bogfrog

^ A very good point indeed, one which has not escaped my awareness, although I suppose its a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' kinda situation. I had similar thoughts in mind when I was looking at Steiner education. Schooling which creates an environment unto itself - where different patterns apply and the community generates its own ways of doing and seeing - will enevitably produce atleast some young people who do not and cannot feel at home in mainstream society, and who will be baffled by the status quo, having seen alternatives in action which do work. Yet it seems to me atleast that the majority of these people would feel very much the same having moved through mainstream education, although by spending atleast the formative years of their life in environments in which they are accepted and valued for who they are, their creativity and imagination fostered, and their emotional and moral spheres given due consideration, may generate a kind of internal stability which leads to resilience in facing our genuinely insane cultural paradigm. I've had some interesting conversations recently with ex-Steiner pupils, who by large seem to be profoundly imaginative, creative and insightful, walking to the beat of their own drum.. And also ex-pupils of alternative schools where learning is much more self-governed and self-directed.. It's hard to describe exactly what is different about these people, they seem to carry the a depth of knowledge of the ways in which our world runs backwards, but still they walk forward in their own way. Of course that's just the slim snippet I have seen anyway. Otherwise yeah, I agree completely, it's a head-warper alright.

Yes! Agreed - very much so. Although I'm interested to hear what ya'll think in relation to childhood spirituality. I am deeply against religious indoctrination within school, though I feel that fostering spiritual awareness outside of the confines of religious doctrine is something that needs consideration. I am very much an advocate of holistic approaches to education, working with the domains of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual development equally - although I find many people do not have a clear concept of what spirituality is outside of religion. To me it is working with and honouring the unseen aspects of our existence, looking at the ways in which we are intrinsically connected to the world around us, and the common threads that bind human experience. Personally I feel that all children should have the right to explore their own notions of spirit in settings that welcome this, and without governing or dictating how spirituality is explored, I feel that certain tools such as mindfulness meditation could offer a wonderful foundation from which children can explore their own self awareness and develop stablity and self-governance according to their own internal compass of what feels right for them as individuals. What do you guys think? There have been some interesting reactions in relation to mindfulness in particular, there is a school in the lower South Island that introduced mindfulness meditation as an aspect of their daily curriculum, leading to outrage from some parents of Christian belief systems, some of whom even declared they do not want the devil infiltrating their children's minds! To me this says a huge amount about our culture, if coming into contact with the witness self and exploring the internal world, dialouging with the inner voice - is seen as the devil entering our minds - doesn't that suggest that our own awareness is devilish? Given the endless torrents of media and the glorification of addictive behaviour, our society at large seems to want to repress our awareness to such an extent that we will blindly accept culture as it stands, without looking at the ways in which it could be improved to benefit all participants. I dunno. Interested to hear what anyone has to say anyway. And seriously, no pressure whatsoever to confine the discussion to any age group!

Hmmm, just my personal take on this, but I'm not so much a fan of this idea..having attended an all girls high school for a good chunk of my secondary schooling I am inclined to think we learn best when given accurate expressions of society in our education. While there's likely some potential benefits to the approach, more so in high school I'd say - I would consider that segregation according to the sexes limits our capability to properly relate to and understand the opposite sex. I have been told that the notion of boys 'lagging behind' intellectually is not a particularly accurate representation, and likely stems from differences in learning style and simply expresses the need for further inquiry into personal learning processes - working the education system to fit the learners, rather than expecting them to accommodate the system. I see a parallel between this and the concept that children with impairments should be educated in specially designed schools without contact with un-impaired peers. The primary problem being that almost all learning occurs in social contexts, drawing meaning from the expression and activity of all participants in our cultural group. If our cultural group is intentionally limited to those who are functioning in the same or a very similar way as us, development is limited, we only experience what we already know first hand. Greater potential for developing understanding occurs when we are exposed to alternative views, different ways of approaching learning and behaviour that is unfamiliar to us. Then we have the opportunity to clarify our own perspective in relationship to its opposite.

