Perelandra Garden Workbook II
Co-Creative Energy Processes for Gardening,
Agriculture and Life

by Machaelle Small Wright

Preface
As I was writing this book, I kept getting an overwhelming urge to turn to you, the reader, and say "Relax! Take it easy. Don't get in a sweat about all this." So, I'm using this preface to say just that to you. For some of you who have been using the first Perelandra Garden Workbook, this second book will make all kinds of sense. For others who have worked with the first Workbook, the processes presented in Workbook II may hit you a bit between the eyes. That's because this is the next step, and next steps have the tendency to catch us off guard. When that happens, just take a deep breath, remind yourself to relax—and keep reading.
    One thing that might help you take this next step is to know that all the processes presented in Workbook II have gone through "test trials." This is much of what nature and I do at Perelandra. We explore and then create co-creative processes that facilitate that next step. For the past two and a half years, we have been working on the Workbook II processes. And we have tried them out in the Perelandra garden. During that time, I have given some of the processes to others to try out. They work just as well for others as they do for me.
    This leads to the next point. I realize that some of you feel that I can do these processes with nature because I have "special gifts." First of all, I don't have any more in the "special-gift department" than anyone else who has a natural leaning and has applied himself mightily to discipline, hone and develop that natural leaning into a craft, art or profession.
    We, nature and I, work hard to develop processes that can easily be applied by anyone who is interested in developing a co-creative relationship with nature. These processes are not meant for the mythical "special few." We're not interested in creating a cult. Our efforts are directed to assisting growth and change within the state of nature on this planet and in how people relate to nature. By definition, since nature isn't exclusively available to a special few, this includes everyone. All you have to do is want to work with nature in a co-creative partnership.
    I sometimes run into another misconception about working with the co-creative processes that come out of Perelandra. Some believe that the processes work only if the person doing the process can feel it working in some special and unique way. Besides being baloney, this attitude gives those folks who experience life through the five senses, as we know them, the feeling that they are not capable of developing a co-creative relationship with nature because they aren't "sensitive" enough. Please, people—I can't adequately express how much hogwash this is. If someone tries to impress upon you that he uses the Perelandra processes and that he knows that co-creative work with nature requires special sensitivity, just ignore him. He's expressing his need to feel special or important.
    The truth is, you don't have to feel anything above and beyond what your usual five senses tell you in order to do the Perelandra processes and for these processes to work. They are developed so that all you need to do is move through each one, step by step, doing precisely what is spelled out. Nature automatically and appropriately joins in as you move through the steps. You will be doing your part of the process and nature will be doing its part of the process. You may move through an entire series of processes feeling absolutely nothing of what nature has been doing or of the changes the processes have initiated. However, I guarantee you that after completing the processes you will notice a difference that you will not be able to explain away with conventional reasoning or excuses. You will see changes in patterns and refinements in form—and then you will know that the processes worked.
    One other thing may happen. You and nature have worked together with the processes. You didn't feel a thing, but you have a gut feeling that everything went as it should. You're going along with the rest of your day as usual and, all of a sudden, something catches your eye. A brilliant flower blooming where you know a flower wasn't growing the day before. An unusual and dramatic aerial show being put on by birds who don't normally do this kind of thing. A strong flower scent, like a spring bouquet, where there are no flowers. A cloud formation that is so unusual that it stops you in your tracks. Don't brush those moments off. This is nature saying "Thank you." They are connecting with you through your five senses by doing something that is just enough out of the ordinary to catch your attention. Just smile and say "You're welcome."

Now, there might be some confusion about my use of the word "Workbook" throughout this book. After all, there are now two workbooks—Perelandra Garden Workbook and Perelandra Garden Workbook: Part II. When I use "Workbook," I am referring to the first book, Perelandra Garden Workbook. When I refer to the book you are now reading, I use "Workbook II."
    There is one other potential point of confusion: You will note that the subtitle of the Workbook is A Complete Guide to Gardening with Nature Intelligences. It begs the question: If it is complete, why is there a Workbook II? At the time that I wrote the Workbook, I thought it was complete. Well, I found out it was only complete unto itself. Now we have Workbook II, an expansion of the first Workbook. I will not be so silly as to again suggest that the co-creative partnership is now defined and complete with the publication of Workbook II. I suspect there will be a Workbook III.

