EcoFair 2011 -my Inspiration

The last few weeks I have been working with a small team of people to create an inspiring vision for EcoFair 2011.
This has been an awesome learning process for me already, and I think that there is so much more for me to learn during this project!

I feel that this years team has the potential to create an awesome, different, exciting event that blows the standards of the past EcoFairs.

My vision is less of a "speakers-event" more into the Infotainment direction
I want a Circus tent, and Eco-clowns, I want bands that sing about sustainability on self made instruments, I want speakers that don't only speak, but lead by example, I want to educate the next generation on how to be sustainable, I want a big bonfire, and a drum circle, I want to create a space where this dream can become a reality, where modern culture meets ancient wisdom, a interface between past, present and future, I want everybody to have fun, learn something and integrate something new into their life!

I know that thats a lot of "wants" and I am fine if not all of these will be fulfilled, but at least I know where I want to go!

Where do you want to go?

For all of you who are interested: here is more info:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149005758468117

  *EcoFair* 2011
Brainstorming Session

Have you been harboring an exciting idea for Ecofair all year that you can't wait to share?
Do you know an amazing speaker, musician, performer, magician that we must have at this years event?
...Do you want a circus tent, bonfire, art exhibition, dance performances, theater productions and, and..?!

Then you must attend our brainstorming session this coming Tuesday and bring with you all your fresh and funky ideas.

Because this year, we're doing it big!

The Mission?
Ecofair 2011 will inspire us all to actively participate in this presently occurring global shift into sustainability, through relevant education and integrative entertainment. It will be an utter mash-up of creative expression, enlightening exposure of knowledge, and ultimate fun galore, that will do nothing less then connect every attendee of the event, MUM's SL department, the sustainable movement community and the Earth in dynamic global harmony!

The Theme:
Metamorphosis; the journey.

meta·mor·pho·sis
The word "metamorphosis" derives from Greek μεταμόρφωσις, "transformation, transforming"[1], from μετα- (meta-), "change" + μορφή (morphe) "form"
a : change of physical form, structure, or substance especially by supernatural means
b : a striking alteration in appearance, character, or circumstances
(source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/netdict/metamorphosis)

the·jour·ney

Stage, Day 1: The standard, the Caterpillar.
Representing the status-quo, illuminating the context of sustainability, the "why it is necessaries," exposing the caterpillar to the realities of a life with only the perception of dirt.

Stage, Day 2: The efforts, the Chrysalis.
Representing the transformative actions being taken now, illuminating the processes of sustainable action as of today and the problems that have become solutions. The chrysalis is the home we are building in order to transform within but in order to step into the next stage we must lose ourselves utterly and completely [Earth Rave anyone?:D].

Stage, Day 3: The potential, the Butterfly.
Representing an intention, a completely transformed reality that is sustainable on every level, and constantly working towards more and more alignment with the Earth and her processes; the butterfly flies only because the wind blows, the interconnected harmony is realized and applied.

Metamorphosis; the journey represents and _is_ in reality a process that the human society must experience in order to resolve and develop beyond the issues that we face today. This shift will be more then a shift of our physical relationship with the earth, it will be, in addition, an existential shift that forces us to reflect on every aspect of our society from our infrastructures, to our economies, to our spiritual practices.

[Only when the caterpillar is willing to see beyond the inhibited disconnected self and release the final outward layer will the transformation occur.

The transformation changes everything, the innermost structure, complete reinvention, utterly shifting the very physics of life, yet in attaining this rebirth into freedom, the transformation simply uses the tools the caterpillar was born with.
A metaphor, a reality.] 

Goals for the Tuesday meeting:
To generate, organize and delegate responsibilities in the areas of Event planning (speakers, workshops, bands, artists, etc....) and Marketing (media, website, fund-raising, etc)

We are accepting volunteers of all levels of interest and availability. Just let us know how much time and energy you are willing to expound and we will find the perfect place for your efforts.

We're looking forward to flying with you!!

What is th Flow?

Oren Harris has somehow a new website, and i really enjoyed reading through it.

 Here are some of the highlights:

What is the Flow?

The Flow is a state of being in which the infinite is introduced to and perfectly integrated with the finite. It is infinite possibilities and the exact conclusion. It is all knowing and knows nothing. It is all of existence and non-existence. When you work and live from the Flow, you exist and work in the relative world from the perspective of the unbounded world. You spontaneously act in the most intelligent and life supporting way. Life becomes more effortless and charming.


