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We are so excited for this week’s guest on the podcast, Cynthia Tina is an expert in the field of intentional communities, having traveled to over a hundred sustainability and community projects worldwide. She helps people connect to intentional communities as a matchmaker for seekers and as a consultant for growing community projects.  Cynthia is Co-Director of the Foundation for Intentional Community (FIC), a 35 year-old nonprofit dedicated to supporting intentional communities as pathways towards a more cooperative, sustainable, and just world. She is also the founder of Ecovillage Tours (since 2019), was an officeholder on the Board of Trustees for the Global Ecovillage Network (2015-2020), and was Director of the youth ecovillage network NextGENNA (2013-2018).  Cynthia lives in an intentional community in Vermont where she is currently building a passive solar home and tending a permaculture garden. Learn more and book a community matchmaking session with Cynthia at www.cynthiatina.com.  Read the full blog-post here on the Seeds of Tao website...

Sometimes the state of the world with its climate change and ecosystem destruction is so overwhelming! Where do we start!? In this week's podcast episode, Jonathan DeLong joins us to share his journey through the overwhelm to find a place where he could make a difference in the regenerative work. Let's be honest, when diving into the regenerative field it can be like Jonathan says, a "fire-hose" to the face. So let's find a place to get involved with what we have, where we're at, right now. Enjoy this week's episode! Jonathan mentions a few of the wonderful organizations he's involved in, here are a couple to check out: Seaworthy Collective Abundant Earth Foundation   Keep Growing Permies!

Hey everyone, we’re so excited to have you back for this week’s episode as we start rounding out the year. What a crazy journey it’s been this year in 2020, but I think it’s only appropriate towards the end of the year to find your enthusiasm for what will carry you into the next year. There’s no better person that could inspire enthusiasm than Matt Powers himself. Matt is a man on a mission to empower people everywhere to live more regeneratively, and he does so through his books, courses, and many resources. To check out more of what Matt’s got going… You can go to his website, or check out his new book, Regenerative Soil But What Really is Enthusiasm? Sometimes when we’re talking about words we all know and use in conversation, it’s nice to go back to a dictionary definition. And since enthusiasm became a magic word in this week’s episode with Matt, I think it would be beneficial here too. Enthusiasm is defined as intense and eager enjoyment, interest or approval. It’s also a thing that arouses feelings of intense and eager enjoyment. In the episode Matt really drives home the point of finding what makes you enthusiastic and running with it. So essentially, find what lights you up and go after that. Is that what you’re currently doing? Is there something else that lights you up more? How in line are you living with what makes you enthusiastic?  This doesn’t come easy to everyone, many people even shy away from true enthusiasm... (Read more on the Seeds of Tao website)

As we start to wrap up this year, we're excited to release two episodes this week about totally different but important topics. Earlier on Tuesday, we talked about health and leadership with Mike Garcia, and today we're talking with Caroline Cohen, who focuses more on the mindset aspect. We've found over and over again how important a positive, regenerative mindset is in the regenerative sphere (as in everywhere else, of course). We hope you enjoy this episode and come away with new ideas to improve your mindset.  If you'd like to learn more about Caroline, check out her Linked In Profile, and her Instagram is @CarolineAbigail_LC. Also, people interested  in coaching can get a free 45-minute sample session at CarolineAbigailCoaching.as.me 

This week on the Seeds of Tao Podcast we’re talking with Mike Garcia, sustainability expert and founder of EnviroscapeLA Landscaping. This is a little bit of a twist since oftentimes landscaping is the opposite of regenerative agriculture and landscape rehabilitation. However, Mike has a store of knowledge to create landscapes in Los Angeles that are ecosystem supportive, and actually beneficial to the environment. Mike has a store of knowledge and content online, you can check out more of what he’s been doing on his website, his YouTube channel (which is packed with great videos), or on his Facebook Page. That One Vital Piece In the episode Mike shared many really cool stories, we especially liked the one about his trip to a Tony Robbins seminar, and the point was brought home that you are nothing without your health. There are many aspects of building a regenerative livelihood, but all of them are less effective or irrelevant if we don’t have our health... Read the full post on the Seeds of Tao website... 

