Loving our mother, earth.

EDIT: reading The Upcycle completely re-opened my eyes, and reminded me that....we don't need to live under the fear of "not enough" or, we have to "minimize our use", when we are working within systems that are interconnected, and regenerating - think: Permaculture. If the water in the shower is heated by our Sun, and then used multiple times before re-entering the traditional water treatement system (i.e used again in the sink, or toilette, then pipped out into the yard where you have a natural grey water treatement area, and the water can then be filtered and soak into your food forest....well that is a completely different story than single use, and water heated by non-renewables...)...just sayin ;)

I recently had a conversation with someone about give and takes re: the environment, and they mentioned that they just loved to take long showers and they were not going to give that up,  it was what they did, they loved them, and it was one area they were not willing to "compromise" in..... but there were other areas they did better in, so, they figured, it all balanced out

I've heard this type of thing more than once, and in fact it tends to be a pretty common thing that comes up. In the moment I've always tended to express gratitude for what they did do, and sort of let the other piece go unsure how to truly handle the comment, feeling uneasy about it but not really sure why, or how to articulate it. 

Here are my thoughts......

It makes me think about how disconnected we are and how we still think of these types of things in terms of "compromise", or "giving something up", as seperate than ourselves. That if we want to be turly "enviro", we have to stop the things we enjoy and to stop all of that would be impossible so we must choose a few.

I am definitely pro taking baby steps, changing one thing at a time, then adjusting your lifestyle around that new change, integrating it, then taking the next thing. And, I recognize it can be very daunting to change everything at once....however, I guess I see that as a continual cycle of change - and maybe even something you changed in the beginning, you may get new information and it causes you to change further down the road....this process to me is not static. Yet in the aforementioned conversation ones mind already appears made up.

To me, what's truly going on here is that we are seeing the issue from an outdated paradigm/mindset. In fact, when you truly feel love for someone, it becomes natural to not want to hurt them. Thus, when we truly feel love for our earth, our mother, to hurt her would not feel right.

This is simply what happens when we love someone, and it's actually quite beautiful how it works.

Where you once maybe got enjoyment from an activity, you now don't because in the very depth of your being, you comprehend that it causes harm, and ultimately, that creates a sense of cognitive dissonance inside us - or....in layman's terms, a feeling that doesn't sit quite right. Usually ones behavior is adjusted accordingly, because we have a desire as humans to not feel this sort of uneasy feeling. We naturally want to feel good - makes sense.

And I think we incorrectly assume that we will feel bad, or limited if we cut certain things out because we think of it only from one direction, from one point of view - of what we are "losing", but we don't think about what we gain, and the feeling we feel when we do what's right for what we love. It might seem counter intuitive for now but actually, we feel good once we stop it, not sad that we don't have whatever it is anymore.

When we love someone, we don't make these sorts of calculated responses.

"Suppose she goes into anaphalcctic shock, well there is a hospital she can go to right, and what are the chances she would die? I can probably keep peanuts around?"

"Well, my mom can't breath properly when I spray this hair spray in the air and it makes her wheeze for days, but I really love this hairspray, nothing makes my hair look as good, and well, I make her breakfast on weekend so, it all balances out right?"

We likely wouldn't even think to this point, our emotions, our feelings, our bodies would speak, they would take over before we started to analyze it because the moment we saw we were hurting someone we loved, we would feel that pain inside, and want to change to remove that pain...and the joy derived from that item, or activity would cease to exist the moment we learned it hurt our loved ones.

When did we lose our deep love for our planet, our mother, our only home, and all our fellow inhabitants - that which gave us life? This very life we're living, The life that allows you to read these words on this page and comprehend.

It's not that I have to tell myself a stern"NO" every moment, that actually, I really want to be doing all these things but I "know" they are wrong and harmful to the environment so I stop myself. It's that I literally do not seek any enjoyment from these things anymore, and in many cases it hurts to do the wrong thing....and not from a place of guilt or shame, but from a place of love. 

