Nature Am I

This special episode of Nature Am I features Part 1 of a two-part conversation with Marcin Jakubowski (pronounced MAR-chin  Ya-coo-VOV-ski), the founder of Open Source Ecology.  In his inspiring 2011 TED talk, "Open-Sourced Blueprints for Civilization," which has garnered close to two million views so far, Marcin tells the remarkable story of how he developed the Global Village Construction Set (GVCS), a set of 50 of the most important machines for modern life. Through an open, collaborative process, he and a team of volunteer designers, engineers and builders have been developing and fabricating these machines, which include tractors, ovens, and circuit makers. All of the blueprints are open source, making them available to anyone seeking to build this technology for themselves. Part of Marcin's vision is to create prosperity at a local level by empowering individuals and communities with the skills needed to fabricate what he calls "democratic technology." Such technology can serve human needs, free people from material constraints, and unleash human potential.

The machines that make up the GVCS are intended to be robust, modular, low-cost, efficient, and made from locally-sourced and recycled materials. Marcin envisions a process in which most, if not all, of the starting materials can be found in the "earth and twigs beneath our feet." His ideas point the way to a future in which all technology is sustainable, local communities are resilient and self-sufficient, garbage and waste are non-existent, and the population has the technical literacy needed for economic freedom, prosperity, and self-determination.

Part 2 of this conversation can be found in Episode 13 of the podcast, to be released by the end of February 2021. On this episode, you will hear the following topics:

5:27- Technology that serves human needs

8:01- The product selection metric for the GVCS

11:30- The open-source model applied to hardware

12:55 Three ways that the GVCS can get built

15:08- 3D printing

17:58- Building an advanced civilization from dirt and twigs

19:40- Three levels of recycling

22:06- Lifetime design

26:00- Open-source microfactories

27:15- How to build it yourself

28:03- The need for localized production

29:13- Sustainable regenerative technology

30:25- Economic localization and ecological integrity

31:30- Natural law in ecological design

33:13- Eliminating the waste stream

Here, we explore the relationship between Nature, on the one hand, and religion and spirituality, on the other, focusing on the concept of God. Topics include:

1:13- Religion has failed to live up to its promise

2:45- The growing trend of religious disaffiliation

3:36- Why spirituality is misguided

4:04- The concept of God

5:04- The damage caused by dualism

5:50- Wholeness in Nature

7:21- Why the distinction between Nature and human makes no sense

8:43- Experience your body!

9:10- Creativity and desire

9:41- Replacing spirituality with Naturality

10:19- Creating paradise on Earth

11:13- Fully aligned with Nature

12:29- Experience the wonders of this world

12:57- Nothing is "supernatural"

13:51- Reversing the damage humanity has caused

Integrative Yoga Therapy founder and yoga scholar Joseph Le Page discusses the role of nature in yoga and the relationship between nature and humans. Our conversation touches upon the following topics:

3:12- Knowing the true self (purusha)

6:52- Lower mind (manas) vs. higher mind (buddhi)

10:08- The need for spiritual culture

11:34- Nature (prakriti) and spirit

14:25- Seeing Nature in a new way

16:10- Patanjali's view of Nature 

18:41- Duality (samkhya) and non-duality (vedanta)

20:04- The practice and qualities of samadhi

21:45- Nature and the deity of creation (Ishvara)

24:00- One enlightenment, many paths

25:58- The essence of Tantra

27:20- The purpose of living (dharma)

29:04- The concept of kaivalya

33:20- Kaivalya in the ecological movement

35:12- The end of evolution

36:50- Samadhi in the body (nirbijah samadhi)

41:47- Becoming one with Nature

43:52-Co-dependence in the ecological movement

Excellent video of Joseph Le Page speaking about nirbija samadhi:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONh0U-VgEMg

For more information about Integrative Yoga Therapy (IYT):

https://www.iytyogatherapy.com/

YouTube channel for IYT:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0LXPRN8sEAybb0YNjSPM4g

In this groundbreaking episode, Dr. Victor Shamas shows you how to eliminate your fear of death and elevate your quality of life. He expands upon the practice of Naturality described in previous episodes and shows you how that practice can help you thrive in the challenging times that we are now facing. Here are the topics covered:

1:09-  2020 Milestones 

3:05- The Age of Death

4:12- Two major impact of recent forest fires

5:27- Is this the end?

6:52- Quality of life

7:50- Humanity has become "unnatural"

9:59- Wholeness and the implicate order

11:46- You are an embodiment of nature

12:33- The illusion of separateness 

13:24- Why you never need to fear death

14:26- Law of Conservation of Consciousness

15:16- The power of OM

17:10- Thriving in the Age of Death

18:17- How social media can radicalize us

19:11- Realizing our true nature 

On this episode, Richard Heinberg of the Post Carbon Institute discusses strategies for increasing sustainability and building community resilience. He touches on many of his seminal writings, including his books,  Our Renewable Future, The End of Growth, Power Down, and Memories and Visions of Paradise, as well as his award-winning Museletter. Our conversation covered the following topics:

Immanuel Velikovsky's World in Collision (4:30)

Visions of Paradise (6:53)

Paradise as connection to Nature (9:08)

Global disturbances caused by unsustainable practices (11:09)

The need for community resilience (14:09)

Balancing global and local perspectives (15:56)

Protecting information in a post-carbon age (18:39)

How our energy use is destroying the natural world (21:00)

Making society more sustainable (23:15)

Shifting away from unlimited growth (23:54)

Steady-state economies (27:14)

Time banking and income disparity (29:14)

Coalition-building (30:37)

Making non-profits more resilient (32:52)

Building community resilience (34:55)

Opportunities for idealists (36:35)

Practices and principles of sustainability (38:34)

Profit vs. Beauty as sources of motivation (41:39)

Learn more about Richard Heinberg and the Post Carbon Institute.

