Brummet's Conscious Blog

-- Quote of the Day -- “ I am appalled at the amount of waste in these department stores I’ve seen what they throw out. I understand they cannot re-sell it for many reasons, but they should be donating it to someone who can use it – like Clothes2U.ca – For instance, they might have an open package of something like diapers, or underwear …or one of the items is missing from a package and into the garbage it goes. It just shouldn’t be. …[When stores donate their items to non-profit organizations] it helps them get rid of un-sellable merchandise, cuts down on their waste, gives them a green alternative to landfill [contributions] and provides them with an opportunity to help the less fortunate .” ~ Ernie Janzen (April 15, 2010) Today's quote comes from a Conscious Discussions Talk Radio interview that aired back on April 15th with the founder of the Clothes2U Organization . Check out the archived interview at your convenience by clicking on the hyper-links above, or visit the ...

-- Quote of the Day -- "The Greatest Gift You'll Ever Learn...Is Just To Love And Be Loved In Return" ~ From the movie Moulin Rouge -- Authors Read -- Jan 9th on Authors Read we featured Chris Ringler - a writer for twenty years; he tends to specialize in short story writing, generally dark fiction with a few children’s stories as well. Chris is currently based in Michigan (USA) and has 2 short story collection books so far, the first being Back from Nothing . He has just released the second book of short stories titled This Beautiful Darkness , which is a compilation of 13 dark short stories that lay on the borderlands between dark fiction and horror. He is currently working on a children's series and a novel while balancing work with several magazine publications. Along with writing, Chris is a painter and photographer. Drop by to hear the archived episode of Chris reading from Like Cracks in Still Water - click on the hyperlink here or look to the right for rece...

-- Quote of the Day -- -- “There was a village it was on the Nissitissit River…in the early 1800’s it was a thriving little mill town …and had a lot of small industries… I think the lunacy and insanity that enveloped the valley was more environmental poisoning from the stuff that they were working on and the stuff in the river and the 40,000-acre drainage basin above it and the 5 villages above it. …In the early 1800’s nobody wanted to admit that there was lunacy in their family… they referred to as people it dying in an unusual way out there. To make felt they had to use mercurial oxide… They were exposed to mercury through their footwear. …I found they also had a velvet shop and you can’t iron velvet, you have to steam it so when I researched the colors back then… they were filled with arsenic and vermillion. …Even wallpaper was poison back then. …The term “mad as a hatter” was from hat makers who used felt in their hats and went stark-raving mad…” ~ Rosemary Chaulk 10/30/08 This fas...

-- Quote of the Day -- “…My passion is really to help others to discover their passions; to acknowledge it, access it, awaken it and express it to the world. …We don’t get over the vulnerability because vulnerability is an important piece of the process. The way to do this is to be vulnerable, to be open and to allow ourselves to be afraid. Because the fear is not the problem; it is when the fear stops us that creates the problem. ” ~ Mark Gerson 08/12/08 What is the meaning of your life? Why do you exist? What will your legacy be in this moment? I've seen a lot of information in the media as of late dealing with issues of discovering yourself, being healthy and looking younger. Few of us understand that these things go hand in hand. From my own personal experience of discovering my passion, I can tell you that I have never felt so complete, so fulfilled in life as I do now. Things are not perfect and woes did not disappear - but my focus in life shifted to the point that I no lon...

-- Authors Read -- Ty Schwamberger and I originally met on a writer’s forum where he sent a brief query our way regarding his horror novel - Night School. According to his website, he has enjoyed writing, reading and watching scary tales since childhood. He currently resides in Ohio with his wife and daughter. To hear today's featured author on the Authors Read radio show simply click on the hyper-linked show title here in the blog or click on the link for the program located on the right of this blog. -- Quote of the Day -- "In the past 3 years (1991-94) 950 varieties of vegetables have become extinct and of the survivors 74% - or almost 4,000 varieties - are endangered." ~ Ann Rodes article: 'The Seed Savers', Canadian Gardening Magazine As individual back yard gardeners we can choose to order from seed suppliers that focus on rare or endangered varieties - or at least those that are open-pollinated. Heritage and Heirloom seed organizations exist for each count...

-- Quote of the Day -- “…as long as an e-book is selling fairly well, I will go back once a year and review it. I also have a proofreader and bless her heart she has seen a lot of stuff. I will update a book once a year and send it to her… we try to weed out the old links that are no longer operating and put in the new material that we found about once a year in our e-books.” ~ Hope Clark 06/05/08 During this interview with Hope Clark on the Conscious Discussions talk radio show on funds for writers, Hope mentioned one of the main benefits of today's electronic publishing is that the author has much more control on the material - the ability to keep the information updated. To find this interview, simply click on the hyper-linked show title here in today's post or look to the right for a link to the Conscious Discussions talk radio show. * Hope Clark's interview aired on June 5, 2008. -- Authors Read -- Interestingly I’ve been getting a lot of guest query applications a...

Whew what a busy day it has been - here it is 7 PM and I am only now able to get here and manage the blog. I do apologize for that - I know most of you are used to me being here before noon ! -- Quote of the Day -- “If peace is what every government says it seeks, and peace is the yearning of every heart, why aren’t we studying it and teaching it in schools?” ~Colman McCarthy -- Authors Read -- Authors Read radio show featured C.L. Talmadge earlier today - the author of the Green Stone of Healing series, an epic fantasy that is filled with romance, action, and intrigue. To hear the archive of today's featured author sharing an excerpt from the 3rd book in this series, The Scorpions Strike, click on the hyper-linked show title here in this blog post or look to the right of this page where you will find a link to the Authors Read radio show. -- Ideas & Tips for concerned individuals looking to create positive change-- - Old towels and old rugs can be donated to the local anim...

