Carrying Love to Every Corner of the Globe (and my Joy Garden) to Heal the Earth

My friends in Hope, it’s been a little while since I’ve written.  I continue to be blessed with experiences that connect me with sources of Love and Hope.  I had one such experience in the last few days.   

I read an email about the Earth Treasure Vase project, which was started by Cynthia Jurs.  She meditated with a 106-year-old Buddhist Lama in a cave in Nepal some years ago.  When she had a chance to ask the Lama what humans can do to bring healing and protection to the Earth, the Lama told her, “Even just one person can bring benefit to a whole area around where they live.”  He went on to describe how she should get ahold of some Earth Treasure Vases and put them in the ground.  He said, “They will do that work.” 

The vases are little clay pots that originated in the 8^th century in the Tibetan tradition to bring healing to the Earth.  They get filled with prayers and symbolic offerings and then are “planted” in the ground to bring healing.  Made with sacred substances, relics and medicine and consecrated by Lamas, a number of these Earth Treasure vases were given to Jurs for her to fill, seal and bury in locations of her choosing.  (More on that in a moment). 

Since her initial exposure to the vases in 1990, Jurs has made it her life’s work to deploy these vases around the world.  The first vases were planted in New Mexico, near where Jurs lives, after devastating wildfires swept the area.  Since then, vases have been planted around the globe in places of the greatest need.  Interestingly, Jurs is not deciding where to plant the vases.  They tell her where they need to go.  Mexico, Liberia, Japan near the first atomic bomb strike, and many other places around the globe.  You can read more about this project and the ripple effects here http://www.dailygood.org/story/2562/the-earth-treasure-vase-healing-project-the-gratefulness-team/  You can also learn more at Jurs’ website https://gaiamandala.net/

Once the vase has decided where it needs to go, Jurs holds virtual meditation sessions where participants fill the vase with offerings and then they go off to their new home.  I happened upon this after the latest meditation, but I was able to watch a recording.  Even the recording was incredibly moving — I could feel the deep wishes of love, peace, and healing people offered to fill these sweet little vases. 

So, you might be wondering, “What does this have to do with my life?  How is it relevant to me, or to you, Colleen?”  Well, I’ve recently been moved to designate a new garden in my front yard as a “Community Joy Garden”.  The idea is to invite the community to share the garden with my husband and me.  I plan to have little signs around to welcome people in and encourage them to relax and enjoy it for a while. 

The garden was planted last week and one plant was much too close to another, so I dug it up and put it elsewhere in my yard.  That left a hole in the ground in my Joy Garden and then I learned about the Earth Treasure Vase project.  It feels right to make my own Earth Treasure Vase, consecrate it, fill it with prayers and symbols and bury it in the hole in my Community Joy Garden.

I’ve considered that it won’t be a real Earth Treasure Vase, made by Lamas in Nepal, and wondered what good can it possibly do.  I keep coming back to the power of the intentions inside and around the vase.  It can only help to put out wishes of unity, love, peace and healing for humans and the Earth, and as the Lama said impact the area around where I live. 

All the details of how to accomplish this aren’t clear yet.  Most importantly, I need to figure out how to fill the vase.  Originally I intended to do it myself, but reading more about Jurs’ project I realized much of the power of the vases is in the collective experience of people sending their wishes of deep love and healing out into the world.  I’ll let you know how I move forward with this. 

I’m curious what is inspiring you these days and what seeds of Love, Healing, Hope, and Peace you’re planting. 

With Love and Hope,

Colleen