Dinner with Faust

Andrew Faust New York City's Permaculture scholar shares his insights, perspectives, philosophies and book reviews of his latest reads.

[andrew-faust]

(Andrew Faust - Permaculture Perspectives Podcast)

[andrew-faust]

Stringing together some quotes here from: Further Teachings of Lao-Tzu

Understanding the Mysteries

One of my favorite translators, Thomas Cleary

Excerpt from #68 in this collection:

“ Everyone knows the profit of profit but not the sickness of sickness. Only sages know how sickness can be profitable and profit can be sickening. That is why a tree that fruits doubly will have damaged roots, and a family with much in storage will have bad luck later on. The fact that great profit turns into harm is the Way of Nature.”

Excerpt from #70

“Even if a land is large, if it is militaristic it will perish. Even if a nation is secure, if it is warlike it is in peril. Therefore a small country with a few people  may have weapons but not use them.”

These are speaking to my sense of our times and offer a sense of the almost timeless nature of these patterns and ways of our species. These writings beautifully articulate the philosophy and the dynamic of what’s entailed in living a good life,  as I would call it.

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(Andrew Faust - Permaculture Perspectives Podcast)Give a listen!

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My Introduction to Permaculture

This past week, I attended a lecture on permaculture by Andrew Faust at the Brooklyn Brainery. Before I write about permaculture, indulge me as I describe the Brooklyn Brainery. The Brainery is a f…

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Enjoy!

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Ya dig!

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(Andrew Faust - Permaculture Perspectives Podcast)

[andrew-faust]

(Andrew Faust - Permaculture Perspectives Podcast) What kind of work can be well provided for, passively, with Ecological Aikido? I then get into what kind of work and in what order and type to use, for renewable active systems. Layering and nesting your active systems 

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And why not?

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(Andrew Faust - Permaculture Perspectives Podcast)

[andrew-faust]

(Andrew Faust - Permaculture Perspectives Podcast)

[andrew-faust]

(Andrew Faust - Permaculture Perspectives Podcast)

[andrew-faust]

(Andrew Faust Permaculture Podcast)

[andrew-faust]

If every person in this country read this book, the country would be a different place. My review of it follows.

You do not get more credentialed for the scope of work pursued by this book. I have to say that this is by far one of the best inside academia books on the legacy of the toxic nightmare that is the reality of our military- industrial landscape for more then 70 years now.

John Wargo is a professor of environmental policy,risk analysis and political science at the Yale School of Forestry. He has advised the E.P.A., The National Academy of Sciences and the U.N. WHO.

Wargo outlines what he sees as the critical the most essential and systemic environmental toxic exposure events that we should be aware of the history and dimensions of.He is also focused on how to limit your exposure to the worst toxins and how to create environments that do not perpetuate them.

I quote the last paragraph of the prologue;”What can we learn from environmental history that might  help to steer us toward a more health sustaining future?

What principles should guide governments, corporations, and individuals to create an environment less threatening to human health?(interesting that he only goes so far as to say less threatening, how about beneficial to human health even?)

He goes on to say” and while waiting for more responsible leadership how can you reduce your personal exposure to serious environmental dangers? These are questions that stimulated this book;and the answers, however unsettling must be confronted if we are to have any chance of creating a health supportive environs,net for future generations.”

Yes! Here is where Wargo hits it out of the park this book is a radical expose all americans need to gird their awareness with.

He outlines in following a pattern of the worst and most concerning toxic legacy first.

The Legacy of Nuclear testing.

Herein he outlines the crazy scope to which the federal government went test nuclear weapons in this country and in the south pacific and test and test till strontium 90 was found throughout the teeth of children in the entire country and around the globe.

Training for War While Wasting Nature

This section is on Vieques and beyond and all the toxicity and exploitation of U.S. weapons testing it entails.

Capitalizing on Innocence

All about the toxicity of chemicals in food and the absurdities of acceptable levels of exposure criteria.

Airborne Menace

This section is a fascinating piece on how polluted the air is in the U.S. and why.

he wraps up with Who’s Most at Risk, 

Wargo makes it clear that all the environmental laws in this country are barely up held and they are not very well constructed laws to begin with.They are band-aid reactionary laws created after environmental disasters happened to avoid them again.He suggests for instance that we need to create laws that have an eye to prevent the pollution from being created in the first place.

