This article describes a family's quest towards sustainable living while reducing their reliance of corporate and government control.

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Chris Hedges' writes on OpEd News:

Humans must immediately implement a series of radical measures to halt carbon emissions or prepare for the collapse of entire ecosystems and the displacement, suffering and death of hundreds of millions of the globe's inhabitants, according to a report commissioned by the World Bank. The continued failure to respond aggressively to climate change, the report warns, will mean that the planet will inevitably warm by at least 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, ushering in an apocalypse.

There are many who argue about the existence of Milancovich Cycles, which entails a more natural means of global warming that takes some of the responsibilities out of human hands. However, this is not a means to dismiss our actions in relationship to our planet . The fact is human behavior is an aspect of cyclic change and even if we take human action out of the picture, and know there is global warming even without intervention, we are part of the holistic movement towards higher temperatures.

In this regard, it is important to understand chaos theory (see link below) which states that everything causes and/or effects everything else. As such, my breathing out carbon dioxide effects the atmosphere in a dance with the plants on this planet which then converts my carbon dioxide into oxygen. In other words, it may not be wise to just discount our behavior just because of a natural warming cycle. That is, we need to look at our behavior while working towards lessening our output in a changing world. The Malancovich Cycle may continue, but changing our behavior may lessen its holographic impact including deforestation which results in the loss of oxygen producing trees, thereby diminishing the health of the land-base which, in turn, could produce more flooding because of the lack of absorption of heavy rain waters by the green life.

The fact that there is a Malancovich Cycle does not diminish our responsibilities as creatures working alongside other creatures in making the planet habitable. Of course one could say that the Earth has had a number of die-offs in the past and has rebounded. The case of dinosaurs may be a good example of this. Of course there is the theory that dinosaurs evolved into birds. Perhaps we can too. Or, perhaps we can learn better internal control of our temperature and be able to reclaim our life in Eden where we are able to walk about without clothing. (Walmart and the Fashion Industry beware, for we ultimately are not going to need you!)

The fact is, evolution occurs from the inside out in relationship to external changes in the environment. Similarly, the internal changes emerging from within the environment occur in relationship to the whole. Everything is a dance. Can we, perhaps, consider our destruction of the environment which has created mass extinctions--even aside from global warming--is just another natural aspect of a Malancovich Cycle?

So, what if it is? Does this being a natural cycle deny us an opportunity to live in greater harmony with our planet and our universe? Are we simply cogs in nature's wheel or are we co-creators? Can we also look at other factors that we can change in relationship to planetary changes that can lead to an evolution of human potential, and, indeed, the potential of this planet in birthing resilient and beautiful life?

Where does this change begin? In Congress? In the United Nations? Can we really trust these people to make changes? Or does the change need to begin at home, with each one of us?

Perhaps even this questioning is too shallow. Indeed, Terrence McKenna states that we have not yet awakened to the depth of the crisis. Yes, we can get into back and forth arguments about global warming. The arguments about global warming are futile given that they mirror holographically our continuous warfare to control the planet's resources and our lack of any touch with our Nature due to our being turned into consumers. Yes, consumers we have become....we are devouring the entire planet in the same fashion that cancer devours its host's body.

Where does the change begin? We can't trust the government or the traditional businesses of the world. We have to create the change. And, we have to look towards people making the change to help lead the way.

In Maine, Lisa Marie and Jim Lindenschmidt illustrate the kind of change possible through their businesses that include the "Sweet Peas Podcast"; "Rite Food and Company", Bardic Brew", "Crafted Recordings," "Rite Chocolate"; and "Need to Rite." The Sweet Peas Podcast is described by the couple as being a chronicle of their family's journey towards conscientious living through nutrition and sustainability. In this Podcast, they focus on important issues such as cancer prevention through interviewing people like author Arthur Haines, who heads of the Delta Institute of Natural History. A major focus of the Delta Institute of Natural History is developing self-reliance that promotes awareness and eco-conscientiousness. They also tackle modern political and philosophical issues through interviewing people like Jason Read who wrote The Micro-Politics of Capital: Marx and the Prehistory of the Present.

Lisa Marie and Jim are deeply involved in sustainable farming and speak to the need to enhance Nature's process in building soils. The couple describe themselves as Omnivores, meaning they eat meat as well as vegetables and fruits, and locavores, meaning they source their food from home gardens or local farmers and fishers. They stated they did subscribe to a vegan diet, and feel that the raw vegan is good for short-term cleansing. Yet, in line with Michael Pollan's classic, The Omnivore's Dilemma, the couple has moved towards a wide variety in their diet. According to Pollan, the least healthy way of eating is through buying highly processed foods raised on factory farms; a somewhat more healthy way of eating entails foods raised organically but still within a large corporate framework; the next healthiest way of eating is through sustainable agricultural practices such as free range animals and the utilization of techniques such as permaculture for growing fruits and vegetables; and the healthiest style of eating results from hunting and gathering.