Listen to other episodes of the Nature Am I podcast or read our blog.

Discover what it means and takes to remake the world. Find out the creative power inherent in the experience of nature inspiration, why such power is essential at this time in human history, and how you can cultivate it by learning how to embody nature fully. Here are the topics we explore in this episode:

0:58- The need to remake the world

1:27- Inspiration and creative power

2:10- Embodying nature through nature inspiration

2:33- The world is not as it appears

3:18- Schrodinger on the myth of objectivity

4:22- Bohm and Einstein weigh in on consciousness and imagination

4:52- How the mind limits experience

5:37- Nature as dynamic wholeness

5:52- Bohm: Continuity is an illusion

6:16- Analogy between perceived reality and a movie

6:54- Re-creating reality at every moment (TD Suzuki quote)

7:41- The dynamics of creation in the natural world

9:06- Humans as the creative aspect of nature

9:42- Embodying nature by transcending limitations

10:56- Paradise and nature alignment

11:24- The six qualities that give rise to inspiration

12:04- Why experience nature inspiration?

13:11- Stability and energy in nature

14:14- How energy is building towards an enormous release

15:16- Two ways to attain stability through energy release

16:58- Showing the world the way to a more stable condition

17:23- Accessing nature's wisdom

17:54- Visionaries that offer a clear path to a stable, thriving way of life

For eight years, Patrick Farnsworth has been addressing environmental issues in his insightful podcast, "Last Born in the Wilderness" (https://www.lastborninthewilderness.com). Here, he discusses his podcast, the deeper implications of ecological collapse, the significance of the current COVID-19 pandemic, and whether or not there are grounds for hope in the face of a potential apocalypse. The conversation includes the following:

6:45  What "Last Born in the Wilderness" signifies

9:43  The evolution of the podcast and its themes

12:47 Deeper psychological and emotional aspects of ecological collapse

13:38 Why ecological collapse was never inevitable

15:50 Building resilience

16:35 Blindsided by a pandemic

18:04 Hope and apocalypse

20:02 Listening to indigenous people

20:49 Freedom beyond hope

21:22 Joe Brewer's work with regenerative hubs

23:10 Being aligned with nature feels good

25:02 Dahr Jamail and painful beauty

27:23 Is humanity an addict hitting bottom?

33:19 Paradigm shifts can be violent

34:34 COVID-19 as a wake-up call

36:03 A sliver of hope

39:00 No going back

41:21 Mutual aid in times of crisis

45:55 Self-care and maintaining balance in chaotic times

48:21 We Live in the Orbit of Beings Greater than Us

Learn about the powerful life philosophy and practice of Naturality. This episode covers:

An introduction to Naturality (0:58)

Redefining nature (2:52)

Nature is infinite and eternal (5:09)

Is nature conscious? (7:24)

Nature as an organizing and sustaining principle (8:56)

Naturality and transcendence (9:57)

Nature connects us all (10:41)

The three truths of Naturality (11:18)

Why Naturality is revolutionary (12:04)

The Naturality experience (12:33)

"There are no others" (14:03)

How humanity can thrive (15:21)

We speak with Richard Register about his 55-year career designing "ecocities" or ecologically healthy cities. The conversation covers these topics:

4:35- What is an ecocity?

5:44- 2D and 3D urban design

7:46- Why a city's shape matters

8:49- Ecocity design elements

11:14- Human-powered transportation

12:12- The city as a living organism

15:01- China's ecocities

17:32- Combining all the design elements

19:09- Co-housing

22:38- Retrofitting sprawled cities

24:25- Challenges to building ecocities

28:08- Deconstructing unsustainable cities

31:27- The sounds of a well-designed space

33:25- Nature-inspired urban design

36:06- Courage and maps

The experience of nature inspiration has been called "the greatest feeling in the world." Here, we delve into that experience, looking at what it takes to embody nature fully and introducing you to a set of simple activities you can try at home. This episode covers the following (time markers included):

1:30  Nature and consciousness

5:24 Nature knows best

6:33 How humans became separated from nature

7:29 Humanity on the brink

7:56 The greatest feeling in the world

11:00 What does nature do?

12:13 How to thrive

12:53 Ambisexuality

13:42 Why minerals and fossil fuels must stay in the ground

15:32 Glimpses of a nature-inspired society

17:07 Maximizing good and minimizing harm

17:39 Let nature lead the way

18:24 Foot Love exercise