Spring Scenes from the Garden
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| Spring Clean Up and Chopping Wood |
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| Art Project |
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| Cleaning the Pond |
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| Getting Ready for the Day Lillies |
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| Getting the Beds Ready for Planting |
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| More Beds |
I don't know about you, but 2014 has been a humdinger for me. Talk about taking a left turn this year. I've already bored you with some of the details and will try to not bore you with the rest, but what I do want to share is that after two years of studies, I finally honored my truth - the inner voice that was telling me to take the left turn a long time ago. But as most of you know, one doesn't turn until it's time to turn and since this is such a great testament to one of the universal truths which is, nothing happens until it's time, it does give me pause to contemplate. Predeterminism is a hard concept for many Westerners who have been taught by this physical world that that we are in charge of everything. The illusion that we create our own destiny is one that is fed to us through Oprah and the media, religion and various schools of thoughts. Ideologies which include i.e. If you try harder life will get better. If you do enough affirmations you will get what you want. If you dream big enough, your dreams will come true. If you make the right choice God won't punish you. If you learn the secrets of the universe, your life will change. It goes on and on and on. Which is why one day, I will write the shortest book ever written. Title - How to Find Your Path Book - Follow Your Feet. The End.
Believing in destiny, is a friendly debate that I have had with many. I say friendly, because it doesn't really matter to me what others believe. Sort of. I do seem to have a knee jerk reaction when someone's belief system enters into my studies that I am paying for, as that, for some reason creates a "rift" in a stream of consciousness that I can't seem to get around. This, I'm sure is a fundamental flaw in my character, because in my intellectual mind, I keep thinking, "Boy, if they got this universal law so wrong, what else are they teaching that may be in opposition of the divine or universal laws?" I am always suspicious that "ego" is out of whack when human beings think they have so much control over things they can't possibly control.
Over the years, I have searched for a more complete way of explaining what universal law means to me in regards to predeterminism, to those who I may be debating with and whom may not entertain these concepts. And of course, the best way for me to do this and sort it out, is by writing. So if you will indulge me once again, as I put these thoughts on paper, I do appreciate it.
It seems to me that the universe is lawful - sometime not and sometimes yes, are these laws logical. The law I am most interested in is the divine law. So forget trying to go to the one plus one equals two kind of thinking, because we are going to move past this physical law and into a law that includes all possibilities. This law of all possibilities includes everything that is on the physical and cosmic planes. By going into the divine law that includes all possibilities we can come to a predetermined, deterministic or preordained set of realities. Yes, I can hear you now, "Well, if there are all possibilities than there is the possibility of free will." Now, just hang in there with me, until you can see where I am going with this.
Because there is no such thing as time - the past, present, and future are all perfectly lawfully related to one another. We are fooled, so to speak, that the future has not yet happened. When, in truth the future is happening right now. Remember all there is, is "now." The future and the past are ego-centric notions. The past is nothing but an emotional memory and future tripping is either desire-filled or fear based suppositions. Neither has anything to do with where the truth or reality is - which is, in the present. This of course, can eliminate the tired old response of "Well, if there is no free will, why don't I just sit at home and do nothing?" Answer: "What you are doing right now, in this immediate moment is your destiny." Or if that doesn't resonate, I respond with, "You aren't sitting at home doing nothing because that is your destiny." Others have pondered, "What is the point if there is no free will?" I say the point is for the experience or increased awareness by living life and paying attention. Free will, if possible, would be about ego. Experience is about growth of spirit which, for me, is the point. But for you, this may not be a clincher in this debate, so then maybe we can come at it from another point of view.
For a different approach, let's look at it through the eyes of my favorite guru, Ram Dass. He states, "It's very much like being a character in a book, where you're on page 23 and you don't know what's going to happen on page 24, because you think you're the character in the book. But now imagine you're reading the book - you could turn over and find out what happened on page 24. Now imagine you wrote the book. You would already know what happened on page 24." I love this point of view. You can look at the book as the character which is the most narrow of vision. Or you can pull back, widening the picture and become the reader/observer which is an even wider perspective, or finally, as the author of the book, (one with God) You see, the book has been written. If you can pull back far enough - you know the beginning all the way through to the ending. Within the cosmic law there is only one - not three separate illusions. The way in which it keeps manifesting in form or in these different planes and coming down into clouds and then solids -is perfectly lawful - you would say in effect, "He is the law." God is the law. The universe of form is the lawful manifestation, and because it is all lawful - past, present, and future - all are already.
