Thursday 28 August 2014

Meditations in Motion,
Living Ecosystems Give Life

“Our Nature Consists in Motion; complete rest is death”
~ Blaise Pascal
As opposed to the usual offerings, today PeapodLife offers a series of videos, kind of meditations on movement in nature. We begin with starlings.

Video: Starlings Murmuration 

We soon discover that such mesmerizing movements are in no way limited to birds and other winged creatures (bats, mosquitoes, etc). If we dive into the oceans, we encounter similar phenomenon—schooling, shoals.

Video: Sardine Run 2010 HD 


And one might think such fluid movements may be limited to air and water; not so. Even land creatures,  herding and stampeding take on similar shapes and patterns of motion.

Video: Wildebeast crossing Mara river

And such movements show up in even the most unexpected places, in unexpected ways, in uncommon “herds” (if it’s 5,000 ducks waddling, does that make it a herd or a flock?)

Video: 5000 Ducks Stop Traffic in Taizhou, China: Hong Minghsu's Ducks March into Chinese City

From winds and waves to flying beasts and crawling critters, here’s a nice video of Movement in Nature to close out today’s blog.

Source: Vimeo

The point of all this? To show, rather than just tell, that the life-giving flow of energies reverberate and reflect on all levels in nature in all manner of manifestation. It is important to grasp this as one considers how the presence of an ecosystem in one’s life can fill one’s world with new movements of revitalizing and rejuvenating movements.

Ecosystems are in constant motion. There may be no better meditation than to go deeper into oneself in the still point at the centre of one’s life in constant motion. 


Thursday 21 August 2014

Mission Blue: CODE RED
New Relationship with Nature Required!

Video: “Mission Blue” Credit: Netflix

“The Ocean is dying. … No ocean, no life. No ocean, no us.”
~ Dr. Silvia Earle
Source: “Mission Blue”

It’s not everyday one gets to meet a pioneer. In the latest Netflix Original film, “Mission Blue,” the viewer gets to do just that. What’s more, we are taken on a journey into the remarkable life of a remarkable pioneer: Sylvia Earle, “an American marine biologist, explorer, author and lecturer.” Source: Wikipedia: Silvia Earle.

Image Collage by PeapodLife: Looking back on a life dedicated to the sea:
Silvia Earle Diving early in her career; more recently on her “Mission Blue”

Just how much of a pioneer was she? Rather than reading through an impressive laundry list of her accolades, watch this short clip of from the movie. One quickly realizes that this feisty explorer and scientist was not just conquering the Great Barrier Reef, but breaking down social barriers as well:

Video: Mission Blue Clip: Breaking Down Barriers

But that was only the beginning. Now, in the twilight of her long and illustrious career, Dr. Earle is championing the creation of “hope spots,” her not-so-radical idea to save the dying oceans.

And they are dying. Ocean acidification due to climate change has ravaged the world’s coral reefs (over 50% of which have vanished in the last two decades). Overfishing and decimation of marine ecosystems—including foundational species like Menhaden, overfished for production of fish oil, and all things chicken feed—have caused the collapse of fish stocks worldwide.

But perhaps we should let the woman of the moment tell you herself…

Video: Sylvia Earle: How to protect the oceans (TED Prize winner!)

The Ecosystem Connection

Another famous personality and a marine explorer in his own right—he recently set a world record for deepest solo dive—James Cameron was one of the individuals interviewed for the film, Mission Blue. Something he said in the film certainly grabbed our attention…

“We need to develop a new relationship with nature.”
~ James Cameron
Source: “Mission Blue”
Image: James Cameron aboard his Deepsea Challenger Vessel during filming of National Geographic’s film “Deepsea Challenge”

That’s a profound platitude, to be sure. But how exactly does one do that? When our so-called “natural world” is becoming more and more remote, and our so-called “greenspaces” are little more than gardens masquerading as nature…they are anything but ecosystems.

That is one reason why the wildlife in cities like Toronto feed mostly on our garbage. There is no viable ecosystem for them to participate in. One of the reasons there is no viable ecosystem is because of us and our waste: the slowly dying Great Lakes is one prominent example.

PeapodLife’s approach are indoor rainforest ecosystems.  Living with and in an ecosystem—which is self-regulating and supporting, but still reliant upon us for establishment—is the key.

Living with an ecosystem changes our perception of nature. We are a part of it; it becomes a part of us. We choose to sip our coffee in the morning next to it, or a glass of wine in the evening in its company. There’s no better place to relax, unwind, read, meditate or do yoga than in the fresh air and warm embrace of an ecosystem’s electromagnetic field. It’s a positive energy field; a field of negative ions.  

EVERY PEAPODLIFE ECOSYSTEM HAS AN AQUATIC ELEMENT AND IS DESIGNED BASED ON THE PLANETARY PRINCIPLE OF TWO-THIRDS WATER.

If you want people to comprehend the importance of the oceans, and get them to “get it”—that oceanic ecosystems support all other ecosystems—we have to get ecosystems into their life. If you want oceanic ecosystems to be top of mind, we must make ecosystems every bit as prevalent as computers, TV screens and hi-tech gadgets!