--Eco-Resources-- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs : "To secure a healthy environment in which we and future generations can prosper". www.defra.gov.uk Lets Recycle brings you a daily news service, a directory, price indicators, clubrecycle, newsletters and more. www.letsrecycle.com -- Authors Read -- First time author, Vernelle Nelson, uses down to earth everyday language to help guide readers to inner peace, balance & self confidence. Vernelle resides in Southern Florida – her experiences range from teacher to head of On-Air Promotions at National Public Radio headquarters, radio disc jockey, as well as being a television & radio producer. She has published poetry, human-interest stories & news articles in the past. Vernelle was featured today on the Authors Read radio show to read from her debut non-fiction self-help book: Favorable Conditions. The author tells me that the book is a great tool for individuals as well as classes & home s...

-- Quote of the Day -- “Do something for somebody every day for which you do not get paid.” ~ Albert Schwitzer -- Eco-news -- In Winnipeg, Canada – a 4 megawatt facility is running of zoo and farm waste supplying a huge amount of energy to the community, reducing waste and global warming contributions. Cost recovery for a facility like this is estimated to be around 5 years. -- Authors Read -- Wim Coleman is an award-winning playwright and poet. When he moved to Los Angeles in 1986, he met his future wife, Pat Perrin. They soon began writing as a team, exploring such themes such as creativity, science, history, mythology, storytelling, personal and social transformation, and the evolution of human consciousness. They have collaborated on at least 65 published books, some of which have appeared in many languages and genres including essays, articles, novels, books for young readers. Their most recent novel – the one we will hear the authors read from today - is Anna’s World. You might...

-- Quote of the Day -- “…You can write for a vast audience, or a smaller audience – but you can also write for yourself. You can write to process things. I’m into journaling because I know that journaling works. And it is an interesting thing about journaling because you start off by processing your life, your experiences, what is going on today because it is stewing in your mind, what went on yesterday… and pretty soon you start to discover themes and you discover material for essays, a memoir or a novel. …I was a caregiver for my mother – like many caregivers my world closed down. I stopped working; I stopped seeing people… I was there every day and always available by phone. And journaling was where I processed this. …Your immune system is strengthened if you write for 15-20 minutes a day about things that are deeply upsetting to you. And caregivers experience things that are deeply upsetting as they discover how powerless they are. So it is very valid just for that alone. It also a...

-- Authors Read -- Today's guest on Authors Read was unable to attend for some unforeseen reason. Instead, I read from my book - Towards Understanding - and played a song that was based on a poem from that book by the band - Grooveyard . The poems I read today depicted a nightmare I had about a child that was falling and crying out for rescue but no matter what I did I couldn't reach her... then as she faded from view I realized the child was me. Another poem I shared today was written at a time when I truly understood that the healing process had begun and I would one day be able to leave the pain of an abusive childhood behind. I also shared a poem about deciding to live; rather than waiting to die and feeling shame because I didn't have the guts to end my life. The final poem that I read today was written an attempt to express the feelings of being separated from life of feeling insignificant, that many people with inner issues experience when dealing with society. I...

-- Quote of the Day -- “…I think we all have a responsibility to the youth… and the youth understand that there are problems and that climate change is there… and a lot of times they feel helpless; this is a huge issue to them. And what we have to do is make sure the youth get inspired to each do something small – because if everyone can do something small and make one decision to help the environment, the synergy from that will just grow and grow. …They may be small, and they may be young, and they may not think they have any power – but we have to change that thinking because they DO!” ~ Laurie Shutt 07/27/08 I love this quote - it originated through a discussion with author Laurie Shutt on the Conscious Discussions talk radio show in July, 2008. It was prominent in my thoughts lately due to some discussions in our local newspapers in the Letters to the Editor sections where the issue of youth is raised. Often what happens is "children" get all the attention - meaning if y...

-- Events this Week -- * Remember: November is National Alzheimer’s Disease Month (USA) 11th – Remembrance Day (International) 12th-14th - Southeast Recycling Development Council Annual Meeting & Trade Show. Location: Point Clear, Alabama; www.serdc.org 15th - I Love To Write Day - Founded in 2002 by Delaware author John Riddle, I Love To Write Day is now celebrated in over 20,000 schools all across the United States. 16th – International Day of Tolerance -- Authors Read Radio -- It was a sincere pleasure to have children's author and substitute teacher Darcie Mae join me today to read from her book, Mother Mouse, on the Authors Read radio show. Darcie Mae has been writing children's stories since 2001. She has completed The Peablys series - which includes 6 books, and has recently released the first installments of 2 other children's series including Sammy & Robert, and Mother Mouse. Some of you may remember Darcie appearing on Authors Read on Oct 10 to read the f...

-- Influencing through Education -- The Japan for Sustainablility Newsletter (www.japanfs.org) shared some interesting innovations being put forth by that region: The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced on May 29, 2008, its selection of the winning design for its Uniform Green Energy Mark. By affixing the logo to a product, manufacturers can advertise that their products are made using green energy under the green power certification system. The ministry aims to increase public awareness of its certification system and provide consumers with confidence when buying products made with green power. Isn't this a wonderful and supportive measure? It could really increase the effectiveness and growth of the green movement all over the planet, because it will educate and influence consumers around the globe. Education is so important and literacy is THE most important tool for an individual to increase knowledge and find empathy, sympathy... This is one of the main re...