Sunday, January 11, 2004
Give me permaculture or give me death!
Now that Yule [aka Winter Solstice] has passed and the days are growing longer, it's time to start looking toward the coming Spring. Last year's life cycle has left many seeds in the soil, waiting for the right moment to sprout. What are those seeds, and how can we prepare them for the coming season of growth and development?
In my own life, at least two things come to mind: permaculture and my writing.
While I was working at Rosetta yesterday, I read a nice little book called "Permaculture in a Nutshell" by Patrick Whitefield. His examples of permaculture mostly included animal and grain foods that I consider inedible to human beings, but even so, I felt he provided a wonderful introduction to the basic concept of permaculture.
Reading this book renewed my inspiration for permaculture. WE CAN DO THIS!
We can create human societies that draw their inspiration from ecological systems and work in harmony with our living Earth rather than seeking to dominate and consume. We can organize ourselves according to bioregions rather than random political boundaries scribbled on a map by some conquistador to divide and conquer. We can start by doing 'ecological restoration' on our own inner terrain through a live foods diet, energy-conscious exercise such as t'ai chi and yoga, and healing work. We can expand this transformative work into our communities through social and ecological re-organizing -- creating the organs, the body of a free, cooperative, ecological society.
Even as the upper levels of today's political and economic hierarchies make their final power play to take over the world, we can grow a new society from the ground up and unseat the dominators before they even know what hit them.
And it starts here, now, with us.
I don't know how yet, but this year is going to be a permacultural year for me. I'm going to work within my local community to develop a permacultural movement. It's going to take me time to figure out the details, but mark my words - as this bioregion awakens from its winter slumber, the seeds of permaculture and bioregionalism will sprout here just as surely as all of the other seeds in the soil.
Look out, minions of death consciousness - your days are numbered! Life itself is about to rise up in defiance of your empire! Muhuahahaaa...
Speaking of all of that, the other big seed that is starting to germinate in my life is my writing. By this point, my acquaintences and loved ones must be wondering what happened to my aspirations to be a writer. It's been years now, and still no luck on completing my first book. Have I given up? Has my professional writing career ended before it even began?
If you've asked yourself these questions, take heart! Don't be fooled by appearances. The experiences of the past several years have sown the seeds of my current projects. This fall and winter have offered me the final moments of rest beneath the soil as I've prepared myself for the coming Spring.
Before, it took incredible effort for me to write. My sense of creative vision was so powerful that I could barely stand NOT writing, but I couldn't focus my thoughts and wasn't sure that I could convey them properly. Now, the words are starting to flow like the first streams of water bursting through a crumbling dam. To give you an example of this, I recently wrote an entire article for a magazine in a one or two hour sitting and sent it off to the publisher that same day. In the near future, there will be more articles - and not one, but TWO books.
So what is this second book? I've been working on the non-fiction Warrior Healer book for a long time. Now, I've begun work on a fiction piece that I may even complete before the non-fiction one is published. The current working title is "The Warrior Healer: Basic Training", and it's the first in a trilogy of Warrior Healer fiction.
Remember my post earlier about telling stories? It's one thing to talk with someone about ideas of how we can transform the world; it's another entirely to tell a story about it. My non-fiction "Warrior Healer Revolution" will still be a very useful handbook in the art of conscious revolution, but the "Warrior Healer Trilogy" will offer a compelling narrative that paints a picture of what that revolution may look like.
The first book, "The Warrior Healer: Basic Training", tells the story of a young man who, through a chance encounter at an El station in Chicago, soon finds himself on the fast track to becoming a Warrior Healer. The adventure introduces him to a series of people, places, and experiences that challenge his very understanding of who he is, how to find meaning in his life, and even the basic nature of his reality.
I could say more, but why spoil the surprise? :) You'll be able to read the book yourself soon enough!
So there you have it. Permaculture and writing [which includes permacultural themes] are both about to sprout in my life. There are times when it still seems hard to believe that I really have it within me to create what I envision. I feel this doubt the most when I'm assaulted by the daily distractions of living in this parasitic Empire of toxic consciousness. The madness is all around me, and simply by living here, I can feel a part of it within me. But the seeds of a new life have already started to germinate - and let me tell you, it's been a long time in coming!
