Good Morning Garden

A great deal of confusion seems to exist in many minds concerning the precise avenue through which realization and harmony are to be attained.

The only solution is to contact the divine Power that dwells within your own soul; and to bring it to bear upon the various difficulties in your life, taking them in due order, that is, attacking the most urgent first. The real remedy for every one of your difficulties is, as we are told on every page of the Bible, to find and know the Indwelling Presence.

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come unto thee (Job 22:21).

This, then, is the task, and the only one – to find, and consciously know, your own Indwelling Lord. You see now how the confusion disappears, and the perfect simplicity of the whole thing emerges once you realize this fact.

In order to know the indwelling God, we must get past the self and the false perceptions upon which the consciousness of self is built. We must let go of and rise above the self and then seek the inner self which is the presence of God in our lives. This is not easy. Every sense and perception we possess constantly tries to limit us to the physical world and our relation to it. To get beyond the self, we must let go of our human limits and self-consciousness and embrace the unlimited will and spirit of God. We must accept that God is our true self and that his spirit is the real power in our lives. Then we must live as if we are the host of God’s spirit and consciousness and act accordingly. So, the first step is to acquaint ourselves with god’s spirit, then accept His will and live according to it. This is when the puzzle comes together and all the parts seem to fit. It is also when it becomes clear what our path is, how we are to travel it and where it leads. Submission to God’s will is the path, right behavior is the way and life in the Garden God gave us is where it leads.

In the spirit,

Z gardener

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The fourth name the prophet Isaiah speaks of is that of Everlasting Father. As Jesus so clearly pointed out, God is or Father, not merely our Creator. But we have to establish our own consciousness of this fact.

In the fifth place, we receive what is perhaps the greatest name of all, “The Prince of Peace.” Think what perfect peace of soul, if you could attain it, would actually mean to you. If you had real peace of soul, do you suppose that your body could be ill? Given real peace of soul, how easy it would be to find your true place in the world, How quickly and efficiently you could perform your work, Once you have attained true peace of soul, you have made it possible for the Child to teach you new things, utterly beyond the compass of your present understanding.

Of the increase of=2 0his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice form henceforth even forever (Isaiah 9:7).

In view of the fact that the weaker souls, the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the depressed, should find it impossible to believe that such good tidings could be true, the prophet clinches the matter with the definite assertion:
…
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this (Isaiah 9:7).

Peace is what we truly seek when we strive for happiness. The path to peace begins with understanding God’s will and submitting to it. The path to peace ends in the Eden God gave us. That is the “place” where there is no end to peace and justice.

With zeal,

Z gardener

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The Prophet Isaiah also calls this Child “Counselor.” A counselor is one who gives guidance. If you are worried because you do not know whether to take some important step, to accept a business offer, to sign an important document, to enter upon a partnership, to resign your position, to trust someone, to say something, the Child will be your Counselor.

In the third place the prophet reveals to us who the Child really is. It is no less than God Himself, “The Mighty God.” And truly the mystic Power that transforms, and transmutes, and transfigures, is God Himself, always present with you, and always available.

…the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works (John 14:10).
Read John 14:10-17.

There is a voice within each of us that guides our thoughts and informs our behavior. It is the counselor sent by God to help us do that which we know is right and to help us when we are not sure what is right. We can chose to listen to that voice and heed its counsel, or we can chose to ignore it. When we ignore it, we will increase our difficulties and multiply our mistakes. When we hear and follow this voice, our lives become easier and we avoid mistakes. Heeding this voice opens the door to God’s power and to the Eden he created for us. It is our choice whether we heed or ignore this counselor.

Hearing and heeding,

Z gardener

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The prophet Isaiah speaks of the “Name” of the Child, and if we know something of Bible symbolism, we know that we are now going to learn something fundamental, for in the Bible, the name of anything means the character or nature of that thing. A name is not merely an arbitrary label, but actually a hieroglyph of the soul. We are given no less than five names or qualities of the Child.

First Isaiah says that the name of the Child is Wonderful. The word wonderful used here requires careful scrutinization. As employed in the Bible, it implies a miracle – just that, and nothing else. The Bible repeatedly says that miracles can happen, and it gives detailed and circumstantial accounts of many specific cases. Moreover, it says that miracles always will happen if you believe them to be possible, and are willing to recognize the power of God, and to call upon it.

