Wow folks.. I know I've said this before.. but this week the 
posts are just amazing.. you would think that after weeks and months of writing we would run out of Steem, but that is surely not the case! This week's round-up of the @ecoTrain posts are as interesting as ever. Our passengers continue to bring such great value to Steemit, with their amazing posts and insights. There is always something for everyone and on a diverse range of topics. If this is your first time reading the ecoTrain magazine you are in for a treat! We post on anything that helps to make the world a better place, and this weeks we have covered many topics including Medicinal & Vegan Cooking, Full Moon, Forest Bathing, Off-Grid Adventures, Homesteading, Blogs, Tips, Meditation, Crafts, Travel, and more!
AS ALWAYS PLEASE REMEMBER TO FOLLOW YOUR FAVORITES SO YOU CAN SEE MORE OF THEIR POSTS IN YOUR FEED
THIS WEEKS PHOTO PILE
The Medicinal Cooking Collective Week 4 Guidelines: Cooking For The Lungs & Large Intestine / The Metal Element
Welcome to this fourth and penultimate week of the medicinal cooking collective challenge! We are cooking according to the Chinese 5 Elements, and this week we focus on the Metal element which is associated with the lungs & large intestine, the colour white, a spicy flavour, and the feeling of sorrow. When the lungs are out of balance they can be helped by eating foods that embody these traits, and help you to restore balance to the body. These days with pollution as it is, eating for the lungs is a great benefit to people in most parts of the world. If you eat white-coloured food, it is supposed to benefit your lungs, large intestine, nose and respiratory system, and skin. So I hope you join us this week and start your shopping for white foods! These foods have a dispersing effect and promote energy circulation. They most benefit sluggish, damp, lethargic and cold people.
Pumpkin Curry & Brown Turmeric Rice: The Gourmet Medicinal Cooking Collective Challenge Week 3
, and curry leaf which is a very unique flavour to India. I have served it with brown rice that has been cooked with turmeric and some onion and garlic. This very yellow dish is very comforting to the stomach, and embodies all the aspects of the Earth element. If you have never tried a pumpkin curry before, be prepared to be delighted because this really is one of my favourites!)
I had sad, sad news last night and I need your help!
It was late last night and my daughter and her boyfriend were watching a movie when my best friend from Holland called me. I instantly knew there was something wrong because she wouldn't just call me in the middle of the night unless there is. A nightmare that became reality I answered the phone and didn't hear anything for a few seconds. Then her voice... She was very calm and collected when she spoke. "There is something I have to tell you and you're the only one I can talk to right now..." My heart rate went from normal to overtime in a split second. "Just tell me..." Her youngest, her 14 year old son had been hit by a car and passed away on the way to the hospital.
What Is It That I Want?
What is it that we all want, do we want security and stability. Those two words can mean completely different things, depending on what your lifestyle is. Depending on what your needs are. We have been led to believe that we have a lot of needs, it seems that the list gets longer and longer as time goes by. We are bombarded with so much information informing us what we need to live healthy and happy lives. Suddenly are lives are so much easier if we have certain things. Suddenly our lives are so much more comfortable if we invest in certain objects. Suddenly we need other people to tell us what we need.
No One can Give you Back the Pieces of Yourself, That you Gave Freely in The First Place.
I sit here wanting to write, wanting to get so much off my chest, yet I don't know where to start. I have written before about how writing is my therapy. How that in writing, we get things out off our heads and onto paper (or this case the screen) and then it is there to be seen, to be made sense of, to try and grasp some understanding as to what is actually happening in your life right now. I have had so many things going round and round inside my head. My life feels like it has been completely shook up, that everything is all up in the air.
Garden Journal Update Part 1: Working Together, Love and Gardens
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The last few days have been divine, the sun showing her lovely head and smiling on us all as if to make up for the moon. The eclipse has been quite disruptive for many of us over the last week and I've had my heart broken about five times as I listen to the terrible upset that many have had in their lives. Although I always hold onto a healthy dose of skepticism, there's too much going on for it to be mere co-incidence, can it? Yet the actual rise of the full moon had me calmer on Friday, and the two warm days we had (I'm talking t-shirt weather, folks, and sunblock!) saw us in two gardens - not just ours, but my folks.
