Shame on NPR

Okay, I try to keep my posts upbeat, but sometimes I just can't hold in my sorrow.

Right now I'm sitting in front of my computer (duh-oh!) with the window open. Somewhere nearby a bird is singing its heart out. I don't know what kind of bird it is -- maybe a warbler of some kind -- but it sounds like paradise to me. And my heart is breaking. 

The bird is no longer singing. It may have flown away. I just feel extremely lucky that the air isn't totally silent here. But we all hear stories about massive bird deaths caused by electronic towers. For example, this one from NPR:

Baudette Minnesota sits on the US-Canadian border, about as far north in the continental U.S. as you can get, and is famous for snowy winters and a giant concrete walleye that sits downtown. It's also home to a massive Coast Guard tower, built to guide people across and around the Great Lakes. The tower has long been decommissioned, but it remains an imposing presence — especially for the birds who pass through the area on the way to their northern breeding grounds. 

The story isn't complete as written on the link. The real story is about how nearly a thousand birds of many different species fell dead as they struck the tower there in a fog. That's bad enough, but the whole story seemed to exist only to promote a group of women who sing. I think this promotional story at the expense of losing so much wildlife is a disgrace.

Not only am I sitting here whining about the death of nearly a thousand migratory birds, but I own a cell phone and ride in cars and do a million other human things. Every year I see fewer and fewer pollinating insects. Every year I hear fewer birds. I never hear frogs or crickets any more. I wonder how much longer it will be until the first absolutely Silent Spring.

I heard someone say on the radio that humanity has just now begun to wake up. I wonder.

From Death Comes Life

Life is incredibly complex and mysterious and its potential to heal is infinite. Click on this Radiolab link to listen to an amazing story that illustrates this.

Soren Wheeler takes us to Butte Montana--where an open pit copper mine’s demise leads to a toxic lake filled with corrosive runoff. Reporter Barret Golding goes to visit the pit lake, and writer Edwin Dobb tells Soren the story of a pile of dead snow geese who made an ill-fated landing on the water. Soren also talks to husband-and-wife chemists Andrea Stierle and Don Stierle, whose startling discovery reveals the secret life inside a death trap.

(I blogged about this story earlier, too).

Gratitude

Found this in my inbox today:

...The Whale... If you read a recent front page story of the San Francisco Chronicle, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spiderweb of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso and a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.

When she was free, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed them gently around as she was thanking them.

Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth said her eyes were following him the whole time, and he will never be the same.

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you. And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.

I pass this on to you, my friends, in the same spirit.

Life is good.

Dog Lessons For People

Enjoy the simple pleasures of a walk.
Follow your instincts.
Never underestimate the value of a belly rub.
Be loyal and faithful.
Always drink plenty of water.
Sometimes it is best to just sit close and listen.
Be quick to forgive.
Avoid biting when a growl will do.
Keep digging until you find what you want.
Run and play daily.
Accept all of life's treats with gratitude.
Life is short, pet often.
Love unconditionally

Uranus Enters Aries: Volatile and Sudden Disasters All Over the Place

I've been devouring news on Japan, especially since I discovered a more reliable source (than any US commercial hype junk) on NHK from Japan.

Now Astrology isn't a science in these "modern" times, but it once guided the decisions and actions of human endeavor, and it did so with amazing and uncanny accuracy. As they say, the metaphysics of today are the physics of tomorrow. Or something like that. Anyway, since I'm feeling extremely emotional and anxious about the situation in Japan right now, I set out to search online to find out the astrological connection between Uranus and nuclear power. I came across this page, which has some stunning insights.

Those who honor and appreciate such things may already know that Uranus moved out of Pisces and into Aries on Friday, March 11, 2011, the very day of one of the world's worst natural disasters and the beginning of one of the world's worst man-made disasters: The triple-whammy of Japan's earthquake, tsunami, and multiple nuclear reactor meltdown.

Anne Ortelee writes:

We just saw Uranus exit 29 Pisces in a wave of whooshing slam and crash of explosive energy. As Uranus entered Aries to begin a new 84 year journey, the explosive fire of melting down nuclear power plants appeared in our world.

Did you notice that? The phrase "a new 84 year journey"? That means we're in for this for 84 years, folks. But we can take comfort in the fact that,

The good and bad part about Uranus is it is unpredictable. So while we can apply key words, we don’t always know HOW the events will appear. And Uranus always throws a twist in EVEN if you THINK you CAN predict it. Uranus likes the unpredictable! We were able to see with his entry into fire, that we could expect an explosion of fire. And right on cue, Uranus brought a partial meltdown and explosion of nuclear power plants affected by the tsunami and earthquake. Uranus rules earthquakes. Here in New York, 14 people were decapitated on I-95 in a bus crash ~ Uranus rules severing and Aries rules the head ~ where the bus tipped over and slid sideways into a sign pole that sliced through the bus at “head” level, slicing off the passenger heads and top of the bus. Uranus has a crooked rotation, rotating sideways through the heavens and the bus slid sideways. You can’t make this stuff up! And if you did, no one would believe you! At times like this, I am totally in awe of astrology and its symbolic representation of what we are experiencing here on earth. As above, so below, as without, so within.

