HOW A GARDEN SPEAKS

Actually my experience in gardening,(and I truly am not a gardener) is like living in a family. You learn to deal with each other and support each other to survive. Primarily you learn by trial and error or experience and the willingness to stick it out. Believe me there are times when I got over whelmed with plants dying and not knowing what to do but these are recent experiences. The most important aspect in working on the earth is to have a connection to the earth.

Being an indigenous person from California, or rather what the Canadians call one of the 'original' descendents of California, there is an innate relationship I have with the land where I am from. For some reason there is a kinship and when you connect things flow with much more ease than elsewhere. I know that by living in CA and then moving to Hawaii.

There is something about the earth of ones homeland. For me its hard to explain for it is an inner connection. There is an instinctual intuition about how to walk and live upon it. I have to admit when I was a youngster I had no connection to the land. My mother always had a garden no matter what country we'd end up living in. It was a natural for her. Mind you Taurus people, and you strong earth sign people, tend to have green fingers. I didn't think I had anything green about me. I use to break out in blisters with an allergic reaction to the plants. I was happily relieved of my chores in the garden to go off to play my guitar, but not during the harvest time ...canning and freezing and shelling walnuts etc were some of my labors then.

So how did I get over the blisters and the aversion to the slim and the spiders, slugs and worms and getting pretty dirty? I found my identity to my heritage and the earth and everything about being with it feels good. I suppose its when the heart opens up and there is a bursting and need to love. I suppose my heart opened up when I claimed my identity to my Native American heritage. I truly feel a belonging to the earth and my heart seems to sink into it and with it when I am out upon it. It is a very intimate and strong relationship. Yet we are all from the earth are we not? We all have an indigenous connection somewhere.

So when I had my gardens in California it was a very intuitive experience. I just knew what to do that moment. I'd ask what was to be planted and where etc. I didn't do too much rational or analytical thinking it was just like a dance. But...

In Hawaii this is a very different story. Even though I know I am part of our planet, the ground here is unfamiliar. It truly is not my natural homeland. Even though on a spiritual level it is perfection to me, there is a difference from a relationship that has a physical memory as in my native land. The land wants to get use to us and we need to get to know the land. It's a different kind of dance more of a song and dance and this is where the rational and the analytical comes in. There needs to be much trial and error and experience. If you have decided to make some place your home then you need to build a relationship with the original residents i.e. the insects, type of earth, the temperate zones and climatic patterns. Get to have come connection to others that have been living there. Make friends, that's how one learns to acclimate and create space. You can't just move in, plow down and set up what you want and expect everything to go well for you. That is the no no protocol to all natural order. Natural order takes time and it is a gradual process. Most of all you give up on what you were all about from before and give into what you are now being a part of. Listen to where you are and honor it for welcoming you. Actions are slower but growth is tremendously faster than anywhere else. I believe that when relationship is developed in this manner it is one that is extremely deep within all levels of ones being. From the heart, from the mind, from the emotions...and fulfilled.

There are times when you may want things to go faster and easier. Such as when I found out my bok choy was being eaten up by these tiny slugs I didn't caught right away. I was so angry that my 'babies' were being traumatized. I wanted revenge. Luckily I have a wonderful friend Rob who works on a plantation and is a benevolent caretaker to the plants. He suggested using coffee grounds that the snails don't like and to spray the leaves with left over coffee or lemon juice as well. Well that was easy for me, since Marcus is an avid coffee drinker and leaves an abundance of grounds every day that I could make use of. You know it works but you have to keep up on it. The slugs are smart when you slack off. Why do I go this route instead of getting a poison? Because I spend time with my plants every day and I like building the relationship. Because I get to use up Marcus' left over coffee grounds and put it to good use. Plus the coffee puts nitrogen into the soil which makes my babies happy. So its a little more effort but the effort goes so much farther and wider. Next newsletter I'll have insights from Rob. Have a blessed harvest!

