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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Perelandra - Cooperating Co-Creatively with Nature
  • Date: Thu, 09 Sep 2004 17:22:59 -0600


Perelandra - Cooperating Co-Creatively with Nature
http://www.cinemind.com/atwater/perelandra.html
(from the May/June '88 NEW REALITIES Magazine)
P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D. P. O. Box 7691 Charlottesville, VA 22906-7691
© 1988 P. M. H. Atwater, L.H.D., Ph.D.

As you change how you approach your garden, you will also change how you
approach your life.
http://www.perelandra-ltd.com/AB1473/index.cfm?&did=8


The community of Findhorn caused a sensation during the 1970's. Located near
the Arctic Circle in Scotland this bleak and barren place was transformed
into a veritable garden of Eden, producing remarkably large vegetables and
spectacular out-of season blossoms, by people who regularly "communicated
with angels and fairies." As Findhorn grew and prospered, the transformation
of soil shifted in importance to the transformation of souls, and the world
has never been quite the same since.

The successes of Findhorn remain for all to see proof positive that the
impossible is still possible, that "special magic" is still alive and well.
Yet, Findhorn is remote for most, a faraway place of faraway visions,
reminiscent of a time when integrity mattered and the real "bottom-line" was
service and caring.

What made Findhorn special, the heart of it, was its practical, everyday
focus on how to create a healthy environment and a healthy life in balance
and in harmony. It was "nuts and bolts" stuff, and it worked! But the
"instructions," the informational guidance that made the difference, came
from what was claimed to be the dominions of God through the kingdoms of
nature. It was a staggering claim -- one that remains intact after years of
challenge and criticism.

People forget, though, that the founders of the Findhorn Community were not
the first to establish a co-creative partnership with invisible worlds. The
great botanist George Washington Carver also claimed to have spoken with
plant intelligences all his life, gaining from them the information he later
used to develop practical ways to utilize the lowly peanut. And there are
others, many others. In fact regardless of culture or country, legends abound
describing fairies and angels guiding and uplifting humanity. Far from an
isolated event, the true magic of Findhorn is the opportunity it represents
to cooperate directly with the intelligence of nature

The next step in the evolution of that opportunity is happening at
Perelandra. Where Findhorn became solid and stationary, a fixed-base
operation one would visit, Perelandra is representative of a process one can
use no matter where one lives. And that process developed from another very
special garden.

Located some sixty miles southwest of Washington, D.C., near the tiny hamlet
of Jeffersonton, Virginia, Perelandra's 45 acres of meadow, woods, streams
and garden have become a well-established "Center for Nature Research," an
open-air laboratory dedicated to the discovery of nature's laws, and the
principles and dynamics underlying the co-creative relationship between
humanity and nature. As a research center, it is open to the public only once
a year, and occasionally for classes and workshops.

The driving force behind what is happening at Perelandra is Machaelle Small
Wright. In an article written for The Virginia Biological Farmer, she was
characterized as a woman who talked with fairies and angels, materialized
manure out of thin air, persuaded moles to do her bidding, had no insect
problems of any kind in her garden, and, in general, seemed to be associated
with amazing and impossible things. With the help of the spiritual beings she
claims to work with, Wright has authored a simple "how-to" entitled
"Perelandra Garden Workbook - A Complete Guide to Gardening with Nature
Intelligences." More of a manual, it illustrates how anyone can do what she
did&emdash;and more. Although an introduction to Perelandra is an
introduction to its founder, the real "Perelandra" is the role model it
offers, not of a place to visit but of a method to use. With manual in hand,
one will find that the prospect of cooperating co-creatively with nature is
now as practical and accessible as one's own front door.

The manual is a culmination of over 13 years spent in meticulous record
keeping, covering every nuance of growth and change in the nature kingdoms
Wright claims to work with, a bulk of facts now catalogued into two
computers. During her first three years on the property, she regularly put in
12-hour days, seven days a week. But now, after the garden is planted in the
spring (which is usually by June first), she spends only two or three hours
per week attending to whatever might be needed until season's end. This frees
her to devote time to communicating with nature intelligences, conducting
experiments, and testing and carrying out ongoing projects

Upon meeting her, one finds a woman with both feet firmly planted on the
ground, a no-nonsense lady who is a far cry from most "spiritual" types. In
her late thirties, Wright's skin and lanky frame are sure signs of a person
who spends considerable time outdoors and is no stranger to hard work. Her
enthusiasm is infectious and her speech as earthy as the soil she tills. She
sees herself as a research technician and information translator, not a
psychic channeling messages from "beyond." Metaphysical and occult terms
bother her so she avoids both, preferring instead to find other ways to
demystify what she is doing.

