By Freya Secrest
I have been enjoying fresh rhubarb pies this spring with rhubarb from my new garden – a gift from the former owners who planted and tended it before me. And to me it is such a treat – I was delighted to find the shoots when I uncovered the garden after the winter snows melted, careful to pull back the overgrowth of mint that surrounded it and committed to support its growth with some manure and mulching. Now the pies are a treat to make and share with others.
As I sit down to write about our Living Universe having just come in from tending my garden patch, I thought to share some of Dorothy Maclean’s early garden messages. I looked first for a message from the Rhubarb Deva and found this reminder of the contribution we humans make when recognize and appreciate our connectedness with the subtle life in our plants:
Whenever anyone contributes their attention, their feeling to a plant, a bit of their being mingles with a bit of our being, although unknown to you, and the one world is fostered. You humans are all very linked to us but until you give recognition to these links, they are as nothing and remain undeveloped. The plants contribute to human food and give of themselves and this also builds links, tangible ones, which though of the past, come into the present if recalled. This is one great use of memory, to recall the oneness of life.
I am thankful for this timely reminder of what a difference my attention can make. It is easy at this busy point in the gardening season to be thinking only of tasks and checking them off my “to do” list without linking those tasks with an awareness of the wider physical and subtle ecologies within which they take place. Taking a moment for appreciation I reestablish those links, adding to the flow of vitality in my garden and contributing to the flow of connectedness and love that fuels all life.
Linking with the inner realms of the nature world is really not more complicated than using our thoughtful appreciation. The devas continually point out that when we direct our attention to recognize our connectedness, we strengthen the very fabric of life for the benefit of all. It is too simple for us to believe it makes a difference, but it does. They brought this theme out again and again in their communications with Dorothy as in these two messages from the Lettuce Deva:
…We are very glad to have helped with your salads and, indeed, it has been a pleasure. These are not idle words; it is a great pleasure to have a word of thanks. I do not think that you quite realize how when you say ‘thank you’, you reach out into our world and add to your own benefit. Vital contact is made between our two realms, though you may feel nothing at the time. Let us long continue to bring increasing joy to each other.
….We would remind you that human help and thought, via both heart and mind can greatly influence plants. Humans can actually provide life force, which the little devas can turn into plant life. Limitless worlds can open up from this.
And a further thought from the Tomato Deva:
…Your feelings are powerful and that power directed to the plant can be used by us. We are different. We have our feelings all wrapped up in our work – our plants. But you of your own free choice can feel for something which need not concern you, and the fact that you so choose is a gift of power to us. We all share in the one life and bring it down into manifestation in our different ways. Life, force, power, you can send it to us and we pass it on too.
The Findhorn Garden was certainly one demonstration of the difference human appreciation can make, but these lessons and experiences can be applied in any garden. An attitude of gratitude in our daily lives creates a connection with the livingness of the world. When we use our memory to recall the oneness of life as the Rhubarb Deva suggests, the links we establish widen our sense of joy, health and well-being, and flow back into our own life, strengthening our possibilities of creativity and fulfillment.
The growing season is just coming into its fruition with mid-summer only a few days away. I invite you to offer your appreciation to your subtle garden colleagues as you enjoy the bountiful berries, fruits and vegetables you eat over the summer. Build your links with the life of our world through appreciating the color and texture, smells and tastes of the produce you harvest or bring home from your farmer’s market or grocery store. Add your voice to the celebration of the Oneness of Life.