plants and human beings; this space-time exists, it is vibrant, and it manifests with special characteristics. I always wish to visit the gardens and orchards of those who speak to me fondly of them. It’s fascinating to observe the subtle morphological changes and dynamics that occur.
My field of research is the space-time where the gaze of a person’s appreciation meets the expression of a rose. It’s fascinating.
In the first phase of my structured and ordered observation work, I spent 12 years in silent observation of plants.
The most difficult part was looking in order to see. We almost always think about what we look at, and then we don’t actually see. Seeing the rose without labels or prejudices, without even names, always as if it were seen for the first time.
The discipline of this practice requires a time of contemplation in a neutral state. Then, one should not think about it anymore. The exercise is released and silenced, and the result will grow within. The best approach is to establish a daily rhythm and dedicate the necessary time—we learn to know how much.
Looking to see is an act of peace and generosity toward oneself and also toward nature, but it’s not easy. We are accustomed to scanning our surroundings, checking that everything is as we “believe” it should be.
My observation is that we misuse our senses, and this saddens us. We grow bored with a reality that looks too much like what we expect it to show us. However, there is much hidden truth around us and within us if we establish the right relationship.
We lose a golden opportunity a thousand times a day, thousands of lost opportunities each day, and in the end, we go to sleep exhausted because we’ve wasted talents and time. Our sensory endowment weighs like a backpack full of gadgets that we don’t use.
We fail to honor the power of our sensory system. We do not look to see, nor do we listen to hear, nor smell to receive true information. We practice self-abduction that leads us to live with Stockholm syndrome—we believe in our character and fall in love with the same plan that harms us. Meanwhile, a powerful system of senses and talents deteriorates and deactivates due to lack of use.
The blame lies with an unwritten clause of compulsory compliance that says don’t step outside the limits of your culture.
This is the revolution for which a recipe was needed: Adequately mixing meditation or flow state or Zen state with the most neutral, pristine, and scientific gaze in order to observe and collect data in the manner of the scientific model. Uniting meditation in its purest form, brought from the East, with the beautiful neutrality of the scientific method. Science with soul. Serene attitude with the will to learn better.
The consequence of this beautiful practice is that we become interesting to the intelligent beings of plants and—hold on!—there comes an evolutionary leap. Finally! Who wants to remain static like a stone in a wall?
And now, let’s enjoy: here, in broad strokes, is the voice of the trees and plants I observed for years with tenacity, summarized in 7 sentences for the convenience of this article:
1.- Why do you look at us so much if you don’t want to see us?
After several days of intense observation, alone or with one of my various class groups, an elf spoke to me like this. It’s as clear and blunt as it sounds. I felt terrible, got angry, and shouted at them that they were «shameless» and didn’t even exist.
My anger was so physical, so somatic (a body response not premeditated) that I broke out in sweat. This is the expected sweat!, maybe, we’ll look into that.
This happened in what I call the Evocation phase, in this case, in a hypnagogic state, the state known as Theta. The response was pending in my brain, trained to review aspects I might have missed, aspects of intense or interesting levels.
I performed contemplative observation, looking at the tree to see what I see and observing myself simultaneously. When I observe myself while looking to see, I can also correct how I use my attention and energy.
Hours of contemplative observation, integration work, surrender… and suddenly, from the memory of what I saw, an elf confronted me: Why do you look at us so much if you don’t want to see us?
How dare you intrude into my world and speak to me like that if… if— I trembled and sweated with rage— if you don’t even exist! I managed to finish the sentence— incoherent but complete. If he doesn’t exist, why does he anger me, and why do I respond?
Because, for your information, I am a rigorous observer practicing a method—I am not looking for elves, nor do I need them to exist or show me anthropomorphic forms. Or do I?
I thought not. I only wanted to demonstrate that when there is delight in contemplating plants, a special energy is generated that can be harnessed. As a child, I saw colored lights, like balls emerging from certain trees when certain people passed by. It gives me joy to see it and remember it.
