Last week,at the new Reuse Hub, Stirling, behind Morrisson’s, me and the dog watched a woman heave a sewing machine into the sales floor, so we went over to help her. She didn’t want the dog under her feet or me to touch her sewing machine. She needed a quiet, large, quiet workspace, it needed to be clean – but she could tell that wasn’t going to be an issue. And she needed a plug socket.

Donna was on it. The dog sat and minded my gear. I bimbled about. The dross, the discarded, salvaged from land fill, polished and placed. Each slight turn of the head is another artwork. Crap folk binned gleams like treasure. I wanted all of it but especially the two women on the tiles, to smash into an artwork. Fabulous femininity trapped forever. I desired to set them free from being just a pretty expensive surround for a new fireplace.

Kate had the same idea. Should we buy them, break them, make a huge mural with them?I asked but she was gone again. What a logo they would be for any venture.Reuse Hub Stirling is an artist’s Nirvana. Creativity flows about the place. 

People kept arriving with broken stuff. Other people repaired their stuff. I met a lassie with  bear sewn from her Grandfather’s shirts. The sewing lady had brought her finest machine, had cleared her space, had three pars of glasses and two lamps. It’s rare to see a seamstress smile, happy with her work. They are nitpicky people. I saw her smile, and feel good because she fixed the lassie’s teddy bears.

I sat on a large pale yellow corner sofa, the dog at my feet. My wares were the Life Affirming Global toolkits designed by Andrew Gaines.  It wasn’t the easiest of subject to wade into. It’s the start that matters. It’s a concept that could be developed at Reuse. It could be the foundation for education and engagement. 

people sat. I don’t remember anyone’s name. Except David because my dog adores him. Howmany subjects and concepts, ideas, new information, connection and pure joy came out of that few hours on the big yellow couch?

Here’s a synopsis of some of the conversations we spoke about….

Would you be interested in taking the forward practical steps to help create a Life Affirming Global Society, where we work in a respectful partnership with each other and the Earth?

Sounds like a fine idea, but what is it?

It’s a global culture based on partnership, respect, equality.

Amazing. How do we get that? The System will never allow it.

We overgrow the system. We choose a topic from this tool kit Andrew Gaines designed. We witness our own selves taking practical action. 

WTF?

Look at the bottom segment of the mosaic. Choose a topic you have some interest in.  David and I share interests in permaculture and local food production. David has been studying online. He will be the first to write 200 words on permaculture – for display. David will continue to learn about permaculture. He has volunteered to document and share his journey of learning more, doing more, witnessing how he can contribute to that next step we all have to take.

Permaculture cultivates emotional wellbeing, which contributes to healthy child rearing. We can demonstrate this by sharing the ways we live our lives in this moment, and how we are going to do it better tomorrow.

Local food production contributes to healthy child rearing and a steady state economy.

How? 

You tell me. You find out what YOU know, so YOU know where YOU are in this moment. What is your knowledge of building soil carbon?

Who will volunteer to write 200 words on their current knowledge of restoring carbon?

Who will volunteer 200 words on what they know about ways to heal our planet, and ourselves?

Bring your conscious awareness to the topic you have chosen. Breathe into all that you have every read heard, witnessed, experienced or wondered about. Breathe the topic through the chakras and meridians of your body. Through your nose filling your belly, out through your mouth. Keep your back straight, wiggle your toes and for five minutes, you are breathing and thinking about that one topic. Let your topic settle in your root chakra, your sit bones, your pelvic floor. Let it settle like a seed. Once a day, feed that seed and chart your results.

The beermats are the barricades.

Look at the beermats.

Which barricade do you know about? How much awareness do you have currently?

Can you write your experience or opinion about what “Disconnection from community, nature and Spirit’ means?

How can you learn more?

What is Environmental Damage? How do you cause this to happen every day? How do you contribute to Environmental Damage?

Who is brave and honest enough to go first?

What is Retail Therapy? How does today’s purchase affect the environment? What do the wealthy elites have to do with the destruction of Earth?

Do you need STUFF in order to look or feel important? Is your STATUS in life defined by how you look, or by what you do?

Are you feeling helpless? Do you experience Inner Malaise? This is your disconnection from Nature, Spirit and Community.  There are many ways to reconnect, you find a way which suits you, and chart your progress.

Ten minutes of your energy, every day, to breathing, witnessing your breath and feeding that seed, growing a new conscious reality, based on equality and respect for Earth.

