The bloggers who take it one post at a time. There's SlowSex (apparently; first I'd heard of it), SlowCities, and SlowFood. Now, the New York Times reports, there is also Slow Blogging, which Todd Sieling, a Canadian technology consultant, defined in a manifesto as "a rejection of immediacy ... an affirmation that not all things worth reading are written quickly".
This is an idea that appeals to me. Call me old-fashioned, but I believe in the mot juste. Words, as a rule, are better weighed before use, and too many blog posts -- and particularly blog comments -- are, well, not.
So I can but agree with Sieling when he proclaims that Slow Blogging is "speaking like it matters, like the pixels that give your words form are precious and rare"; represents "a willingness to remain silent amid the daily outrages and ecstasies that fill nothing more than single moments in time"; marks "the re-establishment of the machine as the agent of human expression, rather than its whip".
Like SlowFood, born in Italy of the conviction that fast food was as bad for local tradition as it was for your health, Slow Blogging is a response to the notion that fast blogging can be bad for both author and audience. For the time being, Slow Bloggers write mainly about subjects such as life in the countryside, philosophy and 19th-century literature (and, naturally, about the phenomenon of Slow Blogging).
Amid what David D Perlmutter, author of Blogwars, calls the "many, loud and raucous voices" out there, on a myriad blogs, on MySpace, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and all the rest, they tend to be "coherent and responsible, intelligent and precise".
So let's hear it for all those who take the time to think, study and reflect before they post; who do not feel the need to slap the first thing that comes out of their head straight onto the web. People who refuse to update five times a day, or even once a week. People who value quality over quantity. People, in short, like Sieling -- who is not in fact blogging at all any more, because no one was reading him. But that's the interweb for you. - guardian.co.uk © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008-JON HENLEY - Nov 26 2008 08:45

In 2001 Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation hit the book stands in the US. It rocked the consciousness of the nation and stayed on the New York best sellers list for more than two years.  Its revelations about how the fast food industry operates and how animals are reared and slaughtered on huge feed lots in the Mid-West forced Americans to think about animal welfare issues. It highlighted the appalling working conditions and pitiful rates of pay of the meat and migrant workers.

Since then McDonalds and other chains have undergone a metamorphosis as they adapt to the growing customer demand for ethically produced meat and more healthy food.  Other books, documentaries and films and acres of newsprint are helping to heighten awareness that things are going horribly wrong on many levels.

Even governments now are no longer in denial about climate change and global warming and even more importantly are beginning to face the decidedly uncomfortable fact that we can no longer really depend on cheap fuel. There is a huge urgency to prepare ourselves for a world fast approaching where fossil fuel will become so prohibitively expensive that we are forced to do without or find alternatives.

Let’s stop and think for a moment, take the dairy farmer. He picks up the phone to order diesel for his tractors “Sorry there won’t be another delivery for 4 months”.  An hour later the power goes.  The 100 cows need to be milked.  Where does he start, he can remember how to milk but how can he teach the younger workers.  The design of the milking parlor does not facilitate hand milking and where will he find a 3 legged stool.  Even if he does manage to milk, what will he do with it? If the milk tanker comes, the creamery would be in the same boat!

I’ll stop here but you must get the message.  This kind of scenario is hard to think about in fact most people are in complete denial that it or something similar is not as far away as we might think so we would do well to dwell on the new era we are going into and prepare.

At Slow Food Nation in San Francisco last weekend there was a lot of talk about transition farming and transition towns and villages.  Mayor of London Boris Johnson announced the London Climate Change Adaptation Strategy which encourages people to take a variety of measures to prepare for what is now completely inevitable.  It is not a case of if but when.

San Francisco and indeed most of California is unquestionably a place apart.  There is an awareness and consciousness about food and environmental issues.  I feel that for sure folks in Minnesota or Idaho may not see the same reality, even though they have many challenges.  Factory farming has so damaged the environment that farming is becoming impossible in some areas.  There are problems of soil fertility, soil erosion and chronic pollution.

