Good Morning Garden

It is an unbreakable mental law that you have to forgive others if you want to demonstrate over your difficulties and to make any real spiritual progress.

The vital importance of forgiveness may not be obvious at first sight, but you may be sure that it is not by chance that every great spiritual teacher from Jesus Christ downward has insisted so strongly upon it.

You must forgive injuries, not just in words, or as a matter of form, but in your heart; and that is the long and the short of it. You do this, not for the other person’s sake, but for your own sake. Resentment, condemnation, anger, desire to see someone punished are things that rot your soul. Such things fasten your troubles to you with rivets. They fetter you to many other problems that actually have nothing whatever to do with the original grievances themselves.

Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing; but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3: 9).

Brothers and sisters, we alone hold the key to that which shackles us to our wrongs, hurts, injustices and grievances. Forgiveness, more than any other act, eliminates negativity from our lives and makes room in our gardens for beauty. No matter how justified our anger, how hurt we are, how badly we were treated or how unfairly punished, we are our own prison keeper; only we can keep this dungeon locked.

Rendering love,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

Practice makes perfect. This familiar proverb embodies one of the great laws of human nature and “being a law” it is never under any circumstances broken.

There is simply no significant achievement without practice and the more practice, provided it is done intelligently, the greater will the proficiency be and the sooner will it be attained. It is true in every conceivable branch of human endeavor. Practice is the price of proficiency.

In metaphysics the effects of this law are particularly striking. Thought control is entirely a matter of intelligent practice. And true religion may well be summed up as the Practice of the Presence of God.

Be ye doers of the word, and no hearers only (James 1:22).

With discipline, practice and God’s help we can manage most of our conscious thoughts. We do not have the ability to prevent all thoughts and emotions that spring from our subconscious or conscious mind. However, we do have total control on which thoughts and feelings we embrace, nurture or allow to linger. This is where the practice of thought and emotion control make a fundamental, essential and pivotal impact in the practice of the presence of God. A simple technique for flicking a burring ember of negativism from our consciousness is to to use the law of substitution. Simply focus our thoughts on God instead of the undesired issue.

Practicing, practicing, practicing,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

As soon as the subconscious mind accepts any idea, it immediately begins trying to put it into effect. It uses all its resources (and these are far greater than is commonly supposed) to that end. It uses every bit of knowledge that you have ever collected, most of which you have totally forgotten, to bring about its purpose. It mobilizes the many mental powers that you possess, most of which you never consciously use. It draws on the unlimited energy of the race mind. It lines up all the laws of nature as they operate both inside and outside of you, to get its way.

Sometimes it succeeds in its purpose immediately. Sometimes it takes a little time, sometimes it takes a long time; but if the thing is not utterly impossible, the subconscious will bring it about; once it accepts the idea.

This law is true for both good and bad ideas. This law, when used negatively, brings sickness, trouble, and failure; and when used positively, brings healing, freedom, and success. We give the orders; the subconscious does the work.

His secret is with the righteous (Proverbs 3:32).

How do we program our subconscious? We do so by where we direct our conscious thoughts, feelings desires and goals. That which we affirm, think about, talk about, wish for, visualize or daydream about is what we attract. “As a man thinketh, so is he”. That is why thought discipline is the key to the reality we build for ourselves. Yesterday we discussed a technique for relaxation before our mental work. Here is a simple, pleasant and healthy way to program our subconscious before we attain full thought discipline (or to help achieve it).

Peace,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

Another of the great mental laws is the Law of Relaxation. In all mental working effort defeats itself. This is just the opposite of what we find on the physical plane, but it will not surprise us because we know that in many cases the laws of mind are the reverse of the laws of matter.

On the physical plane, the harder you press a drill the faster will it go through a plank. The harder you hammer a nail the sooner does it go into the wall. But any attempt at mental pressure is foredoomed to failure because the moment tension begins, the mind stops working creatively. When you try to force things mentally, when you try to hurry mentally, you simply stop your creative power.

In all mental working be relaxed, gentle, and unhurried for effort defeats itself.

In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. (Isaiah 30:15).

Before beginning any mental work, prayer, meditation, visualization or working through issues of any kind, one should begin with a period of relaxation. One of the simplest methods to achieve a relaxed state is deep breathing. If one takes just three full, slow deep breaths in through the nose and exhales slowly, fully fully and deeply through the mouth, they would be amazed at the relaxing effects of it. This short exercise works well in any situations when one needs to calm themselves such as when they have to speak publicly. Repeating this ten times will change one’s entire metabolism and release much stress and tension. The next step is to close one’s eyes and clear their minds of all worldly concerns and thoughts: just let go and give the mind a few moments off work. Then, relax your physical body from head to toe by flexing and releasing the muscles starting with the face working down. It is in this quiet state that one then is ready to accomplish their mental work.

Letting go,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

There are a few great laws that govern all thinking, just as there are a few fundamental laws in chemistry. We know that thought control is the key of destiny, and in order to learn thought control we have to know and understand these laws.

One of the great mental laws is the Law of substitution. This means that the only way to get rid of a certain thought is to substitute another one for it. You cannot dismiss a thought directly. You can do so only by substituting another one for it. If I say to you, “Do not think of the Statue of Liberty,” of course, you immediately think of it. If you say, “I am not going to think of the Statue of Liberty,” that is thinking about it. But if you become interested in something else, you forget all about the Statue of Liberty; and this is a case of substitution.

When negative thoughts come to you, do not fight them, but think of something positive. Preferably think of God; but if that is difficult at the moment, turn your attention to something quite different.

But I say unto you, That ye resist no evil! (Matthew 5:39).
With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding (Job 12:13).

When dealing with things we have been unable to eliminate as sources of stress,anxiety or fear, we must substitute thoughts of the positive alternative to that which plagues us. The most universal positive thoughts are about God. More specific thoughts can visualize a successful outcome to that which is causing our negative state of mind. Counting our blessings is a sure way to substitute for generalized negative states. Another sure bet is to recall beautiful experiences of the past or anticipated joyful events in our future. Whatever techniques fits the situation, the action is still the same. We must direct and control our thoughts to a better place. With time, this becomes less challenging and with practice will become our natural way of thinking. That is when we can live immersed in the joy, faith and hope of the garden each moment of each day we have left.

Substituting,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

In order to “Golden Key” a troublesome person or a difficult situation, think, “Now I am going to ‘Golden Key’ John, or Mary, or that threatened danger”; then lift John or Mary or the danger into the presence of God and think only of God.

Thereafter the person is certain to be in some degree a better, wiser, and more spiritual person. A pending lawsuit or other difficulty will probably fade out without coming to a crisis, justice being done to all parties concerned.

O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant (2 Samuel 7:28).

Imagine how many more wonderful moments and how many less awful moments we would have in our lives if we perfected this technique for bringing God into our problems. How much less stress, fear, anger and resentment would be have to bear.

Peace,
Z gardener

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »

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

Read Full Post »