Over the course of the last few months I've come across the term, Anima Mundi, latin for World Soul. It peaked my curiosity and I decided to do a little research. Anima Mundi's meaning is very literal- this world, actually this universe, has a soul. It was first directly mentioned by Plato in his writing, Timeaus. Marcus Aurelius also spoke about it beautifully in his Meditations: “Constantly regard the universe as one living being, having one substance and one soul; ... and how all things act with one movement; and how all things are the cooperating causes of all things that exist; observe too the continuous spinning of the thread and the structure of the web.”

It seems the Anima Mundi is just one way of identifying an all-encompassing non-material form. The concept of the Anima Mundi seems very similar to pagan beliefs of the Great Mother, the Spirit of Creation, or the Divine feminine counterpart. There are theistic faiths that believe the universe is synonymous with an immanent God (pantheism, pan=all and theo=god). Some traditions of Christianity have been pantheistic. Panpsychistic beliefs contend that the whole universe possesses a mind or consciousness. Animism, common among folk faiths, is the belief that every thing in the universe possesses a soul.

A Sufi teacher, Llywellan Vaughn-Lee, explains that the Anima Mundi is the Macrocosm of the Universe and the Individual is the Microcosm. The spark of life and light in the Anima Mundi, is also the spark in us and in all things. He teaches that when the individual nourishes it's own soul, it also nourishes the World Soul.

I believe in the Anima Mundi. Whether it is God, the Divine Mother, or a Collective Consciousness, it doesn't really matter to me. What matters to me is that there is something that contains everything. A whole, more than the sum of its parts. I don't believe that anything, anything at all in this world is isolated from anything else. Everything is part of a great whole.

What disturbs me is that for quite sometime we humans (especially us Western ones) are trying very hard to prove that we are isolated. We do not tolerate being subject to the consequences of someone else's actions. We've built physical, mental and spiritual barriers around us everywhere we go to prove that we are invulnerable and not responsible for anything other than our individual selves.

This is why I love food. Not only is it pleasurable and satisfying, but it is a constant reminder that we are connected. And we can't run away from it, we have to eat! I believe, now more than ever, gardening and eating are healing acts because they can bring us back, over and over to the basic truth that we are part of the universal family. And when you choose to be open to this truth, you can no longer look at a carrot and just see a carrot. You see the hands that planted it. The soil and microbes that nourished it. The sun and rain that nurtured it. And then if you really look, in the carrot you can see yourself. It's the spark. The same spark in everything. The spark of the World Soul.

(Orginally posted on growfoodfeedspirit.blogspot.com)

Environment & Spirituality

I will be tracking my exploration of environment and spirituality on my own blog. I decided that, since I will be engaged in this inquiry for more than just one quarter, that maintaining my own blog would be worth while for me. I've just set up the first, introductory post (largely from my syllabus) - more to come soon.

Through the course of the quarter, I will record what I am learning in interviews, talks and lectures, small group discussions, research, and texts that I am reading. I will also explore my own connection with nature and reflect on that experience. While I do have my own religious and spiritual perspectives, which I expect will be revealed in the weeks ahead, I am choosing not to declare them here – as it is my interest to look for commonalities and ways to bring people together, rather than to drive us further apart.

The End of the Line: A Paradox Within

After posting my accolades of the film screening, I had to take some time to reflect upon the panel discussion that followed. Index cards were circulated for the audience to write questions for the panelists. My question was: "Of the remaining fish (in the oceans), most are contaminated with PCB's, PAH's, dioxins and mercury. Why were toxics not mentioned in the film?"

The moderator, affiliated with the Seattle Chefs Collaborative, the Columbia Inter-Tribal Fish Commission and Marine Stewardship Council, read the question but omitted reading "PAH's".

(Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, known for carcinogenic and mutagenic actions, significant in benthic fishes (i.e. sole and flounder) as well as transient salmon species in the Puget Sound.) This is supported by much scientific data and is deemed an ecological risk.

Once the "edited" version of my question was read, it was obviously a "hot potato" that no one was eager to address. One panelist, a fisherman, influential in the Food and Beverage industry to improve seafood quality and spearheaded the marketing of Copper River and Yukon River salmon, stated "recent testing had been conducted on Yukon River salmon and there was no contamination of mercury found". That was the entirety of his response.

Another panelist, representative of the Living Oceans Society in B.C. with a specialty in open net-cage aquaculture in promotion of sustainable seafood replied, "to avoid mercury, eat lower on the food chain...PCB's are found mostly in farmed fish due to a higher fat content". The two other panelists did not respond. One was a writer for Edible Seattle, chef and founder of Seasonal Cornucopia, and the other, an author, sustainable sushi guide, restaurateur and seafood advocate affiliated with Greenpeace.

That was it, end of discussion on toxics in seafood! My reaction was of disbelief that this question could be so readily be dismissed. While infuriated, I put my Antioch cap on to reflect on why there was a lack of response to an issue that is so grossly connected to seafood sustainability.

