POPULATION:The late Al Bartlett had a lot to say about the exponential function (see earlier post) and how human population growth exasperated it even more with endless environmental insults. Whichever type of future we collectively choose – agrarian or highly technological, or even a unique combination – we will have Read more…
Computers are wonderful things – until they aren’t. For those following this blog, my apologies. My programs needed some fixing, and I was on the road in Florida without access to program support. There’s a metaphor there somewhere about modern living and the inherent problems we have? (see further down). Read more…
I decided to subtitle this post a world of possibilities. There are many options for us and many are more desirable than what we currently have. I didn’t say probabilities, which are more likely occurrences, because to get to probabilities we have to have more firm intention of what we Read more…
Do you want to simply exist (life’s a bitch and then you die) or do you want to actually LIVE (to thrive and grow)? If even for a second you, think “I will live when………….” BUT I can’t because……….” you are merely existing. I have said it earlier and I Read more…
In the developed countries, when you have enough monetary wealth to live comfortably, being in the rut is not such an imposition. It might still have problems, but you can afford to suffer through them – or as often happens, you can afford prescription or even non-prescription medications to blunt Read more…
I was clearing out boxes of books I had brought back home from my academic office after I retired and came across ‘The Mis-measure of Man’ by Stephen Jay Gould. In this book Gould lays out the rationale and justification for how scientists used ‘good’ science to ‘prove’ that intellect Read more…
“Change never comes from the powerful and proud [the hierarchy] – they have too much to lose and too little to gain. Change always comes from the common and humble – we have little to lose and much to gain. John Ikerd” If we are to transform the way we live, Read more…
What makes the Leaver worldview unique is that it is completely community oriented. Our current westernized culture thrives on competition, individualism, and reliance on authority to solve problems. I need to be careful here – I am NOT condoning some Ayn Rand way of looking at the world, that is Read more…
The word Dominion as it is emphasized in the English language, influenced by orthodox Christianity, not surprisingly has come to be accepted as a type of rule over others. Whether this is by a monarch, or by humans over nature, it implies absolute power over. If you look at Dominion Read more…
During the colonialization periods since Columbus, missionaries came across indigenous peoples and automatically labelled them savage pagans simply because they were not European Christians. Not much has changed. This really is a great indictment on how effective the Eurocentric Judeo-Christian worldview has dominated for several hundred years. It is only Read more…
Before we get back to applying all this esoteric stuff to living sustainably. First of all, let’s put in in perspective. Let’s get away from this Pollyanna Attitude that everything will be perfect if we show love and respect for each other. There wouldn’t be any point to experiencing this Read more…
In this post I am speculating about our life purposes based on extensive readings about the great beyond. There is much evidence what this looks like from many sources of science and various spiritual traditions. But it is a much more complex realm than we could ever imagine with our Read more…
“When I was young, and they packed me off to school, and they taught me how not to play the game. I didn’t mind, if they groomed me for success, or if they said that I was just a fool. So, I left there in the morning, with their God tucked Read more…
A friend emailed me to say they thought that while spirituality was all very well, it wasn’t as important as making the changes we need do to save the world. Obviously, my message isn’t getting through to everyone. I say we don’t need to save the world, we just need Read more…
When I first started working at a university for a living at age 18, I worked with an incredibly diverse group of people with all kinds of personalities. Overall, we all got on well, we had to for the place to function. Some people kept their distance and some were Read more…
This post is a play-day for me to explain some esoteric ideas. If we can accept for a moment that the spiritual reality may be real and that this material existence is the illusion (a simulation) what can we uncover from knowledge found in shamanic cultures and ancient mystery schools? Read more…
Stephen Hawking died on March 14 and a great many people posted that he was now free, and numerous cartoons showed him walking away from his wheelchair to the ‘light.’ Besides being a major example of ‘Ableism’ in which only fully capable people are assumed to be able to do Read more…
“I used to think the top environmental problems were biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse, and climate change. I thought that with 30 years of good science we could address those problems. I was wrong. The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy…and to deal with those we need a spiritual Read more…
Can you be deeply spiritual and entrenched in the physical Material world? Yes, you can. What seems to happen though is that the more spiritual you become the more you become aware of ‘something’ that connects you to a greater reality. If you never questioned it, your life would still Read more…
Aldo Leopold, in his A Sand County Almanac book published in 1946, said, “There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.” And “The last word in ignorance Read more…
Put your finger against a surface and push. Your finger is solid and the surface is solid so nothing happens. Yet, what is solid? And what has this to do with living sustainably? Just enjoy the ride and the scenery as I lead you down this path of the rabbit Read more…
I started this blog to get people thinking for themselves. I have done some down the rabbit hole material, but I find I fall in to the trap of being merely reformational in what I say much of the time. I realized this when I picked up the latest Read more…
Like most technology of the last 70 years, we start with what sounds like a great idea and then rush it to mass production without any real consideration of long-term consequences. Then when consequences arise (as they always seem to do) we find that big money, scientists funded by them, Read more…
I have discussed how science works and especially how its reporting (or not) is affected by monied interests and governments. This is an interesting case study where the EMF issues resembles so many other issues concerning health and environment. Besides EMFs that occur from electrical wire sources and equipment, there Read more…
When I was 14 years old, my parents moved us to another house in my home town. It had a field opposite with large power lines running across the field. About that time, I noticed that in damp weather the lines crackled and occasionally seemed to emit sparks around the Read more…
We need to understand how scientists work and research gets done. There is a lot of research out there. Even as an expert in a specific area, it is hard to keep up on the vast amount of research being published in that area. To the lay-person, the research is Read more…
Our culture has all these people throughout history whom we revere for their creativity and inventiveness. The names Gutenberg, Tesla, Edison, Carver, and Bell, are but a few who made great technological changes for society. While today we might use names like Zuckerberg or Musk to show how creativity is Read more…
Many years ago, I attended a weekly, evening, continuing education course about Creative Writing. The instructor as you might guess focused on creativity and its expression. During one class discussion we had to think of a subject on which to write about things to do at a Caribbean resort. There Read more…
Jared Diamond writes in his book The World until Yesterday about how indigenous peoples lived for most of human existence in tribal societies. He doesn’t paint a utopia, yet explains why the tribal system worked overall. Relatively recently in human history we moved from hunter-gatherer tribal systems into farming communities Read more…
It is estimated that 90% of people intensely dislike the working week, which is a product of efficiency for the industrial revolution and machine system of living. So, 10% of people have a living that is ideal for them. They could work 15 hours a day and still love what Read more…