Friday, October 28, 2016

Disconnected, From Mother Earth--Means a Shorter Life Span

Years ago I read an article that told how older Americans were healthier than younger Americans on a relative basis. That 60 years olds were healthier and more disease resistant that 50 year olds, and that 50 year olds were healthier and more disease resistant that 40 year olds,,,,,,etc.....

Then today I read in Bloomberg "Americans Are Dying Faster. Millennials, Too; People who Predict Death Have Some Bad News" that life expectancy is diminishing.

Why would life expectancy decrease, in the face of massive health care advances? Especially since we have increased access to health care. 

The answer is simple.

We have lost our connection to Mother Earth.

Successive generations have increasingly disconnected themselves from Mother Earth. Kids no longer play outside in the dirt, explore country areas or go out on hikes. They are to glued to technology.

Older people have also disconnected from Nature, becoming absorbed in technology. I remember going to certain lean-to's on the Finger Lakes Trail and meeting several people taking a break, or eating lunch. Today I hike that same trail on which the lean-to is located and I don't see anyone, even on the trail.

Mother Earth and Nature nourish us and help maintain our health in so many ways.

Go for a hike and give your Mother A BIG HUG.

People who predict death for a living have some bad news

Sewage Leak into Sacred Onondaga Lake

Sadly at least 7,000 gallons of raw sewage has spilled into sacred Onondaga Lake. Not surprisingly the County is trying to downplay it saying no health environmental problems have been reported. 
Pathetic to think how this most sacred place is being treated. 

Friday, October 21, 2016

The Anthropocene Epoch and the Conquest of Mother Earth

I have been reading world renowned biologist's E. O Wilson's latest book Half Earth: Our Planet's Fight for Life. In it Wilson continues his effort to promote the biodiversity of our natural environment and educate on how important it is. Basically everything is connected and problems for a species at one level,  are a problem for others, at other levels.

What I learned, or what really shocked me was the Anthropocene movement and its threat to Mother Earth. Basically the Anthropocene Epoch is the period of the earth's existence when Humankind began to significantly influence and alter it; some say it began in the mid nineteenth century.  Many of its proponents believe because humankind has already so altered the Earth and our influence is so persistent and pervasive there is no turning the tide--we rule. Implicit in this, is the belief is that we should forget saving wilderness areas,  none no longer exist; forget trying to save species, or trying to promote biodiversity.... Not necessarily turning the world into a parking lot, but doing as we please.

Wilson say some call this the "New Conservation."

He quotes Elis Erle an environmental scientist at the University of Maryland:
"Stop trying to save the planet. Nature is gone. You are living on a used planet. If this bothers you, get over it. We now live in the Anthropocene--a geological epoch in which Earth's atmosphere, lithosphere, and biosphere are shaped primarily by human forces." page 76

Wilson continues by talking about Peter M. Kareiva a leading light of the "New Conservation Movement' who became chief scientist of the Nature Conservancy in 2014.  Describing him as "the leader of those that attack the existence of the wilderness...because there are no pristine areas left on Earth....regions occupied long ago should be opened up for management and profit according to Kareiva."page 77

Later in speaking of the Nature Conservancy he notes that biodiversity has faded and its now about what nature can do for people and the economy.  page 134

Wilson believes that a large portion of the world should be allocated for biodiversity and the remainder for humankind. He pins his hope on technological advancement and Artificial Intelligence to provide sensible solutions to save the environment.
Lots of Luck with that.

Sorry to be so dour but I thought others such as myself have probably not heard about the Anthropocene Epoch and the "New Conservation Movement."

Go outside and give thanks to your Mother. She could use a hug.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Omega's Spirit Keeper Site

It is written that thousands of earthen mounds dotted America's landscape before settlers came. Mavor and Dix in Manitou: The Sacred Landscape of New England's Native Civilization noted that there were tens of thousands of stone structures in New England when they wrote their book in the 1970's.

Yes, the landscape is dotted with stone structures as I have mentioned before. You just need to look, have some basic geomancy skills and with a little effort they will reveal themselves.

IN writing my book Sacred Sites in North Star Country I went and re-surveyed my listing of sacred sites. One of which is the world famous educational retreat center the Omega Institute. What I found there was pretty incredible.

While I say is was an incredible find--A Spirit Keepers Site--it looks rather nondescript and unless you knew what you were looking for you would ignore it. It is that plainness and uninspiring appearance that may explain why it survived.

The Spirit Keepers were an ancient indigenous culture that lived thousands of years ago. They took care of Fields of Consciousness (the place Ley lines emanate from) and I feel blessed whenever I find their footprints.

To assume the picture below of the the Omega Institute's property is a Spirit Keeper is a big leap. 



Why do I believe the three stones (2 marked by paper) above are part of a Spirit Keeper's structure? Location, location, location.

Fields of Consciousness have high points that often come in a series of 3. In the picture above the three stones embedded in the ground mark the three high points in the series. What are the chances of this occurring naturally?

This is a pattern I have seen at other Spirit Keeper sites; to mark the highpoint. I  imagine larger mounds were once on top of the stones and had been removed by farmers clearing fields and are now part of the many stonewalls in the area.

There were no other stones similarly embedded in the ground nearby.

The vibe was also positive, another positive indicator that good things went on there.

Learn dowsing and basic geomancy skills and get out in the woods and explore.

Monday, October 10, 2016

Beavers at Onondaga Lake?

I went for a walk yesterday around Onondaga Lake with two of my childhood friends who were in town for a SUNY Forestry Alumni gathering. We wanted to check out the new section of the West Shore Trail beginning near the State Fair. We finished at the Peacemaker's Sanctuary before turning around.

At the Peacemaker's sanctuary I noticed that the stones we had used to mark the energy vortex and vortex ring near one of the benches were gone. Unfortunately, this is not a new phenomena; the stones from the  stone circle we made around the Tree of Peace at Willow Bay were similarly removed. I saw a young boy chuck them in the water as I was coming to water the tree once. Sad. Particularly since those stones were in a neat circle. 

I guess putting stones down are a problem unless they are embedded in the soil.

My Forestry(Stumpie)  friend Gary Mastroeni commented on how the shape of a few stumps in front to the old bench looked like they were done by a beaver (the tops looked like a sharpened pencil.) The picture Gary took is below. Fellow Stumpie Rick Milewski concurred.

This makes sense. When I found the stumps earlier this year I thought it odd that someone would have cut trees down in an area that was covered with overgrowth.

It should not be surprising that there are beavers living around Onondaga Lake, but it is because the park does not seem so "Wild." 

It was a relieve and a mild joy to learn that the areas we had cleared and uncovered that we thought were previously part of a larger sacred site, had not been disturbed in years--at least my humankind.