Contemplative Art in the Garden
A peaceful place to connect with every part of creation . . .
Each one of us is here for a reason and the world would be incomplete without us.I have been working with my son, Gabe and his best friend Jack, on spring garden cleanup for some of my design clients. I love hanging out in these gardens! For me, that is one way I know I have succeeded in a garden design. Another sign of a successful design is that my clients are happy in and with their own gardens, even years after the initial installation.
The almost life-size Buddha (above) rests among the "ten thousand things" in a Contemplative Garden we have installed over the last two summers. "Ten thousand things" is a Buddhist expression representing the interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe.In the Huichol spiritual tradition my husband and I follow, there is a similar concept, that each of us has all of creation inside our hearts:
Huichols say we are all joyous beings of light. We were created out of love, from all the elements of the natural world -- fire, air, water, and earth. Because of this, each of us is a miniature universe, a mirror of the natural world outside of ourselves, and also a mirror of the spirit world. All the knowledge and secrets of those two worlds are also inside of us, and everything is perfectly arranged. Our job is to tap into that arrangement, to understand it and to live in harmony with it.
-- Brant Secunda, Huichol Shaman and Healer
If we strive to perceive -- and deeply understand -- our world as inseparable from ourselves, then we will have empathy for every part of creation. We are an integral part of everything and every one of the ten thousand things is, in the true sense, part of us. And everything is perfectly arranged!
This -- whether we paint, draw, sing, pray, dance or write poetry -- this makes every one of us an artist and a spiritual being.
So, today, go out into a "Garden," no matter where it is and see your connection to nature as a work of art and as an act of prayer: in a wildlife refuge, in your back yard, on your balcony, in a city park, in a plant nursery or just in a clay pot on your kitchen windowsill. Find your connection with nature: watch the unfolding of leaf buds and see not just a "plant" but also freedom, flight, wings, wind, the lightness of a heart. See your own life in the artistry of this natural sculpture:
- Dance of the Deer Foundation
- Read more about Huichol Indian Spiritual Traditions
- See more photos of the above Contemplative Garden in progress
- previous post about the design of this Contemplative Garden
- more about spring garden cleanup tasks
