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