LIANNE SNOW: This month's RECEPTIVITY theme has been on my mind quite a while. I've known since the beginning it would be about frequencies. I knew it would be about 'tuning in' but beyond that, nothing. It comes as no surprise that it should be in the garden that I find inspiration, for it is in that is where I find most of my inspiration.

I supposed that it was because it was so beautiful and I know without a doubt, that beauty inspires. Like breathe in the body is the inspiration that keeps us alive, so too beauty, which permeates nature like the air we breathe, is the wind beneath our wings. As an artist I seek to demonstrate that even waste can be elevated to inspirational levels when it becomes unexpectedly beautiful. The way sun breaks a cloud and suddenly a small brown creek such as mine shatters with dazzling blisters of silver light.

Then, there is the undeniable creativity to be a part of when immersed in a natural environment wholly alive, growing, birthing and manifesting from soil, light and rain. Consider the pure economy and magic that such an engineering miracle as a sugar maple could contain all the data for freely producing it in a tiny key.

When I stand in the garden and am open to receiving whatever wishes to be heard, the garden speaks. The fish in my pond respond when I ask how they are. The trick, if any, in this magic communion is trusting what comes up and not usurping the answer with rationalizations.

Yesterday giving a garden tour, I felt trusting enough to confide that I believed I had an arrangement with the garden. I share with the birds any fruit they wish, but 'please not my raspberries' and cannot explain how it was that my raspberries remain untouched, except that perhaps the birds hear me.

I honour with almost reverence the amazing nutritional virtues of the dandelion and perhaps more so because I seem to have a soft spot for the underdog. I am grateful for it's place in my garden and designate a place near my mint where it may grow and against all 'reason' it very much confines itself to this spot, as does the mint which I also appreciate much more than I ever have.

I am pleased by the many, many volunteers of flowering plants throughout the season that seem to jump from the sidewalk cracks. It was suggested to me during my tour that nature seems to be willing to provide (even medicinally) what is needed if we are open-minded enough allow, or receive. That is a miraculous concept. What if we could call forth from nature what we need, by simply being a part of it?

As I sit now with a head-cold and reflect back on the frequency with which I experience sinus infections I smile at the sheer number of Echinacea plants that grow everywhere here. My veggie patch delivered unexpected gifts of sunflowers, camomile and other edible wilds I wouldn't have had the pleasure of if I hadn't opened up to what likes to grow there.

Another thing that likes to grow there is ideas. In the created spaces of contemplation of the garden - because I find it is such an inspiring place - it is possible to sit and almost feel the ideas pour into me. Sometimes it is simple restructuring of the yard, but sometimes it is simple restructuring of whole urban areas, education systems and socio-economic constructs. It is a place of both peace and passionate heart, of passive reflection and dynamic activity. A complete Yin Yang space.

I feel this business of connection, of tuning in, is of the utmost importance. I believe we have the ability to connect to all others in this way if we are open to receiving the truth. I get all puffed up in ego when I recognize my un-speaking dog's need for water when she isn't even visible to me. She has a way of shaking her head and dashing away whenever an answer is no. But I almost always get thirst right when she is sitting silently behind me. But consider the evidence that our pet can be tuned into us from much greater distances, not just the usual consoling presence when they know we are troubled. It seems they can know that we are coming home, from the moment it occurs to us. My connection to my daughter is pretty good, too. But I am ready to extend my heart to connect to all the others now who long for a peaceful abundant planet governed by love and compassion instead of greed and fearful self-interest.

I believe our open, seeking hearts are listening devices for us and we can move our attention from thought to thought the way a ham operator dials into space for a connection. I believe we all have the capacity to co-create a world of beauty, abundance, joy and peace. It begins with non-judgement. If we were not so busy deciding whether the circumstances in which we find ourselves are good or not, we might find receiving all life as provided, has unseen merit.

I didn't plant the purple coneflower and many would have pulled or sprayed it for want of control over their environment. But they perhaps would never have arrived at the possibility of the awesome providence of this planet, the incredible organizational talent and humbling ability to receive our signals into the grid.

The question is not how will our needs be met or our prayers be heard. It is rather, will we wait to receive the answer? This is Lianne Snow on the air. Come back?