Apply Self Regulation and Accept Feedback

“The fundamental truth of our time is that this culture is killing the planet. We can quibble all we want—and quibble too many do—about whether it is killing the planet or merely causing one of the six or seven greatest mass extinctions in the past several billion years, but no reasonable person can argue that industrial civilization is not grievously injuring life on Earth.” Derrick Jensen

The tenants of permaculture came out of the 1960’s, a time when there were half as many humans on the planet, there were no GMO’s riding the winds decimating heirloom seed, and an awareness of the need for man to Self Regulate waste, chemical farming, reproduction and consumption were clearly identified. How brilliant would it have been if personal permaculture had been embodied by the masses in the 60’s? …If wishes were fishes…

“The fundamental truth of our time is that this culture is killing the planet.” At what point does this reality kick in and every fiber of our being, every action of a lifetime, law, religious doctrine all fall into alignment with our sustainable future? There are those for whom the bio-ethics took root, who have been living, designing, planting, creating, and prospering sustainably. But even with the most evolved beings I know there are gaps. Those funny little spaces when an aspect of self is not in step with the rest. The friend with the all Green-Home and fresh organic food who had a bug control company spraying Malathion quarterly under and around the house to keep the flea population down.  The person who owns the Prius to protect the environment but routinely dines on diet coke and fast-food.

Is there a psychological or biological resistance to owning personal responsibility, feeling one’s connectivity to everything, and integration of a sustainable life? Seemingly YES! The internal directive to CONSUME has become the vampire among us and the illusion of being independent autonomous beings a potentially deadly game.

When self regulation fails, traditionally laws and religious doctrines would fill in the gaps- “Thou shalt not kill”, “Don’t litter” come to mind. Sadly, preservation of resources and self regulation have not been in the short term interest of business and governments. Corporations that sell and earn billions of dollars, no matter how toxic or wasteful- are celebrated as successful. People would much rather hear their president tell them to go to the malls and spend money- as did Bush following 9/11, than to pay down their debt and save- as did Obama after the collapse of the Banks, even though the latter was in their best interest. The reality is religions lag and governments dally. This is an evolution of consciousness moving from ground to plant to person.

The embodiment of sustainability is as fundamental to the evolution and survival of the species as was learning to stand up-right, or a written language… It is our next frontier and our only future option. 

Catch & Store Energy

"In nature's economy the currency is not money, it is life." — Vandana Shiva

“…And taking one step back…its currency is life-force.”~Ro

Catch & Store Energy, is both practical and archetypal. On the practical side we really must lower our foot print on the planet. And along those lines everything counts. Capturing and storing energy may be as simple as channeling water from gutter downspouts into barrels and using the stored water to water plants in yard, wrap water heater in a blanket, invest in solar, or pre-cycle…that’s when we decide not to generate trash by buying unpackaged produce or bringing your own bags to market, there is then no need to recycle the bag and is referred to as precycle.

On the archetypal side Catch and Store Energy could be called Open and Value Energy.

If you really want to get esoteric, one can Transmute Energy.

Catch/Open: Einstein figured out what great Sages have long intuited… It’s all energy. Exercise is one form of opening energy, fresh organic food and great company would be other ways, creative expression yet another. One could go to the gym for exercise, meet friends for drinks, and the market for food, then go home to a crafts project on a Saturday…, or one could join a community garden and visit while shoveling, get creative while planting edible flowers and veggies, then harvest fresh produce from which to share and create original mouth-watering meals, meals which could be shared... Most of us can only uphold a to-do list for so long, then life happens and we get off track. In a systems approach there are living containers in place to support one’s life, creativity, goals and intent. A to-do list may get lost or forgotten but the container lives. An example would be my intended morning walk, where weather, business, or company would happen and…weeks later…. I’d start walking again. Now our community walks around the lake Mon-Fri. 9:00 to 10:00, three laps-three miles, with more dogs than people. We each have days when we can’t show but regardless the walking continues.

Store/Value: Fill self first. Learn to fill self on all levels, body, mind and spirit. Fill with the finest fuels of exercise, meditation, music, prayer, fresh whole organic food, loving relationships, stimulating books and conversation. And… stop feeding dead things. Dead things are people, work, ego…anything which does not grow or produce something life affirming with the energy. Learn to recognize healthy growth patterns and look for those in allocating time and energy.

Transmute: Further down the list of permaculture principles is Produce a Yield. Transmuting energy as a life-affirming gift or discipline should probably fall under produce a yield but it relates here as well. Joy, anger, fear, love, desire, sadness, are all energy flavors which can be used individually or in combinations to create. The act of creation is an act of transformation… be it a quiet act of kindness, setting a boundary, changing laws, planting a seed…

Einstein's Map- Liberation Through Compassion

A human being is a part of the whole, called by us, "Universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest -- a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security-- Albert Einstein
With the equation E=mc2, Einstein was able to convey that matter and energy are really different forms of the same thing and that matter can be turned into energy, and energy into matter…, a truly mindboggling concept with potential limitless and sustainable energy. With, “Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” Albert maps healthy sustainable inner-ecosystem, which in turn, translates into healthy whole planet eco-systems.
If we could master both equations as a collective by next January that would really rock. Tick-tock.
The teaching and concept of compassion has been around… Christ taught it, Buddha taught it, Quan Yin embodied it, and yet from the level of the collective, humans have not come very far. Instead most wallow like pigs in slop in the prison of delusion… Why?
Is compassion that painful? Is the prison that comfy? Are we that dim? What’s the deal?
This blog is on Personal Permaculture, or growing-up our inner psychology to the point where we collectively evolve into sustainable global citizens. On a side-note, my mother has no faith in you the people, or in my odds at making headway with my intent, but I beg to differ. Collectively, I think we dally, but when up against it, we manage to work miracles. For those keeping score, its become evident that the chances, choices and possible outcomes for the future of our kin are narrowing with each passing day, and each passing year as 80 million more people slide down those birth canals joining life raft Earth.
Just as some lizards managed to get wings, I believe that humankind must find liberation from the cell of separation- to recycle trash, plant a garden, practice compassion. Compassion for self, for other, and planet guilt free and with passion! “Nobody is able to achieve this completely, but the striving for such achievement is in itself a part of the liberation and a foundation for inner security-- Albert Einstein