But arriving with a method of observation to photograph elves is dangerous; someone might say it’s taken from fairy tales, that it fulfills the tradition— the relentless tradition— that could inspire us. However, under the label of fantasy, of baseless invention, it only serves to entertain and to blind us.
What if we change it?
Can we call it the yoga of trees?
It’s an exercise in correcting and improving our emotional posture and the breath of the senses.
The gaze that does not recognize its own breath suffocates.
It’s an effective and intelligent use of the senses… which, in addition to benefits, opens a fascinating world.
I call it contemplative observation. I practice it as a technique to achieve the effectiveness of the senses and the comfort of the mind.
According to my practice, the mind does not create content; it only seeks the right place for new content and gives it a place in my world of experiences. It also supervises the association of ideas; here, in the freedom to make new associations, genius is born. The freedom of association is the source of the eureka!
The mind is a faithful worker if I provide it with the proper training and information. It will be a good acrobat when a discovery appears that brings great novelty. When faced with something very new, a leap must be taken.
Sometimes we think we are seeking new, better, more effective, or entertaining things, but when confronted with true novelties, the most common reaction is rejection. It’s a paradox; we seek the wow, the impact effect, but at the same time, we defend ourselves and avoid finding it.
My mind leaped when receiving the disdain from the elf. Yes, I allow myself to call it that, but it has taken me a lot of work to reach this point.
I have normalized it for the comfort of my inner world, calling it Intelligence at times and elf at other times. And of course, elves are intelligent.
Oh my! Here I am writing about you, and I miss you so much! A while ago, I said I wanted to talk with you more and not so much about you. Yes, I hope you hear me through my reflection or through those who come to read or hear my words. I miss you more than I would like. The distance between your world and mine is not always filled with the new shared world, and my soul sobs in sorrow once again.
I train for the Olympics between elves and humans… but without a recognizable goal.
And why elf? The features of the apple tree’s face coincide too closely with the drawings of elves according to tradition to ignore it.
Aseptically, I can say they are faces, but that doesn’t mean anything more. If I leave it there, I am not faithful to the reality I live, even if I get closer to the boring reality that people share. I did not arrive there by chance, not even by looking and looking for up to 24 hours straight as part of my research.
And I still don’t understand. I still have to discover what my inner world is like, such an incredible place… And I say this seriously… it is no wonder it is the greatest attraction for fairies and elves. My inner world is the greatest attraction for fairies and elves.
We are faced with another abyss; the scientist looks outward, creates labels. The meditator looks inward. Two abysses, two goal-less chasms.
There is no way to know the Intelligences of plants if the inside and outside do not relate adequately. We create designed worldviews for nothing. Both worlds remain as they were.
The most important thing I can say is that my plant and tree friends, especially the apple tree, have accompanied me with encouragement, will, and intelligence to discover a part of my own inner world, and I have seen, at times, the world we can co-create. Magic is not so magical, nor is science so scientific, without consciousness of being and of diverse beings.
I was dying to think that after so many years of observation and effort to restore my plant friends’ dignity as living beings, this new truth could be seen as a mere coincidence or as a reminiscence of past cultures. The supposed tradition, not sufficiently elaborated, falls like a cement curtain over the seed of novelty. It would be like continuing in the midst of a great cultural indigestion, ruminating something that remained undigested, and once again it will repeat like garlic.
And now comes the bitter counterpoint of the incisive question: “Why do you look at us so much if you don’t want to see us?” said the elf.
And that man said:
“Do you mean I have to go around greeting the trees?”
“No, you don’t do a handshake with every person you meet on the street either.”
We are trained to look and not see our friends the elves or the intelligences of the trees. We believe it is more appropriate and scientific not to see what could be the magic of nature. And we suffer for it in the boring reality. We continue to create a bitter reality that solidifies our ideas and distances us from the fresh joy of living.
I dare to be rational, logical, scientific, investigative, and at the same time, I have no fear of discovering that elves exist, they are intelligent, they create food for us, and… I don’t know what else, but I am willing to work and labor in the inner world and the outer world to discover it.
