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Garden Gate:  Gardens and Yards as Spiritual work  |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
 Posted - Apr 15 2004 : 12:49:11 PM
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Just thought I'd throw this topic "out there" to see if any of you relate in a similar way.
I find that my gardening/yard time is actually a deeply spiritual experience that has theraputic value for me. The rhythm of tending to my gardens, even in just pulling weeds and invasive grasses is soothing.
I've come to find books and information on labyrinths to be very interesting. The thought of combining three of my interests- walking, being in a garden setting, and meditation time is quite enticing. You can learn more about them at this web site: http://www.lessons4living.com/labyrinth.htm
I was so inspired by walking one that I wanted to try something similar in my own back yard. I didn't feel I had the time, energy or resources to do a true labyrinth, so I decided to use my lawn mower and cut a spirial into my grass. I've had it for three years now and really like it. My yard is somewhat secluded, so I don't feel too self-conscious walking it and find that it is a great centering tool for me. (And, as an added bonus, my granddaughter and nephews LOVE to run through it. They think it's a "crop circle", but they like it anyway!)
Are there members who have other experiences to share? I'd love to hear from you! It would be nice to share the journey!
Clare
Gardener, Stitcher, Appreciator of all things Natural, & Spiritual Explorer |
Edited by - Clare on Apr 15 2004 12:51:21 PM |
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ElizArtist
True Blue Farmgirl
113 Posts
Elizabeth
Newbury Park
California
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - Apr 16 2004 : 11:39:48 PM
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I actually think of all life as a spiritual experience, but yes the garden is a very powerful place to be. You can really lose your problems there and feel healed. My father ,who passed away last October, was a wonderful rose gardener and while he was sick he said he wanted me to have all the potted roses in the backyard (there are so many they've had to resort to pots), I felt such sadness at his loss that I couldn't prune them when I should have in December and waited until February but when I did I realized that my dad was with me in the rose garden nudging me as he did in life to tend my garden, I cried and cried and felt very healed by taking care of his roses. Now I can go and work outside again, and I just feel like he is there with me.
About labyrinths, yes they are also very wonderful. What a great idea to make one with your grass! I had a friend who made one and we walked it a few times it's also a powerful meditation. I will look at the website you suggest. what about making a quilt with a labyrinth on it, you could even make a really big one and just unfold it to walk any where. Or would it need to be too big do you think?
Elizabeth |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Apr 19 2004 : 08:28:28 AM
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Hi Elizabeth!
Glad to know there's another out there like me! Yes, they do make large labyrinths on canvas, which are easily transportable and are often times used by churches and others for retreats. I also agree that all of life is a spiritual experience, we just have to be aware of the possibilities. I can relate to your experience with your dad. I feel my dad is with me in spirit always, and since he was a farmer, I suppose my garden connection is just a natural.
Thank you for sharing!
Clare
Gardener, Stitcher, Appreciator of all things Natural, & Spiritual Explorer |
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lforester54
Farmgirl in Training
22 Posts
Lisa
Metamora
MI
USA
22 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2004 : 07:20:55 AM
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Hi Clare and E-
I have a few artist/gardener ghost with me. Both grandmothers and grandfathers (now gone) were talented people. I absolutely HAVE to garden. I find it so calming and soothing. And I know they are all there lending a hand. I feel them even more now that we live out in the boonies with no distracting noise.
I love labyrinths. Thanks for the link. I live in this valley filled with rocks and was thinking of putting a labyrinth together with rocks. I drew one on a big tarp that I lay out and can walk, but the wind in this valley is always a problem. 
Thanks and lets keep the info flowing.
Lisa
Eve was framed! |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2004 : 08:19:48 AM
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Lisa, a labryinth with rocks is terrific and done frequently. Go for it! Good to know that you enjoy the mediation of the labryinth as well. Send us pics when you have it all built!
Here is a link to pics of my "spiral" in my lawn and also a pic of my medicine wheel made with rocks.
~Clare
See below for an update. |
Edited by - Clare on Sep 30 2004 11:00:28 AM |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2004 : 5:18:14 PM
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Clare, I love your lawn! and your medicine wheel with the rocks. I just finished cleaning out my front herb garden and it had been bordered by large rocks. I put some of them in the backyard for a rock garden, and put an ad in the paper to sell the rest. If we didn't have other plans for the back, I'd try your idea for the medicine wheel. Great ideas!