For example, if I had to throw compost in the garbage (or anything in the garbage) I would feel tense inside. Why? because I know this isn't the place it belongs, and the only reason I'd be doing it is likely because I don't have time to sit down and seek out where it's proper place should be (i.e. search online what to do with random items I have no idea how to recycle,  or find an artist who may want this item to incorporate into art....as some examples).....and while time does feel very real and has very real implications in our current society, nature does not function on that same time scale...but I digress, because now this could lead into the philosophical realm and I'm trying to keep this grounded (for now). 

People often say "oh just throw it out, it won't hurt...." or "you do so much for this planet already, you can slack a little here" it's getting back to the justification type, wrong or right mentality....but it's not about that, it's not about weighing out the good and the bad - it's about listening to what feels right inside.

I have told people, when asked, that I don't think I would enjoy attending large music festivals anymore because I'd bare witness to all the carelessness, wastefullness, litter and general disregard, and this would quite literally, break my heart. And I should add that large music festivals are things that used to bring me a lot of joy (or so I thought). I went to Sasquatch music festival a few years in a row back when I was younger and loved it so much...but I've changed....the joy doesn't come anymore, because what is in the forefront is the pain I feel. And what's different is it's internal now, not just external. Whereas before I noticed the garbage and thought about it...I now feel it. To me this makes sense, we're all deeply interconnected, and when we hurt the one we love, we hurt too.  Now, some would look at that and say "wow, she is really missing out on life, because she's too intense, just relax, be casual about it"... but to me, I don't see it that way.

How do I see it? 

While it's true, I don't derive the same enjoyment out of activities and items that I once used to, this is only unfortunate if we stop right there. When you take it a step further you see that while  I may not have "fun" like the mainstream world has fun right now, I have ventured down a path that brings me many joyful moments, and honestly they feel more full of joy because I don't have to deny any part of myself while doing them (the part that would know deep down this is wasteful, or wrong, or harmful to mother nature)....it's pure bliss.

So what I wonder is..... where did the love go and how do we get it again? How does love form? 

"Living the New Economy, is Living the New Community" - Mind Blown and Loving It - aka - LNE Vancouver 2013

Living the New Economy Victoria starts tomorrow, the third one of its kind! I've been meaning to digest, verbally, in blog form, my feelings from the first session and, I figure now is the time...before my mind gets blown, round two, in Victoria.

I was also only at the evening sessions, and then weekend, so I really can't speak for the wonders that happened during the day ...but I know they were fantastical.

The opening night, October 15, 2013.

Really set the stage for the week of wonder to follow. 

An amazing spoken word by one of the organizers, Tammy Lea Meyer entitled I Am touched on absolutely every piece necessary. My re-cap, quite honestly, will not be able to express how profound her words were. It was coming from a place of love, and connection, and it was beautiful to be apart of that.

Please, have a listen and let the words run through you.

Hard to pick a favourite part because honestly it's all phenomenal but what struck me so much, such that I had to pick up my notebook and scribble a bit was:

"Rationale is to the life force as a picture of a tree is to a tree." 

I am so thankful for this whole piece. It's curious how, any one of these words, individually, may or may not evoke something on their own. Yet strewn together in this remarkable, thoughtful, fashion, has a profound and lasting effect on the listener.

Easily taken for granted, certainly I do, it's fascinating how language works and how we communicate to share beliefs, ideas, and understandings.

The Evolution of the Butterfly from Abraham Heisler on Vimeo.

After that, I was awakened to this beautiful short clip, as included above, which compares our current economic/ecological crisis to the life of a caterpillar pre-butterfly, provided a perfect context for where we are, what stage we're in, and the beauty that is to come. Re-connecting us even further. In addition, it defined a word for what it is all of us amazing (arguably a different word would be selected by those in the "business as usual" phase) people are ...immaginal cells. Beautiful.

