When we moved into Eden six years ago it was a dream come true, the perfect place to hold our classes, spacious and peaceful. Although lots of

people come here and our lives are very full, there is still time to look at and appreciate all that is

around us. I was guided to start a photo album of this lovely place in all the seasons, it was great fun

taking all the photos, and really made you look ‘with a photographer’s eye’. As we put the book

together I was given writings to go with the visual – and so I was developing my ‘spiritual eye’ at the

same time!

 There are various shots around the grounds showing the many garden features.

EDEN•Such beauty, such peace! Much work has gone into the making of

this place,both manually and emotionally. Now it is coming into

it’s true glory because of all the groundwork that was put in.

Man has to do much groundwork on himself to produce the beautiful Being that he is, in reality. It must be lovingly cared

for, nurtured and fed.

Beauty is not a thing of chance, it is the result of much work and energy and Love.

When man has found this beauty within himself he will be naturally surrounded by

beauty as well – for the outer is a reflection of the inner. As above so below - as within

so without.

WATER: In the still water you quite clearly see ‘as above so below” – the perfect

reflection. This can only be seen when all is in STILLNESS and peace. Along comes a

single puff of wind, or the movements of a fish, or the landing of a bird – and the

perfect reflection is gone.

You can only bring your reflection of Heaven down to Earth when there is stillness and tranquility in your heart. Your thoughts and emotions, your reactions to others – all of these ruffle the mirror-like reflection.

On the still waters can clearly be seen the direction and strength of the winds, and the presence of life. It clearly shows you also, a new perception of all that was familiar to you – for now your world is UPSIDE DOWN!

So too, the stillness of your heart gives you awareness of the direction and strength of your emotions; of the presence of the unseen who are always with you; and the final realisation that your entire world is merely a

reflection of your TRUE reality.

Let all that is in heaven be reflected in your earthly life, and know the true meaning of ‘as above – so below’.

STEPS: As you walk through life you will negotiate many sets of steps – they can either

lead up – or down. They can be strewn with flowers – or weeds. Sometimes they will be

short, other times they will feel like a mountain! But always remember that the purpose of steps is to take you to new levels to experience a new

view that would otherwise not have been possible. For the earth to be flat there would be no variety of scenery, the same applies to your

experiences of life; in order to progress you must experience the many different levels of

existence. As you do, view them from all angles – that way you will not miss the beauty of

perspective.

DISTORTION: LOOK WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU STAND TOO

CLOSE – you cannot see the beauty! Whenever a situation presents itself to you – that you were drawn to, but

now it gives you strife – STAND BACK, remove your emotions, and see the

true beauty that this situation is trying to show to you.

Especially in family situations: emotions are high, the problem goes

around and around, and no one seems to be able to resolve it.

Along comes a friend, someone who is detached from the situation – for they are not emotionally involved – and they solve the issue. JUST LIKE

THAT!

Truly, the secret is to stand back, become the observer - not the

participator, and then you will see the beauty of God’s Work. Look always for the BEAUTY; it IS in

EVERYTHING.

PERSPECTIVE: Now look what happens when you take the higher view; on the ground this property is a big place that

involves lots of work to keep it in trim – but the higher view shows that it is just a small

patch in a vast area. The hills from the ground level become as molehills when

viewed from above – so too your troubles when you view them from the loftier

perspective.

All events are merely facets of a much greater plan: God’s Plan for His children. He

sets them down on earth to learn to overcome the negativities and trials in life on

the path to finding Him once more.

You forget from whence you came, but when you merge with God in

consciousness once more you will then always be able to take the higher view,

and thus understand your life’s challenges as being a part in a much

larger picture.

God desires that His children be one family that works in harmony together – it is not just YOUR life that counts, but

the way that others play their parts also.

Lift your thoughts to God – always seek the Higher View

MORNING: Heralds the beginning of a brand new day. Will you bring into it the trials and sorrows of

yesterday – perpetuating the negativity in your life? Or will you start afresh, leaving all that

troubles you behind, and seeking this day to be your fresh start?

Each new day move forward with no regrets, no attachments. Look not to a day of problems;

instead look to a day of new challenges – all of which are geared to make a better person of you.

Make your life a grand adventure instead of a crippling drudge. Look always to the positive.

The morning shows you things in a new light – look at your life with that same attitude.

At the end of each day the sun sets – regardless of what has happened in that

day. It is a glorious event, often not noticed by people getting busily on with

their lives. Often it is obscured by clouds.

The clouds in your mind – your negative thoughts, also block out God’s Light, and

keep you from enjoying all that He provides.

