Foreword
Our role as gardeners is to choose, plant and tend the best seeds within the garden of our consciousness. Learning to look deeply at our consciousness is our greatest gift and our greatest need, for there lie the seeds of suffering and of love, the very roots of our being, of who we are. Mindfulness—itself a seed—is key to the care of this garden. It is the guide and the practice by which we learn how to use the seeds of suffering to nourish the seeds of love.
In The Seeds of Love Jerry Braza offers a translation of various wisdom traditions as insights on how to take care of the gardener—ourselves—and the garden—the soil of our consciousness. The mindfulness practices contained in this book are gardening tools that you will rely on again and again.
This is a book that will help anyone seeking to understand and nurture the seeds that create true love in self and others. Turn to these pages when you need a gentle reminder to tend the beautiful seeds of love that reside within.
—Thich Nhat Hanh
March 2011
Introduction
“Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers, ‘Grow, grow.’” —The Talmud
If ancient wisdom tells us that even a blade of grass needs encouragement, how much more do the people in our lives need us to whisper words of inspiration into their lives? Imagine the face of a child hearing, “You are so precious. You can do it. I’m so glad you were born.” Picture the look on your loved one’s face when you say, “You are perfect as you are. You are such a joy. I am here for you. Thank you for being in my life.”
And if you received continual whispers of “You are enough, just as you are,” how would your life be different? Would you be better able to whisper encouragement into the lives of those you love?
Gaining the wisdom and insights you need to grow and thrive in an atmosphere of love, compassion and kindness will prepare you to deeply water those seeds in the lives of others. As a partner, parent, family member or friend—we all want our relationships to grow in love. We long to love more deeply, remove barriers and open new pathways to love so we can find true happiness. It is within relationships, including our relationship with ourselves, that the seeds of love are born and nurtured—or not. Healthy, supportive relationships enrich our journey along life’s path. They help define us and often teach us lessons we will need down the road. Are you ready to step out in faith? Our journey begins on a garden path.
Like a garden, relationships require thoughtful tending. With that image in mind, we will look deeply at the seeds that grow in the garden of our consciousness. We will discover how the practice of mindfulness, living in the present moment, can become our most valuable tool in nurturing the seeds of love and transforming the seeds of pain.
Growing up, I spent many hours helping my parents tend our backyard garden. The fruits of our labor offered nourishment during the long Wisconsin winters. But the effort of tending—tossing compost, tilling the soil, planting the seeds and watering the crops—offered rewards of its own, including the opportunity to witness the transformation of seeds coming to life. I’m sure my parents would be delighted today to find the garden has become both metaphor and muse to me, representing the fertile foundation of our spiritual and emotional well-being.
The seeds, both positive and negative, that are watered throughout our lives influence and affect the quality of our life from birth to death. Every interaction with people, situations, ideas—including what we consume and absorb from the media—impacts our senses and consciousness. Accessing the deep interior world of consciousness is like turning the soil of our garden. Whether we simply rake the surface or dig down to the roots, we are shaping the garden of our consciousness to develop a healthy self and positive relationships. If you are dedicated to tending your garden, you will become aware of seed consciousness and learn how to focus on nurturing healthy behaviors and transforming challenging life experiences.
In reflecting on our life as a garden, it is easy to see how we arrived where we are today based on the seeds that were watered within us. Parents and others, who nurture children in gentle, loving ways can bear witness to their efforts as they observe those children happily thriving and engaged in their growing lives. On the other hand, in my volunteer work with inmates at a local penitentiary, it is painfully clear that most of them had significant others in their lives who were far