Vessel Garden is the fruit of an ongoing personal and spiritual journey that has involved study, research, contemplation, and conversations with many, many insightful and compassionate people. It began, in many ways, with the frank acknowledgment of a deep longing to bring my daily practice and experience of being in the world into greater alignment with my inner narrative -- one of being in constant awe and delight at the mystery, beauty, and intricacy of creation.
The idea for creating Vessel Garden began to crystallize as I came to understand how essential the experience of community is to this journey. Initially, as I began to awaken to the interconnectedness of life around me, I became aware of a persistent personal sense of being outside and disconnected. This evoked many passionate questions: How could I initiate a dialogue with the natural world? Was the knowledge of how to do this something I carried within me - long sleeping - or was it something I would have to learn from those who still lived in this way? The answer, I have found, is both: when I began seeking out connections with people and organizations of similar mind and heart -- both teachers and fellow students -- and had the opportunity to be in community and collectively practice this way of being, the feeling of disconnection gradually began to transform into a glowing sense of possibility.
Seeking out community has, in turn, been accompanied by many questions related to the ideas of culture, identity, heritage, and accountability. I have found it impossible to be on this journey without confronting issues of cultural appropriation, the legacy of colonialism, the impact of climate change and globalization, and the tendency to romanticize the lifeways of certain peoples while simultaneously disregarding the real world challenges faced by these same communities. The biggest lesson has been that the beauty of spiritual practice is not meant to be separated from the often harsher reality of daily existence: the challenge put to the seeker is to integrate the two.
Ultimately, I have come to believe that the ability to actualize the visions of balance, sustainability and vitality so eloquently articulated by the people and organizations featured on these pages depends on our willingness to ask and explore these questions together. My hope is that Vessel Garden, by offering information about how people, organizations, and communities can connect with one another, can help support this process.
I am grateful for the forums in which open dialogue about these issues and questions is able to take place, and to the many beings who have been, and will be, a part of this journey.
C.B.
Marin County, CA
May 2008
If you have questions, comments, or would like to recommend a resource to be included in Vessel Garden, please send an email to info@vesselgarden.net.