In conclusion, I believe my question was beyond the scope of the panelists knowledge base. And, if it was not, it undermined the industry that they served. It was a paradox for them, as an acknowledgement of toxics in the sustainable seafood they promote and serve is to reveal a contradiction in their livelihood. Bottomline: Everyone has an agenda in which too much information can become inconvenient.

Reflecting on Food Inc.

As part of our inquiry into the local food movement our group viewed the film Food Inc. This film compares agribusiness (http://www.tyson.com/ ) to small-scale sustainable organic farming (http://www.polyfacefarms.com/ ). The current state of the American food did not happen overnight and did not happen by accident. In this documentary the viewer is taken into factory farms to witness the conditions that these animals suffer in for their brief life. I found this film to be a good starting point but it did not delve deep enough into any one point, it is a good reference but a mediocre educational tool. Not to mention as we discussed after the film the only people willing to shell out the time and money to see this film are those who are already informed and interested, that is just preaching to the choir.

As far as the solution their main point is that the consumer votes at the register. I see the underlying problem as the consumer who is unaware of the systemic problems involved in buying a big mac and is not interested in a lifestyle change.

Somehow we have gotten to a point where most Americans have no clue where there food comes from and in many instances what exactly is in it. So what can we do? Personally I buy much of my produce at farmers markets I read labels and I ask questions. Change takes time but thankfully pandemic diseases move quickly. People need to support sustainable farming and we all need to start asking a lot more questions about where are food comes from.

If I were in charge I would require edible roof gardens installed on any building that can support it.

The End of the Line Where have all the fish gone?

I attended the screening of this film last night that was followed by a panelist discussion. The production itself was informative, terrifying, disturbing and yet presented beauty and hope, - if we will it. The film presents a worldview of the plight marine life, documenting the procession of the denuding of the oceans for profit. Massive technological machines have declared war on the seas in which its inhabitants have no defense. The mission is to subvert for economic gain and it is escalating, seemingly immune to laws, regulations, policing and human consciousness. Viewers witness the slaughter of marine life that is barbaric and inconceivable. All the while avant-garde sushi restaurants flourish serving “designer” seafood to the wealthy, proudly labeling their delights as an endangered species despite the knowledge that the poor can no longer sustain themselves on the aquatic remnants left to them.

Anyone with an appreciation for life and the future of humanity will be changed after viewing this film. Whether one is a consumer of seafood or not, the ecological web of the oceans is the keystone to our existence on this planet. It is our responsibility to be stewards of our home and to demand that only sustainable seafood be sold and consumed. Ethical consumerism is a power we all have that can influence the demand on supply. Become educated in what you chose to eat. Question the source. Demand the truth.

Updated outreach plans with the DRCC

I met with Cari and Sydney yesterday afternoon regarding my planned outreach and interviews of organizations participating in the upcoming Duwamish River Festival and DRCC's member organizations. I'm well aware of exactly why our course syllabi are "living documents" after this meeting.

Sydney is an Americorps member who is assisting Cari with the River Festival by creating a tri-fold display board about the Duwamish Valley Vision plan and organizations that are working in the following areas of implementation: policy and leadership, green infrastructure and environmental education. The focus of part of the display will be on organizations that are working to create Green jobs. In particular I am to contact these organizations via either e-mail and/or phone to discuss with them how they feel their organization's work connects with that of the Duwamish Valley vision plan. My objective with these short interviews is to obtain short quotes and photos that Sydney can use for the display. So my draft interview questions are:

1. Please describe briefly what your organization does, we are seeking quotes and photos from organizations about how your work connects to that of the Duwamish Valley Vision plan. What excites you about Green Jobs?

2. What connects Green Jobs to the EPA superfund cleanup of the Duwamish River?

3. How is the Duwamish affecting the work of your organization? As community members?

Cari was less interested yesterday in my proposed interviews of DRCC coalition members. She stated that this is a pretty busy time for them and that we need to focus on the River festival first. She also suggested that it might be better for me to find some way to talk to several coalition members at once, at future DRCC meetings instead of doing individual interviews.

I am planning to attend the River festival in the afternoon from 2:30 - 4 pm because the festival conflicts with my second residency for my Executive Coaching class. While at the festival I will be talking to attendees and conducting a brief survey to find out people's stories about how they feel the superfund cleanup and river impacts their lives. I'll be creating the questions for that short survey too.

Joyce Yee

Local Food Movement Inquiry

Group members- Elise Child, Samantha Woodward and Erin Mercier

Learning Intentions:

• To gain a systemic understanding of not only the history of food processing but the economics and unintended consequences behind agribusiness
• To learn what is happening locally both in organic and factory farms
• To formulate a clear understanding of the media's role in the misconception of organic and local
• To gain hands on experience with organic urban farming

Learning/Support Group

Group: Laura York, Laura T., Jamie Shairrick, Christian Schmitt
Group Agreements

• Each group member will post weekly on the blog site.
• Email videos, pics or docs to Britt if they need to be uploaded in Sakai.