 THE GARDEN OF TRANSFORMATION
The sun shines brightly and we feel the fiery power, blazing, from a clear blue sky. It casts diamond shards of light which gild the leaves and the flowers with a dazzling array. The Garden of Transformation is a place where all is not as it seems. The landscape shiver and shimmers in the heat of the sun. The physical world almost seem to have become liquid, quivering in the burning heat, transforming through evaporation. The purpose of our journey through this world could be seen to be transformation. From the dense physical dimension of our earthly bodies we are called to rise, to ascend, to transform until our physical form is filled with the light and reflected glory of the divine, until we find ourselves in union with the divine through the whole process of death, resurrection and ascension. In Romans St Paul puts it this way in ch 8:12-15 “Brothers and sisters, we are debtors not to the flesh, not to live according to the flesh - for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are Children of God “ As we lead lives turned to the glory which is God, attending to the first and greatest commandment - to love the lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your soul and all your strength and your neighbour as yourself, we will begin the process of moving away from our own egos, our own desire, our own will. Turned to face the brilliance of the light of the gory of God, we will like the dew drop, reflect that glory back into the world. The world will become lighter and more inspired and spiritual as a result of the strength and brilliance of the light which we transmit. As we live lives in the Spirit, we will be drawn by the Spirit, and so into closer union with God. “I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the Glory about to be revealed to us “ says Paul in Romans 8:18 It is through prayer and prayerful connection with the divine, that we can make any sense at all, of the atrocities and hardships which our world presents us all with. Through our prayerful, focussed connection we can hold up to God in Christ, the suffering and distress of the world, for the redeeming transforming work of His grace. In silence, in love, in light and in prayer we can connect with the darkness and suffering of the whole world. We do this in His strength, not in our puny human weakness which can so easily be overwhelmed by the scale and depth of tragedy which surrounds us. As we hold our concerns up to God it is as if the dew drop is being evaporated into the heat of the sun, and freed to become vapour from its watery form. So the transformation of pain and suffering, can be held up to the breath of the spirit, the breath of the divine as it whispers across the world, its song of love and light and union. “For the creation awaits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the Children of God.” Romans 8:19 We are not victims. We are one Body. The Body of Christ, the body of the whole human race. Religion has been the cause of wars throughout history, and the truth is that now we have to come together. We need to celebrate our differences and respect them, but not see them as a cause of division. We need to be aware of the reality of the Oneness of all being. People and Planet are One. We are in God and God is in and through everything, round us through us with us and in us. It is through a growing awareness of our connection, that we will be able to tackle the horror of war and exploitation and face up to the encroaching reality of environmental breakdown. We are in an uncomfortable in between state. We can intimate the reality of the Kingdom of heaven. We can understand in principle the importance of our universal human values, of compassion and love, and the necessity of living out of these. Non- judgemental, unconditional, loving, listening, welcome for all through open minds and open hearts. We are co creators with God. We can through positivity, imagination and creativity, vision an ascended world, in which our lower human passions, are put to death leaving us free, to walk and work as beings of light. “We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now and not only the creation but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.’Romans 8:22 So near and yet so far. We can vision the possibility of the Kingdom Come, and we struggle in every possible way to realise it right here and right now, in our broken, pain filled world. Prayer is a very powerful tool. To pray unceasingly in faith is to live a life in Christ, and as we do this together, we can engage in the work of raising the energy of the whole planet.As we combine our prayer, love, focus and light, living by a common intention we will be able to unify our spiritual light and energy in a common cause - the ascension of our Earth and every being upon it. The Garden of Transformation is a place to contemplate the whole process of transformation, from one state of being to another - from the denser energy of the physical world and its limitations, to the freedom of light and glory. Our physical world contains many signs and metaphors to inspire our journey of transformation. From drops, quivering globes of light refracting and reflecting the glory; to the fleeting iridescence of the rainbow in all its colour and light; to the awesome power of the bolt of lightening as it rips across our night sky, with thousands of times more energy than we can ever imagine; to the graceful spiralling arc of the ocean wave as it crashes to rest upon the shore. All these are metaphors for our own spiritual transformation from one energetic state of being to another. We too are called to transform from one state of energetic existence to another, from the physical fleshly realm to the light of spiritual energy. We spend so much of our time on this earth, avoiding the absolute reality, that from the moment we are born we are dying. Life itself is a terminal finite state. Our culture is not good at seeing this inevitable journey from life to death, in terms of the transformation of energy. Our material consumer world sees death as an ending, a separation from all the possessions and ideals which it holds dear. Modern atheism would like to suggest that we are all bound for the nothingness of oblivion, which results from focussing upon our physical beings; and turn our backs upon the reality of the brilliance and glory of the divine, which is shining in our world in every moment, if we have the eyes to perceive it. We are called into the fullness of our divine spiritual potential by the God lot love. If we are able to step into this, in His strength, light and love, we will become the Children of God. We will be living in the New Heaven and the New Earth with the light and energy of the divine coursing through every particle and atom of the being of the whole of creation.
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 A cliffside garden is an in between place. Hovering between the solid and the ephemeral. Perched on the solid rock, nestled in the coign of the cliff, surrounded by carpets of cliff flowers - pink thrift, white rock rose and blue squill. Suspended above the pounding waves, surrounded by the clear, clean air, caressed by the soft fingers of a gentle wind. The crystal rock gleaming and beaming in the rays of the brilliant sun. Twinkling and gleaming in the light of a full moon. Held by the rock, cleansed by the wind - the transforming action of Sun, wind and air in the action of light, wave and tide.
As we rest in the garden on the cliff and surrender ourselves, with open hearts and minds, we can be transformed by the physical action of the elements of creation, working through our hearts and minds and souls. As we sit in the transforming power of the elements around us, we are spiritually transformed and healed by the movement of his saving grace’ in our hearts and shining through our world. Spiritual evolution is a process of self discovery and transformation. To know oneself is to know God. The divine resides within us all. To enter into the process of spiritual self discovery demands of us complete authenticity. We need the bravery to face up to who and what we are, without avoidance or succumbing to distraction. It is as we come to know the truth, that God loves each and every one of us passionately, and without condition, that we will be able to surrender ourselves to the process of spiritual transformation. As we turn inwards in meditation, stillness and contemplative prayer, we are able to link with the still small voice of the divine within us all. Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know. Be Still. BE. The process of going inward, of hearing the still small voice which speaks to us through the turmoil of the worlds earthquakes, winds and fires, is a process of connection which stands us in very good stead, as we face up to the trials and tribulations, which beset us in so many ways, in our lives and in our world. Finding the time, the space and the determination to make room in our hectic busy lives is essential. To find the peace of God we need to determine to be still and listen to his whispered nugings and promptings. The natural world can offer us myriad locations for us to find that stillness, connection, and the peace which this can bring us. We only have to seek them out with intention. To seek and know, that as we knock the door will indeed be opened for us.  The thundering water falls, streaming
catching the rays of the sun in its bright, gleaming, plunge. Creaming around rocks to the lip of the cliff, the turquoise, green silky smooth flow cascades into the depths. Foaming and flaming in its plunge, the white horses manes blown in the breeze that its own falling causes. Thousands of diamond shards in the cascades rainbow depths. Trees quiver in the waters breeze, dancing leaves of silver birch play out the tune of the waters falling beat. The waters fall is transforming power. As we sit on a mossy bank feeling the thunder roar, our souls are purged and cleansed in the cascading stream. If we can open our hearts to the waters cleansing fall we will be refreshed and renewed, reborn and remade. Waiting on the Divine with open heart and soul, relax and know the bright healing power of the love of the Divine within our whole being. |
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