How to Start a Recycling Program at Work
June 9, 2009 by
Filed under General Info, Reflections From Brigid's House
When I worked for corporate America, I was deemed (happily!) by my co-workers as the legal department ‘tree hugger’ because I picked aluminum cans out of my colleagues’ garbage cans, stash them in a box under my desk and take them home for recycling. I even gave each of my colleagues an extra waste basket to throw their paper in and would pick it up on a on a weekly basis for recycling.
As we know, most people will go along with positive change as long as they aren’t the ones who have to do all the leg work! If you’re workplace hasn’t yet caught on to the recycling revolution, make them start now! Take control and banish the bad habits of your workplace by following these simple steps to a more earth friendly work environment:
1. Ask for volunteers to serve as the recycling coordinator. This person must be dedicated and organized! You may actually want to volunteer yourself, since you already have the drive to initiate a recycling program.
2. Decide what you want to recycle. Walk around your office and take note of what items are most often used: paper, aluminum cans, batteries, light bulbs, paper, glass bottles, plastic bottles, etc. If you decide not to recycle everything, then choose what is used the most and focus on those items.
3. Set up recycling bins and guidelines in the break room, inside the front door, or any other place where your co-workers gather to eat and drink. Recycling Guidelines can include such things as a request to smash cans, rinse out containers, etc.
4. Keep your co-workers involved. Send out a weekly/bi-monthly email to let them in on the success, progress and problems with your recycling program.
On a fun note, if you can turn your aluminum cans in for cash, start an office fund that will go towards an office lunch party or happy hour.
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Genetic Destiny
June 7, 2009 by
Filed under Reflections From The Stars
Yesterday I heard a fascinating interview of Bruce Lipton, author of The Biology of Belief. I read his book when it first came out and was blown away by his research. This interview blew me away again! He talked about our conscious and unconscious minds. He stated that the conscious mind is the creative mind and that we’re only in our conscious mind 1-5% of the day. The subconscious mind is not creative and is like a recording device that records habits and patterns and then plays them back daily. These habits and patterns were downloaded during the first 5 years of our life and pre-birth. So in other words, we are playing out 95% of our day the unconscious behaviors that we downloaded when we were a toddler!!!!! Incredible. Even more incredible, his research shows that these downloads also program our genes!!!
But even more incredible for me, is that he said that from the fetal state through the first 5 years of life we are primarily in the theta brain wave state-the place of our imagination and creativity, and, interestingly enough, the brain wave state we go to when we drum and journey!!!! It is here that we have spiritual revelations and visions. He stated that it is in this state that we download information. Suddenly, journeying and accessing information makes perfect sense, and it explains why I always feel so whole after drumming and journeying.
Now in our normal waking life we only access the theta state right before we totally awake and right before we fall asleep. This is called the hypnogogic state. Lipton stated that we should be using these times to re-program our subconscious recordings and ultimately our genes. So, lets work with this for awhile, and use those states to change your life. Re-program your life during these times through the use of affirmations and visualizations. Be in that creative, imaginative state and change your life!
Lipton has a new book coming out in September called Spontaneous Evolution. I highly recommend to you that you read The Biology of Belief. It will change your thinking about your body and your health.
Joy and love to you today,
Jeanne
Are reusable bags hazardous to your health?
June 4, 2009 by
Filed under Reflections From Friends
Have you heard the latest word that eco-friendly bags are bad for your health? Before you make the switch back to plastic, please consider the source – the plastics industry! To learn how common sense will keep your reusable bags user-friendly, please visit HERE.
A Wizard in Ottertail County – Ann Mara MacGregor
June 4, 2009 by
Filed under Reflections From The Stars
A wizard lives in Ottertail County. I only recently learned this on a Saturday morning, when I decided that winter was over. I make this decision every year, and occasionally, the Frost Spirit (hereafter known as ‘Jack’T) decides I need more humility. But that is another story. So, this year, when I stood out in the yard and announced, ‘enough winter, cold and dark, it’s time to plant something,’ Jack T must have been busy elsewhere. Whew.
The ‘Plant Man’, my usual place to find green-beings to put in the ground, was not longer at his usual place of business. My first thought was that JackT was just being sneaky and had moved the Plant Man. But then I saw the little sign – I knew I had given JackT too much credit – indicating the Plant Man had new digs at the junction of a state highway 75 and a county road 54.
