Melanie Brear – A dense Oak Forest in Exmoor
It was in 2003 that I got a beckoning call to move to a new location. I sought a more natural place to live and was drawn to a small dwelling, situated in the heart of a dense oak forest, overlooking a secluded cove in Exmoor. This was a time to develop my creativity and I had many visions, which inspired my art.
While living so closely with the trees I became so bonded with them. Each tree had a vital essence and indwelling spirit or guardian. I connected very deeply and every part of the forest was alive, taking on an elusive form, which was part of a living entity, like one body. The trees called out to me with their subtle language – and they revealed hidden secrets and deep wisdom.
There were certain locations in the wood that were characterised by some unusual feature – such as a distinct tree or rock where I could sense the presence of devas, elementals and faeries – especially at those borderline times when their realm interlaced with my own. I began to draw and paint this experience of what I could see in my ‘mind’s eye’ – such as when I encountered a strange being by a stream in the woods. He had a wizened, tawny grey skin and looked at me intently with deep-set eyes that were strangely familiar.
At other times I encountered ‘the standing ones’, a race of beings, which had pale, lithe bodies and their hands reached out to me like grasping tendrils. For these beings were ever present and intricately linked to the tree. They possessed special powers, which were connected like silver threads, intricately interwoven within the mantle of the tree. Each being radiated an energy field, which sent out light far and wide. They seemed to exist in a different dimension to humans and they were so closely connected to the tree that if the tree were to be cut down or die then they would perish and wither along with it.
The wood would take on a different meaning at twilight, where strange beings lurked either side of the path – some would manifest before my eyes and then disappear into the dense undergrowth, while others shape shifted into other forms. There were capricious faeries at the edge of the path, while sylphs both playful and wistful moved among the rustling leaves.
Some of the most magical times were in the darkness, while reflecting around a fire. After the fire had faded I would retire and sleep there, swaying with the gentle tides and undulations of my dreams, amid the secret world of the forest where the soft moonlight contrasted with the myriad dark edged forms, revealing a delicate outline of tracery, which reached upwards towards the shimmering stars of the night sky.
This was a return to my roots and a re-alignment with the ancient motherland, which protected me within her deep embrace beneath the tree! It would instill in me true peace and deep healing from the heart of the forest! It brought blessings from the elemental kingdom and angelic realm that I really had to write about and paint!
Find Melanie here: www.melaniebrear.com
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