Cecelia
ce's farm |
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ElizArtist
True Blue Farmgirl
113 Posts
Elizabeth
Newbury Park
California
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2004 : 6:02:40 PM
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Clare,
Your labyrinth is amazing. How do you control the grass to be shorter in one part? You must have to mow the labyrinth a lot more often, right? I am in such awe, it's very powerful. Thank you for sharing, Elizabeth
joyously dancing through life |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Jun 01 2004 : 7:57:13 PM
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Thank you Elizabeth! The first picture where it's shorter is at the beginning of the growing season. I mow the walking path regularly, but let the outline get seed heads on them, just because I love the way they sway in the breeze. Sometime in mid-late summer it will start looking quite tacky and I'll mow it all off and let it grow again. I even have a picture of it in winter covered in snow. I walked it that way too. I'll have to get that one developed first before I can share it. It's not a true labyrinth, rather a spiral, but I find the affect to be quite similar. The picture of the paved labyrinth was my inspiration for trying something in my own yard, and the spiral idea seemed quite manageable. I encourage others to get creative too! It's quite fun as well as meditative and spirtiual. ~ Clare
Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2004 : 11:00:22 AM
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Okay, girls.... last night I spent some time outside communing with the full moon. It was the perfect night for it... warm, clear sparkling starlit sky. I went out once about 8pm and walked my 'spiral', and then again later at about 1:30am I woke and went outside. I couldn't believe how bright it was! The night sky was just aglow!
I'm having some emotional adjustments to make as I have new neighbors on one side of me, where I've been without a neighbor for over 3 years... and on the other side of me, those neighbors recently cut out half of an arbroviate row that offered me wind protection, a sound buffer and privacy. (My street has become a busy thoroughfare over the years.) Makes me just want to high tail it outta there to the hills. Hence my night time yard time, I guess.
Growing up on a farm in the middle of no-where, and then moving to town, has created all of these feelings ever since I intially left home 33 years ago! I just value my privacy... much more so than my neighbors. It's not that I don't enjoy visiting with them and all, because I do...
Does any one else struggle with this balance?
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2004 : 12:11:50 PM
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Clare,
Thanks for the picture tour. Where is the paved spiril that you photographed? I would love to go there in person. I have a medicine wheel in my grotto under some ancient ceder trees. I will photograph it today and post it here for you to see. It amazes me to find so many people so far dispersed with the same habits and longings as I have myself. Our reason for moving so far away from town sprang from my need to have privacy and a place away from the crowded noisy streets of the city where I could be at peace with the world in my own way. As in the other area in this forum where we have talked about the spirit of place, I have found a spiritual connection to my garden. A place where I can come to terms with the every day struggles of life and decision making. I too get up in the middle of the night to do some of my spiritual work. Last night was no exception. Our struggle for privacy here extends to the sky above our heads with the many small aircraft that fly over and often fly over low in circles to get a better look at what I am not sure, and the road that passes by our driveway where thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts blast their noisy way around the olympic peninsula every weekend beginning in May and extending until late October. The sound of 15 Harleys coming 60 miles an hour down our winding country road can be heard for 10 miles both directions and stops conversations while they pass. The sound reverberates off of the tree covered shale hill sides like an echo chamber. Night time is the peaceful and quiet time. I walk in my medicine wheel and do the spiritual work I feel is needed this night.
There is a labyrinth in red and white brick out side my physical therapist' office. I have walked there often before therapy sessions. I have thought about doing one in a boxwood hedge. I have been propagating baby boxwood plants for about 5 years now from my mature three. I have lined the walkway up to my medicine wheel with these babies. I wonder how many years it would take to grow a labyrinth?
Eileen
songbird |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2004 : 1:00:49 PM
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Eileen..I think we are all soul sisters here, in one form or another, aren't we? A couple years ago I went in search of a labyrinth near me. The closest I found was the one in the photograph. It is at Chief Joseph Dam, near Bridgeport, WA. I believe it is on land owned and maintained by the Colvilles, but it is open to the public. It has a good vibe.
Since my original picture of my Medicine Wheel, I have aligned the 4 main spokes with the cardinal directions. It is amazing to me how much pull/power I feel when standing there now. I just say a little prayer at each direction. It always, always strengthens and revitalizes me. That's what I did at 1:30am! A magical, peaceful time.
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2004 : 3:13:51 PM
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Clare
Your labyrinth/spiral is beautiful! I'm in awe. What do you ruse the medicine wheel for? Please explain the purpose and history behind it!
farmgirl@heart
Longaberger Lover and all things antique |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2004 : 3:41:04 PM
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Kim, here is some specific info I found on the web. The Medicine Wheel is based in Native Cultures. There's lots of info and perspectives "out there", if you're inclined to do a search and take some time to read.