 

Bruce Lee : Legendary Martial artist

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.

ESB

Energy sensitive beings have a different operating system and therefore a different success blueprint in the areas of relationship, business, communication and transformation. These services are specifically designed for Energy Sensitive Beings (ESB’S). We engage in a process of discovering the immense gift of sensitivity and how to effectively, powerfully, joyfully, and abundantly operate in the world as a highly sensitive being.

How to wash your clothes

Ok, for many of you this may seem to be a joke, and i admit...it kinda started out as one. I am almost 28 now and have been living on my own for almost 10 years now, and have been washing clothes for a long time...

BUT, everything I learned, i got from my Mum, my ex-girlfriends, my step-mum... And its all biased... they all just do, it cause "thats the way how it is done"... and I never took the time to look into that...


And seriously... DO you know all these signs?!?!

I DO NOT!!!
And there is a lot of other questions... Which colors go well with each other, which do not, why is my mum telling me to wash everything inside out, how do i avoid lint, avoid ironing my shirts and how do i prevent my socks from getting lost...?!?!

So, it is time to learn...
Typing "how to wash clothes" gives the first, almost satisfying answers, with some funny sidenotes like:

 Collect all your soiled clothes from the rooms, or wherever you keep them. Keep in mind to look under your bed.

more about that at:

 http://www.wikihow.com/Wash-Your-Clothes


this very  wise article furthermore says:

"Understand all the knobs on the machines to make sure you are washing the clothes the way you are planning to." 

Hahahahahaahaaaaaa - this one is definitely written for women :D



So, my mum told me to always "wash my clothes inside out"
Mr google brought me to this:
Top 8 Tips to Prevent Colors from Fadingwhich i personally find very entertaining!
Insider tip number one, that astonished me with its simplicity and deep thinking:
"1. Read the Care Label" - reallly!?!?!? guys... you are CRAZY!!!

unbelievably it gets even better because:

Sorting clothes is a great opportunity to check the care label, and place your clothing in the correct pile

I love this article :)

But, finally i get to the answer to my question:

3. Turn Clothes Inside Out

Some of the wear and tear that happens on your clothing can be prevented by turning your clothing inside out before washing and drying. Washing and drying clothing is rough on the outside of your clothing. Turning garments inside out will reduce pilling which dulls the look of the fabric. Don't forget to turn clothing inside out when you hang clothes outside to dry. While the sun is an excellent and efficient drying tool, it will zap the color right out of your clothing.

ok... no real news, but supports my mum :D

and FINALLY:
How do I prevent always having 1 single sock?!?!?!?
The eye-opening surpires???
Safety Pins!!!!!!!!!!
really?

I have no idea if it works, but it sounds like a good idea :)
i got it from 5 Ways to Keep Socks Together Through Washing and Drying

and i like it :)


Enough for today!


Happy wahsing and may your socks never get lost again!!! :)

P.s.: a special tip for very desperate ones: http://www.laundrygoddess.com

My fast for Body and Soul

“Only in quiet waters do thing mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.” – Hans Margolius

I think fasting from time to time is important for everyone of us. But what most people do as fasting, (not eating this, starving, not eating that, etc) is not what I have in mind.

My kind of fast should be more life supporting, it should have a long lasting positive effect on my physical and (more important) psychological health.

I am inspired by various articles I read on blogs about minimalism. One of them is about A Media Fast on the zenhabits blog. I did something similar last year, when i put away my laptop for 2 weeks and did not have a cell phone anyways. But this time I want to set myself some clearer goals for the fast.

The goal is to get rid of all these little addictions that form my life like caffeine and sugar. But also get rid of all these little habits that influence me, like spending too much time in front of the computer, cluttering my life and not getting enough physical exercise.

Some of the media fast stuff will not be too hard for me, since I do not have a TV, a radio, DVD player. No newspaper is coming to my door every day and  I don't go to the theater very often. But on the other hand my computer has become my all in one doorway to the media world. I watch movies and TV series on it, I read newspapers and blogs on it, I use it for communication and for listening to music. (And during my internship I sat in front of it 8 hours a day during work)

That has to change. Therefore the most important part of my fast is to reduce the time I spend in front of my computer from currently 8 - 10 hours a day down to 30 mins a day maximum. But there are other things I want to change too. Currently I am drinking something with caffeine every day. Also I think that I am running around with my headphones plugged into my ears too much. So, to summarize it, I listed my does and don't s for the fast.

