Swan Sanctuary

The renowned Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh, died earlier this week. He was known for bringing the practice of mindfulness to the West, after being exiled from Vietnam for his activism for social justice. His teachings and the teachings of Eckhart Tolle are quite similar. They each stress the importance of being rooted in the present moment. Both men exude an aura of peace and simply being in their presence has had a calming influence on others. 

I was first introduced to the concepts of Buddhism when I was still in high school. The concept that has stayed with me throughout my life, is to follow the middle way. To follow the middle way is to not adhere to dogmas, but to find the common denominator between opposing ideas. It is maintaining balance. It is living a life of acceptance rather than complaining or wishing your life were different. There is no peace for those who insist on extremism. Following the middle way is choosing grey instead of black or white. It is taking a less traveled route as opposed to a well traveled one. 

Driven by ego, most people live lives fraught with suffering. They seek to control and manipulate the people and events in their lives. They are constantly struggling and fighting their way upstream, against the current. They believe that life is difficult and in many respects they are right. Life is filled with challenges, but that is why we are here. It is only in acceptance of those challenges that peaceful solutions emerge. What Thich Nhat Hanh, Tolle, Chopra, and many other spiritual teachers have taught, is that the way out of suffering is to dive deep within ourselves – into that pool of stillness, that warm womb of peace that is lined with love. From there, we see clearly and breathe each breath fully as it comes forth. We concentrate on our breath because it is the constant reminder that we cannot hold on to it. We must release the breath in order to take in the next one. 

I am grateful for these great teachers who have touched the lives of so many. Every person who becomes aware of these truths, brings our world closer to healing. When we create peace in our own lives, we are positively affecting our chances for world peace.

It has been pointed out that one of the main differences between spirituality and religion, is that religions seeks to talk to God and to be heard; while spirituality is the practice of listening to God. Those who have grown up under the heavy hand of religion and have been preached to by preachers, priests, rabbis, and parents, are not expected to think for themselves. Instead, they are required to absorb and to accept all that they have been told. The time that they spend in prayer “talking” to God is generally supplicating, begging, and pleading for something and for which in return, they promise to be “good”. If God were actually someone “up there listening”, he – or she – could not be heard amid the loud laments and pleas of the one praying. It is akin to a situation where two people are talking at the same time, but neither is hearing what the other one is saying because they only want to be heard, and because they do not believe that the other has anything of value to say.

Those who are on a spiritual path, seek first, the silence. They sit quietly, they breathe deeply, and they listen intently. Oftentimes, simply quieting the mind, meditating or observing nature is all that they need. As they sit in silence, they begin to know “the peace that passes all understanding.” It is in these quiet moments that the need to speak subsides and the ability to listen grows stronger.

Water has long been known to be a conductor of messages from the subconscious. People often report having received their greatest ideas or answers to problems while in the shower or the bath. Once the art of listening has been developed, an epiphany can occur at an unexpected time and an unexpected place. When we seek to understand, rather than to control the events in our lives, we ease the grip of anxiety. We can release attachments to particular outcomes and relax into not knowing, knowing that answers will present themselves at the perfect moment and in the perfect way. Outside approval is no longer needed when we seek inside, rather than outside of ourselves. Our intuition will never let us down, but we must be willing to be quiet – as quiet as a church mouse – in order to hear it.

I heard something yesterday that immediately made me think of Eckhart Tolle. My new Facebook friend had quoted someone else, whose name I do not know; but it was this: “When you set your alarm for tomorrow, you set it today. Eckhart reminds us that it is always now. Even if we are thinking about the past or worrying about the future, we are doing it in the present moment. My friend went on to say how she liked to prepare the night before, for the coming day. Initially, I thought that is not living in the moment. That is living for a future that has not yet arrived and missing out on the current moment. However; the more I pondered this, I realized that making preparations makes perfect sense. Our lives do require a certain amount of planning; and making plans actually frees us to enjoy more moments. Like my friend, I also make preparations. I make preparations on Sunday evenings, for the work week ahead. By putting the tasks before me in order, making lists, prioritizing, and efficiently completing smaller tasks, I help ensure a restful night’s sleep and I can move into the next day free of anxiety. Knowing that I have covered all my bases, I can be fully present in tomorrow’s moments. 

I have a mental checklist of things that I need to do prior to leaving my house. Turning down the thermostat, turning off lights, unplugging small appliances, and making certain my cat has food and fresh water while I am away, are a few of the things that I regularly make a point of doing. Then, when I get into my vehicle, I can be completely present while I am driving. Once I have arrived at work, I do not have to be stressed, worrying whether or not I turned off the oven. I can put my full attention on my job at hand. 

