you're made of chemicals!

“PFC’s have the ability to make an object oil, stain and water resistant, therefore they are used extensively for food packaging. ‘Fluoro’telomers (a PFC) are used to coat microwave popcorn bags. The controversial perfluoro chemical, PFOA is formed as an unintended byproduct of fluorotelomers (it is also used in the manufacture of PFCs). Another perfluoro chemical, PFOS, also remains as a residual impurity in some paper coatings used for food contact. Both PFOS and POSF are considered Persistent Organic Pollutants. Both are found in the lining of your popcorn bag.”

what else? “The epidural administered during child delivery utilizes fluoropolymers in the drug delivery device. Nearly every catheter used in surgical procedures has a coating of fluoropolymer.”

they’re everywhere.  ”Even polar bears  have PFCs in their tissue and blood.”

i’m made of chemicals. you’re made of chemicals. the world is made of chemicals. now what?

Food Unites, Diets Divide

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So, you’re a veganvegetarian/raw/pescatarian/kosher/carnivore/freegan/natural eater. Or, maybe you aren’t doing any diet right now, but you’ve declared one of these labels as “you” in the past. Did you ever hear this:

            “But, you’re a [insert label here], so, you can’t have this, right?”

What about:

“They’re not a [insert label here]. They ate [whatever] for lunch. They’re faking it.”

Maybe you didn’t hear this one, but thought your friends were saying it behind your back (or maybe you said it behind the backs of others). 

 Why all the hoop-lah over what goes in your body?  Why does everyone seem to care as soon as you, for whatever reason, come to the conclusion that your diet needs to change, and adopt one of these labels as your new dietary regime?

 I, for one, believe that what you choose to put into your body is quite important. Food is energy, connecting us to our own bodies, to our communities, and to our sacred home, Earth.  I believe that one’s own body is the only entity that can decide what is good and what is not-so-good for one’s body to consume. It is important to cultivate a loving relationship with your body if you wish to be able to listen to your body when it’s trying to tell you something.

 I object to the idea that there is one dietary regime that is right for everyone; just like most people object the idea that one government regime should rule the world. I reject the strict rules of say, a vegan diet, that people feel the need to adhere to due to societal pressure.  Instead of recognizing food as a basic necessity for all life that connects everything and everyone, we get lost in the labels, arguing with one another. There are entire tumblrs dedicated to hating on vegans, just as there are entire tumblrs dedicated to praising a vegan lifestyle.  Just like there are entire armies of people fighting and entire armies to fight against them. We all get lost in all the hoop-lah behind labels. 

 We need to get out of the regime and start becoming free thinkers and self-aware eaters.  No diet can tell you what’s ethical or moral or not. Palm oil is not an animal product, but the demand destroys the habitat of this poor orangutan.  Just like how the paper for KFC’s cardboard was destroying tiger territory. We have a duty to educate ourselves and make our own decisions, to listen to the mind as well as the body when it comes to eating. 

 Just as listening to the mind and body are important, so is tuning into the spirit.  My resilient spirit, which never gives up hope on peace and unity, yearns to dig my hands in the soil and reap the fruit of my labor.  My spirit searches for purpose and meaning in the current tides of change, remembering another time, a time when pleasure and doing what needed to be done were married as one.  A time in no time where and when eating is a joyous act of creation and celebration of nature.

“To the extent that people separate themselves from nature, they spin out further and further from the center.  At the same time, a centripetal effect asserts itself and the desire to return to nature arises.  But if people merely become caught up in reacting, moving to the left or to the right, depending on conditions, the result is only more activity.  The nonmoving point of origin, which lies outside the realm of relativity, is passed over, unnoticed.” (The One Straw Revolution, Masanobu Fukuoka)

 Our bodies are a part of nature, trying to achieve equilibrium.  When we over acidify ourselves with sugar, meat, and dairy, our bodies have to work hard, trying to restore balance. On the other hand, eating living food helps support the body’s natural systems for health. After all, it’s natural to be healthy.  Disease and disorder rates haven’t always been this high—in fact, I’m sure at some point they were nonexistent.  