Awesome, thanks for all your thoughtful responses, very useful indeed and much in alignment with my own areas of emphasis. Responsible Choice, you hit the nail on the head, especially that 1st point you made. I feel a lot of the injurious activity teachers partake in stems from a sense of superiority over children, alocated by possessing a greater chronological age. What is missing from this equation is the consideration that there is innate wisdom and power within every being - regardless of the affixed number. Integration of the arts is a crucial one too, as far as I'm concerned. If creative and artistic expression were given due standing in education I expect we could see greater acceptance of non-linear and intuitive learning, moving away from the notion of intellectual development having highest priority and opening towards symbolic and emotional avenues of development. Getafix - I completely agree. Gardening is such a multifaceted domain I couldn't imagine any tangible reason why it isn't a necessary component of every educational system.. it offers endless opportunities for planning, action, observation, reflection, experimentation and of course the ultimate joy that arises from experiencing the fruits of one's efforts. Another strongpoint being that kids are often much more open to eating veggies which they otherwise wouldn't touch. Reverence for nature and developing a greater understanding of natural cycles and processes has provided the foundation for the majority of my own learning as a wee person, although this was for the most part self directed outside of school hours. Thankfully due to the rise of nature based education this is slowly gaining focus as a valuable component of learning, however it may be quite some time before it is given due recognition as a vehicle for valuable lifelong learning. Anodyne - excellent posts! Thank you! While the age group I'm working in is pre-primary, I still can glean a lot of useful direction from your advocation of the scientific method. Thankfully the open-endedness of education in this age range leads to a lot of self-directed investigation. Developing a sense of their own capability to find and evaluate the information they seek may occur in less directly obvious forms in such young children, but I think facilitating this within the earliest experiences of learning can lay some really strong foundations for the future. One qualm I face is - as being a source of information, one who is approached with questions, I am always and unavoidably filtering my responses through the matrix of my own thoughts, feelings and experiences, thus sculpting the nature of the response through the nature of who I am. I feel compelled as such to remain a vigilant observer of my own output, and try to minimise the unnecessary conference of my own beliefs and values. Thunder - What you say about providing different possible conclusions and leaving it to the thinkers to decide for themselves is a very good approach. Allowing the power to rest with the thinker themselves to choose the explanation that sits right with them best should go a long way in faciliating self awareness and knowledge of the power one has to make their own decisions, the right to having preferences and the ability to stand by these even when others may not agree. MountainGoat - thanks for your input, it's really good to hear from someone who is already working in this field. I guess the main problem presented by the idea of non-compulsory schooling is that in our current cultural paradigm, school exists for more reasons than simply education. In some ways I have considered it to be a byproduct of industrialised culture, children need somewhere safe and somewhat regulated so their parents can work..if parents were not obliged to work all day and school was optional then I expect very few children would choose to be away from their homes and families for such substantial blocks of time. But yeah. Absolutely see your point. I really disliked school personally and feel i gained a lot more from the learning I engaged in outside of the classroom. Yet the insistent pressure of educators upon children to learn what is prescribed is definately something I will consider. The open-endedness and child-centred approach of early years education is what drew me in this direction as apposed to primary or secondary education. Yet any headway made before formal schooling may become redundant if not followed through by teachers who have similar intentions. Sadly I agree that the purpose of education as it stands is primarily indoctrination and specialisation towards a particular career. I suppose if more voices arise to point out the fallibility of prescriptive education some headway could be made. I have been quite inspired by the way in which some children are taking this scenario into their own hands, I wonder if any of you have heard of Logan LePlante? He created his own educational system called Hackschooling, a surprisingly sophisticated yet flexiable and dynamic system which allows him to explore what he would like to learn, when he wants to: Anodyne - great point about punishment. This is a somewhat forbidden word in my field, yet I've seen it still operates in much the same way, yet through subtler behaviours and practices. If as a standard, behaviour which caused harm to others was discussed with all parties involved and the implications and results explored in a non-accusatory and non-judgemental manner, conflict resolution could be seen as an opportunity for development rather than a negative experience without any form of merit. Honesty is something I had already been considering, although from the opposite side of the coin, being truthful with children rather than covering the reality with fluff and niceness because we underestimate their capacity to recognise and comprehend the truth of the matter. Developmental appropriateness always considered of course, but I really dislike the way many adults are prone to answering genuine questions with responses like "that's just the way it is" or "because I said so, now do as you have been told". In taking such a stance we dishonour the intelligence of the questioner and disregard the value of the curiosity which prompted the questioning. Phew, sorry it took me a couple days to formulate some responses, and thank you all for your wonderful input!

