INSPIRING STORIES ABOUT TREE FRIENDSHIPS,
HEALING EXPERIENCES, AND MORE

About thirty years ago I moved to a little town in Arizona in the United States called Sedona. Despite being in the high-desert, Sedona has a number of neighborhoods where trees thrive due to underground water or their proximity to Oak Creek. I bought an adorable house that was surrounded by all kinds of trees, including mulberry trees, locust trees, apple trees, a plum tree, an almond tree, and even a gorgeous Japanese maple, which is a very rare sight in desert terrains.

I had moved to Sedona from the densely populated San Francisco Bay area in California where I owned a sales training company and had a busy, fast-paced life. I was very much looking forward to a more peaceful and relaxed lifestyle in a small town. Regrettably, this was not to be, at least not immediately.

About a month after I got settled into my new home, I started developing a wide range of physical problems that had no obvious explanation. It started with sleep disruption. For the first time in my life I could not sleep soundly. On many nights I could not sleep at all. I started experiencing chronic body pain and a burning sensation in my eyes, mouth, and on my skin. In the mornings, if I was lucky enough to doze off to sleep, I would awaken so stiff I could barely move. I remember telling my sister that it was like being alive, but dead at the same time with my body going into a state of rigor mortis. It did not take too long before I became very moody from the chronic lack of sleep and the nearly constant pain.

I was eventually diagnosed with a condition called electrical-hypersensitivity. Very few doctors back then (and even today) know much about the condition, but I was blessed enough to find one in Sedona who had read about it. It’s like an allergy to electricity, where the body over-reacts to the electromagnetic fields created by electrical appliances and by high-frequency radio wave sources like cellular towers. These days, the full array of wireless devices we are all exposed to are especially problematic.

As it happened, my adorable little home was at the base of a big mesa that had several cellular towers on top, plus the electrical wiring system in the house wasn’t properly grounded, and there was a nearby radio station adding to the mix.

All of this, and probably my electrified years in California, threw my body’s nervous system over the top and created my super-sensitivity.

The doctor who diagnosed my condition was able to help a bit with acupuncture, but otherwise, I was on my own seeking ways to remedy my situation. I tried dietary changes, supplements, essential oils and flower essences, avoidance of electric fields, and more.

I noticed that often when I was away from my house, especially if I spent time in my gardens and with the trees on my property, or if I took walks on nearby nature trails that had lots of trees, I felt much better. So, I started spending a lot more time with trees and turned tree-time into a standard part of my wellness routine. I still have sensitivity to strong electromagnetic fields, but the strength of my symptoms has greatly reduced over the years and, otherwise, I am an incredibly healthy person.

I attribute my excellent health largely to my daily tree-time. When I feel significantly zapped, I simply hug a tree, which is a fantastic and super-easy way to discharge any surplus electrical charge that has accumulated in my body. I walk every day in heavily treed areas. One of my favorite spots is a creekside trail laden with ash and sycamore, and another is a zone of huge, ancient cottonwood trees who are very wise and have delightful energy. When I take vacations, the bulk of my time is spent in forests and woodland gardens. Being with the trees not only soothes my body, it greatly uplifts my spirit every time. This is what keeps me sane and healthy. I am so very thankful to have discovered the healing power of trees!