Sacred Musings from the Garden 
Part IV

The ability to perceive the individual as a piece of the whole has been the premise of many Earth-based healing modalities. Rather than separating various properties of life in the lab, which is what modern day science does, everything was seen as interwoven and interconnected, and to dissect one piece was to miss the main premise of life. When one approaches the garden, it helps to bring this holism into technique so one does not become too caught up with the modern day approaches that oftentimes damage the delicate microbiome of our Earth which is damaging to all of Earth’s species. 

To observe the topsoil as the skin of our planet is to know the planet is living, breathing, and beating. This area of activity should be likened to the the skin that protects the human body, and all of its inner contents. Things placed onto the skin are easily absorbed into the body, such that things placed on top of the soil become the foundation for the health of each plant. When food is taken into the body, it is earth-material digested and churned into energy and gasses. It is that energy of transformation that fuels us, the more pure the food taken in and digested, the more vibrant the energy given. Adding compost into the soil serves this same purpose – it is digested earth material. Fresh compost gives the roots of plants atmosphere, similar to how the atmosphere of air feeds the leaves of a plant. 

To see soil as the polarization of air is imperative, it is almost like a parallel and mirrored reality. What goes on below may be unseen, but it is half of the whole, the yin to the yang, creating the tension for life. The leaves of the plant are like roots above ground, the roots of a plant are like leaves below ground. And just like a human thrives better on nutritional food that the body can break down rather than supplements that just move through, the plant is healthier when compost is wedded into the soil rather than powdered fertilizer. It is the churning of life into death that creates the uprising energy of rebirth through the releasing of these gasses, igniting life below the surface. 

To till the soil is release these gasses, thus these nutrients, into the air. This depletes the soil. It is always best to disturb the soil as little as possible, if you can, always layering your technique rather than pushing it in. Whenever possible it is advantageous to look to Nature rather than trying to buy something to rectify a situation. These are observant eyes that pierce the veil of knowledge. Just like the forest, cover the soil as much as possible with organic mulch, this serves to protect the delicate microbiome. It is similar to how we can put botanical oils on the body to protect us. This technique on the soil contains the off-gassing and mitigates the moistures leaving or the soil drying too quickly. But know that the soil wants to dry, in a sense, so it can be watered again. It is through tension of hot and cold, and dry and moist, that life thrives. This method makes for less watering, richer soil, and an ecosystem to develop below this skin layer. 

The emanation a plant exudes is its life force and thus the nutritional qualities of the plant which are created through soil and air. They exist in their potency in this layer surrounding each plant, its glow, or aura; the fuzzy layer of life dancing on its surface. It is the out-breath of skin, so to speak. That is why fresh food truly satisfies more than any other food. This layer is so delicate though. Handle it too much and it is gone. This is why the food on the store shelves is lacking so many nutrients as this life force has long since passed. This leads to overeating as the body never feels as satiated. 

This emanation is the result of the atmosphere it is breathing, the soil it is churning, and is a product of the whole ecology of its location. It goes to reason that food grown without the man made additions is always healthiest. Food eaten directly from a plant is obviously brimming with this energy, if one gets so lucky. Aromatic plants also have the most obvious emanations to the nose, revealing a sustenance through the unseen. Plant food and aromatics offer a different magic, the former satiates the physical, the latter the spiritual. 

As humans we have this same emanation, revealed as aroma. All we put in, or on, off-gasses back into the atmosphere through our pores, becoming part of our community, and the globe. The principles are so profound: as close to Nature as possible. What goes on top of should be just as pure as what goes inside the body. This is how we heal the planet, and our connection to the web of life. We can then take things in more efficiently, thus needing less, and becoming wholly satisfied as a result.