One of the most amazing things about permaculture is that it inspires us to channel our creative energy into everything around us. In this week’s episode of the Seeds of Tao Podcast, we’re talking with Javan Bernakevich about his amazing journey through natural building, permaculture land design, and eventually holistic permaculture life design. Javan is a big mover and shaker in the industry, we’re grateful to have him as our guest, with his extensive knowledge and experience. Let’s dive in! Read the full blog post on the Seeds of Tao website...

This week on the Seeds of Tao Podcast we're addressing the big scary elephant in the room for everyone - death. It sucks. It's happening all over the globe, and it's going to happen to both of us. Now that we've gotten that out, let's dive into moving past this fear and into a place of presence. If we can stay fully present, we can move forward with peace and confidence throughout our lives, rather than be stuck in a place of fear and paranoia.  The Big D All over the world, we’re facing a global pandemic, so naturally, we’re paying more attention to death rates this year. (Though the actual effect of COVID on the death rate is still negotiable, the numbers of actual COVID deaths are HIGHLY controversial) Many of us are still at home, away from everyone else, putting a lot of time and energy into not catching COVID… avoiding a possibly fatal disease. The thing is, spending our time focusing on death or the possibility of illness isn’t going to do us any good. Sure we can strategize preparations to make, but other than that, it’s really out of our hands.  For some people that can be crippling. We’re not 100% going to control when we get sick, or when we die. So how do we move forward with knowledge of this impending doom that could strike at any moment? We need to STOP focusing on the future and start staying present.  View the full blog post on the Seeds of Tao website...

Bonita Ford joins us this week on the Seeds of Tao Podcast Episode 063 as we dive into cultivating hope, even in the darkest of times. Bonita is a non-violent communication expert, group facilitator, and coach who combines permaculture with non-violent communication, body and nature awareness, movement, and Reiki into her work. She’s just released her first book, Embers of Hope which she describes in the episode. Especially in these times of pandemics and uncertainty, her message of hope in the darkness is vitally important for us to utilize and maintain the regenerative mindset we seek. Get in touch with Bonita: https://www.embersofhopebook.com/ http://livinghearth.net/ https://www.instagram.com/ourlivinghearth/ https://www.facebook.com/bonita.ford.1 Here's where she first took a PDC: https://merrittlandhort.com/programs/academic-programs/permaculture-design/ Here's where she got her permaculture diploma: https://permaculture-upp.org/le-cursus-de-formation/dpa-diplome-de-permaculture-appliquee/ NVC resources: https://www.cnvc.org/   https://nvctraining.com/   Lighting the Fire In the episode, Bonita shares her journey of writing her book and the struggles she was having before her friend fell very ill and passed away. In this process, Bonita went to a very dark place, and found that she did not have to stay in that dark place, but could still have hope. This hope pulled her from the darkest places and yet allowed her to stay in the dark places if necessary and work through them in a way that helped her to value each and every day we have on this earth. She says, “If we can hold ourselves gently and courageously in that dark place, then it really shows us how precious our lives are.” In her book, Embers of Hope, she relates this to building a fire.  If you’ve ever built a fire by hand with primitive tools or a bow drill, not matches or a lighter,  you’ll know how much work goes into creating that first ember, and how very precious it is to keep alive. These small pieces of light and hope are likewise extremely important for us, especially in times of darkness in our lives. That ember looks different for everyone, for some it’s their spouse or their kids, maybe it’s their community or their work, it doesn’t matter what shape it takes, just that it’s a light point to focus on when things get rough. Read the full post on the Seeds of Tao website...

