February 13, 2012
Some of us went to the Pasadena Huntington Gardens and a moment of awe or ‘seeing’ was had by all!
….tall cactus trees ‘suddenly appeared’ Paleolithic…the art in the main gallery shifted your attention to a different time….the road “Cloud and Sky,’ dotted with cherry blossoms, took your breath away….
Please share your experiences!
cleargreendreaming
Dear dreamers,
This walk was really a journey to a different attention of the daily life. I was with some practitioners and we just walked to the desert Garden, since the moment we started to approach this place the air felt different and the more we went through those wonderful beings the deeper was the sensation of being in a gigantic bubble like a dome made of a substance that we were breathing.
At one moment we stopped in the middle of a congregation of many big and rounded cactus it was like they wanted to tell us something, the time stopped the sun started to go out and its rays were like a bath that stopped even more the sensation of time, it was like if we were being there for ever it was like taste the eternity and the awe that we all there were sharing the awareness of what was going on, I could note in my companions in their breaths, in their bodies, in their sights.
I could feel in my body the presence of each cactus and plant as well as the energetic presence of my partners in that trip, each of them brought something different according to their predilections just like all the cactuses and plants and trees that transmit something different, for example one of our companions could identify and gave a little explanation of the characteristics of each plant that we were seeing bringing a deeper sensation of the experience, another one brought a very firm and fluid presence that allows to us to transit in that dream very magic and fluid, and our female companion was an extraordinary and sensitive being that extracts the beauty of everything that surrounded us.
For example when she touched one of the cactus this one seems to open all its leaves and breathe deeply full of joy for her presence, and that happens many times wherever we went from that moment.
When we leaved this magical spot we went through a magical and tall trees, the change was amazing to feel a very different beings and air, a hawk appeared a couple of times and we kind of followed it and when we stopped to have a snack at one moment it was suspended very high in the sky just above of us he was also observing us and then in that moment one of our companions says that would be nice to go to have some tea, suddenly another female and marvelous companion appeared and invited to us to the Rose Garden tea room where she has a reservation.
To be at the Rose Garden tea room was another magic experience it was a complete different dream of that we were at the desert Garden, but the same sensation that time was suspended in fact some mentioned that was like very English atmosphere and the perception of could feel the energy of everyone in the room very alive like in the desert Garden with the cactuses. It was like those dreams very vivid where everyone its very alert and a sensation like none of us where really there but elsewhere.
Then at the Gift shop I had a very magic experience with a practitioner who told me about a part of the American story and how their ancestors where and did in that story in fact for a moment I could see him dressed like those people of that time with his hat and wardrobes, he told me a brief story of an expeditionaries who did the first transcontinental expedition on the United States, and in that moment was like he himself was one expeditionary.
And almost for finish at the building of History of Science exhibition again all the books seems to talk like if they were alive and above of some books was writing in big words “Encountering new worlds” like a confirmation of all that happen in that marvelous place that the Huntington is.
Thank you so much to my wonderful companions in that dream, thank you Nyei and Reni for share this magical experience and thank you all that make all this happen.
What a delightful way to end an awe-some weekend! The desert garden was extroardinary – I felt I was walking on the bottom of the ocean among the various textures, colors, and shapes of underwater plants. I spent some time under a tree whose branches hung low to the ground so that I was draped in a cocoon of leaves dancing on the passing breeze in a performance just for me and my companion. When near the lily ponds I found myself stepping lightly on a gravel path to not disturb the pair of ducks sharing an afternoon nap nearby. The bamboo stands must have pleasant conversations throughout the day as the tall stalks rub up against one another in the wind. But the conversation gets especially interesting when an ear is placed on a stalk and the conversation is transmitted through the hollow core of the bamboo. One image that will stay with me is the painting “Two Boys by Candlelight, Blowing a Bladder” by Joseph Wright, which depicts a young boy looking on with curiosity as his friend or brother blows air into a balloon- perhaps a moment of awe. These are some of the moments that stand out to me. Thank you for the opportunity to share the afternoon with you all in such a wonderful place!
At first, I had some doubts about how I might make my way around, but these quickly evaporated as I became engaged in one wonder after another…and it was enchanting to wander and pause in turn, considering impulses as they came up, sometimes following them, sometimes waiting to see what else surfaced…
A small blue door opens into multisensory delights… The prism tunnel with dancing refracted rainbows in the dark, the pebble stream going to a vortex surrounded by water bells, the sonic pool where one can feel and hear reflections of waves on the water’s surface… The circular willow grove – what a peaceful place to sit or lie down and watch the sky and the clouds drift by overhead through the interwoven, bare winter branches…
A tile image from the children’s garden, depicting “Phases of the Moon”, showing a thin waxing crescent on the edge of a dark circle…
I had a vivid dream of this image right before the workshop on Saturday, so I was surprised to “find” it in the gardens. In my dream this image was set in a book with no words. It was not the moon, but rather the dark circle was an opening into space and the crescent was the luminous edge of this opening. It was accompanied by a feeling, “we can open doors for each other, so let’s take care of this…”
Feeling many circular and spiral patterns and movements expanding and contracting… From the cloud scroll patterns found in the bronze mirrors exhibit, to moving with the circular spirals in the great lawn…
My query, “what is my location in the grand scheme of things?” …was reflected beautifully back at the end of the day by the astronomy exhibit. Humankind has been navigating, charting, asking this question for many thousands of years, turning attention outwards towards infinity…and back.
Near the end of the day I was thrilled to encounter a flock of parrots in the tree by the entrance… Could recognize their familiar calls a mile away. Made eye contact with a few of them, briefly. They eyed me impishly, as they continued to eat the flowers with gusto.
With affection to you all…
I had the good fortune the be in the company of artececho and some other beings. The most beautiful thing was for me the experience of sharing an different view of reality.
For instance when we looked at one of the companions touching a cactus i could see how the cactus reacted, as if it relished to be touched. Then one of us started describing what he was seeing, which was what I was seeing, and then as if it was the most normal thing in the world we started talking about all this and other perceptions of the garden around us that were not part of normal excepted reality.
The other thing was to jointly navigate from one experience to the next. These transitions required a special attention, a patience and awareness to wait for the next impulse to pull us.
I dreamed of …
Childhood heaven,
expanding green in an open field;
Two angels,
touching red roses and reading names;
White marble,
warming in the shifting sun;
Somber hills,
resting beneath gray clouds;
Flowered hats,
dancing with pink blooms in gusty wind;
then I woke to sounds of laughter…
Or perhaps another dream.
First Isabel …. thank you for being my witness, you have an open heart…vicki
My garden experience……..as I entered the canopy of bamboo it started to sprinkle softly, I breathed sweet green and turned gazing at the pond….each raindrop sparkled with light like a tiny star on the water….next to edge looking at the water was a large bronze statue of a child,a memory from my childhood catching polywogs from a stream and watching them grow into little frogs rushed back to me….the entire day was awesome…
Vicki