Magic, Myth and Metaphysics

Co-Creative Gardening 11: Minerals and Focal Points

I’d like to write today about what I got from the Deva of the garden for establishing the energetic focal points. I’ve mentioned that we found the spots; the rose bush, the St. Francis statue, the side of the greenhouse/planter boxes for a shrine, and the area in between the 3 fenced-off sections (see 3/23/09). My next question was whether we were to put in some minerals or crystals anywhere, to focus specific energies. I got “yes” to all four areas!

Luckily, the Perelandra Garden Workbook provides a nice list of minerals, so all I had to do was go down the list for each area and test. The Kiwi Garden needed rutilated quartz (see picture). Rutile, linked to titanium, forms thin bars inside the translucent quartz. Together, the minerals are said to enhance people’s strengths, healing and creativity, as well as their understanding of difficult situations. When I asked the Deva of the garden what this means in terms of the land itself, I got this message:

“Quartz is the great amplifier and transmitter of energies, and the rutile inclusions enhance the spiritual nature of the energies that get transmitted. This land, as most land in the area, has undergone damage and rutilated quartz will step up the healing process that Barbara and Jim have undertaken for so many years in moving the energy of the area from “difficult/wounded” to one of profound harmony, blessing and spiritual upliftment. The land has vibrationally healed a great deal under their care; now is the time to focus specifically on charging the surrounding area with massive spiritual transformation.”

Going along with that message, I tested positive for amethyst in both of the other sections of the Annual Garden, and pure quartz as the mineral to go in the center tie-together area. Amethyst is also a form of quartz, getting its purple color from manganese. It is another healing stone, focusing energies of peace, spiritual upliftment, love and gentle joy. So this energy is “doubled” by being the focal point mineral for two of the four sections.

Interestingly, the Deva said that it’s not important that the crystals be big, or even prominently displayed. In fact, the quartz crystal in the center is to be partly buried.

The Kiwi Garden is the section furthest away, then comes the small Greenhouse Garden, then the center area by the parking lot, and finally the Rose Garden section. So the quartz crystal is situated between the two amethysts, with the rutilated quartz a little further out. The quartz will gather, store, amplify and transmit all of their energies. I could see the perfection of the choices, given our original intent of working in the garden to co-create a high vibration that will radiate out as a blessing to the world.  Placing the transmitter between the two amethysts brings a moderating, gentling quality that will help the stepped-up energies of Amity to be perceived as safe and friendly, even though powerful.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Co-Creative Gardening 10: Jim Arrives

When Barbara put me in control of doing all the testing to get information on the details of the garden, I felt the need to check in with the inner team and ask what they thought of this. They accepted it without hesitation; nature intelligences are not interested in telling us what to do. They let us know what is in balance, but if we choose differently than the information we provide , or change the parameters in any way, they immediately adjust, and tell us “OK, in that case, here’s what’s in balance.” Barbara’s decision that she didn’t want to spend time going over lists of vegetables and other questions wasn’t “out of balance,” however it was a change from our original setup with the inner contacts. Because of this, I knew I needed to check in to find out what may have shifted.

 When I opened the coning at home to check in with them, an amazing thing happened. Barbara’s deceased husband Jim showed up as the contact from the Inner Council. I knew Jim; he had passed away about 5 years ago. I was thrilled and delighted that he was going to start being our contact! Jim, now on the other side, much more in touch with the energetic nature of reality than we as physical beings tend to be, had a specific message for Barbara, which was as follows:

“Letting the garden spirits guide you will take you to a new level of understanding if you will let it. It takes longer at first, but it’s worth it in the long run, because it shifts your consciousness. You will understand more about how nature works inwardly, and how it is embodied and translated into the outer world in balance.