Man is surrounded by beauty on this lovely planet, but man only sees what his inner feelings cause him to see; if you have a belief in an angry

wrathful God; that humanity is ugly and cruel; that this world is a terrible place – that is

EXACTLY what you will see. If you believe that God is all love; that your fellowman is kind; that this Earth is one of God’s magnificent creations,

then THAT is what you will see.

My Beauty is always there, but you have to SEE it. You have to FEEL it. You have to BE it.

I provide the sun to give life and light to all My creations and I provide the moon with its opposite polarity to help the Earth and its people to safely

experience the polarities of life: ebb and flow; abundance and drought. And in the personal life,

the emotions of positive and negative – thus creating the ebb and flow of moods; the abundance and drought of love. In this way man walks his way

through life – pulled hither and thither by a light that is only a reflection of the TRUE light source.

As you venture onto the Spiritual path you will use, albeit unwittingly, the female energy

of the moon’s influence to enable you to explore the darkness within yourself. Those dark ways must be brought to the Light in

order to be healed. They are a necessary part of yourself – not to be viewed as sinful, but as

challenges of your own nature that are explored and gradually overcome as you

seek to become the Whole.

This series of pictures shows how the absence of light immediately gives an unreal, eerie quality, then as the light source gradually comes in more

and more is revealed that formerly had lain in the shadows.

Seek to bring yourself fully into the Light, let there be no dark corners. In the process of this ‘lighting up’ be prepared for some emotional

turmoil, for you will be revealing yourself – your DEEPEST self, involving emotions that you have

concealed even from yourself!

Bring them to Me, give them to Me, let Me be your Ultimate Light.

SPRING: In the springtime Nature makes ready for the new offspring – the grasses are lush, the water is plentiful, the foliage

is full, and food is at a premium.

Into this beautiful world comes another young animal – what a miracle! After the weeks in the dark of its mother’s womb –

where it is fed and nourished - it now stands free within moments of their

‘separation’; God has provided for all its needs. And what a joy their beauty brings.

Remember that I also provide for you - not just in the Spring, but in

all the seasons of your life. Whatever I Create I will nurture and

look to. Your sense of separation from Me is because you are

unaware of that fact. To BECOME aware, look to the myriad clues in

Nature that I am there, that I Provide, that I Watch Over. Become

safe in that knowledge.

THE TREES AND BLOSSOMS: I express Myself in countless ways, in

myriad form. Become used to thinking that whatever your eyes perceive is God in Form - forming Myself into substance from all the

patterns of Nature. I Am the Creator of all things – including yourself. Come into appreciation of the

complexity and beauty that is you – my greatest creation. You look with awe at the beauty of Nature, come into the realization of the miracle

that is YOU.

THE CREEPER: God is our framework and we are like the little creeper – tentatively reaching out, wrapping

ourselves around each situation that presents itself on our path. Each

positive act that we perform produces a lovely flower, each wrong turn that

we make produces dead wood!

All the while through all our endeavors the Christ is nurturing and feeding us

with His Love – the greatest food of all.

THE BIRD’S NEST: You have to look closely sometimes to find My hidden treasures; they

are all around you, but sometimes not readily recognised.

In every situation in your life there is a concealed gift; no matter how difficult the process – it is there, KNOW this. Listen for the signs of Life, break down the barrier,

part the veil – you will find the precious gift that is there. It is the gift of New Life, for that is what is generated each time you recognise the gift that is concealed – the

beauty in the pain.

SUMMERTIME: ‘When the livin’ is easy’, as the song says. Holiday

times give a brief respite from the challenges of life – a time to reap the rewards of your endeavors, a time to

rest and contemplate – perhaps to ponder on your next step in life.

It is wise to stop your rush through life from time to time, to look back on

what you have achieved, what you wish to change, what you wish to

attain.

NEVER LOOK BACK IN REGRET, for each action of yours was a learning process - for yourself and the people around you. The

priceless gifts that God gives are EXPERIENCE and CHOICE. It is by

experimenting with life that we learn how NOT to act, how NOT to be.

You can listen to the warnings from your parents and your peers, but you cannot

truly learn your lessons until you have had the experience YOURSELF. How else could you KNOW the pain of a wrong move – and

the bliss of a right one?

ACCEPT THE PAST, recognise its worth.

Autumn

The season of releasing – letting go of the old, to rest awhile, and then to make

way for the new.

See how gracefully Nature lets go!

Mankind makes a much harder job of it – he struggles and strives, he ‘hangs on to the

bitter end’ to do something that must and WILL be done.

When it is time to release something or someone take Nature’s example and do it

gracefully – you will find that it will be far less painful.

Just as in Nature, there are seasons in your life too, but because they are not so obvious, or regularly timed,we tend to forget – we try to hang onto EVERYTHING as if it would last

for ever. Throughout your entire life there must always be this letting go process –

releasing our babyhood; releasing our teenage years; releasing our family when the time

comes – but that does not mean that any of it is LOST! The act of releasing always heralds new growth, new horizons – PROGRESS.