That followed by an amazing conversation between Mark Lakeman (story-teller, City Repair - Portland), and Ian Mackenzie (love-infused filmmaker). . . Suffice it to say, after that first night - my mind was blown, and I knew I was never headed back from where I came. Here is that beauty of a conversation on soundcloud! :) Well worth the listen! 

One of my favourite moments in the conversation between Mark and Ian was when Ian spoke of how we ought to be "Manufacturers of events that don't fit into others' world view". A light bulb went off in my head, and I'm sure many others around me, too. The empowering realization that every, single, moment, I have a choice - a choice to act in a way that shows compassion, love, kindness and openness, in whatever I am doing. That my interactions with everyone are an opportunity, an opportunity to shift our conciousness towards love, understanding, connection, and inter-being. What an empowering understanding.

I mean, I want to say I was doing this already, and certainly I was to some extent - i.e. considering how I react to a situation, considering how what I say impacts others, and vice versa, remembering that usually when people say hurtful things it is their own self wounded coming out, versus an actual direct hit to me - but when Ian articulated those key words "Manufacturers of events that don't fit into other's world-view" it was the perfect piece of the puzzle I didn't realize I was missing until he said it, to mobilize me into further actions, and conversations to create beauty. And, to that, I am so grateful. 

I was always of the belief that every interaction had an opportunity for learning, but never had I framed it from the receiver side. An opportunity for learning is really only from my perspective, if I'm talking about myself learning something, though the other learns too, if they were open to it, but I had not focused on that aspect. Now...I see the two-way interaction/exchange that can lead to a deep, lasting, profound experience. 

I also really loved Mark's story about the butterfly. Specifically because it points to our disconnect with nature. But it's empowering in the sense that, we all have this innate ability to interact in a meaningful way with our surroundings. That despite having travelled on this long journey of "Seperation", wherein our worldview is largely around competition, and power, the desire to connect with others, and interact with nature is still within us, where it always was. For some easier to access than others, but it's still there inside each and every one of us - and that to me is hopeful.

This also exemplifies the beauty and effect of story. Mark had this experience himself, but now he comes back and tells it to many people, and while we are not experiencing it first-hand, his story is compelling in a way that goes deeper than an analyzing mind. We not only hear his words, we feel them, as if we were him, in that moment. His story is one that, at least for me and I would argue for others too, resonates on the inside, on a level that transcends thought. It stirs emotion up in us, and that is a story that will have a lasting effect, and will imprint itself on our psyche for the better. Whether we notice it immediately or not, it's now added into our layers of what it means to be a human, and exist in this world. And to me, that's amazing. 

And of course, an amazing quote bomb gets dropped by Mark - couldn't have said it better! "Not just to save the world, but to savour the world". 

What also really resonated with me was when Ian started talking about mumuration, and swam theory, and said something along the lines of "when you surrender yourself to the organism, a higher power emerges". Partially because I  am absolutely taken away into a different space and context when I look up and see birds (usually in the downtown case, pigeons), fly in their beautiful patterns, exemplifying community, co-creation, and love in all that they are doing. But for him to make that link between the "letting go, and letting be" and applying that in our current context as humans, it really took on a whole new meaning. 

As I navigate these new waters, uncertain of what lies ahead of me, easily able to go into a state of panic or confusion as the "old world" would typically have me do, I find myself not going there. It is feeling obsolete. I can feel my brain/ego toying with that, luring me in, wanting me to go there so it can be fed. But instead of feeding, I remain a step back, as an observer, witnessing this inner game.  My trust expands, I remain calm, excited, full of potential, realizing the opportunity that exists before me, and yet not getting too far ahead of myself either. Just being. Present. In the moment. Surrendering my beliefs and my understandings of the world. Letting it all unravel as it must, to propel me into a deeper layer, meaning, context, and yet a shallow (in a new world context, not heavy with the connotations the old world provides) layer too, the space where both make sense, deep and shallow, ebb and flow,  weaving a beautiful pattern of what it means to be human. 