The Amity deva and all the nature spirits and other devas included in her overarching consciousness are very, very happy about this project. They feel like you and Andrea have been training for it for a long time, in terms of your background of understanding, and your ability to do magical work with energies. You bring your years of study with the gnomes as well as your dedication to the land and to the partnership with nature. So although it’s OK to let Andrea be the lead on what you call “the piddley stuff,” realize that there is a lot to be learned by being willing to be directed every little step of the way. Stay conscious of that; don’t take it for granted so that you can just get on with the fun part of planting and seeing things grow. Pay attention to what nature is telling you at each step and then pay close attention to what happens as the garden unfolds.

You are stepping up the energy of Amity by doing this project. It’s the same energy that we have loved and cultivated, but now that you are working with it in this new way, with the understanding you’ve gained, it can be amplified, which I know has been partly your intent.

I’m so happy to be able to be working with you on this project! I know Amity like the back of my hand, and it feels really good since the work you’ve done with your ring (see post from 3/19/09). This project will be bringing that energy out into the food that you’ll be eating, so it will change you vibrationally as well. It’s a cycle and a dance as well as a partnership.”

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Co-Creative Gardening 9: Piddley Details Are a Delight!

I’ve mentioned that it’s important, if we truly want to work co-creatively, to let the nature beings lead the way once we’ve set an intention. For instance, when first getting started, I asked if the garden was located in an OK place! Since it had already been established, I was truly hoping that the Deva of the garden wouldn’t say that it had to be moved. The answer I got was that in an ideal world, it would be placed somewhat differently, but that they accept already established parameters. Establishing a section of the land that is a nature spirit sanctuary, where humans agree not to enter, turns out to also be important. Amity already had this sort of an area and plenty of space for more, so again we were fortunate.

I tested to see whether there was to be a focal point for each of the 3 separate sections of the garden, that are fenced off from each other, and if there was to be a place that tied all three sections together energetically. The Deva said that each section does have a focal point: the Rose Garden’s is the rose bush in the middle from which it gets its name; the Kiwi Garden’s is the St. Francis statue, and the Greenhouse Garden is to have at first a laminated poster of one of Barbara’s paintings of the Divine Feminine on the side of the greenhouse, with the three planter pots in front planted in flowers. Eventually there is a statue to go there, but we have not yet connected with that statue. Barbara has a couple of gnome statues that are to go in front of the flowers, looking at the poster, so that the area becomes a little nature shrine.

And there is an area that is to tie the gardens together energetically as well. This area is outside of all three fenced-off sections, by the parking lot and actually near the compost area. More on this area later.

As we were setting up what was to go where, Barbara made a few changes. At a yard sale, she bought a lovely large chalice-shaped basin to go into the Rose Garden, and introduced a packet of “wildflower mix” seeds after we had finished testing what flowers were to go into the garden. So I felt it necessary to go back to the Deva and see how this impacted things. Does this mean we need to move anything? Should anything be taken out? Added in? If so, in what part(s) of the garden? In short, how do we ensure that balance is maintained with this change? Interestingly, the only thing that needed to happen was that we were to add a pot of chives to the pot section that now will reside around the base of the chalice. There are also other statues besides the shrine gnomes that could go into various places; Barbara is to work with the Deva on this as she knows what statues she has. So we are working out details as we go.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Co-Creative Gardening 8: Barbara

I’d like to talk a bit about Barbara, the owner of Amity. Barbara, who is 81 at the time I write this, has been living at Amity for over 20 years. She and her husband Jim bought it in order to save the sacred amphitheater that is part of the land; a natural open space in the forest of redwood and madrone where people have been doing sacred ceremony, workshops and contact with nature intelligences since the 1930s.

Barbara is an artist and writer; she has a beautiful studio looking out into the forest, where she paints pictures that emerge from within her. She has a special talent for drawing and painting energies that she senses in her environment. For many years she and Jim were part of an interdenominational Christian organization, and did philanthropic work all over the world, for which they traveled extensively. After living for some time at Findhorn, they led sacred circle dancing in the Amity Amphitheater for many years.