Well of course. Uranus (explosions, nuclear power, earthquakes, unpredictability) enters Aries (the Martian fire sign of war, stunning violence, and beginnings...beginnings). I live on the "ring of fire" in the Pacific Northwest, a hive of earthquake activity and a magnet for tsunamis, quite overdue for our own "big one."

Freedom in Prison

A recent NPR segment highlighted what, of all places, a maximum security prison outside Birmingham in Bible-Belt Alabama is doing to transform its lifer inmates and the prison itself. A program dedicated to the practice of Vipassana meditation is changing the lives of those who made mistakes and are paying for them behind bars.

The William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility's Vipassana teacher Carl Franz says, "Everyone's mind is kind of Pandora's box, and when you have 33 rather serious convicts facing their past and their own minds, their memories, their regrets, rough childhood, whatever, their crimes, lots of stuff comes up."

You don't have to be in a physical prison to experience that Pandora's box, either. A lot of "stuff" comes up at first, no matter who you are or what you've done.

Click on the icon for the full story which includes a 7min 15 second audio file.

...and a new earth

Life: An Eternal Return

The word gift means n. present in English; it means n. poison in German. There is much to be said about such opposites. The cliche that one man's poison is another man's cure carries an important lesson. This double-sided dynamic operates deep in the vortex that spins new life. A member of Congress shot and on life support in a hospital opens an opportunity for the President to deliver what is arguably the defining speech of his career.

There are countless historic as well as current examples of this dynamic. Another is from the December 2000 issue of Discover magazine:

Pity the snow geese that settled on Lake Berkeley as a stopover one stormy night in November 1995. The vast lake, covering almost 700 acres of a former open-pit copper mine in Butte, Montana, holds some 30 billion gallons of highly acidic, metal-laden water— scarcely a suitable refuge for migrating birds stalled by harsh weather. So when the flock rose up and turned southward the following morning, almost 350 carcasses were left behind. Autopsies showed their insides were lined with burns and festering sores from exposure to high concentrations of copper, cadmium, and arsenic. 

Snow Goose

Now listen to how the deaths of these unfortunate snow geese by poison sparked evolution and its gifts. (The editing of this audio is questionable, but the information is truly astounding).

What can we learn from this? Maybe that death itself is only another word for life.

So with every disaster, every tragedy, every death, something new emerges. If we could only learn to see this clearly we would begin to understand how life is truly eternal.

For all things change, making way for each other.-- Euripides, Heracles

Sustainability Isn't an Option

The middle class in America is now an endangered species. Only one out of the five adults in my family is now employed, and that person (a tree trimmer) isn't working either in the depth of winter. We will join the 99-ers this coming Fall. None of us can afford private health insurance, and since we aren't working we face homelessness should any of us become injured or ill. We go without dental and vision care, yearly medical checkups, and other luxuries only available to the entitled class (politicians, attorneys, CEOs and the like). On the other hand, I'm frankly horrified at the toxic state of the so-called health care industry, its cavalier practices and its toxic pharmaceuticals, so even if there were a public option, I'd only feel comfortable seeing alternative health practitioners.

Since I left my parents' house I've been poor and unemployable because health issues wiped out the "experience" section of my resume. I'm now on the brink of being another disposable human being in America. I co-owned a house from 1999 to 2006. Before and after that I've lived in worn-out rentals. I've lived in campers and closets. I've slept in gas station rest rooms.

These days I try to buy healthy food for my family, which leads me to high-end stores where local organic produce is featured and the entitled have the best of everything because they can afford it. It's true, only the wealthy can pamper themselves with "sustainable" options.

The Mr. and I save and re-use water. We are vegetarians and every year I expand our small garden. We are slowly incorporating public transport. Sustainability isn't an option for us. It's becoming a necessity in our lives.

Jill Richardson, writing for Alternet, takes a look at Chiapas, Mexico and so-called "Latin America" in her article Do we have to live like peasants to be truly sustainable?

...there's a happy medium somewhere between living as a poor peasant in an adobe hut and living in a McMansion while driving a Hummer. But where is that happy medium? Is my "sustainable" life in the U.S. just an illusion? Am I merely a Whole Foods-shopping, yoga mat-toting, latte-drinking, Prius-driving yuppie? I want to be sustainable, but I also don't want to give up my car, laptop or the pharmaceuticals I take daily to prevent debilitating migraines. Is that possible?

She does seem to represent the "yuppie" contingent as she looks worriedly over a gaping economic chasm that my family has struggled in for decades.  All I can say, Jill, is welcome to my world.

Spikenard

Herbal esoterica (from Wikipedia):

Spikenard

Oil of spikenard is not used as widely as that of its many valerian and erectile relatives. Spikenard is still used in many Tibetan healing incenses. Is used in the herbal medicine of Tibet and the rest of China as a nerve tonic and sedative for sleep disorders a property it shares with the closely related valerian Valeriana officinalis. Spikenard is known as a healing oil and is grown in India and China. The essential oil is obtained through steam distillation and it is a base note with an earthy/musty scent. Physically Spikenard essential oil is used as a diuretic, useful for rashes and skin allergies, it is anti-fungal and has a balancing effect on the menstrual cycle. Emotionally this oil is reserved for deep seated grief or old pain. It is used in palliative care to help ease the transition from life to death.