Image by PeapodLife: Ecosystem helps you discover an Intimate Relationship of Symbiosis and Harmony

Just imagine if every school, public building, hospital, workplace, and certainly every home had a vibrant living ecosystem. Imagine children interacting with those ecosystems. Studying them. Comprehending the infinite complexity of high-order ecosystems, and their ability to self-organize, self-regulate, and creatively adapt to every conceivable change…true intelligence, not “artificial intelligence.”

Imagine what creative solutions and revolutionary new relationships between humanity and nature would be born of that kind of cultural shift…that kind of paradigm. Humanity once again connecting to and identifying with their organic nature and the consciousness of collective symbiosis and harmony (as opposed to their mechanistic nature and the ego-intelligence of individualism and competition.

As Dr. Earle points out in her TED Prize winning Talk, alternative energy and all the green technologies associated with sustainability are pointless if the blue heart of the planet isn’t preserved—preserved and resuscitated.

But just as a patient recovering from heart surgery needs to rethink their lifestyle which lead to heart failure, Cameron is right: humanity needs to establish a new relationship with the planet’s big blue heart…and that means a new, close, intimate, mutually symbiotic and harmonious relationship with ecosystems.

Humanity desperately needs to discover the PeapodLife.


Post Scriptum

Thank you The Nature Daily for re-publishing this article.

Image: The Nature Daily Screenshot: Shared by Genesis Eco Fund
PeapodLife: Mission Blue: CODE RED New Relationship with Nature Required!



Tuesday 5 August 2014

Naturally Produced Negative Ions: Think Positive & Live Positively

Image: A thunderstorm over Martinique.
“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it's lightning that does all the work.”
~ Mark Twain

We can’t see, smell or taste them, but negative ions are molecules that are believed to produce increase levels of serotonin, helping to alleviate depression, relieve stress, increase our energy and boost the immune system. We typically encounter negative ions in natural environments: mountains, waterfalls, beaches, forests. (Source: WebMD: Negative Ions Create Positive Vibes)

We also encounter them after thunderstorms, leading to the expression the thunderstorm effect. Prior to a thunderstorm, positive ionization of atmospheric molecules can cause nervousness, jitteriness, and irritability in both animals and many humans.

After the storm, many will experience a renewed sense of well-being, especially when exposed to the fresh, clean air.  This is because of an abundance of negative ions generated by the storm.
“Positive ions are often pollutants such as dust, bacteria, pollen, chemicals, and fumes.  The storm releases electrical discharges consisting of high concentrations of negative ions.  Negative ions destroy many of these air pollutants and, therefore, give us a sense of well-being.” (Source: envirohealthtech.com: Enviro-Health-Tech: Alternative"Healthy Living" Devices: Ions )

Image: Ions at Work 

How big of an impact can negative ions play?

According to Pierce J. Howard, PhD, author of The Owners Manual for the Brain: Everyday Applications from Mind Brain Research and director of research at the Center for Applied Cognitive Sciences in Charlotte, N.C.:
“Generally speaking, negative ions increase the flow of oxygen to the brain; resulting in higher alertness, decreased drowsiness, and more mental energy. … "[Negative ions] also may protect against germs in the air, resulting in decreased irritation due to inhaling various particles that make you sneeze, cough, or have a throat irritation."
(Source: webmd.com: WebMD: Health & Balance Feature Stories: Negative Ions Create Positive Vibes)

Why should this matter to you?

Our worlds are filled with positive ions. These carry with them allergens, contaminates, toxins, and all manner of elements which deteriorate our mood, our mental capacity, and our overall well-being. Air conditioning, computers, electronics, all manner of machines, motors, etc. are constantly filling the spaces we live, work, study, play—and even heal—with positive ions.

Negative ions can dramatically improve your mood, mental acuity, immune system and sense of well being. “Columbia University studies of people with winter and chronic depression show that negative ion generators relieve depression as much as antidepressants….And for a whopping one in three of us who are sensitive to their effects, negative ions can make us feel like we are walking on air." (Source:  webmd.com: WebMD: Health & Balance Feature Stories: Negative Ions Create Positive Vibes)

So what does PeapodLife bring to the table?

Negative ions, but not just JUST any negative ions…negative ions as managed by an intelligent and self-organizing ECOSYSTEM. In other words, NOT-ARTIFICIAL IONIZATION! Our indoor rainforest ecosystems create negative ions the all-natural way, with a real living, breathing ecosystem fed by (and feeding) ionized living water.

There are many mechanical products on the market claiming to generate negative ions. Then there are Himalayan salt crystal lamps, which supposedly “shed” negative ions as they are heated by a candle or incandescent light bulb.  

But how much is too much?

With an ecosystem you don’t have to worry about it. The ecosystem will never generate more negative ions than is safe, appropriate, and optimal. In the same way, it will never allow positive ions to overpower the negative. It is alive, intelligently self-organizing and constantly “balancing” itself, just as the discharge of lightning during a storm can be seen as nature’s way of balancing itself.

One look at our ecosystems during their rain cycle and you can just imagine that fresh, clean, post-thunderstorm atmosphere.

Video: PeapodLife Living Wall EcoSystem Fitch Street, creates the perfect balance of negative ions for positive wellbeing.

Don’t just think positive, start living positively by filling your home, work, school or hospital with the life-boosting effects of negative ions, courtesy of your own beautiful, living, self-organizing rainforest ecosystem.