In the U.S. there are more people in prison than there are farmers and the number of farmers has shrunk so dramatically that the National Census does not carry a category for farmers.  They must register under ‘Others’ – How can it have happened that we so undervalue the very people who provide us with our means of life.  But in the midst of despair and despondency there is certainly hope – something is definitely stirring at grass roots level.  People are no longer waiting for governments to do it, individuals and committees are taking the initiative themselves.  Slow Food and environmental activists are joining to develop local food initiatives.  Slow Food Nation attracted 60,000 visitors over a weekend of seminars.  Inspirational and visionary speakers brainstormed on a new way forward and how to bring about change and encourage sustainable food production world wide so that all food will nourish rather than merely fuel.  The new Declaration for  Healthy Food and Agriculture was launched and when it has been signed by more than 300,000 it will be presented to the incoming President of the United States as the voice of the American people that than the multi nationals.  Thousands and thousands of people ate, drank and were merry as they toasted the farmers, fishermen and artisans and celebrated the beautiful fresh produce of the Bay Area.  It was truly a life changing experience.  www.slowfoodnation.org

Intuition, attention, imagination, intention, inspiration, creativity – these are the raw materials of consciousness. With them we can mould our personal reality, and shape our collective reality as well. The following universal principles will help you become aware of how you create your reality, and will empower you to transform or let go of whatever is no longer serving you. Choose one principle to focus on each day and commit to applying it in your life:

The events in my life reflect who I am.
I will choose one thing that happens today and see how it mirrors myself. If I feel angry at someone, I will consider if what I dislike about that person actually exists in me. If an overheard conversation grabs my attention, I will take those worlds as a personal message. I will look at the world inside me.

The people in my life reflect aspects of myself.
Today I will look at my friends, family, and everyone I meet as a group picture of me. Each person stands for a quality I want to see in myself or want to reject. I learn the most from those I intensely love or intensely dislike.

Whatever I pay attention to will grow.
I will take an inventory of how I’m using my attention. I will keep a log of my activities to find out how much time I spend on television, the Internet, hobbies, gossip, work I love, work I dread, activities that fulfil me, or escapist fantasies. I will ask myself, “What do I want to grow in my life?” The answer will tell me how my attention needs to shift.

My true self is pure, unbounded consciousness.
I will remember that thoughts come and go, but the core of consciousness is forever. Today I will experience myself beyond limitations. I will set aside time to be present with myself in silence. I will experience myself as love, as a light that flows from my heart and spreads out into the universe as far as my awareness can reach.

Practices for Transformation

Intuition, attention, imagination, intention, inspiration, creativity – these are the raw materials of consciousness. With them we can mould our personal reality, and shape our collective reality as well. The following universal principles will help you become aware of how you create your reality, and will empower you to transform or let go of whatever is no longer serving you. Choose one principle to focus on each day and commit to applying it in your life:

The events in my life reflect who I am.
I will choose one thing that happens today and see how it mirrors myself. If I feel angry at someone, I will consider if what I dislike about that person actually exists in me. If an overheard conversation grabs my attention, I will take those worlds as a personal message. I will look at the world inside me.

The people in my life reflect aspects of myself.
Today I will look at my friends, family, and everyone I meet as a group picture of me. Each person stands for a quality I want to see in myself or want to reject. I learn the most from those I intensely love or intensely dislike.

Whatever I pay attention to will grow.
I will take an inventory of how I’m using my attention. I will keep a log of my activities to find out how much time I spend on television, the Internet, hobbies, gossip, work I love, work I dread, activities that fulfil me, or escapist fantasies. I will ask myself, “What do I want to grow in my life?” The answer will tell me how my attention needs to shift.

My true self is pure, unbounded consciousness.
I will remember that thoughts come and go, but the core of consciousness is forever. Today I will experience myself beyond limitations. I will set aside time to be present with myself in silence. I will experience myself as love, as a light that flows from my heart and spreads out into the universe as far as my awareness can reach.

Extract from Deepak Chopra

Life is so interesting. On the 12^th of November an image of an old friend popped into my mind, ever so persistent as I quietly whittled away at my pc, refusing to go away. I decided to Google the name. A plethora of possibilities flashed up on my screen, I selected the one most likely to suite the character of the person I once knew so long ago and é voila, the result proved positive.

