Cultivating the Garden of the Heart

In the hermitage of the heart, everyone must cultivate a garden of love... a secret entrance for the Holy One... the ancients would teach the invocation of the Holy Name with the in-and-out flow of the breath... in the still space between your breaths is the garden of the heart...

Adoration of the Divine Within is effected by the silent repetition of the Name... this welcome garden in the heart awaits your cultivating presence... a presence that can be anywhere and anytime: in the streets, in your place of work, in wild nature or your bedroom, in a place of dedicated worship: while walking or when sitting...

Simply begin... with as much humble adoration as you can muster at any given time... adore and love... and, later, let magic and mystery flow through your fingers to bless and caress everyone and everything in the world around you... with your soul awakening into peace and harmony, you will begin to live as a gift for everyone in your life: your transformation will become an affirmation of amazing grace...

As the garden of your heart begins to bloom, the Holy Name will rise spontaneously to your mind and to your lips: you will begin to become a living kiss... and you will discover that you have yourself become a mirror of Kindness and your actions will increasingly make visible the universal quest for Justice and Peace...

Around the repetition of the Holy Name you may build your entire spiritual life: the Name gathers every spiritual practice into itself... it has the key to integration and unity... By watering the garden of your heart with the Holy Name, your thoughts, words, and actions will all be drawn into the Sacred Center of Reality -- as the wandering eye naturally follows the colors and flow of a mandala to its radiant center...

Simply begin...

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