"Six hundred million books tell you how to enlightenment but none tells you
what to do after you get it," she says. To her, the secrets of spirituality
and success are laziness and guts: the laziness not to get in your own way
and the guts to act when it is appropriate. "I don't have any special gifts.
All I have is guts. If I am to offer what I have learned to others, I need to
know what I am talking about. I accept that responsibility --to do what I do
well."

The star attraction of her work is the garden, a focal point in her study of
what she believes to be the vibrational reality behind form. Called an
"energy garden," she claims it is the result of a co-creative process between
herself, nature spirits (called fairies by some), and devas (a Sanskrit word
meaning "shining one," a divine being or angel). Speaking matter-of-factly,
she defines devas as "overlighting intelligences still consciously connected
with God and part of the Original Pattern." She further defines them as the
"architects" throughout creation who hold together in perfection all energies
necessary to produce whatever will develop into form. She explains that
although each one is a specialist, guiding the development of any particular
species, each is also capable of revealing "The Greater Whole." Accordingly
then, the "Deva of Carrots" is the same architect for any carrot planted
anywhere in the world. Contact with this deva, no matter from what location
or in which language or by what person, always reaches the same deva.

"During the early days with the garden, I would go into meditation each day
and open my connection with the devic level. A deva would come into my
awareness and identify itself. I was then given instructions. I was told what
type of seed to buy. What fertilizer to use. How far apart to plant the
seeds. When to thin the plants and how much space to leave between them. As a
deva came into my awareness, I noticed that each had its own vibration. After
awhile, I could recognize which deva was entering my awareness. This led me
to develop the ability to call specific devas by 'aiming' my awareness for
the deva's own vibratory pattern. It was as if I was faced with a gigantic
telephone bank and I had to learn how to make all the different connections.
Once learned, I was able to 'make calls in' as well as receive calls."

Wright makes a definitive distinction between devas and nature spirits,
although both, she feels, are "energy bodies of pure light.'' She says nature
spirits are "more dense in vibration" because they appear in a closer
proximity to Earth. "They are the workers responsible for tending to the
well-being of plants, animals, and minerals. They maintain the necessary
blend between form and life energies contained within that form." She
continues, "If I were to desire a change in the color of a carrot, I would
seek that change on the devic level, for that is part of the pattern of the
carrot. But if I wish to prepare the soil and tend to the carrot perfectly, I
would seek out the nature spirits for help because they work directly with
existing form." Wright says that she experiences nature spirits sometimes as
balls of energy, which move alongside her as she walks.



After our first trip to Perelandra, my husband and I drove around the
countryside checking out other gardens, fields, trees, and whatever plant
growth we could find. This was the summer of 1985, a time when that part of
Virginia had been officially declared a drought disaster, a condition that
continued into 1986 as well. We noticed mostly stunted, straggly growth in
predominantly clay soil, packed and hard. There were a few bright flowers
next to some homes, but no one had much of a garden and crops looked sparse.

Wright does use a heavy straw mulch to hold in moisture, and it is true that
my "labor of love" can often result in "miracles," but dedication and hard
work do not adequately explain the following facts about the Perelandra
Garden: nearly perfect roses and vegetables grown without using any kind of
chemical or organic repellent, no pest or animal problems of any kind at any
time, minimal cash outlay and upkeep, no added moisture in a drought area,
and an unusual energy "vibration" which permeates the area. The energy is
similar to what I've felt visiting the Sequoia National Forest and the Four
Corners Area, a feeling I would describe as an "accelerated uplift."

