The Second Vision - Chapter 4 - Part -3

The Second Garden Dream

Well I know the lane well now that leads to my Garden. I come here so often now and things are coming along nicely. I have been so busy cleaning and pruning and planning though that I feel I need to walk the Garden and document its progress.

As I walk up I notice the side walks are now spotless and all the moss and debris has been methodically cleared. The ivy walls are now neatly sheared and where there are bare spots, wire has been strung and new vines are being encouraged to cover them up. The trees are still beautiful and look even taller and statelier now that they have been trimmed and manicured. Impatiens and coleus have been planted and are thriving in their shade. This makes the whole entrance so much more inviting and breaks up the green monotony. The Gated entrance once covered and hidden is now quite prominent and inviting. The trees have been trimmed back just enough to let the light shine through very prominently here. There is a series of pots placed on each side with a stunning display of colorful floral draping down there sides and beckoning all that saunter down the lane to take notice. On the wall on each side of the massive gates are lion head fountains spitting water gracefully into marble bowls. The limestone casing of the gate shows now and arches gracefully above the gate framing it quite nicely. There are plans for an inscription there soon, but for now a copper plate has been hung in the center and it reads, “All are welcome to enter in Peace.” The gates themselves are quite exquisite. The have an ornate oak leaf pattern scrolled trough them. They are unlocked now and have been oiled so they open with ease and silence. Walking in the arch is actually a tunnel covered for about 15 feet or so. At the end of the tunnel there is now a sign that reads, “Please pardon the dust, Reflection Garden under Construction”. There is a table with blueprints laid out. This is the site of the new reception space of the Garden where guests may wait, relax and prepare for the rest of the Garden experience. A large Oriental type structure is being built at one end and a large pond is being dug out in preparation of the future reflecting pond. This will reflect and amplify the surrounding beauty of the landscape and add the soothing element of water to this sacred space. Guest will soon be able to sit at its banks and reflect and ponder. There will be a gravel path so guests can slowly meander around the pond and there is even a bridge being built to give guests a view from the center of the quiet pool.

The new building will serve as the new Main Gate to the true garden that is now safely behind its framed walls. Two large stone Phu Dogs have already been placed on each side of the main steps leading to the Oriental Gate House. They are there to forcefully invite all evil to leave the reflection garden and forbid evil from ever making it into the sacred garden behind them. Most of the large trees and boulders are already planted and in place now. But despite this it is still very much a work in progress and is therefore not operational by any means yet. The new Guard gate, though not finished, is completely operational and is serving its purpose well. The large ornate doors are in place and stand locked. There is a small polite signs that reads, “Please sign the registration log and wait patiently, and the Host of the Garden will be with you soon.” There is a bench there to sit on but since the space is still undergoing so much work its not entirely relaxing yet.

As I unlock the new gates and walk inside the framed building it is sheeted with plastic to hide the construction going on inside the building and to quickly guide you through to the other exit. As I walk out the back of the new structure I step out onto a very French looking patio area raised about 5 feet higher than the surrounding landscape. From this patio I am directly in front of the lovely swan fountain that marks the center of the garden. It has now been gilded in gold and has the most amazing display of flowers around its base. It seems to glow now. It is an absolutely breathtaking centerpiece. It stands there now with an encircling polished granite path. Large fir trees have been added now and enclose this grand area and seem to frame three separate entrances into the North, East, and West Gardens. The patio I stand on acts as the entrance to the South Garden that will soon be the reflection area. This area has been transformed into an impressive courtyard and is quite manicured and complete. The patio has wide gentle steps that invite you to descend toward the fountain. I am quite pleased with the progress of this part of the garden.

I continue into the Garden and up the path toward the North Garden, the Rose Garden. The newly added fir trees block one from seeing this garden from the patio so you must wander around the fountain and up through the fir canopy. An arch has been carefully trimmed in the large firs to create a natural entrance to the Rose Garden. As I walk through the arch is obvious this part of the Garden is also under major renovation. There are piles of leaves and branches, weeds and debris heaped here and there amongst the garden. It seems that the front fourth of the great raised rose bed has been thoroughly weeded and prepared. It actually looks quite sparse in this quarter since there are only a few roses left in this space. Now that that section has been weeded it has maybe 8 or 9 roses in a space of over 100 feet long. The few roses that remained have been cut way back and fertilized and have had the soil worked around their bases. Also the Cypress and Ewe shrubs in this front quarter of this Garden had been neatly trimmed and sheared to absolute perfection. The bulbs in the side gardens have also been pulled up, thinned and neatly replanted and labels have been placed to show what was planted where. Truly the garden looked a bit stark and naked but you could tell it was receiving a lot of care and thought and would soon be something quite spectacular again. Now the remaining three quarters were still quite a mess and in need of the same attention as the front although at the back the large wisteria had been carefully pruned back. Only a couple had survived and were in the process of growing back and where the others had failed new ones had been planted and were being trained up the columns. Sprinklers and hoses ran here and there through out the garden though, ensuring that all plants that have survived were now flourishing. There were forms placed along the path where urns and lights would soon be added and from the valance of the trellis large pots of hanging geraniums were a burst of pink color in front of the impressive valley in the beyond. The pillars had all been power washed and were once again powder white. The area still needed a ton of work but it was looking like someone now cared.

