When I first saw these words from Joseph Campbell, I thought of this photo we took recently of the giant horizontal tree. It just fits so beautifully to this quote. I think Campbell must be looking at this very tree when he said the above! 

 

The concept of God is so immense and vast and varied that putting the experience into words seems less than satisfactory. When I stand before a magnificent tree such as this one, the divine and the universal become embodied so beautifully into one physical entity: the tree. No words, simply experiencing the divine. The trees of this world, standing on every corner of our planet as quiet witness to the all the happenings around them, loving hosts to countless birds and animals and insects, generous suppliers of nourishment, shade and life-giving rain are the gifts of universal love. And then I hear from spiritually evolved beings that what we see in the outer world is only a reflection of our inner beings. So, there is an amazing, giant tree of universal mystery and glorious beauty within me? And within everyone who is experiencing something like this? Wow. That is amazing! All I want to say to that is: AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

 

-Sophia Ojha

PS: When you come to visit me in Asheville, I can show you this find of ours. This tree is tucked away on a trail called Craggy Pinnacle Trail about 20 minutes from our home.

 

 

Check out Wikipedia to learn more about the American mythologist Joseph Campbell, or browse amazon.com for some of the books of his.