Hi
Everyone,
What can I say about the Butler Symphony Garden Tour
yesterday? It was heavenly, peaceful, inspiring, and socially invigorating!
Words, just as Eben Alexander III tries to use to explain his near death
experience in his book Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey
Into the Afterlife, do not come close to detailing the
many sensory images we enjoyed as we strolled through the breathtaking gardens
on the tour.
Barb K., Becky F., Lori, and I met along with Theresa Beck
at the Country Kitchen for breakfast to start our book club’s special day.
After our diner fare, we drove to Walter Woods, the outdoor sanctuary that Dr.
Walters, our childhood dentist and his wife nurtured over the many years living
in their home. Dr. Walters greeted us in the field where we parked. I just had
to thank him not only for my good teeth but for his kindness. I didn’t know if
he remembered, but he opened his office on a Sunday to attend to a severe
toothache I was having as a teen to perform a root canal. What dentist would do
that today?
Dr. Walter’s wife was as kindly as her husband. She offered
us water at the house and even invited us in for a brief tour of their comfy
home. Interesting pieces of antique furnishings such as Dr. Walter’s dental implement
bureau and a coffee table that belonged to her father add topics for
conversation to their den. Mrs. Walters wanted so much for us to stay and watch
a video with her of her hosta gardens, but not being a digital native, she was
unable to work the DVD player. In her defense, out of the five of us, none of
us were able to get the “play” function to operate either! Sadly, we had to
leave Walter Woods and the hospitality and friendship we shared for that short
hour. Little did we know that our day would be filled with conversations with
passionate gardeners whose hearts are as warm and earthy as the soil they tend.
Leslie and Joan Ames welcomed us in their distinctive British
accent to their lovely home that overlooks the Freeport-Butler bike trail. Prim
and petite, Joan scooted around the gardens in her skirt and vinyl garden boots
ready to identify each and every plant. All too amazing to describe were the
glacial boulders, the natural features enhancing their beautiful backyard. From
the rocky cliffs Joan designed a magnificent waterfall feature that flows into
a lovely lily pond. Augmenting Joan’s enthusiastic details were the interesting
anecdotes her husband Leslie added. A true English gentleman, Leslie endeared
us even more to his gardens and his home.
All of the gardens and their owners were lovely people. We
became so entranced in the mystical qualities a beautiful garden exudes that we
almost forgot to discuss our book. Stopping at the Meridian Station for the
Symphony’s refreshments, we sat under their peaceful gazebo and ate at one of
the tables covered in floral linens and centered with a basket of mixed budding
annuals. There we examined many passages that detailed and authenticated Eben
Alexander III’s near death experience (NDE).
We mulled over Alexander’s pronoun for God, the term “Om.”
As I said at the beginning of this letter, Alexander had difficulty describing
and putting words to his near death experience. “Om” or omniscient was the
sound he remembered for God. Alexander also remembers Om’s revelation that
there are many universes and that love lies at the center of all of them. The
understanding that evil is present in all of them but only in trace amounts
should comfort us all. Alexander learned that “… evil is necessary because without
it, free will is impossible, and without freewill there can be no growth, no
chance for us to become what God longed for us to be.” As horrible as that may
sound, the truth that “love” always triumphs over evil is the greatest lesson
Alexander remembers. Love above all is what Alexander wants us to learn, we are
loved more than our human minds can understand. His book is written to announce
this truth, not just to the mainstream but to the educated elite.
As a scientist and doctor, Alexander has learned something
through his NDE that can transform the way of scientific medicine for the
future. He has learned that “consciousness is not only very real- it’s actually
more real than the rest of physical existence and most likely the basis of it
all.” As a neurosurgeon who understands the human mind as very few people in
the world can equally claim, Alexander believes that his illness was
specifically chosen from all other diseases so that his NDE could unfold and be
analyzed and scrutinized by himself, a scientist of the human mind, and others
in his field. He hopes that others scientists will open up to a reality that
indeed there is a realm that goes beyond death that no scientific expert has
yet to comprehend. We owe Dr. Alexander a world of thanks for writing this book
which puts him in a place within his profession where he is susceptible to mockery.
Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife
was the perfect book to discuss on the day of our garden tour. As we were all
feeling the healing and restorative qualities that cultivate from time spent in
nature’s splendor, we did indeed sensed the breath of heaven in our
conversation. “A warm wind blew through, like the kind that spring up on the
most perfect summer days, tossing the leaves of the trees and flowing past like
heavenly water. A divine breeze,” as Alexander describes and we felt it.
Next month’s book takes us from the serious to the humorous.
We chose Bon Appetit by Carolyn
Haines as our next reading fare. Echoing a humor that verges between a few of
our past picks like the murder mystery One
for the Money and the craziness of Shop-o-holic,
I’m not certain what we are getting into with this one, but with the cast of zany
characters and kooky plotline, we are sure to spend the month of July laughing
from, ideally, our beach chairs!
Our next meeting will be on Wednesday, July 17, at Randita’s
Grill, an organic vegan café, in Saxonburg at 6 PM to discuss Bon Appetit. We can sit on their garden
patio and try some of the many delicious menu choices Randy makes home made in
the restaurant’s kitchen. Her food is truly an experience from her meatless
meatballs, her homemade lime vinegrette salad dressing, to her African soup.
Check out the Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/RanditasGrill
to find out more.
Hope to see you there to discuss Butler Women of Wisdom’s
discuss 93rd book!
Tammy :)
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