Barbara also dialogues with inner contacts through writing. Years ago, she connected with a being who identified himself as a gnome, and began relating with him through her writing. Over time, she invited him and other gnomes into her life, meaning that she gave them permission to observe and interact with her in order to learn more about humans. In return, of course, she learned a lot more about gnomes! One thing she learned is that although they showed up as “gnomes” they chose that form for her to understand them as beings of the earth; yet they are much more powerful and cosmically connected than she had initially realized.

Besides communicating with her gnome council, Barbara has communicated for years with angelic beings, such as the Angel of the Amphitheater and the Overlighting Angel of Amity. These beings embody the collective consciousness of many “lesser” nature spirit and devic beings, and in turn are themselves part of even greater overlighting and directing intelligences. From them she has learned a great deal about human-angel interaction, the role of humans in the greater whole, and the way in which the natural world works from the inside out.

Barbara’s stated purpose for her life is to go from knowing nothing at first about the inner spiritual life to embodying the emerging consciousness of the future before she leaves. She believes that a large part of that embodiment involves re-establishing our links with the spiritual beings of nature and the inner worlds. She herself embodies love, generosity, graciousness, wisdom and the inner strength that comes with deep personal connection with the divine.

Her dedication to the work of opening out a human-nature intelligence partnership is so deep and profound that, 3 ½ years after Jim passed away (after years 53 of marriage) Barbara gave her engagement ring to the devas and nature spirits of her land as a gift. It is really no surprise that she has now decided to start a garden project in conjunction them.

For more information, visit www.BarbaraThomas.info, my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Co-Creative Gardening 7: A Water Blessing

Barbara and I both have waters from sacred places that we have visited, and when we are to do the blessing, we will test which of these waters are to go on the garden and where they are to go. The waters we have available are from:

The Sea of Galilee

Wells Cathedral, England

The Sulis/Minerva Temple at Bath (The Museum of the Roman Baths), England

The Chalice Well at Glastonbury, England—both the “Red” and “White” springs

The Boyne River in Ireland

The Sea Temple from the Deara Peninsula in Ireland

Brigid’s Well in Kildare, Ireland

The springs at Alum Rock near San Jose, CA

Water poured over one of the stones at the Temple in Avebury, England

Water poured over the chamber stone at Bryn Celli Dhu burial chamber in Angelsey, Wales

Water from a fountain containing mixed sacred waters from many places in the world

 

Barbara’s land, Amity, gets its water from a spring. The nature beings told us that we are to gather some of the spring water from that land and take it to the grove that marks the center of the property and to the natural Amphitheater; two sacred places on the land, and charge the water in those two places—possibly separately, or maybe together. When charging the water, we will call in the Overlighting Deva of Amity, Pan, the nature spirits, the Dark Goddess, other members of our Garden team and our Higher Selves.

 

We are to take that water and sprinkle it on the garden. This will bring in the energy of all the dedication and inner work that’s happened in those places, as well as the energy that’s been created as a result of the work, so that the garden becomes in some ways a fruition of those intents.  We are then to test which other waters are wanted in various beds or other spots around the garden, to bring further blessing and balance. Once this is done, the water blessing will be complete, and we will ask if there’s anything to do as a follow-up. At this point, we are waiting until the rains let up. Hooray for all the rain—we sure need it!

 

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Co-Creative Gardening 6: More on Letting Go

I want to talk a bit more about letting go of control when working with the nature beings; why it’s important, why we struggle, and what the implications are.

We are moving out of a time when humans regarded the forces of nature as awesome gods to be prayed to and appeased, through a time when we regarded nature as an inert thing to utilize as we wished with no thought of reciprocation, and into a time when I believe we will learn to co-creatively partner with the orders of non-physical life, who collectively personify the soul of nature. These partners embody the consciousness of involution—or manifestation into form—as we humans embody evolution with creative, free-will intent. In other words, as equal partners, we set the intents and the nature beings manifest those intents. This happens constantly in every aspect of our lives already; the difference is that we can make it conscious.