As a gardener, I know that gardening sustainably requires us to mimic Mother Nature as much as possible. Our planet, the seasons, and pretty much everything that we can observe, reflects Nature’s order. When we create order in our lives, as well as in our gardens, we are following the rules of nature. I learned years ago that I do not like coming home to a dirty kitchen and a sink full of dirty dishes. I like even less, waking up to a grimy kitchen and I will not cook in it without first cleaning it. I want to have a clean slate so to speak, upon waking in the morning, without the remains of yesterday to sully it. When we take care of those things that require our attention in the moment, we are allowed to enjoy the next moment. Procrastination only leads to rushing about and running amok throughout our day in a futile attempt to “catch up” because we did not plan. Forgetfulness, confusion, perpetual anxiousness, and even fear are a result of putting off those things that could have been easily prepared for ahead of time. The important thing is to be conscious in each and every moment, even as we prepare for the next.

Last night I watched a movie that came out in 2001, called Midwives. It was about a lay midwife in rural Vermont who had delivered several babies. She was experienced and devoted to her calling, as well as being well respected in her community. One night during an ice storm, a laboring woman died while in labor. The midwife did everything possible to try and save the woman’s life, including an attempt to transport her to a hospital, when due to downed phone lines, she could not summon an ambulance. Not wanting to lose the baby as well, the midwife performed a C-section with a kitchen knife. The baby lived.

The state then put the midwife on trial for manslaughter, for the death of the baby’s mother. The midwife had acted upon her intuition, being totally present in the moment. Later on, she second guessed herself, wondering if in fact she had made a mistake, as the prosecutors tried to imply.  Given the circumstances, if she had not listened to her inner guidance and done exactly what she did, it is very likely that both the mother and the baby would have died. Even if the woman had planned a hospital birth, she may not have made it to a hospital anyway, due to the ice storm. The midwife had relied on her experience and her integrity. Her attorney, her husband, and a few others recognized her heroic efforts which were worthy of a medal.

I was very disappointed in this film because at the end, it left viewers with the false belief that homebirth is not safe and that it is dangerous. It made lay midwives look incompetent, insinuating that they do not have enough training. Babies have been born into the world, at home, for millennia. Women have entrusted their laboring bodies and their babies into the care of midwives since the beginning of human history. In the past century, our government and the medical giants have taken away our personal freedoms. They have instilled fear in people and in a woman’s ability to bring forth life. Pregnancy is not a disease! Giving birth is a natural phenomena that does not normally require drugs. Society has been brainwashed and women and babies have suffered immeasurably from so called medical advancement. Doctors and nurse midwives rely on machines, rather than experience and wisdom. Doctors frequently ‘schedule’ births to fit their own time constraints. Women often request drugs because they have been convinced that they should not feel pain. From the moment a hospital born baby takes its first breath, it becomes property of the state, and the parents are merely given the privilege of raising it.

All three of my daughters were born at home, under the guidance of lay midwives, into a loving and welcoming environment. I still give thanks every day for these sacred events in my life. I am still more grateful that I managed to  keep my daughters out of the clutches of the medical ‘professionals’, raising them myself into beautiful, healthy, and happy human beings.

The eagle has represented the power of government since early Roman times. The United States adopted the Bald Eagle in 1787, as the country’s emblem, to represent strength and freedom. The eagle has long been a symbol of independence and pride. This reminds me of the quote, “Pride goeth before a fall.” The original statement is found in the Bible, in the book of Proverbs. A variation says, “Pride goeth before destruction.” Either way, I think this is highly symbolic of our times. The United States has risen in power and is considered to be the most powerful nation in the world. Our country is filled with “proud” Americans. It is also said that absolute power corrupts. We were shown last January 6th that our country is infested with corruption. Nature; however, is showing us that she will have the final word.

Strangely enough, what brought me to this observation is that a Steller’s Sea eagle, which is indigenous to Siberia, has been spotted in Quebec, Nova Scotia, and more recently, in Massachusetts and Main. It is considered to be a vagrant by birders because this is not its regular playground. It is a magnificent and beautiful bird and is runner up to the largest eagle, the Giant Philippine eagle. It has a wingspan of 8 feet! No one is sure if it is lost, perhaps having been blown off course on migration to its wintering grounds in Japan, or if it has voluntarily shown up there.

There is no denying that the eagle is strong and beautiful. There are in fact 60 different eagle species throughout the world; but if we do not begin making giant strides in protecting their habitats, we face the possibility of losing them all. Eagles are not prideful, in spite of the adjective we have so generously bestowed upon them. They are one of thousands of species on our planet trying to carve out a living. They are a reminder to us to strive to reach the great heights that they are capable of. They encourage us to look up towards the light and to look away from the prevailing darkness on our planet. If the eagle comes crashing down, so will we.

