Monday, 8 September 2014

wild beach and secret garden

Photographs from our recent excursion to the unspoilt terrain of the Isle of Wight.  This site, adjoining a very special house where we will soon be holding retreats, is a conservation area, wild and beautiful yet minutes from the comforts of civilisation.


fresh unspoilt terrain after rain moves some earth
wow :)

secret beach



secret garden 
view towards sea from main garden of Sunacres

genius in the starchild


'Starbase puts us on the "event horizon" of evolutional time...it poses a challenge: find the best in yourself by mastering then higher intelligence  Life has invested in you....Star  Base locates each individual on the learning curve if the human species...
Viewed in the stellar dimension, human fate is a shared adventure.  From the entire human species we each inherit specific gifts that have been prepared long in advance by unknown ancestors...The Starchild embodies the Genius of our species.  If the Genius is not honoured and sustained, evolution turns into a degenerating ego-game.'
Jhn Lamb Lash



dartmoor

By the river Dart on Saturday, not a great photograph but it was so delightful to be in a natural setting and able to enjoy that there were really quite a lot of people about; everyone was getting on with their own thing in their own spaces along the river bank, some just paddling or crsossing the stones, some relaxing on the rocks, some swinging from ropes in the trees.  Humans often choose to distance themselves from the natural world, but when they are in harmony with nature they stand out as  a magical, genius and superbly creative, innovative and talented species.


raw sheeps milk



Becky of Top Paddock Dairy in West Sussex has just let me know that they are supplying raw sheep's milk.  You can buy their milk locally or contact them by email for bulk shipments.  Their website is www.sheepdairy.co.uk.  I have had cheese made with their milk for years, Golden Cross in particular has been a favourite, now they are supplying the milk itself.

Beck and Matt of Top Paddock Dairy list these advantages of sheep's milk:

Sheep milk is easier to digest and less of a problem for people intolerant to cow's milk, it has double the amount of butterfat, however, the smaller fat globules are more easily digested and are less likely to cause high cholesterol

Contains: vitamin A, beta carotene, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin C, thiamine, riboflavin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, nicotinic acid, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid, calcium, protein, iron, magnesium, zinc, and medium chain amino acids

The lactose in sheep milk has been found to be better tolerated than in cow’s milk. Sheep milk is naturally high in protein and it has been used as an energy drink by sportsmen in Europe

Contains more medium and short chain saturated fatty acids which are believed to enable higher lactose absorption, sheep milk also contains more medium chain triglycerides, (MCT) which are fats that are more easily digestible and less likely to be stored as fat

The high calcium level combined with lactose and the high amount of vitamin D is
critical in the prevention of Osteoporosis

Dairy Intolerant Friendly, 98% of dairy intolerant people can consume sheep milk

Allergy sufferers can also benefit from using sheep milk and sheep milk products. Conditions such as eczema, asthma and dietary problems can be relieved by introducing sheep milk to one’s diet.


Sheep Milk May Prevent Alzheimers. Researchers hope a protein, or peptide, found in sheep’s milk could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. Colostrinin can stabilise mental functions and is being Investigated for its preventative health value. Science Australia research scientist Louise Bennett says the substance was detected by researchers in Poland. “A peptide extracted from sheep milk, or sheep colustrum, is able to dissolve the plaques that are associated with the development of Alzheimer’s disease,” she said. “It’s quite possible that there are similar peptides present in cow’s milk.”

  I keep a list of al the raw dairy suppliers I know of here:  raw dairy suppliers.



Friday, 5 September 2014

magical realism

Magical realism may be called a syntactical marriage of fact and fiction, the weave of 1st and 2nd attentions. Consider the paradox: when his early nonfiction was considered fiction, Melville attempted to produce fiction that would pass for fact. Well, someone else tried a hand at that game, right? Carlos Castaneda. You will know from metahistory.org that I place CC in the literary genre
of magical realism along with Melville, Marquez, Asturias, Italo Calvino, and a dozen others, not to mention the fabulous Russians such as Bulgakov. Most of this well-known crew in this genre are South American, as was Carlos, born in Argentina. Melville is without question top totem in the North American school of MR. Castaneda belongs in the top five of the South American team. From his first book in 1969, The Teachings of Don Juan, he attempted to pass off fiction as fact.
Melville matters now more than ever, on several counts. First of all, we are currently engaged in an experiment with MR. Not merely a literary exercise, not fictional invention for the sake of entertainment, spinning a good yarn while we hang in our hammocks below deck. Not just that, of course. But an actual experiment that can be verified, following a course that can be charted in imagination and lived in real time. To appreciate the power of MR as demonstrating itself now in the Gaian navigation experiment, consider this proposition from the nagual:
Fiction passed for fact lends enormous directive power to human imagination (Castaneda’s writings), but admitted fiction designed to be interactive with divine imagination does it even better (GNE).

John Lamb Lash

Wednesday, 3 September 2014

ancient barrows

Beautiful afternoon exploring this magical area near Priddy, Somerset.  Lovely being up in the rugged landscape of the Mendips just a few miles away from the Somerset Levels, where I look towards the Mendips every day.




Priddy Nine Barrows


Monday, 1 September 2014

apples in avalon and autumn delights

hawthorn on Somerset Levels

hawthorn berries in the sunset
The beauty of the autumnal colours was so striking in the light of the setting sun with the crescent of the moon now quite high in the sky.  I have found a way to join up all my favourite walks in the village into one continuous forty five minute circuit, an ideal evening walk. A friend and I agreed that our desire to travel was now largely motivated by the desire to experience Her, the Earth goddess Sophia, in all her beautiful manifestation, more than what would have been the motivation years ago, which was about experiencing different cultures.


apples in Avalon
Our raw and fermented foods workshop is here in this village of Meare this coming Sunday.