As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience.

Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring...upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts...

Spiritual enlightenment cannot be attained by waving a magic wand, or taking a class, or even reading a book. Nor can enlightenment be obtained according to a plan or a schedule. Each soul comes to his own truth in a personal, unique way and at the proper time. Our souls cannot be forced to grow, but like flowers, our spiritual selves can be fertilized and nurtured until they blossom and flourish.

Just as the dawn offers a palette of color, bringing a uniqueness and freshness to each new day, so, too, can each of us bring a purity of heart to each day. Each new dawn is a moment of opportunity for us to aspire, discover, grow, learn and serve. We are presented each day with a chance to expand our understanding of other beings, new ideas, diverse situations, and a variety of event. As we acknowledge and take part in these rich experiences, whether cheerful or burdensome, we can move through the cycles of life with a greater perspective on our foggy yesterdays, and certain anticipation of our tomorrows. Each dawn we can move one step closer to comprehending our own divinity.

Consider the color, the beauty of the lily as it grows from its ugly muck, or the shrinking violet as it sends out its color, its odor to enrich even the very heart of God. Consider the rose as to how it unfolds with color of the day, and with the opening itself to the sunshine, into the rain...Why won't people learn the lesson from them and grow in love and in beauty, in whatever may be their environs? Learn also from the flower that where thou are, ye, too, may make that place more beautiful for your being there, where it is in this or that or whatever place.

Instead of complaining that the rosebush has thorns, be happy that the thornbush has roses.

The truths that are revealed in spiritual literature are seeds planted in consciousness, and if those seeds are planted in an active and fertile consciousness, they spring up and bear fruit; but if they are taken into a sleeping consciousness - ...the consciousness that is living on form, ritual, or yesterdays thoughts - they can not break open, sprout, and mature.

Meditation is preparing the garden of the soul. Prayer is knowing what is in the heart of God that desires to be planted in this garden and asking for it in your own way.

Like a bulb, the soul is planted. In good soil, its roots go deep into the earth. Its only needs, light and love. And given those, it surely will flower.

I look to the trees, and I have always loved them - every kind of the hundreds of kinds I've seen and lived near and under. In Wisconsin, oaks and maples; in California, willows and cottonwoods; in Mexico, mesquite and jacaranda. I have loved them all - in their great proliferation.

...Who can fathom the multitude of red which floats to our feet each October as we stand taking innumerable deep breaths under the maple trees...? Who has enough books in her library to press the gold leaves of one fall?...This God we wonder after can...He is a wonderful magician. While we pull our eyes away unthinkingly, this God pulls the rainbow of life from the very air in which we live and move and have our being...we blink while the instant of mystery uncovers yet another wealth of spring's new grass, uncountable new litters of soft kittens, unfathomable volumes of hugs waiting to be hugged.

...I do not understand yet - in my human way of understanding - how or why the great Creator has implanted numberless touches in my fingertips...God's gifts cannot be wrapped!

My story begins in the year 1978. I am lying on my back under some bushes on C Street...in the city of Washington. It is two o'clock on a Saturday afternoon in June. All I can see is the brilliant green of sunlit leaves and the deep blue of the sky. Two friendly bandits have fractured my skull and jaw and relieved me of my wallet. I am expecting that one of them may shortly put a bullet into me to make sure I will not talk. And now, at this unlikely moment, my spirit is filled with peace. The green leaves and the blue sky are beautiful. Everything else fades into insignificance. This life is good and this death is good also. I am a leaf like the others. I am ready to float away on the blue wave of eternity.

...Time healed my wounds, and the efficient Washington police retrieved my bifocal glasses unbroken from the bushes. Life returned quickly to its ordinary routines. But I have not forgotten that moment of illumination when the glory of earth and heaven was revealed to me...I take courage from that memory of green leaves and blue sky.

A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.

As I approached the water, I noticed a rose near me that seemed to stand out from the other flowers, and I stopped to examine it. Its beauty was breathtaking. Among all the flowers there, none captured me like this one. It was gently swaying to faint music, and singing praises to the Lord with sweet tones of its own....As it developed before my eyes, my spirit was moved...I felt the rose's presence around me...I felt it creating its own music...My joy was absolutely full again! I felt God in the plant, in me, his love pouring into us...

I will never forget the rose that I was. That one experience, just a glimmer of the grander joy that is available in the spirit world, in being one with everything else, was so great that I will cherish it forever.

Patience is a flower that grows not in everyone's garden.

...Like a yielding tree that quietly leans its head upon the pillow of the wind, I shall lean on God the same and find music in His force, life in His touch, and love in whispered words to bring me such delight that I can find in any weather, proof that man and God, like wind and tree, belong together.

You can count how many seeds are in the apple, but not how many apples are in the seed.

Grace comes into the soul, as the morning sun into the world;
first at dawning;
then a light;
and at last the sun in his full and excellent brightness.

A religious teacher had several disciples and used to talk to them every morning about the nature of goodness, beauty and love. And one morning, just as he is about to begin talking, a bird comes on to the window-sill and begins to sing, to chant. It sings for a while and disappears. The teacher says, "The talk for this morning is over."

Two or three years later, when I had set up a healing organization and had begun teaching the art of healing, I remember having problems with a particular class of students, and I decided that perhaps one or two of them were possibly not suited to the work. Maybe, I thought, it would be better for the class as a whole if I asked the more disruptive element to leave.
 
Grey Eagle, gently but firmly, reminded me, "I am the gardener," he said, "and I will do the weeding."

A few weeks past without incident, and then within days I had phone calls or visits from more than half my students all telling me they were leaving my group for one reason or another.

...Grey Eagle made a promise to me...and I can tell you honestly that he has never once deserted me when I have needed him, and I feel his protection and guidance all around me.

Unhappy is he who mistakes the branch for the tree, the shadow for the substance.

THE GARDEN

Plant three rows of peas:
Peace of mind
Peace of heart
Peace of soul.

Plant four rows of squash:
Squash gossip
Squash indifference
Squash grumbling
Squash selfishness.

Plant four rows of lettuce:
Lettuce be faithful
Lettuce be kind
Lettuce be happy
Lettuce really love one another.

No garden should be without turnips:
Turnip for service when needed
Turnip to help one another
Turnip the music and dance.

Water freely with patience and
Cultivate with love.
There is much fruit in your garden.
Because you reap what you sow.

To conclude our garden
We must have thyme:
Thyme for fun
Thyme for rest
Thyme for ourselves.

Knowledge is like a garden; if it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.

Real moments of holiness happen when we experience moments of wholeness with ourselves, our environment, or another person. As you go through your day, look for holy moments and everyday miracles - the hug your child gives you for no reason at all; a flock of birds flying past a cloud; the beautiful array of fruits and vegetables the earth has produced that are awaiting you at the supermarket; the song on the radio that gives you just the message you've been needing to hear; the lone yellow dandelion bursting through the crack in the concrete sidewalk.

No matter what our blooming time is, the presence of God is on hand for the fruition.

AFFIRMATION FOR THE DAY

As I grow in my garden of life,
I continue to cultivate enthusiasm and faith,
and weed out negative thoughts and activities.
I nourish my mind with positive conclusions about myself,
my relationships, my career, and my goals,
and I am patient and loving with myself.
Acknowledging that I am part of Something Greater,
I flourish in my spiritual garden.