Happy New Year - around the sun!

One of the Five Arts of Chinese Metaphysics is known as 'Feng Shui'. Feng Shui relied on astronomy to find correlations between humans and the universe before the invention of magnetic compasses. The purpose of Feng Shui is to create an environment with good qi. Qi in Chinese martial arts, refers to 'energy', in the sense of (positive and negative) 'life force'. When we have good design in our homes, our rooms are filled with vibrant energy.

'A traditional explanation of qi as it relates to Feng Shui would include the orientation of a structure, its age, and its interaction with the surrounding environment, including the local microclimates, the slope of the land, vegetation, and soil quality.' -excerpt from wikipedia

To begin creating this type of living space, it is always recommended to have a professional Feng Shui practitioner guide you in achieving this harmony effectively. However, here are a few ways to start putting some of these techniques into practice:

1. Find the room in your home or apartment where energy is strongest (such as where guests like to hang out in). This area would be used as a working space that will help bring you popularity, success and money.
2. Sleep against a solid wall, the headboard should be against the wall and the foot of the bed should never be in line with the door.
3. Place air cleaning plants around the home to reduce anxiety and remove toxins.
4. Clean the front entrance. The front door should be well maintained and solid and the front area of your home should be clean and not cluttered. Make it welcoming and from this focal point, you should have beautiful pieces of art and furniture that feels pleasing.

Happy New Year!

image source: http://www.decoist.com/2013-09-25/feng-shui-tips/

Information sources:
http://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/home-garden/home/feng-shui-for-good-energy-1.1954611
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feng_shui
http://www.vogue.com/13383560/how-to-feng-shui-your-home-easy-ways-beginners-guide/

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'I'd rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance.'

Quote by E.E. Cummings

It is important to conserve an ecological balance with nature in order for us all to survive. Birds are a major part of our ecosystem. They control bugs and insects as well as pollinate flowers. When we study birds, we learn more about nature and the environmental dangers in our area. Contribute to local wildlife conservation by creating a wildlife habitat in your own backyard! Click here to read about this fun project!
Below: red winged black bird, female northern cardinal, downy woodpecker, common grackle and American robin.

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Living Sustainably in 1845

'There is some of the same fitness in a man's building his own house that there is in a bird's building it's own nest. Who knows but if men constructed their dwellings with their own hands, and provided food for themselves and families simply and honestly enough, the poetic faculty would be universally developed, as birds universally sing when they are so engaged? ... Shall we forever resign the pleasure of construction to the carpenter? What does architecture amount to in the experience of the mass of men?' - Excerpt from Waldon by Henry David Thoreau

In 1845, Henry David Thoreau embarked on a two-year journey of simple living, where he moved to a small, self-built house, around the shores of Walden Pond. The land was owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was a friend and mentor to him. Henry David Thoreau's book, 'Walden', is an exploration of how simple one person could live. It looks at things in ideal terms and works them into his way of life. I highly recommend checking out his book. To read the book online click here. Enjoy!

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Sustainability in the City

Sustainable Suburbia is a website that shares information about living sustainably, specifically in suburban and urban environments. Sustainable Suburbia’s editor, Kirsten McCulloch, lives in the suburbs with her family and has a background in writing and editing; she has had a life long interest in living sustainably. We wanted to be a part of their 'Sustainable, Simple, Slow Living Blogs' list, so we can also share our information with others who are trying to do the same. If you have a blog of your own about living sustainably, add yourself to their list. It's a great feeling coming across others who are trying to share information about the earth's abundance of food and resources that is available to us for living a more peaceful, productive and relaxing life. There are many creative ideas out there to share, including healthy eating, so be a part of it! For information about rain collection here, in Toronto, check out this link. For compost information, click here.

photo taken from robcooper.com, click on image to check out his post on building rain barrels.

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Pyramid Power/Earth Energy

It has been suggested that the structure of the Great Pyramid's primary base-line dimension, is harmonically integrated to the earth via a 1/14400 ratio. It's latitude placement has been shown to possess a most decisive association to the Earth tropical year frequency and there is significant support for this idea. Tesla's research, on earth harmonics, greatly advanced the technologies responsible for generating and distributing power, both of great magnitude and also over great distances.

Photo taken from Discovery News.com

Dr. Patrick Flanagan believes that the five angles of a pyramid, project a beam of radiation towards the centre. Flanagan calls this amplified life-giving force "bio-cosmic energy". Scientists and interested amateurs have performed experiments with plants, seeds, metals, food and liquids inside pyramids. In every case the seeds watered with the pyramid-charged water grew faster. Patrick Flanagan verified that seeds germinated more easily and plant growth was accelerated by pyramid power. Seeds kept beneath a pyramid will produce a richer yield, and plants sprouted with pyramid power are richer in vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

Christopher Dunn, engineer and author of 'The Giza Power Plant', revealed that the great pyramid was the power plant that fuelled an advanced civilization in ancient Egypt. 

The very first power station was built by Nikola Tesla at Niagara Falls. When Nikola Tesla was six years old, he entered school where he had seen his first mechanical models, including water turbines. He built many of them and enjoyed operating them. He became fascinated by a description he had read of Niagara Falls. He imagined a big wheel running by cascading waters and he told his uncle that one day he would go to America and carry out his vision to build one. In October 1893, the Niagara Falls Commission awarded Westinghouse, whom Tesla worked for, the contract to build the first two generators at Niagara Falls. Rotating magnetic fields generate AC power. In the case of Niagara Falls, it was water that powered the spinning in the rotating fields.

Photo by Sarony of New York

Nikola Tesla was an inventor, mechanical engineer, and electrical engineer who was not credited for many of his great inventions. Please take the time to learn about him here.

“My method is different. I do not rush into actual work. When I get a new idea, I start at once building it up in my imagination, and make improvements and operate the device in my mind. When I have gone so far as to embody everything in my invention, every possible improvement I can think of, and when I see no fault anywhere, I put into concrete form the final product of my brain.” - Nikola Tesla

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Efficient Earthships

Earthships are sustainable homes/buildings made with recycled materials.  Earthships can be built in any part of the world, in any climate. They provide electricity, portable water, contained sewage treatment and sustainable food production. Earthship biotecture is based on the work of principal architect, Michael Reynolds. You can learn more about these sustainable homes here.

Image taken from earthship.com

Image taken from earthship.com

A tour inside an earthship (sustainable) home:

 

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