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The Mountains Are Calling

March 21, 2016 Alistair Jordan Leave a comment

Think about what it would be like to spend a week in the mountains, learning from modern practitioners of ancient earth skills. Think about taking that knowledge home and using it to ground your diet to the earth in the same ways that your ancestors did. If you’ve been wanting to actually learn about living with the land, this spring in Asheville, N.C. might be the time to do it.

Local practitioners and teachers of permaculture, such as Wild Abundance, hold weekend gatherings and week long intensives like Ancestral Foods Cooking Class at their homesteads, where hands-on skills are shared by true teachers of the ancient crafts.

Botanists, herbalists, foragers, and homesteaders flock to these mountains, as they are the oldest on Earth and make up one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. Being able to explore these beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains with someone who is passionate and knowledgeable about the forest and its secrets is one of the most profound experiences you’ll find. It connects you with more than just your food, it connects you with the spirit of these mountains and the life to be found in them.

The permaculture and homesteading movement offers a chance to break out of the dependent consumer cycle that is killing our planet and our spirit. We owe it to ourselves to learn how to unplug from that. Taking back the food you eat is a great place to start.

There are those that say switching to a diet of simple, raw, wild ancient foods and foraged foods have miraculous health benefits, including relief from common illnesses to more advanced diseases such as diabetes and even cancer. But the fact of the matter is that eating off the land just tastes good and feels good. You will soak it up and enjoy it in your every cell. You’ll feel happy and healthy and juicy and nourished and you will love it.

The permaculture movement also offers hope of a world that marries 21st-century technology with the ancient skills of cultivation and stewardship over ourselves and our land. Our ancestors developed these skills from a loving, nurturing, reciprocal relationship with the earth.

Here in Asheville and the surrounding areas, you will find a celebration of these values and the sacred lands that it occupies. Join us this spring as we celebrate the ancient ways with the gifts and wisdom of these mountains.

Ask Teal, Community, Heart (Love), Inspirational, Sacral (Feeling)

The Hidden Truth About Racism

March 7, 2016 Teal and Blake Leave a comment

We are moving in the direction of a socially unified world. Races are expressions of consciousness. They are perspectives. They are not who anyone is. But in today’s modern world, discussion about race has become taboo. As a result, we cannot have the crucial conversations we need to have in order to create a socially unified world. The time has come to make the topic of race and racism, no longer taboo.

What has never been talked about before is the fact that pain is not just felt by the person on the receiving end of racism. In fact the root of racism is pain. We do not develop resistance to a specific race unless we feel as if that race is a threat. So the question we need to be asking is, what is the perceived threat? What pain is hiding behind each specific case of racism? Until we address this pain, we will find no resolution. But if we find this root and begin to directly address the perceived pain that caused the racism in the first place, we can actually create resolution.

Like it or not, we all hold racial stereotypes. If we can face these stereotypes and admit to the pain behind them on both sides, racism could actually become a thing of the past.

To read the full article click here

“If the mind assigns meaning to racial stereotypes that causes the being to feel threatened, prejudice, discrimination and antagonism is the result”

www.tealswan.com

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GEODESIC DOMES – OUT OF THE PAST AND INTO THE FUTURE

February 27, 2016 Forest Sage Leave a comment

Build the future with geodesic domes! This technology has been around for nearly 100 years. Geodesic domes utilize the power of natural geometry to make mind-blowing, incredibly efficient structures. Think of how the shell of an egg can hold its shape, and how a spider web can be very light and yet be strong enough to catch prey. This technology is a celebration of nature as opposed to an attempt to conquer it. For those more technical readers out there… A geodesic dome is a spherical or hemispherical thin-shell structure (lattice-shell) based on a network of geodesics (great circles) on the surface of a sphere or a hemisphere. The geodesics intersect to form triangular elements, which have local, triangular rigidity, and so distribute the structural stress throughout the geodesic sphere.

