Conscious Choice: The Four Gardens of Creation

December 2004 | Body & Mind Health

The Four Gardens of Creation

by Julia Mossbridge

Until recently, I used a kind of prayer hierarchy: I prayed when I wanted something, prayed harder when I needed something, and I prayed, sweated and cursed when I was in real trouble. That was until a huge personal crisis hit and I found that sweat, profanity, and prayer weren’t cutting it. Instead, I decided to return to a different prayer hierarchy, one more scientifically aligned, that I had dreamed up a while back. The prayer calls upon four “gardens of creation” — matter, space, energy and time — the fundamental building blocks of the universe. (Note to all fellow science nerds: Yes, I am aware that matter and energy, not to mention space and time, are interchangeable — and almost certainly superstring theory makes them unified in some mysterious way. Please, however, cut me some slack. In our minds, and certainly in our bodily experience, most people definitely separate matter, energy, space and time. Thank you for your permission to be theoretically imprecise and experientially accurate.) Here’s how it works.

The Garden of Matter

The physical manifestation of whatever trouble you’ve been experiencing can come in the form of illness, poverty, chaos, or confusion. The essential point of this part of the prayer is that you focus first on the question, “What’s the matter?” How does this problem, which likely has roots in a non-material realm, affect goings-on in the material world? For example, simple and well-defined answers to the question posed in this part of the prayer would be:

“I overeat,” “I’m exhausted,” or “I don’t have a job.”

Once you have defined the problem as it exists in the physical world, the next step is to describe how things would be different if the problem were solved: “I stop eating when I’m full,” “I am full of energy,” or “I have a satisfying service-oriented career.” The key here is to be specific and simple. What would things look like if they matched your wishes?

The Garden of Space

This part of the Four Gardens Prayer asks you where the problem is occurring. Is it in your body? If so, where? Is it in your home? Your workplace? Physically, where does this material problem manifest itself?

Now that you know what the problem is and where it manifests, allow yourself to imagine where the resolution would come from. This part can be difficult for some people, as we feel we can’t predict the source of the solutions that arise for us. One solution is to allow yourself to envision the space you occupy — your body, home, school, or work — and see what area seems to be most alive when you imagine your problem being solved. Focus on that area as you imagine your resolution evolving over time.

The Garden of Energy

We are told that many physical illnesses first manifest energetically; if this is true, it makes sense that the Garden of Energy is just above those of space and matter. This part of the prayer draws on this firsthand experience of energy, as it asks: “What does the energy in this problem feel like now?” Is it sad? Constricted? Overstimulated? Does it belong to you or someone else?

Once you’ve defined how the energy of this problem feels, the next step is to imagine how you’d like it to feel. If you imagine the resolution you desire, what kind of energy surrounds this solution? Is it freeflowing? Bright? Does it flicker and move inside of you? See if you can really define the way this energy might feel if the problem had already transformed itself into a blessing.

The Garden of Time

Even the first three words of the Bible, “In the beginning,” reveal how important time is in the creative process. Manifestation in time precedes energy, space and matter. To do this part of the prayer, imagine that you are talking to your future self, the one who doesn’t have this problem any more. What do you need to tell this version of yourself? Do you need to ask anything? Is there any fear you might have about which you need reassurance?

Then close your eyes and let yourself experience a message from the future that addresses your current situation. It can be an image, song, or phrase that you allow to come into your mind, or it could be an emotion, tickle, or twitch that you feel in your body. Just let it arise, and write it down so you can let its wisdom be revealed over time.

The Manifestation Experiment

I have used this prayer at least 10 times so far, and each time I have received what I prayed for. Perhaps more importantly, the process solidified my intentions, and I gained crucial insights about the nature of my difficulties.

Having said that, I do have reservations about writing a column about a process that is largely untested. Maybe it’s a scientist thing? Anyway, I have decided to set up an informal, very unscientific, and hopefully fun “Manifestation Experiment” intended to test the usefulness of the Four Gardens Prayer.

Whether you decide to participate in the Manifestation Experiment, use the sweat-and-curse method, or choose another approach, I wish you perspective, clarification, and joy as you manifest your hopes for the new year.

Julia Mossbridge is a Chicago-based cognitive neuroscientist and author of Unfolding: The Perpetual Science of Your Soul’s Work (www.unfolding.org).

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