Question of a reader: Blue Eagle, I have a question concerning gardening. Nowadays, a lot of people want to have a garden, to cultivate fruits and vegetables in an ecological way. But they are often confronted with many problems, insects who eat their salads and having to pulverize pesticides. Thus, their gardens are no longer ecological. I don’t see people living in nature having to deal with these difficulties. What advice you can give to address these problems?
Yes, of course, I’ve had these problems. It’s important to understand that when insects overrun a garden, it’s often because the earth was mistreated. Many people, when they prepare a garden, use tools to dig the ground up and turn it over, thus destroying numerous insects and wild plants. The ground is the skin of our planet. It feels all that touches her even if its insignificant tiny wounds. Imagine what it would do to you, if your own skin had to undergo the same treatment by tiny invisible insects.
There is an alternative method of agriculture and gardening, that is called permaculture. It was inspired by studying the natural ancient ways of gardening. With this method, you do not turn over the earth, you cover it with mulch. You can use any kind of plant residues for this. I use autumn leaves which I collect in the fall and also wood shavings. A lot of people use straw. By covering the earth all the plants will be transformed into compost. Earthworms, that are so important for aerating the ground and maintaining it soft, eat these decomposing plants and thus make more compost, while making many small holes which bring more oxygen to the earth stimulating the growth of new plants. If you turn the earth over it hardens and dries up fast. If you cover it as if putting on a soft blanket of plant material, you allow life to bloom and the soil becomes soft and easy to work.
Wild plants (wrongly called weeds) and insects are not the gardens’ enemies. They contribute in an essential way to a garden’s health and global balance. You should never kill all the weeds. On the contrary, leave always a little here and there, so that their unique contribution can be received by the garden. No plant exists without reason. Each has a special role to be played in the ecological balance of nature. It’s the same with insects. Never use chemicals to kill them, it will only amplify problems in your garden and you will be poisoning yourself when you eat the produce that has been in touch with these products. If you have problems because of insects who eat your harvests there are many ways to control them with natural means. One is to plant species that push them away. You can plant nasturtium flowers that are also edible, onions, garlic, tansies, mints, cedars, geraniums, etc. There are many plants which can make this work. There are also different macerations of plant with which you spray your garden with that will kill them. There is plentiful literature on this subject.
If you respect nature, it will collaborate with you. For example, I often made a small house for the toads that I meet in my garden. If the place pleases them, they will settle there and they eat incredible quantities of insects. It’s the same with bats and dragonflies who eat many insects. Numerous insects which eat our vegetables are a choice food for certain birds. Animals are an essential element in agriculture and gardens. It’s up to us to understand where they can be useful and welcome them to your environment. That’s the real mission of Man on earth, to be co-creator of a healthy garden and the nature that surrounds it. For that to happen you first need to understand how all of that works and that’s why nature is the ultimate teacher for all humankind. Thus, schools, computers and technology are in fact a great hindrance to the development and health of children as they are not where they need to be, in nature.
Take the time today to walk in the sacred space of the nourishing earth, barefoot, in peace, on the blessed skin of our divine Mother Earth. By cultivating our garden in accordance with nature, lovingly and respectfully, you will find that all of nature will be delighted. The short and long terms result of such a relationship is that your health and happiness will be multiplied in an exponential way. Everything in nature will become your friend, ready to serve you with joy. The most sacred of all human activities is taking care of one’s family garden. When the day comes when all families will have their very own family domains that feeds them with the best possible food, the one that grows in their garden, the earth will once more be paradise. In paradise there is very little sickness, no wars, no discrimination and no pollution, only pristine, perfect and beautiful Mother Nature.
Same reader: Thank you Blue Eagle for these words. It’s comforting to learn that things are really simpler than we imagine that an attitude of respect towards nature makes everything easier! Having said that, many people who are aware of the need to work the earth carefully and with respect, have already tried the method which you suggest to eliminate insects, cultivating special plants, but unsuccessfully! Does that mean that there are other things that need doing or that the earth needs more time to find its balance?
