It's been a long time, and to catch up would take an even longer time. I just wanted to point out a site I've been writing for, for a wee while. It's called these new old traditions. I recently wrote about my wabi sabi life. Here's the first part:
Wabi-sabi is a Japanese term that does not translate well to English, but using a thousand words, perhaps we shall begin to understand. Wabi originally referred to the loneliness of living in nature, but now reflects a meaning more of rustic simplicity, freshness, or quietness. Wabi also refers to the quirks and imperfections that arise during the creation process. Sabi refers to the beauty which comes into being as something ages. According to wikipedia, “if an object or expression can bring about, within us, a sense of serene melancholy and a spiritual longing, then that object could be said to be wabi-sabi.” Also, wabi-sabi “nurtures all that is authentic by acknowledging three simple realities: nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.”
You can read more about wabi sabi in operation in Springfield especially.
I've recently been infused with divine RRRRAAWWWWRRRR!!!!! I think it is because spring is nearly here, or possibly, I'm just crazy. I got my seed order done today, and finally, FINALLY, found a 3-prong adapter so my grow lights can be powered by coal. Cabbage and broccoli sprouts, here we go. I'm re-learning how to prune as well.
Life is pretty sweet in Springfield, having many friends who moved into the neighborhood, all with an eye for community, beauty, gardening, all that good stuff.
sharqi
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
winter quarter in the days before Imbolc
I am excitedly stepping up to the plate of on-campus community organizing. The Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal" campaign touched down here last quarter, and I worked on it under the supervision of friend and experienced organizer CL. A project that is radical, tangible and together enough that my heart is feeling the fiery tongue of glory once again. Our goal is for OU to stop burning coal on campus (can you believe it, are we in Victorian England or what?) Now that our friend CL has left I have stepped up to lead the group. This is challenging in more ways than one, and it's relishing to have to stay on my toes, for it makes living turgid with qi so easy. The kick-off event for will be a panel discussion by alternative energy researchers. We will be exploring which energy technologies are hypothetically best for replacing fossil fuel immolation to heat campus buildings. Through this discussion we offer views of a route this school can take to energy interdependence with living processes. The administration and board of trustees is beginning to hear our message.
Groundhog's Day is Tuesday of next
week! The USAian holiday, featuring Marmoda monax as chief weather prognosticator, is based off of European traditions that came before it. Badgers and serpents used to be the reporters. The notion was that the hag of winter would either stay in and finish her snooze, thus spelling no more winter; or, she'd come out and make it nice for a day so she could gather more firewood! Those astute badgers would see their shadows and know exactly what was going on. Don't hate the hag, love her: without winter, would we experience the renewal of spring vigor with such joy? You might ask the hag to shorten the winter a bit, even though you like her gift well enough. You can vote with your CO2 emissions if your mind is made up.
Imbolc is the name neo-pagans have remembered for the holiday, halfway 'tween winter solstace and vernal equinox. The word means either "milk" or "in the belly", depending on whose translation of Gaelic you go with. The time was a celebration of the coming of nature's spring quickening, and farm animal lactation in particular because it arrived early, around this time. There'd be bonfires, herbed beer, and the desire to relieve from whatever psycho-somatic constipation you might have incurred while bundling up against the cold. My Athens-based, anarcho-pantheist discussion circle the Philosophers' Club designed a rite to celebrate Imbolc. We played a riff off of Campbell's "Belly of the Whale" archetype. This means disappearing off the face of the Earth for a time, and coming face to face with your shadow side. The objective here is to face the monster with a loving heart, so as to include more of it which is who part of who you really are, (the hurt and divine gifts that got put on the shelf), into who you act like you are. Our method is jumping in a freezing lake. The shock of submersion has the tendency to rip your etheric body from your astral, and when you come back to your psyche you briefly notice it as if you are a newcomer. New management, new policies. It's a good way to start the long spring cleanse cycle. Last year we chanted around a fire and then dunked through a hole in the ice, taking turns getting naked, cold and then warm again. 11 or 14 of us in a row, with many spectators, made the plunge into "Sophia's womb".
