aliventhrive

Alternative Natural Eco Reusable Xmas Tree

2011-12-18T05:57:00.000-08:00

I found this very cute robin from LucyLoo on Folksy

I wanted a christmas tree that is reusable but made mostly from natural materials.

I like the idea of bringing some nature into my home for the winter festive season but don't like the idea of having a whole tree cut down only to be thrown out a couple of weeks later.

So I reused the same twisted willow twigs that I bought for last Christmas.

The Lights are LED so don't use much energy.

I put some decorations I made last year from dried lime slices and curled paper. Plus some old baubles.

I love the pink sequin heart from Blueflower on Folksy

The felt button hearts are stuffed with lavender.

A friend gave me some cut glass balls from an old chandelier which reflect the light.

I also bought some beautiful handmade felt decorations from folksy to add colour.

The felt button hearts are stuffed with lavender and smell great (from oakapplerose) The orange piece with the silver star is from alexaggdesign and made with remnants & reclaimed fabrics. The cute robin is LucyL00 and the pink sequin heart is Blueflower. You can find these craft makers on the links below.

Very happy with the "X-mas Tree"

Folksy-Modern British Craft

http://www.folksy.com/shops/LucyL00

http://www.folksy.com/shops/alexaggdesign

http://www.folksy.com/shops/Blueflower

http://www.folksy.com/shops/oakapplerose

I Used To Live In A Solar Powered Pink Caravan - Experiments in Permaculture & Low Impact Living

2011-12-01T15:00:00.000-08:00

With a large solar panel on the roof and a large battery in the cupboard there was plenty of energy to power a 12volt system for lights, music, phone charging and there was still energy leftover (with the use of an inverter) for tv, video, dvd player and even some video mixing and editing.

For the cooker and fridge we used a gas bottle. For the bathroom we had an outdoor compost toilet and passive solar shower, the water came from a nearby spring.

The heating was awesome. A small wood burner made out of a recycled gas bottle (you dont need much wood in a caravan.) Even on really cold winter nights we had to open the windows otherwise it was like a sauna!

It was painted green on the outside to blend in with the landscape, (but that wouldn't sound as good in the title.)

It was very pink on the inside though!

A comfy, cosy, colourful place to live a low impact and low budget lifestyle.

Sound Healing

2011-11-30T15:55:00.001-08:00

I highly recommend watching this video about sound healing.

If you would like to support them in completing the full feature length version you can support their kickstarter campaign.

Be Set Free Fast

2011-11-29T12:46:00.001-08:00

A series of 3 videos describing the BSFF process.

The Power of Sound

2010-04-21T14:20:00.000-07:00

See how the sound frequencies animate the matter.

My understanding of the human energy body:

A highly complex system of sound waves vibrate in intricate patterns on different frequencies. These vibrations animate the matter that we perceive as our physical body in a similar way to how the sound in the video is animating the cornflour and water.

Thoughts and feelings are sound waves too. Our emotional states are powerful sound vibrations that influence the patterns of our energy bodies, which in turn animate the physical body.

IMAGINE A Healthy Global Culture (list)

2010-03-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

How do you imagine a healthy global culture? The following list may help to get the inspiration to start flowing…and the best thing is that everything mentioned below is already happening somewhere out there!

Great appreciation of the beauty of nature. Ecological rehabilitation of rivers and waterways, clean and full of healthy fish. Humans caring for wildlife. People providing more diverse habitats to support bees. Green Belt Movement plants 45 million trees.

New green sustainable economies. Bartering…. Local currencies…. Finding ways to live happy inspired fulfilled lives even without using cash…. Old organisational structures that pollute and exploit being brought to the light. Transformation of financial systems. Evolved economies. Growing awareness of what needs to change. More transparency. Big business planning for sustainability.

Diversity celebrated. Each culture appreciated and valued. Indigenous peoples becoming more empowered, more appreciated, more heard. International council of 13 indigenous grandmothers. Indigenous people mapping their ancestral lands.

Making things in sync with the environment…. Making things inspired by nature…..Bio-mimicry….Ethical industry….Employees valued and appreciated……More and more fulfilling meaningful jobs to do.

Information about healing and transformation freely available. Powerful, simple, DIY emotionaltools widely used to free us from stuck limiting beliefs. Many great spiritual teachers to choose from. Greater understanding of consciousness and the human energy field. People gathering all over the world to learn tools for awakening. Mainstream media reporting on powerful energy therapies, curing physical and mental problems. Practicing presence becoming a priority.