Introduction
Back in November, 1989, Albert Schatz, Ph.D., ordered the Workbook. With his order, he sent a letter to me letting me know that his background was in soil science—soil chemistry and soil microbiology, to be exact. He is a professor emeritus at Temple University, and he was planning to write a book called The Living Soil and wanted to include information about nature or elemental spirits.
    Well, he intrigued me. So I fired off a copy of the Workbook and waited to see if I'd ever hear from him again. A week later, I got another letter. He had spent the week "studying" the Workbook, and wrote this:

. . . The book I plan to write will not only compare the soil to a living organism, but actually define it as such. I have been planning to write this book for several years, but I did not do so because I felt "something was missing," and I did not know what it was. When I read the Workbook, I knew; or, I should say, I recognized what I had been sensing as "something missing". . . You have given me precisely the information I need to write the book I have been thinking of for several years . . .

CO-CREATIVE DEFINITIONS DEALING WITH NATURE,
LIFE, SCIENCE, THE UNIVERSE AND ALL ELSE

Let us give you the basic understanding of these terms. We feel that these definitions, kept short and simple, will be more helpful than lengthy, detailed ones. Consider these definitions to be starting points.

FORM
We consider reality to be in the form state when there is organization, order and life vitality combined with a state of consciousness. For the purpose of understanding form in a constructive and workable manner, let us say that we consider consciousness to be soul-initiated and, therefore, quite capable of function beyond what we would term "form." There are dimensions of reality in which the interaction of life reality is maintained on the level of consciousness only. There is no surrounding organization, order or life vitality as we know it. There is only consciousness.
    We do not consider form to be only that which is perceptible to the five senses. In fact, we see form from this perspective to be most limited, both in its life reality and in its ability to function. We see form from the perspective of the five senses to be useful only for the most basic and fundamental level of identification. From this perspective, there is very little relationship to the full understanding and knowledge of how a unit or form system functions.
    All energy contains order, organization and life vitality; therefore, all energy is form. If one were to use the term "form" to identify that which can be perceived by the basic senses and the word "energy" to refer to that aspect of an animal, human, plant or object's reality that cannot be readily perceived by the basic senses, then one would be accurate in the use of these two words. However, if one were to use the word "form" to refer to that which can be perceived by the basic five senses and assume form to be a complete unit of reality unto itself, and use the word "energy" to refer to a level beyond form, one would then be using these two words inaccurately.
    On the planet Earth, the personality, character, emotional makeup, intellectual capacity, strong points and gifts of a human are all form. They are that which gives order, organization and life vitality to consciousness.
    Order and organization are the physical structures that create a framework for form. In short, they define the walls. But we have included the dynamic of life vitality when we refer to form because one of the elements of form is action, and it is the life vitality that initiates and creates action.

NATURE
In the larger universe and beyond, on its many levels and dimensions, there are a number of groups of consciousnesses which, although equal in importance, are quite different in expression and function. Do not misunderstand us by thinking that we are saying that all reality is human soul-oriented but that there are some aspects of this reality that function and express differently. We are not saying this. We are saying that there are different groups of consciousnesses that are equal in importance but express and function very differently. Together, they comprise the full expression of the larger, total life picture. No one piece, no one expression, can be missing or the larger life picture on all its levels and dimensions will cease to exist. One such consciousness has been universally termed "nature." Because of what we are saying about the larger picture not existing without all of its parts, you may assume that nature as both a reality and a consciousness exists on all dimensions and all levels. It cannot be excluded.
    Each group of consciousnesses has what can be termed as an area of expertise. As we said, all groups are equal in importance but express and function differently from one another. These different expressions and functions are vital to the overall balance of reality. A truly symbiotic relationship exists among the groups and is based on balance—universal balance. You are absolutely correct to characterize the human soul-oriented dynamic as evolution in scope and function. And you are correct in identifying the nature dynamic as being involution in scope and function. Nature is a massive, intelligent consciousness group that expresses and functions within the many areas of involution, that is, moving soul-oriented consciousness into any dimension or level of form.
    Nature is the conscious reality that supplies order, organization and life vitality for this shift. Nature is the consciousness that is, for your working understanding, intimately linked with form. Nature is the consciousness that comprises all form on all levels and dimensions. It is form's order, organization and life vitality. Nature is first and foremost a consciousness of equal importance with all other consciousnesses in the largest scheme of reality. It expresses and functions uniquely in that it comprises all form on all levels and dimensions and is responsible for and creates all of form's order, organization and life vitality.