In contrast to the surrounding countryside, Perelandra sod is rich, moist,
loose, and supports abundant, healthy life. Several neighbors commented on
the Perelandra garden, noting that it always looked great regardless of
season and seemed to always produce good food. None believe the fairy-deva
stuff, but no one could explain why that garden stood out from all others.
"It's not normal," said one. "Weird," said another. "Oh, she's just a good
gardener," joked one woman. When I began quizzing some people who attended
one of her workshops held on the property, most comments were an
enthusiastic, such as: "I tried what she recommended and it worked." "I read
her first book and thought, if she can do it, so can I &emdash;so I did." "I
live in a large apartment complex and cannot garden, but I do use some of her
methods to help improve my life." Comments less than enthusiastic were: "I'm
really confused on how all this might help me." "None of this makes sense to
me." and, "I just came here to get back to nature."

Wright told of elderly neighbors who have been gardening in the area for over
60 years and how, even using chemical insecticides , they still lose between
25 and 30 percent of their cabbages each year to cabbage worm. At Perelandra,
I saw only a few leaves discarded because they were too tough. No heads were
lost, and I never saw any insect holes in any cabbages. Only natural
fertilizer is used, and the specific amount for each plant is prepared and
administered in accordance with "instructions." Although I did not witness
nor hear of anyone contacting nature spirits or devas during the several
times I have been on the property, I have to admit something very different
is happening at Perelandra.

The most obvious difference is the unique shape of the garden &emdash;18
concentric circles, which gives the appearance of a spiral, and a smaller,
regularly-shaped circle nearby. The circles are arranged within a neatly
mowed square of grass surrounded by a meadow and woods. Machaelle's cabin
fronts the larger section of the garden, with tool shed to one side. Between
both buildings is an entry gate and a roped-off area of undisturbed brush
marked "The Elemental Annex," home for what Wright believes are the nature
spirits she works with. Various havens for creatures and critters dot the
entire property. Down a wooded path, past several log piles and a dog run, is
the main house where Clarence Wright, Machaelle's partner, lives, and beyond
the house is the small, octagonally-shaped office with a tall, peaked roof,
resembling a sculptured version of a Native American (which, in fact it
actually replaced several years before).

Through Machaelle's forming of her own company, Perelandra, Ltd., books and
products have now emerged from the operation . "Behaving as if the God in All
Life Mattered" (an introduction to Machaelle and the concept of an energy
garden) and "Perelandra Garden Workbook" (co-authored by the nature spirits
and devas she claims to work with) are both available, as well as a soil
balancing kit, instructional cassette tapes, and a complete line of rose and
garden "essences" (energized and refined substances taken by mouth in
measured drops for use with balancing and harmonizing levels of life energy).



The history of Perelandra is really the history of Machaelle and Clarence.
During a special Catholic mass in 1971 Machaelle joined in partnership with
Clarence Wright, a former Paulist priest turned electronics specialist.
According to Clarence, a partnership, unlike a traditional marriage, is where
two independent people can interrelate and support each other while retaining
separate identities. "You do not create a third entity, but support each
other's growth and learning." Although their partnership has been frustrating
at times, Clarence points to their rings as a symbol of the uniquely evolving
relationship they share. Obviously proud of Machaelle, Clarence is
unhesitating in his approval of their lifestyle and where they live, which
means a 90-minute commute each day from his job in Washington, D.C. "I learn
a lot being here. Machaelle and Perelandra have been like teachers to me in
terms of opening up to my inner self and the cosmos. I'm hanging on for the
ride and it's real exciting." Clarence does most of the cooking on the
property (his specialty is vegetable spaghetti) and seems to enjoy being an
all-around handyman and engineer of sorts, as well as the Perelandra
photographer. He helps Machaelle some but says she does 90 percent of all
garden work.

When they first moved to the property, they found the damage done by improper
logging more substantial than previously thought. Healing the land
necessitated that they also heal themselves. Creating harmony and balance
became an internal as well as external task. Since their personal struggles
were so akin to the story of Perelandra, by C. S. Lewis, they chose the
book's name for their land. Lewis's "Perelandra'' meant Venus, planet of
perfection, and he used the conflict between two earthlings, one representing
good, the other evil, to illustrate how the balance between the two is the
real source of true perfection, the harmony of the whole. This story inspired
both Machaelle and Clarence, and gave them courage.