Now that we have achieved abundance as humanity, let us work on cultivating our own health so we can prosper together.  To me, this means propagating love and generosity with gardens and farms.  Collectively acting to co-create a blossoming future, we can remember how to take care of ourselves, each other, and our home, Earth.

The Natural Way of Farming - Masanobu Fukuoka - free book!

here’s a free ebook of ‘the natural way of farming’ by fukuoka-san. 

this is the practical how-to-farm-naturally that should be the new bible for the earth, in my opinion. this man spent 30 years fumbling toward what he calls ‘do-nothing’ farming. basically, nature’s got growing shit figured out, we just have to get out of the way. we love to get in the way and make a problem, then we don’t understand when we have a symptom of the problem, try and create a band-aid, end up creating more problems for ourselves…and eventually you get oil driven agriculture. his way is simple, straightforward, and it yields abundant, tasty food. it also yields fertile land and restored ecosystems. 

: Eat your food, grow a plant, save a world.

thedsgnblog:

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Michal Marko | http://behance.net/michal_marko

“My goal: To create disposable food bowl with minimum environmental impact and to teach wide society about new biodegradable materials in a funny way. Description from etiquette: Enjoy your…

this is cool. i want to start making my own paper with flower seeds in it. 

(via porcedex)

Source: behance.net

"We should refuse to be mere functions of a system that we cannot in good conscience defend."

so happy to have read this article. i’m floating. everyone run out in the streets and yell, “i’m free! i am a human and not a machine, zombie or alien!”

“And we should insist on a recognition of the mystery, the miracle, and the dignity of things, from frogs to forests, simply because they are.”

in a well-respected publication, orion, they are talking about the merging of science and spirit, and what it means to environmentalists, refugees, and all people of this planet. it is talking about the crossroads we are at, have been at, and have already passed as a society: where do we go from here? where do we go when we know capitalism isn’t working? where do we go when we are no longer happy and satisfied? where do we go when we are sick and detached?

“That deeper problem is our own integration into an order of work that makes us inhuman and thus tolerant of what is nothing less than demonic, the destruction of our own world.”

continuing as if nothing is wrong will lead to an unpleasant situation. so how do we save it?

“In the end, our problem is that the busy, destructive work of functionaries has taken the place of a thoughtful, spiritual understanding about how to live.” 

we must stop the destructive. we must start the rebuilding. we must start the remembering. we must create a new system, as one. but this time, we must not separate ourselves from the earth. we must remember and dance in the joyful process of creation. 

“Spiritual rebirth will mean the rediscovery of true human work. Much of this work will not be new but recovered from our own rich traditions. It will be useful knowledge that we will have to remember. Fishing as a family and community tradition, not the business of factory trawlers. Agriculture as a local and seasonal activity, not a carbon-based scheme of synthetic production and international shipping. Home- and community-building as common skills and not merely the contracted specialization of construction companies and urban planners. Even “intellectual workers” (professors and scholars) have something to relearn: their own honored place in the middle of the community and not in isolated, jargon-ridden professional enclaves.”

i’m reading my own mind. yes. where is this community? i want to go to there. to be a part of the process. to create and learn and compost and grow. 

“The turn away from this ugly, destructive, and unequal world is not something that can be accomplished by boycotting corporations when they’re bad or through the powerful work of the most concerned scientists. It will not be delivered with glossy brochures by the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, and it will certainly not be sold to you by Martha Stewart. A return to the valuable human things of the beautiful and the useful will only be accomplished, if it is ever to be accomplished, by the humans among us.”

i am a human among us! i’m doing it! won’t you join me? please?