Climbing the Mountain- Chapter 4 - Part 2

This Entry garden started to become realized in both my real world and my symbolic garden world. This culminated in a second vision on a camping trip I took to Mack’s Canyon in the Mountains just outside of Las Vegas.

July 27th, 2002

Well after a stressful start the day is suddenly surprisingly peaceful. I made it to my destination and it is even prettier than I remember. I have set up camp between two small seeping springs. I just hiked up a very steep hill behind the bigger of the two springs. I didn’t go to the top, but stopped half way up at a large boulder. There I sat and marveled at the absolute stillness. There was just the slightest breeze and I received a distinct impression that Harmony ruled the grand scene. The tall pines slowly swayed and the view across the canyon was absolutely inspiring. I just sat there with my friend in silence drinking it all into my soul, savoring each detail. I feel like my soul is recharging. As we stood and started to descend a thought pierced my consciousness. I was aware of how light and graceful my body seemed going down the steep and precarious terrain. I notice my friend seemed to be having quite a difficult time. I knew at that moment that my spirit had specifically chosen this body and I felt very pleased. It was weird because all my insecurities and hang-ups about my body seemed to instantly melt away at the realization that I chose me. And that I did. With the Divine assistance of God I was instrumental in creating myself. I was a creation of both He and I. It’s hard to explain but I just felt an overpowering sense of completeness, Divinity, and Joy. I also marveled today at the power of stillness. There is something so Divine and powerful in just being still. I though how all these trees just sat and were still and how divine that must be to just be at peace and just to stay still. I am feeling it is time to go visit the Garden of my Heart.

The Remodeling Begins - Chapter 4 - Part 1

You may notice I jumped most of Chapter 3. It is still unfinished but Chapter 4 is ready to be published. Stay tuned.

The Dream seemed to consume my every thought from this point. I would drive around town trying to focus on my job, but my mind constantly wished to dwell on the details of the garden and I wanted to begin transforming and redesigning this masterpiece which is me. I wrote the following a week and a half after the original dream.

June 11th, 2002

The Garden of my Heart dream has been with me constantly now for a week and a half. I have been thinking a lot about the entrance. The Garden needs to be accessible to others, yet guarded from those who might try to destroy it. I am thinking of leaving the main gate unlocked, during business hours of course, and building a small receiving garden just inside. This would be a place with benches and such, simple in design, maybe somewhat of a Zen Garden. People could enter here and wait and relax and meditate and prepare to be invited in to the Garden for a tour or journey. I am thinking the secondary gate will be a Chinese Gate House with two large Phu Dogs standing as sentinels and guarding against any evil.

This entry has particularly special meaning as one of the things I immediately encountered after the original vision was a wave of new opportunities. It was as if finding myself through the Garden Vision, I had dropped my mask and I was now exposed to the world as I truly was. Instead of people being harsh and judgmental I was amazed to find that people were actually drawn to me. It was almost as if I had become magnetized and people seemed drawn to the energy around me. It would seem this would be a good thing, but I also found that although people were initially drawn in by the new open, vulnerable me, they were also unwilling to be as open in return and in time my openness became a weapon they would use to try to put me down. I found it to be like system overload for most. They wanted to know me but since I was so open they were unable to process all that I was willing to give. Many seemed to wander into the garden, mesmerized by it and then after seeing only the first few feet they would want to say they knew and understood the complexity of the Garden. Being that I was the Garden’s designer and caretaker and that I was still discovering the Garden myself I was sometimes hurt that people would want to say they knew me after such a short journey. To know me, or anyone, should be a true journey, a discovery expedition that one looses themselves in. Anyway to say the least, I, within a week realized the garden need a few layers to let people inside, but in an orderly and planned way. Hence the idea of creating a symbolic waiting room or preview garden, to prepare kindred souls for a deeper journey and as a warm welcome center to those that would not need to venture further.

And so the overdue remodel and rediscovery of the Garden Began.