’Soulful’ Holistic Landscaping
“How to listen to what the Earth and its beings have to say so we can co-create harmoniously together with our souls awakened.”
The ancient people knew how to live in harmony with the land. They knew how to sense underground water and which places carry unhealthy vibrations. They also felt which places were sacred and how to accentuate these and create more of these areas. Today is a stark contrast. Most of us have grown up in a concrete jungle and are out of touch and insensitive to Nature. As we create more technologically negative energies around us, our task to reconnect becomes harder and yet more vital. Functioning within a mind-dominated society, we find that Nature does not understand us, as its language is heart-based and vibrates on the feeling realm. By kindling our intuition, we aim to come back into harmony with the unseen Nature forces and there is no better place for this journey than in your garden or in Nature.
Starting point – Let’s be open to Mother Earth being an incredibly loving, nurturing spiritual being, living in a community spread out over our immense universe. On her, around her and in her are innumerable other beings participating in what we call life, affecting the physical and ethereal realms. People and all other beings leave an energetic residue behind from their actions and reactions, which are absorbed and held in the soil and in the beings on it. Depending on the depth of consciousness or intensity of the experiences, the land holds these energies and radiates them out. This historical energy imprint is felt subconsciously by all and affects all of our lives, reminding us how important it is to be mindful about our actions.
Dowsing – This ancient form of reading the energies on your land using dowsing rods, forked sticks and pendulums (in map dowsing) is primarily for water divining. If for example you are sleeping over moving underground water, your sleep will be restless and possibly bring about emotional experiences. These tools are ideal for learning to bypass your mind and tap into your sensory experiences of the world. They can also be used to read earth energies (geopathic stress and mineral location for mining); technopathic stress (electromagnetic radiations mainly from man-made devices) and esoteric influences on land, homes and businesses.
Intuitive land design – Most people are overwhelmed by what to do in their garden design. There are so many options and permutations and these often leave the person without experience seeing only what is there and not beyond and considering only their conscious wishes for their garden. Now imagine you have done a dowsing process on your land. You find out there are sacred areas and negatively charged places (often avoided). The negative ones are swiftly transformed and what’s left is a foundation plan for your garden, already in place. The connection and respect this brings to the table awaken the inquisitive nature of the beings on the land. How often do we yearn to be heard and understood? Well the same goes for them. Now begins the dance of co-creation between all present, their conscious wishes and, profoundly important, the journey of subconscious wishes. It is amazing to see what emerges (childhood memories, past-life experiences, deep yearnings, landscape features and senses that need honouring and indulgence). Somehow, magically, most can be entertained and included, forming not necessarily a magazine picture-perfect garden, but one that speaks deeply to all there and tentatively sensed by everyone entering with an open heart. Holding the awareness of this design, landscaping can proceed in phases, knowing what the end-result is. Please be aware that the residing spirit beings do not have people’s patience and procrastination abilities, so consciously make them aware of your time, financial and level of involvement constraints.
Spiritual gardening – Co-creation with Nature is easy once you’re aware of the subtleties of the land that you reside in. When the connection is made, all you need to do is go in the zone, listen and feel, impose as little as possible and become one with all, as you go about doing the actions that are required or wished. Working with Nature’s helpers makes gardening less work and more playing and communing with friends. When considering all other gardening aspects, I implore you to indulge Nature’s way as much as possible, as it’s a perfectly orchestrated system whereby the ecosystem can develop its diversity and balance without too much intervention. Lawns without grazers, soil without mulch and unnecessary concrete are high priority to avoid. Owning land is equal to theft from Nature and Mother Earth. As a residing guardian, being an equal to all there, being aware of the impact you are having on it, honouring the age of everything you stand on, knowing it will be there long after you leave, the invitation is there for you to resume your space within Nature and celebrate that connection. The best healer is Nature. We feel best on top of a mountain, near the sounds of a river or waterfall, or a walking on the beach. Your garden can be created as your perfect, healing haven right outside your door. Grow and glow
Conscious pruning – How often do we see hack jobs, branch tears, tree topping and all forms of amputation and mutilation of trees and shrubs. When you are aware of the plant you are going to cut, how it grows, its natural form, where it sprouts and where its strongest position is to deal with a cut, only then can you consider pruning. The natural reaction of any plant when it’s cut is to go into chaos, respond in desperation and mostly do what is not necessarily wished by the person cutting it. Let’s accept that plants are sentient beings with far more awareness than we give them credit for. Now consider that your thoughts and words do not reach them. I would recommend settling into a loving heart-space, hold an image of the tree and shrub as the finished result after pruning. Now with that image and awareness you can happily and lovingly cut cross branches and all branches that are not part of that picture. There is no need for chaos or remorse. The plant mostly responds towards that image, except for the tendencies towards its natural character. If a tree is not loved by the guardians or being topped year after year, I personally find it better to remove and replace it with a smaller, more appropriate tree that will be loved immensely thereafter. Most living things don’t fear death, just a brutal death. If you prepare the tree lovingly beforehand, then with understanding it leaves. You can always see if it has, as an aura remains behind if it has not been given the chance to leave consciously. Oh yes, work with good, sharp, clean tools.
Mindful landscaping – Hardscaping is destructive, turbulent and very hard for Nature beings to understand because it’s mostly done from a mental, disconnected space of intense action without any consideration of what energies the land holds. Signs of disconnection are things going wrong, delays and obvious complications. Conscious hardscaping, in contrast, is a wonderful process of holding the awareness of all the subtleties around you, having a clear image of the final result in your awareness and working with people who value care, honesty and beauty in their hearts. The smoothness of flow finds very little resistance as the garden’s evolution progresses towards the image held.
Art and creativity – Nature is intrinsically creative. Curves and irregularity take preference over lines and order. A successful garden needs to have an air of mystery, an invitation into the unknown, some wild spaces, a depth of perspective, a full sensory experience and to be a place of peace. Sculptures are people’s addition to the landscape and can complete a picture perfectly. I am always in wonder when hiking, how often Nature has artistic features in it and implore you to allow this personal addition to your Soul Sanctuary.
Soul Sanctuary – Mark weaves practical and spiritual inspiration from geomancy, Findhorn, Perelandra, biodynamics, permaculture, ecology, feng shui and life alignment, creating a unique intuitive process of understanding the land you stand on. The purpose is to make the subtle realms and subconscious accessible and practical. Nature has been his best teacher and he has practised all aspects of landscaping and dowsing for over 25 years, mainly on residential homes.
Mark Wellens has a BSc in botany and zoology works mainly in and around Cape Town and the West Coast of South Africa, although he is always willing and eager to travel for exciting new projects.
To contact Mark: [email protected] or visit http://www.soul-sanctuary.co.za/index.html
