Farm Fresh News - January 2019
January morning in Tennessee
  • A Prayer for the New Year
  • Health and Diet - What Works for You?
  • My Journey toward Health
  • Amy Barnes Music
  • Farm Life: a Deck for Umsallama
2019 Calendar Dates:
Dear Friends,
It seems almost cliche to talk about heath and diets and food at the beginning of the New Year, but let’s face it, thousands, maybe millions of people around the world use this orbital transition as a catalyst for change, rebirth spiritually, mentally and physically.
 
For the first 12 years, everyone on The Farm followed a vegan diet, but I have come to understand that no single diet is for everyone. Vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, See Food (I see food - I eat it)... Gluten Free, Paelo, Keto, Raw. and on and on. There is a lot of confusion, and I think the bottom line is that you can live a healthy life on all kinds of diets, and at the same time there are some very unhealthy things about the consumption of food in our western culture and the export of this "diet" around the world.
 
Over the next few months, I will provide some details and stories regarding my own evolution, some advice and direction, plus more recipes and tips for achieving a life of good health. I believe there is some real truth behind the phrase, "You are what you eat."

Prayer for New Year, by Hazrat Inayat Khan
 
O Thou who abidest in our hearts,
most Merciful and Compassionate God, Lord of Heaven and Earth,
we forgive others their trespasses and ask Thy forgiveness of our shortcomings.
We begin the New Year with pure heart and clear conscience, with courage and hope.
Help us to fulfill the purpose of our lives under Thy divine guidance.
 
Those who know me recognize that for me the word "God," represents the Great Mystery. However this clear invocation of purpose and intention resonates in my heart like the strings of my guitar.
 
I hope the year ahead looks bright and prosperous for you!
Peace,
Douglas
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Kirtan and Bakti Yoga with Amy Barnes
 
Amy is a powerful presence,a beautiful singer, but also a teacher.
 
If you can do with a dose of spiritual rejuvination through music and movement, I encourage you to spend the weekend with us, celebrating the equinox!

You can listen to her album Rahde Govinda on YouTube, including my favorite, Sita Ram . Delightful!
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A Journey of Health and Compassion
 
In my own dietary choices, I believe one has to consider what is sustainable for our planet. Industrial harvesting of our oceans has pushed fish populations to near depletion. Forests, the lungs of our planet, have been devastated in no small part in a quest for more pasture for cattle and cleared land to produce the crops to feed them.
 
For me personally, and I know the same is true for many others, the sentient creatures of our planet are intelligent, loving beings, and in my desire to live a lighter footprint on this earth, I prefer to not kill and eat them. More on my journey here later.
 
I grew up with a typical American diet of the 1950s and 60s, breakfasts of box cereal and French toast, lunch and supper were hamburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. We’d have a Sunday dinner with either pork chops, fried chicken, roast beef, mashed potatoes and canned green beans. I don’t think I ever ate a salad until I started going out with my girlfriend, now wife of 46 years, Deborah.
 
Deborah has always led the way in our pursuit of a healthier lifestyle, starting when she first read books by the health pioneer Adelle Davis, such as Eat Right to Keep Fit, and Let’s Have Healthy Children.
 
 
We both read a book called The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, about the meat packing industry around Chicago in the early 1900s. Suspecting that things had not changed much since that time, we stopped eating anything that we could not tell what it was, like all the mystery meats, hamburger, hot dogs, baloney, and my favorite, pepperoni.
 
We discovered the first issue of Mother Earth News Magazine and were immediately drawn to the Back to the Land movement. The two of us planted a small garden in her parents' back yard, and together made the decision that we would only eat meat of animals we would kill ourselves once we got our own farm. We felt uncomfortable taking on killing large animals like cows and pigs, but that we could probably pull off wringing the neck of a chicken or kill a fish.
 
Wedding Day, 1972
 
After we got married (a little under 2 months before Deb’s 18th birthday), we spent our honeymoon camping for the summer deep inside the Daniel Boone National Forest of eastern Kentucky. During the day we would hang out in the sun on a huge boulder on the edge of a cold, mountain stream. At the same time each day, a school of fish would float up from the deep pool below into the shallower waters to feed. We started fishing, and the water was so clear, we could see the moment the fish took our bait and when to pull it up out of the water.
 
We had smoked some herb and were in a highly sensitive state as I cut the fish’s head off with my pocket knife. Perhaps the knife was dull, or maybe it was just our distorted sense of time, but it seemed to take forever! I was holding the fish down with one hand while it squirmed, literally for dear life. Who knew fish made any sound, but this one was squeaking frantically and I swear it was looking me in the eye the whole time.
 
Finally, the knife cut through the spinal cord and the ordeal was over. It was not fun and we were both blown away. As we ate the fish over a campfire that night, I began questioning whether it was fair or compassionate to take the life of any living creature. We could feel that some things could be rationalized in our mind, but not in our heart. Not long after, we became vegetarians.
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Sustainable Health
 
My latest chapter in health and diet actually began a few months ago, trying out a shift away from carbohydrates and exploring the new emphasis on burning fats as fuel and food for the brain. I was interested in dropping a few pounds but even more in reducing inflammation, what many experts say is the root cause of almost all disease.
 
One thing I have learned over my nearly 50 years as a vegetarian is that metabolism changes decade by decade. In my 20’s I weighed 115 pounds and could eat mountains of food. I was also doing a lot more manual labor.
 