Don't go.... it wouldn't be the same without your epic maniacal cactus-aficionado-ness!!

I really dislike being sick, but there is a silver lining... Primarily the guilt free ample rest, but also DCLIW you're sick and start to loose your voice, it goes all super squeaky and makes anything you say sound like its coming from the mouth of a small animated forest creature. Simple pleasures eh.

Hi all, I was recently given some water kefir grains and also a ginger beer bug. Water kefir produces a sugary, bubbly drink which is beneficial for your dygestive system and over-all health. You start with a small amount of grain and it grows in a jar of water and sugar with a few raisins to show when it is ready to strain. Once the raisins are all floating on the top (2 days in mild waether, only 1 day in hot weather), you drain the liquid into a bottle, seal and leave for secondary fermentation, and you rinse your kefir grains under cold water and start another brew. Healthy water kefir reproduces itself at a rate of 100-150% with each brew, so you are continuously ending up with more, giving you plenty of opportunities to experiment or pass it on to friends and family. I have just completed my first brew and its really not bad! You can also flavour your brews with fruit juice or honey. Heres a little info i dreged up, and i will soon have spare water kefir grains and ginger beer bug to pass onto any kiwi members who wish to try it. http://tibicos.org/faq/kefir-health-benefits/ "Q. What is Kefir? A. Kefir is a hand-crafted, effervescent, cultured and enzyme-rich probiotic beverage filled with friendly microbes to help balance your inner-ecosystem. This beverage can only be made with live Kefir Grains. The term Kefir Grains describes the look of the culture only and can be a misnomer as they do not contain any grain such as wheat or rye. There are two types of grains, Water Kefir Grains and Milk Kefir Grains. In general, both types of Kefir Grains are a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast in a polysaccharide matrix. Water Kefir Grains are cultured in a solution of sugar and water. Water Kefir Grains can also culture in natural fruit juices containing sugar or young coconut water. Milk Kefir Grains are cultured in dairy including cow milk, goat milk, or sheep milk. Q. Why drink Kefir? A. Drinking beneficial bacteria will improve digestion and thus overall health. Foremost, a healthy digestive system ensures absorption of vitamins and minerals into the rest of the body which is critical to maintaining health. Over time poor diet, stress, lack of sleep, and many other factors contribute to a digestive track ridden with toxins and harmful bacteria and opportunistic yeast. These plague the immune system preventing absorption and digestion of vital nutrients into the rest of the body. Over time the buildup of toxins deplete our energy and prevent healing from disease. By introducing friendly bacteria and beneficial yeast into the diet on a daily basis we are constantly fighting the war against toxins and harmful microbes inside our digestive tract. Ancient chinese medicine believe digestion to be a critical starting point to improving ones health. Q. What are beneficial yeasts? A. Beneficial yeasts found in Kefir can dominate, control and eliminate destructive pathogenic yeasts in the body. They do so by protecting the mucosal lining where unhealthy yeast and bacteria reside, forming an army that cleans up and strengthens your intestines. The body becomes more efficient in resisting such pathogens as E. coli and intestinal parasites and preventing opportunistic yeast like Candida from taking over. Q. How does Kefir compare to yogurt? A. Overall, commercially available yogurt is much less effective than Kefir. Yogurts may be pasteurized killing all beneficial microbes. Some products contain synthetic stabilizers which make them more difficult to digest. More importantly commercial products have less potent probiotics. Specially, the bacteria and yeast found in commercial yogurt