DEVAS AND NATURE SPIRITS
"Devas" and "nature spirits" are names used to identify two different expressions and functions within the nature consciousness. They are the two groups within the larger nature consciousness that interface with the human soul while in form. There are other groups, and they are differentiated from one another primarily by specific expression and function.
    To expand from our definition of form, it is the devic expression that fuses with consciousness to create order, organization and life vitality. The devic expression as the architect designs the complex order, organization and life vitality that will be needed by the soul consciousness while functioning within the scope or band of form. If the consciousness chooses to shift from one point of form to another point, thereby changing form function, it is the devic expression of nature that alters the organization, order and life vitality accordingly. The devic expression designs and is the creation of the order, organization and life vitality of form.
    The nature spirit expression infuses the devic order, organization and life vitality and adds to this the dynamic of function and working balance. To order, organization and life vitality it brings movement and the bond that maintains the alignment of the devic form unit to the universal principles of balance while the consciousness is in form.
    To say that nature is the expert in areas of form and form principles barely scratches the surface of the true nature (pardon the pun) of nature's role in form. It is the expert of form and it is form itself. A soul-oriented consciousness cannot exist on any level or dimension of form in any way without an equal, intimate, symbiotic relationship with the nature consciousness.

CONSCIOUSNESS
The concept of consciousness has been vastly misunderstood. To put it simply, consciousness is the working state of the soul. In human expression, as one sees it demonstrated on the planet Earth, the personality, character, emotional makeup, intellectual capacity, strong points and gifts of a human are all form. They are that which gives order, organization and life vitality to consciousness.
    We say "working state of the soul" because there are levels of soul existence that are different than the working state and can best be described as a simple and complete state of being. The closest that souls on Earth come to this notion is the state of unconsciousness. But this is to give you a glimpse of what we mean by "state of being." We urge you not to assume that what you know as unconsciousness is equal to the soul state of being. Humans tend to think of the soul as being something that exists far away from them because they are in form. This is an illusion. The core of any life is the soul. It cannot exist apart from itself. Like the heart in the human body, it is an essential part of the life unit. A human in form is, by definition, a soul fused with nature. Personality and character are a part of the nature/form package that allows the soul to function and to express itself in form. They are not the soul; they are the order and organization of that soul.
    Consciousness physically fuses into the body system first through the electrical system and then through the central nervous system and the brain. This is another aspect of nature supplying order, organization and life vitality. Consciousness itself cannot be measured or monitored as a reality. But what can be measured and monitored is the order, organization and life vitality of consciousness. Consciousness is the working state of the soul and is not form. It is nature, not consciousness, that supplies form.
    We wish to add a thought here so that there will be no confusion about the relationship between nature and the soul. The devic level of nature does not, with its own power, superimpose its interpretation of form onto a soul. We have said that nature and soul are intimately and symbiotically related. This implies a give and take. No one consciousness group operates in isolation of the whole or of all other parts of the whole. When a soul chooses to move within the vast band of form, it communicates its intent and purpose to nature. It is from this that nature, on the devic level, derives the specifics that will be needed for the soul to function in form. It is a perfect marriage of purpose with the order, organization and life vitality that is needed for the fulfillment of that purpose. Nature, therefore, does not define purpose and impose it on a soul. It orders, organizes and gives life vitality to purpose for expression of form.

