Today in the Tulsi Garden
Barefoot walking through the wet grass. Cold steps plodding through the thick carpet of grass that has not been mowed in over a week. . . longer and softer than usual. My feet warm up when I stop and stand still for a moment. It’s early and I can see the sun rise over the hill across the field. Wouldn’t it be nice everyday to wake up and walk around the tulsi garden and for a few moments not worry about time. . . September and another round of lavender is asking to be harvested for aromatic bouquets. We had a little cold snap at the beginning of September, but now we’re back to high 80’s this weekend. I harvested the sticky flowers of the calendula to make medicine and of course the tulsi is constantly asking me to pick her and make tea. . . so I do.
At this time of transition going toward the winter, we celebrate the end of summer with picking apples, going to the Garlic & Arts Festival or in our own ways by harvesting what we’ve grown. I picked the basil and made the pesto and put it in the freezer and now every day I harvest tulsi for the tea.
Ive had so many sweet moments in the garden this summer one-on-one with a sister here and there sipping tea and working with the tulsi and have also been blessed to have a few sweet women gathering together. This garden is a place of peace and a place of healing. I find my own peace just from walking, singing or working with the plants. Next season I will be offering a program for women who want to connect with the plants and develop their intuition. We will gather and ground and share, meditate, work with the plants and talk about ideas and concepts to create heaven on earth.
Years ago someone whispered in my ear in a busy bar in downtown DC to read the Celestine Prophecy. I finally did at some point and although the writing leaves a lot to be desired, the content of the ideas is fascinating. For those who are unfamiliar, one of the chapters talks about our relationship with plants and actually seeing the aura or energy around the plant and sending positive energy to the plant and eventually sending positive energy to the people around us. How many times are we sending out vibes that are less than positive? I know that I can definitely say that I have my moments when driving that I might get a little pissy with the people around me and complain about their driving. . . but I also remember those moments when I’ve felt good enough in myself already that those little things just don’t matter and I don’t take any of it personally. But what about going a step farther and sending something positive to people before we’ve even judged if they are good or bad, helpful or not helpful. . . what would our world be like if we collectively embraced this. It would be like a cultural revolution. . . one I could really get behind.
One of the things that the garden has taught me is to slow down and when I enter her circle, to step in mindfully and notice how I place my foot in each step. Sometimes I walk slowly and deliberately taking in deep breaths as I raise my hands up through prayer position, up to the sky and out to the sides in the shape of the toroidal field. Exhaling my hands down, I keep walking and breathing, slowing down and coming back into myself. You see I have to do this to balance out all the rushing around that I do, the going from here to there sometimes without any awareness at all. How do I bring more consciousness into my days. How do I rush less and give myself the time to be present with myself and others. The garden is often teaching me this and I know the protocols and the types of breathing to do, but sometimes I just don’t do them. I know often we know what to do, but just decide to do something else. So on this New Moon in Virgo which is a time for taking the practical steps of getting down to business one step at a time, we start the thing that helps point us in the direction we want to go and we take the first step.
tulsirosegarden.org 