Glad you stopped by! I don't know about you, but sometimes it's hard for me to find the kind of posts I enjoy reading on the general feeds. That is where the ecoTrain steps in! This magazine brings together fantastic posts from the @ecoTrain on many themes. Have a scroll down and see what catches your eye. There is something for everyone here!
The @ecotrain is group of around 17 people on Steemit. Just like in a real train, we have a driver ( 
The idea of the ecoTrain birthed with the founding principle of Service To Mankind and the world around us. The full name of this ecoTrain is "ecoTrain Seva"
"Selfless service or Seva in Sanskrit (Punjabi: ਸੇਵਾ) is a service which is performed without any expectation of result or award for performing it. Such services can be performed to benefit other human beings or society."
This name is used to highlight the idea of working without any expectation of reward since it's easy to forget when we are getting upvotes and money from Steemit. Our primary goal is to give service to the world and the people in the form our our posts and up votes. What financial rewards we get are just a bonus! We may make money, but that is not the main goal!
Please scroll to read the Magazine!
What is Natural?
I strive to live a mostly natural life. It's not always the easiest way to live, being bombarded with so much stuff that is been promoted as being more convenient, that in reality makes us step further and further away from what comes naturally. It is natural to want to protect our homes, to want to protect our families and it seems that that is exactly what the media uses to start us down this spiral of detachment from the natural world, from our natural selves. Our home is this planet so protecting it should be paramount in what we wish to achieve today, but instead we see our homes as being only the structures that we live in, walls, that contain us, that separate us.
Steemit Vision Quest: Night Flight
This is my entry to the Steemit Vision Quest-Week 2 - Night Flight. Thank you
for this Vision Quest and creating this great opportunity to bring more people together on Steemit. I am not a painter, I do not draw very well, but I do like to express myself through words, so my entry is a collection of words.Passport Photos and Microbes
Today my mission was to get my passport photos done, I can apply for my new passport online, which is great and alot more convenient. I only had to get the photos taken, which can be taken at home and corrected online. The main requirement is a white background. Easy enough at first thought, but guess what I don't really have any white background to stand in front of. The walls in my truck are covered in brown paper which we stained in orange and reds and some we left brown. So no white in here. The outside is wooden so still no white, Ok so how about the garden caravan,(which holds the garden tools ) no that's a bit too dirty. So I look for a white bed sheet, but no don't do white bed sheets, not with kids and all the outdoor living. Trying to keep anything white is too much hard work.
"Focus on the Future" Friday - Becoming a Farm Hand?!
Happy Friday everyone! With the end of this week comes another personal development article where I explore in what ways I have grown and what ways I need to continue improving! First and foremost, I have an interview this Sunday! I’ll be touring a small dairy farm (it’s Wisconsin… duh) near where my boyfriend currently lives and applying to be a part-time farm hand that helps out with milking, mucking, and feeding calves. I am both incredibly excited and nervous. I like working with small teams of people (or animals) instead of the fast paced and high stress “customer service” realm so that is a plus. Also it’ll be nice to have a job in that location so my boyfriend and I can continue planning to move in together.
How I Helped a Yogi Build A Fully Fledged Earthship With No Budget and 30 Volunteers! Rishikesh Yoga Ashram
This is the story about Yogi Amitram and I, and the incredible achievements of building a 1200 sqft off-grid Earthship at his new Yoga Ashram in Rishikesh. Yogi Amitram was inspired by Earthship Biotecture and got in touch with me in 2014 to ask for my help to assist him with the creation of the first Earthship inspired Yoga Ashram in the world. I get a lot of calls for help, but Yogi Amitram's passion, conviction and his beautiful nature inspired me to help him. He had no money and was planning to fund raise for the build as we went along. He had faith and total belief in what he was doing, and was happy to attend a workshop I was holding in south India at just that time. Yogi Amitram traveled 1000's of Km's to attend, and I was duly impressed that he not only did all the grunt work in his white robes, but also somehow managed to keep them clean! That is a sign of a true Yogi!
The ecoVillage Coin: A New Approach For Off-Grid and Sustainable Communities. My Vision For Blockchain Based Communities Worldwide.
There is a global crisis in affordable and functional housing, as well as a cultural and community breakdown happening in most of the world. People are sucked into a lifetime of overwhelming debt so that they can own a home and try to find security. The problem is that when you can't repay the loan, you have lost your security and just about everything you had. The knock on effects of having to live and work just to pay the bills stretches far into our culture and the zeitgeist. The stress and competitiveness of our current free markets have stretched the elastic band to breaking point, and people desperately need a way out. With the demise of the family unit, people are more vulnerable than ever as they get older. All it takes is ONE thing to go wrong, and a cascade of consequences can leave you homeless and penniless or worse. There is very little provision made for vulnerable people and an ageing population, or indeed for anyone who gets ill or loses their job etc. Today being poor has been effectively criminalised, where people are forced to break the law due to their circumstances, or end up so downtrodden that they become mentally ill or resort to criminal activities just to survive.