Off I went, down the highway, then back up the highway. I even looked at the map. County 54 did not exist. Again, back down the highway and out of the corner of my eye county 54 appeared. I planted the brakes and hauled the steering wheel to the right. The contents of the car first yielded to centrificial forces, then the car body relented, and the roadside ditch opened it giant maw, to suck me into its black hole of leftover winter trash, mud and mystery. I was suspended between two great galactic forces-for a moment I swear I could see into infinity and knew all the answers of the universe. Then, gravity asserted herself and settled all four wheels onto the road surface. Infinity vanished, I lost all the answers, time resumed, and I slowed down.
There was no Plant Man. Strange. Odd. Maybe JackT was a little brighter than I thought. I slowly drove east on county 54. Keeping my eyes peeled for a sign, an omen, anything. Suddenly, there it was, an omen- the 20′ welded-metal- mosquito-sculpture on wheels. But still no Plant Man – just the big metal mosquito. I still wasn’t ready to concede defeat to JackT. Passing the metal mosquito, I found a narrow lane, hidden by overgrown bushes. It was marked with a single potted apple tree sitting among pieces of rusted and broken farm machinery. At end of the lane was the Plant Man’s new digs. It was at that moment, I realized he was a wizard. How did I know this? The apple trees. They were everywhere. In pots, in barrels, big and little ones. That was the only kind of tree he had to sell. No maples, ashes, birches or willows. No oak, pear, or cherry. Only apple, and most were all in bloom, and in the fragrance a reminder of the tree’s mythic soul.
If you are so inclined, take a little journey to 75 & 54. Find the tumble-down digs of The Plant Man. Don’t let the collapsing barn, abandoned house, and tumbling down buildings fool you. Trust me, the Wizard is there, and he knows everything about apple trees. If it is it the gloaming time, you might catch a glimpse of the Faerie Queen of Avallach, or Cad Goddue, the Welsh Goddess known as the ‘Battle of the Apple Tree.’ In the distance is Emain Abhlack, the Irish Island of Apples. If you know the Ogam alphabet, look for Quert. That Saturday I saw both Thomas the Rhymer and Connla each with an apple in his hand; both falling in love with a Faerie Queen. Walk carefully among the clutter and you may find the magic apple path. If you do, ask Cuchulainn if you may walk with him. Along the way, pay respects at Ailinn’s grave – you will know it by the big apple tree with a lovely woman’s face. If you do not find the path, look for Idunn, the Norse goddess. Sit and have a chat with her. She has a wood box made from ash wood in which she keeps her magic apples. Maybe she will give you one. Think carefully before you take a bite – there is always a trade when you eat of the apple of immortality.
Practical Astrology for an Imperfect World: Mercury Retrograde OVER!
June 1, 2009 by
Filed under Reflections From Friends
Practical Astrology for an Imperfect World 1.2
Brigid’s House invites you to submit questions about astrology. Questions may be general or specific, but please do not use personal names. Watch for your answer in the next week’s astrology column.
Mercury went direct yesterday, after being retrograde since May 7th. Mercury goes retrograde at least three times each year and bears watching. Mercury retrograde is good for research or study. It confuses communication between people and computers. It bodes ill for major purchases and car repairs. Avoid signing major contracts that involve making payments until Mercury goes direct, if possible.
This Mercury retrograde occurred in Gemini. Think back. Did you blurt out something that you have held in check for a while? Did your computer develop a glitch that fixed itself a day or two later? Did you learn, during an unexpected (non-routine) conversation, something new about a relative or neighbor? Have your young children been bouncing or jumping up and down a lot? Mercury retrograde.
The next retrograde of Mercury will occur Sept 7 to Sept 28th, 2009.
An Eco Approach to Lawn Care for the Earth-friendly Soul by Tara Troge of EcoSisters
June 1, 2009 by
Filed under Reflections From Friends
With summer rapidly approaching, it’s inevitable that the majority of us will begin to suffer from obsessive compulsive lawn disorder. But before you touch one blade of grass, consider this: Did you know that approximately five percent of the world’s air pollution comes from gas lawnmowers? And that the average American uses 20,000 gallons of water each summer on their grass?!
From how to collect rain water to non-toxic fertilizers and pest control, here are some tips on how to leave the earth a little better than you found it and still have a beautiful, healthy lawn to enjoy all summer. The earth (and all its little critters) will thank you!