Another thing I loved was - "We need to know it, and feel it, and believe it...it's inevitable, and we need all of you." Ian explaining what he calls "Eiseinstein's Paradox, from Charle's Eiseinsteins new book The More Beautiful World our Hearts Know Is Possible "...this dynamic tension between these two polarities, is where the immaginal cells emerge, and where we find that maybe the world we are trying to create is not as far away as we think" - well put Ian, well put! 57.20 ish.

Lastly I love the whole notion that, we are all in this together, and that everyone, no matter what "side" they seem to be on, we are all fundamentally on the same side. It's such a relief, and provides the space for meaningful connection. It's about finding ways to connect, that that specific person may respond to, and about finding those shared values and beliefs, no matter how many layers they may be under. 

At the end of the day, how freeing is it that it doesn't have to be this sort of, frantic, mad dash to "save the planet"..... we've tried that for a long time now, and look where we are. As I believe Mark mentions in the chat, it's time we start having fun, building relationships, and creating beauty. People are social creatures and want to join in where the fun is - so start having some!

I feel the quote by Buckminster Fuller emulates this perfectly: 

Wednesday, October 16th 

What I once thought to be just a good way of raising money for a project, turned into a whole new understanding.

Crowdfunding.

Allowing those who care, and want to contribute, do so.  How it allows for access to otherwise difficult to obtain capital, and how it allows a different kind of transaction to emerge. One that has more meaning - where the people who are helping to fund what it is you're doing, are moved by your work, and want to contribute because they believe in it. And now there is the ability to connect on a whole new level. And that is beautiful.

This is a great TED Talk on the concept, and how the format of how we do business is surely going to be changing more and more.


And then came the film by Ian Mackenzie - Reactor.  I think it was this night that I became more aware and in awe with Buddhism. Ian spoke of the Bodhisattva, and my memory of it, in combination with my nots, tells me that it is a being who has finished the cycle of reincarnation, but has specifically come back, to stay for the liberation of others.If all things are not free, then no-one is free".

"If we are all deeply connected, then if somebody else is suffering, the forests are suffering, if our parents are suffering, if our children our suffering, then we feel that suffering. In other words, I can't be free, unless others are free". Michael Stone

I came home in a flurry of curiosity, and profound emotions - luckily my roommate is Buddhist so I was thankful to chat with her more about it all, and she told me the beautiful story of Siddhartha, and it resonated with me, deeply.

"Our economy and our lifestyles are driven by stories we have, about what a meaningful life is.  Those stories seem so fixed, but yet, it's also fleeting, and it's also transient" - Michael Stone -

Here is the trailer.

"What is the story that wants to be told? " Many profound questions are asked in this film which provoke the mind to new levels. I do recommend giving it a watch, and supporting this amazing film maker, Ian. You can rent it, or buy it online, here. Some of my take-aways from the film, and my paraphrased scribbles as I watched and transformed

• It's not enough to simple be enlightened, poor people don't care what mantra you're saying. We need to act. 
• How do I express [in action] what I experience in stillness
• It's not necessarily obvious to know what to do with the complexity of the world we created. It isn't a simply x, y, z, we recognize change as it unfolds, each finds their own way to contribute

...and other such notes in my book - as part of the Q&A and epic commentary by Ian after the film, they are paraphrased from discussions had, and comments said

• We all do our own thing, together we create real change - so many seeds have been, and are being, planted. 
• There is no difference - when you put yourself in service to something meaningful, whatever that is, it benefits everyone
• What the culture does not provide, we try to entertain/replace the void with things, what used to be filled in us ,and didn't cost money, free by community, is now monetized
• We need to re-weave a culture to lower our energy needs, but increase our connection, and happiness
• There is a bias within the system itself, to monetize whatever it is you are in service to, e.g. spiritual teachers and their wisdom - the concept of charging money for it, those who have chosen to not do so and the implications therein
• What is community and how do we allow it to flourish? 
• There is no specific formula, as long as you connect with that side of you that wants to be in service, which is connecting and life-affirming, that will be your answer
• You're here, and that's enough to know you should be 
• Your journey will change too, and that is ok. Only you are the one who will know what you can, and should occupy

All in all, my major take-away is ....to weave the emerging paradigm into your everything, and to be your artist you feel called to be.