Andrew Gaines lives in the Blue Mountains in Australia. I met him in Findhorn village. He was lost, so I took him home and cooked him breakfast. He is ancient, highly intelligent and wants to help change human consciousness from our current state of being. He created the Mosaic of Practical Action for a Life Affirming Global Culture. He wasn’t too sure of the title and this toolkit he gave me, is only a prototype. He was in Findhorn to meet Elders from all the First Nations people for a Climate Change Conference. (Findhorn Foundation Climate Change Conference 2018).

On the bottom of the Mosaic of Practical Action are examples of topics we all know something about or have heard of.

The examples are 

Renewable Energy

Campaign Finance Reform

Healthy Child rearing, 

Permaculture,

 Efficient Industrial Design

Cultivating Emotional Wellbeing

Systems thinking and creativity

Building Soil Carbon

Local Food Production

Which of these do you know something about? If we began to increase first our knowledge, then our forward steps would create a truly ecologically sustainable society. 

Breathe the seed of awareness of your topic into your mind. What is today’s date? What is your forward step for ‘Healthy Child Rearing’ today?

Andrew Gaines studied ‘tapping’ with the man who brought it to the world of science. Andrew knows we have to transform the way our minds are working. It’s my opinion that many spritual practises will be needed. Andrew created a series of barricades. 

What stands in YOUR way of doing more?

Some of the examples of our barricades are;

Feeling Helpless, not knowing what to do

Ignorance – unaware of trends and consequences

Advertising

People Like Stuff

Retail Therapy – ‘ I shop, therefore I am okay.’

Wealthy Elites

Status – ‘ I must Look Important’

Disconnection From Community, Nature, Spirit.

Inner Malaise

Economic Growth

We each have the power. An Elder from Greenland called Uncle argued with Andrew Gaines. He said it was too late, all humans could do now was try and love each bit of their own selves and spread joy. Ancient prophesies decree that this time and dimension we are living in, was foretold – and instructions given on the solution.

The wise men debated at that conference. The wise women gathered, listened then spoke.

Our forward steps are for equality. For a whole society based on partnership and respect. That’s respect for all Earthlings, in partnership with Earth.

In order to do this we each need to change our thinking about STUFF.

In order to change our thinking we have to witness what we do – and that is tough work. The journey of taking responsibility is actually a sacred prayer to yourself and everyone around you.

It does’t matter where you begin. Just begin.

Take a mindfulness course. Go off-grid to a sustainable community for a week. Take up yoga. Lick a tree. Wash in a clear mountain burn. Stop shopping.

Write down the date you began this journey of healing yourself and our planet, and welcome, brave courageous Warrior of The Rainbow, Earth Protector, Boddhisatva. We chart our progress in order to explain to others how difficult it is to change your mind, once it’s set.

Will you share your ways of connecting with Nature, and how you would like to connect with Nature?

Will you share what you know about The Sacred Feminine or how you honour your inner Goddess?

Your experiences should be no more than 200 words, and initially for display at both Reuse and The Larder.  There may be pop up creative writing workshops, where you can join others to journal, document and learn.

We could begin by each describing what ‘Environmental Damage’ actually is. Ocean acidification. Toxins in our food chain. Deforestation.

The Sacred Feminine is Life. Honouring the dignity of your life. It’s not restricted to one gender. Where there is creativity, the restoration, repurposing with love, expressions of beauty, there is always something sacred. 

Bringing life back into a gorgeous wardrobe is classed a feminine action but I met at least three big strong healthy manly men who are very much in tune with their feminine sides. They trawl the streets for tat then clean it – to save humanity and our Earth.

We change consciousness by bringing dignity to our lives, by admitting we are all just like mushrooms – connected by an unseen network. We need nurtured. Better soil.

Soil. Soil Carbon. Worms. Compost. How do you make compost? How many hundreds of nights have I sat around a fire talking compost? Or worms. Tome and friends I would like to see, it’s what binds us – talking about Earth Matters. I know where I am,with humans, when we can discuss compost.

For me, soil, is the sacred feminine in essence. 

A regular venture in Reuse can’t have a name like Life Affirming Global Culture Discussion Group. Shall we call ourselves Earth Matters and meet at Reuse Creative Hub ?Shall we write and blog our journey? How much information can we gather, share and learn about compost, growing apple seeds and dreaming up creative artworks from fabulous old fireplace tiles.

It is a treasure box for a creative practitioner. I need the money to buy those tiles, to smash them, to create a new thing. Maybe behind that stage….

The beermats, the books and the mosaic will all go in a big colourful frame which someone will make. Our journey of educating ourselves will be written down, displayed on walls, on blog sites, in newsletters. We might write a script, perform on that stage….