Begin by saying hello.

It’s simple, but not small. This isn’t about pretending the plants are people or stepping into some fantasy. It’s about shifting how we show up—how we attune. And for me, that begins with a sincere, quiet hello.

In the city, we get used to tuning out. Loud sounds, toxic smells, visual clutter—it’s too much to take in, so we learn to shut things down just to get through the day. But the problem is, we forget to tune back in. We walk into a garden and think we’re present, but we’re still carrying the noise in our nervous systems. Still dulled. Still braced.

That’s why it helps to name the transition. To recognize that there’s a vibrational shift required. And if we’re conscious of it, we can train ourselves to make that shift more easily. That’s what Ellen White taught: train, train, train. Dorothy Maclean said it too—if you want to hear the devas, you need to raise your vibration. You need to meet them where they are.

And David Hawkins made it clear that most of us are addicted to lower states of consciousness—resentment, fear, guilt. Not just addicted to them, but conditioned to suppress the very emotions that would set us free. So this is also emotional work. We learn to let go. To allow what’s there. To clear the fog. And then we begin to rise—into gratitude, reverence, presence.

And then… we say hello.

Sometimes, that’s all there is. A soft greeting, a breath, a shift. Sometimes it opens something—a sense, a whisper, a knowing. And sometimes a plant will ask something of you. To move a rock. To sit longer. To notice. To listen. Take that seriously. That’s part of being in right relationship. It’s not about getting answers—it’s about showing up.

Begin by saying hello. With your energy. With your heart. With your breath.
That’s where EarthSong begins.
That’s where sacred relationship with the living world begins.

Practice Saying Hello as a Daily Ritual