On the Road in New Zealand Is Monsanto in the Neighborhood?
Pioneer Seed Sign: Belgium 2009
We just arrived on the South Island, having driven through from NZ’s biggest city, Auckland, down Route 1. We saw some disturbing looking corn fields with little red signs on the side, saying Pioneer. It eerily reminded us of scenes in the U.S.’s midwest fields, but not on the grand scale of course. Please see our earlier posts on how corn has crowded out the countryside in America.
How do you tell strange corn? It grows closer together than normal corn. It looks uncomfortably close together. And there’s lots of it, and of course the telltail signs at the edge of the field.
With a quick check on Wikipedia we discovered a connection with Dupont Chemical. Ykes. The mulit-national corp is everywhere. Of course, you knew that already. The saving grace, we think Kiwis have a bit more sense, and something to go on, seeing the disaster that has befallen the U.S. food supply with GMO, high fructose corn syrup, ad infinitum.
Sorry we’ve been a bit out of touch. We’ve been busy packing up our New Hampshire home, updating our programs’ webpages and heading to the Southern Hemisphere for a while. We’ve been on the eastern coast of Australia for the Holidays, and will be headed to New Zealand on January 10th.
We’ve got an exciting drumming program in Jamaica with master drumming instructor Bob Bloom, and a Personal Sustainability program called Creating a Sustainable Lifestyle in Vermont this spring in the northern hemisphere.
This is my first time in AU, and my first impressions are that the people are very generous, sincere and welcoming. the power of the continent is overwhelming. My first time sitting down to meditate, I clearly heard the words, “It’s about time you showed up.” I take this to mean, not only arriving in Australia but taking the time to sit down since my arrival and sit quietly with the place. More on this in an upcoming post.
Anyway, expect to see posts more regularly from here on out. We’ll be posting from New Zealand of course. Rumors have it that board member Bob Stremba might even come down for a visit and recon some program areas with me.
Sydney Stopover
We had a stopover in Sydney for a week seeing Amanda’s friends, (my newly found friends), before heading north to stay with family for the holidays. A very expensive city but such generous people with a welcoming attitude. It’s Amanda’s ol’ stomping ground, and she still has to show me around a bit, when we head back there on our way to New Zealand. We happened to arrive just as Oprah Winfrey was shooting a week-long segment of her show here. As it turned out, she was welcomed with opened arms, along with 300 of her audience members. I mention her because of some of the good work she’s doing, such as bringing Eckhart Tolle’s message to a broader audience, and encouraging more conscious living. The people and government of Australia were happy to have her here. The coverage will be invaluable for Australia’s tourism exposure.
The continent is proving itself to be powerful and beautiful. Although I’ve only seen a portion of it, I can feel its power taking hold.
Mountain Spirit’s Images on Flickr
You’ll be seeing images posted not only on Facebook, but on our Flickr site as well. We’ll have images from the Alps, Peru, New Zealand, the USA, and from subjects covered on our blog at WordPress.
Our images will cover not only programs and events but world issues such as sustainability and holistic living.
If you’ve not been to Piha, New Zealand, here’s a scene leaving the small west coast hamlet, driving up the narrow curving road to the lookout. The road doesn’t accommodate big trucks well. Although there is some building going on, Piha is surprisingly relaxed considering it’s about 25 minutes from New Zealand’s largest city, Auckland. We spent the NZ winter there in ’09, and this was our commute for groceries and visiting with Amanda’s sister and kids in Auckland.
During their last tour in the U.S., Chimu Inka had some time to check out New England, kick their feet up and have some fun. Here are some images of light moments during their stay with us in Sunapee, NH.
We stopped at a novelty shop in Portsmouth, NH. Guillermo Seminario had time to try on some of of the various headpieces that the U.S. has to offer.
Wachi Taype, stylin'
Wachi Taype also saw some sunglasses that seemed to fit him quite well. At least that’s what we thought.