As soon as the Child is born in you consciousness, the miracle will come into your life. This does not mean simply that you will become resigned to your present circumstances, or that you will then be enabled to meet the same difficulties with a higher courage or a clearer brain. It means the miracle.

But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible (Mathew 19:26).

We open to door to miracles in our lives when we believe they are possible through the power of God and then call on that power in our lives. While we must accept human limitation, we must also accept that, through God, those limitations are nonexistent. It is when we release our bondage to human limits through God that we tap into unlimited power and potential. Then we sow the seeds for miracles and through our faith and God’s will bring those miracles to full bloom. Then we will find ourselves in our garden.

Sowing the seeds of miracles,

Z gardener

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But where is this wonderful Power to be contacted? The answer is simple – this Power is to be found within your own consciousness, the last place that most people would look for it. Within your own mentality there lies a source of energy stronger than electricity, more potent than high explosive; unlimited and inexhaustible. You only need to make conscious contact with it to set it working in your affairs. This Indwelling Power, the Inner Light, is spoken of in the Bible as a child. The conscious discovery by you that you have this Power within you, and your determination to make use of it, is the birth of the child.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

&nbs p; This is a marvelous description of what happens when the spiritual idea, the Child, is born to the soul. Walking in darkness, moral or physical, dwelling in the land of the shadow of death – the death of joy, or hope, or even self-respect – describes well the condition of many people before this light shines into their weary, heartbroken lives; and the Prophet rises into a paean of exultant joy as he contemplates the deliverance.

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: They that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined (Isaiah 9:2).

Though we search throughout the world, the power lies within. Who among us truly believes that all for which we pray, work and hope can be found within us. Now, this is not to say that it is from us. We are merely the switches and circuits through which this power flows. Yet, when we consciously acknowledge it, seek it and submit to it, this power flows through us and shapes the world around us. Through our submission to it, we become by God’s grace, the masters of our universe, a light to all and may then live in the joy and gladness of the Eden God gave to us ..

Seeking within,

Z gardener

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There exists a mystic Power that is able to transform your life so thoroughly, so radically, so completely, that when the process is completed your own friends would hardly recognize you, and, in fact, you would scarcely be able to recognize yourself.
It can lift you out of an invalid’s bed, and free you to go out into the world to shape your life as you will. It can throw open the prison door and liberate the captive.
This Power can do for you that which is probably the most important thing of all in your present stage: it can find your true place in life for you, and put you into it.
This Power is really no less than the primal Power of Being, and to discover that Power is the divine birthright of all men.

…. The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21).
…. Seek ye first the kingdom of God… and all these things shall be added…(Matthew 6:33).

Just imagine a power so great that nothing can stop it from accomplishing anything which the mind of God can conceive. Now imagine that this power is available to each of us every day. That power exists and is available to us when we seek first the will, consciousness and spirit of God in our lives. This is not power you can will to any end, but can only be accessed through love of God and devotion to God’s laws and precepts. When using this power we are not free to act any way we chose but must submit to God’s will and follow God’s rules. When we do these things, we will experience the ultimate power and the peace and gladness that accompany it.

Seeking the power,

Z gardener

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The principal reason why prayers are not answered is because in our hearts we limit the power of God. The Bible constantly tells us that the people got into trouble because they limited the Holy One. When you say, “There is no way out of my difficulty,” what can it possibly mean except that you cannot see a way out? When you say, “It is too late now,” what can that possibly mean except that it is too late for you?

When you pray you are turning to the power of God and surely you will admit that God is omnipotent, and therefore nothing can be too difficult, or too late, or too soon for Him. You will surely admit that infinite Wisdom takes action when we pray and so our own limitations do not matter—unless we think they do.

Children often find themselves completely overcome by a difficulty that a grown-up person easily solves. What to the child seems an impossibility is quite easy to his father, and so even our greatest difficulties are simple to God.

Infinite Wisdom knows a beautiful and joyous solution to any dilemma. Do not limit the power of God for good in your life.

…Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? … (Isaiah 50:2).

One of the most difficult tasks we face in our spiritual journey is to accept the unlimited power of God. Human nature constantly attempts to put boundaries on all we perceive in order to analyze and understand it. This works well for managing our physical existence, but is the enemy of spiritual reality and our growth therein. Our tendency to quantify and put boundaries and limits on God is problematic because it is vanity and replaces God’s truth with our perception of the truth. It also denies the unlimited power of God. So at its core, it reflects lack of faith and makes us an obstacle to God’s will. To overcome this human trait, we must accept God’s will and deny our limited perception of truth. Then we facilitate God’s will instead of being an obstacle to it and this gives us access to unlimited potential.

