Brummet's Conscious Blog

-- Quote of the Day -- “ Volunteers, like I do, find deep joy and meaning in this work. We require volunteers to be 12 years old… some of the work is very heavy, such as in the barn – you know, bales of hay can weigh 40lbs. But there are a million and one things that people can do to help. …Some of our older volunteers will write thank you notes, a lot of the men will help with carpentry and vehicle maintenance and road repair. ...People sign on a 4-hour shift for the same day each week. …What I’ve had to learn (as director) is have my eye on a bunch of things at once. We now have 6000 members in 48 states, members in 18 different countries; we have up to 150 volunteers and 10 staff. I find the very best person for the various roles – my job is to support them, clarify the expectation and support them, be encouraging be there for them – and to ensure that everything that we do is in line with the focus. …We have a 9-page waiting list because of the economy – so who is going to die if t...

-- Metal Recycling -- According to a recent press release: “ The latest figures from APEAL (the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging) show that 70% of steel packaging are recycled in Europe .” Over 2.5 million tons of food and drinks cans and other steel containers were recycled in 2008, which is a much higher return rate than any other packaging material (plastic 29%, beverages 33%, glass 62%), saving 3.9 million tons of CO2. Belgium attained the highest recycling rate for food and drink cans at 93%. The fact that steel is magnetic makes it the easiest and most cost effective material to sort and recover. Steel does not lose strength or inherent qualities in the recycling process. -- Recommended Resources -- Information on the fascinating world of recycling: Recycling International : www.recyclinginternational.com The Worldwide Orphans Foundation - http://wwo.org - transforming the lives of orphaned children by helping them to become independent, productive membe...

-- Quote of the Day -- “… If we take a step that is away from who we are then our energy is drained away… we really only feel overwhelmed when we think it all has to be done at once and it really is a matter of …shifting perspective so that you can start to go in the direction of your well-being. …For social occasions, I like to serve a sweet potato or sweet pumpkin pie; you don’t want to cook honey, because cooking honey actually causes it to change into a toxin for our system. But you could use something like a maple syrup as a sweetener… or applesauce …when we choose food that has a lot of life force in it in the first place, it doesn’t need sweeteners .” ~ Oct 29, ’09 – Myra Lewin Today's quote was taken from the Conscious Discussions Talk Radio show interview that aired on Oct 29, 2009. This discussion focused on a Wholesome Relationship with Food - check it out by clicking on the hyper-links here :) -- Zero-Waste Navigation -- Source: www.japanfs.org The "Zero-Waste Na...

-- Quote of the Day -- “ I believe the greatest gift you can give to your family – whether it’s your family at home or your work family – is your time. Not just to have the time, but “real “time. What I mean is that you’ve got to be present and in the moment… one of the definitions of “being” is “conscious existence”. We need to be consciously awake, alive and present when we are spending time with our loved ones ” ~ Randy Cohen’s book: Ticket to the Limit -- Conscious Celebrations -- Candle Night Summer & Winter Solstices 2009 Turn off the lights, take it slow. December 22, 2009 8:00p.m.-10:00p.m. http://www.candle-night.org/en/ Today, the 22nd of December, is officially the – First Day of Winter with Christmas Eve just 2 days from now... how time flies. Dave and I wish you all a Warm & Relaxing Holiday Season! -- Conscious Discussions Radio -- Conscious Discussions Talk Radio welcomes return guest Cathy Nesbitt to discover the fascinating role that worms play in manag...

-- Quote of the Day -- If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things. ~ Albert Einstein -- Chatter -- I'm exhausted - Are you? After weeks of baking and delivering of most of the xmas gift trays of goodies - appointments, interviews and traveling for business purposes... dealing with my parent's farm sale and their needs, along with their escalating illnesses... Whew - I really do feel exhausted. Yesterday, after returning from two day's of travel, we bathed the dogs and filled the fridge for the next week's worth of meals and did a pile of laundry - some day off! (ha, ha) Today, once my office-do's have been attended to, I have a long list of phone calls and a house that needs cleaning. I do wish to send out apologies to all our blog readers who expect me to be posting every single day - as I normally do - however this last month has been a little less consistant due to our schedule constraints. Dave and I wish all of our blog readers...

Authors Nanette Buchanan, Lillian Brummet, and Lorraize Elzia offer insight to inspiring authors who are taking that step toward being a published author : 5 PM - 6 PM (pacific) tonight! Dec 19th... archive will load soon after the show's conclusion and can be accessed at your convenience: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/asa-blog-talk/2009/12/20/write-that-book Find Dave & Lillian Brummet, excerpts from their books, information about their radio shows & free resources & articles at www.brummet.ca

-- Composting -- Last night we went out to a new restaurant in town and though it was not one of the best meals we had, it was presented well and filled the empty holes in our stomachs just nicely. One thing I found of interest was the waitress, Karen, said that the restaurant's organic waste goes to a pig farm! Very cool. This piece below was sent to me in an email and I wanted to share it with you today: Why Composting holds the key to solving four critical problems facing our planet: 1) Global climate change 2) The depletion of soil of key nutrients 3) Unemployment, especially in large cities 4) Energy conservation 1) Global Climate Change. By sequestering carbon in the soil, it reduces the global warming which would be otherwise caused by the carbon dioxide, released rapidly when this material is burned, or the methane that is more slowly released in landfills. Also, in as much as the addition of compost to soil, reduces the need for topsoil, derived from other sources like p...