DEAR READER, Leonora van Gils
I am wondering if like me you have noticed that where ever you turn people are articulating a most wonderful alternative to the horror that greets us daily in newspapers and on the television. The Omega Institute talks of “Awakening the best in the human spirit.” For William Bloom it is a period of remarkable change out of which a new open mindedness, open hearted approach to spirituality is emerging. Deepak Chopra talks of “germinating seeds” urging us to “gather the forces of change, and change synergies to accelerate a transformation for a better world.” And David Spangler encourages us to imagine a civilisation that thinks like a planet, i.e. in systemic, holistic and ecological ways.
To imagine the possibility that such a civilisation can develop and that we can be agents of its emergence and actually begin creating it is the calling of our time. Let’s cooperate with each other and the rest of nature, in recognising the wider web of life in our planet. Let us all welcome a world of loving kindness, deep listening, honesty, trust, beauty, laughter, respect and service to the greater whole.
Do not condemn who you were yesterday; glorify who you are today and dream of who you can be tomorrow.
BUILDING WITH HEMP, Matt Muldoon
Hemp and humankind share a symbiotic relationship that stretches back into prehistory. The consumption of psychoactive strains of hemp - better known as cannabis - is well documented; but hemp is a crop with a wide variety of uses. Its fibres are used for high quality rope, cloth and paper; as a food it contains a large proportion of essential fatty acids and amino acids; and it has medicinal anti-inflammatory properties.
Hemp’s importance in East Anglia can be appreciated through the wealth of place names such as Hempnall, Hempstead and Hemplands. After a halt in cultivation in the 20th Century, hemp is being grown in the region once more as a crop which can be used in building. Dried hemp hurds are mixed with lime to create hempcrete. This hemp-lime mix sets hard like concrete, but unlike concrete it is attractive, lightweight, flexible, breathable, and also a good insulator. Hempcrete is cast around a timber frame to create high performance buildings which have a positive impact on the environment.
With their excellent insulation and breathability, hempcrete buildings are snug and regulate their own humidity efficiently. Hempcrete also provides thermal mass, meaning that it can store heat and release it slowly, helping to equalize temperatures between heating and cooling cycles. This creates a very happy and healthy living environment which is easy to heat and much less humid than masonry structures. Hempcrete can be used for walls, roofs, and solid-yet-warm floors. It’s also easily moldable into flowing curves and other interesting features. Since hempcrete is cast into a timber frame, it is also an excellent choice for the repair of old oak frame structures, providing a sympathetic alternative to daub and better thermal performance. It is comparable in price to brick and block, yet consistently outperforms it in terms of thermal insulation and humidity regulation.
The production of hempcrete even has a positive impact on the environment. The indigenous hemp crop grows voraciously in East Anglia without the need for agrochemicals, with one hectare of land producing enough hemp for a small house within 14 weeks. The crop protects against soil erosion and naturally drowns out weeds, so it’s easy to grow according to organic principles. Lime, the other essential ingredient in hempcrete, was produced all over the country for hundreds of years before the wide-spread adoption of cement during the 20th Century. Lime production releases 80% less carbon dioxide than cement production. And, since hempcrete “locks up” organic matter, it removes 110kg of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere for every cubic metre installed. This makes hempcrete a material which is better than carbon neutral.
It’s easy to see why hempcrete is gaining popularity - it creates warmer, drier homes and has a positive impact on the environment. It’s not a complicated material; it’s made of essentially natural ingredients which have served us well for millennia.
YOGIC FLYING, Paul Kember
“Happiness, exhilaration, energy, silence, freedom, bubbling bliss – this is what I experience when I practice Yogic Flying. And afterwards during the day? Greater energy, positivity, dynamism, joy, fulfilment – greater ease and support in getting things done.” – a Yogic Flyer
Yogic Flying is an extension of Transcendental Meditation. The Transcendental Meditation technique allows the mind to dive within, simply, naturally, and effortlessly, to its most silent level, a field of pure creativity, intelligence and energy – the Unified Field of Natural Law. Yogic Flying cultures the mind to think and act from this level, where thoughts are most powerful and easily fulfilled. During the first stages of yogic flying the body lifts up and moves forward in short hops.
During Transcendental Meditation practice the brain functioning becomes highly orderly and coherent. During Yogic Flying, this EEG coherence becomes even more widespread, with the maximum coherence at the point when the body lifts off the ground – indicating use of the brain’s total potential.
This coherent brain functioning carries over into daily activity , bringing a host of benefits – increased intelligence, creativity, positivity, moral maturity, emotional stability, learning ability and more. Everything good about the brain depends on its coherent functioning.
Even the surrounding society benefits. When people practice Yogic Flying in groups, they radiate an influence of coherence that neutralises stress and negativity in the whole society. The result; reduced crime, sickness, and accident rates, reduced inflation, and unemployment, and improved economy. Yogic Flying groups have dramatically reduced international terrorism and open warfare. Here is the shortcut to nothing less than invincibility for every nation and peace for the world.
The approach is new and different – but its effectiveness is confirmed by 600 scientific studies conducted at 250 universities and research institutes worldwide. Yogic Flying accelerates human development to unprecedented levels. It has resolved social problems that have defied every other attempt at a solution. In a world sorely in need of help, Yogic Flying works.
People of all ages, religions, and educational backgrounds practice Yogic Flying. It was introduced in 1976 by His Holiness Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the world’s foremost scientist of consciousness, who has brought to light the knowledge of India’s ancient Vedic tradition, the oldest continuous tradition of knowledge on earth. The first step to become a Yogic Flyer is to learn Transcendental Meditation.