Actually, in getting the trailer, above, I found this beautiful commentary on what it means to be present, and felt compelled to include it here, too. :) Enjoy.

  Redefining the present moment - Michael Stone from Ian MacKenzie on Vimeo.
October 17 - Day 3 Heard from

...An amazing concept, organization, ecosystem, emerging wonder - I suggest checking them out and getting involved however that may look like. Check them out!  A helpful way to think about it "an alternative MBA" but certainly there is so much more to it than that. They are in their first year of classes and so far, so good. From their website: 

Groundswell is a new project that tackles head-on the economic insecurity, social disconnection and precarity so many young people are facing today.

In a nutshell, "We need to pluralize the measurement system, and stop teaching people to compete" re: school! Amazing! "Education is a journey, we need to help people find their flow". Their main components are 

1. Personalize Education - starting with the gap inside of YOU
2. Community - what is livelihood in the community, what is it you want?  Business is not separate from community, we need to start treating it as such, we need to bring community logic into business
3. Alternative Business Structures and systems to help foster/facilitate the above, and beyond. Opening up dialogue around new economic logic - empathy, cooperation! 

And interesting words were spoken regarding entitlement, and what that means. While we often think of it as a negative thing, and has certainly been thrown around these days as such, a new lens was opened up, which I thought was pretty neat.

Entitlement as a driver of progress - the right to participate in everyday actions - which can be incredibly empowering, versus the way we typically think about it say, the right to buy new stuff, and own, acquire, dominate nature - so it can certainly have a very different effect. The speaker used the example of Rosa Parks, and had she not felt entitled to a seat anywhere on the bus, or women standing up for the right to vote, as they felt entitled to that. Makes perfect sense to me! Entitlement can fuel change for the better if it's directed in a positive way. 

And, one of the best part about Groundswell - they will be opening up a Cafe, next to their class studio, that will be very community oriented and function as a space to incubate amazing ideas, help people collaborate, and all around, engage in open discussions and dialogue. Creating that space, I feel, is so important. So I'm very excited to see how this will all progress.

October 19 - Day 5
The day started out with a discussion, from Tam Lundy, from Communities that Can! Institute, on generative change, versus the two that precede it, in order, being technical, and adaptive. This was a more theoretical session, and it was great to get our heads out of the proverbial box, and start thinking about what that really means to be part of generative change.  The definition provided was "purposeful, emergent, fosters health and well being, and healthy development in self, and society, now and in future generations, nudging system to higher level of complexity" Increasing in dynamic complexity would look like:
static (concrete thinking) --> linear (conceptual thinking)   -->circular (systems thinking) --> reflexive (meta-system thinking)
Tam also pointed out that it is important to remember that adaptive challenges, are not technical problems, and that generative challenges are not adaptive problems. So we must understand the situation we are faced with, and apply the appropriate mind-set to determine our solution.  The feel was very co-creative, and bridging our understanding of how we function in the world, and how can we expand our reality and our concept of how we solve problems. Pretty neat. A new paradigm of human capacity, to meet a new era of human existence - rad! Something interesting too, which I had never really thought about, we are the only mammal whose still developing outside of the womb - certainly interesting to consider - how important it is for us to be in a loving, safe, accepting space.  A nice visual, that I now only have it words, but you can use your imagination. As the four quadrants fall into collective versus individuality, interior versus exterior --> Psychological and Spiritual, Cultural, Physical and Behavioural, Social and Ecological Health - we need it all. Which category do you spend most of you time in? Which category do you feel businesses, organizations, communities are focusing on primarily?  ....well, if you're still reading, that is only up to Saturday morning - and this is getting LONG....so...to be continued! ;)

Homesteaders Emporium? Why Yes! Amazing!