SOUL
We perceive that most likely the question of soul will arise with anyone reading these definitions. This will be most difficult to define since the soul is, at its point of central essence, beyond form. Consequently, it is beyond words. However, it is not beyond any specific life form. As we have said, an individual is not separate or distant from his or her soul. Souls, as individuated life forces, were created in form at the moment you call the "Big Bang." Beyond form, souls are also beyond the notion of creation. So we refer to the moment of the Big Bang regarding the soul, since this gives you a description of soul that will be most meaningful to you.
    The Big Bang was the nature-designed order, organization and life force used to differentiate soul into sparks of individuated light energy. The power of the Big Bang was created by intent. And that intent originated from the massive collective soul reality beyond form.
    It is reasonable to look at the Big Bang as the soul's gateway to the immense band of form. To perceive the soul and how it functions exclusively from the perspective of human form on Earth is akin to seeing that planet from the perspective of one grain of sand. The soul's options of function and expression in form are endless. What we see occurring more frequently now on Earth is the shift from the individual soul unknowingly functioning in an array of options, all chosen only because they are compatible to the immediate purpose of the soul, to the individual beginning to function with discrimination and intent in more expanded ways. Using the words in their more limited, parochial definitions, we can say that we see the beginning of a shift from soul function in which an individuated personality remains unaware of many of its options to soul function in which the personality begins to take on conscious awareness of all its options.

ENERGY
For those experiencing life on Earth, energy is form that is perceived by an individual beyond the scope of the basic five senses. All energy contains order, organization and life vitality; therefore, all energy is form. The makeup and design of the specific order, organization and life vitality within that which can be perceived by the basic five senses is identical to and therefore harmonious with its broader reality, which cannot be perceived by the basic five senses. If one is to use the term "form" to identify that which can be perceived by the basic senses and the word "energy" to refer to that aspect of an animal, human, plant or object's reality that cannot be readily perceived by the basic senses, then one would be accurate in the use of these two words. However, if one is to use the word "form" to refer to that which can be perceived by the basic five senses and assume form to be a complete unit of reality unto itself, and use the word "energy" to refer to a level beyond form, one would then be using these two words inaccurately. From our perspective, form and energy create one unit of reality and are differentiated from one another solely by the individual's ability to perceive them with his or her sensory system. In short, the differentiation between that which is form and that which is energy within any given object, plant, animal or human lies with the observer.

BASIC SENSORY SYSTEM PERCEPTION
We define basic sensory system perception as being that which the vast majority of individuals on Earth experience. The acts of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and smelling fall within what we acknowledge as a basic, fundamental range of sensory development that is predominant on the Earth level. What is referred to as an "expansion experience" is, in fact, an act or experience that is perceived by an individual because of an expansion of the range in which his sensory system operates. Expansion experiences are not perceived outside or beyond an individual's electrical system, central nervous system and sensory system. These three systems are interrelated, and an accurate perception of an expansion experience requires that the three systems operate in concert. Therefore, it is quite possible for something to occur in an individual's life that registers in the person's electrical system and central nervous system but then short-circuits, is altered or is blocked simply because the person's present sensory system does not have the ability to process, due to its present range of operation, what has registered in the other two systems. People say that "these kinds of strange things never happen to me." This is inaccurate. "Strange" things, experiences and moments beyond the present state of their sensory systems, are continuously happening around them and to them. They are simply not at the point where their sensory systems are capable of clear, useful processing. They waste time by directing their will and focus to "make things happen." That is useless since things are happening all the time around them. Instead they should relax and continue through an organic developmental process that is already in effect and which will gradually allow them to accurately perceive what is happening around them. In some cases, where events or experiences are vaguely perceived or processed in outrageous, useless ways, their sensory system is expanding but still not operating within the range where events can be usefully processed.

