Here's a smoothie we sometimes make when time is of the essence, and we need to "tank up" quickly and simply. The hemp seeds bring protein and EFA 3's, the bananas provide instant energy, and bee pollen and Greener Grasses add superfood power from minerals, vitamins, enzymes and more. Greener Grasses contains low temperature dried barley grass, wheat grass, alfalfa leaf juice, dandelion leaf juice, barley grass juice, and oat grass juice, and it actually tastes good with a light, malty flavor.

Ingredients: Serves 2
3 cups pure water
3 bananas
1/4 to 1/3 cup hemp seeds
2 teaspoons Bee Pollen
2 tablespoons Greener Grasses, optional

Directions
Put all ingredients into a blender of Vitamix, and blend until smooth and creamy, about 30 seconds or less. Drink immediately, because the enzymatic action of the pollen makes it set up (thickens) quickly.

We'd gotten a strong inner nudge to go out for a walk now! So we made up the power smoothie from above, grabbed jackets and the camera and headed out the door. I'd wanted to go to Padden Lake to walk in the sun, but Rex had an intuitive feeling to turn off where we usually park the car when we walk on the trails near our condo. I just went with the flow, thinking, "he must know something."

On the trails it was stunningly beautiful, lush, and full of the vibrant wildness of nature in it's glorious springtime prime, and we knew we were in a heightened state of awareness because everything we saw looked magical. We ran into some neighbors on the path, and chatted briefly. Walking a little farther we came to a side trail we'd noticed several times before, but had never been on. It headed up toward a sunny patch which drew us right in. We came to a place where we could lie down on the grass beside the trail and soak up the sun, a real treat that our bodies were craving. So we lay on the ground and were filled with the energy from the earth. In fact, it felt like we were being "reprogrammed", but with what, we didn't know. It was just a perception that we both felt and commented on later. While on the ground I looked up and saw the trees and brilliant green leaves that were lit with sunlight against a deep blue sky. When we left we felt such a measure of gratitude for the peace and renewal we'd experienced.

The path meandered up and around, and we came into a grove of silent cedars and huge ferns, so beautiful, and the air was incredibly clean, moist, and sweet smelling. Just beyond we saw some dazzling bright green and knew we were coming to another sunny place. It was a little meadow that opened up with bluebells and hundreds of dandelion puffballs. I got on the ground to photograph, and from that vantage point the meadow looked like a fairyland.

Coming into the meadow, I immediately saw the trunks of what looked like four trees fused together but as we walked on we saw that it was one giant, perfect cedar tree unlike any other cedar tree we'd ever seen. We walked to reverently stand before it. A circular ring indicated where the tree's root system was and it was covered with tiny little plants with star-shaped leaves, basking in the aura of the tree. We also had a feeling we shouldn't go any closer. Rex commented on the incredible bark—and we were amazed because it looked like shaggy animal fur.

We were taking in all these impressions in a matter of seconds. Then the first "wave" hit us, a powerful and profound energy that went deep inside of us to our core. It was the tree's spiritual aura, her communication, and we both felt it happening at the same time. I got chills upon chills, and as we gazed upon the magnificence of the tree, it hit me that this was the tree that I had painted twice six years earlier; one just before my grandmother died, a painting I called Grandmother Tree (on the right) in honor of Mormor (Swedish for Grandmother), and the other painting after she died that I called Aurora (on the left). To find the real tree seemed astonishing. We just couldn't believe it—here was the actual tree, not in my imagination, but here in the physical, less than a mile from where we live! There was no doubt about it, the shape of the tree, the way the branches hung down, the perfect symmetry, took our breath away.

We were moved to sing the ancient, holy name of God, Hu, just to give love. A minute later I felt an impression that it would be okay to go closer to the tree. It was an invitation from the tree itself. We found a way to walk through the tiny plants so as to not disturb them, and when we faced the massive trunk we put our hands upon the craggy bark, feeling the tree's power, and sang Hu again. The tree's life force continued to pour into us, and then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the experience ended. The exchange of the living consciousness was complete.

These are moments that Rex and I treasure. Meeting the real Grandmother Tree was one of those moments, an event that brought unexpected gifts that opened us up in new ways, ways that are completely non-verbal and bypass the mind. These pure energy exchanges move us deeply and change us and they ripple out with love for the good of every living soul.

May all blessings be on this day that honors all Mothers of the world.