Pinus
longaeva (Pin-lo.)
= Methuselah Tree/= Bristlecone pine
Vergleich: Siehe: Tracheobiontha + Baumgruppe
[Dr. Marijke Creveld]
Summary
Pinus longaeva are the longest living trees on earth. A dream proving
was conducted with a remedy made of the root and wood of a Bristlecone pine.
During the dream proving many dreams occurred with the theme: 'above and
below', related to the connexion with the earth and the cosmos/spirituality.
Among others the themes 'no communication, being unconnected/disconnected and
insensitive', 'running and hurry', 'sadness' and 'lonely' all related to the
problem which is that we are increasingly out of sync with our external time
frame.
Introduction
High in the White Mountains of California the oldest living trees on
earth are found. They are Bristlecone Pines = Pinus longaeva. They were already
growing when the Egyptians built their pyramids and by the time the Greek and
Mayan civilizations thrived they had been remnants of the past. The seeds
germinated soon after the last Ice Age was over, when the glaciers retreated.
The dead wood that can still be found here is some ten-thousand years old and
contains a wealth of information going back for centuries. These living trees
have been standing in between heaven and earth for 47 centuries. They are
connected to, and communicate with, both the cosmos and the earth and are
outside our time frame. The homoeopathic remedy that has been made was produced
using the root and wood of one of these trees.
Systematic and site description
Pinus longaeva is assigned to a group called Foxtail pines, which
includes three species. Since they are all pines, they are comprised in the Pinaceae
family. Two of these three species are Bristlecone pines. The other species of
Bristlecone pine, Pinus aristata, grows in the Rocky Mountains at some two
hundred and forty kilometres from the White Mountains region. Pinus aristata
can reach an age of some 1,500 years which is old, but hardly compares to Pinus
longaeva, the oldest living specimen of which is 4,700 years old.
The trees grow up to 16 metres (52 feet) high. The bark is reddish brown
and shows deep furrows and high, irregular ridges set with scales. The branches
are often twisted and drooping. The leaves needle-like, in fascicles of five,
slightly curving upwards. Needles measure 15-35 x 0,8-1,2 mm and reach ages
between ten and forty-three years (the highest age on record). Male cones are cylindrical
to elliptical, 7-10 mm long and purplish red. Female cones are ripe after two
years, acute cylindrical, 60 to 95 mm long, reddish brown and purple when ripe,
nearly sessile. The cone scales bear slender, stiff bristles of 1 to 6 mm in
length. Seeds are elliptical to obovate, 5 to 8 mm long, pale brown with dark
red spots. The wings are 10 to 12 mm long.
The tree (including leaves, cones and buds) contains much resin which
serves to protect the wood. The resin is exuded as a watertight layer on the
branches sticking out. The dead wood remains intact for a long time since it
grows so slowly, because it contains so much resin, because of the low ambient
temperature and on account of the dry climate. The oldest dead wood examined
proved to be 10,000 years old. The dead wood has streaks of different colour,
ranging between reddish brown through to greyish and white. Many trees are
still alive because their bark is stringy. This means that when on one side of
the tree the bark has been eroded off by the wind carrying ice crystals in
winter, the bark on the lee side can still be completely intact, if only over a
restricted width. However, this narrow stretch of bark can carry the necessary
water and dissolved minerals up to the living branches full of leaves and
cones.
Pinus longaeva grows at an altitude of some 2900 - 3500 metres (9500 -
11500 ft). Frosts occur during most of the year and during prolonged periods;
winds are strong and harsh. On account of the snow, the trees can be reached
for only a few months every year, mainly because of the snow that remains on
the ground for a long time. These unfavourable circumstances mean that the
trees, at this altitude, usually grow only to about nine metres (30 feet) high.
Each year, the branches grow a tiny bit, causing the growth rings to be
extremely narrow. One branch, measuring five cm (some 2 inches) diameter proved
to be two hundred and ten years old. The crown is most irregular and the wood
is usually crooked. The root system, which makes up to some 75% of the weight
of the tree, is very extensive. This is necessary in order to optimise the
water intake in this dry locality.
