The Helpful People Garden

   

                                                  A Garden Paradise                                  

                                  By Sharyn G. Jordan~ The Home Whisperer

Gardening is a labor full of tranquility and satisfaction; natural
and instructive, and as such contributes to the most serious
contemplation, experience, health and longevity.
- John Evelyn, 1666

     To enhance one's quality of life, Feng Shui's timeless methodolgy identifies how to tap into the Universe's natural richness. Within this wisdom are nine Life aspects  traditionally referred to as a Gua. Nine guas form the Bagua template--imagine a tic-tac-toe board where each of the nine sections reveal how energy naturally and abundantly flows.  These nine Guas are of equal importance: Family, Wealth/Prosperity, Fame/Recognition, Relationships, Creativity/Children, Helpful People/Travel Career/Life Journey, Self-Cultivation/Knowledge with the center gua of TaiChi' or Be Well; it also means Unity.  Each aspect has fertile attending energies such as the elements of wood, fire, earth, metal and water.   The guas parallel nature's pattern because each also has a specific season, intention, a unique energetic footprint,  numercial value and color enhancements. Universal energies abundantly flow through each Gua and according to their harmony, floruish and thrive or sadly and unknowingly, become blocked and inhibited.  What better way to welcome in beneficial Chi and uplift one's quality of life experience than by gardening.  Gardening in and of itself…whether it be in containers, tidy rows, raised boxes, or by planting one seed in a small terracotta pot, holds the potential to better connect a person to the divine. 

     Since June (the 6^th month) is blushing into her summer season, why not create a garden area celebrating the joy of Helpful People?  In Feng Shui, the Helpful People gua is also represented by the numerical energy of 6. In the Way of Wind and Water, it is an honor to serve, bless, attend, assist, oblige, aid, and help others. Being of service initiates into full motion, blissful and tangible joy; paving the way for a deeper and more contented state of Well BEing.  It holds within its heart, a sweet labor laced with tranquility and at the same time, lined with the sheer delight of being helpful.  It also sets into BEing, the ability to receive the bountiful assistance.

     Creating an actual garden-paradise evolves one into the greater-person that Life asks them to be.  This is because a Helpful People garden affords one to hear a higher calling.  Conjoining and communing with nature allows a quiet clarity to come forth. Gardening enables one to extend and step into the assistance of humanity.  Once a person has been pressed into this special service, a fuller satisfaction with Life’s flow may be actualized. Recognizing what one’s higher destiny or what one is put on this earth to do is a gift. Who knew that by simply tilling the soil, connecting with the earth’s agents of change, sowing seeds of beauty into the fertile soil of abundance and allowing vegetables, flowers and fruit, plus grace to blossom, would do so much for one’s spirit?  Just sayin’…this is an intrinsically natural and orderly; albiet deeply divine process, where a greater enlightenment can be realized.      

     The Art of Usefulness is genuinely at the heart of a Helpful People garden.  Plan a garden to thrive with as many vegetable and flower varieties of the season.  Sharing one's bounty with friends and neighbors is an honor.  Select flowers in a riot of color—remember to choose flowers that symbolize the diversity of humanity. With proper care, just like LIFE itself, your multicolored flowers can flourish. Your yummy, seasonal veggies will not only bless your table, but nourish your body, mind and soul. Side by side, flowers and veggies plus tolerance and kindness can create a haven within this haven.

     Consider threading throughout your garden tapestry statuaries of iconic value.  By doing so in the Helpful People garden it becomes a thematically inspired space, especially paying homage to the saints.  It also honors mentors who went before setting a higher standard of service.  Statuaries such as Buddha, Kuan (Quan) Yin, St. Francis, Children (when we see the world through a child’s eyes, we are at once connected to innocence and creativity), the Blessed Mother (LOVE), Mermaids (freedom), Cranes (longevity), Harvest Boy (abundance), and Angels (Heavenly Messengers) and Fairies (magic) each speak of blessings. The garden globe is also recommended because it symbolizes Universal peace; their convex mirrored orb elegantly decorates any garden. These globes are agents of expanding the energy by reflecting beneficial Chi to surrounding areas and beyond.