are transient meaning they will not colonize your digestive tract. Kefir contains several major strains of beneficial bacteria not commonly found in yogurt (e.g., Lactobacillus kefyr, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris, and Lactococcus lactis subsp. diacetylactis). Kefir also contains beneficial yeasts, such as Saccharomyces kefir, which can dominate, control and eliminate destructive pathogenic yeasts in the body. They do so by protecting the mucosal lining where unhealthy yeast and bacteria reside, forming an army that cleans up and strengthens your intestines. The body becomes more efficient in resisting such pathogens as E. coli and intestinal parasites. Q. Who should drink Kefir? A. Everyone. Kefir is excellent for healthy men and women, pregnant and nursing women, children, the elderly, and those with compromised immunity. Q. When should I drink Kefir? A. Anytime. It may be helpful in the morning as a replacement for caffeine. It works well in the afternoon as an energy boost. It may be used to reduce cravings for food or sweets. Coconut Water Kefir may be best after exercise to rehydrate and revitalize your body. Q. How much Water Kefir should I consume? A. Water kefir is a very powerful probiotic. It is more powerful than commercially available Kefir and Kombucha. Most people may start with 1 ounce per day. Within a few days you can increase it to 1 ounce a few times per day. Children or elderly may want to start with 1/4 ounce per day. As you improve your digestive system and release toxins you may consume more and more. Listen to your body. Q. How do I know when I consumed to much? A. As the digestive tract improves and rebuilds with beneficial microbes, toxins will leave the body. Some temporary symptoms may include headache, general aches, nausea, diarrhea and other flu-like symptoms. This is the body’s natural way of cleansing and detoxing with the help of the new army of beneficial microbes introduced. If these symptoms become uncomfortable reduce consumption or skip a day. A very toxic body may benefit from a slower cleansing to avoid this discomfort. If the body is less toxic to begin with these symptoms may never be experienced. Q. What age can children begin to consume Kefir? A. Ultimately this depends on your judgement as a parent. Mothers may give Coconut Water Kefir to babies in very small amounts. Mothers may also consume Coconut Water Kefir while breastfeeding. Q. What are possible side effects or allergic reactions to Kefir? A. Water Kefir is a very powerful probiotic. It is more powerful than commercially available Kefir and Kombucha. As the digestive tract improves and rebuilds with beneficial microbes, toxins will leave the body. Some temporary symptoms may include headache, general aches, nausea, diarrhea and other flu-like symptoms. This is the body’s natural way of cleansing and detoxing with the help of the new army of beneficial microbes introduced. If these symptoms become uncomfortable reduce consumption or skip a day. A very toxic body may benefit from a slower cleansing to avoid this discomfort. If the body is less toxic to begin with these symptoms may never be experienced."

Can't do these ones on your want list but depending on your space avail I still have far too many veg and herb seeds, lemme know if your keen and I can relay my list. Good to hear you're in a place of stability ready for greenfingeredness All the best bro

Just found these in a mates garden on the tomatoes.. Never seen them before...anyone know what they are?

A project i am quite interested in would be to catalouge the different non ordinary abilities that come up in dreams. For a while when I was recording lots of my dreams I was also recording in the back of the book the different things that would come up. Would be awesome to get a whole bunch of dreamers collecting data on what we can do and cross-referencing to build a clearer picture of the potential of our time spent in dreams. I think it could help us all remember how much we are capable of.

