Reap the healing benefits of gardening both without and within. Research into the psychological benefits of gardening has created treatment remedies for patients suffering from depression, and with excellent results.
“Being outside in every weather and season connects you to something bigger than yourself; it connects you to a rhythm of life!”
This rhythm can bring an emotional slump in the winter, but seeing nature’s resilience and renewal, the promise of spring becomes all the sweeter. Helping plants grow nurtures personal growth and change. A national survey indicated gardeners reported increased satisfaction and zest for life, high physical, psychological and social self-concept, and a happy optimistic mood. For those struggling with their mental health, this is a powerful message.
Likewise, reap the healing benefits for the soul by creating a most beautiful garden in the mind. By sowing seeds of respect, tolerance, honesty, truthfulness, peace, love and forgiveness, we harvest quality thoughts.
In his book, entitled As a Man Thinketh, James Allen explains, “A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild, but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If cultivated it will grow a beautiful garden; but if neglected, it will grow weeds. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.”
Could this be the root cause of the escalating conflicts in the world at the moment – too many useless weeds growing in the mind?
However, when gardening in the mind we are beyond time, seasons and conflicts, and beyond the concerns of frost, insects, and drought. We can plant whatever and whenever we want according to the type and quality of our thoughts. Do I want roses or flowers, or just weeds?
For example, I was paying attention yesterday to having positive thoughts and a loving attitude, so I woke up feeling well and lighthearted. Under a blue sky and warm sun I could almost smell the fragrant ever-blooming flowers in my inner garden.
Or, I can wake up feeling cold, gloomy and tired, which intensifies if allowed to continue. Clouds darken the sky, the wind increases, thunder roars, lightning flashes; even a massive downpour of rain can happen. I finally realized why this storm occurred; yesterday I was irritated and stressed, unconsciously losing spiritual energy by accumulating negative and wasteful thoughts. Once I understand how the mind creates and implements four main types of thoughts, Positive, Negative, Necessary and Waste Thoughts, it’s up to me to choose and create either a beautiful mental garden or a jungle of thorns.
Positive thoughts create health, wealth and happiness. Like a rose, they are beautiful, fragrant, symbols of love and are the secret for success. Learn to create and practice positive, powerful thoughts.
Necessary thoughts keep your day organized, and remind us of practical matters that need to be attended to. Like a tree they protect, provide coolness in the mind and shelter from stress. The trees in our mind can be as big and beautiful as we want. Both Positive and Necessary Thoughts reside under blue cloudless skies with Godly rays of the Sun shining light, might, love, happiness and peace on them.
Waste thoughts, the weeds in the garden of the mind, are the largest percentage of thoughts and are born from our own desires and attachments and worries. Worrying about the past or future, excess thinking of things that probably never happen is a total waste of time; it steals our joy, causes headaches and heaviness and keep us busy doing nothing!
Negative thoughts are like thorny cactus branches of anger, lust, greed, attachment and ego that cause sorrow, darkness and disease. They drain our energy, bringing a loss to oneself and others. Both Waste and Negative Thought plants thrive under stormy skies with thunder and lightning bolts of guilt, revenge, stress, jealousy, doubt, etc. flashing all around.
When I convince my mind that everything is good, it becomes so – in all ways! Life becomes like a beautiful garden, a joy, cultivated by my positive and necessary thoughts. Everything comes easily and naturally by eliminating worry and negativity. It’s as if life is simply waiting to serve me. Wow! I am the peaceful guest, enjoying the good things in life from the lovingly planted and cultivated beautiful garden of my mind!
(You can contact Sister Chirya Risely, formerly from Owego, at bkchirya@gmail.com or at chirya.riely@peacevillageretreat.org.)
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