Birthday Blessings

Hi Friends,

i turned 36 on February 18th. i am finally feeling like i am beginning to know what it is to be me. i don’t really know how to explain it other than to say it’s like for so long, i have felt that my life and my very self have been a bit out of my grasp– not quite connected or relating. This is not to say that i have not been fully and presently living my life, because for the most part i have. It is more that i feel like i am beginning to settle into myself– rooting and dropping into myself. i am feeling more comfortable in my own skin (i mean, i still got issues for sure–boooorrrriiinnnggg) but somehow, i feel less freaked out by my body, less freaked out by intimacy, less freaked out by staying in one place for longer than a second, less freaked out by claiming, speaking, and acting on what i truly long for.

i write about so much of what i am going through, not so that people will reassure (or in some cases attack) me, but because i feel like one of the best gifts i have to offer is my humanness in the journey. The issues we face as a species are pretty huge, but if we look underneath every issue, we find the Disease of Disconnect that begins first with the disconnect from ourselves and then spreads out from there. When we become disconnected from our personal self, it becomes much, much easier to become disconnected from the rest of the world and planet– which is truly just an extension of “self.” There really is no separation.

i recognize that life is a constant journey, a constant inquiry. i am not saying i have “it” all figured out or even that i know what “it” is. It’s more like, maybe, what i am feeling is that i am growing up. Funny, that.

Tomorrow, we are holding an event where a film will be shown from my time in Luna– it was filmed at about day 40-something. It is hillarious to see how young i looked and sounded then! i, actually, can’t watch the film all the way through. i don’t watch any of the documentaries i have participated in. It’s too intense for me. i relive 2 of the most intense and powerful years of my life, in that small time. Plus, films done about me are weird because they are someone else’s view and editing of me. People often say, “i saw YOUR film!” And i always reply with, “No, you didn’t. i have never done a film.” i have allowed people to film me and use it in their films and work, but that is MUCH different from me doing a film myself. So, another reason i do not watch films about me or much media in general done on me is becsause i do not want that having an influence who i am becoming. i can’t live my life trying to be what others want or see–positive or negative. i can only live my life following what i feel is most in alignment and integrity for me.

Tomorrow’s event also honors the anniversary of my 10 years of returning to Terra Firma from Luna’s branches (December 18th was the actual anniversary.) i am very, very present to the incredible people who were involved in the tree-sit– from before i got there, to during my time in Luna to the people i have worked with in all the years since. It has been, and continues to be, the most incredible and amazing journey.

Thank you to all of you have been so supportive of this journey over all these years. And thank you even to those of you who have not been supportive, and in some cases, even attacking– this has taught me so much about myself.

In this moment, i am so grateful for this journey, this birthday, and “growing up.”

love,
julia

In Honor and Gratitude for the Man at the Cafe

Hello Friends,

i am sitting in a cafe, drinking my morning tea and utilizing the wireless connection to do my work.

Looking up, i notice a man very slowly and deliberately, using a cane, walking into the cafe. His right leg doing most of the work, aided by his cane. His left leg, sliding slowly behind. His walk takes 100% of his attention and effort.

At first, my heart goes out to him with sadness. He is not a very elderly man. i imagine he must have had some kind of unexpected stroke. Next, i find myself feeling awe for his fortitude. Then, as i watch him, he transforms in front of me to a live, in-person, walking meditation of mindfulness. His every step is measured and he must be completely present and in this very moment to be able to take each step. There is nothing else going on for him while he is walking. While he is doing this activity that so many of us take for granted, he must be completely and totally aware of each movement. Nothing is taken for granted, nothing else exists but the step he is taking. If he loses his mindfulness, his complete awareness to this practice, he could fall.

And then, there are the rest of us–so often, running through life, in a hurry, over-worked, wishing we were somewhere other than where we are, doing something other than what we are doing, missing all the miracles in the minutia.

How often do we lose mindfulness, and in the process, experience our own metaphorical fall. We fall from grace, love, connection, joy, and even power when we lose awareness of this exact moment–perfect even in its imperfection.