The Trouble with Diesel  One tidbit you will learn of in this chapter is that the significant national rise in Asthma in children in the U.S. is entirely due to increased time in diesel spewing school buses.

The Quiet Revolution in Plastics; “ The history of plastics illustrates the failure of both government and manufacturers to control the chemical industry.” 

and  finishes outlining what Green Intelligence entails.

Ultimately the key to developing a beginning to your Green Intelligence is to read this book.You will be a more educated informed and empowered citizen who has invaluable information now in your hand, thanks to the hard work and research that John Wargo put into this great book!

[andrew-faust]

Check out the first in a series of reviews from my 2015 reading that I am sharing as we break out into 2016! 

Essential reading for all Permaculture Teachers and thinking citizens of this country!

[andrew-faust]

If every person in this country read this book, the country would be a different place. My review of it follows.

You do not get more credentialed for the scope of work pursued by this book. I have to say that this is by far one of the best inside academia books on the legacy of the toxic nightmare that is the reality of our military- industrial landscape for more then 70 years now.

John Wargo is a professor of environmental policy,risk analysis and political science at the Yale School of Forestry. He has advised the E.P.A., The National Academy of Sciences and the U.N. WHO.

Wargo outlines what he sees as the critical the most essential and systemic environmental toxic exposure events that we should be aware of the history and dimensions of.He is also focused on how to limit your exposure to the worst toxins and how to create environments that do not perpetuate them.

I quote the last paragraph of the prologue;”What can we learn from environmental history that might  help to steer us toward a more health sustaining future?

What principles should guide governments, corporations, and individuals to create an environment less threatening to human health?(interesting that he only goes so far as to say less threatening, how about beneficial to human health even?)

He goes on to say” and while waiting for more responsible leadership how can you reduce your personal exposure to serious environmental dangers? These are questions that stimulated this book;and the answers, however unsettling must be confronted if we are to have any chance of creating a health supportive environs,net for future generations.”

Yes! Here is where Wargo hits it out of the park this book is a radical expose all americans need to gird their awareness with.

He outlines in following a pattern of the worst and most concerning toxic legacy first.

The Legacy of Nuclear testing.

Herein he outlines the crazy scope to which the federal government went test nuclear weapons in this country and in the south pacific and test and test till strontium 90 was found throughout the teeth of children in the entire country and around the globe.

Training for War While Wasting Nature

This section is on Vieques and beyond and all the toxicity and exploitation of U.S. weapons testing it entails.

Capitalizing on Innocence

All about the toxicity of chemicals in food and the absurdities of acceptable levels of exposure criteria.

Airborne Menace

This section is a fascinating piece on how polluted the air is in the U.S. and why.

he wraps up with Who's Most at Risk, 

Wargo makes it clear that all the environmental laws in this country are barely up held and they are not very well constructed laws to begin with.They are band-aid reactionary laws created after environmental disasters happened to avoid them again.He suggests for instance that we need to create laws that have an eye to prevent the pollution from being created in the first place.

The Trouble with Diesel  One tidbit you will learn of in this chapter is that the significant national rise in Asthma in children in the U.S. is entirely due to increased time in diesel spewing school buses.

The Quiet Revolution in Plastics; “ The history of plastics illustrates the failure of both government and manufacturers to control the chemical industry.” 

and  finishes outlining what Green Intelligence entails.

Ultimately the key to developing a beginning to your Green Intelligence is to read this book.You will be a more educated informed and empowered citizen who has invaluable information now in your hand, thanks to the hard work and research that John Wargo put into this great book!

[andrew-faust]

The Tao of Permaculture - 2

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

translated by

 Stephen Addiss & Stanley Lombardo 2.

Recognize beauty and ugliness is born.

Recognize good and evil is born.

( As soon as one brings the world of human values into the mix and you call this plant, animal or landscape beautiful and that one ugly then one has slipped into the realm of human fabrication.There is no such concept in mother earth's heart as far as we know. Human values may be useful, in so far as we recognize their limitations and actively practice non-attachment to them.)

Is and Isn't produce each other.

( Just observe, fully attend to the now, in the first and primary process of reading a landscape. It is not a matter of wether any aspect of a place is or isn't.This is about being in a place. )

Hard Depends on easy,

Long is tested by short,

High is determined by low,

Sound is harmonized by voice,

After is followed by before.