Welcome back, friends! This week we’re diving into a SUPER important topic that affects permies (and everyone else for that matter) worldwide. That topic is financial sovereignty. Laura Oldanie is joining us to share her journey and epiphanies she has had over the years as she has sought to create a stable financial life. Laura is such a great resource, in fact we had her teaching the group in one of our MOKR Masterminds not long ago. To check out more of what Laura’s up to… Her website is https://www.richandresilientliving.com/ Or you can follow her on social media on: Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest   In the episode she also mentions having a ton of student loan resources for those of you trying to get out of student loan debt: https://thecollegeinvestor.com/student-loan-guide/ https://thecollegeinvestor.com/578/ways-to-get-student-loan-forgiveness/ https://thecollegeinvestor.com/student-loan-forgiveness-programs-by-state/ https://singlemothersgrants.org/help-with-paying-off-student-loans/ https://thebudgetnistablog.com/student-loan-tips/ https://studentdebtcrisis.org/tools/ https://sites.google.com/studentdebtcrisis.org/borrower-resource-center https://sites.google.com/studentdebtcrisis.org/borrower-resource-center https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/how-to-spot-student-loan-scam   What a Capital Idea! Laura shares many awesome epiphanies and ideas throughout the podcast episode this week, but here in the blog post we really wanted to hone in on one big idea she shared - that there are eight forms of capital. This is such a wonderful concept because we really shouldn’t have tunnel vision and only look at capital around us in terms of $$$. Rather, we need to use our wide-angle vision to adequately see the resources that are abounding around us. So let’s dive into the eight forms of capital that Laura brought up!  Read the full post on the Seeds of Tao website here

Welcome back to our next installment of the Seeds of Tao Podcast! This week we have a fantastic, super-knowledgeable guest with us, Jorge Eduardo Acevedo Pallares, who is a climate change and sustainability consultant. In the episode, Jorge shares his awesome permaculture journey from Mexico to Australia and through projects he’s undertaken, such as building a house out of clay and local waste products. So inspiring! If you’d like to check out more about what he has going on, check out the following… Jorge’s page on Facebook: Casa Urbana Sustentable Linkedin article to know more about CUS Airbnb link to book a stay: Booking a room and Booking the whole house  TEDx Talk: TBC World Green Building Council for more trustworthy information about sustainable construction The Unseen Costs of Modern Homes In this week’s episode, Jorge and Josh spent a lot of time talking about traditional vs. natural home building...  Check out the blog post for the full show notes and additional resources.

Welcome back, everyone! We’ve got another World Report this week, focusing on Earth Care. No matter where you’re located in the world, surely you’re aware of the crazy mega-wildfires we’ve been dealing with increasingly for the past years. What the heck!? Is the world just burning up? Well, kind of. This week as we focus on Earth Care, we’re talking about wildfires and what we can do about them to become more resilient mentally and physically. The inspiration for this episode and blog post is coming from Javan K. Bernakevitch’s YouTube video…  Check out Javan's Facing Fire Documentary along with the full blog post on our website.

Welcome to this week’s blog post! This week we’re talking with Ray Milidoni from Australia, a super knowledgeable permie-preneur, always out to help people push their dreams forward and connect with others. Today in the podcast he’s sharing the very special epiphany he had, to “know thyself,” and encourages everyone to master this principle instead of trying to conform to what everyone else thinks you should be or do. Ray is a Pando student and frequent attendee of out MOKR Masterminds, so if you’d like to get to know Ray more, come to one of our Masterminds, or check out the following: Resources: Stay Sharp Kolbe Test Farming Secrets Cookie Cutter Education We start this episode with Ray sharing a really funny story about how, as a child, he would disassemble his toys to find out how they worked, and how our education system is hard for those who think outside the box. Ray mentions how schools don’t prepare so many needful skills for life, so where do we turn when we get out of school? Often self-help books or programs. We seek extra education to fill in the gaps that are left after we graduate.  I struggled with this a lot as well. I actually did really well in the education system, I knew how to work the system, memorize just what I needed to get A’s and only learn enough for the tests, and then forget most of it. I did walk away with some valuable skills like public speaking and a wider world view, but when I graduated, I was a hot mess. Just like Ray, I eventually found personal development and realized I had a HUGE gap in my knowledge of how to handle my mindset, and I had serious emotional baggage I was carrying around. My inability to express myself in fear of disappointing people made communication and connection really hard for me. My first dive into personal development was with Kirk Duncan and 3 Key Elements. They totally changed my world, but I also found a lot of value in the permaculture movement and the lessons from nature we can apply to our minds and emotions. Josh and I have gone through a lot of personal development books and pieces of training, as Ray has, and we’ve definitely had to come to our own realization of what works, and what doesn’t for us in particular.  For more on this week's podcast head over to our website...