Alan Watts

I've been thinking about the ideas of "efficiency" and "usefulness" as applied to the work ethic and the value of a human being in these times where huge numbers of people are experiencing major upheaval in their lives. I recalled a lecture by Watts I heard on KPFK radio some 10 years ago on the idea of "usefulness." I think it may have been called "Wisdom of the Ridiculous."  I took comfort in the idea that one need not be linked to the western idea of what is "useful" in order to be a complete person. In fact, "usefulness" is an artificial hype we've been taught to accept as doctrine.

My memory of Alan Watts is of lying on my bed in a log cabin deep in the cool and shady Santa Cruz Mountains where moss proliferates beneath redwood trees and creeks riffle beneath ferns reading a worn copy of Notes to Myself by Hugh Prather and Watts' The Wisdom of Insecurity.

It was 1972 and I was as lost then as I am now, only lost in a different way. Watts makes me realize I am lost because I compare myself to others and try to "fit in" to the larger consensus of reality, when "myself" and "reality" has little to do with what I was taught. I was pleased to find a collection of videos that presents snippets of Watts' lectures this morning. A list of 78 of his lectures may be found here. Youtube also has lots of his teachings.

I took the time to write about Watts this morning because of an essay I read in the Summer 2010 edition of Oregon Humanities magazine yesterday called "The Artist as Worker," which underscores what I already know: For every writer who is "successful" because s/he learned how to market her/his work and become a celebrity, there are hundreds, maybe thousands of writers who labor in quiet anonymity. Writing isn't about the writer. Writing is about the writing. That's something all artists understood in the middle ages but has been forgotten now that everything is prostituted to money and fame. Now as I bend over my keyboard and notebook writhing with self-doubt, I cast a line out toward Watts and listen for my own wisdom.

Replacing Commercial Household Products with DIY Products

Times are getting tough. Money is getting scarce. Why should I keep buying products that are more and more expensive and are harmful to body and environment? We've been duped into thinking we have to have things a certain way: to look, smell, feel, taste, sound the way we expect them to be according to corporate say-so. Over the past ten years I've been slowly replacing commercial products with my own homemade formulations. Here are a few substitutes that have worked beautifully:

Bar Soap: A friend of mine who taught soap-making classes taught me how to make cold-process soap. I haven't bought a bar of commercial soap since. Even boutique bar soaps are too expensive for me at $6 or more a bar. It's DIY all the way with this. There are plenty of websites and books to use as guides.

Shampoo: I make my own bar shampoo, using glycerine as one of the ingredients. No waste, no plastic, and I know exactly what goes into it: oils, water, sodium hydroxide, glycerine, and essential or fragrance oils. With a vinegar rinse it cleanses gently, thoroughly, and no soap build-up. Shiny, clean-smelling hair every time.

Dish Soap: Forget the liquid dish detergent mentality! I bought a lovely wire soap dish and stuck it on the wall behind my kitchen sink. The wire allows the soap to drain and dry out when not in use. A natural brush, like a Brooks from Switzerland, hangs next to the bar of homemade soap. I just wet the brush, rub it on the bar of soap and start the suds on dishes, pots and pans, whatever needs washing. Everything is simple, natural, and easy on the hands.

Tooth powder: What are you putting in your mouth? I make my own tooth powder that tightens gums and cleans tartar and plaque like a charm using baking soda, cosmetic clay, fine sea salt, powdered myrrh, natural peppermint oil and stevia powder (the last two ingredients are optional, for taste). My gums have tightened and my teeth have never felt so clean (I do use an electric toothbrush because I don't have dental insurance and I have to be sure that my teeth are clean...clean teeth don't decay. I also use dental floss, but neither of these two things are harmful to my health as far as I know.)

Deodorant: I make my own using baking soda, corn starch, cosmetic clay, and tea tree oil. Next time I want to experiment mixing these ingredients into melted coconut oil and letting it all harden. I don't think I'll pour it into blank deodorant containers because they're plastic, regardless of how much easier it would be to apply.

Household cleaners: I make my own all-purpose household cleaner using water, vinegar, liquid Castille soap, and borax in a sprayer. Essential or fragrance oil is optional. I use it on hard surfaces as well as for removing spots from fabrics. It works well on mirrors, counter tops, plastic, metal, enamel, you name it. For more scrubbing power I use a scrubby and the legendary Bon Ami scouring powder. Once in awhile I do use bleach (ugh) to clean around the toilet because it begins to stink with urine and whenever there's mold and mildew build-up. I haven't found a substitute for bleach yet, but I'm on the look-out.


How to Make Your Own Laundry Detergent: I haven't tried this yet, but I'm intrigued. You can find the recipe here.

And lastly (for now), since we live in a rental and can't install a permanent gray water system, we save all our dish washing water to flush our toilet and warm our shower water in a bucket to water plants. We're also planning a way to save rain water.