The first dome was designed and patented for a planetarium right after World War I. Twenty years later R. Buckminster Fuller gave the dome the name geodesic. Although Fuller was not the original inventor, he is credited with the U.S. popularization of the idea for which he received a U.S. patent. The geodesic dome appealed to Fuller because it was extremely strong for its weight, its “omnitriangulated” surface provided an inherently stable structure, and because a sphere encloses the greatest volume for the least surface area. Fuller hoped that the geodesic dome would help address the postwar housing crisis.

These homes are extremely energy efficient for many reasons. More specifically…

Its decreased surface area requires less building materials.
Exposure to cold in the winter and heat in the summer is decreased because, being spherical, there is the least surface area per unit of volume per structure.
The concave interior creates a natural airflow that allows the hot or cool air to flow evenly throughout the dome with the help of return air ducts.
Extreme wind turbulence is lessened because the winds that contribute to heat loss flow smoothly around the dome.
It acts like a type of giant down-pointing headlight reflector and reflects and concentrates interior heat. This helps prevent radiant heat loss.

The net annual energy savings for a dome owner is 30% less than normal rectilinear homes according to the Oregon Dome Co. This is quite an improvement and helps save the environment from wasted energy. Domes have been designed by Bucky and others to withstand high winds and extreme temperatures as seen in the Polar regions. Dome homes can be kind of weird looking and they don’t necessarily fit in all the beautiful square neighborhoods when you’re walking around the suburban world, but Fuller saw much potential in those triangles. Dome homes have become one of the most efficient building systems available. Not only are they energy-efficient and cheaper to build than a standard home but they are beautiful in appearance and and have endless design possibilities both interior and exterior.

In the future large urban areas could be domed under a single roof. The dome would be airtight and pressurized, creating a habitat that can be controlled for air temperature, composition and quality, typically due to an external atmosphere (or lack thereof) that may be harmful to habitation for one or more reasons. These cities may be situated on Earth, a moon or another planet. The world’s first climate controlled domed city is being built in Dubai.

Forest Sage & Alistair Jordan Hunt

Check this out!, Community, Energy, Hermetics, Philosophy, Pop Culture Spirituality, Spirituality, Tarot

What Kind Of Wizard Are You? Take The Quiz And Find Out

February 24, 2016 Forest Sage Leave a comment

This quick 8 question test can tell you what kind of wizard you are. Don’t worry we won’t ask you divulge any of your arcane secrets! The test uses your favorite activities, zodiac signs and personal preferences to plot out your inner wizard. The answer you get (I’m an air wizard), will show you how your natural proclivities would influence your magic powers.

There are a couple of wizards out there, and they don’t all fit so squarely into typecast categories. More often than not the most powerful magic a person can wield is that of love and productivity. Regardless of your strengths and weaknesses, try to resist using your powers for your personal gain. Look to the needs of others as they are an extension of yourself. Only as a community can anything be truly gained.

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7 Crucial Reasons to Learn Basic Survival Skills

February 24, 2016 Alistair Jordan Leave a comment

Connect your spirit to your sustenance by learning a few primitive skills! What do I mean by primitive skills? From raising chickens to making fire to growing squash and stitching clothes, primitive skills refer to a broad set of practices and knowledge that all people used to have.

These are the practices that fed us, kept us warm, and allowed our species to survive. They pre-date the industrialized way of life, and they were as essential then as reading, writing, and paying your bills are now. Here are 7 reasons to learn some of these skills…

Help save the planet – This one’s kind of important… Primitive skills were all we had to survive when we lived in harmony with the Earth. In fact, they were all we needed. In the face of global warming, water shortages, and an atmosphere of general global chaos, we all need to step up and do our part. Marrying our modern technology with the wisdom and skills of our most ancient ancestors will set us up for centuries of beautiful abundant living.

Builds confidence – Taking the time to learn a new skill is rewarding, but the results multiply when you do something that resonates with your spirit. When you do something that your ancient ancestors would be proud of, you are inspired in a way that is uniquely and characteristically human. If you can make a fire with your hands, you’ll feel like you can do anything.

