Good Morning Garden

Study and research are well in their own time and place, but no amount of either will get you out of a concrete difficulty. Nothing but practical work in your own consciousness will do that.

Scientific prayer is the Golden Key to harmony and happiness. You need take no one’s word for it, and you should not. Simply try it for yourself, and see.

Whoever you are, wherever you may be, the Golden Key to harmony is in your hand now. This is because it is God who works, and not you, and so your particular limitations or weaknesses are of no account in the process. You are only the channel through which the divine action takes place, and your part is first to get yourself out of the way.

The actual method of working is simplicity itself. All that you have to do is this: Stop thinking about the difficulty, whatever it is, and think about God instead. This is the complete rule, and if only you will do this, the trouble, whatever it is, will presently disappear. It may be big or little, it may concern health, finance, a lawsuit, a quarrel, an accident, or anything else conceivable; but whatever it is, just stop thinking about it, and think of God instead; that is all you have to do.

The thing could not be simpler, could it? And yet it never fails to work when given a fair trial.

With God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).

The theme of the Good Morning Garden is that we can live in Eden each moment if we let go of our human nature so God can fill us with His divine nature. Regardless of the circumstances we face, we can live in peace, hope and harmony if we empty ourselves of our self-centered human spirit. While this is simple to understand, it is very hard to do on our own. However, when we use the “Golden Key” of thinking about God instead of that which plagues us, then we tap into the ultimate power of the universe and God himself comes to our rescue.

Thinking God,
Z gardener

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The seventh main aspect of God is Principle, and this is probably the one that is least understood. What does the word principle mean?

Consider a few generally accepted principles. “Water seeks its own level.” This is a principle. It is not only the course taken by a particular drop of water in a particular locality. It is true of all water everywhere. “The angles of any triangle always add up to 180 degrees.” It makes no matter what kind of triangle one may consider; as long as it is a triangle, this principle holds. These principles were true a billion years ago and they will be true a billion years hence.

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever (Hebrews 13:8).

Prayer is answered because God is principle, eternally manifest in the same way. When we pray rightly we bring ourselves into harmony with His Law of Being. Prayer does not ask God to change the laws for our temporary convenience, but it tunes us in, so to speak, with divine Principle; if God were to make exceptions because we were in great difficulties (which, because of His nature, He could never do) we should never know where we stood. If the law of gravity were occasionally suspended without notice, say, because a very important man had fallen off a roof, you know what would happen to the world.

Each of the seven main aspects is a distinct quality like the elements in chemistry. A chemical element, as you know, is just itself and nothing else. Oxygen is an element because there is nothing in it but oxygen. Water on the other hand is a compound, a combination of hydrogen and oxygen. There are many attributes of God, such as wisdom, beauty, joy, and so forth, but they are compounds made up of two or more of the seven main aspects. Wisdom, for example, is the perfect balance of Intelligence and Love.

Beauty is the perfect balance of Life, Truth, and Love. In any true work of art, you will find that these three aspects are balanced. There are many such relationships and interdependencies, “Thou canst not pluck a flower without the trembling of a star.”

What a great comfort it is to know that God is constant, unwavering, ever-dependable and loves us unconditionally. We can not depend on that from our family, friends and colleagues. When life deals us a body blow, we can know that God will turn it to our best good. And when we need to correct course, God’s Holy Spirit will whisper it in our ear, and when we don’t listen, will take the wheel and steer. And when we fall, God will be there to pick us up, forgive us and send His grace and love to comfort us. This truth is the reality of the Eden God created for us here. That garden is here today and will be here in a billion years. Live, and be free the garden today. Rejoice and be glad in it.

Yesterday, today and forever,
Z gardener

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The sixth main aspect of God is Spirit. We know that God is Spirit but what does that mean? Spirit is that which cannot be destroyed or damaged. It is the opposite of matter. Matter wears out, but Spirit does not because Spirit is substance. Herbert Spencer defines substance as that which is not subject to discord or decay. Webster says, “that which underlies all outward manifestation; real, unchanging essence or nature; that in which qualities inhere; that which constitutes anything that is.” All this can only apply to spiritual things.

God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

You are Spirit. Spirit cannot die and was never born. Your true self was never born and will never die. You are eternal, divine, unchanging Spirit, in your true nature. The whole universe is a spiritual creation but we see it in a limited way. You have sometimes seen a window made of fluted glass, and you know that if you look at the street through this window everything will be distorted. Nevertheless, you know that the distortion arises from your seeing wrongly. Our false vision causes us to know ourselves only from a seeming birth to a seeming death; but this is illusion too. This distorted vision of Spirit is really what we know as “matter.” Eucken says, “Reality is an independent spiritual world, unconditioned by the apparent world of sense, and this is substance.”