Woah, cool dream Dreamwalker. I have seen the gravity defying water too, tried to take a shower in a dream once and all the water flowed up out of the plug hole and collected in the ceiling - I had to jump up to dunk my hair in the levitating glob of water. Interestingly the rest of the dream you just describes triggers something else, a similar dream and themes.. We had just been shipwrecked and i was with my family (who arent actually my family) and after finding this coastal cave we went into it to a certain depth before a huge cavern opened up and there was a rope hanging from above, so we all climbed up the rope into the top of the cave and then clambered through a trapdoor into an amazing old house filled with magical objects which appear like random antiques but each have unique magical properties. It was a safe place, and it felt amazing to be there in a timeless sanctury, it felt perhaps safer than anywhere else on the planet and I remember having to leave, really wanting to stay, but being told we could only stay long enough to to take certain ancient books and the power objects we would need for the journey ahead. I remember rushing along a forest path with my younger brother and sister (I'm actually an only child) lugging all these sacred texts and talismans and i had using this ornate chair leg-looking wooden thing to telepathically communicate with a fox, ensuring it wouldn't try to eat us and would just let us pass by.

I just love those water droplet and spine pics! A very beautiful bridgesii indeed, nice one.

In March 2015, Wellington will host the Psychedelics in Art, Science and Healing Symposium!! This is the first of any such event I have heard of taking place in New Zealand, and I certainly hope it generates enough interest and support to become an ongoing thing. A campaign has been established seeking support to fund the event - if you are not in a position to contribute financially, please help to spread the word! Check this link for details on speakers, film screenings and ways you can contribute: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/psychedelics-in-art-science-and-healing-2015 "The psychedelic community has not yet come together and joined arms in New Zealand. Although we have much to offer, we must raise the level of awareness, conversation and action around Psychedelics in the arts, in therapy, in science and in society generally. We hope to bring legitimacy and a sense of motion to the psychedelic community here by collecting everything we have and displaying it so everyone who wants to can find us. Psychedelics in the arts: painting, digital art, tattoo, film, jewelry, music Psychedelics in Therapy: PTSD, anxiety disorders, depression, addiction, alcoholism Psychedelics in Science: The 'hard problem' of consciousness - who are we? Where are we going? New Zealand is quietly becoming a leader in Psychedelic Science: We are the only country where Ibogaine is a prescription Medicine, we've had a trial in Dunedin for Ketamine's efficacy in ameliorating end-of-life anxiety and currently we have an MDMA trial in Auckland treating Tinnitus of all things. As a nation we're industrious free-thinkers looking to cross the horizon. It's time to take up our mantle and speak freely about these potentially highly beneficial substances. We have a lot to offer and it's time to show it!" :) can't wait!

Yep yep Whoops sorry mate I got you muddled up in my head with someone else who was looking for lobelia inflata. Hey Nailthesnail, have you got any pics? I could maybe confirm or deny it for ya. I'm about to harvest my silene, it's been growing for 3 years now. Wish I grew 10 plants instead of one so I could share it round but I'll be sure to report back on it.

This lady sells silene capensis seeds sometimes. http://www.howtogarden.co.nz/index.php/catalog/herbs/ She doesn't have them listed atm but I would try shoot her an email and ask cause smaller quantities are often available but not on website. She has lobelia inflata too, and a number of other interesting med herbs

Not sure if this is quite what your asking about, im not very informed on all this, just know it works for me, I'm told it is what neurotransmitters are built from so is helpful for growing new wiring: SAM-e It's great stuff. http://www.healthpost.co.nz/cellfood-cellfood-sam-e-wns.html

I'm sure there's a number of avo-heads around here, and given its avocado season I think it's time to suggest that ya'll try an avocado chocolate mousse! I'm sure many adaptations and substitutions could be made to this recipie, But as a general outline you'll need: 2 ripe avacados 1/4 cup of cocoa 1/4 cup of coconut milk/ oat milk/ soy milk or cow milk 1 tbsp sugar A splosh of maple syrup/ agave syrup Peel avocado, take out seed, mash (I used a sieve and a spoon, and just smushed the avo thru the gause, that worked well, or a food processor would be an easy way to make this if you got one) Sift cacao into the mashed avocado, combine well before adding sugar and syrup, mix, add milk, mix more. Chill. Serve with fresh berries and yogurt. Nom nom nom...

