Anne-Laure Le Cunff observes that the French have a phrase cultiver son jardin intérieur – or caring for your interior garden.
It’s a way of saying that the mind is like a garden.
There is more to the comparison than simple metaphor. The garden is one of humanity’s oldest creations. And there seems to be a complex interrelationship between the garden and the human mind.
The Mind Shapes the Garden
A garden starts with desire. We want healthy food. We’d love to have a splash of color outside the kitchen window.
So we go through a process of imagining, selecting, cultivating, planting, and tending until the garden comes alive.
At a certain point, very much like a child, the garden takes on its own life and personality. It is not entirely independent of us but it does things on its own time and in its own way.
But at its core, the garden reflects our thoughts, intentions, and efforts.
The Garden Shapes the Mind
The garden also reflects nature and the natural patterns of growth and organization that permeate our world.
The time we spend in a garden can actually re-shape and reorganize the mind, bringing our thoughts into alignment with the same natural patterns that are evident in the garden.
In the early days of psychotherapy it was believed that a peaceful, well-organized garden could have a beneficial effect on those suffering from mental illness. Today there are many studies showing that spending time among plants and trees reduces stress, lowers anxiety, boosts creativity.
Also on Wild Rye
Some thoughts about What is a Digital Garden?
Gardens have a connection to the body as well as to the mind. SEE Healing Gardens
Other Sites
Anne-Laure Le Cunff offers insight on how to create a “digital garden” for processing your thoughts in You and Your Mind Garden.