Grow your own food – Rewarding and delicious! If you haven’t ever grown something, waited to see it form and ripen, and eaten it for dinner, it’s time. You’ll love it and you’ll feel your connection to the Earth grow every time. Take it a step further and learn to can or preserve your food when it is in season and abundant, (whether you grew it or not).

Reduces stress and anxiety – No tricks, pills, or self-help books to buy here. Pick up your tools and walk outside. Leave behind your iPhone. Connecting to the natural world around you will disconnect you from your daily stressors. Unless that stressor is a mountain lion, in which case you should go back inside for the time being.

Great family activity – Everyone can help when it’s time to set up your spring garden. Parents, children, and teens will find engaging outlets outside, and can often find positive ways to spend time together. Take it a step further and try out a weekend primitive skills gathering, (like this one). On the homestead, your family is your team. You will find something for everyone.

Be more self sufficient – You don’t have to go totally off-grid to establish your dominion. Having even a few permaculture-related skills and some experience will empower you in the way you see yourself and your capabilities, and it will never look the same again. Look up homesteading schools near you to learn what works best in your environment. Here’s an example of a great one near Asheville, NC, called Wild Abundance.

This stuff is really fun! If you’re going to put time and effort into a new skill, do something you enjoy. To me that sounds like bow making, but to you that might be studying plant medicines or making an earthen oven. To each their own.

In this modern world people need to return to a symbiotic relationship with the land and life around them. The great news is that this doesn’t have to be a sacrifice. Bringing this ancient wisdom into your life will bring great joy, fulfillment, and a chance to bond with your tribe.

Check this out!, Community, Inspirational, meditation

Tonight is the Full Moon – Lets Make it Count!

February 22, 2016 Jordan Leave a comment

Tonight is a Full Moon that I have been preparing for since before the last new moon. The culmination of everything that was worked for since the New Moon, and as always, setting the stage for what is next to come.

There are two sides of this, as usual. The Yin and the Yang. Let me describe first the Astrological qualities of this full moon, and then tell you about the personal happenings going on in my own life.

The Astrology

Tonight, the Full Moon is occurring in the Sign of Virgo. Virgo is the symbolic energy of the independent creative woman, the virgin. In Tarot it is linked to the card “The Hermit”, which is all about inspiration from within, circumspection (looking at the whole of things and taking in all of the data), and blazing the trail based on your own knowing, rather than following in the path set out by another.

As this relates to the Full Moon, this is the time of culmination and the promise of fulfillment of that which was started at the New Moon. This is a time which is emotional, romantic, and meaningful beyond measure.

This Full Moon is all about balance between the day-to-day functions and minutia that we often get caught up in, and our own spiritual health and growth. There is a power greater than we can understand at work here, moving through us to create an inner peace to the turmoil, so that we can tackle the outer world turmoil in greater stride than we had before.

Now, CafeAstrology did a great job of writing up some stuff about it, so instead of try and paraphrase it i’m just gonna quote them! Thanks CafeAstrology!

” Some sort of crisis (which can be a crisis of consciousness) or sudden awareness of a lack in our lives provides us with a golden opportunity to explore our emotional needs within the context of the house polarity where the Full Moon occurs in our natal charts. This Full Moon urges us to strike a balance between work and service, practicality and impracticality, criticism and acceptance. ”

With the Moon full and bright in the sky, symbolic “illumination” occurs in our own lives. However, these new feelings and revelations are emotional ones, as there is a sense of emotions bursting forth into our consciousness. It’s time to express ourselves, and to let things out of our systems. Over the next two weeks, we will discover what this means for us. For now, we can’t sit on our feelings. We need to express them. Of course, we might want to exercise some care while doing so, knowing that what is coming out of us is not particularly rational as yet.

-CafeAstrology

The Personal

I’ve often found its really helpful to hear from someone else what THEY are going through, in order to get some clarity on what’s going on in my life… So i’d like to do that for you now. Instead of try and write it all down, I’m just going to record it. 2 birds with one stone, right? I need to make more content for youtube anyways, and this is a great place to start!!

Peace to you and Yours!

Spirit Science