Food for Thought

Most all aspects of our lives can be reflected to us from nature. It’s really as simple as that. If we take the time to look at how something occurs in the natural world, the answers and insights become apparent.  I spend an awful lot of quality time with my teacher and friend, who happens to also be an ex-potato farmer. In our recent audio circle, called Connecting With Nature’s Ways that we do with folks located around the States, a conversation came up that shed some light on the similarities between our intentions and potato seeds. What could these two seemly unrelated items possible have in common? Let’s take a closer look.

We create intentions all the time.  Typically it begins as a thought, a seed. There is a thought seed that we consciously plant that will go through all of the same stages as a potato seeds. Both the intention and the potato seed are perishable objects.  Without the right conditions, they both decompose. A potato seed is created by taking an existing potato and slicing off an area that has 3-5 eyes on it. This slice is the seed that will be planted into the ground. What makes a potato seed different from a hard shelled seed (like a grain of wheat), is that the temperature has to be matched with the earth so that the potato seed does not perish. There needs to be a symbiotic relationship between the earth and the seed. In other words, the ground and the potato seed have to have the same temperature to unite. Otherwise, the seed will start to decompose. This type of event is true of our own intentions.

When we’re consciously creating an intention, we are also creating a focus (or a focal point). Everything that needs to resolve to manifest the intention will be focused into that seed. For example, I set an intention to get into a better physical shape. My focus will then try to fit it into my lifestyle. If I work from 8am to 8pm and don’t eat healthy because of my work schedule and don’t have time to get to the gym, then my seed (i.e. intention) will perish. The intention needs to match our lifestyle, just like the potato seed has to have the temperature of the earth match itself. If the intention doesn’t match our lifestyle, the seed will not get a symbiotic union and will go through the chaotic stages of decomposing.  Whatever doesn’t match (like my work schedule) will need to be subtracted in order for my seed to unite.  The interesting point here is that the faster we’re able to match this symbiotic relationship, the less resistance we’ll find in actually manifesting our intention. We’re working with the universe instead of finding resistance within ourselves.

While the example of working out might be obvious, think of how many times we set intentions that never actually manifest?  Next time that happens, take a look at it from a potato seeds point of view…did you match the temperature of the earth for your seed to unite and take form?

Food for thought. No pun intended.

Business Shades of Green

Probably every company tries to find ways to increase their bottom line. The bottom line tends to be measured against one standard, profit. In other words, the measurement is money. However, there are many different types of standards that can be used to see how the bottom line is being affected. These include such measurements as how does the company contribute to air quality, the water quality, or the land quality? Are they determining in the best interest of the human condition or are they thinking of the plants, animals, and minerals? These types of measurements or standards are not so clear to define. Most companies will go into a justification position of why they do things the way they do, usually to the detriment of something other than humans.

Of course, every company these days has some kind of green initiative going. There are different shades of green. Whether it’s for promotional sake and public opinion or truly woven into the fabric of the corporate culture is another story. I ask of each person who reads this, if some of these simple tasks are not being done at your company that you initiate the change. Be the agent of change. If you do get new programs adopted at your company, let me know. It will be interesting to see how swiftly and easily some of these can be done and how much the shades of green can become more balanced in the corporate world. Here are a couple of starters…

1. Office supplies

Pens, clips, boxes, paper…how much of it gets recycled? Are there bins throughout the office where everyone can dump these things so they aren’t tossed into the garbage?

2. Choose wisely:

Choose office supply products with the most efficient (or recycled) packaging and support the supply companies that seek out the vendors that do.

3. Flip it:

Much of what we print in companies if for internal use anyway…are you reusing paper in your printers? Is there a printer dedicated that JUST uses flipped paper to print on the other side?

4. Reuse me:

Does everyone in your company have a company (fill in your caffeine addition here — coffee/tea/soda) mug that they can reuse and rinse instead of piling up paper cups and soda cans?

Invent me!

Come up with creative ways that fit into your company environment that works best and then share it.

Artificial Frequency Syndrome

It seems almost absurd at times to think of the number of ‘syndromes ‘ that have been created in the name of definable disorders. Doing a simple google of ‘medical syndrome’ brings back over 16.5 million sites.

The word syndrome is from the Greek work sundrom, which means concurrence of symptoms or from sundromos, which means running together. In today’s modern medical definitions, a group of symptoms that collectively characterize a disease or psychological disorder, or anything that seems to indicate an abnormal condition gets itself a syndrome name. In fact, many of today’s syndromes are actually created in the conference rooms of the drug manufacturing companies so that the company can name the syndrome as a marketing tool for an upcoming drug release. Many of today’s disorders are nothing more than a preconceived marketing campaign for reducing and identifying someone’s illusion that they are ‘different’ in some way and need to be fixed.

How about something completely different, a syndrome for realizing how we are getting out of balance with nature? I googled this and the closest prefab’ed name I could find was ill-lighting syndrome so I am now officially inventing Artificial Frequency Syndrome.