Other news: Naomi is getting interviewed for two nature-based curriculum design gigs. One in Cincy at Imago, next to Enright Ridge Ecovillage. Go on with your savvy self, dear woman. I am taking Spanish, SCUBA, plant classification, and propagation. My home DIY ambition for this quarter is starting to grow Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushrooms), and to make another batch of miso. I made some bombin' sourdoughed granola last week. Soak culture then drain 48 oz oats, mix in 16 oz shredded coconut, plus 24 oz soaked nuts, 12 oz raisins, 1/2 c. honey, 1/2 c. olive oil, tbs. cinnamon, tsp salt. Dry on low in oven or in dehydrating contraption.
Groundhog's Day is Tuesday of next
week! The USAian holiday, featuring Marmoda monax as chief weather prognosticator, is based off of European traditions that came before it. Badgers and serpents used to be the reporters. The notion was that the hag of winter would either stay in and finish her snooze, thus spelling no more winter; or, she'd come out and make it nice for a day so she could gather more firewood! Those astute badgers would see their shadows and know exactly what was going on. Don't hate the hag, love her: without winter, would we experience the renewal of spring vigor with such joy? You might ask the hag to shorten the winter a bit, even though you like her gift well enough. You can vote with your CO2 emissions if your mind is made up.Imbolc is the name neo-pagans have remembered for the holiday, halfway 'tween winter solstace and vernal equinox. The word means either "milk" or "in the belly", depending on whose translation of Gaelic you go with. The time was a celebration of the coming of nature's spring quickening, and farm animal lactation in particular because it arrived early, around this time. There'd be bonfires, herbed beer, and the desire to relieve from whatever psycho-somatic constipation you might have incurred while bundling up against the cold. My Athens-based, anarcho-pantheist discussion circle the Philosophers' Club designed a rite to celebrate Imbolc. We played a riff off of Campbell's "Belly of the Whale" archetype. This means disappearing off the face of the Earth for a time, and coming face to face with your shadow side. The objective here is to face the monster with a loving heart, so as to include more of it which is who part of who you really are, (the hurt and divine gifts that got put on the shelf), into who you act like you are. Our method is jumping in a freezing lake. The shock of submersion has the tendency to rip your etheric body from your astral, and when you come back to your psyche you briefly notice it as if you are a newcomer. New management, new policies. It's a good way to start the long spring cleanse cycle. Last year we chanted around a fire and then dunked through a hole in the ice, taking turns getting naked, cold and then warm again. 11 or 14 of us in a row, with many spectators, made the plunge into "Sophia's womb".
Other news: Naomi is getting interviewed for two nature-based curriculum design gigs. One in Cincy at Imago, next to Enright Ridge Ecovillage. Go on with your savvy self, dear woman. I am taking Spanish, SCUBA, plant classification, and propagation. My home DIY ambition for this quarter is starting to grow Pleurotus ostreatus (oyster mushrooms), and to make another batch of miso. I made some bombin' sourdoughed granola last week. Soak culture then drain 48 oz oats, mix in 16 oz shredded coconut, plus 24 oz soaked nuts, 12 oz raisins, 1/2 c. honey, 1/2 c. olive oil, tbs. cinnamon, tsp salt. Dry on low in oven or in dehydrating contraption.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
finally, ginseng!; questionable cucumber internet meme still intriguing
i am buying a sack of ginseng seed and setting up some guerilla gardens around certain of my communities' centers. it's $75/lb. i got a hookup through rural action. the king of the forest returns to share adaptogenic immortality with those of us savvy enough to respect! i cannot publicly divulge the sites, lest rogues come and stake out ground zero and sneak off with the roots. not that they'll be ready for a few years yet.
in other plant news, there is this rumor that cucumbers are not just the poor semite's bitter watermellon. this information is questionable (it claims to be from the NYTimes but it ain't on their site) but i do find munching on fresh cukes is a good way to keep cool and hydrated in the summer months
http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2009/10/49154_space.html
This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their `Spotlight on the Home` series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don`t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don`t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don`t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a `green` way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won`t leave streaks and won`t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!
in other plant news, there is this rumor that cucumbers are not just the poor semite's bitter watermellon. this information is questionable (it claims to be from the NYTimes but it ain't on their site) but i do find munching on fresh cukes is a good way to keep cool and hydrated in the summer months
http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2009/10/49154_space.html
This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part of their `Spotlight on the Home` series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.
1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5, Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Zinc.
2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.
3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.
4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.
5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!