     In my garden and in addition to the above sculptures, I have a gorgeous purple and green colored flag that wafts through the air and wind chimes whimsically dance from my deck’s roof.  Oversized, cushy lawn chairs don my deck so as to behold the garden's beauty. If possible and with the help of an arbor, create a secret place complete with a comfy, padded bench or a made-for-the-garden love seat.  This sanctuary is perfect for meditation, celebrating nature and of course, rejoicing in LIFE’s many gifts. This is an excellent environmental affirmation which lovingly communicates Peace on Earth; enhancing the Chi of the land.

     Planting gemstones in the garden whether as a border or as energetic enhancers, better connects one to Mother Earth.  They come in all shapes, sizes and forms; each gemstone is unique unto itself communicating a specific vibration or energy.  They also transmit and provide healing, support, and return vital energy back to the earth.  In fact, the crystal or gemstone holds the earth’s DNA. Gemstones have long been acknowledged as a method of creating greater well-being and a remarkable means of increasing one’s life force or chi. Gemstones are noted to enhance one’s personal life path, augment clarity, enlarge one’s perception, boost personal creativity, and promote compassion.  These descriptions are but a few of gemstone’s properties.  Through studying their abilities, please note that a gemstone is a naturally occurring crystalline form of a mineral and were created as the earth was formed.

    
     Planting the networking foiliage of Silver Lamb’s Ear plant: Latin name is Stacys Byzantia and the self-seeding, colorful Cosmos reminds one to be of service from a willing heart and with an open mind.  Serving the greater good makes a BIG and MEANINGFUL difference; holding the ability to shift one's world from limitation to the unlimited.  Dedicate and receive the divine energy of the Helpful People garden where joy, light, silver, air, water, synchronicity and community dwell.  The gift of creating a lasting legacy is seeded in the generosity of service. Be inspired and enjoy a healthy and well lived journey…BEcome a living example of esteemed service.  As far back as 1866, John Evelyn observed, “Gardening is a labor full of tranquility and satisfaction; natural and instructive, and as such contributes to the most serious contemplation, experience, health and longevity.’  This is especially evident in a Helpful People Garden.  Enjoy

Bejeweled Treasure Chest

     I was looking for an article I wrote years ago titled ‘How to Feng Shui While Away.”  For most of 2001-2001, we traveled. At the time, my Beloved Jay and I would be away for as long as a year.  To keep life being breathing in our home, I had developed a wonderful Feng Shui approach.  I thought the article was on my present lap top or at least copied to it, however it isn’t.  I do have my ‘old faithful gal’ and although she needs a charge, I will be able to do so and access the piece soon..  When I do, I will be sure to share because summer is here and travel is one of her gifts.  However, I did run across this article's valuable experience.       

     During the year prior to beginning my Feng Shui journey in 1994, I had a reoccurring dream revealing how our homes are living jewelry boxes. Living at the time in the AZ White Mountains, I was a longtime gem and mineral enthusiast.  When these visions of bejeweled chests began visiting me, I created a dream journal to record their wisdom.   This elegant  treasury held gifts, virtues, insights, talents and clarities symbolized through pearls of wisdom, dazzling diamonds in all shapes and sizes representing the person we become after victoriously coming through pressured circumstances; sapphires in an array of colors—pink for emotional balance, blue for communication and green denoting strength,.  Speaking of green, emeralds were included in this cachet’ and their radiance of being the healing stone was quite evident. 

     Being a lucid dreamer, these visions were welcomed as their symbolism was indeed appropriate.  During that time, our extremely prosperous movie business directly suffered from taking our incurring additional overhead.  We opened our newest movie theatre complex and knew it would be five years before we would even level out.  However, it was a good investment and we were so proud of its state of the art presence.  That year, we enjoyed fabulous films such as The Lion King, Forrest Gump, True Lies, Speed, The Mask and Shawshank Redemption---oh Tim Robbins Sooooo deserved to take Ocsar home!  Since we were a product driven business, these movies had a huge impact but we were still struggling!

     I began looking for ways to get us back on course.  In early 1994, I discovered classical Feng Shui. Instantly, I became an underground student of this fascinating practice. It was all quite clandestine but as soon as learned how-to, I began making the corrections to our environment.  Slowly, productive changes occurred.  This was a mystery puzzle to solve and hidden within Feng Shui’s methodology, were the answers.