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In my own life, at least two things come to mind: permaculture and my writing.
While I was working at Rosetta yesterday, I read a nice little book called "Permaculture in a Nutshell" by Patrick Whitefield. His examples of permaculture mostly included animal and grain foods that I consider inedible to human beings, but even so, I felt he provided a wonderful introduction to the basic concept of permaculture.
Reading this book renewed my inspiration for permaculture. WE CAN DO THIS!
We can create human societies that draw their inspiration from ecological systems and work in harmony with our living Earth rather than seeking to dominate and consume. We can organize ourselves according to bioregions rather than random political boundaries scribbled on a map by some conquistador to divide and conquer. We can start by doing 'ecological restoration' on our own inner terrain through a live foods diet, energy-conscious exercise such as t'ai chi and yoga, and healing work. We can expand this transformative work into our communities through social and ecological re-organizing -- creating the organs, the body of a free, cooperative, ecological society.
Even as the upper levels of today's political and economic hierarchies make their final power play to take over the world, we can grow a new society from the ground up and unseat the dominators before they even know what hit them.
And it starts here, now, with us.
I don't know how yet, but this year is going to be a permacultural year for me. I'm going to work within my local community to develop a permacultural movement. It's going to take me time to figure out the details, but mark my words - as this bioregion awakens from its winter slumber, the seeds of permaculture and bioregionalism will sprout here just as surely as all of the other seeds in the soil.
Look out, minions of death consciousness - your days are numbered! Life itself is about to rise up in defiance of your empire! Muhuahahaaa...
Speaking of all of that, the other big seed that is starting to germinate in my life is my writing. By this point, my acquaintences and loved ones must be wondering what happened to my aspirations to be a writer. It's been years now, and still no luck on completing my first book. Have I given up? Has my professional writing career ended before it even began?
If you've asked yourself these questions, take heart! Don't be fooled by appearances. The experiences of the past several years have sown the seeds of my current projects. This fall and winter have offered me the final moments of rest beneath the soil as I've prepared myself for the coming Spring.
Before, it took incredible effort for me to write. My sense of creative vision was so powerful that I could barely stand NOT writing, but I couldn't focus my thoughts and wasn't sure that I could convey them properly. Now, the words are starting to flow like the first streams of water bursting through a crumbling dam. To give you an example of this, I recently wrote an entire article for a magazine in a one or two hour sitting and sent it off to the publisher that same day. In the near future, there will be more articles - and not one, but TWO books.
So what is this second book? I've been working on the non-fiction Warrior Healer book for a long time. Now, I've begun work on a fiction piece that I may even complete before the non-fiction one is published. The current working title is "The Warrior Healer: Basic Training", and it's the first in a trilogy of Warrior Healer fiction.
Remember my post earlier about telling stories? It's one thing to talk with someone about ideas of how we can transform the world; it's another entirely to tell a story about it. My non-fiction "Warrior Healer Revolution" will still be a very useful handbook in the art of conscious revolution, but the "Warrior Healer Trilogy" will offer a compelling narrative that paints a picture of what that revolution may look like.
The first book, "The Warrior Healer: Basic Training", tells the story of a young man who, through a chance encounter at an El station in Chicago, soon finds himself on the fast track to becoming a Warrior Healer. The adventure introduces him to a series of people, places, and experiences that challenge his very understanding of who he is, how to find meaning in his life, and even the basic nature of his reality.
I could say more, but why spoil the surprise? :) You'll be able to read the book yourself soon enough!
So there you have it. Permaculture and writing [which includes permacultural themes] are both about to sprout in my life. There are times when it still seems hard to believe that I really have it within me to create what I envision. I feel this doubt the most when I'm assaulted by the daily distractions of living in this parasitic Empire of toxic consciousness. The madness is all around me, and simply by living here, I can feel a part of it within me. But the seeds of a new life have already started to germinate - and let me tell you, it's been a long time in coming!
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