First Outdoor Class on Mt. Tabor

I guess it was the wind and cold. Oh well, Adam showed up so we practiced some push-hands and I did much better than usual against him because I practiced standing and establishing my root before he arrived.

Then as we walked down the mountain we talked about our permaculture ideas. Last night We went to a lecture at the Pacific Crest School just north of Burnside over by the Whole Foods at se 28th by an Austrian permaculture genius named Sepp Holzer. By working with nature rather than treating her as an enemy he's been able to grow fruit trees including citrus as part of a thriving and diverse oasis on the slopes of the Austrian Alps.

A couple of years ago Adam told me he wanted to be a kung fu farmer. At the time I thought- well that's cool for you, but how would I have time for my art? The more I learn about permaculture the more I want to be a kung fu farmer when I grow up.

With this kind of farming you don't have to work nearly as hard because you relate to nature as a partner rather than abusing her like a slave. Treat her kindly and she will reward you immensely. See, there's no need to water or weed or any of that because the diverse community of plants support each other. When you plant one thing over acres of land it takes all the same nutrients out of the soil as its neighbors. With a plant community like the 3 sisters known to the Native Americans of beans, corn and squash each plant trades nutrients with the others. Pests are controlled by the plant community's greater intelligence created by a diversity of organisms.

While I'm still in the idea stage of this process for the most part (I have a little pot of herbs I'm taking care of in my room and so far they have survived the winter) I'm on fire with inspiration to carry it to manifestation. A Dharma practitioner Adam met in a cafe asked him if he wanted to transform his lawn into a permaculture garden. We've talked about making it a business. I don't know how to pull it off yet, but I could see myself doing that sort of thing for my living and eventually run my own urban small permaculture farm right here in the city...and teach others how to do it themselves.

See, our present way of feeding ourselves is horribly wasteful. Global warming owes much to all the trucks that haul chemical fertilizers and feed for animals to farms and then they haul the harvest to packing plants and then more trucks haul it to the grocery store where people drive it home in their cars. If everyone in the city had at least a small herb garden we'd really be doing something to combat global warming. We'd also have much healthier food with more vitality and flavor than the half dead stuff we get trucked or shipped half way across the world to the grocery store. Evolve or die, human.

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