Veda Ram

Yeah. Fricii. That's what the seed was meant to be anyway. It's looking more pink than red today. Seems to be showing a light variegation..unless its just sick. Can see it better in full sun..splitting too

A Garden Which Belongs To Bog Here is my little Boggy, note the monstrose bunny ears growing out of her head That'l do for now. I'll update this thread over spring and summer with any spectacular new growth or new plants. Happy "spring" everyone.

Thought its about time for a wee update. I haven't been such a planthead this year, so excuse my mangling of botanical names if this becomes the case. After I lost my greenhouse and got super busy with uni I haven't been particularly greenfingered and so am slowly loosing some of my names as a result. The collection has been slimmed down by atleast a third in preparation for moving islands. Most of my plants will stay with my family when I go, so will only get the odd opportunity now and then to pamper them and post pics. Luckily most plants have adapted to my haphazard care strategies and become rather resilient. Lets hope this continues.. Haworthia atrofusca, Mammilaria thereseae, scopulicola x spachianus on pere Mammilaria elongata cristate Lechtungbergia principlis, ss01 x Peruvianus (or whichever way that went... Nitrogens seed), ummm some kind of Nitrogen trichocereus mutant cross, more recent generation than the other one, for some reason I thought a name label was unnecessary and that I would always be able to remember... Not the case... Some kind of echeveria.. Lost the tag... Ariocarpus fissuratus x2, crassula 'fawlty towers' - coromandel cacti cultivar Front left: I thiiiink that this is an ariocarpus agavoides x some other ariocarpus, most likely kotschoubeyanus, but I'll have to ask my mate to be sure, front right: ariocarpus fissuratus, Back left: ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus, back right: ariocarpus kotschoubeyanus elephantidens Cut the primo piece off my variegated pachanoi crest and sold the rest to my mate so he can propagate it like mad Astrophytum asterias, haworthia bayerii and haworthia bayerii hybrid, some slow growers, mostly ariocarpus retusus Close up of the haworthia bayerii's..such cool patterning Stapelia which is beginning to crest, TPQC x TPM, strombocactus disciformis Haworthia pygmaea Crystalline form Ariocarpus retusus + I have a couple other intriguing pieces of plant material... Got given this yam recently, it's begun to sprout so I'll try grow it on and see if I can make a cultivar of crested yams.. And I been making some collaborative art with Gaia.. That's all for now, will take pics of outside plants and garden soon, cheers

https://soundcloud.com/fine-cut-bodies/fine-cut-bodies-beetle-in-the?in=fine-cut-bodies/sets/do-beetles-dream-of-hedgehogs

I also have had a really vivid wild imagination all my life, and at primary school used to put this to use coming up with "folk-lore" to terrify my friends. We went to a rural school so there was heaps of forest and rivers and swamps around. I remember explaining to my best friend that just down the road from her house I had recently been attacked by a disgusting swamp-man who had grey green skin, which dripped slime like snot as he moved, webbed fingers and gaping black holes in his head instead of eyes. I told her that he rose out of the swamp and chased me all the way home. Another friend stopped coming to visit cause I told her that our hedge was home to a whole family of spirits who had lived at my house before me but had been viciously murdered.. There was no such murder of course.. I consider these kind of depraved things to do because we were only little kids, 5-6ish and I never let anyone know they were just fabrications so people continued to avoid the parts of the wilderness I had told them were inhabited by ghoulys.

.. When I was 4 one of my primary occupations was catching moths, and collecting the dust off their wings. I had this little jar of it. I thought it was like fairy dust. When I had enough I sprinkled the dust over myself just before I jumped off a shed roof, hoping to fly. I didn't fly. Poor moths. I still feel guilty.