In line with the third healthiest way of eating, Jim and Lisa Marie are well aware of how the animals they eat are raised, slaughtered and processed. In essence, they eat free range meats, meaning that the animals are allowed to roam instead of being pinned up in small court yards or cages. According to Wikipedia, the factory farms that Jim and Lisa Marie avoid result in:

• Unsustainable pressure on land for production of high-protein/high-energy animal feed

• Pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer manufacture and use for feed production

• Unsustainable use of water for feed-crops, including groundwater extraction

• Pollution of soil, water and air by nitrogen and phosphorus from fertiliser used for feed-crops and from manure

• Land degradation (reduced fertility, soil compaction, increased salinity, desertification)

• Loss of biodiversity due to eutrophication , acidification, pesticides and herbicides

• Worldwide reduction of genetic diversity of livestock and loss of traditional breeds

• Species extinctions due to live stock-related habitat destruction (especially feed-cropping)

Through Lisa Marie's passion for creating and sharing chocolate made with pure, health-promoting ingredients and Jim's passion for creating, sharing, and blogging about mead, we can see that they earn their living in accordance with their nutritional wisdom. Jim explains, for instance, why making mead, the basic ingredient of which is honey, is the ultimate honoring of one's local environment. Bees gather nectar from the whole range of local flowering plants, creating honey communally and connecting both the alchemist who converts the honey into mead and the delighted drinker to the Eco-system within which they dwell. When Jim and Lisa Marie share his mead--along with song, stories, dance, and camaraderie--with friends around a campfire in the woods native to their property, they are sharing the essence of conscientious living that begins at the heart and hearth of their family and radiates from there out into the world at large.

In essence, the true message of Lisa Marie and Jim is that we need to stop relying on government and corporations to feed, clothe and support us. We need to take power, health, and welfare back into our own hands. The corporations and the government do not have our best interest at heart. What they have as a heart is what they have metaphorically in their back pocket, which is close to that part of the anatomy that is full of manure.

This is the most clear metaphor for what we are supporting when we support the corporations. Dare we move beyond that part of our anatomy that produces crap and move higher up in the body towards the heart (the level of integration), the throat (the power of the voice) and the crown (the level of enlightenment)?

Lisa Marie and Jim Lindenschmidt guide us into these higher levels of spiritual being, while remaining firmly grounded in their native soil.

Interview of Lisa Marie and Jim Lindenschmidt:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/envision-this/2012/11/23/one-familys-journey-toward-conscientious-living

Lisa Marie and Jim Lindenschmidt's Rite Food and Company: http://ritefoodandcompany.com/

Rite Chocolate: http://www.ritechocolate.com/

Need To Write: http://www.ritefoodandcompany.com/blog/

Chris Hedges Article: http://www.opednews.com/articles/Stand-Still-for-the-Apocal-by-Chris-Hedges-121126-73.html?show=votes#allcomments

Terence McKenna: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEG0syeAo4U&feature=related

Arthur Haines website: http://www.arthurhaines.com/

Illustration of Jason Reed's work: http://www.unemployednegativity.com/

Wikipedia article on factory farms: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confined_animal_feeding_operation

Introduction to Chaos Theory: http://www.imho.com/grae/chaos/chaos.html

As a note to emphasize the importance of this theory, this site states:

This effect came to be known as the butterfly effect. The amount of difference in the starting points of the two curves is so small that it is comparable to a butterfly flapping its wings.

The flapping of a single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. Over a period of time, what the atmosphere actually does diverges from what it would have done. So, in a month's time, a tornado that would have devastated the Indonesian coast doesn't happen. Or maybe one that wasn't going to happen, does. (Ian Stewart, Does God Play Dice? The Mathematics of Chaos, pg. 141)

In other words, everything YOU do affects the entire world. When Chaos Theory says everything, it means everything from your breathing to how you defecate and urinate. Unfortunately, we have been unconscious about our relationship the planet and the universe. Both spiritually and psychologically this has led to a serious issue with alienation. Perhaps the cure needs to be in resacralizing through reclaiming our bodies , minds and spirits in their unity and our effects on the greater whole.

Authors Bio:
Burl Hall is a retired counselor who is living in a Senior Citizen Housing apartment. Burl has one book to his credit, titled "Sophia's Web: A Passionate Call to Heal our Wounded Nature." For more information, search the book on Amazon.

Burl's philosophy entails the idea that "everything effects and causes everything thing else." His spirituality of Sophia i.e., Wisdom is universal as well as within each of us. He also sees the idea of Chaos as not being "all over the place" but as infinite relationships.

The question I present in my articles speak not so much towards the politicians, but how WE the people can empower ourselves within a planet that is healthy, wealthy and wise.