During those early years Clarence worked nights, which left Machaelle home
alone. She remembers how uncomfortable she felt at night, sensing a kind of
energy or presence coming from the woods, a feeling she could not shake nor
identify. "The nights of the full moon were the worst," she recalls. One day
she started hearing "voices." After awhile she confided in Clarence and,
instead of calling her crazy, he quoted a letter by Saint Paul to the early
Christians in which Paul assured the people that the voices they heard were
of God. Clarence suggested she start meditating, which she promptly did,
although not following any particular method other than lying down, relaxing
with eyes closed, and opening up to whatever felt right at the time. For some
time after that, she continued to explore various realms of consciousness and
the possibilities of other dimensions of reality. She had sevaal teachers,
but it was Clarence who again was a catalyst for her. One day while shopping
for books to read, he handed her two he thought she might anjoy: Tbe Magic of
Findhorn and The Findhorn Garden. These two books changed her life.

Wright says that she has learned many important lessons from nature spirits.
She believes the "fear-of-stepping-on-an elf-syndrome" can retard
communications and progress once a person discovers the validity of nature
intelligences. "These people,'' she laughs, "are afraid to try anything for
fear of squashing an elf." She cringes when people start talking about nature
spirits as sweet, cuddly little things. "That's not true. They do not respond
to sentimental love. Their love is a love of action and purpose, and it is
that kind of love they desire from us." To make her point, she tells of
giving a workshop in a spiritual community and being asked to see what was
wrong with a large bush. Apparently the bush had been recently transplanted
and, as part of the transplanting process, community members gathered around
it each night, joined hands, and "sent" the bush L-O-V-E. Instead of
flourishing, it was dying. "I walked up to the bush, looked at the soil,
checked the leaves, then turned around and said, 'Try watering it!' That's
love in action."

I made it a point to ask her why anyone should bother going through the
effort it takes to incorporate an entirley different approach to gardening or
farming == especially in view of all the other proven, established, and
successful methods?

"I'm very aware that this is a valid issue. I've raised the question myself.
I'm espe cially prone to raising it when crouched over in the garden working
on the third day to do something that takes regular gardeners less than an
hour to do. I've been known to stand my weary bones upright, look toward the
sky, and give serious thought to the state of my sanity. But each year as I
watch my garden flourish under adverse conditions and the other gardens
around me struggle, even die, under the same conditions, I find I raise the
question less and less. The Perelandra garden thrives because of the approach
I have been taught and the underlying consciousness and reality that motivate
the approach."

"But," she adds, "everything that you know that has gone into establishing
your sense of order, stability, and balance &emdash; in other words, logic,
both in the garden and in your life away from it&emdash; will be constantly
challenged if you use this method. For you see, this gardening is, in fact, a
metaphor for the whole of life. As you change how you approach the garden,
you will, in turn, change the very fabric of how you approach your life!"
That challenge caught my attention.



The Perelandra garden changes to some degree each year. At first it consisted
of normal, straight rows that formed a rectangle. Later, concentric circles
were used in place of the tradidonal rows. Eventually, the smaller,
regular-shaped circle was added for tomatoes only, as Wright was "told"
tomatoes were incompatible with any other vegetable and should be alone.

Each year, after the winter solstice, she begins the process of planning the
next year's garden. The information she claims to receive from devas is
detailed and specific, including exact timing of when to plant what, and the
ratio of each plant to the whole pattern of the garden. "I depend on the
devas and nature spirits to inform me of my direcdon and the step-by-step
process I need to take. Without that information, I would be guessing along
with everyone else.

"None of it makes any sense until you see how it weaves in with weather
patterns and insect hatchings for that year. Nature always strives for
balance between such things as insects, weather, climate, soil, birds,
hatchings, and so forth. The other traditions of gardening are not that
reliable any more. Like everything else around us, these traditions must
change, too. Many of our gardening techniques come from native peoples.
Companion planting, for instance, is a native American technique. Because of
the impact of today's ecology, the original companions in planting are no
longer as effective. They need to be updated.