For my husband and I, the experiences of our lives have taught us that things can change in a millisecond, so we are open to that possibility and really, no matter what we decide, it has nothing to do with the outcome at all. We just figure that we will know when we know. Honestly, I don't know any other way to think that would serve us in our highest good. Believe me, I never thought I would never again live in Michigan. Personal history has shown me to relax, because the journey, whatever it is, is always interesting.
Living on an island is a great reminder of how little control I have. The scenario unfolds. Do I get frustrated? Sure, sometimes I do. But that is just me, thinking that things should be some way other than the way they are. The island is my "guru" showing me where I am still stuck in my expectations, planning and thinking.
I wonder how long we want to live in the illusionary ego-driven drama of we are in charge of it all? As we are being preached upon through our churches and studies on how we need to make the right choices, these same institutions/schools preach "Not my will, but Thy will, O Lord." I say, make up your mind. But let's leave religion out of it. I propose that once we can break free of the notion that we live for the present, and that we are not who we thought we were, which is deciding it all, we may begin to surrender (a word that modern man misinterprets as weakness), to something that is so powerful, truth based and love filled, that we could do nothing but benefit. We actually might become aware of solutions we never even considered because we have tapped into something more powerful than our limited ego-based thinking.
So then why the heck are we here? I say for the experience but then again, we have always been here. Even when we transition we are still here. We never go anywhere. Where is there to go? Are God and you separate? Is Heaven and earth separate? Are the cosmos and our energy field separate? Is the earth and our consciousness separate? Is there any separateness? Or is there just oneness? And if you can give me the benefit of the doubt and admit to a world absent of duality and instead one with true singularity, we may conclude with the realization that there is an intense freedom from fear and unanswered questions. There would no longer be a need for judgment, but instead a duty for social responsibility - a love, respect and wonder at how perfect this world truly is, given a view from the top, the divine and the all-knowing.
From My Garden To Yours.......
Lamb Stew with Spring Veggies
Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 pounds lamb stew meat, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup white wine
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 sprigs fresh oregano
• 2 cups baby carrots, halved
• 2 cups small new red potatoes, halved
• 1 cup fresh English peas or frozen green peas, thawed
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
Method:
Season lamb with salt and pepper and place in a large bowl. Sprinkle with flour and toss to coat. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium high heat. Working in batches if needed, add lamb and brown on all sides. Add 1 1/2 cups water, wine, rosemary and oregano. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 1 hour. Stir in carrots and potatoes. Cover and continue to simmer for another hour. Stir in peas. Simmer another 5 to 10 minutes or until peas are just cooked through. Remove and discard stems from rosemary and oregano. Ladle stew into bowls and garnish with green onions. Serve immediately.
Nutritional Info:
Per Serving:460 calories (140 from fat), 16g total fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 135mg cholesterol, 560mg sodium, 24g carbohydrate (4g dietary fiber, 3g sugar), 46g protein
Special Diets:
Dairy Free
Gardening Tip
Use Worm Castings for Seedlings
Your composting worms have worked hard to make all-natural, organic "black gold." Start your garden off right by using worm castings to grow your seedling. Here's how:
- Include worm castings as part of your seed-starting mix. Depending on availability and personal preference, mix some of these popular ingredients: peat moss, perlite, coco coir, vermiculite, finely shredded newspaper. If you don't have a favorite recipe, look online. Note: Don't use soil that might contain weed seeds.
- Scoop the mixture into CowPots™. They are made from manure fiber and can be planted in the ground when the seedlings are ready. This enriches the soil and helps prevent root shock.
- Instead of buying containers, get a Soil Cube Tool to make your own all-natural, plantable pressed soil seedling grower. Add enough water to make the soil mixture the consistency of oatmeal.
- Follow seed packet directions to prepare and add the seeds.
- Keep your seedlings warm, watered and lit with sunlight or grow lights until it's time to transplant them