Understanding that our senses fail to reveal reality’s true nature, is the beginning of the journey to gain true perception of spiritual reality, This truth opens the gate to our garden, to God and to life filled with hope, peace and joy. The key to that gate is found in the realization that spirit transcends all human limitation. Physical reality is but a reflection of true spiritual reality. It is like watching a video of an event instead of being at the event. Instead of watching our garden today on tape, may we all live in our garden today in spirit and in truth.

Going live today,
Z gardener

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The fifth main aspect of God is Soul. Soul is that aspect of God by virtue of which He is able to individualize Himself. The word individual means “undivided.” Most people seem to think it suggests separateness but actually individual means undivided, and God has the power of individualizing Himself without, so to speak, breaking Himself into parts.

You are really an individualization of God. Only God can individualize Himself in an infinite number of units of consciousness, and yet not be in any way separate because God is spirit. Matter cannot be individualized. It can only be divided. So your real self, the Christ within, the spiritual man, the I Am, or the divine spark, as it is variously called, is an individualization of God. You are the presence of God at the point where you are.

Man may very well be compared to an electric light bulb. The electric current is present in all parts of the circuit, but it shines forth, or one might say, figuratively, becomes self-conscious, in the bulb. So divine Mind becomes self-conscious in you.

Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, ye are gods? (John 10:34).

When you are called upon to perform some task or undertake some responsibility that seems too great for you, realize that you are one with God and the task will become “our business” instead of “my business.”

When each human is born, a part of God’s consciousness manifests itself into the physical world, like His pressing a finger into an inflated balloon. It is God’s way of experiencing physical reality and worldly consciousness through us. Until we realize this and accept that we are a conduit for God into this world, we are walking blindly, unaware of our true nature.

God’s child,
Z gardener

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The fourth main aspect of God is Intelligence. When you clearly realize that this is an intelligent universe it will make a major difference in you life. In an intelligent universe there cannot be disharmony because all ideas must work together for the common good. Neither can there be any lack. An engine that has been intelligently designed does not have any unnecessary parts and neither are any essential parts lacking.

It is especially important to realize that God is Intelligence because it sometimes happens that when people outgrow the childish idea that God is just a magnified man, they go to the opposite extreme and think of God as a blind force, like gravity or electricity. This means that they have lost all sense of the Love and Fatherhood of God, and such an idea is very little better than a subtle form of atheism.

God is not a person in the usual sense of the word, but God has every quality of personality except its limitation. The human mind cannot imagine personality that is not limited, but this difficulty arises from the limitation of the human mind itself, and of course this does not affect the nature of God. The Bible says, in effect, whatever you think I am, that will I be to you; this means that if we attribute to God every quality of an infinite, intelligent, loving personality, God will be just that to us. So we may say that we believe in a personal God.

Children and young people respond very readily indeed to a prayer for expression of Intelligence through them. If you are interested in a young person at college, pray several times a week that Intelligence will manifest through him and you will be surprised to find how his progress in his studies will increase. Remember also the wonderful fact that when you work for a person the result will be with him for the rest of his life.

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! (Romans 11:33).

The bible tells us we are made in God’s image. The implications of that truth are staggering to the human mind. It means that we are not limited to human intelligence, but can access and manifest infinite intelligence. That means we are not restricted to the knowledge, intelligence, awareness and ability of which only mere humans are capable. That forms the basis for hope and faith that, in fact, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

So, when faced with impossible odds, overwhelming challenges and certain defeat based on our limited human capability, we can survive, overcome and prevail even when facing the lion’s den or the fiery furnace. It means we can do all things with God’s help if we believe, obey and manifest God’s will.

This irrevocable truth can light our path, straighten it and ensure our safe and blessed arrival in the garden God created for us. May this truth fill each us us with the joy, gladness and comfort that allows us to be grateful for all things.

In gratitude,
Z gardener

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The third main aspect of God is Love. God is not loving but Love itself, and it would probably be true to say that of all of the seven main aspects this is the most important one for us to practice. There is no condition that enough Love will not heal. The Bible deals with the nature of God, and as the Scripture develops, the idea of God becomes clearer until toward the end it says,

God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him
1 (John 4:16).

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
(John 13:35).

Where there is fear there cannot be love. The best way to rid yourself of fear is to realize divine Love. If you love God more than you love your microbe, your sickness, your grievance, your lack, or your fear you will be healed. We have all heard many stories of exceptional people who were able to go among wild beasts in the jungle without being hurt, and there are many other histories on record of people who passed through extraordinary dangers of other kinds quite unscathed. To realize God as Love is the remedy for fear.

Divine Love never fails, but the important thing to realize is that divine Love must be in your own heart and cannot operate from outside, so to speak. When your prayers are not answered it must be because you have not fulfilled the conditions of the law, and, ninety-nine times in a hundred, it is because you are lacking in a sense of love for all. Practice love every day and watch your thought, and watch your tongue, and watch your deed, that nothing contrary to love finds expression there.