To come into conscious co-creation, as opposed to the unconscious way in which we now do this, we have to realize what part of the job is ours and what part is nature’s; what we’re good at and what they’re good at. If you look at the news a bit, you might notice that keeping nature in balance isn’t one of our strong points as humans. And nature beings, on the other hand don’t have free will or human imagination. They inherently know balance, but they don’t choose intents. You don’t see plants creating civilizations, or sheep figuring out how to create a ramp to get out of their pen. It’s like an artist partnering with a business manager—neither one can do the other’s part of the job; they simply are two very different personalities with different talents! If humans will relinquish control of HOW to manifest their ideas and take direction from nature beings, they will find that the projects unfold in the most magical and balanced way imaginable, resulting in win-win situations for all involved.

We struggle with this because in Western culture, we have assumed control over the centuries. Not liking to be told what to do, we now live in a culture steeped in a human-centric, take-our-surroundings-for-granted, pinnacle-of-creation, use-resources-without-thinking, consensus reality. If we don’t move out of this mindset soon, we will destroy ourselves; we are at the “RED ALERT: MUST WAKE UP!!!” stage. One way to start waking up would be to garden co-creatively, and learn how and where to let go of our control. It’s a far bigger shift than you might imagine; but one that ultimately brings a sense of connection, fulfillment and embededness in a larger whole that is both welcoming and nurturing.  I invite you to try it.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Co-Creative Gardening 5: The Garden Chart

When Barbara and I got together next, she had her lists all ready to go. We sat one morning and kinesiology-tested every plant on her list, as well as some that she hadn’t listed. This gave us a comprehensive idea of all the veggies and flowers that were to go into the garden, and which beds they were to go in. As there are 17 (albeit small) beds and many pots, this was a big job that took us hours! And the work wasn’t at all done, because we still needed to know how many of each plant to put in, when to plant them, whether to start from seed, what colors of flowers and varieties of herbs and veggies to plant, and a million other questions.

Barbara had provided 8 ½ x 11 maps of her garden, but they didn’t have the information we had gotten earlier about where to put needed paths between beds in what we call the Rose Garden, and they didn’t include detailed outlines of what we are calling the Kiwi and Greenhouse sections of the garden. So I felt we needed a garden chart. Creating the chart was a fun project for me, which was lucky because when Barbara and I went over her list of flowers and veggies, she discovered that all the asking and testing involved was definitely NOT fun for her! It felt piddley, time-consuming and frustrating, especially when we got different answers, and had to work to get clarity.

This is good to know if you are thinking of doing co-creative gardening. A lot of what happens in the beginning of each year involves asking the nature beings what is to happen that year. It can involve hours of testing. One of the most basic things you’ll learn is to let go of control and realize that once you have clearly set the intention, you must allow nature to tell you how to best manifest that intention.  There are so many areas in which we have taken over nature’s part of the job in everything we do, that relinquishing control becomes one of the biggest lessons we get out of a truly co-creative project. The reward of doing this is that we get to see the magic and fore-knowledge of the nature beings unfold over time.

So I got to create the chart of the garden beds and put little tags of where the veggies, herbs and flowers were to be placed. And I also got to take over the task of testing for number of plants and timing of planting, which helped things to go more smoothly, as well as getting Barbara off the hook. The chart helped us to get a sense of the energy of the actual garden once it’s planted, and has already come in handy as a reference in other ways as well.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Co-Creative Gardening 4: Working with the Dark Goddess

When you learn to experience that the Earth is conscious, and that all consciousness has psychic/spiritual dimensions, you understand that in order to be able to relate with the vast consciousness which is the planet, you must construct mental images that you can understand. The Dark Goddess is just this: an imaginative representation of the consciousness of the Earth as a whole. She is a human representation that arises spontaneously when contacting the living awareness of the planet in the inner, psychic/spiritual realms.

