Athe-I-sm

Started reading this yesterday in prep for a training seminar I am taking this weekend:

http://transitionus.org/sites/default/files/TransitionHandbook_freeeditVersion.pdf

Very intelligent, good food for thought... deep (and sometimes scary) thought about the future of humankind.  This quote struck me:

"Healthy functioning requires that we have faith that our needs will be met in the future; without this confidence, our trust in the world is damaged.  Damaged trust can lead to four neurotic reactions that are likely to impact environmental behavior: narcissism, depression, paranoia and compulsion"

There is no bibliography in the Appendices (?), only states that this was quoted by "Winter and Kroger", seemingly from a journal of psychology.  This sums up in a nutshell recent thoughts I've been having about what it is I personally believe in.  If you believe in nothing but yourself and what your eyes see around you, then you admit that the future is entirely uncertain and therefore unsafe; you have only yourself and your abilities to rely on and you will go ONLY as far as that will take you.  I admitted to myself that this may, in fact, be true.  But if I choose to believe this way I give up all sense of hope; because I myself have finite abilities... and frankly I'm not all that talented and of limited education.  I HAVE to believe that by my good intention, determination and belief in a cosmic/spiritual order to life and the universe, my needs (and my childrens') will be met tomorrow, and it will be a good day. I have to, or else there is really no point in exsisting at all....
So now i'm kinda interested to have convo with an atheist about this point..... anyone?
Ok back to reading, I have 99 more pages to read before Saturday!!

MizzZ :)

Do it yo-self

A phrase that about a year ago made me feel a bit inadequate but recently making me feel... unstoppable!  If you've thought about embarking on a do-it-yourself project my advice would be to NOT OVER THINK IT.  Start collecting what you need to do it.... and just DO IT! Be careful not to sink too much money into it, though, understanding that do-it-yourself projects can fail.  Do it for fun and a feeling of accomplishment instead of out of necessity and you will feel you've learned something, no matter what the outcome. Maybe you can try again once you've gotten your feet wet! 

I decided I would start making some of my own personal care/hygiene and cleaning products once the ones i had in my cabinets started running out.  First on the list: soap.  I ordered what I needed, watched a youtube video and decided to start with a small test batch, so I wouldn't waist the money I spent on supplies if I screwed it up.  What I learned: making soap is quick and easy! Why would anyone buy it at the store when you can make yourself a 1 year supply with about $20 in ingredients and a half an hour of your time?!  Next: deodorant.  Sounds weird, but I found a recipe on-line (from a fellow blogger), this one is simple so I'll share it here:

1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch
6 Tbsp melted coconut oil
5-6 drops tea tree (and/or lavender, rosemary, peppermint, or whatever other oil you like)

whisk baking soda and corn starch to get out any lumps, mix with oils.... done! I tried pouring it into my empty deodorant thingy, just turned the dial backwards till it was hollow again and poured my mixture in. Put it in the fridge and it solidified but tried to turn it up too soon and it was still too hard, think I broke the mechanism that makes the deodorant come up :(  but the deodorant itself turned out great!! I managed to get some on; goes on smooth, clear, absorbs quick, keeping me dry and my pits smell great!!

So, the moral of the story is; don't put those projects you thought about doing on the back burner, put aside a little time and just do it!