Symbolism
The symbol value of this tree is related to the notion of time. The name
longaeva means 'having a long life'. They germinated after the retreat of the
glaciers that remained after the last Ice Age and the wood that was grown then
is still around at the site. Therefore, the memory of this time span is still
present. The oldest Bristlecone pine is named the Methuselah tree. It was named
after Methuselah, mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. Like this tree,
he looked back upon an immensely long life.
The site being in the White Mountains refers to the colour, white, the
positive element, light.
The Bristlecone pine is known as the tree that rewrote history in the
sense that the conclusions that could be drawn from its growth rings enabled
people to reconstruct the changes in the climate over a very long period of
time.
These growth rings have also been used to rectify the carbon dating
method. It was shown that previously, archaeologists had obtained wrong dates
of finds.
Proving
Blind dream proving.
Proving themes
In the analysis of the dreams, several themes were found. I will only
mention the themes that occurred in several people.
I will give dream excerpts as examples, along with several repertory
additions assigned to these themes.
Above and below
The large number of dreams about above and below were striking.
Interpretation: This might point to the connexion of the trees with both
the cosmos/spirituality and the earth.
We were driving downward.
He allows himself to slide
back down again.
Sighing, she looks down
somewhat dejectedly.
In a space upstairs.
I quickly went upstairs.
I'm in an upstairs office,
teaching arithmetic.
Dreams: Descending
Down
doing
Lift ascending
Looking down from above
Glass
Interpretation: The Glass theme refers here to a clear connexion, both
upward and downward. The theme glass though, that is also present in Thuja,
might suggest that transparency also is connected to Pinus longaeva. Pinus has
not the brittleness of glass that we see in Thuja.
Half of the elevator is made
of glass.
The cottage has much glass; it
resembles a hothouse.
The entrance downstairs, next
to a shop front.
In the top of the cathedral
there's a round window, like the windows on a ship.
Dreams: Glass
Big window
House with a lot of windows
Window in top of a cathedral
Sexuality and nakedness
Many dreams related to sex or nakedness were recorded.
Interpretation: This is a lower chakra theme and might refer to the
connexion with the earth. The nakedness might also refer to the transparency.
My swimming trunks had come
down; they had fallen to the ground.
Women were sitting in deck
chairs, all naked.
I raised my clothes like I
should do
Many dreams about having sex,
erotic dreams.
Dreams: Love making
Naked people (women)
Sexual activity
No communication, being disconnected
and insensitivity
This theme figures largely in the dreams.
Interpretation: The internal clock is connected to our internal feedback
and the development of every unique human being. Communication with our hidden
programmes has broken down and we have lost our way. Our feedback must be
re-connected through external communication.
Sankaran mentions the theme of 'connected, disconnected, separated and
being cut off' as the theme that is connected to the conifers. He says this
expression is caused by a deeper feeling, the familiar feeling related to
Thuja: Mind – Delusions - body brittle. I don't see this 'brittle' theme in
relation to the dreams in the proving of Pinus longaeva.
When I visited the site where the Bristlecone pines grow in 2005, I felt
the trees were standing there in isolation; they didn't make contact with any
other living being, including humans and each other. They are just passing on
the information between heaven and earth, and they are outside our time frame.
An elderly, deaf man was
unable to understand me.
I cannot get in touch with
her.
It isn't easy to remain
invisible.
I could not understand what
they said; I was not familiar with the language and they spoke too softly.
I tried to make a call using a telephone that
wasn't connected.
Unscathed, without a worry, as
if nothing had happened.
I feel distant from him.
You're supposed to discuss
that before you do it.
I'm unable to identify any of
those present as someone that I know.
Dreams: Being cut
Deafness
Being
disconnected of
Is invisible
Recognises not
Being separated
Telephones not connected
Unmoved
Running, hurry and rush
Interpretation: This rubric is related to the speeded-up external time we
are experiencing now. We humans are unable to cope with this speed any longer.
We are caught between the two definitions of time: the external time frame
(spurred on by social pressure) which is gaining speed all the time, and our
internal clock dealing with feedback and development at a rate we humans can
digest. The living trees are in a time frame of their own and don't care about
our hurrying and rushing.
