Get off the Bus

In this article, the “bus” I’m talking about is entire populations of people all gabbling without listening to one another and without thinking clearly. The bus is hurtling toward a cliff, with no-one in the driver’s seat. The opinions, the conflict, the angst, are all fueling the bus.

Here’s how to understand what’s going on, and how to disengage from the insanity.

3 Ways to Bring Ourselves Home

Last week, I wrote a post in which I explained what I mean by the term, "empowered thinking." One of the things I said about "thinking," is that you have a limited amount of mental space and it's up to you to choose what to fill it with. In this post, I'll share 3 practices for using our thinking to "bring ourselves home."

Empowered Thinking for Deep Change

We're so in the habit of controlling each other/being controlled that we've forgotten how to think for ourselves. We're so overwhelmed by the challenges we face that we assume there's nothing we can do (and it's all our fault).  And we assume that controlling each other is necessary and failing was inevitable because humans are just basically bad.

Let's re-examine these habits and assumptions.

Loofah - Grow Your Own Sponges

Loofahs are easy to grow. You can eat them when they're small, and if you let them get big they make great bathroom sponges. They also make pretty good kitchen sponges. Best of all, when they wear out you can compost them to feed next year’s loofahs.

An Introduction to Sweet, Crunchy Yacon

It's yacon planting time in the Southern Hemisphere tropics and semi-tropics. Yacon tubers are sweet, crunchy, and delicious raw or cooked, and are a firm favorite in our family. This post is a quick introduction to yacon and my experiences with growing and eating it.

The Dark Moon - Realigning Ourselves with the Rhythm of Life

To me, the dark of the moon used to just mean that I didn't need an eye mask to in order to sleep deeply. But, turns out, there's more to my deep, peaceful sleep during the dark of the moon than just the lack of light. 

The moon is known to influence the ocean and its tides, the flow of sap and the life force in our gardens, and the behavior of many different birds, animals, and crustaceans. I'm learning that if we choose to pay attention, it can also indicate ways that we humans can align ourselves with the rhythms and cycles of life in our efforts to bring ourselves back into harmony with nature.

Spring Equinox - Journaling to Invite Balance

The Equinoxes mark the two points in the year round of the seasons where the number of hours of daylight and darkness are roughly equal, and so they are a good time to invite balance into our lives. This post introduces the Wheel of the Year and shares my Journaling practice for the Spring Equinox, since I'm in the Southern Hemisphere. I've included a brief note for Northern Hemisphere readers too, who have just marked the Autumn Equinox.

Herb Pesto (and Mulberry Milkshake)

Not that I have anything against basil, but pesto can be made with any edible green leaf or leaf combination. When all you see in your garden is edible leafy greens, pesto is a great way to serve up all that nutrition in a form that's easy and appealing to eat. In this post, I share my recent successful parsley pesto experiment.

Farm Update: New Calf, Chickweed Salads, Veggie Harvest

The kids'll soon be up and looking for breakfast. The cow needs milking and the calf pen needs cleaning. I just have time before all that starts, to show you some pics of the new calf, our recent veggie garden harvests, and the chickweed in the lawn that we're putting into salads. 

The Commons, Common Sense, and a Common Field of Consciousness

21^st century science now finally agrees with Eastern philosophy and Indigenous wisdom that we share a common field of consciousness.

It's hidden in plain site, all around us all the time. It's even more under-appreciated and under-utilized than the other forms of "the commons" that we share.