Eugene Van Zyl, a respected wine maker in the cape, heads up Leopard’s Leap wines.

Many years ago his parents were involved in a property development adjacent to our Guest Farm; the two of us soon became firm friends, spending hardly a moment apart when he visited during the school holidays. In fact I would go as far to say that he was my best friend. But life moves people along and sadly we lost contact when our paths went different ways.

Moving on........While reading through some of the information about the wines produced by Leopard’s Leap winery, I came across these fantastic cocktails which they put together using there wines and are well worth trying, could be great fun for the festive period, so do give it a bash.

The Spotted Citrino
Fresh mint leaves pressed with kumquat compote added with Leopard’s Leap Chenin Blanc 2007, shaken and strained into a chilled martini glass

Ingredients:
o 75ml Leopard’s Leap Chenin Blanc 2007
o 1 spoon Kumquat jam or compote
o 6 mint leaves
o 6.25ml sugar syrup
o Crushed ice

Method:
o Half fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice.
o Muddle or mix the mint with jam and sugar syrup, and add to shaker.
o Add Leopard’s Leap Chenin Blanc.
o Shake well.
o Strain into Martini glass and garnish with a mint leaf.

The Red Leopard
Blueberry jam pressed with basil combined with Leopard’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon, shaken and strained into a chilled martini glass

Ingredients:
o 75ml Leopard’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon
o 1 teaspoon blueberry jam
o 4 fresh basil leaves
o 1 teaspoon sugar syrup.

Method:
o Half fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice.
o Muddle or mix the jam and basil with sugar syrup and add to shaker.
o Add Leopard’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon.
o Shake well.
o Strain into Martini glass and garnish with a basil leaf.

Granadi vino
Fresh Granadilla and hints of cinnamon spice are softly rounded with rose, shaken and strained into a chilled martini glass.

Ingredients:
o 75ml Leopard’s Leap Lookout Rosé
o ½ granadilla
o ¼ cinnamon stick
o 12.5ml sugar syrup

Method:
o Half fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice
o Muddle or mix the granadilla, sugar syrup, cinnamon.
o Add Leopard’s Leap Rosé
o Shake and strain
o Pour into a chilled Martini glass and allow ½ Granadilla to float on the top as garnish

Leap of faith
A slice of fresh chili pressed with raspberry and pomegranate jam added with Leopard’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc, shaken and strained into a chilled martini glass.

Ingredients
o 75ml Leopard’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc
o 1 spoon raspberry and pomegranate jam
o ¼ chili (optional)
o 6.25ml sugar syrup

Method:
o Half fill a cocktail shaker with crushed ice
o Muddle or mix jam and chili,
o Add Leopard’s Leap Sauvignon Blanc
o Shake and strain
o Pour into a chilled Martini glass and garnish with fresh chilli

Extracted from Leopard’s leap wines - http://leopardsleap.typepad.com  

The Cape Leopard Trust aims to optimally facilitate conservation of the Cape's predator diversity through simultaneously implementing conservation strategies, research projects and tourism initiatives.

It will also educate and encourage the youth of disadvantaged communities to have a vested interest in the environment.

Why The leopard?

The leopard fills the role of the apex predator in the Western Cape ecosystem and acts as an “umbrella species” which will effectively help in the conservation of smaller, lower profile predators.

Its resilience to persecution notwithstanding, the leopard has suffered extensive range loss in the Cape and is now extinct in many areas of the province where it formerly occurred. The species is routinely and regularly removed from farms with little knowledge of population or genetic status, whether removals are sustainable or whether the factors giving rise to conflict are established

Adopt a Leopard

Help protect leopards by adopting your own. If you are interested in the preservation of these beautiful creatures please think about adopting a leopard.

You will receive following:

· the right to name a leopard identified by the project

· a large framed photograph of your leopard

· a chance to track it if we can capture and collar it

· We will then keep you up to date with his/her movements.