REALITY
From our perspective, reality refers to all levels and dimensions of life experience within form and beyond form. Reality does not depend on an individual's perception of it in order to exist. We call an individual's perception of reality his "perceived reality." Any life system that was created in form (which occurred at the moment of the Big Bang) has inherent in it all dimensions and levels that exist both within form and beyond. How we relate to an individual or object depends on our present ability to enfold and envelop an individual's many levels. The scope within which one exists, the reality of one's existence, is truly beyond form, beyond description. If one understands that the evolutionary force which moves all life systems forward is endless—beyond time—then one must also consider that it is the continuous discovery of these vast levels inherent in all life systems that creates that evolutionary momentum. Since that dynamic is beyond time as expressed on any form level or dimension, it is endless.

PERCEIVED REALITY
This is the combination of elements that make up an individual's full system of reality and are perceived, embraced and enfolded by him or by another individual at any given time. From this, an individual "knows" himself or another individual only from the perspective of the specific combination of elements he or she is able to perceive, embrace and enfold. Any one element can be considered a window to the larger whole. When in form, these elements take on the dynamics of order, organization and life vitality and are demonstrated through these specific form frameworks. The extent to which perceived reality corresponds to the larger, all-encompassing reality depends on the ability of an individual to accurately demonstrate these elements within form frameworks and the ability of that or another individual to accurately perceive what is being demonstrated.

BALANCE
Balance is relative and measured, shall we say, by an individual's ability to faithfully demonstrate the various elements comprising his larger reality through the specific frameworks of form in which one has chosen to develop. When what one is demonstrating is faithful in intent and clarity with these elements and the larger reality, one experiences balance. And those interacting with this individual will experience his balance. One experiences imbalance when there is distortion between what one demonstrates through the form framework and the intent and clarity of the elements comprising the larger reality as well as the larger reality itself.
    If you truly look at what we are saying here, you will see that balance as a phenomenon is not an elusive state that only an exulted few can achieve. Balance is, in fact, inherent in all reality, in all life systems. Balance is defined by the many elements within any individual's reality. And it is the dominant state of being within any reality and any form system. It is also the state of being that links individual life systems to one another and to the larger whole. When one says that he is a child of the universe, what one is acknowledging is the relationship and link of his higher state of balance to the universe's state of balance. Whether one feels linked to or distant from this relationship, depends on the closeness or distance he creates within himself with respect to his larger personal state of balance?that dynamic which is part of his overall reality.

LIFE VITALITY
We have used this term frequently in these definitions and feel it would be useful to clarify what we mean. To understand life vitality, it is best to see it in relationship to order and organization. Order and organization are the physical structures that create the framework for form. In short, they define the walls. But we have included the dynamic of life vitality when we refer to form because one element of form is action, and it is life vitality that initiates and creates action. Nothing in form is stagnant. It is life vitality that gives to form its action. If the framework that is created from order and organization is incomplete, ineffective, deteriorating or being dismantled in an untimely manner, the dynamic of life vitality decreases within the overall form reality. This causes life movement to decrease accordingly, and is a movement towards a state of stagnation. It is the dynamic of vitality that gives life—movement—to any individual or object. Organization and order alone cannot do that. However, vitality without organization and order has no sense of purpose to its motion. It cannot function without organization and order. The three must be present and in balance with one another for there to be quality form expression. Nature, on the devic level, creates organization, order and life vitality in perfect balance. Nature, on the nature spirit level, maintains that balanced relationship as individual life units move through their evolutionary paces.
    We would like to illustrate what we are saying by focusing your attention on the soil-balancing process that improves and enhances the level of soil vitality. This process does not work directly with the soil's vitality level. Instead, it works with those elements of the soil that comprise its order and organization. The process shores up the physical structure of its order and organization. As a direct result, the soil begins to shift its form back to the original balance among organization, order and life vitality. As a consequence of this shift, the soil vitality level (the soil's life vitality) increases to its new state of balance. Those changes involve a comparable shift in the interaction and movement among all the different elements that comprise soil. This is why when someone observes change in a field that has had its soil balanced through the soil-balancing process, he sees greater efficiency between how the soil and plants interact. The action and movement in the soil have raised the soil's order and organizational structures back to the state (or nearer to the state) of the original devic balance of order, organization and life vitality.