Wrights ideas are surprising. She explains, "What I am finding that works
best is a garden that constantly changes, that is free to breathe and grow on
its own with out set rules. An organic garden will selectively repel some
life, but an energy garden repels nothing and includes everything. It took me
a long time to learn that. I made a sign saying, 'YOUR GARDEN IS INCLUSIVE, '
and tacked it to my shed to read every day. Once animals and insects realize
they don't have to fight for their lives, that they are free to live and
grow, their aggression subsides and they regulate themselves! My few Japanese
beetles, for instance, stick to the same flower and leave the others alone
now that they are no longer threatened with extination. A dead bug is a dead
bug, whether it's killed organically or otherwise. I had to consider another
solution. "

Because of this decision of hers, Perelandra has become a sanauary for life
and healing. Ten percent of all produce raised is regularly tithed for animal
and insect consumption, and sections of land are left unmoved or untouched
for their benefit, as well.

It is Wright's belief that most of the gardens and farmlands around the world
are now without nature spirits. For that reason, she feels that the amount of
energy any present form contains is at its minimum. "What we end up with is
basically empty form. Food without light. We are constantly eating
unenergized food &emdash; and it has nothing to do with the fast food chains.
It is our lack of understanding of what's happening within ourselves and
outside us that has gotten us in trouble. Because of our ignorance, we have
not only complicated our own process, we've managed to affect the process of
everything around us as well."

I can't help but reflect how different climate and weather are now and how
pollution is worldwide in its effects. Since everything evolves, I paid close
attention to Wright as she explained how foolish she thinks it is to expect
the same results from the same methods each and every time. "It's just not
possible," she cautions. Addressing the subject in larger terms, she refers
to a message she "received" from the "Over lighting Deva of Planet Earth":

"Allow me to give you another insight. The Aquarian impulses are already
seated within the planet. Visualize, if you will, the planet as a container
of these impulses: Energy held beneath the Earth's surface. This energy is
seated within the very soul of the planet, seated within its heart. It is
there to be released and integrated into all levels of life on the planet.
Now, picture one small, co-creative garden on the planet's surface. See it as
a window into the interior of the planet, into its soul. As the gardener
works to align this garden to the new dynamics, watch the window open and the
energy contained within the core of the planet gently gravitate to and
release through the window. Feel the sense of relief and freedom within the
Earth's core as the energy moves outward and up. And watch the actions and
the form living on the Earth's surface suddenly shift to reflect he impact of
the heart energy which has now surfaced.

"That which exists on the surface has begun to connect to and integrate with
the heart and soul of the planet, which, in turn, is fully aligned with the
heart and soul force of the universe. As with the experience the human
receives when he consciously shifts his perceptions in such a way that the
heart energy he holds deep within is suddenly released and allowed to
surface, so, too, will Earth as each person opens the window through the
framework of the co-creative garden to the heart and soul energy of the
planet.

"It is not enough to move about the planet in a state of benevolent love for
it. Human state alone will not create the passageways through which the heart
energy of the planet is allowed to release. It must be accomplished through
the state of the human mind, his consciousness, combined with parallel and
appropriate action. Once released, this heart energy from the planet will
permeate all living reality upon its surface and support the evolutionary
process of the planet and its inhabitants in tandem movement with the
universe into the Aquarian era.

"I fully understand that I am aligning deep planetary change and universal
movement with the actions of one gardener tending one small garden. This is
precisely what I mean to do. One need not wait for group consensus in such
matters. One need only move forward, sound the note for change, and follow
that intonation with parallel action. Each gardener, in the role of the
Knower, shall hold the seed to his heart and shall plant this seed in the
earth. The fruit of this plant shall be the winged and shafted Sun above his
head, and a new kingdom shall be grounded on Earth. This I can promise you.
This is what awaits you. "

Perelandra is truly a role model, an example of what anyone can do anywhere.
It is a method, not a place; an opportunity, not an event. What it teaches is
invaluable even for people who do not garden.

When I left Perelandra after my last stay there, I pondered a challenge
Wright offered: "You are the creator of your 'garden, ' even if you live in
an apartment. It's up to you to ask your own questions and act on your own
answers. Don't be afraid to make a mistake. Take what gardening teaches and
use it in all of life!"



For informational brochures and product lists write:
Perelandra
P.O. Box 3603
Warrenton, VA 20188




  • [Livingontheland] Perelandra - Cooperating Co-Creatively with Nature, Tradingpost, 09/09/2004

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