Please contact us, to find out more...

extract from: TheCape Leopard Trust www.capeleopard.org.za

Many of us are aware of the Mayan calendar but not many people truly understand what it means and how it works. Yes the calendar does end on December 21, 2012, but what does that mean? How does it come to that? What is their calendar based off of?

The Mayans had a very precise understanding of our solar system's cycles and believed that these cycles coincided with our spiritual and collective consciousness. The most significant of which has much to do with the 2012 prophecies. In the following writing, we will walk through the main details of their prophecies surrounding the 2012 transition. How the transition takes place (from an astronomical perspective), what it means for us, and when the cycles take place. We'll start with the basic prophecies and later move deeper into the explanation of the cycles.

The Mayans prophesied that from 1999 we have 13 years to realize the changes in our conscious attitude to stray from the path of self-destruction and instead move onto a path that opens our consciousness to integrate us with all that exists.

The Mayans knew that our Sun, or Kinich-Ahau, every so often synchronized with the enormous central galaxy. And from this central galaxy received a 'spark' of light which causes the Sun to shine more intensely producing what our scientists call 'solar flares' as well as changes in the Sun's magnetic field. The Mayans say that this happens every 5,125 years. But also that this causes a displacement in the earths rotation, and because of this movement great catastrophes would be produced.

The Mayans believed the universal processes, like the 'breathing' of the galaxy, are cycles that never change. What changes is the consciousness of man that passes through it. Always in a process toward more perfection.
Based on their observations, the Mayans predicted that from the initial date of the start of their civilization, 4 Ahau, 8 Cumku which is 3113 B.C., after one cycle being completed 5,125 years in their future, December 21st, 2012. The Sun, having received a powerful ray of synchronizing light from the centre of the galaxy, would change its polarity which would produce a great cosmic event that would propel human kind to be ready to cross into a new era, The Golden Age. It is after this, that the Mayans say we will be ready to go through the door that was left by them, transforming our civilization based on fear to a vibration much higher in harmony.

Only from our individual efforts could we avoid the path to great cataclysm that our planet will suffer to start a new era, the sixth cycle of the Sun. The Mayan civilization was in the fifth cycle of the Sun, and there were four other great civilizations before them that were destroyed by great natural disasters. They believed that each cycle was just one stage in the collective consciousness of humanity.
In the last cataclysm of the Mayans, the civilization was destroyed by a great flood that left little survivors of which were their descendants.

They believed that having known the end of their cycle, mankind would prepare for what is to come in the future and it is because of this that they would have preserved the dominant species; the human race.
They say that coming changes will permit us to make a quantum leap forward in the evolution of our consciousness to create a new civilization that would manifest great harmony and compassion to all humankind.

Their first prophecy talks about 'The Time of No-Time'. A period of 20 years, which they call a Katún. The last 20 years of the Sun's cycle of 5,125 years. This cycle is from 1992 - 2012. They predicted that during these times, solar winds would become more intense and could be seen on the Sun. This would be a time of great realization and great change for mankind. And it would be our own lack of preservation and contamination of the planet that would contribute to these changes. According to the Mayans, these changes would happen so that mankind comprehends how the universe works so we could advance to superior levels, leaving behind superficial materialism and liberating ourselves from suffering.

The Mayans say, that seven years after the start of Katún, which is to say 1999, we would enter a time of darkness which would force us to confront our own conduct. The say that this is the time when mankind will enter 'The Sacred Hall of Mirrors'. Where we will look at ourselves and analyse our behaviours with ourselves, with others, with nature and with the planet in which we live. A time in which all of humanity, by individual conscious decisions, decides to change and eliminate fear and lack of respect from all of our relationships. The Mayans prophesied that the start of this period would be marked by a solar eclipse on August 11, 1999, known to them as 13 Ahau, 8 Cauac. And would coincide with an unprecedented planetary alignment, the 'Grand Cross' alignment. This would be the last 13 years of the Katón period. The last opportunity for our civilization to realize the changes that are coming at the moment of our spiritual regeneration.