Periodically, I listen to podcasts of talks by Eckhart Tolle. He has influenced me more than any other spiritual teacher that I have come across. He joins Oprah Winfrey in a series of podcasts about his book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, which they review chapter by chapter. In the talk, I am reminded of the often repeated truth, “What you resist, persists.” (Carl Jung). Tolle expounds on that statement saying, “What you fight, you strengthen.” Oprah goes on to clarify how as a society, we mistakenly believe that fighting is the answer to life’s problems. We fight drug addiction. We fight gun violence. We fight cancer. We fight racial injustice. We are fighting COVID. In reality, we are perpetuating these things. We are strengthening them, rather than eradicating them.

The constant dwelling on COVID by the news media is giving it more power in our lives (if we listen to the news) and if we continue to believe that we must wage war on this pandemic, we are in for a long battle indeed.

Our  modern society is addicted to drama. We create it in our own lives. We watch it in movies. We see it 24/7 on our televisions. Some have taken this need to fight onto their social media, exchanging verbal attacks with strangers. Another person, whom we do not even know, becomes our enemy because we disagree with the words she has posted. In addition to the drama, we are also conditioned to believe that “we” are right and “they” are wrong. We feel it is our duty to bring others around to our way of thinking, instead of listening. When we believe that a person or an opinion is our enemy, we give our power to it. Until we stop resisting what has appeared in our lives and relinquish our need to create drama, release our need to be right, and let go of our need to fight every problem we face, we will never know peace. What are you fighting?

When I first heard the term permaculture, I mistakenly believed it was merely a more in depth means of gardening sustainably. This is only partially true. Permaculture is a design system that can be applied to every area of your life. It is creating a design for a whole, self-contained system that seeks to be self-sustaining, self-sufficient, and ecologically sustainable. The goal is to create a system that is both permanent and cultural. To sum it up, permaculture is a holistic, living-in-harmony approach to living on our planet. 

The first step in creating a permaculture design is to observe. As permaculturists we observe patterns in Nature, mimic her, and at the same time balance our own needs with the needs of the world and community that we live in. Permaculture is about giving back at least as much as we take. It is about creating solutions using techniques that look at the whole system, rather than just a small part. Our human means of interacting with nature for the past one hundred years, or more, has been to take things apart and dissect them down to the minunist part. We have lost sight of the big picture. We have allowed this small thinking to restrict us into narrow perceptions, forgetting that we are also a part of nature. We are a part of the whole – not something that lives outside of it.  

Designing our lives using permaculture ideas, is to design with integrity. It is slowing down the process in order to see possible solutions from all angles. It is both philosophical and scientific. It is practical. Often, the problem is the solution. We look for solutions that require the least amount of change for the greatest effect. We reuse, recycle, and repurpose. When we apply permaculture principles in our lives, we are caring for the earth and caring for people. Permaculture has been slowly trickling up and spreading out into many of the solutions that are now being implemented around the world. I look forward to a future when these principles of design are the rule and not the exception.

Our human ability to move about the planet, taking whatever we wish along with us, has resulted in a world that is severely off balance. Numerous plant, bird, animal, and insect species have been transported to other parts of the world from which they originated. Some were brought intentionally, while others simply hitched a ride, undetected. Some have not survived; but some thrived so well that they pushed out our native species. Wherever soil is left bare, alien species often outcompete the native ones, spreading prolifically. They are then designated as weeds and we spray toxic poisons in a futile attempt to eradicate them.

The displacement of our native plant species is a huge problem because alien plants do not provide the food that is needed by the native fauna. The majority of butterflies and moths are host specific. This means that when they first emerge as caterpillars, they require a specific plant on which to feed and grow. Many of their host plants have disappeared and been replaced by acres and acres of monocultures – of corn, wheat, soy, and other crops. Since the butterflies cannot find the host plant on which to lay their eggs, they begin to decline. Of the approximately 800 North American butterfly species, more than half are currently threatened. We have already lost at least five butterfly species. The 12,000 moth species, of which most are nocturnal, also face disappearance. While most people are familiar only with the non-native European honey bee, nearly a quarter of our 4,000 native bees are in decline. About 350 of them already face the possibility of extinction.

Our pollinators are essential to the growth of those plants that provide food for us. It is going to take all of us to help bring our native flora and fauna back into balance. We can become citizen scientists. We can plant native plants in our yards. We can encourage our family, friends, and neighbors by setting an example. We can mentor our children because it is their future that we need to be concerned about.

Today I am thinking of the hundreds of things that I truly appreciate. I love the warmth of the sun that is streaming through the window on this cold January morning. I appreciate the walls of my home that insulate me from the relentless wind. I appreciate my houseplants that show me their appreciation, by thriving and continuing to provide me with oxygen. They also clean my indoor air when it is too cold to open the windows.