“Observing the food and therefore changing the notion of food preservation, we could find the answer to current situations such as the overuse of energy and food wastage. My design is a tool to implement that knowledge in a tangible way and slowly it changes the bigger picture of society. I believe that once people are given a tool that triggers their minds and requires a mental effort to use it, new traditions and new rituals can be introduced into our culture.” noticing how loud, clunky, inefficient, and energy sucking (both electricity and the flow of the room) refrigerators are. then i remembered this awesome project i saw a while ago. when i build my house, i won’t have a fridge. so i’ll be using the techniques presented here. as well as crazy ones thought up by me.
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“Observing the food and therefore changing the notion of food preservation, we could find the answer to current situations such as the overuse of energy and food wastage. My design is a tool to implement that knowledge in a tangible way and slowly it changes the bigger picture of society. I believe that once people are given a tool that triggers their minds and requires a mental effort to use it, new traditions and new rituals can be introduced into our culture.”

noticing how loud, clunky, inefficient, and energy sucking (both electricity and the flow of the room) refrigerators are. then i remembered this awesome project i saw a while ago. when i build my house, i won’t have a fridge. so i’ll be using the techniques presented here. as well as crazy ones thought up by me.

chakragathering: green manifesto a new world requires a new way of looking at our problems. with the intention of making the island and world a healthy and safe place to live, we present the green manifesto for an environmental and energetic approach to transforming our problems into solutions.  through the lens of the chakras, let’s take a look at how we can transform our environment into a thriving system for everyone.  ROOT let’s begin by connecting ourselves with our mother. in Andean culture, Pachamama is the spirit of the earth, or the great mother. grounding ourselves to her is the first step in invigorating the flow of energy she provides. when we are grounded, we feel at home, we find family and community, and we are able to better connect with our physical bodies. simply feeling the dirt between your toes is a grounding experience. on a grand scale, modern society has lost this root connection—we take endless drugs to silence the cries of pain of our physical bodies, without stopping to think why we might be hurting. our bodies have become disconnected from the body of the earth—do you know where your food comes from? do you know your farmer? do you know the soil consistency, the flowers and bugs from the land where your food was grown? reconnecting with nature and our bodies cultivates a strong root that can send shoots deep into the universe, creating a strong base from which we can look to the sun and grow. SACRAL once connected with nature, she becomes the source of our creative energy to design a cradle to cradle system that eliminates waste. instead of growth as destructive, such as a sprawling suburb, growth becomes beautiful, like the expansion of a forest or the blooming of a tree. our sacral or navel chakra is the source of our creative energy—how can we create a system where waste equals food? where beauty is a given? where our emotions dictate how we live?  SOLAR PLEXUS moving up the energetic ladder, we go from the physical (the earth, the flesh) to the spiritual. the solar plexus is the bridge that connects these worlds: our relationship with ourselves. how do we align our intentions with our actions? how do we digest things-physically, our food, our waste as a society; and mentally-our experiences and the consequences of our actions? how do we honor ourselves while empowering ourselves to do what we know is right? in order for ourselves to grow, we need to learn to be comfortable with ourselves, making changes as we discover things about ourselves that are not aligned with our truth. by changing ourselves, we ripple out positive change into the world around us.  HEART what do you love? listen to your heart and let it give you strength. honoring our divine love is crucial for creating a better world, not based on greed, money, or selfish personal interests. let your heart forgive-the past has already happened. fill it with compassion, with hope, and with trust. these intentions will create a world where everyone can live together, thriving. we must learn to listen to our hearts, to fill them with love.  THROAT with our root feeding our creative energy center, our truth filling our hearts with love, we can express ourselves effectively to create harmony. the strength of our will can overcome any obstacle, allowing us to follow our dreams, filling our lives with abundance. how do we choose to express our creative energy? do we make art with trash, expressing our soul, creating beauty, and transforming trash with positive energy? how do we communicate with each other to form deep connections? how is our energetic vibration affecting the world around us? THIRD EYE where do you see possibilities? where are you being called to help? who is calling you? we seek only the truth. once the kundalini energy flows freely in our bodies and in our earth, the light will guide us, keeping us open and feeling adequate. our dreaming visions for the world can manifest in our reality.  CROWN now is the time. be present in the moment, consciously creating your reality. are you following practically, or do you have the courage to follow divine inspiration? let us be here, now, creating the new world, together.  check out my brainchild. i’m super excited for chakra gathering, except for this one little snag that i might not go. because i have a ticket home for the day it starts, and i tried to change it today but LAN said it would cost more than my original two way ticket to push back my flight (if i want to be home for christmas). so…fingers crossed, the universe will take care of it. i’ll go where i’m meant to be. 
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chakragathering:

green manifesto

a new world requires a new way of looking at our problems. with the intention of making the island and world a healthy and safe place to live, we present the green manifesto for an environmental and energetic approach to transforming our problems into solutions.  through the lens of the chakras, let’s take a look at how we can transform our environment into a thriving system for everyone. 