WINTER: A time of seeming barrenness – no real warmth in the sun, long dark nights, no life on the branch – will it ever return? Yes it

will! And REMEMBER THAT whenever a ‘winter’ pattern enters your life. Those cold, barren times when you cannot see the Light,

when you feel separated from My Love, when all that you once loved seems to be

dead and gone forever. These soul-searching times always happen before a ‘spring’ time in your life; when hope and love springs anew, when after the long, dark, lonely months all is bright and new

and lovely again.

The ‘winters’ of your life are the times when things or people that no longer serve your personal growth

are laid to rest. In the seeming darkness a new seed is germinating,

a new sap is rising, a new joy is coming – for in your life will always

be the seasons of CHANGE.

The father of the family is the provider and the mother is the nurturer. God is both of these to His Creations.

It is not an easy task to be the strength and comfort for the human family, but the love of the parents for each other

gives them the ability to cope and overcome all that comes their way in the raising of their family. It is a responsibility, a commitment, and hard work is involved – but love tempers

all and overcomes the painful laborious times.

Most families are not AWARE of the love factor, and especially when the children have become adults and ‘leave the nest’, there is an inability to let go – to give each other freedom. But it must be done otherwise a restricted life is

the result for all concerned.

My Love gives you the Freedom you all desire - freedom to live and yet still love each other. The Security to know that you are always there for each other in times of need. The

Happiness in the beauty of it all.

FAMILY: See how the love between two people grows and multiplies, bringing yet more unto itself. Joy and happiness, sometimes tears and

sadness, are involved in this multiplying - but by bonding together, supporting each other, welcoming new ones into the fold, this family

becomes a tangible proof of the Power of Love. In this way God multiplies.

But the family that does not practice God’s Ways of nurturing, acceptance, and unconditional love – breaks the family ties, and now the links between them become CHAINS. They may part physically,

but mentally they shall always be chained until God’s Ways are practiced once again.

God leads the Universal family with a sure, steady Hand – not an iron fist. He treats each family failing with Love – not punishment. He

allows His children to learn by experience – not by force. He talks to each one through the heart, not the head.

Connect with each other through the heart, and although you may not always be physically together, that heart-link will always be strong. We are ALL connected through the heart, USE that heart power to

understand God’s Ways.

 

Christmas: a time of family and friends, abundance and joy. For some it is the best time of the year – for others, the very worst.

The birth of Jesus is celebrated even at the wrong time of the year! Nevertheless it has not been lost sight of, for His

birth was God’s gift to mankind. The story of Jesus’ life shows each person The Way. He warned of the false idols of materialism and ego, He brought the loud message of Love.

Let this not be the way of living just once a year, but celebrate The Way every single day. Then your life will always be filled with abundance, surprises, and loved ones - all the joys of Christmas.

Make it your task to add a little bit of cheer to the lives of all you meet; to think of giving rather than receiving; to widening your circle of friends into a larger and larger family; to always find the ‘gift’ in every situation; to FULLY PRACTICE the Christ Life.

See how intricate the spider’s web! Tensioners cross lines and spirals – all beautifully and perfectly fashioned to trap the unwary. So fine that it is barely noticeable, so strong that the more the entrapped struggle, the tighter they are bound.

Listen to your own vocabulary – “I am BOUND” – “I am STUCK” – “I can’t get free, I am ENTANGLED”. Your own emotions create the strands of the web; each person is invisibly connected in this way and the actions of one affects and influences all others.

Stop struggling in the web of life. Release your attachments – to places, to people, to things. Seek Spiritual freedom. With each negative attribute of yourself that you hand over to God you break a strand. Eventually you will stand free, unfettered, unhampered – in this way you break through the illusion to find the Reality beyond.

THE WEB

On trembling feet I walk a sticky thread

My balance sometimes falters

As each vibration tugs at my composure,

But every time I find my stance anew

Another confining string is snapped.

And the web which holds me in my unique place of learning

Becomes a little weaker –

While I become stronger.

The lessons of this life are like a tightrope walk –

Hesitate, and fear may make me stumble -

Wrapping myself in ropes of others’ making.

Take one step at a time

With eyes and heart fixed on this moment only,

And I may journey the web of life

Watching the sticky strands fall one by one,

Until one day my wings are free of constraint.

I kick off my sticky shoes to fly free once more.

Gail Thompson

Develop the curiosity of the cat!

SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND.