Ledger Nano S Review: Did I just waste $150!? Are There Better Options!?
Anyone who holds cryptocurrency knows that the most important thing is protecting your waller from loss or theft. We can lose all of our coins forever in a number of ways other than being hacked, and so there are a few steps you can take to prevent this. The Achilles Heel of all private wallets, and even the Ledger Wallet, is that you must keep your master private key somewhere in-case your laptop gets fried, or you lose it etc. This means making a personal choice as to whether you write it down, or store it digitally somewhere. The security of the Ledger Nano S is impressive within itself. It is tamper proof (more or less), and keeps your private keys within the Ledger at all times. That is a great improvement to storing your public key on a computer right!? Ledger also have a long list of alt coins that are supported, so you can hold all of your alt-coins in one place with a great peace of mind. That is the theory at least, let's see how it worked out from the start with my brand new Ledger Nano S.
Nurturing Creativity
For most of my life, I haven't really thought of myself as a particularly creative person. I think that is the result of our modern education system. I was good at most of the academic type subjects and didn't do so well with art or music classes, so I thought I wasn't creative. I thought I was just a left brain kind of girl. Of course that is patently untrue. I have an incredibly creative brain and am always thinking up new ideas and plans. Creativity isn't what schools tell us it is. That said, I have raised two incredibly creative kids in every sense of the word, so I thought it might be nice to talk a bit about what I think is helpful in nurturing creativity and why that is so critical, especially at this point in time.
B, Double E, Double R, U, N, Beer Run - Without Leaving Home
I love beer. I love the taste, the smell, the history, the culture, the magic. Mostly I love brewing it. If you live in most other places, brewing your own beer doesn't save you all that much money. Depending on what you drink, it may very well cost you more. The ritual, though, of making your own beer, of following an ancient tradition is really nourishing. I talked about it yesterday as one of my favorite play spaces. It is, for me, creation at its finest. So, let's brew some, shall we?
The Power of Play
Buck up, Buttercup! Guess what? Grumpy time is the perfect time to play. Writing is play for me. Making beer is play for me. I gotta pull myself on up out of this funk. Sometimes you just gotta fake it till you make it. I believe in letting myself feel how I feel, and well, there's some stress in my life right now, but I don't believe in sitting here rolling around in my funky funky. What is Play? People think of play as something for children, and if you have ever read anything at all I have written about kids or education, you know I firmly believe in the power and necessity of play for children. Kids learn by playing. They learn how to communicate, interact, become adults, problem solve, resolve conflict, be imaginative, be kind, and discover their passions just for starters. I don't think anything is more important than what's on that list.
What makes a Shaman, Mystic, Seer different than an Average Person?
In the current state of Society, the aforementioned roles aren't quite well accepted as a normal standard. But the thing is that the normal society isn't quite well accepted within those certain roles too. And I'm saying society rather than Average Person because that's the criteria of being Average nowadays.
Life as a Lever [Creative Writing]
This is a short abstractive scribble I wrote. I won't describe it in simple words in hopes that some may understand the meaning, which I am certain most will. So let me know in the comments what you make of this if you are interested ^^. The Lever So, let's say that we have a small dark room, totally empty and void, there is only one simple wooden lever and one door that has no textures to it. It is known that it exists, yet covered in the darkness and simple to disregard. The door holds interest to us as the Lever itself. Typically if we had interest in what the door holds behind it we would push on the lever in hopes of opening the door, even if we were uncertain of what was to happen.
Creating the healthy sexual reality of the future: Raising a sexually empowered daughter.
Hello sexual being, Although I am not a mom ( yet). I have a lot of heart for our young people and I see the fearful confusion around sexuality that I experienced myself when I was starting to feel things, in the behaviour of children and teenagers around sexuality, caused by the messages we give them around this beautiful topic. Messages of shame and fear and taboo. As sexual feelings and energy can be so strong and volatile, when not held with love, it is so important for young people to be given positive tools to learn to navigate and enjoy this beautiful gift of life. How to do that? How to give them those positive tools? No one says it better then Layla Martin. Have a watch and let me know what you think.
Natural or synthetic vitamins how to tell the difference and how to make your own.
Hey there! Vitamins. They are good for when you are feeling a bit under the weather or the weather itself is challenging. You might have a chronic illness or need to watch your vitamine and mineral intake with a little more care because you're vegan or vegetarian or just in general to stay healthy and make sure you don't develop any deficiencies. I've tried a lot of different supplements lately for different reasons, but haven't found one I am really satisfied with. Many of them have a few good ingredients but also some that I don't really want, mostly the ingredients that are synthetic. Synthetic vitamins are much harder for the body to assimilate because they don't come in a naturally occurring synergetic package with their own minerals, enzymes and co-vitamin helpers to help facilitate the absorption. Mother nature really does take good care of us.
Paleo buckwheat pancake with bacon, spinach and mushrooms yum!
