Natural Living

[emily]

Recently I'm becoming more and more aware of the consequences of little things in my life that I used to take for granted.

 

Things like all the chemicals used to clean toilets and drainage systems at home.

 

Honestly, when I was young I was quite spoiled and my mum used to do all the housework so it's only recently that I'm starting to pick up on this stuff.

 

Plus the fact that all the vegetables I buy are organic but their shipped from Kenya or somewhere else equally far away. It's so ineffective and damaging.

 

When I was in Tesco the other day looking at some dried fruit it all just seemd so clincal and withered sitting there on the shelf.

 

Plus I'm starting to grow increasingly aware of the fact that I'm painfully domesticated. I've got no real idea of how to look after myself outside of the confines of everyday life. If there was a food shortage what would i do etc.

 

Nowadays is such a strange time...so much unrest and uncertainty, I feel it's time to shape up a bit.

 

Whenever I get into a new topic I'd rather go on recommendations because the net and publishing world is pretty vast. Does anyone have any recommendations for learning about thigs like self sufficiency, cleaner living etc?

 

thanks, emily

[Aetherous]

I think if you have the ability to plant your own food, that's an awesome thing to do. Saves so much money in groceries, it's easy enough to learn, healthier for you, and it makes for a peaceful environment. Even if you just have a little herb garden, that makes cooking so much better.

 

I got a job landscaping for the summer, and that's also a great workout...like kungfu without the fighting. So gardening kicks ass...I can't wait til I have my own property!

 

For how to cook for yourself (which many people actually don't know how to do), a good basic book is "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. A person could probably spend a year or more just trying different things from that book every night. So cooking for yourself is a great idea to learn how to live more naturally.

 

One other thing which really interests me is how to live off the land. There's a book that's mostly for the US called, "Stalking the Wild Asparagus". It goes into pretty good depth about how to make real and decent food out of stuff like acorns, cattails, dandelions, etc.

 

[.broken.]

"The Complete Book of Vegetables, Herbs and Fruit" - A good place to start whether you are cultivating, buying or cooking.

 

Tesco is one of the most unethical supermarkets that one can buy from in the UK. The Co-op's take over of Somerfield is a ray of light in a dismal UK food market.

 

If you wish to buy your fruit and veg, rather than grow it, then check this out.

 

Good old Ray Mears has a great many books if you are interested in live outside this culture.

 

Also, check out your local Friends of the Earth website about becoming an ethical shopper. Here's an example from the Scottish branch.

 

Loads more stored on this subject in this brain of mine, but it's late and there's much to do tomorrow... I shall bid you adieu

 

Yours humbly,

James

[emily]

cool!! thats the type of stuff im interested in elarning to live off the local enviroment.

 

what you said about landscaping being a good workout...its interesting beacuse one of my mums friend is a keen gardener and has her own little greenhouse and shes the most grounded person i know, i always say how shes like a big oak tree, so rooted, so theres defintely something in having a close connection to the earth.

 

broken, thanks for the vegbox link. should come in handy.. i know tesco sucks but its the only big supermarket in my area.

 

 

any sprouters here? apparently its possible to live off them as main source of food?....not an experiment i feel like trying right now!

[.broken.]

broken, thanks for the vegbox link. should come in handy.. i know tesco sucks but its the only big supermarket in my area.

 

No problem Emily - been meaning to sign up for a scheme myself recently, however, the tenaments here is Edinburgh cause some logistical issues for box schemes.

 

I still haven't found my way to bed

 

Supermarkets are only a recent phenomenon... What was seen as simple and revolutionary to the previous generation has spurned our very existence into turmoil. Health in the UK is appalling, the amount of litter is appalling, pollution here is appalling. The impact that supermarkets have had on those three is astronomical... and for what... convenience?

 

Where did your parents, and indeed mine, shop before they existed? Local butchers, local fishmonger, local green grocers. I've been shopping in this fashion for the last year or so... my food is tastier, healthier and more environmentally friendly simply by going local... Makes me a happy chap

 

Take good care,

James

[Yoda]

Emily,

 

mmmm... not to brag, but I just ate a meal almost 100% from our backyard. The colors and energies are unlike anything you can buy. Priceless. *But* it's a lot of work and it's really Randi's thing. Left on my own, I'd just eat frozen burritos. Too bad we can't live like this all year round!!! Have 4 chickens too!