It is hard to say goodbye to a dear companion – but the sorrow is brief

compared to the years of pleasure he gave. Because of the short life of an animal –

compared to that of a human – some do not wish to become attached to them, in order to avoid the pain of parting later on. What vast

pleasure they miss to avoid fleeting pain.

An animal makes you think of something other than self. It teaches you unconditional

love – the art of accepting one another, despite the faults. It shows you all the stages of life in entirety, and then the final gift – it

teaches you to let go.

THE DOG: The dog is a valuable companion, for it shows its owner traits that they too can develop: unconditional

love, trust, obedience, character and humour.

The dog will also reflect the character of its owner, so take note if your dog

displays ill-health, neurosis, aggression!

All animals I set down with mankind to show him aspects of himself: what to improve on; what NOT to do; what to

appreciate.

Who would guess that the tiny, tightly furled bud holds such potential!

The end product is already known by the Intelligence that created it.

The half-opened flower is beautiful, but it will be so much more when it comes to its full

bloom.

So man, who is only half of his potential; even though he is a

miracle – he can be so much more. Seek to bring yourself to full

potential.

How do you do that?

Just the same as the flower; be

nurtured and fed by the Father,

open your heart and mind to Him,

and GROW to your fullest. God is the Intelligence that created you,

and God has a purpose for you. Grow into your

Purpose.

The gum tree shows man his progress through life. Here is a

strong hardy tree which, like man, starts from a single seed. All

through its life it reaches ever upwards, despite all setbacks. Its trunk clearly shows its progress; with nothing to block its growth it

grows straight and strong, but when influenced by others it

causes imperfections – even these are not a hindrance because it

reaches ever higher, and eventually straightens itself once

more. This tree survives the ravage of fire, and even when all but destroyed it sends out new

growth and forms another perfect tree higher up – this shows you

the value of the Divine Fire which rids you of everything except your strength to generate the Perfected

Body.

THE TREE: The tree is the most highly evolved member of the plant kingdom – as Man is above the animals. And the tree shows Man much about himself, not only in terms of productivity, but also in

terms of growth, resilience, etc. But it is the HIDDEN part of the tree that tells the most.

The roots are what keep the tree anchored, and these roots represent Man’s hidden side – his thoughts and feelings, which effectively

anchor him into the human experience.

The leaves, blossoms and fruits of the tree represent the ‘trappings’ that man adds unto himself – the material things that are important

to him – but they are not beneficial to his freedom. A tree can be lopped almost to ground level, but if the roots are strong new growth

will regenerate. So too man can lose everything and try to start again, but with the roots of his negative feelings he will never be free

and the same problems will occur time and time again.

Once a trees root system dies the tree topples and is no longer bound to the earth. Each negative thought that is changed severs a root,

until finally the whole root system is no longer the means of containment. SEVER YOUR ROOTS in order to gain FREEDOM so that you can then be as the birds that sit amongst the branches. With this freedom you still may enjoy the fruits of the earth, but are no longer

bound by them.

Yes, the tree is a thing of beauty - as is the human body, but the Spiritual- You is an even more beautiful creation.

FOG: Ah! How Nature clearly shows the art of illusion. You KNOW there is a cottage out there – but the eyes, and the camera - tell you otherwise! Always heed the

KNOWING, despite what your logic tells you.

THE RAINBOW: The promise of the rainbow is that there will always be sunshine after rain: happiness after

tears.

It shows you too, that there is beauty in the gloom – without the gloom the colours could not appear; without the tears there can be no appreciation of

the happiness.

You have to experience the extremes in order to find Balance.

FIRE: What an awesome energy! And one that must be controlled.

Wherein is the fire in man? - In his EMOTIONS. What starts off as generation

can end up in destruction if it is not checked.

In Nature fire has the role of regeneration – let your emotions play the same role, otherwise destruction of YOURSELF can

be the end result.

Look to Nature to find the clues; the Signs are

everywhere - in the insects, birds and animals, in the

seasons and the tides. Look for the Signposts all around you, guiding you to Remembrance,

showing you The Way.

Look closely at the two photographs – which is the right way up? It is very hard to assess except, finally, for the fuzziness of

the reflections.

So too, in life, it is hard to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal,

and that is also because of the fuzziness! The fuzziness in your understanding of

What or Who God is. No one wants to be misled in this vital matter.

Who do you follow? Who do you believe? Have no fear,just follow your heart – for

that is where God speaks to you.

As each challenge in life confronts you, listen to your heart. It will never mislead you.

With each teacher that comes your way – take their teachings to your heart, and there you will

be able to discern the true from the false.

Lastly, have the courage to FOLLOW your heart, for it will finally lead you to God.

When you have removed all doubts and fear from your mind is when you will feel God in

your heart. From that day forth God will lead you by the hand, showing you the Truth,

showing you The Way.