6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium, avoiding both a hangover and headache!!
7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by European trappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.
8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don`t have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.
9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!
10. Stressed out and don`t have time for massage, facial or visit to the spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers and college students during final exams.
11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don`t have gum or mints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing bad breath.
12. Looking for a `green` way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainless steel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but is won`t leave streaks and won`t harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.
13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!
Friday, October 30, 2009
water quality and the Temperance card
If you don't like the taste of a halogen gas that's toxic in micrograms, Bottlemania author author Elizabeth Royte advises for dechlorinating your tap water. The quickest way is to pour a body of water between two containers, back and forth for 5 repetitions. Tastier, purified water then remains after chlorine has evaporated out at an accelerated rate. The sound and tones of water falling in on itself as you practice guiding all the water in or between the cups. The scene reminds me of tarot card 14. I have been wanting to talk about tarot more and now it's time to start the conversation.
Successfully interpreting wisdom from a tarot card is based on, among other things, having thoughtfully lived through experiences that intuitively relate to what's on the card. Back in your past, (or in a story), is an experience that can serve as an entrance for your imagination to the event on the card. This information gets transmitted to you as impulses, thoughts, feelings, etc. As Buhner admonishes, don't tdiscount any data that comes to you during your seance. Lately when I offer a reading, I ask the querent to verbally describe what they observe happening on the card as a starting point. Then we discuss what both of us are feeling in response to the card. There never fails to be an outpouring of incite. Examining the symbol lore increasingly enriches theses discourse as I've heard more and more versions of the "Fool's Journey" from seasoned bards of various stripes.
"The Fool" is the first card in the major arcana sequence. Actually it is card 0, and in that sense eternal and utlimately non-existent. The picture usually shows a light-stepped traveler, walking down from the top of the mountain with a rose they've picked to give to the world below. (It's the path from Keter to Hokma) A small animal barks around their feet, perhaps just excited to be starting the journey, maybe trying to warn them of the noise and pain they will experience. Either way, the eternal boddhisatva Fool is cheerful and unlikely to be shocked into haulting.
"Continuing on his spiritual path, the Fool begins to wonder how to reconcile the opposites that he's been facing: material and spiritual (which he hung between as the Hanged man), death and birth (the one leading into the other in the Death card). It is at this point that he comes upon a winged figure standing with one foot in a brook, the other on a rock. The radiant creature pours something from one flask into another. Drawing closer, the Fool sees that what is being poured from one flask is fire, while water flows from the other. The two are being blended together!
"How can you mix fire and water?" the Fool finally whispers. Never pausing the Angel answers, "You must have the right vessels and the right proportions." The Fool watches with wonder. "Can this be done with all opposites?" he asks. "Indeed," the Angel replies, "Any oppositions, fire and water, man and woman, thesis and anti-thesis, can be made to harmonize. It is only a lack of will and a disbelief in the possibility of unity that keeps opposites, opposite." And that is when the Fool begins to understand that he is the one who is keeping his universe in twain, holding life/death, material world and spiritual world separate. In him, the two could merge, as in the vessels that the Angel uses to pour the elements, one to the other. All it takes, the Fool realizes, is the right proportions....and the right vessel."
On the Tree of life, Temperance represents the path between Yesod and Tiferet, the lunar and the solar aspects of God. Using your positive emotions (party to the 6th Sephirot, Tiferet) be the guiding force on your expression of erotic desire (housed in 9th Sephirot, Yesod) the path from the moon to the sun and it is part of the straight shot to Ultimate Reality. Submitting to desire out of love is the archetypal example. The other way I have found to look at this is, intelligently paying attention to one's instinctual impulses and following them through. BEING HONEST WITH ONESELF BECOMES MANDATORY DURING CRISIS, and after you get there lies an opportunity to make a holy habit of self-accountability. Exploring that subject is leading me into another path (that of the Hermit), 'tween Tiferet and Chesed. Outwardly that seems comically paradoxical, because I'm more intensely and convivially engaged with other humans than ever. It's internal alchemy of the psyche we're talking here, so no paradox. Talking more about that now would be an unwise decision, because over-analyzing a living prcoess over-emphasizes the intellect sphere (Hod) above the other means of experience, and that has been a blockage to further attainment for me that's decisively been removed to the composter.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Badger -----> Athens
In a house with two buddies, gettin' exceedingly tight with 'em. Naybot comes to visit on the weekends, and time's such good repast midterms are here in the blink of an eye.
