mermaidcamp
Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water
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Synchronicity and Synchronization
March 19, 2013
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To move in synchronicity with others requires concentration and practice. The more a performing group practices the more it develops coordination and precision. From flying trapeze to marching band groups, timing and focus make all the difference. This Chinese troupe is hearing impaired, which makes the synchronization very impressive.
Synchronicity is not practiced, and may appear to be unrelated. The coordination of meaning is personal, but it depends on the oneness of the universe. The individual must notice and connect the dots to appreciate synchronicity. One must look from a new frame of reference to see the connections that fall into place every day.
Saving Tucson’s Environment
March 17, 2013
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This week I had the opportunity to take a workshop with Watershed Management Group. I am concerned about the use and abuse of our water resources in Tucson, so I was curious to learn what this group is teaching. I found the format to be very effective. Our 2 day workshop took place at the Ward 1 City of Tucson office near the Santa Cruz River. A grant has been secured to improve the environment around the office. The water harvesting techniques we learned to retrofit neighborhoods with green infrastructure are needed in all parts of the Tucson valley in order to preserve and repair our water table. The city of Tucson Water, and the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality sponsor and fund some of these storm water harvesting projects. Others are created by neighborhoods and cities. Lake Havasu City has been an active client, as is the city of Sierra Vista.
My fellow students came from as far away as Buffalo, New York. There were several New Mexicans. All were professionals in the fields of landscape design, civil engineering, architecture, permaculture, and real estate management. I attended out of my general interest in water quality and health. I have a specific interest in stopping the rape of the environment in my neighborhood by my own HOA board. There is an insistence on as much water waste and plant destruction as possible, which has left us with a more and more barren urban heat island. The value of our property as well as the quality of life around us has been destroyed, along with wildlife habitat, by simply following worst environmental practices for more than a decade. If no steps are taken to stop the destructive practices we can expect our value to continue to drop and our crime rate to continue to rise. Environment and greenery have a very direct effect on crime rates.
I learned more than enough to convince some of my neighbors to join me in turning the tide of waste and ghetto creation in our hood. I look forward to participating in more projects with Watershed Management Group.
Benefits and techniques
Costs
Healthy snacks
we assess the site
checking all deets
Parking lot project
polenta pizza
beets, greens, salad
greens
I am a huge fan of the entire process, about which I will tell you much more, gentle reader. Let it suffice to say that taking courses in watershed management will get you into the best lunch you have ever tasted. Incredibly tasty local ingredients were catered for us picnic style. A good time was had by all. The learning was fine, but the camaraderie and gourmet enjoyment put this experience over the top in my book.
Medicine of the Planets
March 14, 2013
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Astrological Man
planetary rulers of organs
Zodiacal man, 17th century engraving.
Woodcut from Felice Passera, Il nuova tresoro degli’arcana farmacologici galenici, Venice 1688-89.
In the history of medicine the planets and cosmos were the guiding clues that were used to discover treatments and cures. All plants are ruled by planets as are parts of the body. Before YouTube people studied the heavens and did lots of praying. They reached a number of conclusions about cosmology of which most humans today are unaware. Pharmacists, medical doctors and healers used astrology in practice as a matter of course. Everything depended on seasons and the sun. Before we dug coal and oil from the ground civilizations rose and fell because of food supply. Knowing how to make, prepare, gather, and preserve food for the seasons was a matter of life and death. It stands to reason that knowledge of farming and nature was also the only means to improve diet, hygiene and health. Plants are the medicine from which drugs are synthesized now. Plants are the food from which processed foods are prepared today.
Plants were gathered and cultivated to be used as food and medicine. The phases of the moon were and still are important in plant cultivation. More detailed information about the meaning and use of plants was studied by the ancients. In fact, in Basel, Switzerland, arguably the big pharma capital of the world, the botanical garden is smack dab in the middle of the medical school campus. This was the same medical school from which my man Paracelsus was expelled for being a heretic. We like to think we are all that today with our science. I believe we have allowed a much narrower view of life to reign. I think we are made whole and healthy by the cosmos. Smaller, short term thinking is not all that healthy. Taking drugs of unknown origin is the new normal. You might look at these planet guys and think they are silly, but they would not pop pills without any rational reason. We cannot return soon enough to growing, knowing, and using plants as food and medicine. That is what nature intended, gentle readers.