Stop deceiving yourselves and deceiving children. Elves do exist; they are in the trees and plants. They can cooperate with us, but it’s not easy to reach them, it’s not easy to maintain communication, and it’s even harder to create ways to collaborate. We have more beliefs than experiences; although we leave behind traditions and religions that supposedly chained us, we still are not free to look, see, and change habits; we don’t know how to do it. There’s much sediment to clear away.
The faces we can see in trees are like the portraits we hang on the wall. But the tree is alive. Elf and tree have much more to tell.
Our way of living chains us without giving the senses their true power.
Now I know that if I’m not careful, I could easily return to square one; the foolishness of a way of looking to not see is very widespread, and that which could be revolutionary will receive much rejection.
It will take more time and effort to exit here with dignity than it took to arrive.
The world of elves is not close, but it is near. It is not far, but it requires effort to reach. It is within the reach of those who want to have a presentable garden of the soul. They like a person’s inner garden more than I like a good puff pastry.
If the senses are not cared for, they do not show up. I also don’t buy puff pastry in a shop with a shabby door.
I like to say they travel in intelligence. Isn’t that a word that resembles diligence?
Exactly. What they say is precise, like an arrow, and they only flourish if there is evolution. If not, they fade away or leave; I don’t know.
They don’t linger; they are diligent. Communication is not made of patience; their thing is the effectiveness of transmission.
Thank you, elves, thank you, people, for your company and attention. I will continue to move between one and the other because I enjoy the task, and I believe it can also be of great help to our beautiful planet now that we need it so much.
Yes, I know, some sentences are missing. Here are the six that are pending. We will delve into them in upcoming articles and in the exhibition: Elves don’t exist, come see them.
Sentence 2.
True nature hides in the talents that a person does not use.
Dusting off talents and awakening the sensory system is intelligent. Practicing meditation is effective for accessing the talents where the power of the forest is hidden. But if the senses are not honed at the same time, a false world or a barrier world will be created. It is essential to associate meditation with exquisite and serene sensory alertness; I call it sensory intelligence; otherwise, it is emotional laziness.
Sentence 3.
Magical beings look at us from the folds of time. Very literally. There are more ways to identify and measure the flow of time.
Sentence 4.
“Come on, sleep standing up,” said the cheeky elf. I shouted at him:
“Do you know how uncomfortable that is?”
Sentence 5.
“Look for the little larva girl,”
the trees shouted at me so I could transmit their love to the beautiful girl who expanded her soul among them while her body could not move. The girl only screamed. The message came to me in the form of tree screams.
Sentence 6.
“In your garden of thought, flowers will be born.”
This announcement has guided my whole path to clear emotional obstacles at the door of encounters guided by vital logic. Isn’t the word magic? Doesn’t the ability to speak and listen seem magical? It continues to fascinate me. I reclaim the ability to describe the encounter with the intelligences of plants as vital logic because not doing so is absurd.
We must place it at the level of philosophical logic and mathematical logic. Brave observers are needed, well-endowed with daring, neurons, and love for life.
Sentence 7.
“With fifteen senses, we will see better,”
The cherry trees in the orchard said in unison.
I had no rejection or reluctance whatsoever. My mind soared over an activated brain. With precise inspiration, I developed a system that suited me better. I cured the inflammation of the sixth sense and we named in unison the ten senses that liberated me.
I named the fifteen senses as those that inform thought: the five we know, the five we know, the senses that inform feelings, and the senses that drive the birth of desire and thus move the will.
Feelings arise from other sources of information; desires are also informed.
And so it was, suddenly, after decades of asking them to show me why they fascinated me so much and how they made cherries. Suddenly, after 40 years, it happened. Suddenly.
I do seek the muses. And when the encounter arrives, I find a surprise that requires careful attention.
I would not mention these seven affirmations without having proven that what they indicated to me was true and having achieved fruitful results by following their novelty.
Thank you, Intelligents; there is more here. There is much more, and it is within our senses if we learn to accurately reveal in the inner world what we capture from the outside.
It is time to decode in the green forest and in the forest of ideas what can facilitate communication and cooperation among diverse intelligences for the good of each individual and the planet.