Michael Seiser turned me onto a concept from Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen : that is, run barefoot on loving, living turf and running becomes a tool of bliss knocking on the spillway of your bubbling springs of endorphins. Come in, come in! Having not run for awhile, yesterday I ran, quickly and with enough attention to smell the plants I ran by with new running partner Leia, for an hour plus! Was barefoot on the grass next to a rails to trail path that leads past campus and into the forest. My legs feel good, and yearn for stretching and more action. I'm giving 'em what they're asking for.
The newest fermentation creation is "natto", cooked then soybeans then fermented with Bacillus subtilis. That strain is from GEM Cultures:, and it costs less than the price of a decent fish taco. The critters pump out, among Vitamin B12, long-coveted by health-conscious vegans. The product itself is savory, strong, and smells bad to my unaccustomed nose. The golden, organic soybeans cost just over $1/lb. Throw it on that brown rice with a banana and soysauce and you got yourself a blissfoolish feast. It's gettin' pressed omnidirectionally onto all my friends, see me and you can be next in line.
namasteX93
Michael Seiser turned me onto a concept from Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen : that is, run barefoot on loving, living turf and running becomes a tool of bliss knocking on the spillway of your bubbling springs of endorphins. Come in, come in! Having not run for awhile, yesterday I ran, quickly and with enough attention to smell the plants I ran by with new running partner Leia, for an hour plus! Was barefoot on the grass next to a rails to trail path that leads past campus and into the forest. My legs feel good, and yearn for stretching and more action. I'm giving 'em what they're asking for.
The newest fermentation creation is "natto", cooked then soybeans then fermented with Bacillus subtilis. That strain is from GEM Cultures:, and it costs less than the price of a decent fish taco. The critters pump out, among Vitamin B12, long-coveted by health-conscious vegans. The product itself is savory, strong, and smells bad to my unaccustomed nose. The golden, organic soybeans cost just over $1/lb. Throw it on that brown rice with a banana and soysauce and you got yourself a blissfoolish feast. It's gettin' pressed omnidirectionally onto all my friends, see me and you can be next in line.
namasteX93
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
while exploring my body, I observe bipolarity, and a gestalt of info on future dwelling space comes through
At work and at home, I have been expending some effort at coaxing my mind to stay on task and in the present. I've also brought my heart and emotions to the game at the same time, like I've been talking about in the post before last. I find that more of my attention flows towards how I am feeling. I have big ups and downs. During my highs I access spurts of energy which I automatically, creatively channel, often to have conversation or go deeper into hobbies. Whether I am processing inside or dialoguing, it comes freely and clearly and cleanly. I imagine maintaining around where the mood feels great, as the upswing is stabilizing to a plateau. Dancing around that spot without going past there. Stress could be used to keep me in the zone even as I pedal forward, providing resistance so I pulse in that levitated state. In the past, though, I have repeatedly sped up with the gushy feelings, all the short way to a point of frenziedly propelling off-course. Nose diving, my integrity and willforces would scatter and the skeletal root of my ego gets exposed. The nourishing medium for my attention seemingly evaporated, Nuit's tits run dry and a void yawns from which all sensation begets a bafflingly intense mental anguish.
Am I bipolar? From reading "Bipolar Disorder Demystified" and learning about the symptoms, it seems that I may be. Knowing about dopamine deficiencies and such is the opportunity for developing a more effective treatment regimine. Looking back, I can crow at freeing myself from a threadbare, self-fulling belief. Painfully gasping for life like a fish out of water most of the time DOES NOT buy or earn feeling fresh or groovy. I'm gunning for that without detouring to hell. "The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not." Everyone has to deal with mood swings. I am and shall be tasting of this triumph! so mote it be. Zen Master Bo Mun's words are pertinent:
"There are two formal aspects to Zen practice: the killing sword and the sword that gives life. The killing sword means, how do we give ourselves to the situation? How, without repressing, do we let go of our condition, opinion, and situation and really offer ourselves to what's going on in the moment? For most of us that requires a fair amount of hard work. Sometimes it's painful and difficult. If we try to live that way all the time, only being "good" or only taking certain roles, most of us find that it doesn't work. We become brittle, irritable, out of balance. We do many things with such a charge behind them that we put ourselves in precarious situations.
