I believe it is very much a “harmonious dance”. The Cambridge Botanist Rupert Sheldrake has written and presented a theory he calls “Morphic Resonance” — a idea that the laws of nature are not just restricted to material coding (genetics) but also subject to a common memory that operates somewhat like CG Jung’s theory of the common (shared) unconscious.

I’ll give a repeatable observed behavior that has led me put some credence behind this theory. A newborn cow calf (I’ve seen this a lot) will usually be cleaned and massaged by the mama cow just after birth, she works to get circulation going and the calf to it’s feet. If she is successful, the calf will behave in nearly all cases like a heat seeking missile and go directly to the mama udder and bounce their head to stimulate then suckle colostrum.

Every fellow rancher I know dismisses this as “instinct” and if pressed for a definition of instinct make rough references to “genes” (a term introduced as theory early in the 20th century). The veterinarian will assert the same claim, using their credentials as a biologist (it’s harder to get into vet school in Texas than med school).

As a technologist who is used to “boot” code and programming, my tendency is to do rough calculations about how much code it would take to boot and program such a behavior and capability. If I multiply all of the complex behaviors that calves exhibit (and rough amount of coding required) and compare that to the estimated permutations of the genome — I’m left thinking there may be undiscovered informational transmissions occurring and that perhaps energies as suggested by Mandrake are altogether plausible.

I hug trees on a regular basis and am not closeted about it. When asked I say I’m appreciating the tree and exchanging greetings and I have yet to have anyone (regardless of their doubts) become fearful of me as unbalanced. I’m big as a human (6’5” 210 pounds) and the trees often point out how ungrounded and puny I am (I believe they can be assertive). When thinning trees to promote healthy growth I explain myself out loud and my ranch foreman does not seem alarmed by the behavior. My only caution is to check for Poison Ivy which will sometimes grow up the side of a tree trunk. The trees don’t generally care for vines so I’ll cut the vine at the ground and check back at a later date.