( Everything is relative and experiential. Our thoughts are often preoccupied with judging an event ,an experience or a moment or a object to discern some quality about it.This takes us away from the present and distracts one from noticing the essence of a phenomenon.A designer will be able to better see the nature of things without putting observations into a hierarchy.

)

Therefore the Sage is devoted to non-action,

Moves without teaching,

Creates ten thousand things without instruction,

Lives but does not own,

Acts but does not presume,

Accomplishes without taking credit.

(

This is the expansive self. Cultivating as a tool for change the sense of self that is interconnected to all beings through all time. To tap into this as designers, as the Sages do, we need to be, to just be, in a place through many faces of the space. Nature moves and we respond with no need to process mentally a lesson that we feel viscerally. Tune into your sense of living to heal the ancient relationship of humanity with the entire web of life. By tuning in we turn on and emanate and radiate ways of being, living, and perceiving that will inevitably create health diverse mature forests, entire landscapes and communities of prosperity that ail continue long after us.

)

When no credit is taken,

Accomplishment endures

.

(A truly evolved being is inspired to care for,love and heal the entire family of life on this divine planet. The primordial wonder of the universe is here now to notice and breathe and participate with by virtue of being a wondrous being on this earth today! )

[andrew-faust]

The Tao of Permaculture - 1

A philosophy of life

Learning to live well with how the earth works.

The relationship of permaculture design to taosim,buddhism mysticism and mythology.

This is the first entry in a series I am very excited and inspired to share with everyone taking the time to explore how introspection, spirituality and mysticism open doors of perception and awareness that are invaluable to first, living a good life and second, to creating good designs and a healthy world. In these writings we will explore how to create positive nurturing relationships with each other and with the entire web of life.

I am starting with the Tao Te Ching, by Lao Tzu.

Having fun passage by passage and discussing their connections to permaculture approaches to design, the design process and techniques.Then we will explore the later teachings of Lao Tzu and onto Chuang Tzu, ancient Sanskrit writings, Dogen, a zen buddhist philosopher from the 13th century and Wang Yang Ming a neo-confucian will complete our eastern survey.Then we will venture into the west with Neo-Platonism, Meister Eckhart  and the philosophies and mythologies of indigenous peoples of the world.

Our Theme

How the ethics and principles of permaculture come from an experience and awareness of natural energies and a deep understanding of concepts, core ideas and perspectives that we will find at the heart of many mystical and spiritual traditions from around the world. In particular these writings will orbit around the connections between Permaculture ideas and approaches and the primary texts of taoism,buddhism,hinduism and esoteric mysticism and mythologies of the west.

I will expound on what i consider to be key potent passages that resonate with the essence of permaculture as I know it. I will retroactively categorize them in these subjects below as I write about each passage and how they relate to Permaculture.

Land/Earth 

Water/Movement

Fire/Light

Plants/Growth

People/Social Systems

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

translated by Stephen Addiss & Stanley Lombardo

Tao called Tao is not Tao.

Names can name no lasting name.

( The only way we can begin to know a place on this earth, is to first be in the place to observe, to just be and observe, no presuppositions or desires clouding our ability to notice what is.The act of naming is a distraction from being in the present and occludes our ability to sense the true essence of the place. )

Nameless: the origin of heaven and earth.

Naming: the mother of ten thousand things.

( When we are deeply present in the moment we can tune into the umbilical cord of all creation and understand without words the nature of things. As soon as we begin the act of verbalizing and naming what we are observing with words and thoughts, we have entered the world of human values and artifices, which has it's place, but they are not truly the essence of reality, they are merely a phenomenon to notice and observe but not to become attached to or to take too seriously.)

Empty of desire, perceive mystery.

Filled with desire, perceive manifestations.

(The foundation of good design and good living is grounded in being clear of any desires or goals as we observe and attempt to know as much as we can about who we are and about where we are designing and who we are designing for. We want to perceive mystery and be empty of desires to notice more completely what is the nature of that place and the community of beings that dwell there, outside of what we want it to be.

Then allow ourselves to be filled by our passion and vision and manifest as only human beings can what we want it to be! )

These have the same source, but different names.

           Call them both deep--

                     Deep and again deep:

The gateway to all mystery.

( The timeless primordial essence of the universe is here now for us to tune into and it is both beyond and within names. In order to enter the realm of knowing, acknowledging the vastness of the unknown must take precedence. Then swim in the mystery. )