 

Like Scott said, Randi would say that starting with growing your own herbs is probably the way to start. Be sure to grow lots of basil for pesto power. There's a lot of taoist, celtic, etc magic you can whip up in an herb garden too. Maybe raise some cultivation oriented herbs too? I've got some ceremonial grade tobacco growing. Hopefully, they'll grow up big and strong. I've heard that the book "A modern herbal" is very good along these lines. Also, focus on things that have powerful flavors as they can really infuse you with good vibes.

 

Randi's next project is to grow onions and garlic.

 

Your pal,

Yoda

[Qigong Boy]

Find a farmers' market nearby.

 

Also, you can grow sprouts in your kitchen (in a matter of 3 to 5 days) which are much healthier than other 'greens' like lettuce and can taste good with anything. Chia sprouts are especially nutritious!

 

Here's my favorite natural health/living website (and I've seen a lot): Natural News

[Christoph]

try www.localharvest.org

[emily]

thanks to everyone for their suggestions

[:::]

Get big with the sprouts Emily. Sprouts are a significant source of chi and one can have a whole farm going on just a kitchen shelf. Eat raw in summer, lightly steamed in winter. Having tried most sorts of sprouters I now use "Easy Sprout" containers that minimize the need for rinsing. Plenty of info on the net.

 

http://www.sproutpeople.com/devices/ez/easysprout.html

 

http://www.sproutman.com/

[Desert Eagle]

http://www.youtube.com/user/GREENPOWERSCIENCE

 

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/earthbag.htm

 

http://www.spiralseed.co.uk/permaculture/

 

http://www.permaculture.org.au/

 

http://www.fungi.com/

 

http://www.pathtofreedom.com/

 

http://peswiki.com/energy/News

 

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/

Edited July 22, 2008 by Desert Eagle

[Dainin]

The Findhorn Community is in Scotland, and has been into this kind of stuff since 1962. They were renowned for growing giant vegetables using natural means in the 1970s. This is copied from their web page:

 

"Meditation in its various forms - such as sitting quietly, singing, dancing, being in nature, working - is practised at Findhorn as a means to connect with and listen to our inner source of wisdom. Before group activities commence, we stop, attune to the wisdom within, attune to each other and to the task, and then move forward. By doing so, we contact the part of our consciousness that recognises our unity. From this comes a sense of shared motivation and purpose which can result in action that serves each individual, the group as a whole, and life itself. Tasks are often achieved with ease, peace, joy and beauty, and sometimes with new and unexpected solutions to problems.

 

Deep inner listening was applied to the task of growing the first garden at Findhorn, which the founders - Eileen Caddy, Peter Caddy and Dorothy Maclean - engaged in as a way to supplement their diet by growing their own food. The inner source of wisdom they contacted daily included the intelligence of nature, and when they listened to and applied the wisdom they received, the garden flourished. As they progressed in their practice of attunement to the intelligence of nature, they came to understand that they were actually enagaged in a process of co-creation with nature. This new understanding, and its results in the Findhorn garden, were the catalysts for inspiring others to work in this way, and launched Findhorn onto the world stage."

 

It sounds like a nice place to visit: Findhorn Foundation

[:::]

 

 

"Meditation in its various forms - such as sitting quietly, singing, dancing, being in nature, working - is practised at Findhorn as a means to connect with and listen to our inner source of wisdom. Before group activities commence, we stop, attune to the wisdom within, attune to each other and to the task, and then move forward. By doing so, we contact the part of our consciousness that recognises our unity. From this comes a sense of shared motivation and purpose which can result in action that serves each individual, the group as a whole, and life itself. Tasks are often achieved with ease, peace, joy and beauty, and sometimes with new and unexpected solutions to problems.

 

It sounds like a nice place to visit: Findhorn Foundation

 

God knows what the checkout queues would be like if the Findhorn Community were running Tescos.

[Patrick Brown]

I think this is the way forward:

 

The word permaculture, coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren during the 1970s, is a portmanteau of permanent agriculture as well as permanent culture. Through a series of publications, Mollison, Holmgren and their associates documented an approach to designing human settlements, in particular the development of perennial agricultural systems that mimic the structure and interrelationship found in natural ecologies.