Full Moon Blessing, Whales and SaltWater: What a Cure for My Week
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It's been windy and cold for weeks, and my anxiety's been so awful that it has pushed me to those black edges around depression. I have tried to fight back, but mostly have found myself crying or unable to find the will to do basic things like cooking dinner or tidying up. It's taken all my strength to go to work and put on my happy face. Steemit's been a kinda blessing - there's solace in writing, and I've loved the support I've been given here, as well as my darling honey who's wrapped me in love and made me endless cups of turmeric tea.
On finding your purpose in life and thoughts on my purpose as an Earth protector.
In light of this incredibly powerful eclipse where so many energies are coming up and so much is coming up to be seen and transformed (read more 
Forest Bathing: Speak for the Trees // The Trees Speak to Thee
Yesterday I was walking through the forest and I knew that I needed to just stop and look up at the trees, to be with them a while. It's an odd thing living in the forest because my walks there (usually) aren't intentional, but rather just to get from A to B. Like any well trodden path in our lives, the mundane aspect of its "everydayness" can make us forgetful or not pay attention to what is actually around us.Well yesterday the trees called to me and as I stood there I felt them loving on me and talking to me. I don't care if someone labels me a crazy hippie because I just said that - that's my reality, I talk with the trees. Likely many of us have heard of the Lorax, he who speaks for the trees in the Seussical narrative.
Lemongrass - What You May Not Know About This Asian Kitchen Essential
It grows like a weed in Asia and it best tackled with a razor-sharp machete. Lemongrass.That quintessential Thai flavour and a fragrance that is stamped into my Being after 16 years here in Thailand. I went into the garden to harvest some from my monsoon-rain-battered plant for making iced tea this morning. My roughly 4 foot tall, extremely vigorous plant is not so happy in the rainy season and yielded her medicine meekly.
Sacred Burning & A Candle Junkie's Dilemma
It SHOULD be a time of complete fulfillment for a hardcore candle junkie but, instead, I am always conflicted when Khao Pansa comes around. What is Khao Pansa? It's the beginning of the 3 month Buddhist Rains Retreat, or "Buddhist Lent" as many call it. It starts here today in Thailand, the first day after the full moon of the 8th lunar month. Monks are required to remain in temples during the 3 month retreat time (as opposed to traveling & wandering the countryside) and it is a time of dharma, teaching, intense meditation and inner-ness. The faithful temple goers (of which I am NOT one - the bodhi tree was good enough for the Buddha & it remains enough for me) bring offerings to the temples to "earn merit" (if that could ever even be possible!) and they do that by gifting symbolic large candles - a sign of the dharma illuminating the darkness .
Finding Home : Off-Grid Adventures ~ Part 5, Time To Return Home and Life Changing Decisions
This is the final post in the series of our family's off-grid adventures. It was our intention to look for land to buy while we were staying off-grid. However during our visit some amazing things transpired. This post is all about how we felt and what we have decided for our future. We set off on our adventure to get a feel for off-grid living. We wanted to dip our toes in the water before ultimately taking the plunge and buying our own land. From the moment we arrived at the community, we felt at home.
Finding Home: Off-Grid Adventures ~ Part 4, Nature's Abundance & Wild Herbs
This is part 4 of a special series of posts about my family's off-grid adventures. The land of the off-grid community is peppered with plant and herb life. I wanted to talk about some of the herbs and trees there as many of them have highly useful qualities that are beneficial to human health.The area where the community is situated is extremely dry, but somehow an abundance of plant life still manages to thrive in these scorching temperatures and harsh conditions. Most of the watering of the plants and trees comes from grey waste water. Almonds and peach trees grace the property and seem to produce, even with very little water. But there are some places where almost no water touches and yet both Rosemary and Thyme grow abundantly. Not only do these herbs survive but their scent suggests that they are faring very well under this extreme heat.
