Like I said, despite the blessings of an abundant universe, I still think we're in deep shit.

THIS is a great article on Peak Oil although there are still bigger issues left out, such as our current industrial food supply system which is entirely based upon cheap oil. But let's not start a panic ;-)

Excerpt:
"The big question is how we accelerate plug-ins and E.V.s into the marketplace to stave off the worst of the peak oil and climate catastrophes. No country has ever introduced a mass-market consumer alternative fuel vehicle without government mandates. So again we are going to have to turn to progressive policies.

Clinton and Obama (but not McCain) have detailed policies to jump-start the transition to plug-in hybrids. Clinton, for instance, plans to offer consumers tax credits of up to $10,000 for purchasing a plug-in hybrid. I would offer the tax credit for the first 1 million plug-ins purchased. The effort would cost under $10 billion over several years -- about what this country now spends on imported oil in a single week! And of course we'll need a very aggressive push toward efficiency and zero-carbon electricity, which both Democratic candidates support. That is the very least we can do given the twin multitrillion-dollar threats of peak oil and global warming."

peace,
d

I tell you there’s something about the spring air. There’s something in her breeze that shakes the up the snow globe of reality and sets things on their head. Regardless of where I go, it seems impossible to escape spring drama.

I’ve left the mountains and I’m living in Washington Park in Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood. I’m on a bit of a solo meditative retreat here getting back in touch with my loneliness and the adaptive nature of living out of a van. I’m waiting for some of my Colorado friends to get back from a business trip and thus I don’t have much to do. So I sit.

As I sit I can’t help but contemplate the endless knot and how no matter how hard we try as humans to be happy, healthy, fulfilled and at peace, there is always work to be done. Or perhaps we never stop creating work for ourselves instead of letting ourselves enjoy the blessings of an overly abundant universe. I’m sitting in my van and everyone walking past in the park outside seems to be complaining, or working out some serious life issue they may have. As I go out into the park there are people who have their dogs off leash playing and others who are screaming at them for ignoring the on-leash bylaws. To make matters worse spring has struck Moses giving him a newfound desire to hump anything that moves regardless of whether it’s male or female. And on and on the endless knot goes… people, dogs, drama, Oh My!

I was hoping to stay out of it, but I guess that would be contrary to the nature of the universe. Since the knot is endless, its endlessness enfolds me as well as everyone else. The only choice we have is how we react to the unfolding around us. I can become caught up in the endless knot of the universe or I can sit back and laugh the way a laughing Buddha laughs at how entertaining and truly ridiculous it all is. I don’t mean to invalidate others feelings, but just that I don’t need to get caught up in the dramatic realities created by others.

From this new vantage point the man yelling at the off leash dogs looks quite humorous with his furrowed brow and his serious finger pointing. The universe is showering beauty and truth everywhere around him, but he’s quite intent on how serious it all is, and how off leash dogs are ruining his day;-) Man those off leash dogs… gotta watch out for those… they’re pure evil!
The same goes for everyone else, including me, all these things we’re taking so seriously and furrowing our brows at aren’t really all that important. It just feels important in our inability to let go and surrender ourselves to faith and trust. After all things are much better than they appear and we should be grateful to find ourselves positioned in this location in the endless knot.

There are far worse places to be, places like Rawanda during the recent genocide where 800,000 people lost their lives to the unfolding drama of men with machete.

Peace,
d

It’s been a long cold winter buried in snow up in the a-frame, but now spring has broken and it’s time to move on. Veronica has been mostly stationary this whole time and I’ve been traveling around with Jeff to capture footage, go snowshoeing and enjoy the winter wonderland that is the Colorado Rockies.

As a result of her stationary position all winter I know find Veronica buried in two feet of powder. So it’s time to dig her out and fire her up in order to head on down to Denver. I was down in Denver a couple of days ago and spring was in full bloom, the storey is a little different at 9000ft.

I’m sad to leave this place, but at the same time there seems to be an excitement brewing in both Moses and I to hit the road. I look forward to the desert heat and the footage I’m yet to capture. I look forward to meeting new people and to the medicines they have to share. Whenever I leave a place it feels as though the journey has only just begun.