By my 40’s I worked mostly on computer, writing for magazines, video editing, work that continued into my 50’s, and my weight corresponded, “filling out” as they say. I stabilized at 155 pounds for about 10 years, but I also reduced my consumption of fat in the form of dairy.
 
Then as I entered my 60’s things began to change again and the scale would bump up over 160, then 162, 63, 64...and I said whoa!
 
I started by changing my breakfast routine, from grain granola, blueberry muffins and pancakes (smothered in Farm blueberries, topped with honey from my bees mind you), to a protein breakfast of tofu or eggs. I added eggs to my diet some years ago, when people on The Farm started raising chickens in an ethical way. You can harvest eggs without harming the chicken. One friend calls them “chicken fruit.”
 
I was able to maintain, but wasn’t losing weight. I was also dealing with chronic inflammation in my elbows, one then the other, occasional pain in my index finger joint, lasting a week or two.
 
OK two months in, and the chronic pain in my elbows that has been bothering me for a year is gone. I've lost 6 pounds.
 
Next month I will go into how to remove sugar from your diet without giving up sweets...and I am not talking about Stevia. I also want to share some basic, common sense health tips that seem to not be on the radar of so many people, despite all the information that is out there.
 
Many of us are getting to the age where the statement, "If I'd known I was going to live this long, I'd of taken better care of myselft." And for all you young people out there, it comes around sooner than you think.
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January Deck Party: Volunteers build a new deck for Farm member Ummsalaamah
UmmSalaamah Sondra Abdullah-zaimah was a police officer in New York City before she joined The Farm back in the late 70s. She has been a midwife for 40 years, delivering over 4000 babies in homes, hospitals and birth centers in 10 states, Honduras and 2 African countries.
 
She was a Clinical Director in Senegal for 2 years and has been active in the rebirth of direct entry midwifery in this country as an early board member of the Midwives Alliance of North America, Chair of the committee that became the North American Registry of Midwives and a member of their first board.
 
Starting out as a home birth midwife, she earned a Masters in Midwifery from Emory University, the first black woman to graduate that program. UmmSalaamah has an NGO in Ghana, is a Senior Midwife & preceptor at Mandala Midwifery in Atlanta, and maintains a small home on The Farm, where she teaches with The Farm Midwifery Workshops.
 
She is dedicated to sharing her knowledge & experience as widely as possible & helping black women & women of color to become midwives & birth workers.
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Join us for the return of my Summer Retreat June 20-22: Dances of Universal Peace, plus swimming, hiking, great food and great music! The idea is to have a time and place where families can come, bring their kids and celebrate life! I am still working out the details regarding pricing, but you can see a little bit of what's in store on my web site. Let me know if you are interested.

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A big thanks to everyone who has become a patron of Farm Fresh!
When you become a subscriber, your contribution helps spread the word about community based alternatives.
Take this one small step to be part of the solution!
Let me know your interests. Click here to take the survey.    I look forward to hearing from you.
 
I hope you'll make the effort to take a firsthand look at The Farm during one of my GreenLife Retreat Weekends, and that it will inspire you to pursue your dreams and find your chosen path!
 
Thank you for your interest, and your support. I hope to see you down the road.
 
Peace,
Douglas
 
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Dance Calendar
 No doubt by now you have read about the music and Dances of Universal Peace events that have taken place over the last couple months and how much fun everyone is having together. If your soul could use a lift, or you’re just curious, you are welcome to come to any of our scheduled gatherings.
  • January 23-February 19: Dances in Mexico and Guatemala
  • March 9: Dances at the yoga event Chantlanta, in Atlanta, GA
  • March 16, 7 PM at the Friends House, 530 26th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37209
  • March 22-24 Kirtan and Dance with Amy Barnes on the Farm
  • April 5-7: Dances of Universal Peace with Allaudin Ottinger on The Farm
  • April 11-14: Dances of Universal Peace, Earth Springs, Texas
 Our regular Dance and Kirtan Schedule are subject to my travel plans.
Please contact me to find out if the dances are scheduled for any particular weekend. 
 
Wednesdays 6:30 - 8:30 PM / Sundays, 3 - 5 pm
 
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Click here to take the survey.    I look forward to hearing from you. 
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Speaking Engagements
At the same time, I recognize that I can reach a lot more people if I go outside the community. One of my goals is to speak at colleges and universities where I can talk to young people about Right Livelihood, Service, and Finding Sanity in an Insane World. This is a time when people need to hear an uplifting message of hope.
 
If you are part of an organization, event, or school (or you just want to learn more about my life's work), I invite you to visit my web site www.douglasstevenson.com, where you'll find information on my lecture topics and how to bring me to speak in your area.
Douglas
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out to change the world
 new society Order both and save!
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www.awakeningbirth.org - the Web Site
www.awakening birth.net - The Podcast 
Our birth resource web sites for families seeking guidance on subjects such as
  • Choosing a Care Provider.
  • Health and Diet
  • Challenges and Complications
  • and much more!
  • The Awakening Birth podcast is now available on iTunes or at www.awakeningbirth.net
Please spread the word to anyone in your circle who is thinking of having a baby, expecting, your favorite midwife, or care provider. Please like us and give us a good review on iTunes. It helps!
 
GreenLife Retreats
A division of Village Media Services
PO Box 259Summertown, TN 38483
931-964-2590 - office / cell
Douglas@villagemedia.com
www.villagemedia.com
www.greenliferetreats.com
www.douglasstevenson.com 
Douglas@thefarmcommunity.com
 
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