We may ask ourselves, “how can we fill our hearts with love in a world full of so many things to fear, condemn or that hurt us?” The simple truth is that we can’t on our own. To live in love and fill our hearts, minds and wills with love, we must give ourselves to God in faith. Only a relationship with God can empty us of our trepidation, anger, judgement and resentment that are the normal human reactions to pain, fear, sickness and want. Because we, as humans, can not overcome our subjective reality based on our limited perception and senses, we must sublimate ourselves to God’s infinite self which is unlimited.

In Love,
Z gardener

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The second main aspect of God is Truth. God is not truthful but Truth itself, and wherever there is Truth, there is God. There are many things that are relatively true at certain times and places only, but God is absolute Truth at all times and in all circumstances. As soon as we touch God, who is the Absolute, relative things disappear.

To know the truth about any condition heals it. Jesus said, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32).

You should realize God as Truth when you want information on any subject, or if you suspect that you have to deal with deceit. If you believe that someone is trying to deceive you, claim that divine Truth dwells in the person concerned, and is expressed through him. If you realize this clearly enough he will then speak the truth. When you have to transact any important business such as signing a lease or a contract, spend a few minutes realizing divine Truth and if there is anything you should know it will come out. Of course people may have no desire to deceive you and yet for some reason you may not be given the whole story. I know of several cases where serious misunderstandings were prevented because somebody realized God as truth and so all the facts were brought out. I know also of cases where intentional dishonesty was frustrated in the same way.

Truth is absolute reality, unlike subjective reality as we perceive it through our senses or intellect. Telling it is radical, living it is hard and finding it without realizing it is God is practically impossible. Yet, when we do accept God as truth in our lives, we are freed from all things that imprisons us. That includes the prison of subjective reality which falsely convinces us that we are bound by limitation, lack or fear.

In truth,
Z gardener

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The first main aspect of God is Life. God is not just living, nor does God give life, but God is Life. Where God is, there Life is.

When you are sick you are only partly alive. When you are tired or depressed or discouraged, you are only partly alive. Few people express God in an adequate way because they lack the sense of life.

Joy is one of the highest expressions of God as Life. Actually it is a mixture of Life and Love, and the Bible says “the sons of God shout for joy.” When we realize our divine sonship, we must experience joy. Joy always has an expansive effect, just as fear has a contracting effect. When a person says, “I can” you notice an expansive and forward movement, but when he says, “I can’t” there is a retraction. You could not imagine a person saying, “Yes, I can,’ with a shrinking gesture, or “No, I can’t,” in an optimistic or forthright way. The body always expresses the thoughts; the thought of Life heals and inspires, whereas thoughts of fear and death contract and destroy.

Realizing divine Life heals the sick. Animals usually respond quickly, and plants very quickly indeed, because they do not have that strong sense of personal egotism that most human beings do. They never make up their minds that they cannot get well or that “sickness is sent for a good purpose.” Neither do they give way to discouragement because they have not been healed faster.

For God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom and knowledge, and joy! (Ecclesiastes 2:26).

When we recall joyful events in our lives, we may think of our weddings, our children’s birth, Christmas, the championship game or other big events in our lives. Yet, that same joy is available to us each moment of every day. When is the last time we were joyful for our first waking breath of the day. Without it we would perish in mere minutes. How about even smaller things like the smell of fresh coffee, the smile on the face of our spouse or child, or any child?

In gratitude and joy,
Z gardener

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The first step that the earnest student must take to locate the Inner Light within himself is to settle on a definite method of working, selecting whichever one seems to suit him best, and then giving it a fair trial. Merely reading books, making good resolutions, or talking plausibly about the thing will get him nowhere.

Get a definite method of working, practice it conscientiously every day; and stick to one method long enough to give it a fair chance. You would not expect to play the violin after two or three attempts, or to drive a car without a little preliminary practice.

Get to work on some concrete problem, choosing preferably whatever it is that you are most afraid of. Work at it steadily; and if no improvement at all shows itself within, say, a couple of weeks, then try your method on another problem. If you still get no result, then scrap that method and adopt a new one. Remember, there is a way out. The problem really is, not the getting rid of your difficulties, but finding your own best method for doing it.

Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you (John 16:23).

Welcome back to the garden. It has been a miraculous Christmas and once again, we have the opportunity to begin a new year as a new person. The Bible affirms that during this season, we have the ability to lay down our old person and raise up a new person. So, let us begin today living as that new person with glorified faith and thankful hearts for all God’s blessings. And let us begin our journey this year together, as we search for that Inner Light within ourselves. And may God bless us fully so we can shine that light on ourselves and all those we touch each day.

Z gardener

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