      It is important to note that up until 1993, our three movie theatres, each in a different town, were all shaped in a perfect square.  However due to the parking and irregularity of our land, this 4th location was built in a T shape.  By Classical FS teachings, we were missing our Abundance and Self-Cultivation guas.  Egad! 

     At the same time, my husband added a 400 sq. ft. workshop to our beautifully once squared shaped home.  His new and huge toy box was in our Relationship Gua.  He did such a nice job and was so happy with it that I didn't even dream we were out of order.   When I realized this additiona had created missing Creativity & Children and Helpful People Guas, I found quick and effective cures.   As a lovely gift to me, he built an elegant study/meditation room which we called the Dream room.  Albeit it was heavenly, however it jutted out so far in the Self-Cultivation & Knowledge area, our Career gua became MIA.  I was stumped! It was certainly an on the job training situation.

     By 1995, our once highly prosperous corporation was still unraveling.  Every kind of challenge was befalling us.  Whilst I studied and finally came into the understanding of how to remedy these environmental trials, we also made mainstream changes.  We changed accountants (we are still with him today), went from a C Corp to an S Corp and saved $26,000.00 in taxes.  We combined some of our management team only to find we had some major financial discrepancies.  The same day this was discovered, I realized that our home’s front door, the foyer which had a French door and our large, all glass backdoor lined up in a perfect row.  We had been living the nightmare of a great deal of money coming in but going right back out!!  Immediately, I draped the French door therefore giving our money time to pool and slowly ripple through our home.  The very next day, one of our long-time managers resigned and our discrepancies disappeared.  This dramatic event brought me to confess my covert activities to my dear husband.  Since they were so astounding, he was at once a believer! 

     I remedied the T-Shaped theatre too and after that, we continued to experience upward growth as our business skyrocketed.  We began our business in 1989 and although we were not even on the market, in 2001, we were approached by an interested party to buy us out.  After 6 short months of negotiations, we joyously sold it. My husband and I retired from big business but I continued to nurture my Feng Shui Simplified consultancy and travel too.  The best of both worlds plus we  had great chunks of delicious time to spend with our wonderful family---they are our true treasured jewels!

     Oh yes, on another note and prior to selling, in 1998, I was introduced to the amazing Terah Kathryn Collins Western School of Feng Shui.  I so resonated with her teachings that I asked the IChing for insights. The following is not the interpretation I referred however it has the same key words.  I was given the following: #14. Possessions in Great Measure, the “Sage informs us of the Cosmic Possessions a person comes with at birth and those which are given to him throughout his life by the Cosmos.  These Cosmic Possessions are all that he needs to live his life happily, and realize his uniqueness. The Cosmic Possessions he is born with include what is called in this book his “treasure chest of inner truth,” his inner and outer senses, and a group of other senses called here the “metaphorical senses.”  Also parts of his possessions are his Cosmic Virtues, his supporting Helpers he called talents, and his automatic access to all the helping energies and aspects of the Cosmos when he is in harmony with his true nature.

     Among the possessions he accumulates throughout his life are his experiences of the gift-giving and helping nature of the Cosmos, and those Helpers that fulfill his particular needs. Other Cosmic gifts are given to him in the form of jobs, a place to live, a love relationship, and friends that best suit him.  ‘Possessions in great measure’ also describes the endless generosity of the Cosmos to the person who is in harmony with it.”   Ahhhhhh, I vividly recall being deeply grateful.  This confirmation was such a wonderful way to make my necessary changes.  

     In 1999, I became a WSFS graduate. Having been an avid IChing student in the late 60’s and 70’s, even though I continued to adhere to its wisdom, I was deeply grateful to once again be actively partnered with it timelessness.  Through Terah, I was introduced to Hanna Moog and Carol Anthony’s remarkable IChing translation.  The above is their elucidation.  They were gracious enough to grant me permission to quote them in my 1997 book, The Home Whisperer-Feng Shui Simplified. The Hidden Treasures of our Inner and Outer Home.  Our homes are indeed living, bejeweled chests.  We are gifted great jewels and by simply being in harmony with our true nature, how marvelous it is to have assistance from our generous Cosmic helpers.