The other aspect is the sword that gives life: the experience of empowering ourselves, doing things which come naturally, that we love to do and find fulfillment in. When we do too many of these things, most of us get a certain softness or flatness. There's no keen working edge to our practice. It's hard to believe in ourselves if we go too far to that side."
I like that: my mind has a cutting edge, and I ain't lettin' it slap and slash my thigh brain. I am working at a job whose results I ain't particularly attached to, and it is providing an arena for practicing with the killing sword. Turning it around and clearing my space for free loving happens at home, during play, at the beach, in altered states of consciousness...
With that, let's turn to the other topic. Lately, the structure of my future habitat is becoming clearer. Naomi's uncle Mark rented Garbage warrior, a documentary about the architect Mike Reynolds and his life's work, "earthships". Watch the vids below.
After seeing Garbage Warrior, I was wondering about homescale windmills for powering your home. This fella from Malawi, William Kamkwamba, is inspiring me. "When he was 14, he built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap, working from rough plans he found in a library book called "Using Energy" and modifying them to fit his needs. The windmill he built powers four lights and two radios in his family home." Kudos, dude!
Am I bipolar? From reading "Bipolar Disorder Demystified" and learning about the symptoms, it seems that I may be. Knowing about dopamine deficiencies and such is the opportunity for developing a more effective treatment regimine. Looking back, I can crow at freeing myself from a threadbare, self-fulling belief. Painfully gasping for life like a fish out of water most of the time DOES NOT buy or earn feeling fresh or groovy. I'm gunning for that without detouring to hell. "The light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not." Everyone has to deal with mood swings. I am and shall be tasting of this triumph! so mote it be. Zen Master Bo Mun's words are pertinent:
"There are two formal aspects to Zen practice: the killing sword and the sword that gives life. The killing sword means, how do we give ourselves to the situation? How, without repressing, do we let go of our condition, opinion, and situation and really offer ourselves to what's going on in the moment? For most of us that requires a fair amount of hard work. Sometimes it's painful and difficult. If we try to live that way all the time, only being "good" or only taking certain roles, most of us find that it doesn't work. We become brittle, irritable, out of balance. We do many things with such a charge behind them that we put ourselves in precarious situations.
The other aspect is the sword that gives life: the experience of empowering ourselves, doing things which come naturally, that we love to do and find fulfillment in. When we do too many of these things, most of us get a certain softness or flatness. There's no keen working edge to our practice. It's hard to believe in ourselves if we go too far to that side."
I like that: my mind has a cutting edge, and I ain't lettin' it slap and slash my thigh brain. I am working at a job whose results I ain't particularly attached to, and it is providing an arena for practicing with the killing sword. Turning it around and clearing my space for free loving happens at home, during play, at the beach, in altered states of consciousness...
With that, let's turn to the other topic. Lately, the structure of my future habitat is becoming clearer. Naomi's uncle Mark rented Garbage warrior, a documentary about the architect Mike Reynolds and his life's work, "earthships". Watch the vids below.
After seeing Garbage Warrior, I was wondering about homescale windmills for powering your home. This fella from Malawi, William Kamkwamba, is inspiring me. "When he was 14, he built an electricity-producing windmill from spare parts and scrap, working from rough plans he found in a library book called "Using Energy" and modifying them to fit his needs. The windmill he built powers four lights and two radios in his family home." Kudos, dude!
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Tami Brunk's astrology
I've been wanting a decent Occidental astrology page to peruse, and now, due to what I see as an allignment between the post on my July emotional growth, and her view of the cosmos's energies and their impact on human life, I'd like to link Tami in the sidebar. Except she doesn't have a page with her newsletter on it right now, so you'd have to e-mail her to get on her list at tamibrunk@yahoo.com This is what the passage that seems to correspond truthfully with my post:
"Venus Enters Cancer and Galactic Edge—What is Being Birthed Through Us?
Just yesterday, on July 31st, Venus moved into the Sacred Hoop at 0 degrees Cancer. This area of the sky is Galactic Edge, marking the intersection point of the ecliptic and the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. It is the space in the sky that looks outward from the center of our Galaxy into space. It is understood as an origination or birthing place—appropriate for the beginning stages of the Cancerian Sign of the Great Mother.