A Medicine Wheel is made of stones. There were about 20,000 medicine wheels in North America, before the Europeans came. Medicine wheels are places for energy and healing, teaching and understanding. They are used for times of reflecting on life, and for joyous celebrations.
The Medicine Wheel represents all of creation. all races of people, animals, birds, fish, insects, trees, and stones, the sun, moon and earth are in the circle of the medicine wheel. Each stone tells part of the story. The circle is all of the cycles of nature, day and night, seasons, moons, life cycles, and orbits of the moon and planets.
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MeadowLark
True Blue Farmgirl
2206 Posts
USA
2206 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2004 : 4:44:00 PM
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It is amazing how similar we all are in our passions and energies! Your labrinth Clare is so peaceful to look at. I have always wanted to build one. The medicine wheel is very similar to what I had dreamed of building with limestone. Are there any websites that explain how to alline the rocks? How do you build the spiral? Would it work in a hay field? I am plagued with heavy semi trucks and dust barreling down our gravel road in front of our home. Nighttime is also serene for me. I hope I can gaze at the Harvest moon tonight. It's cloudy today. The Chippewa tribe called September's full moon the Wild Rice Moon. Next month is my favorite; Moon of the Falling Leaves.
Time Flies |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2004 : 5:49:36 PM
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My batteries gave up after the last photo of my commemorative quilt so I will have to photograph my medicine wheel tomorrow after I have time to go to the store. I do have an album of many of the blessings that have been given me here this summer in the form of flowers that grew and I got photos while learning how to use my digital camera. I just got it on my birthday in January and have found it to be so much fun. I still wish I could find a way to capture photos of things the way I see them with my own two eyes.
Any way here is the link for the flower photos,
You can view the album at:
http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/com.hp.HPGuestLogin?username=eileenspics&password=19716800
Hope it works for everyone.
The medicine wheel I have is different from your Clare in that the way I was taught was to use 7 stones for the lesson stones and 7 for the path to the spirit. All the same basic purpose. A sacred place to do sacred work. Another thing that you all might find interresting is that each section in the 4 directions can represent a part of the whole human. East being the place where your spirit enters the world from the creator, south representing the place in our lives where our emotions are, west being the place where we are bodies and north being where we are Minds. Center being the place where we came from and will return at death to God or Creator. We need all parts to be complete and in walking your medicine and stopping at each gate you are honoring the whole that is you and the one that created you.
I consider mine one of many acupuncture points on the earth.
Mine is also oriented to the cardinal directions.
Ways of using medicine wheels are varied and huge.Each step in the circle is a step through or into a life lesson. You can design a way of understanding a particular life lesson you are facing in using the medicine wheel.
Could write a book. Have spent many years studying this.
Eileen
songbird |
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n/a
deleted
64 Posts
Dave
Vestal
NY
64 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2004 : 5:59:25 PM
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| All gardening is spiritual, just to dig your fingers into the freshley worked soil is a gift from nature. Small time gardeners rejoice in this endeavor. And small time gardeners is what we are, unless we are connected to the big hub of commercial endeavors. Rejoice in our connections to Mother Earth. Satisfaction guaranteed! |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2004 : 7:29:57 PM
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Meadowlark Jenny - regarding a spiral or labryinth in a hay field. Yes, it would work. Considerations would be if the field is ditched for irrigation, that would be difficult to walk over. Otherwise, just decide how you would mow it down ..ie a lawnmower, a riding lawn mower or a syth.
I'll just add this one note: you should plan it so that you walk into the spiral counter-clockwise and you walk back out clockwise. Labyrinths have either 8 circut or 16 circut patterns and are more complicated to build. See the above referenced link for more details.
Here are some links for more info about Medicine Wheels. Each area of the country/tribe seems to have slightly different beliefs about what is represented. I've adapted my own to my purposes and I think it's the intention that matters the most. I would encourage individual research and study.
http://www.ammsa.com/buffalospirit/June-2000/medicinewheel.html
http://www.spiritualnetwork.net/native/making_your_own_medicine_wheel.htm
http://www.ewebtribe.com/StarSpiderDancing/diagram.html |
Edited by - Clare on Sep 29 2004 10:10:58 AM |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Sep 28 2004 : 8:55:05 PM
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Thanks for the information on the medicine wheels. I'll have to look at the links and read up on them. They remind me of the druid rings I saw all over England. Very peaceful to stand amongst one and just be. 
farmgirl@heart
Longaberger Lover and all things antique |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 29 2004 : 10:01:31 AM
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Clare,Thankyou for the sites. I have gathered most of my knowledge from books and an Osage shaman teacher I studied with for several years. I am fairly new to computer use and have not gone looking online for info. These are great sites! I love knowing how other people express their connection.