What I will not do in these 2 weeks:

• No Caffeine
• No extra Sugar
• No Alcohol
• only organic, fresh, vegetarian food
• No TV
• No Music (meaning: not using my mp3 player  and other music devices to distract me)
• minimize Cell phone use (not sure how, but probably turn off the whole day and only use when really necessary)
• use Computer max 30 mins a day
• go to bed before 11 pm

I assume through these changes there will be a tremendous amount of "extra time" that i will have every day. Therefore here is a list of things I want to accomplish with this "extra time".

What I will do:

• de-clutter my possessions and give away everything i do not need anymore
• create a vision board
• spend more time with people that are important to me
• be active, do sports (Volleyball, Soccer, Riding my bike, etc)
• Solitude: get more clear about who i am and what i want
• meditate twice a day
• finally start learning to play guitar
• do whatever else I want to do and does not conflict with the rest of my fast

I am sure that there is a million other things that i will discover while doing the fast that i will want to do. I will try to do all of them as long as they go along with the rest of my fast. 

New York, New York

As many of you know, I spent a few days in New York last week.

It was amazing, exhausting, transforming, interesting, fun, and everything else you can possibly imagine.

I had a great time being in this busy city, seeing some really amazing sights (Statue of Liberty, Times Square, Union Square, MoMa, Highline Park Rockefeller Center) and meeting some amazing people.

I spent one evening with Amine, enjoying an awesome dinner, walking through Union Park and Manhatten.

Amine, Mr. NY, showing me Union Square

Also I met Nick, who showed me the Moma and its exciting Matisse exhibition,  High-line Park, other parts of Manhatten and Brooklyn, as well es Williamsburg -the hippster district ;-)
 Together with Nick and Shannon I had great Indian food, somewhere in Manhattan

Nick in his apparment in Brooklyn

Nick and a friend on Highline Park, Manhatten

Shannon and a piece of me during lunch in an Indian res

taurant

At the Entrance of Moma.

 Also I had the awesome opportunity to stay with Vedas family! They were so great, and gave me much more then I ever hoped for! They even took me to their temple on saturday! It was amaying!

 Inspired by Josh Adams I also took some Videos.
One is of the probably best street artists I have ever seen playing in a Subway station! I was sooo sad when the train entered the station, cause i did not want to leave them...

 

Sooo, it was an amazing time, and i hope to come back to NY soon!
love

My Vision 2010

My Vision for 2010 - 11:
Learn with every fiber of my body

Recently I had some time to think about my life and my goals, and cause i read some business books that where all about "having a vision", I spent some time thinking about my own, personal vision.

I had always been really bad at stuff like that, cause I never really knew what I should do with my life, but this one day last week it suddenly was so clear to me. Clearer than it ever was. And I understood, that I have had problems expressing it, because my goals never were something like: "i want to reach this and that, I want to have so much money, and this car, and that house, etc", but much more in a general direction way. Ideas that i want to explore, values that i want to uphold, directions i want to reach out.

But getting clear on that, my vision becomes very simple. I found out that I have a very clear goal for next year and that my values have always been there. I just did not consciously know them. So I started writing them down.

My Vision: Learn with every fiber of my body


I am aware and conscious in every moment. Through that I learn and grow mental, emotional physical and spiritual with everything I do. I trust my intuition to guide me spontaneously in the right direction. I understand that only by doing I learn and grow and integrate. Therefore I accept and embrace challenges as opportunities to grow and see mistakes and errors as a part of the learning process. I live in tune with nature and all its richness and opportunities because only by living in line with nature I can truly grow.

Core Values: 

• learning takes place through doing. Through doing I grow and expand
• By being in tune with nature, i am also more in tune with my self. This includes living in a sustainable way as well as following natures patterns
• reduction: I reduce my consumption to things that are necessary and life supporting
• physical well being promotes mental well being
• these values are not dictating my life, my life is creating my values - i constantly rethink and reevaluate my Core Values and adopt and change them to fit to my life.

