Hi welcome my friend! Come on in & we’ll enjoy a cuppa together while we reflect upon how we are fairing.

Maybe we’re a little weary & frazzled at the moment with the dark clouds of CoVid hanging over us.

I was watching a travel documentary the other day, I love armchair traveling… perfect for this time in CoVid restrictions!

This particular program was visiting spectacular gardens of Japan. These gardens are meticulously cultivated, tended & sculpted.

Each having a very specific design & purpose but containing certain elements that herald them uniquely Japanese.

This was thought provoking for this ol’ Clinical Counselor as to how we each tend, cultivate & sculpt our minds.

Before we start our reflection, let’s grab our cuppa’s & get comfy. Today it’s rainy, windy & freezing cold here on the east coast of Australia.

We are sitting in the warmth of my living room, I have a Japanese Apple black tea to keep in with the theme & a delicious gf Date & Gingerbread slice.

Shall we begin our reflection…

Choosing our mindscapes

As you may be aware our minds are amazing things! They help us to make sense of the world around us & can be such powerful assets when healthy.

After watching the documentary on Japanese gardens, I asked myself the following questions;

If my mind was a garden what would it look like?

&

What am I cultivating in the landscape of my mind?

Just as if I was designing a new landscape garden or searching for a beautiful scene to paint. What I choose to feature is important to the final outcome.

Conversely, what I choose to plant, cultivate & nurture in the landscape of my mind will either become a thing of beauty or a darkened place of confusion & anxiety.

Design

As designing any layout, we need to really choose what we want in the landscape of our minds, starting at what’s important.

I liken my mindscape design, not surprisingly to a Cottage Garden. Where we can sit & have times of reflection over a cuppa together.

Cottage Gardens are not only practical but also have a natural free flowing form to them. Plants are distributed seemingly at random as in their natural environment.

Although there are certain elements incorporated in Cottage Gardens that give their recognizable design, each has features that give a beauty uniquely their own.

Bringing in the elements & features that harmonize with the overall design is the responsibility of the owner who cultivates, nurtures & tends their own mindscape daily.

Choosing the Important features & elements

Peace & serenity are very important to me. So in the field of my mindscape is a beautiful shabby chic tent.

Where I can sit with the One who gives life, peace & serenity in immeasurable quantities each day, my heavenly Father.

Which is the focus of my design that all other accompanying elements & features need to harmonize within.

In mindscaping what we allow to be planted & cultivated will give the final outcome.

I recently planted new seedlings of trust into the flower beds of personal faith. I’m really looking forward to the growth that comes from being watered by the sweet dews of heaven & enjoying its delightful fragrance when in full bloom.

Then there are the bushes of prayer that need constant cultivation & shaping near where I sit with Him, choosing to walk along the delightful bridge of Jesus who spans the Gap.

There are fruits too to be had, sweet blueberries of kindness, gentleness & long suffering which are very important elements, perfect for sharing around tea times!

His little red strawberries of love are always ripe for the picking, complimenting the sweetness of the blueberries & they both give such wonderful contrast to the bitter fruits of the world.

There is a profusion of Lemon Grass growing amidst the berries, for special times of sharing.

Important lessons learned in the brewing techniques for this tea are found HERE, for if left too long only bitterness lingers.

Framing our mindscapes

It is said that a painting, photo or scene will either be perfectly enhanced by its frame or be drained of its vibrancy.

Isn’t that interesting! For I have found the same with the mind!

If we have a positive frame of mind, any situation is enhanced but if we have a negative frame of mind then everything is viewed through a negative & lifeless mind’s eye!

In other words how we view every circumstance, person & relationship in our lives will depend on our attitude = our frame of mind.

Bringing a living delight to our mindscapes

We must not forget the importance of weeding, for those pesky noxious thoughts have a tendency to shoot up in amongst the most fruitful areas.

And if left unattended will overtake & choke the fresh new shoots of eternal growth.

Just as gardeners constantly tend their gardens to promote harmony in the landscape, we too need to do the same for our eternal mindscapes…

“Finally, brethren, [have your thoughts upon] whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, of good repute, if there is any excellence & if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.”

Philippians 4: 8

If your mind was a garden my friend, how would you describe your mindscape’s design?

Until next time,

Jennifer

You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Nook

Or in Prayer

---

© 2020, Jennifer M. Ross, teawithjennifer.blog, All Rights Reserved. Photos on Pexels.com

Blog link Ups