Stronger local communities connected to a larger inspired synergistic global online community…..The greening of the internet…..Green web hosting…..Renewable energy. Energy efficient technology.

Teach every child about healthy food, real food, local food….Children in tune with what their bodies need. Solar edible schoolyard projects. Massive growing awareness of what is healthy for us to eat…..Foods that harm no longer hidden. Organic farmers supported, appreciated, valued. Fair trade growing more mainstream.

Ethical businesses working wonders with waste. Landfill may become a thing of the past as scrap and waste is upcycled into cool new products. Office gardens. Beauty and fresh air at work.

Freeways transformed into rivers and public parks. Cities becoming edible urban jungles. Food growing in unusual places. Local communities growing free food in the urban landscape greening our cities. Towns and villages becoming more self sufficient. Transition towns all over the world planning for future resilience. Global growing awareness of permaculture.

Awareness of ecological impact of fashion industry mainstream. More and more choosing organic cotton, bamboo, hemp. Ethical eco fashion becoming more affordable. Farmers who grow our threads appreciated, valued, fairly paid, in sync with earth’s ecological systems. Industrial transparency increasing. People making our threads valued, appreciated.

Mother Theresa effect – watching others do good increases positive biochemistry. More people attracted to media which shows inspired positive work happening in the world. Our media channels giving way to inspired ideas and solutions. Kindness revolution. People paying it forward. Positive media giving a more balanced view of the world and showing us inspiring stories.

Reduce, reuse, recycle becoming mainstream way of life. People in awe as massive environmental problems solved by simple solutions. Young people leading the way. Powerful green community growing globally.

Edible vertical gardens on the rise. 200 urban organic farms in Havana produce 90% of the fruit and vegetables consumed there. World taking note. Sustainable green cities. Rooftops swarm with bees as Paris urban honey industry takes off.

Healthy support systems. More and more vulnerable people being reached with what they need. Permaculture corps. Teach sustainability and self sufficiency. Post natural disaster people given tools, support and training to meet their needs sustainably, heal and create abundance. Solar power going to where it is needed most. Solar devices bring power to the powerless. Solar recovery in Haiti. Solar Aid and Solar Electric Light Fund in Africa. Sustainable human sanitation. Soil building compost toilets.

Breathing converted into power for mobile phones. Electricity harvested from body movements. New, clean, healthy renewable ways of creating energy. As we become more energy efficient we are more energy rich. Bird friendly wind turbine. All of nature is valued. Our technology in sync with that priority. Renewable energies become more efficient.

Energy efficient insulated homes. Sustainable fuels. Green appliances. Building materials more in sync with ecosystems. Bio-mimicry used to enhance design. Eco homes and energy efficiency and sustainability available to more people including the poor and those on low income.

The empowerment of women all over the world. Women taking the lead. As more and more women are empowered and the empowerment of women seen as priority, the positive transformation of the world is unstoppable.

Outdoor Low Tech Permaculture Bath : DIY Eco Bath

2010-02-25T04:57:00.001-08:00

Low budget, low tech, multi function and low impact.

Get one unwanted bathtub. You might see one in a skip, at the local dump or recycling centre.

Place outside overlooking buena vista. We put our bath on this steep bit of mountainside because we liked the view. Although it was a bit tricky staggering up the mountain in your dressing gown carrying a bag of spuds, herbal shampoo, box of matches and a torch on a moonlit evening.

Make sure the location is near enough to the water supply and above plants or trees that you would like to irrigate.

Be aware of fire risk when choosing your location. We didn't heat this bath in the dry season.

Build bath support and surround from local and reused/recycled materials.

Allow enough room for the fire tray to slide underneath the bath.

Place decking nearby (so you dont get muddy while getting dressed) made from recycled wood or an old pallet.

Use a large, rusty old wok or similar for fire tray.

Collect local, sustainably sourced firewood (we used olive and almond tree prunings) and kindling. Place in tray with fire lighting equipment.

Light the fire and place under the bath whilst filling it with water.

When bath ready and right temperature, slide fire tray out and place potatoes wrapped in tinfoil in hot coals.

Use natural soaps and sparingly so that once the bath is cold, you can irrigate with the old bathwater afterwards.

We used the top half of a plastic bottle upside down (with a bit of hose pipe attached) to catch the water from under the plughole. Makeshift irrigation can also be achieved by digging a simple irrigation channel that leads to the plants that need watering.

Enjoy wonderful hot bath, surrounded by nature. Relax and cleanse while your supper cooks itself.

Integrated Law Of Attraction

2010-02-06T11:23:00.000-08:00

Looking for a more integrated way of using the Law Of Attraction?