Action Steps:

• Mental
• at MUM: I try to get the best out of every class. If a class does not come up to my expectations I do not lean back and just sit through it, but rather challenge myself, my teachers and my classmates to make the class better
• GSC/World Congress/Bornell Project: I know that only through doing and practicing I really learn and I see my work as an opportunity for learning by doing. I train my skills by actively participating, stepping up when necessary and observation when possible.
• I take my time to be clear about what i want and do not want and follow my passions.
• Emotional
• I keep on working on my personal development through shadow work, 
• I am opened to building close relationships and open myself.
• Physical
• I train and explore my own body. I am physical active in as many different areas as possible. First of all: riding my bike whenever possible; but also doing yoga, soccer, volleyball, rock climbing, tree climbing, running, walking, skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing and everything else that is fun
• I commit to one kind of exercise and do it on a regularly basis (ex: go to jiu jitsu, Tai chi, or any other kind of martial arts).
• Spiritual
• I meditate on a regular basis to continuously work on my spiritual development and evaluate the effect of meditation on my wellbeing.
• I am opened to other spiritual practices, try out what sounds interesting to me and evaluate them on a subjective basis.
• Sustainability and contentment 
• transportation: No car, no motorbike, but riding my bicycle. Use public transport whenever possible
• food: I stick to organic, local, seasonal, unpacked, fresh food whenever possible
• waste: I avoid plastic bags, plastic bottles, and all disposable items. Whatever is not avoidable I try to recycle
• lifestyle: I reduce consumption. before I buy something I ask myself if I really need it or if I just want it and rethink my decision.
• I prefer to buy from companies that reflect my values: Sustainability, Fair Trade, Open Source, Responsibility, etc...

Marketing 101: Effectiveness vs efficiency

I know we are all already tired of this. We all know the words from Peter F. Drucker (who happens to be Austrian):

“Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things.”

this picture actually has nothing to do with the post. i just
like it and the post i stole it from

So here is my story:

Right now, I am interning in the Maharishi Ayurveda Spa in Lancaster. A place that was famous, back in the good old days when deepak was still here, and all the celebrities from NY came here to retreat. 

Not too long ago, this place made 40.000 Dollars a month - minus.

In the last 2 years it had 6 different "general managers" and since one year a new president. 

Investments where made; renovation, marketing strategy, new people.

sounds good.

Just do something

When I came here, I first figured out, that there is no written down vision or mission statement. No goal, except for the presidents plan of making this a profitable place again. Well... I am just an intern...

I was told that there are several projects they are working on, one of them was the online presence. 

Since I know some stuff about that already, i thought this would be a good project for me to help with.

So, i started collection infos about a blog, started a facebook group, a youtube channel, and provided all sorts of information for my boss.

Then they desided they want to change the website. So i was asked to drop the social media stuff and get started with the website.

well... i am just the intern...

I spent the last 2 weeks creating a new sitemap, moving content from A to B, writing new texts, suggesting ideas, implementing stuff, uploading new pictures and so on.

Now, they tell me the website project is canceled for now.

Aaah well... I am just the intern.

They wasted 4 weeks of me being a valuable help for them for 2 projects that did not even get started. But I am not even worried about my time. I am worried that they are going to continue this kind of working until its too late.

At least i have learned my lesson. Think before you do.

Often it seems easy to know the difference between effectiveness and efficiency, when in fact most of the people only look at doing things right, but don't spend much time on thinking what the right things are.

I am curious if there are any other project that they want me to get started on. And I will be a nice employee and do it without asking the only real question: "Why?"

As a matter of fact, I just spent some time last week on writing down my vision and values for next year and made some interesting discoveries. But more about that another time :) 

P.s. I just started reading more about Peter F. Drucker and started to getting really interested in his work. There might be more to come on him too :)

The Lucid Lynx experience

So, i just stumbled over "Lucid Lynx" a few days ago. Sounds like a drug! - something new from the eastern European drug laboratories!

But NO - its a operating system. Based on Linux. Open Sources. Managed by a company who's only income comes through Customer Services. With a huge community in the background.

How awesome is that?!?!

I have been thinking about changing my Software usage in a direction that reflects my values for a long time.
Something that's based on a service oriented, sustainable, opened values.
Something not like Microsoft. And not like Apple (honestly, anybody still believes that Apple is "different")

But i did not know where to go.
In my darkest hours (my laptop needed about 10 minutes to boot) i started googleing, and i stumbled over "ubuntu".
ubuntu?!?!
what's that... sounds african...
"humanity towards others"
interesting.





