I am Nature
Nature is me
taking walks
through my subconscious
through dreams
taking old man naps
beneath an old oak tree
I planted when just a boy

Wind howls my name
sun scorches my labor
autumn is a comforting transformation
as cold rattles mortal bones
reminding me of the fragility
the temporary nature of seasons
changing colors
evolving others
so we complete the cycle’s circle
and wake
to find ourselves
dreaming the perfect dream

I Am Nature, can be found in Eric Herm’s latest book, Surviving Ourselves

If you are ready to move boldly into 2013 and still feel yourself processing 2012, don’t fret! Take some time to write down everything you want to let go of and then rip, shred, burn that piece of paper to clear the air and start again. Here are some tips to get you moving and shaking into 2013:

1) Do something every day that makes you feel like anything is possible (i.e., taking a walk, meditating, praying, doing yoga, listening to your favorite song, etc.). Inspire yourself!

2) Look at all the areas of your life (Health, Finances, Relationships, Support Network, Spirituality, etc.) and ask yourself what you are truly wanting this year. Not what others think you should do, but what you are truly wanting.

3) Make a vision board that lists all you want to see happen this year, and if it is something you can’t “see,” list it anyway!

4) Figure who you want to be this year in every area of your life. List all of the values and qualities (i.e., honesty, loyalty, cooperation, trust, etc.) that are important to you in others. Once you have the list, look for those qualities in you. Yes, you’re beautiful too!

5) When you are stressed or frustrated, let go. Remember, life is on your side and most things are out of your control. All you can control is who you are in the world. Be the change!

This year is all up to you. No matter what happens, know that everything is working for you and not against you.

Wishing everyone the best year yet!
Meagan O’Nan, author of Creating Your Heaven on Earth, from her blog entry

Dreamriver Press and the Organic Consumers Association
invite you to a presentation by Farmer-Author-Activist: Eric Herm

For the launch of his new book:

Surviving Ourselves: The Evolution of Community, Education, and Agriculture in the 21st Century

When: Thursday, December 6th, at 7:30pm
Where: The Brecht Forum, 451 West St, NYC

Eric Herm is a 4th generation farmer from W. Texas. In 2005 he turned his back to conventional farming and started transitioning the entire 6,000 acres family cotton farm to organic.

A strong supporter of the Non-GMO and Label-GMO movement, Eric spoke at rally outside the White House last year, and was a keynote speaker at the “Occupy Monsanto” rally in St. Louis in September

Eric firmly believes we need to rethink not only agriculture, but our methods of education, business, and ultimately our relationship with nature.

Eric Herm is also the author of Son of a Farmer, Child of the Earth: A Path to Agriculture’s Higher Consciousness

Music at the event by Minetta Creek.

Tune in to  the Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC on Wednesday, Dec. 5th, at 1:00pm., to listen to a live interview with the author.

Suggested donation at the door. None will be turned away for lack of funds.

Human Spirit is an extension of Mother Nature, just as Mother Nature is an extension of Human Spirit. One mirrors the other, reflecting it in different forms. Nature reminds us of the beauty within. The Human Spirit is intended to translate Nature’s ex- pressions and intentions into song, story, photography, poetry, or a lesson learned. When the two coexist in harmony, there is no greater expression of love, freedom, beauty, power, grace, bliss, and brilliance. Only Nature and the Human Spirit in healthy balance can truly express limitless being. Both embody higher consciousness. Both are creators. Nature and the Human Spirit are constantly evolving, expanding, and intensifying in purpose. But when the two are separated or in opposition, all living things suffer physically, emotionally, and spiritually. This is when we exchange creation for destruction.

Human Spirit is our link to all living things, our cosmic connec- tion to the rest of the universe. It is a doorway to who we really are or at least who we are intended to be. As we step across that thresh- old, we are slowly stepping into the magic that is ourselves. The further inside we venture, the more we discover about where we’ve gone, who we’ve been, who we are supposed to be, and what we are intended to do. We also see the significance of lessons already learned and the remaining lessons we are meant to learn. To never walk through that door is to ignore the greatest gift of existence. To disregard Nature is to sever every last thread connecting us to the universe’s cosmic web.

The above piece is a excerpt from Eric Herm’s upcoming book Surviving Ourselves. 

When:  Friday June 8,  7-9pm
Where:  Hope Martin Studio, 39 W. 14th Street – Suite 508, Manhattan NY

Join us in a special event with author Teri Deger. Teri, visiting from Toronto, will explore themes found in her book The Divine Feminine Fire: Creativity and Your Yearning to Express Yourself.  Along with the title theme, topics include interspiritual wisdom, kundalini and shakti.

Teri, and local Kundalini Yoga teacher Kristin Law will also be leading us in a few short exercises.  There will be Q & A time with Teri before concluding.

See flyer for more information. Or, join the event on Facebook!

Donations of $5-10 are appreciated, nobody turned away for lack of funds.

Looking forward to sharing this special evening with you!

Sponsored by: Dreamriver Press and Unu Wellness

The man who removes a mountain
begins by carrying away small stones.
Chinese proverb

Meditation

Often, when we look at the entirety of any task that confronts us along our passage through life, our ego immediately fills our mind with overcomplicated messages and often defines the task as an impossibility. The ego’s goal is to overwhelm you with these interpretations and, ultimately, lead you to giving up on your true purpose. The ego desires endless struggle and suffering. As a spiritual being searching for truth and awareness, you must transcend the influence of the ego and simplify your world. Simplicity is where success, peace and enlightenment are discovered. This is the essence of your being.