ROOT

let’s begin by connecting ourselves with our mother. in Andean culture, Pachamama is the spirit of the earth, or the great mother. grounding ourselves to her is the first step in invigorating the flow of energy she provides. when we are grounded, we feel at home, we find family and community, and we are able to better connect with our physical bodies. simply feeling the dirt between your toes is a grounding experience. on a grand scale, modern society has lost this root connection—we take endless drugs to silence the cries of pain of our physical bodies, without stopping to think why we might be hurting. our bodies have become disconnected from the body of the earth—do you know where your food comes from? do you know your farmer? do you know the soil consistency, the flowers and bugs from the land where your food was grown? reconnecting with nature and our bodies cultivates a strong root that can send shoots deep into the universe, creating a strong base from which we can look to the sun and grow.

SACRAL

once connected with nature, she becomes the source of our creative energy to design a cradle to cradle system that eliminates waste. instead of growth as destructive, such as a sprawling suburb, growth becomes beautiful, like the expansion of a forest or the blooming of a tree. our sacral or navel chakra is the source of our creative energy—how can we create a system where waste equals food? where beauty is a given? where our emotions dictate how we live? 

SOLAR PLEXUS

moving up the energetic ladder, we go from the physical (the earth, the flesh) to the spiritual. the solar plexus is the bridge that connects these worlds: our relationship with ourselves. how do we align our intentions with our actions? how do we digest things-physically, our food, our waste as a society; and mentally-our experiences and the consequences of our actions? how do we honor ourselves while empowering ourselves to do what we know is right? in order for ourselves to grow, we need to learn to be comfortable with ourselves, making changes as we discover things about ourselves that are not aligned with our truth. by changing ourselves, we ripple out positive change into the world around us. 

HEART

what do you love? listen to your heart and let it give you strength. honoring our divine love is crucial for creating a better world, not based on greed, money, or selfish personal interests. let your heart forgive-the past has already happened. fill it with compassion, with hope, and with trust. these intentions will create a world where everyone can live together, thriving. we must learn to listen to our hearts, to fill them with love. 

THROAT

with our root feeding our creative energy center, our truth filling our hearts with love, we can express ourselves effectively to create harmony. the strength of our will can overcome any obstacle, allowing us to follow our dreams, filling our lives with abundance. how do we choose to express our creative energy? do we make art with trash, expressing our soul, creating beauty, and transforming trash with positive energy? how do we communicate with each other to form deep connections? how is our energetic vibration affecting the world around us?

THIRD EYE

where do you see possibilities? where are you being called to help? who is calling you? we seek only the truth. once the kundalini energy flows freely in our bodies and in our earth, the light will guide us, keeping us open and feeling adequate. our dreaming visions for the world can manifest in our reality. 

CROWN

now is the time. be present in the moment, consciously creating your reality. are you following practically, or do you have the courage to follow divine inspiration? let us be here, now, creating the new world, together. 

check out my brainchild. i’m super excited for chakra gathering, except for this one little snag that i might not go. because i have a ticket home for the day it starts, and i tried to change it today but LAN said it would cost more than my original two way ticket to push back my flight (if i want to be home for christmas). so…fingers crossed, the universe will take care of it. i’ll go where i’m meant to be. 

meet my garden

this is my organic garden in sacramento.  from left to right, I’m growing: lemon cucumber, beans (only just sprouted), lettuce, cilantro,  oregano, peppers, radishes, tomatoes, dill, chard, kale, potatoes, tree collards, and squash.  ain’t it lovely? 

these are the radishes. they add nice zest to my salads. 

these are the tree collards. they are a perennial from africa. this plant could save the world. 

this will be a nice juicy beefsteak soon.  

this is the dill. I love dill. it’s the best on eggs. and look at those pretty yellow buds!