Eileen
songbird |
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ElizArtist
True Blue Farmgirl
113 Posts
Elizabeth
Newbury Park
California
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - Sep 29 2004 : 12:03:20 PM
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Clare, thank you for all those medicine wheel websites. I have been making some paving stones and planning to make an herb patio/spiral or medicine wheel in my back yard around the Maypole. I may have mentioned it in a previous post
joyously dancing through life |
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ElizArtist
True Blue Farmgirl
113 Posts
Elizabeth
Newbury Park
California
USA
113 Posts |
Posted - Sep 29 2004 : 12:11:02 PM
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I didn't finish that, my granddaughter did something to the computer to get my attention! It worked! Anyway, I also understand your need for privacy in a neighborhood. Fortunately my neighbors don't bother me much. But we do unusual things sometimes like have woman's circles around a campfire in back and one time we were all singing and the guy next door peeked over the fence and was watching us. It is hard to be doing spiritual work like that with someone looking in.
joyously dancing through life |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Sep 29 2004 : 12:42:58 PM
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Thanks Elizabeth! I did finally meet my new neighbor yesterday. A single mom with two little ones. I told her I sometimes do laps around my yard for exercise, so if she saw me to know that I was not looney tunes! She asked about my spiral in the back yard, wanted to know if it was part of my walking routine, so I told her.... about labyrinths and meditation and my attempt to try something similar and about how I'm always wanting to learn about new things. I think she may be young enough to grasp that concept. Time will tell. In the meantime, I'm walking more in the riverfront park here, which is also enjoyable for me. I love to look out at the river as I'm walking.. there's just something about it that is soothing to me. I agree, spiritual time is best done without observers... only participants.
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
Edited by - Clare on Sep 29 2004 12:45:04 PM |
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wildflower
Farmgirl at Heart
5 Posts
Kathleen
West
Texas
5 Posts |
Posted - Sep 29 2004 : 2:41:21 PM
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Hi Clare and everyone, the labyrinth is such a great idea. We have 13 acres with a lot of it woods. I have been making special places within these woods with paths that lead here and there and was not familiar with a labyrinth. One question, besides constantly pulling and hoeing weeds, how do you keep your paths clear. We have had so much rain here lately, that the weeds are beginning to win!
Wildflower
"and let the beauty of our Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us....Psalm 90:17 |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
Posted - Sep 29 2004 : 3:02:33 PM
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[So glad to have you join us, Kathleen! Well, since my spiral is in my lawn, using my lawnmower and an ocasional weed-wacker session to trim it down are all I need to do. I understand that on paths that are not in constant use that a weed problem could develop. Could you begin planting your paths with thyme or some other low growing ground cover that would eventually fill in? I know that's alot for 13 acres, but you might experiment in one location and see. I envy you having so much land of your own. <sigh... one day...>
I did want to clarify one point about Medicine Wheels. When I first made mine, I arranged it where I thought North was and worked from there. Turns out, after a friend insisted on using a compass on it, that I was about 30 degrees off... So plan with a compass first, and you'll be set. (Wal-Mart has some that are quite inexpensive, but not real sturdy.) |
Edited by - Clare on Sep 29 2004 3:04:15 PM |
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wildflower
Farmgirl at Heart
5 Posts
Kathleen
West
Texas
5 Posts |
Posted - Sep 29 2004 : 9:32:10 PM
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Hi again Clare, and Thyme sounds like it might work. Even though we have 13 acres, I am only working a part of it at a time. I call it my 100 year project because I will either be 100 years old before I finish it, or it will take 100 years to finish.{: But I agree with what you said about it being spritual. When I'm on my knees, pulling weeds, I am also talking to God, meditating and thinking things through. Before I know it, the weeds are all gone. Thanks again for the advice. Blessings, wildflower
"and let the beauty of our Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us....Psalm 90:17 |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Sep 30 2004 : 05:39:31 AM
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Wow, I just found this conversation thread, and I see it began quite a while ago. Loved reading all your comments about spiritual gardens and neighbors peeking over the fence!
We have a fairly large, cement, painted labyrinth with a garden behind our church. Our church has quite a bit of land. I love to go there and be quiet, but I have noticed one thing. When I walk the labyrinth, I have to look down to keep my feet on the right path. That keeps me from looking up and around at the sky and the beauty of the garden. So, for this reason, I do not feel spiritually inspired by walking in the circles. Does anyone else feel this? I was disappointed, because from everything I have read, I expected inspiration and depth from the experience.
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
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Garden Gate: Gardens and Yards as Spiritual work |
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Gardens and Yards as Spiritual work