Every breath is truly a miracle. It is magical. Our breath breathes us–not the other way around. Every moment is a gift beyond compare. There is no comparison to anything or anyone else when we are completely and totally present to the true gift of our lives, in this moment, in this breath, and if we are so blessed, in each step.

Life continuously humbles me. i am deeply and profoundly grateful to my teacher this morning. Even as he has no clue that he was my guide, my guru for this morning’s lesson. i bow to him with gratitude. i pray he has Angels to show up and gift him in unexpectedly beautiful ways as he was for me.

May we all be reminded of the gift that becomes available to us when we completely embrace mindfulness and complete acceptance for what is.

Love,

julia

Upcoming Live Teleseminar Interview on February 20th.

Dear Friends,

I am delighted to invite you to participate with me in the Sacred Awakening Series, a unique teleseminar event featuring 40 spiritual leaders from every major tradition over 40 days – all for free.

Never before have so many leaders from so many lineages gathered on the phone to offer their secrets to living a sacred life. It promises to be a journey of personal transformation, deep connection, and inspiring examples of service.

I will offer one of 40 teleseminars during the Series alongside deeply respected leaders such as Marianne Williamson, Robert Thurman, Sadhguru, Bishop John Shelby Spong, Luisah Teish, Rabbi Yehuda Berg, Barbara Marx Hubbard, and Grandmother Agnes Baker Pilgrim (full list below).

You can participate live on as many calls as you like and interact with both the leaders and other participants via a state-of-the-art MaestroConference platform. Or you can just listen to the recordings later.

The series begins February 17th and is completely free.

Please do share this invitation with friends and allies – all are warmly welcomed to participate. I hope to connect with you on my call!

Register at http://sacredawakeningseries.com

Love,
Julia Butterfly Hill

P.S. The Sacred Awakening Series gives you personal access to the following inspiring spiritual leaders:

Abdul Aziz-Said, Andrew Harvey, Angeles Arrien, Dr. A. T. Ariyaratne, Ariel Spilsbury, Barbara Marx Hubbard, Bhikku Bodhi, Bishop John Shelby Spong, Chunyi Lin, Dattatreya Shiva Baba, Gangaji, Genpo Roshi, Grandmother Agnes Baker Pilgrim, Grandmother Flordemayo, Isha Judd, James O’Dea, Jean Houston, Julia Butterfly Hill, Jyoti, Kali Ma, Kyriacos Markides, Leslie Temple Thurston, Luisah Teish, Marianne Williamson, Matthew Fox, Michael Tamura, Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, Rabbi Yehuda Berg, Rev. James Trapp, Rev. Michael Dowd, Sadhguru, Saniel Bonder & Linda Groves Bonder, Sequoia Trueblood, Sheikha Ayshegul Ashki, Shiva Rea, Sobunfu Some, Stanislav Grof, Stephen Dinan & Devaa Haley Mitchell, Swamiji Chidananda Saraswati, Tenzin Robert Thurman

Back To The Bay

Hello Friends,

I am back in the San Francisco Bay Area after a wonderful trip to the Bahamas. I had such a great time in the Bahamas and it made it even more clear to me that I need to be based in the tropics–preferablly the Carribean. My body and my spirit feel so much more alive after that trip that I know that is a place I can thrive. My next two trips to figure out where my new home will be are going to be Jamaica and Costa Rica. I am feeling Jamaica calling pretty strongly, and I have for many years. I actually had planned on going to Jamaica before I ended up cilmbing Luna. I still have my Lonely Planet Guide to Jamaica in my storage that I purchased all those years ago, planning on going. I never made it until now.

I am travelling checking out places and opportunities because I want to make sure that when I move this time, it will be for a long time. I am so tired of being homeless. I am ready for roots that sink down deep, and I want to make sure that I choose the best possible place for that to happen.

I am now back in the Bay to visit friends and framily, have meetings, and do benefits. My birthday is February 18th and it is also 10 years since I returned to Terra Firma from Luna’s branches, so we are doing events to celebrate and raise green energy (my name for money) to support the work of What’s Your Tree and the Sanctuary Forest which is the ongoing stewards of the Luna Preservation Grove.

For more information on two of the upcoming events, go to: http://www.whatsyourtree.org/events/

Hope to see some of you there!

Love,
julia