As friday was Candlemas and we eat pancakes for candlemas in Holland, I had pancakes. And as I am on a paleo diet these days because of food allergies, I made a very yummy paleo pancake, which I want to share with you. Not the pancake, that's finished now, but the recipe. (I never measure ingredients out I hope you don't have a problem with that.) Paleo buckwheat pancake with bacon, spinach and mushrooms: (approximately three pancakes)
Staple Crops | How To Grow & Cure Sweet Potatoes
It's time for our epic sweet potato post! Through synchronicity 
Easiest Way To Grow A Lot Of Elderberries | Incredibly Useful & Medicinal Shrub!
I'd like to introduce the easiest way to grow elderberries ever. It's probably the cheapest too! (unless you have a friend who already has the stock and you can get cuttings for free). If you don't know about elderberries there's a whole world of great information to dive into. Elderberries and humans have been in partnership for a LONG time. Pan's pipes were fashioned from the stalks and they're used as are slide materials for microscopes, the berries flavored have countless beverages, neutralized a bazillion free radicles in bodies throughout the world over time, cured many ailments, dyed many fabrics, and the flowers have created lovely bouquets in champagnes and fed oodles of honeybees.
Be Empowered! How We Built a Storage & Solar Shed for Under $6/sq Foot | Natural Building on the Homestead
Not only is building your own buildings possible, it is an empowering process of taking control of your life and needs while flexing your creativity muscles. This is how our lives further become art. The Art of Freedom Most of us have been taught to leave building in the hands of the professionals. What follows is the Step by Step account of how we built a building on our homestead for under $6/sq foot. We want to detail the process so you too can get inspiration and empowerment to build you own buildings.
Parents- Guiding Lights or Dictators?
Being a parent is an extremely humongous responsibility. As much as it seems challenging, it is equally rewarding. It is a wonderful experience to become a parent and to get the opportunity to raise a tiny person on your own. As a parent, you have the responsibility of raising your child, nurturing him/ her, guiding him, choosing things for him/ her, making certain decisions for his/ her well-being and making sure that your child grows in a comfortable, pleasant environment that helps him/ her grow into a confident, aware and good adult who can build a good life.
Who am I??
Sometimes I am a dark storm who can wrap anyone and everyone under her wings. I am fierce. I am strong and I don’t stop at any cost. I am ferocious. I am fearless and I don’t care who comes in my way, I just keep going on. Come what may, I don’t stop. I know I can conquer the world, surpass any obstacle that comes my way and be whoever I want to be. But sometimes I am not so ferocious. I am timid and scared. I don’t feel so strong. I don’t feel I can conquer the world. I don’t feel powerful. I am weak. I am withdrawn and I just don’t trust myself anymore. I take steps cautiously and even while being cautious, I feel scared from within. I think too much. I feel too much. I worry too much. But I don’t say a lot. I keep absorbing emotions around me, but do not express mine. Sometimes I am just not ready to face the world and even let people overpower me. But that’s not how I am always.
My Plans to Help the Steemit Community Grow and Consequently Grow Myself in the Process
I am only thankful to my Allah and my husband 
Mystery Egg??? On the Homestead & Recipe For Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free Cupcakes/ Muffins!
In the last week, despite the icy temps and snow on the ground our girls are laying out the Whazoo!!. That is, of course, because the daylight is increasing. It's time to do some baking, I have got a great recipe at the end of this post for Gluten Free Cupcakes and Muffins that calls for 15 eggs!!! Super Nutritious! So, when we collected the eggs yesterday... THIS was in the nesting box...
Radically Honest Update, Raw & Unrefined Stream of Consciousness, This is Me Today :)
I could think of so many ways in which I could start writing this post, but none of them can truly honour the depth and the beauty of what wants to come through me... So I will simply bow to this voluptuous stream of consciousness, that had been slow-cooking for a while underneath my surface level of cognition, awaiting a spark of ignition to fully come into being... And by the way, the last Full Moon was f*cking intense, wasn't it? Whooa... I've been on a super release mode, deep in the inner process and now emerging with this post as a gift... This post is an offering to PRESENCE, to TRUTH, to AUTHENTICITY.
Farm Update - A place that I love
Never underestimate the importance and liberating effect of documenting the positive in your life! 
How to build a better virtual world
There's been a lot of discussion going on in certain circles, about what we can do, as users of the Internet and social media, to make this virtual world a better place. People on Facebook and Twitter are getting fed up with giving all their personal information to completely faceless and unaccountable social media networks, who then use that information to target us with advertising and political propaganda - or else hand it over to governments who then use it to crack down on protest and dissent within the population. People are asking - what can we do to build a better virtual world? Where can we find a better social network where we are able to share information and connect with people in other places, without being subject to all those unwanted side effects and intrusions? In such discussions, I usually point people in the direction of Steemit.
Supporting People Who Help
Make The World A Better Place
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If you are new to Steemit, love to write, and would like to join the ecoTrain community as an official passenger please email me on steemit.eco.train@gmail.com
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