GROUNDING
Quite simply, the word "grounded" is used to acknowledge full body/soul fusion or full matter/soul fusion. The word "grounding" refers to what must be accomplished or activated in order to both assure and stabilize body or matter/soul fusion. To be grounded refers to the state of being a fused body (matter)/soul unit. To achieve this unit fusion and to function fully as a fused unit is the primary goal one accepts when choosing to experience life within form. Functioning as a grounded body (matter)/soul unit is a goal on all levels and dimensions of form, whether the form can or cannot be perceived by the five senses.
    Nature plays two key roles in grounding. First, it is through and with nature that the grounding occurs. Nature, which organizes, orders and adds life vitality to create form, is what creates and maintains grounding. Secondly, the levels of nature know what is required to fuse the soul dynamic within form. Nature itself provides the best examples of body (matter)/soul fusion. Humans have recognized the form or matter existence of nature on the planet, but have only recently begun to understand that within all form there are fully functioning soul dynamics. On the other hand, humans acknowledge or concentrate on their personal soul dynamics but have little understanding as to how they, in order to be functional within form, must allow the soul to fuse with and operate through their form body. Humans do not see the examples and learn the lessons of the master teachers of body (matter)/soul fusion that surround them in all the kingdoms of nature. Humans also deny the fusion within themselves. The relative extent of this denial interferes proportionately with the quality and stabilization of the fusion.

INTENT
Intent refers to the conscious dynamic within all life that links life vitality with soul purpose and direction. When an individual uses free will to manipulate what he or she willfully desires instead of what is within the scope of higher soul purpose, then intent is combined with the manipulative power of free will and this combination is linked with life vitality. If you will recall, it is life vitality that adds action to order and organization. It both initiates and creates action. To maintain harmonious movement with soul purpose and direction, life vitality must be linked with the soul dynamic. This linkage occurs on two levels. One is unconscious, allowing for a natural patterning and rhythm of action through form that is consistent with soul purpose. As the body/soul fusion moves through its own evolutionary process as a functioning unit, it takes on a greater level of consciousness and an expanded level of awareness and knowing. As a result, the unconscious link between soul dynamic and life vitality takes on a new level of operation, thus shifting it into a state of consciousness. The shift is a gradual, step-by-step evolutionary process in itself. Intent is conscious awareness of soul purpose, what is required within the scope of form to achieve soul purpose, and how the two function as a unit. Consequently, when one wishes to express soul purpose, one need only consciously fuse this purpose with appropriate form and action. This act is what is referred to when one speaks of intent.
    Intent as a dynamic is an evolutionary process in itself and, as we have said, does not suddenly envelop one's entire life fully and completely. Intent is only gradually incorporated into one's everyday life. Therefore, one does not suddenly and immediately function within the full scope of the intent dynamic in those areas of life where intent is present. Intent as a dynamic is as broad a learning arena as life itself. And in the beginning, intent can often be confused with or intermingled with free will. However, as it is developed, it becomes the cutting edge of the body/soul unit and how it operates. Intent is the key to unlimited life within the scope of form.

INTUITION
Intuition, as it is popularly defined, relates to a sixth sense of operation. This is false. This is not a sixth sense. When individuals experience a phenomenon that they consider to be beyond their five senses, they tend to attribute this experience to another category, the sixth sense, and call it intuition. The fact is that these expanded experiences are processed through their five senses in an expanded manner.
    Intuition, in fact, is related to and linked with intent. It is the bridge between an individual's conscious body/soul fusion—that state which he knows and understands about the body/soul fusion and how it functions—and the individual's unconscious body/soul fusion. The intuition bridges the unconscious and the conscious. This enables what is known on the level of the unconscious body/soul fusion to be incorporated with and become a part of the conscious body/soul fusion. Intuition is the communication bridge between the two which makes it possible for the conscious body/soul unit to benefit from those aspects of the unconscious body/soul unit. This benefit results when the conscious unit opens to and moves through the lessons surrounding intent. Where intent is functioning fully, these two levels, the unconscious and the conscious, are no longer separate but have become one?the expanded conscious level. Consequently, there is then no need for the bridge known as intuition.
    However, lest you think otherwise, intent is not considered greater than intuition; rather, they are two excellent tools utilized equally by the highest developed souls functioning within form. We say this to caution those who read this not to think intent is "greater" than intuition and to be aimed for at the exclusion of intuition. Evolution as seen from the highest perspective is endless. Therefore, discovery of all there is to know about both intuition and intent is endless. For all practical purposes, an individual can safely consider that there will never be a time in which the development of intent will be such that the need for and development of intuition will be unnecessary. As we have said, the highest souls who function to the fullest within the scope of form do so with an equal development and expansion of both intent and intuition.