I feel a great sadness for the many homes that are neglected, crying out for some TLC. Greedy investors continue to buy up available homes, thinking only of the profit they hope to make. Many older homes remain in a doleful state of dilapidation, in need of painting and newer windows. Some have rotting porches and broken fences falling down around them. The yards are filled with obsolete automobiles that do not run and unrepairable appliances. Those with trees have damaged trunks and broken branches. The yards are filled with a plethora of weeds. Newer homes are poorly built and stand like ghosts, naked to the elements with no trees or shrubbery to protect them.

Many tenants do not appreciate their rental homes. They resent the over-priced rent that they are required to pay, or their landlord, which is quite often a property management company, rather than an individual. They take their frustration out on the home itself, often causing further damage to a house that is already in a deplorable condition. The owners do not want to provide any upkeep to the property since it would cut into their profits. The tenant, even if he has the money, does not want to invest anything into a home that he does not own. The investor, not willing to invest any more into the property, does not bother to have it cleaned when one tenant moves out and another moves in. The new tenant, if he wants a clean home, must first clean away the dirt left behind by the previous tenant. 

This overall lack of appreciation extends from one’s housing out into the world. Disrespect for the shelter the home provides may escalate into disrespect for his pets, for his neighbors, for his coworkers, and for strangers that he passes each day. When he is filled with negativity, he suffers. Life does not have to be this way. When we learn to appreciate the little things, that appreciation broadens into appreciation for more and more. Appreciation is another form of love. To appreciate the world, and everything in it, is to fall in love with the world. When we love the world, we joyously provide TLC to all that is in need of it.

I was relieved to hear that the supreme court blocked the mandate which would have forced employees of large companies to either be vaccinated or be regularly tested. Many people are growing weary of the fear tactics that have been employed through the media, to enforce vaccinations. People like myself, who understand the power of the mind, are not so easily taken in by all of the hype. You cannot turn on the news for five minutes without hearing about the endless stream of COVID statistics. Those people who live in constant fear of coming down with the virus, will eventually succumb to it. Many, who have dutifully offered up their arm to receive the vaccine, have caught the virus anyway. Their fear was greater than the belief that the vaccine would keep them safe. 

We were assured in the beginning of the pandemic that, once a vaccine was created, people would stop getting sick. We were then told that we needed a booster to protect us against the Delta variant that had emerged. The media continued to feed fear to the public that was ravenous for information. We now have the Omicron variant and we are being advised that we need at least 3 shots to protect us from the virus. Some became sick from the vaccine itself, but they were assured that this was “normal” and that had they actually gotten COVID, they would have been much sicker. Isn’t this mere speculation? They cannot prove that the vaccine will ensure milder symptoms, but they are the “experts” so people accept this as fact.

When will this propaganda of fear be stopped? Will there be another variant after Omicron, and then more vaccines, on infinitum? The FDA approved 4 different vaccines for use against COVID. It is supposedly safe to mix and match these chemical concoctions and ignore any potential side effects. Is the public simply being used as human guinea pigs? As long as the masses are held within the iron grip of fear, people will continue to get sick. That which they fear will come upon them. It has been said that we do not have a health care system in this country (and probably in the entire world). We have a disease care system.

I now consider myself to be in that group of people who are considered “elderly”. In the beginning of the pandemic, we were told that the elderly were vulnerable. As a child and a young adult, I was sick often. I was bottle fed so I did not receive the benefits of the colostrum that is found in a mother’s milk and which provides immunity for many things. This was in the early 1950’s. Aligned with the song from The Sound of Music, “Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down…”, my mother felt it necessary to sprinkle sugar on most of the foods I ate – even oranges and bananas, which were already loaded with natural sugar. At school we would line up at the nurse’s office once or twice a year to receive a shot in our arm, or a sugar cube containing an unknown substance. Once out of high school and on my own, I became more aware of what I ate. When I became pregnant with my first daughter, I began to cut down on sugar and stopped drinking sodas, preferring plain water or water with lemon. I cooked from scratch and began to exercise regularly. I rarely ate fast food. Over the years I grew healthier. In my mid-thirties I discovered Louise Hay’s book, You Can Heal Your Life. I learned about the connection between our deepest held convictions and what we experience in our reality. 

The last time that I had a cold or a sinus infection was in 2006. Eight years ago I had a 24 hour stomach flu. I have not been sick since. I regularly affirm that I am healthy. I eat foods and take supplements that naturally support my immune system. I am not afraid of COVID. I turn a deaf ear to the fear propaganda. It is apparent to me that the vaccines are not living up to what we have been promised they would do. When the world stops feeding the virus with fear, it will most likely disappear.