I am again in the US of A. Specifically, in Berkeley California. I've noticed yet another oddity about the cultural installation better known as The American Dream. Perhaps it'll trigger some consideration to read this, perhaps not. I've just been to a number of shops. Trader Joe's, and a large organic food store. These days plastic ain't hip. It's cool to use paper, and even cooler to bring your own bags. Personally, I figure that bringing a reusable bag is the more life-giving option, yet it's not always so easy to remember and sometimes it's just not convenient. Looking at what people have in their hands as they step out form the checkout I gather that for many plastic, paper, or bring your own is not even a consideration they give much attention to. Nothing new about that. What has struck me as rather odd, however, is this. Every single paper bag is "double bagged". In New Zealand I have seen people request for a double bag if the load is heavy or they have an extra long way to walk such as to the house as opposed to the car park. Yet here it appears to just be the norm. At both Trader Joe's and the Berkeley Bowl it was routine for every bag to be "double bagged". Okay, at the Berkeley Bowl it was routine to use plastic, and they'd only use paper if asked to. But once that request was made, two bags would be used, doubled up. So here we are, people attempting to do the "right thing". Attempting to be environmentally correct, and yet the American propensity to over use and over consume and over waste sneaks up from behind and bites the eco-conscious on the proverbial butt. If 10 million paper bags are required each year for people to get their food to their car and then to their kitchen, and if all of those are double bagged, that means a total of 20 million bags end up being used. Kinda odd in a world and country where people lead themselves to believe that the world can't support 7 billion people. Of course, this double bag situation is just a small icon of the cultural madness that is prevalent here. I wonder if anyone has compared the environmental impact of plant-based plastic bags with 2x brown paper bags.

[Originally published September 2004, in my blog]

Elsewhere I've explained why I use the word Feal, how it came to me, and what it means for me.

I'd like to take a quite look at a play on words.

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Free hugs going fast

What a beautiful example of the simple ways in which we can take huge leaps in human consciousness.
Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

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There is a movie making its way around many circles of friends and people at present that is creating quite a stir. It even featured on the Oprah Show a few weeks ago. It's called TheSecret (www.thesecret.tv). You may have heard of it. You may have even watched it. If not, jump over to TheSecret.tv and check it out. There it can be watched online for about US$5.00. You can also buy the DVD from Amazon.com and other places.

I watched this movie a few months ago. I found it interesting. It explores what some refer to as The Law Of Attraction.

Whist finding it interesting, I also found it a little disturbing or perhaps just disappointing, in that I found it came across as potentially very pro attitudes and approaches to life that could easily be or become rather self-centered and narcissistic. TheSecret also mentioned various things that I consider to be distortions of the Truth--the most obvious one being that this secret was somehow kept from humanity by way of a global conspiracy. This alone idea defies the very Law of Attraction the movie is explaining to its viewers.

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Every moment is filled with mystery, Here and Now no-thing is known, No-thing is understood, It simply is as it is, Experienced, Timelessly, Now.

To be present and aware to this moment is to be present to the mystery of life.

What is this mystery I am referring to?

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For those people interested in writings on shamanism and the psychedelic experience here is a book I came across whilst perusing around the internet. It’s called “Breaking Open the Head” (by Daniel Pinchbeck). I’ve not read this book, but it does look interesting.

The homepage for Breaking Open the Head by Daniel Pinchbeck is at — Breaking Open the Head

It can be obtained from Amazon.com using the following link:

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Here’s a great site with potentially useful health information. The author, Sepp Hasslberger, has also placed many great links on his site to other useful sites. I suggest using an RSS News reader to stay abreast of the articles he posts here and also for some of the sites he has listed (his links show which ones support RSS)

Health Supreme

The Worldwatch Institute has a great line-up of free PDF documents available on matters pertaining to the state of the world.

Check it out for some informative reading.

Free PDF Downloads | Worldwatch Institute
State of the World 2001

Ubuntu (ideology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Looking into the word Ubuntu

Here is Ubuntu as defined in the Wikipedia: Ubuntu (ideology)

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Here’s some interesting reading about the author’s perspective on some of the less known (forgotten by many) history of humanity. Enjoy…

Lemuria and Atlantis  by Tara Mata