This week on the Seeds of Tao Podcast we have Daniel Kleinman with us, a marine robotics engineer passionate about creating awareness of the issues our oceans are facing and inspiring us to get out there and do something about it. To get involved with Daniel or follow his journey check out… https://www.seaworthycollective.com/ You can follow him on social at... https://www.facebook.com/seaworthycollective/ https://twitter.com/SeaworthyCollec https://www.instagram.com/seaworthycollective/ A Universal Problem In permaculture, we talk a lot about how there are many issues in the world needing fixing, but we need to start with our communities to create real, lasting change. That doesn’t mean that we should be disconnected from the global problems we’re facing though. And what about the oceans? If we live inland, we aren’t really connected to them, right? Check out the full blog post and show notes for this episode on our website...

Welcome back to another episode of the Seed of Tao Podcast, this week with not one, but two return guests who we know and love, Adam Brock and Marie-Pierre (MP) Bilodeau. This week is a unique episode, MP is sharing her community food forest project in a diverse neighborhood, and the struggles she is finding along her way, and Adam is weighing in with his extensive knowledge of social permaculture.    If you’d like to get in contact with Adam or MP, they are both in our Slack community, or here are their individual contact resources…   Adam Brock: His website is adambrock.me His book is Change Here Now is available through his website or on amazon.   Marie-Pierre Bilodeau: Her organization, Refarmers can be found on her site at https://refarmers.org/ (the images in this post are from Refarmer's work in Africa) MP is also a frequent attendee of our weekly MOKR Mastermind First, Build Relationships In the episode this week there is just an abundance of wisdom and insight from the conversation, but a really important place the conversation started was with relationships. MP was sharing about the other two people who are spearheading this community food forest project with her, and Adam chimed in to emphasize the importance of relationships in the success of our projects. He related, “If the group doesn’t really trust each other, all the shadows within that group will be projected outward, into all of the things that group does together.” Sometimes we will band together with people because we share a common vision, and yet if we’re not working on that interpersonal relationship with them, we’re undermining the potential for that vision’s success... (Read more on the Seeds of Tao Podcast)

This is a great conversation this week on the Seeds of Tao Podcast. We are talking with Joe Nisbett, a permaculture student of Geoff Lawton and recent graduate from grad school as he seeks to find his place between the edge culture of permaculture, and mainstream society. If you’d like to get in contact with Joe, you can through these channels:   Joenisbett.com joenisbett@gmail.com linkedin.com/in/joenisbett   @joe.nisbett on Instagram @joeneilnisbett on Facebook   If you’d like to get in contact with or learn more about the permaculture student club he founded at Auburn University, you can here:   https://auburn.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/permaculturetigers permaculturetigers@gmail.com   @permaculturetigers on Instagram and Facebook    Also, for anyone thinking about these ideas of center and edgework:  Permaculture Institute of North American, North American Leadership Summit - Join the Mainstream Action working group: https://pina.in/about-the-north-america-leadership-summit/ Catching the Permaculture Bug We began this episode with Joe quoting Geoff Lawton about how permaculture is a virus, once you catch it starts taking over, and you inevitably spread it to others around you. This is such a great analogy. We have had many guests on the podcast, and all of them talk about their awakening to permaculture as a life-changing event. It is so life-changing, in fact, that many people will drop their previous career or lifestyle goals, and pivot to go after new dreams of homesteading regenerative farming, and eco-villages. Sometimes their permaculture epiphany will lead them to almost completely removing themselves from society... Read the full post at SeedsofTao.com