Ubuntu:

Ubuntu (pronounced /uːˈbuːntuː/ or /uːˈbʌnˌtuː/) is a computer operating system based on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and is distributed as free and open source software with additional proprietary software available.

Ubuntu provides an up-to-date, stable operating system for the average user, with a strong focus on usability and ease of installation. 

Ubuntu is sponsored by the UK-based company Canonical Ltd., owned by South Africanentrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. By keeping Ubuntu free and open source, Canonical is able to utilize the talents of community developers in Ubuntu's constituent components. Instead of selling Ubuntu for profit, Canonical creates revenue by selling technical support and from creating several services tied to Ubuntu.

source: wikipedia 



how awesome is that!?!
a software company that is in line with my values of how to run a business. It's open source, free, easy to use and service oriented!!

Soo, i installed it.
took 5 minutes! (maybe 10... but short)
and it runs PERFECTLY FINE!

Their newest version is called "Lucid Lynx". What a name!!!
It comes with Firefox, OpenOffice, a Social Media interface, an Email interface and a shit load of plug ins and ad ons you can install (Gimp, vlc player, skype, and and and)
Also, you can install it parallel to your actual operating system (what i did).
At the beginning of each boot you just select which ever you want (in my chase windows xp vs. ubuntu) and then it starts.

I'll gonna test it for about a month before I will finally erase my Windows XP and just run Ubuntu Lucid Lynx)

I am soooo exited!


you can find more info here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ubuntu_(operating_system)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucid_Lynx

Peaches, Blueberries and the Future of the World

aaah, i love blueberries

My friend Kathie and I were picking peaches and blueberries yesterday. Just around the corner where I work right now is a small scale, organic farm where you can "pay and pick".

It was great! I used to do that as a kid, back in Austria, picking all kinds of berries and fruits in my grandmas garden and in the Alps.

But since then, I had not done it for ever. 

So it felt like a trip back to my childhood, standing in this field, with a little box in my hand and hunting for the biggest, ripest, bluest sweetest blueberries in the world.

Not only was it fun, but it also it made me realize something more.

Last year, in my "Management for sustainability" class, one of colleagues gave a presentation about local food supplies and farmers markets. One of his main arguments was, that people who go to local farms reconnect with the land. They see, how food actually grows, get aware of seasonal food, the balance of nature and the unmeasurable worth of the land.

Let me say it differently:

I think we instinctively defend the place where our food comes from. Right now, for 90% of the people that is the Supermarket or Grocery store of their choice. But that's not where it actually comes from. Food comes from farms, is grown on land, by farmers that need money to survive. Big companies want to hide away this fact, cause people could get the idea of trying to protect their land against chemical agriculture, fertilizers, genetic engineering... destruction.

Being on that farm yesterday reconnected me with the land. It made me aware of the precious treasure we have and we forget to worship much to often.

I think everybody should have this experience regular. See where our food comes from, to see how important it is to keep our planet alive.

And it would be so easy.

Just imagine: 

every school has a small garden, where students grow food, vegetables, berries, fruits, whatever grows. And every class would just spend 1 hour a week in this garden to maintain it and help growing the food.

Everybody would benefit. The students would reconnect with nature, learn about plants, how to grow a garden and what grows at which season. The school would have fresh, organic food to supply their own kitchen, and could provide more healthy, nourishing food for the students...

aaah... a perfect world would be so awesome ;)

Kathie with her Hollywood smile

Me being all "hunter and gatherer"

Apples!

My New Camera

OOOOOOOK, i did it...

i was looking for a Fisheye lens for quite a long time now. Sadly nothing in the digital realm came up to my expectations concerning quality, creativity and price.

Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye 

First of course i was looking for Lenses for my Canon Eos 350d (= rebel in the US).
The real good lenses are all above 500 USD, like the Canon Fisheye or the Sigma Fisheye for Canon.
After those high end lenses my way led me to the cheaper ones, in the hope of finding something that could fulfill my desires. I landet at Pro-Optic, Samyang, Rokinon, Bower (= all the same) with their 8mm f/3.5 Fisheye. With a cost from about 300 USD this sounded affordable and it seemed to be pretty good. But: manual appreture, manual focus? I don't know if i want to deal with that, after paying 300 bucks...