The past two weeks I was out working in North Van, so I had been on the bus to and from. While in transit (literally and figuratively)  taking the 14 along E.Hastings, I kept passing, what I feel, and know, will become, my favourite store....




Their Mission statement says it all, taken from their website, here

"Vancouver Homesteader’s Emporium aims to provide Vancouver residents with a convenient, one-stop shop where they can find know-how and supplies for a wide range of do-it-yourself urban homesteading projects. The store will promote rediscovering lost skills through educational programs and community events, offering tools for healthier, more self-sufficient living, and good clean fun."

I'm very excited to go to this place. It goes so perfectly with the book I was reading - The Good Life Lab by Wendy Jehanara Tremayne.

I'm loving the kind of world I'm seeing. 

Happy Homesteading, and Happy Being Rad.

 

Permaculture and Nature Deficit Disorder

My head is in a flurry of environmental love right now...or something of that nature (pun-intended?) ...

Since being here, in Saskatoon, I've tried to involve myself, environmentally speaking, around town...main reason being is that I'm extremely interested to see what different cities are doing and well, can't really imagine not participating in anything enviro for a full four months while I'm here, that would just be absurd! The bonus is, it helps me feel more connected to both people, and nature.

Today I participated in my first "Permablitz", which I found out about through the organization Rooted . It was phenomenal.

I learned a lot about food forests and swales, (as that is what 12 of us were creating in the backyard of a local Saskatoon home), and the importance of Permaculture.  It was great to see everyone come together, from all different backgrounds, of all different ages; connecting and developing bonds through shared beliefs and fundamental values.

Before

Digging the trenches

I would love to take the Permaculture Design Certificate that's offered at UofS. I've been wanting to for a while, but now even more so! Unfortunately, it's right during the time of final exams and such with MPAcc. Luckily I obtained some great names of Permaculture experts in both Calgary, and Vancouver so I'm hoping I will be able to get a certificate there! I'm unbelievably interested in this stuff.

I had great chats with many today and I was fortunate enough to have a discussion related to eco-therapy and about how we can help individuals reconnect with nature, and why, or how, they get disconnected in the first place. This man shared with me a story of a time when he really saw the commencement of the disconnection. The story was about two little kids who were playing outside in the sun, and it starts raining, the mom of one child calls her kid inside saying "come inside, it's raining, you'll get all wet." As a result of that moment, that child began to learn that we need to rely on human made shelters/structures to be safe. Subtle, but there, and developing over time. The parent of the other child had the option, of course, of calling their kid in, too, however, they chose to go out, join the kid, and play in the rain. And, rightfully so!

It's a story that really made me think - and it's so true - why do we run away when we feel a rain drop? I would say  it's almost analogous to the little moments/situations within our growing up years that work to stunt our creativity and erase our innocence and curiosity with life.

We lead such busy lives and, as a result, we forget to take the time to connect with nature. We take nature for granted, it's there, always has been, always will be, right? We can all agree, to some extent, nature is important (some more so than others), and I would imagine, we can all attest to being much happier when the sun is out - but that's where it seems to stop. The majority of us don't delve further into our feelings with nature, into the true reasons why we are happier when the sun is out, why inhaling a deep breath of fresh mountain air can melt away our worries, and why we smile and feel good when we see a butterfly, flutter by.

Just as we take the time to exercise, eat healthy, and sleep, we need to take the time to be in nature, and going beyond the superficial layer. We need to go a step deeper and take the time to become aware of the way nature makes us feel - really tapping into that positive energy that exists within nature.  Sure enough, I come across this (today of all days) "Nature Deficit Disorder", I love how the universe works like that.

I must say, I am thoroughly  pleased with Permaculture and I imagine today will be one of those moment that, whilst Permaculturing up a storm in a few years from now, I will refer to when asked the question of how I got to be doing what I'm doing.