Your Inner Garden
by Marie T. Russell
Our sub-conscious is a truly wonderful partner. It finds many ways to communicate with
us. The other morning, I found myself humming "Slow down, you're going too
fast..." Now, that was a clear message.
Have you ever paid attention to the songs that you find yourself humming, or whistling?
In the same way, the people around you may be communicating with you through the songs
they have chosen (subconsciously, probably) to hum. If your partner is humming
"Leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again," you might want to
pay attention. Or if you find yourself singing "Yesterday, all my troubles were so
far away," sounds to me like you may be going in the direction of a depression,
unless you change the tune you're singing.
When you were a kid, and you were griping about something, you may have been requested
to `change your tune'. `Changing your tune' is an easy and simple way to change your mood
— change the song you're singing or humming (which is the equivalent of changing what
you're focusing on).
Some mornings, if I don't wake up in my usual happy, `chirpy' mood, I `force' myself to
sing "Oh, what a beautiful morning, oh, what a beautiful day," or some other
similarly positive song. As I start singing, my mind may be inwardly making comments such
as "Yeah, sure!", or "What a bunch of hogwash." But as I keep singing
"Oh, what a beautiful morning", something happens... my attitude starts to
change and I start to realize that it is, indeed, a beautiful morning. And after a while,
I'm feeling happy and light again. Simply a question of reprogramming and changing focus.
It's what we focus on that makes something `good' or `bad'. Roses, for example, are
beautiful, but they have thorns. Why do people love roses so much? Why don't they think of
them as pesky flowers with thorns?
If we weren't conditioned to think of roses as wonderful, we might take it as an insult
when someone hands us this plant with all these thorns on the stem... What are they trying
to do? Puncture our fingers? Again, that is another example of programming — we have
grown up with the cultural tendency to think roses are a symbol of love.
Which brings up another point. Maybe roses are like love. Love `makes the world go
round' not simply because it is wonderful, but because it helps us to look at ourselves
and pay attention to our thorns as well. Once we see where our thorns are, we can either
pop them off, or make certain that we don't inadvertently hurt ourselves or others by
mishandling.
Another way you can look at roses is to see that we are somewhat like them. We are
beautiful (inside and out), but have grown thorns that we felt we needed for protection.
Perhaps we can learn more about taking care of ourselves by observing how we take care of
the plants (and animals) in our lives. We too are blossoming, and we need to make sure we
are providing ourselves with the things we need to ensure a beautiful harvest.
So how is your `inner' rose? Is it fragrant and full of light? Is your soul exuding its
true nature which is love, peace, acceptance, joy, vitality, etc. Have you remembered to
water and nurture your rose so that it does not wilt? Have you been pruning away the dead
branches of old patterns and beliefs, so that the new growth can come out strong and
unencumbered by the past? Have you given yourself plenty of natural `fertilizer' (love,
gentleness, playful time, rest time, sunshine, good food, etc.) so that you radiate? Are
you giving yourself plenty of space to grow? Maybe you're not happy with where you are and
need to transplant yourself to some other location...
How's your inner garden? Have the weeds been allowed to overgrow and choke out the
rose? Is the stress in your life such that you have not taken time to breathe and smell
the rose, let alone nurture it and devote yourself to its emergence? What is the status of
the crop you're raising? Does it look like the harvest will be one that you will enjoy?
Are you breaking your back to cultivate money and position, when a crop of love and joy
would bring you more happiness?
Since it's springtime and also the time of Easter and rebirth, this is as good a time
as any to take inventory of your inner garden and growing methods, to ensure that you are
planting what you want to reap, and that you are supplying yourself with all of your vital
needs. We need to cultivate our inner beauty so that we can all be wandering in Gardens of
Eden and living in paradise on Earth. It is there for us to rediscover. Happy gardening!
 Recommended
book:
Learning to Love Yourself
by Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse.
Info/Order
this book.
About The
Author
Marie
T. Russell is the publisher of InnerSelf Magazine (www.innerself.com). She has produced a series of cassette tapes
recorded from her South Florida radio broadcast, Inner Power. Her
articles, workshops, and cassette tapes focus on transformation and
reconnecting with our own inner source of joy and creativity.
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