Me too.

It seems wiser to awaken to the world around and its capacity to support us, before deciding what to attract.

The message coming from the environmental organizations seems to be saying minimize, organize, innovate, be responsible with regard to what and how much you consume.

The message coming from many of the LOA, Manifest Your Dreams, Think and Grow Rich types, seems to be, visualize that new car, big house etc. There is no limit to what you can attract into your experience. Maybe true, but thoughts and actions still have consequences, personally and collectively.

I don’t want to live in luxury and excess knowing that my lifestyle has indirectly contributed to poverty, exploitation and ecological instability.

This is where awareness of feelings and needs come in.

( A list of universal needs can be found on this link.

http://www.cnvc.org/en/learn-online/needs-list/needs-inventory )

Im going to take the example of my desire to travel more:

Eg. I want to travel

NEEDS met by this action=adventure, beauty, interaction and variety

Air travel at the moment consumes non-renewable resources (oil) and is a big contributor to climate change. Also oil companies can be found in the list of least ethical companies http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/28/the-least-ethical-compani_n_440073.html

and their activities are entangled in war, exploitation and ecological destruction.

So if I use LOA and successfully meet my need for travel by attracting opportunities for international travel, that’s great, but do my actions (contributing to the global demand for oil) conflict with my other needs, such as fairness, responsibility, respect, security, compassion, kindness…

So I need to be clearer about what I desire, so that I don’t attract something that brings me inner conflict.

It helps to go back to the NEEDS.

Travel (for me)=adventure, variety, beauty, interaction

It may happen that I don’t need to travel very far to get these needs met in other ways that don’t involve much travel. I can use the LOA by focusing on getting these needs met in an ethical and ecologically sustainable way.

I’m not saying I will never fly, or that I don’t contribute to the demand for oil, of course I do. My goal is to cut back where I can and support renewable cleaner energy and ethical products where possible. Using the LOA can make that more possible too.

I understand that there are always times when more travel, including air travel is needed to do good. (Eg. flying much needed supplies and volunteers into Haiti after the earthquake.)

I guess getting more clarity about my needs helps me to weigh it all up, come to a more comfortable, un-conflicted decision and therefore super charge my LOA activities.

Leaky Energy Field- Visualization or EFT?

2010-01-28T04:36:00.000-08:00

Recently a friend was telling me about a woman who somehow "gets into her aura." It occurred to me that someone only "gets into your aura" because you have leaks in your energy field. I like to call them (the leaks) contracted bits of consciousness. When someone says something that upsets me, it is because somewhere in my field is a belief. Often that belief and the reaction caused by that belief, is about something from the past, maybe an undigested experience buried away somewhere. I may not be consciously aware of that past event in this moment. However the thing that is getting to me now may be a similar pattern or similar frequency to that buried experience. So, as more and more repeat experiences of a similar pattern happen, it builds up more strength in this reaction. In the brain, the neural pathway for that particular reaction gets stronger and stronger. So each time we perceive that type of occurrence there is some kind of belief or thought going on, even though we might not even be aware of them in the background. As the automatic and unconscious thought/belief/reaction get deeper and stronger, it becomes a contraction in our consciousness and where that contraction is, that is where the leak in our energy field is.

How to reseal these leaks then?

I have tried visualizing a white light all around me, a protective shield and other images of protection, but none have worked as well for me as just releasing the contraction. When the contracted consciousness releases, it just re-inflates into a healthy layer of auric insulation.

There are many ways to release these contracted pieces of consciousness. Some of the rapid change techniques that I've been using with success include:

EFT- Emotional Freedom Technique

BSFF- Be Set Free Fast

TAT- Tapas Acupressure Technique

The Work of Byron Katie

When I use these rapid change techniques, it seems to decrease the strength of those unwanted beliefs and reactions. Perhaps those neural pathways are being weakened and if I continue to work on them, they disappear completely. Without these belief/reaction patterns the contraction in consciousness is not there anymore. It seems the consciousness is more fully inflated and insulating so the outside perceptions that once triggered, do not trigger anymore. They just rinse over. They do not affect you.

Imagining a shield of white light all around you for protection, can't be a bad thing to do, but I have found using these simple, rapid change techniques much easier and far more effective.

The Work of Byron Katie

2010-01-01T07:04:00.000-08:00

A video example of this powerful technique in action.

TAT - Tapas Accupressure Technique

2010-01-01T06:50:00.000-08:00

A simple introduction video to TAT

EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique

2010-01-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

Here is a good video introduction to EFT