We all know that the earth has been mistreated, sometimes for many generations. We also have to understand that the earth is as an alive, aware, conscious entity, with a breath and a pulse one can feel. We also need to be aware that all plants, stones and animals are a part of this gigantic body. So, conscious of the errors committed by past generations and our own mistakes, we can begin a process of reconciliation. This is done as we would with anyone with whom we seek reconciliation, by making an apology. This may seem strange, but it’s very real. Nature will hear what you have to say, not so much the words, but the feelings which underlie every word. By making an apology, one recognizes the wound, and declares one’s intention to offer solutions, care and healing. Thus, all of nature will try to help you. This is very important to understand but it’s so very different from what the current world dominated by technology and money is telling you.
Man is an integral part of nature. If we seek to collaborate with nature rather than dominating it for our pleasure and profit, we will learn how to work with nature.
As all beings are different, all environments are different. The next step is to listen to what nature will be asking to heal your environment. This is nothing complicated, you only have to relax and rely on what you feel. Maybe a bird is going to appear. If you know which trees this bird loves, then plant that tree and that bird will come to build its nest there. Not only will these birds eat many insects, but they will also delight in the beauty of your garden and will charm you with their graceful songs. Or maybe another solution will appear. There are a many ways to correct the garden problems, the important aspect of doing this is learning to work with nature. And to be able to understand nature is a process that requires observation, attentiveness and patience.
Thus, we can understand the term Co-creation. To create what is good and beneficial to all forms of life, it’s important to learn the natural laws. These laws are quite simple but are not being taught in the current educational system. If one observes nature attentively, for long periods of time, and works to manifest a beautiful garden, they will with time see very recognizable patterns in nature. The laws or patterns of nature were created by the Creator of all things. If you create a garden within these laws and patterns of nature, your creations will be beneficial and will favour any life. Thus, man becomes a part of his environment, an intrinsic element of the nature which surrounds him.
Nature is always and everywhere beautiful. If man improves on it, respecting the laws and patterns of nature, it’s then called paradise. It is the real origin of Man. It’s the origin of the term Terrestrial Paradise mentioned in the book of Genesis in the Bible. It is also in the genesis myths and creation legends of many native people. When we live in harmony with nature we will manifest pristine health and abilities that would in today’s cold, scientific world be called miracles. What technocratic system calls paranormal phenomena are just natural within a world where people develop their potential to their maximum as nature allows such optimal development.
Everything in nature and in Man is the physical manifestation of the thoughts and dreams of Great Spirit. Everything obeys the same laws, and one of these laws establishes that everything in nature has a reason for being and a meaning. Everything in nature would gladly follow the needs and wishes of Men[1], who of all beings of the universe, are the ones chosen by Great Mystery to be co-creators of paradise on earth. The world was conceived since the beginning to be a garden of bliss and beauty. For us to accomplish paradise, we needed to co-create and to be able to do that we needed free will. This free will is a double sided sword as it also allows that we can stray away from the original instructions, from our true mission as guardians and creators of paradise. But when we do stray from the path, we harvest the side effects of not doing what we should be doing: diseases, wars, young people committing suicide, pollution, extinction of many animal and plant species, emotional and mental suffering, a way of life apparently divested of all meaning dominated by greed and violence, loss of moral and ethical values leading to corruption and injustice, and ever-increasing stress, all of which ensue from our erring.
The good news is that we can return home, recreate paradise, as it has never left us, it’s right there in this very life. The will and the courage to think, to ponder, to reflect about the meaning of life and trust our own inner truth and then take our fates in hand will free us from our dysfunctional relationship with the system. It is a very long process, as everything in nature takes time. In spite of innumerable challenges and difficulties that are all inevitable on this path, every effort towards following our original instructions, which is taking care of the gardens of earth, will in time create a space of Joy, Love and Peace. What will heal our humanity and earth starts in our gardens, on our family domains. This is why many wise teachers from many different countries have said that the most spiritual activity there is, is tending one’s garden. Thus, we can envision in the future the happiness, abundance and joy for the children of our children and their children.
A reader wrote that she’s looking forward to reading more articles on gardening. I’m not really knowledgeable about gardening. I’ve always vibrated in harmonic resonance with nature and my shamanic training helps me find solutions to the problems of my garden. I’ve not always had a garden. In my twenties I made a garden in the back yard of a 3-story residential apartment building in the centre of Quebec City that was so surprising that a local newspaper published a photo of it when writing about my work. My parents always had a garden. Go back a few decades and you’ll notice that everyone had a garden. Yet I don’t know much about gardening but I can share some teachings that very few people know about.
