The holiday season offers a unique opportunity to step back from the busyness of life and reconnect with what truly matters. As the year winds down, it's a time to reflect, find inspiration, and explore new perspectives. Whether you’re by the fire or nestled under...
Making charcoal, especially biochar, is one of the most effective ways you can use the extra brush and logs when clearing an overgrown area. Master forester and author, Tomi Hazel Vaarde writes in their book, “Social Forestry: Tending the Land as People of Place,”...
In the serene tapestry of spiritual observances, Bodhi Day, celebrated on December 8th, emerges as a reminder of enlightenment and compassion. It transports us to the pivotal moment when Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha, attained profound insight under...
Midwestern psychonauts, assemble! After the triumph of the Psychedelic Science 2023 conference this past summer in Denver, it felt more important than ever to continue to find ways to be in community among other psychedelically minded folks. So it was an utter...
In our daily lives, we constantly receive sensory information from our environment. Most people are familiar with the classic five senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell—but there's another sense known as “interoception” that's not as commonly discussed....
The Legacy of Bear Heart From our heart to yours. “Reading this masterfully architectured book, you will know Bear, and you will know your own heart, and you will know a man about whom not enough can possibly be written - Bear Heart, Keeper of the Sacred...
I have spent the last 30 years of my life living and working in west Sonoma County at a place called the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC). I am one of the founders of this 80-acre community and retreat center. It is also a center for the study and practice...