When we visited the Statue or Liberty, Mario Montalvo was jumping for joy over his opportunity to visit the Big Apple. When we last saw the group in Cuzco, Wachi reflected on his U.S. experience – “Randy, our visit to the U.S. seems like dream”, adding, “Did it really happen?”
Mario, enthusiastic in NYC
I assured him it had, and with providence, it will happen again! We can’t wait to have these bright souls back in the U.S.A., and of course for a tour to New Zealand when we’re there.
The splendours of New Zealand are best seen by rail By Dan Poole The Independent
TranzCoastal crosses the Waimakariri
Grand Central, St Pancras, Milano Centrale – and, er, Britomart? The main station in New Zealand’s largest city sounds as though it is named after a discount car-parts retailer. In fact, Auckland’s Britomart Transport Centre occupies a handsome Victorian building on Queen Elizabeth II Square, and is apparently named after a character from The Faerie Queene.
It is also the northern terminus of New Zealand’s longest train ride – the 12-hour haul south to the capital, Wellington – known as the Overlander. And as if to hint at the views that lie ahead, it is run by Tranz Scenic. Read the rest of this story
“Vacations with a Purpose” Cover Story writes about Mountain Spirit Institute’s work in NZ/Peru
“To Travel is to Explore, Dream, Discover”
"Vacations with a Purpose" Cover Story
An article recently appeared in New Hampshire’s Kearsarge Magazine about Mountain Spirit Institute by writer Deb McKew. It can be read on our Press Clips Webpage, as an excerpt from the magazine. Click on the first listing at the top of the page. We encourage you to purchase this good read of a magazine if you’re in the New Hampshire, USA area. Publisher Laura Jean Whitcomb does a great job with the magazine.
The article has a shot of MSI founder R. Richards doing a bit of ice climbing on a glacier in Mt. Aspiring National Park, and covered Mountain Spirit’s core mission of getting people connected “with themselves, each other and the environment”, where we “combine experiential wilderness programs with spiritual development”.
Richards near Mt. Aspiring, NZ
As the article states, “some programs are solely wilderness based while others are workshop based.”
The article informs readers of the educational programs and unique nature of MSI mission of getting people out of their native countries and into the mountains and cultures abroad. Being a non-profit organization, MSI strives to bring people of different backgrounds and countries together, to learn about new ways to work together, and to re-examine one’s role in the natural environment, and in the world community.
Recently, Peru program participant, and former Mountain Spirit board President Elizabeth Sofish, PhD reminded me of a technique that seemed to help her with jet lag. I actually tried it before I left New Zealand for Peru last month. The technique along with the “No Jet Lag” homeopathic pills seemed to really do the trick. Here’s an introduction, then the technique which Betsy described to me. (more…)
Reconnecting with a Mentor By R. Richards, MSI Founder
Screen Shot of "American Bedouin"
According to an excellent 2007 Aljazeera Feature video, Erga Rehns has been living the life of a Bedouin in the desert with the Bedouin tribes of Wadi Rum for seven years. I’m not sure if she still does though. I’ll have to do more research in order to contact her again. The last, (and first) time I saw her in person was in 1981, when we first met at her little art studio and home in Obidos, Portugal.
Some people are lucky enough to be a primed for a turning point in their young lives, and come across just the right person at the right time that poses questions, and challenges one’s view of the world – who plants the seed for a paradigm shift. Most people aren’t’ aware they’re ready for that change, until years later, when they realize the shift was primed by those mentors. (more…)
Huge motorhomes rumbling down the Motorways and Interstates are proof that humans have entirely too many non-renewable resources at their disposal. What it takes to move these beasts of burden one kilometer in energy could light the two lightbulbs in my yurt for a week. OK, I actually owned a motorhome when living in Sedona Arizona, as an alternative to apartment living. We’d drive out into the desert at night and base there, while I led trips for Sedona Adventures. And yes, we drove it to Washington state, fully loaded for the Outward Bound summer season. If a motorhome is one’s main residence, it may be “going lighter” on the planet, (I think) – Maybe lighter than owning a MacMansion. If, however, it’s one’s vacation mode of travel, please read on. (more…)
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