It’s also important for me to share the fact that there’s been a deep hesitation brewing in me about heading south. The part of me that wants to go home and build my farm is speaking louder than ever before. It’s part of the process I guess, but this knowledge doesn’t make it any easier to cope with. I know I won’t turn back, so the thoughts and anxieties are futile. My refusal to turn back isn’t due to stubbornness but more a spiritual commitment I’ve made to reach the south. I know if I turn back I’ll spend the rest of my life wandering and wondering not a whole or complete man. I want more than anything to feel whole and more than anything in my life thus far, this journey gives me that feeling above all else. Even on the hard days.

peace,
d

This is a great article sent to me by some friends. I still think we're in deep shit... but deep shit is relative to human perspective... and that's why I'm determined to always be on vacation. I think people forget that life is a vacation from death. This is the nature of content that is seeping into the Searching for Dragons Film Project. I think it's a very good thing.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/col/tenn/2008/01/24/planet_death/index_np.html

A new friend directed me to a book the other day entitled, Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings. I like this book because it's filled with positive vibes. One page I read talked about how when everything seems to be going wrong for you in a day.. think of what's going right... earth's gravity is perfect neither crushing us or causing us to float away, the sun is the perfect distance from the earth, our cells have come together in such a way as to allow us to exist, we have light switches, cars, children, books... all coming out of the universe... the point is that things aren't bad, they're beautiful.

peace,
d

For me there has always been something magnificent about cutting firewood. I know for a fact it’s because of the way my father raised me, to be handy with a chainsaw, and to love the sweat and muscle tension of hard labor. I still remember being a teenager sleeping-in on Saturday mornings until my father, fed up, would stand outside my window singing, “It’s a beautiful Morning!” while incessantly revving a chainsaw or some other abundantly obnoxious power tool. As I would walk outside grumbling he would smile saying, “Oh you’re up. Great! You can give me a hand!”

To this day I love anything to do with physical work but most of all I love cutting firewood. I believe cutting firewood is a Zen art.

Step 1: Finding the Tree
Now, I’m a total tree hugger by nature, so none of this is about destroying trees to sate some maniacal lust for firewood, so let’s talk about picking the right tree.

To make this a true Zen art, you should walk through the woods for a while, contemplating life, nature, and the fact that most of the trees around you were here long before you and will remain long after you’re gone.

In any forest there are usually a large number of dead trees still standing, these are your first choice, dead and dry. If you can’t find any dead trees it’s best to look for trees where rot is beginning to take hold, or as in the case of Colorado, trees that are being destroyed by pine beetle. If as a last resort you have to cut down a living tree, remember that you’ll have to let it sit to dry for a season in order to get nice firewood.

Step 2: Falling the Tree
Once you’ve found the right tree it’s time to fire up the chainsaw, which not only cuts through the tree but also rips through the forest silence. To me, this is man, loud, destructive, and thriving off the burning of fossil fuels. This is where nature and man are about to collide, or man as a part of nature is about to wreak havoc. Lucky for nature, unlucky for us, every cause eventually results in effect, as it has repeatedly for millennia.

The key to falling any tree is to work with nature as much as possible. Look of the gaps in the forest surrounding it, look up the tree observing it’s natural lean. Now as you begin to cut, be sure to always maintain a steady and balanced stance, and hold your saw comfortably whether sideways or straight. Cut a slight notch half way through on the side you feel it should fall and then once this notch is in place, cut the opposite side till it begins to TIMBER!!! Quickly get out of the way as falling trees may bounce before landing in place.

Step 3: Limb the Tree
This is where you walk along the tree with chainsaw or axe and take off the limbs. Again do this while paying attention to stance and balance being sure to not hurt yourself. These limbs make great kindling for later use, or in the case of living trees, limbs make great foraging for forest animals such as deer.

Step 4: Cut Trunk Into Logs
This is pretty basic. Still maintaining a balanced and grounded stance, cut your trunk into logs, be sure your chain never hits ground as you’ll be sharpening for another hour, and be sure to sometimes cut upwards to insure your chain doesn’t get pinched by downward pressure of the tree. Measure all your logs equal length so they appear beautiful when stacked, I like to use the length of the saw blade as a reference.

Step 5: Split Your Logs
This is really my favorite step, since it involves brute strength, momentum, balance, focus, and is oh so satisfying. Be sure to find a nice log to split the others upon. Place the log to be split upon it and with feet shoulder apart and posture balanced, raise the axe over your head and bring it down into the log while bending your knees. Your back should be straight all the while, don’t bend over as you bring the axe down. If the wood is properly dried your actions should result in a satisfying split right down the middle. Repeat as needed creating a variety of log sizes from kindling up to full logs that will burn all night while you sleep. One of the benefits of splitting your wood is that it makes the resin inside the trunk of the tree more accessible to the flame providing a bright and hot fire.

Step 6: Stacking
Stack your wood in a nice dry place with the curved surface on top to ensure any rain or snow runs off nicely instead of penetrating inwards. This is the end of your Zen of Lumber Jackin’ workout so enjoy the last of it. Toss some logs into your fireplace and sit back and enjoy the warm glow feeling stronger, more balanced, and nicely tired from a good workout.
_____________________
Looking at this blog I can’t actually believe I’ve written it. I’m such a geek, who cares about making firewood. I think what I love most about the process is what it does for the body, mind and soul. Lumber Jackin’ feeds you in all the right ways and it provides a sense of archaic independence back from the time when man first discovered fire.