More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture

 

Shouldn't people be allowed to follow their own leanings spiritually and not feel as if they have to fit in with some pseudo religious mumbo jumbo. In the past the emphasis was on group spirituality, which often ended in 'power-trips', so I personally think individual expressions of spirituality and practice should be encouraged if we're going to grown. Village meetings to discuss practical stuff are a good idea but I think the spiritual stuff should be personal. If we look back we see that tribal communities all end up developing some belief system (mind job / control mechanism) and look where the worlds ended up.

 

I think everybody should be striving to attain their own individuality although this idea might not be possible for everyone. I mean helping people to the threshold of their own understanding is one thing but to then tell them what to think is another kettle-of-fish!

[muz]

 

any sprouters here? apparently its possible to live off them as main source of food?....not an experiment i feel like trying right now!

 

 

sprouts are the business but i wouldnt want to have them as my main source of food!

 

for more ethical groceries find a farmers market near you here - http://www.farmersmarkets.net/findafmkt.htm

 

and go here for a list of everything that you can buy throughout the year - http://www.lfm.org.uk/what.asp

[:::]

 

 

Shouldn't people be allowed to follow their own leanings spiritually and not feel as if they have to fit in with some pseudo religious mumbo jumbo.

 

I think people are free to follow their own path. Pseudo religious, and religious mumbo jumbo, is hugely attractive to many people and those who exploit them use mumbo jumbo as a means of ensuring only the most gullible fall into their web.

[Patrick Brown]

I think people are free to follow their own path. Pseudo religious, and religious mumbo jumbo, is hugely attractive to many people and those who exploit them use mumbo jumbo as a means of ensuring only the most gullible fall into their web.

I would suggest that's it's only recently that people have been able to express their own spirituality. I mean all those women that were burned and labelled witches!

 

As for the sheep, well, what can we say?

 

Anyway lets not get too off topic as I was just pointing out that places like Findhorn are fine as long as they don't end up becoming a pseudo religion. I have the impression that Findhorm is a bit of a middle class would-be hippie type set up but I won't knock it too much as at least they're having a go.

[:::]

sprouts are the business but i wouldnt want to have them as my main source of food!

 

I don't believe anyone is suggesting that one should eat only sprouts although one could with the addition of just a few important supplements. For someone living in a city with limited time and space, sprouts could make up a large part of one's diet and would be far, far preferable to eating the dead food on offer in the shops and in "organic" to your door boxes. It doesn't have to be just mung beans, any seed, bean, grain or nut can be sprouted. Also, it's not just about vitamins and minerals, sprouts are living when you eat them and therefore an important source of Chi, something that should be of interest to the sort of people who frequent this forum.

 

I would suggest that's it's only recently that people have been able to express their own spirituality. I mean all those women that were burned and labelled witches!

 

 

I sincerely hope I didn't give the impression that I wasn't doing anything other than completely agreeing with what you had said in your earlier post.

 

On the subject of witches,

 

Edited July 23, 2008 by :::

[Pero]

Plus I'm starting to grow increasingly aware of the fact that I'm painfully domesticated.

 

Hmmm, so if I'd show you a cookie and tell you to jump in my lap you would do it?

 

Wow, :::, are you the reincarnation of ...? Or maybe his relative? Do you know where he is?

[emily]

mmm.....cookie....where??!

[Pero]

mmm.....cookie....where??!

 

[:::]

Wow, :::, are you the reincarnation of ...? Or maybe his relative? Do you know where he is?

 

We are all as one.

 

I can't say I've had any close contact with ... but I occasionally meet up with .:. in a local pub, I'll ask him if he's seen ... recently.

[Pero]

We are all as one.

 

I can't say I've had any close contact with ... but I occasionally meet up with .:. in a local pub, I'll ask him if he's seen ... recently.

 

ROFL!!!

 

Seriously though there really is a ... , he's an old member here, but hasn't been seen in a long time. Or at least I haven't seen him.

[:::]

ROFL!!!

 

Seriously though there really is a ... , he's an old member here, but hasn't been seen in a long time. Or at least I haven't seen him.

 

Frankly, I'm more concerned about .. who's been trying to get on this forum for a long time but because of the overly harsh, minimum three digit username rule, is being excluded through no fault of their own.

[findley]

oh, that's me, Pero =) (...)

 

I decided to drop that tag.. because I am so ashamed of my last presence as (...) here on the forum. I was in the Army and I had lost my soul.

 

Gosh.. =) thank you for remembering !