Since I am not willing to buy a Lens that is worh 3 time as much as my camera i came to those cheap plug-on lenses, which they sell in million times on Amazon. But there are two problems with them:

1. the are cheap plastic bombers that ruin the motor of the lens you put it on and
2. they probably have pretty poor quality while pretending to be good quality.

So... no plastic-plug-on cheapy cheap lens for me...

Lomo Fisheye # 2 Whit Knight edition

Then I found LOMO and its fairly new released Lomographics Fisheye # 2 .

My heart started pumping a little faster. Looks good, this little, withe, plastic knight. It's not promising the best picture quality, BUT: it's promising fun, creativity and a good price. And the bottom line is, that that's what i have been looking for!

The only problem I have: I am a kid of the age of digitalism. I have never, since i am an adult made any picture with a film camera. So i am a little bit nervous if i can deal with not knowing how the picture looks like until the film is full and developed. 

We will see how I can live with that.

Most important for me: I found a market niche that no company is actually serving: affordable, digital cameras that are tailored towards young, creative minds that do not give a shit about the highest quality, or how many lenses you can put on it. 

A digital, point and shoot fun camera that gives you artistic pictures you can work with. Somehow similar to the Lomo - just digital.

Wouldn't that be fun?!?

Until then, I'll try my best with the new Lomo soon to arrive :)

My new Work Out

Ok, I am honest: I have tried a lot of different work outs, but nothing ever really worked for me. I just could not keep it up. Weather it's doing Yoga in my room, playing some kind of sports in a regularly basis or going to the Gym. I even was registered in a 80 euro-a-month Gym that offers everything you could wish (workout area, gymnastics area, spinning area, different classes from Yoga to guided weightlifting, personal trainer, pool, 3 saunas, a lot of friends that also go there) but still, after 2 month i basically did not go there anymore.
So why is that? I have no idea. My best guess is, that I am just not made to do the same thing over and over again.
I have been thinking about that, and thought to myself i make an advantage out of this problem:
Instead of trying to do one thing all the time and become really good, I just try to do something, whatever that is and be opened to everything new. The only condition: do something at least 5 hours a week.
So here is what i did since the beginning of the year 2010:
snowboarding, cross country skiing, snow hiking, yoga, jiu jitsu,  biking, running, swimming, slack lining, rock climbing, volleyball, soccer, american football, frisbee, weight lifting, tennis, badminton, learning to ride a one-wheeler,
oh, and don't get me wrong: i am far from being good in any of these sports, for me it's just fun to learn something new, try it for some time and then either leave it or do it from time to time.

Soo, right now I am in Lancaster, Ma, working in an Ayurveda Spa. Its beautiful here, but: there is not much to do. We have awesome gardens and a lot of trees. That's how i started my newest kind of workout thing:

Tree Climbing

It's awesome! I love it! It's this mixture of strength, flexibility, coordination and adrenalin that really kicks my butt. And I think its a pretty good workout for my whole body. So i am following the fun for a while...
But today i was trying to figure which muscles tree climnbing actually trains, but mr. google only came up with a lot of kids stuff i specially liked that one: 7 Tips from Uncle Sam. Is tree climbing really only for Kids?

Here's how I do it:
First of all, I do some kind of warm up, which most of the time is just simply running for a few minutes and then do a little stretching before I start. Then I pick a tree that is challenging, I put my hand at it, close my eyes and "ask it for permition". Sounds kind of weird but I think since a tree is a living organism I should at least start some kind of communication with it before I jump on it and climb it. It also gives me a moment to focus on myself and concentrate. Since I am alone and more then 7 years old, I do the "free climbing" variation. No ropes, no security-something. Just me and the tree. Normally I wear my five -fingers, or on trees with an even bark I also often go barfoot, simply cause I like feeling the tree. Furthermore, since i have just started, I do not go too high up. But getting higher lets the adrenalin kick in, which I think is an awesome experience. Most of the times, when I reach the top I take a little break, look at my surroundings, maybe close my eyes and thank the tree and then descend again.

