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mermaidcamp

Keeping current in wellness, in and out of the water

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Garden Ideas from Grow Down

March 26, 2013

The final installations for the Grow Down design contest are all very impressive.  My favorite did not win the official competition, but I still love the water harvesting site built by Realm.  Here are the ideas from the other installations not centered around water harvesting and growing food, which is my personal bias.

The three other designs were also innovative and showed new ways to use small spaces to create privacy and shade.  The use of metal was popular with all four, but the winner constructed a full on room with a roof, couch and fireplace.  The full size tree and the water feature at the entrance clinched the deal with the judges I am sure.  The view from the comfy couch is really lovely, and would be great in cool weather with the modern gas fireplace.  If you live in Tucson I recommend that you see the grow down installations to pick up some excellent ideas to use at home in your garden.  I plan to try a few things I saw today.  There are lots of ideas that can be executed on an even smaller scale.

Grow Down!!

March 25, 2013 — 1 Comment

post modern deserts cape

post modern desertscape

Tucson Botanical Gardens hosted a demonstration weekend for local designers.  The Grow Down is intended to show ways to get big use from small gardens.  I attended on Saturday to see how they were doing and watch a demonstration on using shade cloth.  I will go back and see the finished designs as well as the winner of the prize.  My own prize goes to Realm, the group that was practically finished when the others were still working away on the installation.  They show a water harvesting method, bright green fake turf, and vegetables growing in raised beds.  This is exactly the kind of water use Tucson needs to cultivate.  Go Realm, Grow Down!! You have my vote.  The other designs were also very beautiful, but there was nothing to eat.

Realm design entry

Realm design entry

water harvesting

water harvesting

bridge over water retention

bridge over water retention

bench and fake grass

bench and astroturf

Tomates

Tomatoes

Citrus in pot

Citrus in pot

plants in bench

plants in bench

sitting area

sitting area

Femme Fatale Archetype

March 24, 2013 — 9 Comments

Rita Hayworth embodied the ultimate femme fatale in her movie role of Gilda. She was the pin-up goddess that excited WWII soldiers with her sexy alluring figure. Classic dangerous women come in a few formats. In literature this woman can be everything from a succubus, destroying men in their sleep, to a sexy helpless woman hiring a private eye.  She differs from the Vamp in her indirect approach.  She uses manipulative behavior to acquire money and men without investing any personal emotion.  In some stories, she also kills her victim.  When she is rejected, like Scarlett O’Hara is in Gone with the Wind, she may experience an opening of the heart, and a change.  Is this woman totally a myth, or do we see her in our lives?  Are there public femme fatales?

Spring Blooming in the Desert

March 23, 2013 — 2 Comments

When spring arrives in the desert it comes on quickly and leaves.  We have to get it while we can. The color of the blooms on cactus are extravagant and vivid.  The bees are busy and the livin’ is easy, for a very short time….then we sizzle.

Dreams and Dreamers

March 22, 2013 — 5 Comments

Your dreams are personal and they arise from the collective unconscious as well as your own. We all share a foundation of unknown mythology that our ancestors built into our beliefs. We share, and sometimes rebel against, cultural practices and teachings.  To deeply analyze our own psychological types dream work is necessary. The setting and the characters portrayed in dreams are metaphorical players in our spiritual lives.  Deeper understanding of our own unconscious leads to better understanding and appreciation for all of life.

There has been an attempt to hijack the word dream and turn it into a house or a car, or that illusive American Dream.  The big consumer consciousness promotes purchases of certain items in order to fulfill a dream.  It also spotlights outer image as the key to dreaminess.  I think it is important to note that marketing experts use the personality types to design ad campaigns and sales persons use them to craft the appropriate pitch for the prospect.  The archetype technique is being used strategically to manipulate you and your dreams.  If you submit willingly you will buy a lot of stuff with dubious dream fulfillment.  Take the reigns, gentle reader.  Design your own dreamscapes and accept no substitutes.

The Prince Archetype

March 21, 2013 — 4 Comments

 

In literature and mythology the prince is an archetypal figure. In drama or our lives the prince represents one who must take the mysterious and trying journey to become king. His dark shadow companion is the wanderer, who never accepts reposnsibility and continues to avoid the dignity and responsibility of his royal inheritance. They look a bit like William and Harry, honestly.  The prince can be charming or dark in his presentation.  He may complete his journey and become king, but there is no guarantee.

Carl Jung identified 4 masculine archetypes, and made the assertion that to be whole man must be in touch with all of them.  He also explained the bi-polar potential inherent in each character.  They are described as shadow and positive qualities.  The soul embarks on an epic journey to mature on earth.  The heroes and Prince Charmings of our lives have lessons to teach as well as to learn.  When you think of this archetype who pops into your thoughts?  Americans have some pretty wild versions of the prince from Disney to the artist formerly and once again known as Prince.  How do we know when our American prince becomes a king?  tricky..

Botanical Break

March 21, 2013 — 2 Comments

A trip to the botanical garden refreshes the spirit and gives a natural buzz to the day. I love to visit the butterfly house to see what they are doing.  Today the orchids made me very happy.

Synchronicity and Synchronization

March 19, 2013 — 1 Comment

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.

Connessione

March 19, 2013 — 2 Comments

Systems thinking was described by Leonardo da Vinci as “Everything is connected to everything else”. He called this connessione, or connection.  Now that we study quantum physics, we can see that Leonardo’s concern with the connectedness of all things was ahead of his time.  Ecology is the whole picture, with all the actions and reactions charted, considered and studied.  Man has now reached the conclusion that the unenlightened connections to our environment are probably destroying the future of man.

Where and how do you connect with all of creation?  We can think of many examples of disconnection….government, education, so called health care, all the failed and failing systems created without any thought of wholeness and balanced contribution.  How do you effect the world around you and how does it effect you?  Are you aware of any connections in your life?  What is the most important intellectual connection you have made up to this point?  I notice that resources abound for those who notice, respect, and care for them.  I have connected human greed, depression and insatiable consumption of resources as a single downward spiral.  I believe that mindless overconsumption of everything around us is our biggest threat.

Leonardo observed,” every part is disposed to unite with the whole, that it may thereby escape from its own incompleteness.”  How do you apply this idea?

Process Addictions

March 18, 2013 — 7 Comments

Americans are going deeper into process addictions daily. The repetition of compulsive behavior as a substitute for involvement and enjoyment in life is a growing national disaster.  Our national diabetes and obesity problems are highly related to the indoctrination created by the food industry.  If people are vulnerable and advertising is unquestionably absorbed by the public, where is the ethical line of common sense? I heard that one in every four health care dollars in the US is spent on diabetic patients. Our nation is not in control of our health or our advertising. Compulsion rather than appreciation is promoted at every level.

Professionals are being trained to recognize the symptoms and help patients who suffer. The behavior repeated may be socially acceptable, making it hard to distinguish from healthy behavior. Eating disorders are a common variety of process addiction. Eating itself, working itself, sex itself, and even gambling itself ,are not the real problems with the process addicted person. The overwhelming need to repeat and continue to seek reward in a behavior as the thrill diminishes is the hallmark of process addiction.  Joy is drained away from the person who stays in a deep rut of compulsive habits. The remedy is similar to substance abuse treatment, since the same brain centers are involved. To evolve and escape the tyranny of habit is everyone’s job.  To make better choices, the first step is to be present and aware.  If most of your choices are made by default, this is a good time to begin to choose more deliberately.