Moving on to the energy processes: Chapter 18 of the Perelandra Garden Workbook introduced three energy processes to be used in conjunction with nature in the garden and in agriculture in general. They are the Energy Cleansing Process, the Battle Energy Release Process and the Soil Balancing Process. Since publishing the Workbook, nature has focused on and expanded the work at Perelandra around co-creative, cooperative energy work. This has had such an astounding impact on the garden and on how I approach the garden that I am convinced that we are now to expand our understanding of working co-creatively with nature in a two-prong approach.
    The first seventeen chapters of the Workbook describe the first prong. They lay the foundation of co-creative gardening and farming by explaining to and instructing us in what I now call the "environmental" processes. We learn about working with nature to locate a garden properly, to design it well and to plan its rows, as well as what gets planted in those rows in a manner that encourages strength. We learn how to work with nature to discern what fertilizers are needed and how much, as well as how to incorporate animals and insects into the garden balance. All these processes focus on incorporating nature intelligences in how we work, what tools we choose, what seeds we select, where we put them and what planting rhythm we use. We ask nature to give us input around these very familiar practices so that we can upgrade and put into balance what we are already doing.
    Chapter 18 of the Workbook introduces the second prong and, along with it, a change in our work with nature intelligences. The three energy processes are not familiar gardening and farming practices either in concept or in approach. They are designed to allow us to work with nature on a level that is very different from finding out what fertilizers are needed and how much. In fact, these energy processes open a door to a new world in which we begin to discover that the balance and health of a garden and, for that matter, of all natural form are more complex than just finding out what fertilizer is needed. A balanced garden or farm environment must also include balanced energy and vitality. And this introduces us to the many elements of a balanced garden or farm that we can't see—the energy elements.
    My work with nature since 1987 has convinced me that environmental processes and energy processes may be very different in concept, but they are equal in importance. To work with nature co-creatively through the environmental processes but ignore energy processes would be to exclude half of the picture. We would, in effect, be tying one of our hands and one of nature's hands behind our respective backs.
    To understand why we need so many co-creative processes as we work with nature to develop a balanced and healthy garden or farm, it is important to understand that a garden or farm is not a natural nature environment. Both are created and developed by human beings. We got tired of all that hunting, foraging and moving around a long time ago and came up with the creative idea of centralizing everything we need for food survival in one convenient spot. We cannot go out into the wild, if there is such a thing left, and expect to find a vegetable garden or a family farm. We can find things to eat in the wild, but that would be foraging and hunting, not gardening and farming. So from the very beginning of gardening, we humans imposed our idea of convenient order and organization onto nature. Either we lost our understanding of what we did when we implemented the garden concept, or we never understood what we did and assumed that a garden or farm inherently has a nature balance. It does not. The difficulty we have had over the centuries in discovering an approach or method that would assure good balance and, at the same time, good production bears this out.
    What we have with a garden or farm (or any land management situation) is our need and our ideas about how to satisfy that need superimposed on top of nature. I don't for a minute want you to think that I am suggesting that we ditch the gardening and farming approach and return to hunting and foraging. We'd probably all starve to death. And I have never, in all of my work with nature intelligences, felt that nature wanted us to ditch these things. But what we do need to understand is that it is essential for us to work co-creatively and cooperatively with nature to develop a system and methods that will satisfy our practical needs as well as nature's need to strike a balance within any given environment. The two go hand in hand. The present global ecological disaster gives us ample evidence of what happens when we focus on our needs at the cost of nature's needs.