Soo that's all so far, here are some more funny websites about tree climbing :)
Benefits of tree climbing
Tree Climbing: so You Want to be a Tree Climber
Wikipedia - Tree Climbing 


ooh, i like that: (have to train a little more to be able to do that too)

Fight Club and my daily poison

Tyler is my new friend. Tyler works in the same company i do my internship right now.
He kind of reminds me of Tyler Durden, the guy from Fight Club, played by Brad Pitt. I always liked this film and Brads role in it, cause he helps the main character to awaken, to become conscious and to get out of the mainstream.
Sooo, Tyler...
My Tyler is similar... He is not pissing in peoples soups (as far as I know) but, he is kind of a simmilar vision of what the world should become. He starts his own garden, learns how to use a bow and arrow to be able to hunt his own food, aaanddd...

Tyler keeps waking around with a big glass-jar of water. He comes with it in the morning and drinking out of it all day. That´s how it all started. Just a jar of water that made me curious. Why is he doing that?

Tyler gets his own water supply from a spring close by, where i drives every week to fill up his water bottles. He does not drink any tab-water at all. Because the government is poisoning it. with Fluoride, Chloride and other drugs. Why? to keep us dumb, dull, stupid, lazy, easy to control...
You might think: "AAhhh... he is one of *those guys*". That´s what I thought too at first. But something stuck with me. I have heard these stories about Fluoride somewhere before. So i did some "research". Meaning: I simply googled it.
And? What did I find?

Very controversing.
First of all, a US governmental ad:
http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/teeth/fluoride.html
which scared me offf!!!
saying stuff like:

"It is well known that fluoride helps prevent and even reverse the early stages of tooth decay."

- when the government says its "well known" than it is NOT PROVEN!!

and most scary:

"For over 60 years, water fluoridation has proved to be a safe and cost-effective way to reduce dental caries. Today, water fluoridation is estimated to reduce tooth decay by 20-40%. As of 2002, the CDC statistics show that almost 60% of the U.S. population receives fluoridated water through the taps in their homes."

furthermore it says:

"Opponents of water fluoridation have questioned its safety and effectiveness; however, there has been little evidence to support these claims."

- which to me says that THERE IS EVIDENCE...

ok, so much about the governmental side. What else did i find?!
The Douglass Report
http://douglassreport.com/reports-2010/x600h6ab-fluoride/x600h6ab-home/?gclid=CMqo86f8_aICFRwhnAod3jnGfA

With the exception of fluoride, every other chemical added to tap water is for the purpose of improving the water's safety. Fluoride is the only chemical added for the purpose of medication. And just like all drugs doled out by Big Pharma, this one comes with a litany of potential side effects. The difference? There's no black box warning on your faucet like there is on a bottle of pills.

In one of the biggest studies ever undertaken on the subject (using data from 39,000 school
children in 84 metropolitan areas around the U.S.), there was no statistically significant difference
in rates of tooth decay between fluoridated and non-fluoridated water supplies.

then, from:
http://www.wholywater.com/fluoride.html

In a number of small villages in Sicily, Turkey and India there is naturally occurring fluoride in the water ranging from 0.7 to 5.4 ppm. Here the villagers and their livestock are chronically ill, while neighboring villages with no fluoride have no such illnesses. Premature aging is the overall effect. Children have brown decaying teeth; young adults often have none. Young men are bent over and crippled with pain in their joints and hips. Their skin is wrinkled and they look 60 at age 30 to 40. There is premature hardening of the arteries, loss of appetite & sex drive by age 30. The rate of stillborn miscarriages by 4 months is extremely high.

and many other reseources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation_controversy
http://www.holisticmed.com/fluoride/

Dr. Phyllis Mullenix published research showing that fluoride built up in the brains of animals when exposed to moderate levels. Damage to the brain occured and the behavior patterns of the animals was adversely effected. Offspring of pregnant animals receiving relatively low doses of fluoride showed permanent effects to the brain which were seen as hyperactivity (ADD-like symptoms). Young animals and adult animals given fluoride experienced the opposite effect -- hypoactivity or sluggishness. The toxic effects of fluoride on the central nervous system was subsequently confirmed by previously-classified government research. Two new epidemiological studies which tend to confirm fluoride's neurotoxic effects on the brain have shown that children exposed to higher levels of fluoride had lower IQs.

So Tyler.. thx a lot for reminding me of that... we´ll see how i get around fluoride...

here are some tips for that:
http://www.fluoridealert.org/faqs.htm#B1

• reverse-osmosis filters and activated alumina filters
• spring water
• water distillation

keep it cool :)