Reconnection with the Spirits of The Oak Tree and the Burning of a Sacred Book

Last week I received an invitation from a Moroccan woman I met through the House of Beautiful Business, after I had told her about the Inside initiative. The invitation was to a Peyote Ceremony in Sintra, Portugal with Marakame Don Rafael from the Wixaritari Tribe in Mexico.

I was asked to bring my intentions.

After 3 days of meditation and preparation I got my intentions straightened out.

I was also asked to bring objects of spiritual or emotional meaning with me. As a non-religious Swede living a minimalist life this one was harder.

Then, the day before, another friend asked me if she could borrow one of my books.

By reflex I responded that the one she wanted to borrow was sacred to me and I don't lend it out. I caught myself with surprise by using the word sacred.

That's when it hit me what I was supposed to bring. I brought four books with me. Two of them which saved my life, and change my perspective on life, society, business and nature.

The two hour long bus ride to Sintra from Ericeira I spent listening to the wisdom of Giles Hutchins to reinforce my intention of reconnection with nature.

A thick fog was swallowing the whole village on the coast when I arrived. The ceremony would start at 8pm and finish at sunrise. The setting was exactly how you would imagine it. 20 people in a big circle around a fire pit in the middle, a tipi tent in the background, and a cinematic scenery of dancing, playing, singing, chanting and praying being co-created by the participants throughout the evening.

Occasionally a cat would sneak up and try to eat my chocolate cookies.

During the night I connected and spoke with the spirit of the Oak Trees. I saw parallels between the mycelium network and my own network, how we nourish each other. And I found a deeper relating to the collaboration between mycelium networks and the Oak trees. How an Oak tree has to stand tall, strong and healthy, carrying the responsibility of protecting those in its environment. The giving-and receiving relationship with the mycelium network. How standing by oneself can be dangerous when a big storm hits. I understood how important it is to nourish myself as if I was an Oak tree, that it’s my responsibility to build a forest and ecosystem that is strong enough to support everyone in it. An ecosystem strong enough to take on diseases and with established boundaries, to not give away or allow other spirits to feast limitless on the energy within the system.

Then I realised I, myself have transcended from a Little Oak to a Big Oak between 2016 and 2021 through the initiatives and support of the Ekskäret Foundation (The Oak Island Foundation). Which by far has had the most positive and transformative impact on my life up until today. I started wondering if I was shaped into an Oak through the influence of the Foundation or if I already was an Oak who found its way to the Foundation for guidance when I was 26. I guess a combination of both.

I also realised my tendency to have an unequal balance between Little Oaks and Big Oaks in my ecosystem, and that I need to invite more Big Oaks forward on, to play with me and be able to take things to the big stage of impact.

Towards the end I came to the understanding that I have inevitably come to outgrow Ekskäret (The Oak Island) and the time has come for me to build my own Island, and carry on the tradition and responsibility of supporting other Oaks to emerge. Where some might stay around forever, and some might outgrow the space as well, eventually giving life to their own forest.

I threw the book The Listening Society into the fire, sacrificing it to Kayumari (the Blue Deer spirit) asking for support on my journey, a journey of co-creating a listening society.

The Oak Tree is seen as the King of the Forest and symbolises strength, stability, power, longevity, endurance, fertility, justice and honesty.