d

d

The Return of the Dove to the Ark, 1851, by John Everett Millais is part of the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum collection and is a fine painting where human psychology meets a realism of depicition. Two relatives, presumably sisters, cuddle an ailing dove and one smells his breast as though in delirium of the hay under foot. You feel they are already abreast the ark, at least of the first stage of human love. They are like the pair rather than the doves who will sail away from the society iceberg or a place not frozen over from time but by the polar caps freezing somewhere the opposite of them thawing. Only nominated by solar activity on a planet we rarely assume possible for a contribution to earth, Venus or Jupiter. Polar winds would have opposite polar effects, depending on the position of the earth on the axis. We have limited control other than planting seasonal plants in the garden, just ask your heart what you would like to see there to encourage the doves in Spring, spring flowers for the honeybees and bumbles in the brambles. The Pre-Raphaelites studied together, I wonder if they wanted to emulate the Renaissance with a kind of realism about their religion. The other sister holds a Holy Sprig more reminiscent of a bush of holly. Something like society hedges and these were gentleman mainly rather than women of learning. Their wives were not always well educated but this does not mean they were not intelligent women, simply not needed for society duties and doing anything other than making a cup of tea for society meetings at the Academy, presumably for themselves. The gardening would definitely be their concern but not their duty.

c

c

Infinite time guards the garden of the heart from a time when we first took form. When contemplating the garden, where God takes our hearts, a light is every breath and dark matter does not appear to have an input. Almost as though we travelled from some divine realm and the dark ash of creation is only ever present on earth. Time travellers for God whose spirits took an earthly shape out of the infinite. An infinite understanding of God equals the garden, the earth equals the soul and light travels down to the centre of the earth to form a vortex where the seven circles equal the abyss. God sheds light on our understanding and the gentle light in the garden of the heart takes form as divine ashes and we are then propelled into the light of Heaven.

b

b

A Jain Cosmological Map from about 1890 exists in Washington DC, Library of Congress.

This extraordinary cross of the rivers represents ancient mythology from as far back as Ancient Egypt on the Mahabharata plains where the moveable city is something akin to the Garden of Eden. Several mystical treatises would be lost from philosophy but not from the heart. Travelling through India you almost feel culturally inept. Several beautiful palaces still exist in ancient townships that have an aura of some bygone era and remnants of the gods they worship are in every temple, festivals attribute their fame and popularity. Festivals of the four rivers that cross the Ganges, thank you Lord Ganesha, I honor you with sweets. The temple is the heart.

a

a

Nicolas Poussin gave us Spring; or the Earthly Paradise (1660-1664), in the Paris, Louvre Museum. The heavenly abode to earthly life almost suggests Gods Paradisal garden is here on earth. Eve is pointing to Heaven as God flies past in a cloud and alerts Adam, they are both naked. There is almost a feeling that although they appear alone, they are not the first human inhabitants to have settled on earth. The landscape does appear Tuscan, so warm enough without clothes, the ground appears fertile and laden with earthly fruits and they appear happily in love with one another, not needing anything or anyone else around them. God seems to be giving them a blessing as he flies through the clouds, maybe on this day Eve was born from Adam for company and to establish a human race.

The Garden

The Garden

The rose garden is found in the garden of the heart. Gardens are lovely in Spring. God takes you to the garden of the heart to find philosophy. Your feet take you there and walk on the earth's surface, a passage through Hell to reflect Heaven. Do we think about what we walk on? The garden is furnished with love philosophy and an angel tells you the way forward, the way through to love. A reflection is needed and the geometry of the soul is our instrument. We feel the sacred garden God allows us access to is nowhere close to love in the garden and the domain in Heaven we trespass is the philosophical equation of love.

149

The stars tell us our divine pathway and litter the sky at night with divine explanation about who we are. For centuries the patterns of the stars have fascinated the human heart and mind. Cosmology is a science, astronomy is an art, love is the highway to God. Divinity cannot be explained only attributed to by man. God loves us for our worth to him, you are what you make of your life, to find divinity in your heart you have to provide the food, love should be a delicious meal. The ashes are on the ground in a circle so the chosen one can communicate love. Only those gifted with love can read the patterns of the stars in God's divine garden, the heavens.

A rainbow.

by Nicole Page-Smith

148

The divine pathway to God took me to Rome. Although the Vatican Museums were also on this ascension, the gates to the Villa Borghese gardens was the place. Bernini had a big ego and excelled himself in his youth for the Papal ascension now housed in the Borghese museum. Along the Apian way through the gardens the National Gallery is worth a visit too. No longer are the gardens full of alley cats even though there are one or two, fortunately there is now a cat home to vaccinate stray kittens and they do a great job for the poor. Although this gateway would once have been one of the three gateways that led to Rome, all roads lead to Rome and probably did in Virgil's day, Rome was sacked in a day. Rome is a great place to view sculpture as they are not afraid of great big things or greatness. Other countries appear to have issues as they did not ever rule the world. There is still monuments and ancient buildings left from the 1st Century AD, remarkably preserved with the atmosphere of the river Tiber. This is a great place for stone sculpture, especially Carrara marble sculpture, to be housed, also, for it preserves well with a river nearby. The gardens are lovely to stroll through, especially along the pathway to the top of the city of Rome.