I could not go home because
there was so much to do; I had to work overtime.
He leaves the house, running;
two of the others were following him.
The boat becomes more of a
speedboat, racing across the water. There seems no stopping it, it's going at
full tilt.
Quickly, I slipped upstairs.
Dreams: being busy
Hurry
Running
A short of time running
Timeless
Works overtime
Large
Interpretation: This is connected to this time as well. Everything seems
large and massive these days.
A large mass of people.
The window was huge.
The head of an elk is being
fixed on high, looking down on you.
Dreams: arrogant
Car big
House big
Kings
Looking down from above
Rooms big
Alone
The theme of being alone, being left to your own resources, is one that
appears regularly in dreams.
Interpretation: It belongs to the theme of being disconnected,
unconnected, as well. Our internal feedback is disconnected to external
communication, which gives a feeling of loneliness.
She did everything by herself.
I was the only one who did not
get anything.
I did not join them in their
meal.
Why are they not together?
Dreams: being alone
Cooperating
Being forsaken
Sadness and crying
A number of dreams were about sadness and crying.
Interpretation: Sadness is the consequence of the loss of our connection
between our own feedback (which, in turn, depends on our internal time frame)
and external communication.
A little sad as well.
She told me she was
immensely unhappy.
In the meantime she
was all in tears.
The sick girl is
starting to cry.
Dreams: Sadness
About weeping
Black, white and dark
Dreams including black (or white) and dark. In Diospyros kaki the theme
was mainly white; in this remedy I largely see the dark side.
His Labrador (black
dog).
A black bus.
Showing black stripes.
It is dark already.
Long, dark hair.
White window-curtains.
Dreams: Coloured black (and white)
Darkness
Cleaning up
There are many dreams based on the theme of something being dirty,
cleaning up and renewal/replacement.
Interpretation: This can be taken to mean that the remedy could help in
letting old and dark issues go.
Cleaning up, painting
and ordering the house.
The right side of my
trousers were full of my own excrements.
I found a bag.
However, the outside was dirty so I threw that side away.
Packing up. Filling
large boxes, throwing out the junk and packing up the stuff.
Dreams: Cleaning house (dirty closet)
Dirty bag
House new
Orderly and critical
Frequently, dreams that included a description of someone being orderly
or critical came up.
Very neat galoshes.
From what my mother
told me I gather this boy taught his children very strictly and they became
very polite.
He was most critical.
I did my best.
I had to censure the
people some more about their being on time.
It is not done just to
shoot at everything; there are rules to be followed.
Dreams: Censorious
Fastidious
Mind - too
much sense of duty
Thieves, being pursued and fleeing.
Several dreams had to do with being pursued, fleeing, stealing and getting
caught. A theme that is recurring daily in the dreams of one of the
participants before she took part in the dream proving, used to be: murder,
manslaughter and pursuit. During the proving she did not dream about this.
Interpretation: This is also about the dark side which comes up so it
can be transformated.
My bike was stolen; a
second bike disappears.
We have been caught
doing something and flee the premises along with someone else.
Like a real thief. I
don't have any idea that I just broke into that house at all.
Being on the run for
someone.
Dreams: being caught
Escaping
Fleeing
Being pursued
Robbers
Two complete dreams cited:
1: I was able to fly up to the top of a pine tree where an owl was
sitting. It had golden, glossy feathers showing black streaks. This was close
to a supermarket where a friend of mine happened to be, too. We got two packs
of toilet paper and then went out into another room. This room had warm, rusty
brown earthy colours.
Interpretation: This dream refers to the pine tree, the connexion with
the cosmos/spirituality and the earth. Also to wisdom (the owl) of the tree and
the possibility to let things go (toilet paper).
The woman who dreamed this said: The pine tree that stays green in
winter and is able to keep its light during the dark days, that is wisdom. To
fly means freedom. Therefore this has to do with the basic chakra and the
uppermost crown chakra, since the owl had golden feathers, which is a symbol of
the crown chakra.