In trying to understand what is going on at Perelandra, people have assumed that nature has all the answers and all I have to do is listen and implement what they are saying. The result, these people reason, is perfection. Sometimes people think my cabbages smile and my rabbits sing arias. And, of course, my vegetables should each weigh no less than forty pounds. I bring all of this up because to maintain such myths is to completely misconstrue what is going on at Perelandra. That would do a disservice to those of you who are using the co-creative methods. These myths take us in a direction that is 180 degrees from the reality of what is happening when we work co-creatively with nature. In the myth, we humans are children who are told by our nature parents precisely what we are to do if we wish to have perfection. It's a myth that inspires laziness on our part. We relinquish all our responsibilities as intelligent humans capable of functioning intelligently.
    For us to work co-creatively with nature, we must work in partnership with nature. We must also understand that although nature fully knows the dynamics and relationship of energy to form, new processes must be developed when those dynamics are taken out of the natural arena and applied in new ways. An example is the garden. Plants grow in a natural arena. In the wild, nature knows how to apply the principles of energy and form that will create a balanced environment which will enhance all elements that are part of that environment. As I already pointed out, a garden does not grow in the wild. By creating gardens and farms, we humans defined new environments with new directions and purposes. We now need to allow nature the opportunity to develop new processes that are applicable to the new environment and that encompass the universal principles of energy and form. However, for the sake of our growth, understanding and overall efficiency in this situation, we need to work with nature in partnership. If we are to initiate new purpose and direction, new needs and goals and, at the same time, acquire from nature the means to achieve these objectives, we must work with nature directly and in partnership for good, solid, balanced development. Since 1976, Perelandra has been dedicated to working with nature in partnership, developing the processes necessary for establishing and maintaining the partnership, and developing the processes necessary for extending that partnership into the various environmental arenas in which humans and nature must work together to create. The environmental processes in the Workbook and the energy processes presented in Workbook II are the result of that partnership. They are designed to address the various issues that we and nature face in any environmental situation in which humans and nature impact upon one another. By definition, this impact implies that a partnership is needed and new processes must be applied.

OVERLIGHTING DEVA OF PERELANDRA
We would like to add our thoughts to what Machaelle has already said. With the introduction and implementation of the various co-creative energy processes coming from the work at Perelandra, we of nature feel that, indeed, we are entering a new stage in the ever-growing partnership that is being established between us and you. As Machaelle has explained, it is important that what we already know and have established as natural process within the arena of nature in the wild be appropriately modified, expanded and applied in the vast number of arenas where humans and nature have the opportunity to meet in partnership.
    Where there is partnership or where there is a need for partnership, we of nature will not automatically function as if a partnership is already formed and operating. Where man and nature come together, there must be conscious partnership. We will not assume both roles of a partnership and automatically give to humans the fruits of what would have resulted had there been a partnership. In short, without the partnership, nature will function in a manner that will best suit that which is needed for environmental balance as we know it. We will not automatically accommodate human need and desire. We will strive for environmental balance and assume that humans will modify their needs and desires accordingly. We in nature cannot take on the human role and supply human insight into the partnership. Consequently, where there is need for partnership—which, quite frankly, is in every endeavor of humans on Earth—there must be partnership in order for the new processes to be both developed and implemented.
    And this leads us to the next point: Just as we will not assume the role of the human in partnership when developing necessary processes, we will also not assume the full responsibility of implementing those processes when partnership is the intent. This is why we establish co-creative processes with both humans and nature in mind. The co-creative process maintains in its structure the human role and nature's role. One does not do the other's job. Only when nature is functioning within its own arena, an arena in which humans do not impact, is it appropriate for us to function as sole operators within the universal laws of matter and spirit, form and energy.
    It is true that we of nature are the creators and initiators of all order, organization and life vitality within the form reality. However, in areas of partnership, we do not supersede human intent with that which we know or that which we create. It is the human intent in this partnership around which we create nature's order, organization and life vitality.

Reprinted from the Perelandra Garden Workbook II by Machaelle Small Wright.
© 1990 Machaelle Small Wright. All Rights Reserved.