It is a beautiful time to take note of what aspects of your being are being birthed right now. July’s eclipses brought a lot of old shadow material up for many of us, hurt places from our past, old scars and fears that we have allowed to limit us and our experience of joy for far too long. We have worked so hard to release these things, we have done so well!
Now is the time to celebrate and nurture the vulnerable, unfolding newness emerging within us. What new spaces are opening up in our hearts, in our minds? How do we FEEL ourselves to be new and different at an energetic level? It is a good time to provide ourselves and those we love with plenty of nurturing, compassion, and tenderness. We would do well to apply the essential wisdom of Cancer—the innate knowing of how to nurture something—whether it is a child, a new aspect of self, a new desire, a new understanding—to develop into its fullness and uniqueness. Be kind, pay attention. We are growing into maturity in our own perfect time."
"Venus Enters Cancer and Galactic Edge—What is Being Birthed Through Us?
Just yesterday, on July 31st, Venus moved into the Sacred Hoop at 0 degrees Cancer. This area of the sky is Galactic Edge, marking the intersection point of the ecliptic and the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. It is the space in the sky that looks outward from the center of our Galaxy into space. It is understood as an origination or birthing place—appropriate for the beginning stages of the Cancerian Sign of the Great Mother.
It is a beautiful time to take note of what aspects of your being are being birthed right now. July’s eclipses brought a lot of old shadow material up for many of us, hurt places from our past, old scars and fears that we have allowed to limit us and our experience of joy for far too long. We have worked so hard to release these things, we have done so well!
Now is the time to celebrate and nurture the vulnerable, unfolding newness emerging within us. What new spaces are opening up in our hearts, in our minds? How do we FEEL ourselves to be new and different at an energetic level? It is a good time to provide ourselves and those we love with plenty of nurturing, compassion, and tenderness. We would do well to apply the essential wisdom of Cancer—the innate knowing of how to nurture something—whether it is a child, a new aspect of self, a new desire, a new understanding—to develop into its fullness and uniqueness. Be kind, pay attention. We are growing into maturity in our own perfect time."
Sunday, July 26, 2009
"Farmer planning diesel tree biofuel"
September 19, 2006 - 2:54PM
So now there is no-til biobiesel, a gift from a tree. Maybe horses or oxen are better than the tractors this article imply. A tractor doesn't need to be fed every day because it's not alive, but maintenance is expensive on machines, they don't reproduce or make manure, and humans can have wonderful relationships with farm animals. That the trees are still alive and growing throughout being harvested amazes me, though. -BBJ
-----------
They say that money doesn't grow on trees, but a Queensland farmer believes fuel does.
Mike Jubow, a nursery wholesaler from Mackay, has begun importing seed from Brazil to plant diesel trees.
The tropical trees, which have the botanic name copaifera langsdorfii, produce a biofuel that can be tapped, filtered and used to power machinery such as tractors.
It is estimated a one hectare plantation could produce 12,000 litres of fuel a year - enough to make a small farm fuel self-sufficient.
Mr Jubow, who operates the Nunyara Wholesale Forestry Nursery and has been in the industry for 14 years, said he had heard about the trees from a colleague attending a forestry conference.
"I pricked my ears and thought 'This guy is having a go at me' but when I came home I got onto the net and typed in diesel tree and there it was," Mr Jubow said.
"I thought 'I've got to get seeds for this thing' and it's taken me three years to track them down."
He sourced the seed from Brazil and says the first seedlings would be available in late January.
The recommended method of growing them is to plant 1,000 trees on a hectare of land, preferably in a tropical area, then test them for their vigour, growth and yield about three years later, which ordinarily would lead to culling about half of them.
About four to six years later they would be measured again before culling them down to between 250 and 350 of the best trees, which would be inter-bred and harvested for seed.
Mr Jubow said a large mature tree would yield about 40 litres of diesel a year, which equated to about 12,000 litres per hectare of trees.
"It becomes astonishingly viable for a farmer to have a piece of his most productive land to get the tree up and running and then he can be independent from the fuel companies for the rest of his life," he said.
They are known to produce fuel for 70 years.
While the fuel cannot be stored for more than a few months it can be tapped.