The first thing I feel is important to know and that’s I’ve used in my development of our family domain is to observe what already grows naturally and to favour what is useful. Several healing herbs and edible plants that many people call weeds grow in great quantities naturally without having to sow them. Think for example of dandelions which make good salads, the root can make a drink similar to coffee, the flowers are beautiful and can be used to make certain spirits and in the salad. Plantain helps to heal small wounds and subcutaneous disorders, the young leaves are edible, their seeds can be harvested in the fall and used as a spice that has curative properties, etc. The same with wild flowers which grow in abundance everywhere, let them live! These flowers are a joy for the heart and often have numerous properties. An important percentage of them are edible.
The beauty of your garden can accompany its utility. Both go hand in hand as the suggests The Beauty Way of our spiritual path. By looking at what already grows naturally we’ll be informed of the problems and disorders of the soil. Nature always sends the plant emissaries that are a solution to the problems of the soil. There are several methods that can be used to help this process. If you cut the tall weeds and compost them before they go to seed, they will continue to nourish the soil. Of course if you can find books or knowledgeable people that is very helpful. My method is being in sacred communion with the plants already growing, in long observation and reflection, but not all have that opportunity.
Once this first step has moved forward then it’s time to plan. An element which is not often considered is the importance of planning for the very long term. We are creating tomorrow’s paradise for the children of our children. The trees that are planted today will only reach full maturity in a hundred years. Do not forget that we are immortal beings and that this vision insures your return to the earth of your descendants! Thus, plan with a vision of a family garden and domain in accordance with your dreams and visions of beauty and bliss. Even if it is only a small, little garden, it has incredible significance and potential for healing our humanity and the earth.
We underestimate the power of dreams and visions. Even those who have no garden or land if they formulate the sincere and heartfelt wish to create paradise on earth and hold that vision firmly within, the vision will be fulfilled. Everything originates from spirit and then manifests on earth. It may take more than one lifetime to be realized but it will come to be.
We are in a magnificent dream that of our co-creations with Great Spirit. Most people in our technocratic civilizations have forgotten that this world is the creation of a Wise Loving Parent who lives in us and all around us. Thus, their creations give way to disharmony, disease and destruction. Yet, the time for that blindness is past now. We are returning to the will and intelligence which works with creation and not against creation. That is why the first stage, observation, precedes planning. With time the friends of nature will create meetings and sharing of the synergistic of all those who participate in the great circle of life on planet earth.
So, after observation comes planning. Here you can cut loose and visualize the ideal, an idyllic place, with moving water, a pond or lake, the trees you like, forest, gardens, the animals you are fond of and the community and neighbours you wish to have and live with. The more you are precise and into details the better the universe will be able to work with the spirit energy you are putting forth into the world with your thoughts.
Then comes the time to pull up your sleeves and get to work. One of the things that is essential is the sharing of information about yourself and your family with the vegetables and fruit you plant in your garden. If you inform the plant life of your needs, they will grow according to these needs and will become your medicine. They will adapt and have a taste that is different from all others of the same species. Here are some ways of communicating your information to the plant world.
Before planting take the seeds in your mouth 10 minutes to moisten them with your saliva[2]. The heat and the humidity of your body will activate the seed and it will start integrating all the information it can about your physiology. This will allow that the plant grows according to your needs and to your tastes. Then, hold them between your two palms a few moments. Sow the seeds, but wait 24 hours before watering so that they have the time to integrate the information contained in your saliva.
This is the most efficient way of doing this communication but there are other ways. You can walk barefoot around the garden in the morning. Toxins eliminated by your feet in the morning will inform plants about the challenges that your body undergoes in life. They will find in the soil substances which can help you. In the evening you can give your tired feet a foot bath in a basin and then water the plants with this water. You can talk to the garden and plants, their growth will be enhanced. Put your hair loss and the scraps of nails in the compost. They will be digested by the compost and the information they carry will be available to the vegetables that grow in that compost.
Thus, here is some little known information on gardening. May you all have a wonderful summer!
[1] I use Man with a capital M to designate Men and Women as divine co-creators of paradise on earth.
[2] Only organic seeds or ancient varieties should go into your garden.