It seems there’s a Lumber Jeff in there after all.

peace,
d

Over the weeks here I’ve been helping Jeff with some carpentry jobs around the house. We’ve installed a cedar ceiling, lighting fixtures and most recently a ceiling fan. When I arrived at this a-frame nestled in the mountains, Jeff’s primary source of heating was natural gas, but after a few weeks of cold weather Jeff and I started discussing how he should install a wood-burning stove into his open air fireplace.

Once Jeff gets an idea planted into his head, it doesn’t talk long for him to take action, and within hours of our conversation he was online on craigslist looking for the perfect stove. It took a few weeks to find the right fit, but once he found it we were off to Denver to pick it up.

During my time here I’ve been given a nickname, Spartacus. The name comes from Kathrin who gave it to me because I remind her of a Spartan. I live in a van with a very frugal lifestyle, it doesn’t take much to keep me satisfied, and if ever there is anything that needs building, fixing, or repair, I’m the guy for the job.

I’m a firm believer in Do It Yourself and the notion that if there is anything that needs doing we are all capable of doing it. Yes, I believe that any one of us can do practically any job there is to be done… the only ingredient needed, is time. There is no job too big and no job too small as long as we give ourselves time to learn and the patience to accomplish the task.

Jeff is not a DIY lunatic like me, he often would rather hire someone to do the job, have it done right, and hove it done without any frustration on his part. I understand his thought process, since after all we live in an age of specialization, and in this age we are taught to call someone rather that figure it out for ourselves. I understand the idea of paying someone to do it right, but for me the challenge is so much more fun!

So in the spirit of DIY and a warm house I decided to buy Jeff and Kat a parting gift… a chainsaw. Jeff has assured me that he is no Lumber Jack, but I am quite confident inside him lay a dormant Lumber Jeff.

Peace,
D

I used to have a really good job. I used to make lots of money. I used to be happy. But then it changed. I found myself unhappy. The money was great but 'for me' the trade-off was harmful, unhealthy & unfulfilling.

"Yes, money has been a little bit tight lately. But, at the end of my life, when I'm sitting on my yacht, am I going to be thinking about much money I have? No. I'm going to be thinking about, how many friends I have. And my children. And my comedy albums. I mean, I have a yacht so I obviously did pretty well money wise."
- Michael Scott - The Office

So when I read articles like this one, it's nice, since leaving $work$ behind is not so widely understood. The real curiosity is that if most people really think about it, They'd give almost anything for more time away from work. People want a better life, people at the top as well as people at the bottom. So where did we go wrong? When did we settle for less time to eat, less time for a healthy lifestyle, less time for our children, and less time to ask questions... aye there it is... less time to ask questions.

Less time to create our reality.

We're all so busy trying to pay bills, trying to get the kids off to school, trying to make everything work, that we've lost touch with ourselves and with taking our time. If that's the case, you life is probably no longer yours...

Haste makes waste.

So true.

Thanks to The Nation for THIS ARTICLE.

peace, d

I haven't dropped too many lines in here lately as I've been away from my computer waiting out winter up in the mountains of Colorado. Now as I log back in, I've found I have some great interviews set for the spring and the burners are starting to fill.

I've always felt winter is a time to enter the cave of Brahman...

The “Cave of Brahman” is an etheric chamber where Brahman, the creative essence of the universal spirit, manifests itself and radiates pranic life to the twenty four gross body elements via the medulla, cerebellum and the spinal chord. The pituitary and pineal glands, at opposite ends of the cave, are the positive and negative poles of Self-knowledge: male-female, solar-lunar, night-day; the duality that we experience in the human form.

I can see the light of spring radiating towards me, and I can feel a renewed sense of freedom emerging. Winter here has been interesting. I've been helping Jeff and Kat build their house and everywhere around me I've been working hard to plant some seeds of metaphysical goodness.

A while ago I grew tremendously frustrated in the realization that my planting processes was yielding little growth. I want to change the world, and when the world chooses to take it's own time, I have little patience. My frustration resulted in imbalances, in allowing myself to be thrown off balance by a clinging inner need to save the world...or at least the people around me.
But then, driving down the highway one afternoon I found myself letting go again, letting go and realizing that it's all ok, it's NOT up to me, and everything is exactly where it needs to be.

Ah.. faith in the bigger picture... so nice when you stumble upon it.

I probably only stumbled upon it that day because I WAS off balance, I had polluted myself with patterns that weren't mine, and I was physically sick of it. Sometimes it's nice to get knocked around and set back on track. There are no real negatives in this world, and as my Blackfoot family has taught me, there is no failure only things we learn from. It's all perspective and I'm glad for the gifts I've been given down here and the lessons learned.

Anyways.. this is just to let you know where I've been. Everything's fine and I think it's almost time to leave and head back out on the road.

LINK: Here's another great article about James Lovelock and his feelings about the future.

I'm optimistic as well, and who knows, maybe with the coming of the spring rain, all those seeds I've planted will finally take root.

peace,
d