Recently I have been dreaming about an amazing plant often referred to as the Rose of Jericho or the Resurrection plant because it has the amazing ability to rise from the dead, or more accurately, to come back to life following a very long period of dormancy. With its origins in the Saharan Desert, during times of drought, it loses its color, pulls into itself to protect its roots, and becomes a dried up tumbleweed blowing with the wind, sometimes for hundreds of miles, until it comes upon a bit of water. Not even a bit of water really, but even the essence of dampness will halt the plant in its path, awaiting the purifying and life-giving nectar from the Earth. Within hours the plant roots down and opens revealing the vibrancy that was always there just not visible with the limited human eye. Not only does the plant root, expand, and flourish; it blooms beautiful white flowers literally in the middle of the desert.
This process resonates deeply in my being as we are being asked to unplug from the outside world and get still. I have opened my heart remembering that we are spirit infused in the human form, born into this limited body the purest essence of love and light, and we go through life being molded and conditioned depending upon where we grow up and how we are raised. Somewhere in this process, I lost my memory. Somewhere along the line during my upbringing in the Western world, I became disconnected from Source and came to believe I was Sari, with all the limitations that Sari’s human form has. I unplugged from Source and plugged into the virtual dream of the fast-moving material world we live in, and I didn’t even know it. I have learned the Toltec’s refers to this “forgetting” as the illusion of separation, and it is the core of so much suffering on the planet and in my own life. I have found this time of physical isolation can push up against that old story of separation if I am not plugged into Source, and it has been an awkward, curious, and beautiful journey during this time of rapid shifting to ensure I remain plugged into the true source.
How can the Rose of Jericho stay alive but dormant for so long? It pulls its energy, its very life force, within itself to connect with its roots, which guides it back to Source. Only when it is curled up in what might seem to others an unattractive tumbleweed, can it truly navigate its way back to the water, the Source of all life, and once again plugged back into Source, it becomes green with vitality and blooms beautiful white flowers. What can appear a dried-up dead tumbleweed for literally years in the desert can blossom into a living, vibrant thing of beauty after just a short time of reconnection with Source.
And then it occurred to me that during this time of rapid acceleration (some might say chaos) on our planet, that I am like the Rose of Jericho. I can treat this invitation to stillness like a drought from the virtual dream, unplugging from the fear and craziness of the world we live in and get really quiet and go within, connecting with the Divine that resides there, having faith that it is this inner love and light that will guide me back to Source. When I have genuinely plugged into Source, my entire perception changes, and there is a peace in my heart that remains not just in my quiet time, but throughout my day, be it good or bad. This connection with the Divine within stays with me and allows me to move through the world from a place of love instead of a place of fear. When I am fully in communion with the truth, I flourish, and the beauty of love freely flowing through me can be easily seen just like the Rose of Jericho that opens up with beautiful blooms when rooted into the hidden dampness of the Earth. When I begin to feel that underlying discomfort and urge to reach for something outside of myself, be it another dish of ice cream, another hour of television, or some other distraction, I recognize it as a sign that there is a break in my circuit. I know I am not plugged into Source and that I need to get still and go within to find that very thing I am reaching for outside of myself.
There is a biblical reference to the Rose of Jericho as well. During Jesus’s forty days in the desert, it is said that the Rose of Jericho tumbled alongside him the entire way collecting the moisture and dew through the night which allowed it’s branches to open slightly and offer a few drops of water to Jesus each morning sustaining him on his journey. Some legends say in his gratitude, Jesus blessed the plant declaring it as having a holy ability to sustain faith and life in what seems like the impossible unknown to resurrection. Other folklore refers to this incredibly resilient plant as Siempre Viva, which translates to “always alive.” After more reflection, it’s not such a bad thing to be like the Rose of Jericho.
In Love and Light,
Sari Fleischer