Queen Maeve
March 13, 2013
Tara is the magical center of the Emerald Isle. Maeve is the goddess of Tara. A self affirming magical Irish legend, Maeve was the sensual primal woman. Her name means intoxicated woman. She rules sovereignty as well as sexuality. As a symbol of the sovereign, she temporarily married the Kings of Ireland, and rejected those not up to the job. She is perhaps all legend and may have been a real queen.
Celtic women did not suffer the same unequal status as other Euro women. They held property and went to war. Queen Maeve granted sexual favors to the most valiant members of her army as part of standard operating procedures. She, like Cleopatra, was said to have had a multitude of lovers. Her husband had extramarital activity also. They went to war with each other over a bull. She felt the need to have exactly as much property as her husband, and allowed her lusty passion to turn to war. Her story, not recorded, but passed down in Celtic mythology, warns that hot passion can go either way. This wild, drunken, sexy queen had her way with Ireland, and perhaps still does.
Fracking Pennsylvania
March 9, 2013
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PA and Penn State Teach Fracking
In 1947 you could obtain from the Pennsylvania Mineral Industries Experiment Station a paper written by my father. It cost 25 cents to learn the science behind water flooding from The School of Mineral Industries. He and his friend, Pete Terwillager, a co-author of this paper, would go on to work together to frack many a well.
Science Behind Fracking
This was the work my father did to earn his masters degree before I was born. Water flooding is the subject of this research. When he graduated with his masters he went to work in Tulsa for Stanolind, and so did Pete Terwillager. He obtained a patent for fracking together with Stanolind. Now they were done with water injection as the displacement method, and had moved on to an oil like substance.
Fracking explained
My father grew up on the Cherokee Strip seeing all kinds of explosions done to procure petroleum. His father, Ernest Morse, drilled for oil with a crew before the invention of the rotary bit, so they were desperate. The fact that he eventually became the first man to make a numerical model of an oil field on a computer made him brilliant. It did not change his relationship with the resources of the earth. The wild-wild west, boomer sooner attitude is the reason they both lost and won. These barons of resources saw themselves as saviors of society. It was years after my father’s death in 2004 that fracking became a subject the public discussed. It came up as if the practice had recently been invented and applied. Not hardly.
The Spa in Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania
March 4, 2013
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I stand corrected about the spa culture in Pennsylvania. It is alive and well in Bedford Springs. The indoor and outdoor pools are heated with mineral spring water. The hotel, now operated by Omni, is an historic building as well as a health resort from another era. The historic Bedford Springs Hotel was a favorite of many presidents of the US. The healing waters were taken internally as well as used in bathing. The existence of 8 different sources makes this a very special location. The revival of the hotel to a glorious state of the art facility warms my heart, and will warm my body in September. I love to visit places that have been in continuous use as health resorts for centuries. They acquire a certain culture that is always interesting and usually healthy too.
As an historic landmark the hotel building has very specific restoration standards. They are exacting. A source of water was discovered during the renovation that is known as Spring Eternal. The new deluxe spa is named after this spring. The large property was purchased by Dr Anderson in 1796 for development as a health center. His approach included diet and exercise as well as use of the healing waters. The inclusion of local botanicals as well as the spring water is still part of the treatments at the fancy new facility. I look forward to taking a dip, wishing the live musicians were still playing at the indoor pool. There is even an herbal steam room..be still my heart.
Plant Strong
March 3, 2013
— 2 Comments
The newest food craze is not called vegetarian, but plant-based diet. I listened to the interview on Marketplace with the CEO of Veggie Grill who is capitalizing on the trend. I noticed also in the news is the very trendy Engine 2 Diet in which real firemen show you how to quit eating meat. Firefighters are known to enjoy good food and being fit, so this image gets the attention of guys. I love all the new recipes and products one can try on the market. I even love the boot camps the Engine 2 peeps do at farms. The mother of them all will take place in New York in August. It will be called…you will not believe it…Plant stock. It will be followed be the Woodstock Fruit Festival.