2: I dreamed that I worked undercover for some kind of criminal
investigation agency. I failed to understand them because they were talking so
very softly. Moreover I did not hear what language they were speaking; I even
failed to notice if they were speaking English. I awoke without any positive or
negative feelings, it did not make any difference to me.
Interpretation: This dream, and its waking, refers to the rubric of no
communication, of feeling distant from others, being insensitive, even to one's
own feelings.
Physical complaints inside the
dreams
Some participants described physical complaints affecting them in their
dream. Notable among the complaints were those referring to the legs (connexion
with the earth) and hearing (communication) were conspicuous.
Hard to move, something
wrong with my legs.
In a wheelchair. (2x)
An elderly deaf man who
was unable to understand me.
I could not understand
what they said.
Dreams: Equilibrium unstable
Leg difficult
motion
Wheelchair - sitting in
No contact
Deafness
Some additional rubrics:
Dreams: Anorexia nervosa
Fear in narrow place
Haemorrhage from stomach
Menses
Of tiredness
Vomiting
Physical symptoms during the proving
During the proving several participants experienced some physical
symptoms.
Most conspicuous are symptoms related to female sex organs and hormones.
Repertory:
Some participants experienced mind related symptoms that occur in the
dreams too, such as:
Mind: Delusion – is separated from the world
Indifferent morning on waking
Sadness
Vertigo: in general
Head: Heaviness < lying in bed
Ear: Pain
Hearing: Illusion – cracking on the ceiling
Nose: Smell altered
Mouth: Taste – altered/bitter/wanting, loss of taste
Throat: Pain
Stomach: Nausea/retching
Rectum: Diarrhea/urging on waking
Chill: in general
Generals: Food and drinks: <: milk;
Female organs: Metrorragia - during/between menses
Menses scanty
Pain in ovaries – burning/cramping
Chest: Retraction of nipples
Back: Pain during menses
Generals: Flushes of heat during menopause
DD.: with other Pinus species and some other trees (the roots: Radix
remedies)
In RADAR (computer programme) I came across several rubrics of Pinus
contorta (Pin-con.) and Pinus sylvestris (Pin-s.).
Pinus lambertiana and Pinus cupressus are mentioned only two times. The
complaints of these two Pinus remedies are related to the lower chakras.
The rubrics of the four species of Pinus included in RADAR do not refer
to a strong connexion with the earth and the cosmos/spirituality, also not to
the themes of: 'being unconnected/ disconnected',
'suffering a lack of communication' and about 'time/speed'.
Physical additions for the repertory shared by Pin-lo., Pin-con. and Pin-s. are:
Vertigo: in general
Head: Heaviness < lying in bed
Ear: Pain
Rectum: Diarrhea/urging on waking
Bladder: urging to urinate
Generals: Food and drinks: <: milk;
In RADAR I cannot find indications for the time/ speed theme in the other
species of Pinus and other trees. The speed theme was, however, encountered in
dreams experienced in dream provings that
I supervised using remedies made of the roots of Populus tremula and
Fraxinus excelsior.
The discrepancy between the external and internal time frames is
specific to Pin-lo.
'Time' and, in relation to this, 'communication' therefore are the
themes connected to Pinus longaeva.
Conclusion
'Time' and, in relation to this, 'communication' therefore are the
themes connected to Pinus longaeva.
Interpretation: Maybe these trees can help us to conquer diseases of our
time, such as ME, burn-out, isolation, feeling lonely, depressions and
possibly, behaviour connected to autism.
Pinus is used as a Bach blossom remedy in people who shower themselves
with accusations or who suffer from unnecessary feelings of guilt. They demand
the very best from themselves and therefore they get anxious, being afraid they
are not up to standard. They are always afraid and feel very restricted.
Setting high standard is a theme also seen in the proving using Pinus
longaeva (DREAMS - CENSORIOUS; DREAMS - FASTIDIOUS; MIND - DUTY - too much
sense of duty).
Quelle/Source: Pinus longaeva can be ordered from Dolisos.
Vorwort/Suchen Zeichen/Abkürzungen Impressum