But even if it is left too long, it thickens into copaiba oil, which is used in alternative medicines and fetches around $100 a litre in the United States.
And at the end of the tree's life, it can be milled to produce a light brown timber favoured by cabinet makers.
"There's nothing wasted on the tree," Mr Jubow said.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Love, darkness and light, and truth too
It's Saturday afternoon, the sky is grey but the flowers are bright on the lawn. Especially the Sonchus arvensis pictured here, which grows in everyone's lawn and is considered a nerve tonic. Naomi and I are relaxed and hanging out together in the upstairs study. Neither of us have work today, and we're both doing little personal projects and talking about them to one another. Pampering ourselves. It's very nice, and very chill.
Having fun while being relaxed has been a rare privilege in my life, recently. I have worked really hard in this relationship to be true to both people, and it's taken me into new inner territory where being truthful is scary. Scary, because I am being shown my scary, disowned faces and having to feeling their pain. Because I deeply love Naomi, any time that I act from a non-loving place or disconnected place, we both notice and I have light shown into whatever dark place inside me that the numbness or hate came from. Also, my qi kung practice has gotten to the point where I medidate on my different organs, each of which is a generator and storehouse of emotion. Djinns of the body, that communicate more easilly than plants when I thank and extend my love to them. I voluntarilly am extending my hand and my love to the freaky Badgers inside, and finding out what they need to reemerge as viable facets of my personality. It's given me fresh perspective on life.
Before this relationship, I thought that when I found my calling and followed it I would automatically be in the clear, because self-development just happened unconsciously. So I would stop being stressed out and individuate/evolve without having to pay attention and accomplish my life's mission. That was just the idea of my life, though, and no matter how much energy I pumped it up with it couldn't be corporeally real. That was when I was really depressed and I didn't want to look inside. Now I'm learning to paddle in emotionally choppy waters without capsizing, so the fear of intimacy with self and other is not so intense. So life is more intimate, and I have attention to give to other people and projects. Yes!
Staying in my head, even scheming planetary permaculture enlightenment, eventually leaves me in the darkness of my skull- besides the fleeting brilliance that dances over my third eye, who only sticks around if conditions are right. Opening my heart, to emotionally engage in communication with Naomi and other humans, not only analyzing with my intellect, that's what brings the light of the world inside. With the heart's fire, the Third Eye's light dances and pulsates into manifesting all change I wish to see.
God, I am thankful for Naomi's existence, and thankful too that I am so intimately sharing in it. Really connecting with her unique and beautiful experience, makes me understand its independent and equally valid and precious relaity. The ah-hah moments here have been hilarious and humiliating. Heart-stretching. I'm feeling more confidant and optimistic for settling down with community.
It's so interesting, Carrie, that you are into Stephen Buhner @ the same time I am. His words have helped me bring these ideas to consciousness and articulate my experience. Also, it's good to be writing again.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
semen
Semen is Latin
for a dormant, fertilized
plant ovum--
a seed.
Man's ejaculate
is chemically more akin
to plant pollen.
See,
it is really
more accurate
to call it
mammal pollen.
To call it
semen
is to thrust
an insanity
deep inside our culture:
that men plow women
and plant their seed
when, in fact,
what they are doing
is pollinating flowers.
Now.
Doesn't that change everything between us?
--by Stephen Harrod Buhner, from the book the Secret Teachings of Plants
It's yet another book that is blowing my mind, makes me feel like I'm on psychedelic drugs, clears and calms me like the tao te ching, explains chaos and fractals so I can see how mountains are alive and the possibilities are infinite, as are our responses to them. Yep.
carey
for a dormant, fertilized
plant ovum--
a seed.
Man's ejaculate
is chemically more akin
to plant pollen.
See,
it is really
more accurate
to call it
mammal pollen.
To call it
semen
is to thrust
an insanity
deep inside our culture:
that men plow women
and plant their seed
when, in fact,
what they are doing
is pollinating flowers.
Now.
Doesn't that change everything between us?
--by Stephen Harrod Buhner, from the book the Secret Teachings of Plants
It's yet another book that is blowing my mind, makes me feel like I'm on psychedelic drugs, clears and calms me like the tao te ching, explains chaos and fractals so I can see how mountains are alive and the possibilities are infinite, as are our responses to them. Yep.
carey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)