For the Mayans, everything is numbers and the time of the 13 sacred numbers started in August 1999. They predicted that along with the eclipse, the forces of nature would act like a catalyst of changes so accelerated and with such magnitude that mankind would be powerless against them. Also, that our technologies in which we rely on so much would begin to fail us. We would no longer be able to learn from our civilization in the way that we are organized as a society. They said that our internal, spiritual development would require a better place along with a better way to interact with more respect and compassion.

The first prophecies were attained by their study of our Sun. The Mayans discovered that the entire solar system moved. That even our universe has its own cycles. Repetitive periods which begin and end like our day and night. These discoveries lead to the understanding that our solar system rotates on an ellipse that brings our solar system closer and further from the centre of the galaxy. In other words, according to the Mayans, our Sun and all of its planets rotate in cycles in relation to the centre of the galaxy or Hunab-Kú, the central light of the galaxy. It takes 25,625 years for our solar system to make one cycle on this ellipse. One complete cycle is called a galactic day. The cycle is divided into two halves similar to our day and night. The half closest to the central light, is our solar system's 'day' and the half furthest away is its 'night'. Each day and each night lasts 12,800 years. Which is to say, the central galaxy is the Sun for our entire solar system.

The Mayans discovered that every grand cycle has its minor cycles, that carry the same characteristics. One galactic day of 25,625 years is divided into five cycles of 5,125 years. The first cycle is the galactic morning. When our solar system is just coming out of the darkness to enter the light. The second cycle is the mid-day. When our solar system is closest to the central light. The third cycle is the afternoon. When our solar system begins to come out of the light. The fourth cycle is the late-night. When our solar system has entered its furthest cycle from the central light. And the fifth and last cycle is night before dawn. When are solar system is in its last cycle of darkness before starting again. This is the cycle we are currently coming out of.

The Mayan prophecy tells us that in 1999, our solar system began to leave the end of the fifth cycle which started in 3113 B.C. and that we find ourselves in the morning of our galactic day, exiting darkness and on the verge of being in plain day of our central galaxy in 2012. They say that at the beginning and end of these cycles, which is to say, every 5,125 years, the central sun or light of the galaxy emits a ray of light so intense and so brilliant that it illuminates the entire universe. It is from this burst of light that all of the Suns and planets sync. The Mayans compare this burst to the pulse of the universe, beating once every 5,125 years. It is these pulses that mark the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next. Each pulse lasting 20 years, a Katún

Extract from: adishakti.org

It is not necessarily a pleasant experience, but there will be times in our lives when we come across people who do not like us. As we know, like attracts like, so usually when they don’t like us it is because they are not like us. Rather than taking it personally, we can let them be who they are, accepting that each of us is allowed to have different perspectives and opinions. When we give others that freedom, we claim it for ourselves as well, releasing ourselves from the need for their approval so we can devote our energy toward more rewarding pursuits.

While approval from others is a nice feeling, when we come to depend on it we may lose our way on our own path. There are those who will not like us no matter what we do, but that doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with us. Each of us has our own filters built from our experiences over time. They may see in us something that is merely a projection of their understanding, but we have no control over the interpretations of others. The best we can do is to hope that the role we play in the script of their lives is helpful to them, and follow our own inner guidance with integrity.

As we reap the benefits of walking our perfect paths, we grow to appreciate the feeling of fully being ourselves. The need to have everyone like us will be replaced by the exhilaration of discovering that we are attracting like-minded individuals into our lives—people who like us because they understand and appreciate the truth of who we are. We free ourselves from trying to twist into shapes that will fit the spaces provided by others’ limited understanding and gain a new sense of freedom, allowing us to expand into becoming exactly who we’re meant to be. And in doing what we know to be right for us, we show others that they can do it too. Co-creating our lives with the universe and its energy of pure potential, we transcend limitations and empower ourselves to shine our unique light, fully and freely. (Source: Daily Om)

Quote:

Suffering arises when we long for our experience to be something other than what it is. Satisfaction arises when we savour the richness of our experience as it is.
Full acceptance of whatever is arising in this moment is pure and absolute freedom. -‘Unknown Source’