SPIRIT OF THE HORSE

At one of our recent prayer circles the animal totem of the horse was selected as our guide from the Medicine Wheel. I felt this to be significant for most recently my friend June sent me a heart wrenching story that she found on the internet about a horse that was rescued from the Katrina disaster. I realized that it was too important not to follow this lead from the horse. (and incidentally as I was writing this article my friend Dania called to ask me if I wanted to go horseback riding to Pele's caldera with her and her horses). How's that for confirmation!

I'd like to first introduce a little history on the horse.

I had been lead to believe that the horse first came to the North American continent via Spanish invaders. In truth, the horse is probably one of the first original Americans there is. Research has found that the horse's first ancestor was traced back to the Eocene period from 60 to 50 million years ago. He was named Eohippus and was the size of a 12 pound dog with toes. He later was found to evolved into Mesohippus 38 million years ago and was found to be the size of a German Shepard. These creatures were living in the forests and survived well on forest vegetation. Climatic change forced them to move out of the forests into the plains and Parahippus and Merychippus developed 28 million years ago. They stood about 42" in height with a longer neck and legs to run from their predators. They stood on a single toe with semicircular side toes for support. Pliohippus developed 7 million years ago as the first hoofed horse. Pliohippus was the prototype to Equus caballus, the true horse, which evolved 2 million years ago. Equus spread across the Bering Strait from America to Asia. Primitive man (Peking Man), starting to evolve in Asia, followed horse herds back across the Bering Strait into America, some staying to become the first Americans. When the glaciers retreated about ten thousand years ago, the land bridges between what is now Alaska and Asia disappeared. Soon after that the horse became extinct in North America. No one knows why. They were later re-introduced to the continent by Spanish explorers, and became the progenitors of the Mustang.

There is no doubt why the horse is rich in lore and mythology by its shear presence in history. Ted Andrews states that horse's are symbols of freedom-sometimes without the proper restraints. Many people relate to the horse when riding as flying and associate the horse with the wind. I can vouch safe that on one level, but I find a rider touches more of a fire spirit when riding a horse. I rode a horse at dawn at Giza in Egypt and galloping on the Sahara sands and becoming one with the horse expounds a spirit that is alive and electrifying. I had the choice of riding an Arabian Stallion but it's spirit was too overpowering for me. This is the primal nature of the horse that domestication can not bred out of it no matter what kind of task it is bred to enhance. At times I think it was because I was in Egypt that I felt the fiery spirit of the horse, but I also rode a horse on the beach of Costa del Sol in Spain and it was a very similar experience I had in Egypt. I truly believe Equus Caballus would not exist today from millions of years of struggle and evolvement if it wasn't for its strength in spirit.

I would say if a horse comes to you as a totem I would ask if the inner spirit is alive and well with exuberance, or if there is too much 'will' and not much service being offered in ones life. Yes, the horse have great adaptability as we have learned, but I find that what espouses our admiration and affection for them is that they can not hide their power yet they have shown to have an affection for humans. The horse crossed the Bering Strait and found ancient man and has assisted him through millennium. I often wonder who is the most evolved.

From the Golden Lotus LifeForce Mandala Handbook

HORSE - 6
Your Spirit Wills Service

Meet Molly. She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern  Louisiana, USA. She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to Louisiana State University for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes.
But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.
Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there.

"This was the right horse and the right owner," Moore insists.
Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.

Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.
The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports.
And she asks for it! She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too." And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. "It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse", she laughs.
Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people. And she had a good time doing it.
"It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life", Moore said, "She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others."
"She's not back to normal," Barca concluded, "but she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for   New Orleans itself."

This is Molly's most recent prosthesis. The bottom photo shows the ground surface that she stands on, which has a smiley face embossed in it. Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind!  

 Isn't this a Great Story!!   It's a lesson for all of us......... To always remember to never, never give up.   There is always hope and hope is a good thing.   Wishing you all a wonderful day

June Summertime