When people undertake visionary journeys into the body of the land, they do this through the use of their imaginations, by seeing themselves going down a stair, or sinking into the land.  It is then possible to contact the Dark Goddess, who embodies the power and consciousness of the planet which we see outwardly as the opulent green growing world, the forces of weather, ocean energy, and primal life and death forces within nature.

She is called “Dark” because her realm is within the depths of the planet, where the power of nature originates in the inner worlds, the psychic dimensions of Earth. For millennia, people have seen her as female, because, like women, she embodies the mystery of the life force which animates everything and is still little understood by our modern science. She has then, the power of giving: giving life, abundance and sustenance. She also has the power of taking; she who can give can also take away; and it is this power that causes people to fear her, even to the point of calling her evil, and equating darkness with malevolence.

But this fear and rejection of her is a huge mistake, which has been imposed on the Western psyche for centuries. We have on this planet as much dark and night as we have day; to deny and vilify night is just silly. Remember, she isn’t a person at all. She is our representation to ourselves of actual conscious cosmic and planetary forces, which in themselves are neutral; they are the way the universe works. On every level, from amoebas to personal relationships to galaxies, there has to be give and take, ending of the old before rebirth or regeneration of the new. To embrace this fact and work with rather than against it is to come to an entirely new relationship with existence.

Because the entire universe is conscious we can interact with it, so we can talk to, commune with and receive information, healing and inspiration from the Dark Goddess. When I contacted her as a preliminary to opening out the co-creative garden, I went much deeper into the land than when I had contacted the devas and nature spirits of Amity. I told her of our intentions and what had happened so far in our conings. I felt her become hooked in to the project so to speak, bringing her deeper, wider energies to bear. From this interaction I understood that the blessing vibration we want to send out to the world from our co-creative venture will be disseminated much more readily, and that we will also consistently tap into a more profound level as we work.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com

Co-Creative Gardening 3: Our First Tasks

In our first meeting at the garden site, we opened a coning to talk with the spirits about what to do in order to get started. A coning is like a non-physical conference call. Working from the Perelandra processes of Machaelle Small Wright, we included the deva of Amity (Barbara’s land); the deva of her garden; Pan; a link from the Inner Council; and our higher selves. Pan is the consciousness which, among other things, links the devic, or architect/pattern level of nature intelligence with the nature spirit, or builder/manifester level.

We assessed the current condition of the garden beds (in need of work! See sample pictures.) and told Nature more specifically what Barbara wants out of the partnership. She wants an “alive,” healthy garden that is easy to maintain, in addition to her intention of working with Nature’s intelligence to create a high-vibration atmosphere that will radiate out as a blessing. Asking what we were to do next, we were told the following things:

·         Make a diagram of the beds, and copies to work from.

·         Clear out plants; dig and aerate the beds and put down a thin layer of compost, covered over with a layer of straw mulch.

·         Make a list of veggies, flowers and herbs that Barbara is interested in or willing to have in the garden (as well as perennial flowers and herbs that are already there).

·         Start pruning and cutting back perennials that need this.

·         Conduct a water blessing for the garden.

·         Touch in with the consciousness deep within the land that we call the Dark Goddess (from the Western Mystery tradition).

The last 2 items were a surprise, but of course they fit right in with the spiritual/vibrational part of our intention, and it was these two directives that excited us most, partly because they were unexpected and partly because they were direct spiritual actions. As it turned out, we got a lot of rain soon after this session, so the water blessing got put off. It felt like the weather devas were doing a blessing of the entire region, as our entire state has had such a lack of rainfall that it is certain we will be on water rationing this year.

I want to write more about the garden diagram, the water blessing, and about working with the Dark Goddess; who and what she is, why she is seen as female, what her powers are, what happened when I did the meditation, and so on. So the next couple of posts will cover these topics.

For more information, visit my Seminars page and my Professional Services page, call (831) 212-2168 or email andrea@DeepestMeaning.com