Drugs are not the alternative now, since everyone is on prescriptions for virtually any small annoyance. Everyone is on drugs, so the alternative culture to take the stage for the youth today is raw vegan health food. Who would ever have thought this would happen? We should have known something was up when Bill Clinton became a vegan. I have been mostly vegetarian since 1969, with a few fishes eaten in the late 1970s. Frequently when fads catch up to me I drop them because it is dull by the time everyone does it. This time I am crazy about the fad, and embrace the young hippies with all their kale and juicers. They have a good idea, and it is catchy. I wish them luck as they try to make food last for the next set of eaters.
Peach Flower Essence
February 27, 2013
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The use of flower essences was made popular by Dr Bach in the first half of the 20th century. He was a physician who discovered the effects on his own emotions when he took simple essences of flowers. His formulas are used widely today, the most famous being rescue remedy, which is a combination of flowers. I have used these concentrated bottled products for years and find them to be effective. However, when the flowers bloom I enjoy making and drinking fresh pure flower remedies.
Practitioners of this method must know and study carefully the proper dosage for a patient. Since I am enjoying my own, I am not concerned with the conventional practice of using a few drops diluted in alcohol for a remedy. I drink much larger quantities straight up. I always know the meaning of the flower and the cure for which it is used commercially. There are many local companies doing remedies now, so finding a reference to a specific flower is not so hard. It does require the use of the Latin name. Common names in botany can lead to serious errors.
My peach tree is in bloom now and the bees are busy turning the blooms into peaches. I will make an essence when the weather warms later in the week. Peach, Prunus persica, is used for altruism. It is a catalyst that facilitates the release of tension by those who fret excessively over their own problems. It allows nurturing from wholeness rather than from neediness. It is recommended for external application. This is important. The remedy works if you put it in a bath or rub it into the skin. You do not need to consume it to enjoy the benefits. The first step in making an essence is to meditate on the plant. Enter a quiet state, the best you can, and ask the plant for healing.
This is not natural to you yet, but if you do it for a while, you will begin to feel (notice, perceive) the plant respond to your request. Staying quiet and respectful, pay attention as you pick the flowers so as not to strip or deplete the tree. Placing the flowers in a clear vessel full of clear water, rest the glass container in the sun (or moon) for a while. This is subjective. Do not let it become sun tea, as the flower is delicate. Stop before the flower wilts, but after a taste has entered the water. It often tastes like cucumber or melon. Roses, iris, violets, and citrus taste just like they smell, which is lovely. Peach has little smell or taste, but the beauty of the flowers makes a very happy meditation.
bee in peach tree
prunus persica
peach blossom special
bee on peach
bee with pollen sacks
bee in peach blossom
bee in peach tree
prunus persica flowers
Nature of Man
February 23, 2013
— 3 Comments
Is the essential nature of humans greedy or generous? There are two sides to every coin. If it were possible for you to reverse one trend, what would you change? I think I would make it obsolete to ship, process, and package food.
Food as Metaphor
February 22, 2013
— 1 Comment
I have a sourdough start that has been living for about 5 years. I feed it potato water, sugar and potatoes to keep the yeast alive. The yeast lives in the air and will be different in each geographic location. Technically beer yeast and bread yeast are different strains, but they are both alive. The sourdough is a domesticated life form growing in my kitchen. Each time I make bread I take out half of the starter and add potatoes and sugar to the bowl. After it grows for a day or so I refrigerate it because I have no need to make bread every 24 hours. The ritual of making the bread and keeping the levain alive is important. Mine is unusual because I use no flour in the starter liquid.
Making and sharing food has deep significance. Not everyone has time or interest in bread baking or cooking as a sport, but everyone gets hungry. The way we deal with our appetites tells us something about our relationship to divine providence. To be too strict or picky results in loss of joy, whereas to be undiscriminating will have the exact same result. Culinary taste can and does vary greatly, but the full pleasure of dining is in the execution. The delightful MFK Fisher wrote before the advent of Food Network and the crush of celebrity chefs as entertainers. I have purchased tickets to see Anthony Bordain live on stage in Providence because he does the same schtick. His travel and dining adventures are metaphor fairy tale food stories. Once I saw that he and I will have traveled to the same city at the same time I knew I had to see his show Good and Evil, an obvious referral to food as life. He and I do not eat the same things, but we dine with the same attitude. I look forward to the evening with delight. It will be tasty.
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