Artificial Frequency Syndrome (or now, more commonly known as AFS) is experienced by anyone who spends time exposed to any type of artificial frequency. This would include computers, TV’s, video games, any type of light bulbs, cell phones, etc. I use the etcetera liberally, as it pretty much describes our entire modern world. In order to be of proper protocol, in order to have a syndrome, you need a group of collective symptoms. So let’s begin with the symptom description of AFS.

We can see the symptoms of AFS all around us. It is showing up in people of all ages, economic and social backgrounds. Symptoms include irritability, lack of focus, easily distracted, headaches, and many psychological disorders identified today like depression, ADHD, AADD, addictions of all kinds, anxiety, job and family stress, and personality disorders. In fact, these disorders are so common that we are now letting the FDA decide that it’s ok to give medications to children 10-17. Why not look at the true root of this issue? Why in this day and age are children no longer able to function and have to be put on psychiatric drugs? The answer is they are being bombarded with artificial frequencies from before they can even walk and their bodies just don’t remember how to function in the natural light.

As humans, we have been genetically programmed by the light of the Sun and Moon. This is the influence of natures frequency. If you ask most of the folks that have jobs that work outdoors, I believe (but I lack the funding or dedicated focus groups that the big drug companies have to prove my point…) that the majority of those people will lack many of the symptoms of AFS. They are in tune with the natural cycle on a daily basis. Our endocrine system was developed to respond to the light waves, the natural light waves, through a set of related glands. When the artificial frequencies take over for the natural ones, the regulators of the body don’t know how to respond causing the symptoms described for AFS.

AFS also interferes with our Fire. In other words, our Spirit becomes distorted when artificial fire is injected. As we transmit artificial frequencies through the air (cell phones), water (untold number of pollutants), and minerals (cables and land lines), they all affect/effect our Fire.

Are we altering the Spirit of Mother Earth by letting the artificial frequencies become such a dominate force that we forget what the natural frequency really is? The natural frequencies and influence that the Sun and Moon provide is the source of Fire in the way nature intented.

I guess we’ll find out if AFS actually shows up in a medical dictionary.

Walking in the Middle

The events surrounding daily life these days seems to be on either end of a see-saw. Extremes. As individuals, community, and society, we have two ends on the balance scale to consider –one end is nature and how we care for our planet and environment, the other is our human impact. There are so many folks walking a path of entitlement, i.e. I deserve this because –fill in the blank– that the see-saw seems to tip more often than not towards the human impact and disregarding of the impact our actions have on nature. Yes, of course, there is every know green movement under the sun going on now and trying to grab our attention, but when taking a closer look, there is more under the color than just wearing a ‘I’m green’ button cause you bring a reusable bag to the grocery store. Now don’t get me wrong, that one step is a great start, and there has to be a starting point that gets each of our attention.

Looking at these steps and making conscious decisions as to what works and what doesn’t, what is in balance for ourselves and what isn’t, is a daily exercise that is made on each of our individual journeys. Letting go of that war inside of ourselves (and specifically myself, since I’m writing this) is something that takes a lot of focused effort and willingness. There is a willingness to be open to the possibility that our daily life is a mirror of the external see-saw. For example, in my consulting contracts I have a ‘green fee’ clause which basically says that if I have to travel to a clients site, there is a fee to purchase the carbon offsets of my travel. It’s my way of trying to bring the see-saw into a more balanced state.

When looking at ourselves and how we adopt those ‘green’ attributes into our life, let’s look at what we’re giving, as opposed to what less amount we’re actually taking. I suppose it’s a subtle difference, because we are certainly moving in the right direction when it comes to creating a zero footprint. But how many of us can actually say what is a zero footprint? I practice this way of life on a daily basis, and I still can’t say what is a zero footprint. I know I don’t have one, but I can’t tell you what one is. As an example, I have this nice bottle of moisturizer sitting on my desk called ‘California Natural Lavender’. It has a nice pretty nature looking picture on it, and a seal of organic approval. All 70% of it is certified organic. Seal of what? What does that mean? What is the other 30%, toxic waste? Does 70% make this a better product to use, or better on the environment? Not really. It is just giving the illusion of being ‘green’ or perhaps ‘greener’ then the other product without a seal. Greenwashing is going on more now than ever. Although I’d like to believe that we are all wising up to those tactics. Somehow there needs to be a way to not only acknowledge that we have a footprint, but to balance it with what we can give back to nature.

Interestingly enough, there is an entire country focusing a large portion of their economy on this. A little country that sits in the eastern Himalayas between China and India called Bhutan. Many people have not heard of it before, however they are modeling the Bhutan economy on and around the preservation of their environment. They realize the importance of nurturing nature and finding that middle way in living in the modern world. They place prayer wheels in their water systems so that as the water passes through, it is infused with prayer. Contrast that to what Nestle Corporation is doing by buying up water rights around the US, and specifically in Salida, Colorado, creating a water war so that their company can profit from more landfill infesting plastic bottled water.

A country and a company: two very different ways of looking at a resource. Let’s guess which one is going to be more in balance and walking down the middle.