Why not try compassion?
Sweet thoughtful widening circles of compassion,
Small ripples, moving through still deep pools of compassion,
Giant waves of compassion to batter rocky shores of isolation,
Compassion with wings….

Awe...

“When men lack a sense of awe, there will be disaster.” ~Lao Tzu (531 B.C.)

I think if Lao Tzu were coming to dinner we’d have much to discuss.
I spent the day on-line catching up on Ted-Talks, the Bioneers Annual conference postings, cutting-edge organic and environmental art, and other relevant planetary doings…from the hopeful to the hopeless, taking in the global picture. I will say that there are a lot of remarkable people, projects and lines of awareness emerging at this time. Right along side are critical global issues which could so easily render me frozen, mute or lost in despair. If he were to be at dinner I would tell Lao Tzu that awe and disaster have arrived as the Siamese-twins of this era. Then there are the oblivious…until disaster finds them too.

Disaster is being felt each day in a billion ways by millions of beings, as the norm of their lives is being irrevocably altered. It is felt in the faceless-wild spaces where climate is changing, and man has infringed deeply into the sacred balance of nature, fracturing once-whole systems… and those are the first waves. Disaster is setting up house.

Meanwhile…I am in awe… In awe of the guy who is making fat-free (elegant organic low-material) furniture. In awe of the artists who sculpt amazingly sensitive detailed sculptures out of used tires and the photographer who photographs the largest tire dump in the world so that the horror and beauty coexist within the viewer. In awe of the man who while working out the details of using radio waves to cure cancer discovered he could make an engine which will run on salt water. In awe of the multitude of thoughtful, creative, sustainable ideas being birthed and midwifed into form.

Yes disaster is on the march… but the brilliance it provokes in mankind is so awe-inspiring. I wonder what Lao Tzu would have to say about that?

My shaman friend keeps directing me towards my wonder. Awe and wonder seem similar if not the same, although wonder seems child-like and awe seems more adult and age appropriate. I may need to invite him to dinner as well… I was struggling with wonder and feeling discomfort in the naiveté and innocence which accompanied wonder. I did have a dream in which I had “eyes-of-wonder” sort of like glasses which I could take on and off. In playing with them I learned that I can’t wear “eyes-of-wonder” while doing organic review work, but I could wear them in nature…

The point being- I’m finding my way. I’m choosing my side, I’m choosing awe and I’ll continue to work on wonder… It’s a comfort really, a clear job description that I can handle. I don’t have to have answers to problems large or small. I can own my awe.

Disasters will come.

Our power is in our searching and supporting all that is awe worthy.

If Lao Tzu is right… rediscovering awe could be our salvation.

The Foundational-Four Elements of Self

Before we can focus more on resource management it will first be necessary to have a map for identifying the elements or resources. When looking at a plot of land there are the foundational four, Earth, Air, Fire (sun), Water, elements to consider. When considering self I can start with the very same foundational four.

Earth- Body
Air- Mind
Water- Soul
Fire- Creative Expression

Every grower knows the importance of feeding the soil as many natural amenities as one can find or afford. Bodies are pretty much the same. It is difficult to become obese eating whole natural foods. Beyond food the body and the soil have further needs and desires. The trick is to own your body. Create a comprehensive plan and implement it. Include things like, chemical-free, unprocessed foods, stretching, exercise, tactile nourishment, and all things which help the body thrive.

Air and mental can seem a bit abstract. In my grove most of the year the soft ocean breeze caresses the land from the West creating what is called the banana-belt, a sub-tropical oasis with the ability to actually grow bananas. Then there are the Santa Anna Winds. Sometimes they are gentle and bring warm winter days, sometimes they are relentless strong and dry; dropping fruit, shredding leaves and spreading fire. In the management of mental resources, there needs to be an ongoing challenge of learning new things, partnered with a format for teaching and giving back. Maybe not as much for the young as the emphasis there is on the learning; but mentoring, tutoring, educating, completes the cycle and closes the circle. That, and ask questions. The answers might surprise you.

On our land, all of the surrounding hillsides drain to one spot, then the land drops steeply away. Some fabulous being before us, had the land shaped so that the water would have a chance to pool and fill a good sized pond, before tumbling happily down the canyon and into the lake below. It is divine and it feeds my soul. Some years, because of drought the pond does not fill. Then I’m on my own when it comes to feeding my soul. It would take more than a blog to describe the wonder I’ve found in the process. Make friends with your soul. Let it teach you how it is filled and how it can fill. Much like the spring which magically springs forth to fill my pond, create the container and soul will show up. Really…it will.

Each morning the sun rises and sets. It warms the earth and creates photosynthesis in the plants making the leaves on the trees and grass green. I do not want to hear (in a whining voice) “But I’m just not creative.” The fire to create is in each of us. We use it to create children, homes, gardens, music, art, communities, and countries. Life is an ongoing creation in which we have no choice but to participate. Own your creations, then dream more.