Real Life Application

Choose a task in your life that you often dismiss from your consciousness because of its perceived complexity. Sit down with paper and a pen, and take notes as to how this task can be broken down into smaller, more manageable steps that you can take on without much difficulty. This process can be applied to any project that you wish to embark upon. It’s that simple. Stop intellectualizing and pushing yourself further away from completion, and begin taking the necessary action to progress. All great feats are done in this manner. I almost feel as if I should apologize that I don’t have any great philosophical or intellectual suggestions to share with you, but try it this way, you may be pleasantly surprised.

The above is an excerpt is from the Richard A. Singer’s award winning book, Eastern Wisdom for Your Soul.

What are the benefits, if any, of mindful eating? The idea of being aware of each bite seems to have its roots in Buddhism.  In fact some Buddhist teachers instruct their students to meditate during the course of their meal, as an exercise to help expand consciousness.  Writing for the New York Times, Jeff Gordinier examines how this topic seems to be gaining in popularity.

Academics, such as Dr. Lilian Cheung, a Harvard nutritionist, has been studying mindful-eating while at the same time encouraging businesses and health providers to try it.  Prof. Brian Wansink, of Cornell University, has conducted experiments on the psychological factors of our endless craving for food.  And today certain businesses, such as Google, are supporting the “mindful lunch hour.”

Perhaps to fully benefit from a meal is not just a matter of making healthy dietary choices.  The way we eat and the thoughts we have while eating, may to some scope influence the overall value of our meal.   For more information, read the full article on the NY Times website.

The following passage if from Meagan O’Nan‘s blog entry 10/12/2011:

“Imagine having a conversation with someone whom you don’t know or someone whom you think you know…what would you ask them? Perhaps, you would ask them what they do for a living, if they are married or have kids, where they are from, their favorite things, etc.

BUT, what IF all conversations started with questions like, what do you want to be remembered for? Or, at the end of your life what will you look back on and value the most? Yes, I know, these are the questions I have asked in my survey. I feel as though if we were to ask each other these questions then we have a wonderful opportunity to really get to know someone.

Why don’t we get to know someone with questions like these initially? My thoughts are that we don’t want to expose ourselves in fear that we might be rejected by the other person. Just a hunch, and perhaps a bit deep, but a good guess nonetheless. We don’t ask the questions because we don’t want someone to ask us the same questions…not because we don’t love to answer questions like those, but because we want to be heard and we are not sure if that person is really going to hear us AND accept us.

Maybe from now on, I will ask these questions to everyone who crosses my path. Afterall, I want to be remembered for loving others. I believe that loving others is truly taking the chance to hear them and love them for who they are. And if I want to be remembered for loving others then I must be willing to expose myself as well – to be ready to answer the same questions that I ask.”

On October 1st a diverse coalition of organizations, businesses and individuals will begin to march from the Historic Flatbush Food Co-op in Brooklyn, NY to the gates of the White House to ask the Obama Administration to support labeling of genetically engineered foods, also termed “Genetically Modified Organisms” or “GMOs”. The GMO Right2Know March will feature daily events between New York and Washington, DC October 1-16 as hundreds of marchers are expected to walk part or all of the 313 miles to the White House. The route and details on daily events can be viewed at Right2KnowMarch.org.

“Pesticide companies develop Genetically Engineered food crops by combining DNA from plants, animals, bacteria and viruses, to contain or resist pesticide, which results in more pesticides sold and sprayed,” says Michael Hansen, Chief Scientist of Consumers Union. “Genetically engineered foods contain untested novel foreign compounds that can be detrimental to our health, just as they are to the environment and farmers’ livelihoods. American consumers deserve the choice whether they want to eat GMOs, just like their counterparts in Europe and Japan,” says Hansen who will join the Oct 1 NYC Right2Know March kick-off rally at Prospect Park at 11am to 1pm followed by marchers walking across the Brooklyn Bridge to the United Nations.

Dreamriver Press author, Eric Herm, will be one of the keynote speakers when the march ends up in Washington DC on October 15-16.

See the complete press release for the march, or visit Right2KnowMarch.org for more details.

This is an excerpt from an article by Derek Singleton. Follow the link below to read the complete article.

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Most of us would eat better if we could afford to. I know I would. Even though I’m a proponent of organic farms, grocers and food, I tend to lose my organic appetite when I see the hefty price tag that comes along with it. It may just be a few cents here or there, but multiplied over an entire bill – and then multiplied over weeks and months – the difference adds up.

So what makes organic food more expensive? A major factor is scale. Because most organic farms don’t operate at economies of scale, the amount of man hours required for harvesting and post-harvesting activities is much greater than conventional methods. For the same reason, the cost of marketing and distributing organic food is higher as well.

“The national options really boil down to two distributors: Tree of Life and United Natural Foods. With them being the only major distributors, products often get discontinued and then we have difficulty stocking the item.” – Dan Gilotte, Wheatsville Co-op

In addition to scale, organic food also suffers from an inefficient distribution network that’s still largely based on word-of-mouth business. To manage the organic distribution network, distributors will need to adopt technology that automatically informs grocers of available inventory and pricing. At the same time, grocers will need to invest in technology that allows them to find the right organic distributor at the best price.

Further pushing the price up is the fact that the demand for organic food far outweighs the available supply. All things combined – scale, distribution, supply, and cost – the consequences are creating unequal access to quality food for many Americans.

Read more: http://www.softwareadvice.com/articles/distribution/organic-food-distribution-network-108161/