[OKC] Re: [ok-sus] Dancing in the Dirt

[John Miggins]

Tom, I enjoyed your summer vacation description, we have not done anything 
that exotic yet.  I read the Ram Dass book when in College as part of my 
spirtual journey.  I am glad that the group is still active and helping 
people.

Closest I have had to this type of experience was a retreat to Natural Farms 
in California 16 years ago and spent a week working on an organic farm with 
a vow of silence and eating only vegetarian food.  It was fantastic.  Time 
stood still.

When I returned to regular food, I threw up after eating at a Hotel buffet- 
kind of makes you wonder what other elements are in our food, physical and 
mental.
 It is said that the thoughts and feelings of the cook enter the food as 
well.  I could taste the difference between food cooked with Love and 
assembly line food.  Tasted like plastic.

John Miggins
Harvest Solar & Wind Power
"renewable solutions to everyday needs"
www.harvest-energy.com
Phone/Fax 918-743-2299
Cell: 918-521-6223

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Temple" <youcantgettherefromhere at juno.com>
To: <okc at sustainableokc.org>; <ok-sus at lists.oksustainability.org>
Cc: <mfour at juno.com>; <Jatlee at AOL.com>
Sent: Monday, June 19, 2006 9:19 PM
Subject: [ok-sus] Dancing in the Dirt


> Dear Folks:
>
> I just returned from the week-long "Build Here Now" conference at the
> Lama Foundation in northern New Mexico and thought I would sit down and
> write a bit about what turned out to be a great week.
>
> First, a bit of context:  The Lama Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit that
> was formed in the early sixties "to be a sustainable spiritual community
> and educational center dedicated to the awakening of consciousness,
> spiritual practice with respect for all traditions, service and
> stewardship of the land" (from their mission statement).  Without being
> too hokey about it, they seem to be doing a pretty fine job of
> respectfully blending a great variety of spiritual traditions without
> watering any of them down.  It is the place where Ram Dass wrote "Be Here
> Now" way back then.  It is a very affirming place, personally and
> spiritually. They have been into sustainability for quite a while.  The
> whole place is built with local materials, powered by pholtovoltaics with
> solar hot water, composting toilets and greywater going to the gardens
> and orchards. It is on the side of a mountain at 8500 ft, overlooking the
> Rio Grande Gorge, and they are fortunate to have a spring-fed water
> supply.
>
> In 1996 a fire went through and destroyed many of their buildings.  The
> central buildings survived, but everything else was "scorched earth".
> About 2000, I believe, someone came up with the idea of inviting lots of
> folks to come for a week in the summer for a combination sustainable
> building conference and rebuilding effort (you pay them to come and work
> on their buildings), and they have made a lot of progress toward
> rebuilding.
>
> The material presented was a quantum leap in sustainability for an old
> stick-builder like myself.  With an emphasis on using the materials at
> hand (like dirt!), they had ongoing workshops on straw-bale, earth
> plasters, cob, earth-bag, rainwater harvesting, permaculture, greywater
> usage, composting, slow-food, and on and on and on.  Generally five
> different sessions each morning and each afternoon.  More than I could
> possibly take in, and I wound up trying to get an overview of a lot of
> different areas.  I stacked a few bales, mixed some lime plaster, mixed
> cob with my feet (dancing in the dirt!), troweled an adobe floor, watched
> a lot of slide and power-point presentations, and had great discussions
> with a lot of great folks.  All this with great food (vegetarian), Sikh
> dancing, Friday night Shabat and prayer flags fluttering in the wind.
> Pretty outrageous!
>
> The material presented (and many of the participants) was often a bit
> "edgy" for me, and I can't say that I came back a "true believer", but I
> have to say that it was quite a high to spend a week living and working
> in such a sustainable and spiritual community.  The spirituality and the
> building practices there are all of one cloth, with an intense respect
> for the land, the planet, and the hearts of those getting their hands
> dirty.
>
> I can't really say if I will be putting  much of this into practice in my
> work here in Oklahoma City.  I learned just enough to be dangerous about
> a lot of things, but it was a great introduction.  If you are interested
> in learning more, check out http://lamafoundation.org/build_here_now.htm
> They'll be doing it again next year. And if anybody wants to get together
> and talk dirt, get in touch.
>
> Tom Temple
>
> P.S.  It might be nice if others would write about conferences they go
> to. Sort of like "What I did on my summer vacation!"
>
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