Rebuking limitation,

Z gardener

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You form certain beliefs, for one reason or another—and then you have to live with them. When you were growing up, well-meaning people told you many negative things by way of warning, thereby implanting fears; and these fears are with you today, consciously or subconsciously. Other problems you brought here with you when you were born.

You meet your fears dramatized. The things that we fear in our hearts have a way of coming to us in the guise of other people’s acts; of business conditions; of a breakdown in some part of the body.

Thank God it is not necessary as a rule to delve into the recesses of the subconscious and dredge for these things. In the spiritual teaching, as given in the Bible, we learn that by beating the symptoms spiritually (not, of course, covering up symptoms, but beating them) the fear or false suggestion that caused the symptom disappears too, and the patient is free.

Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace… (Job 22:21).

Again we see the principle of cause and effect in our lives. As within, so without. Any thought we give our attention to and imbue with our feelings will manifest itself in our lives. And, yes, there are things to fear in the world. But that does not mean we have to adopt those fears and make them our own. In fact, when we rebuke fear and refuse to engage in it, that which we fear will not be drawn to us nor will we cause it to manifest in our lives. Then, If that which we refuse to fear does happen, it will be turned to our best good and will only make us better. When through faith, we master fear and doubt, we will throw off the heavy yoke and will experience peace and life in the Garden that God created for us. Faith, hope and love are the antidotes to fear.

In love, with faith, through hope,

Z gardener

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It happens to some students of prayer who are especially zealous, giving much time to study and meditation, and making more than average progress, that a time comes when their ordinary daily work begins to seem dull, tiresome, and really not worthwhile. Such a person may actually have a very important and interesting position, which most people would consider ideal; but now he is no longer content or happy. He would like to throw up business life altogether and devote all his time to his spiritual development.

The healing of this problem is first to know that a great many people have to meet it. It is not at all uncommon or peculiar to one person; and those who have it always come through it and find themselves happier than ever before because this particular difficulty only happens to wholehearted and zealous people. Such people usually spend too much time in prayer and meditation, and become waterlogged.

Having come through that stage they always find themselves more interested in their business than ever before; they do much better work, and at the same time they progress much faster in their spiritual lives, and have a great deal more power in prayer than they ever had before.

I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. (Job 42:2).

All of us should pray to have this dilemma. What a blessing to be so consumed with our spiritual lives that we lose interest in material things. However, taken too far, even this can be a problem. All parts of our lives are important and should be kept in balance. One way to do that is to channel our spiritual fervor into our material lives so that this too may be used to accomplish God’s will in our lives. That is what is meant when the author refers to living in the Eden God gave us. Let us each use our spiritual lives to till the garden in which God placed us.

Tilling the soil,

Z gardener

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Think of God. Review some of the things that you know to be true about Him – His perfect goodness, infinite intelligence, all presence, limitless power, unbound love, and so forth. Claim that God, who is all those things, is with you – and believe it.

Read a few verses of Scripture or any spiritual book that helps you.

Say silently that you forgive everyone who may seem to need it; without exception or mental reservation – and mean it.

Claim that God is now inspiring you, teaching you, and healing you. Claim that He is giving you the greatest of all gifts – HIMSELF – because having Him you will have everything else too.

Give thanks in advance for the peace of mind, the harmony, and the spiritual growth that is yours – and mean it.

Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High (Psalm50: 14)

The act of believing is one of the most powerful things a human can do. It is from belief that nation’s rise, that creativity springs forth and that fear and doubt emerge. In the truest sense we are what we believe we are, and we will become what we believe we shall be. But one may ask, “How do we get to the point where we believe in something like God that we can’t prove exists”?

There are many ways to achieve belief. For some, they use a mental version of the scientific method. The scientist develops an hypothesis, tests the hypothesis and draws a conclusion based on the results. We can do the same by developing the desire to believe in God, then test the desire by acting according to God’s will and then draw our faith from the results. You can be sure that if you follow the will of God as described in the Bible, your desire will grow into a belief. There is a much simpler way that works for many. They just choose to believe and faith follows. Regardless of the path we choose to believe, once on the path, we must claim all that God has promised…and mean it. If we build it, he will come.

Claiming all God’s gifts,

Z gardener

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