Book Review: The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure -- YOU should read this book! Yes, YOU!
What is the reason for human existence? What is our purpose, here on Earth? What is the energy that connects all things together? Have you ever pondered these questions? Have you ever wondered what your soul’s true purpose is? Or what it means to be truly alive? These are the questions that lay the foundation for the novel, The Celestine Prophecy: An Adventure. This story, while fictional, rings true for me on so many levels. The book talks about many spiritual and philosophical ideas, like the perception of energy fields, the truth behind “coincidences” (referred to as “synchronicities” in the book), and the power of your thoughts in creating your reality. While these concepts are part of a fictional story, I have already experienced them myself and know them to be true, which is why I have so much love for this book.
RETURN. A holiday by the Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee is the lowest freshwater lake on Earth. That's as may be, but the water level goes down year by year, which goes to show, you can always get lower... Ephraim, the bass playing Jew from New York is going out of his mind. He's spent the last four years working out to the very last detail, a peace plan for Israel and Palestine, which is fair and just to both sides, realistic and includes measures for every unforeseen eventuality. Nobody will listen to him. He feels like a nobody. He's been trying to get the Israelis and Palestinians to talk to each other, but the Israelis call him a traitor and the Palestinians are too wary to be seen to be colluding with the enemy to talk to the Israelis. He wants me to fight his trolls on facebook, but I've got better things to do. Besides I've got my own trolls to deal with. They're relentless. I think they get special training. They make you lose all hope. At least, they try to. Right now, it feels they're winning. At least with me.
The Drama of Money
Money, it's a hit. It's such an incredibly touchy subject, isn't it? There is probably nothing so totally surrounded in judgement. If you have too much, you're an asshole. If you have too little you're either lazy or some kind of victim. And if you want to be spiritual at all, you must totally renounce it as the root of all evil. Oddly enough, prayers are usually not an accepted form of rent payment. You can't buy food with good vibes, and land prices are rarely listed in terms of meditation hours.
Small Change, Big Difference: Whatever You Do, Take Care of Your Shoes
It’s time for the next installment in the Small Change, Big Difference series. Today I want to talk about something that affects me every day of my life. Carelessness. I’m a mom, and any mom on this planet will tell you that teaching away carelessness is just part of the job description. All kids are careless. I’m sure of it. Certainly some are more careless than others, but it’s a sickness that affects all children.
My Experience of the Monalisa painting at the Louvre
What I write today is completely my view on this topic and not meant for any controversy or to put down any Artwork For years I have been hearing about this Beautiful painting of Monalisa at the Louvre, and it was one of my dream and in the to do list to see this once in my lifetime. I had read that it is one of the most beautiful Art work of Leonardo da Vinci so for sure had my curiosity to see it. Luckily I got a chance to visit Paris and Louvre Museum. The Museum is beyond words. Such beautiful, mind blowing paintings, sculptors, culture representation. Dignified Art at its best. You have Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Caravaggio, Jean Auguste, Jacques-Louis David and who’s who of the Art world there.
Am I Slytherin, Gryffindor or Mudblood Brit?
So I await the news of being Slytherin, Gryffindor or Mudblood Brit...
This morning I was reminded by 
Part 4 How To Live the Life of Your Dreams: What if There is More than One Thing You'd Like You Change? How Do You Prioritize
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Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
There are things like health, fitness, travel, family considerations, love, confidence, self improvement to get get rid of bad habits. There is a lot that makes up a healthy and happy individual.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is a psychological theory of what humans need to be happy
How to grow your INSTAGRAM! Tips and Tricks! Part 1
Hi dear friends! How are you today? I had an amazing chat with 
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY - Real vegan food turned into art - Mini recipes for a new beginning
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Hi darlings!! Here I am again with some mini recipes and tips for a new healthy week! I would love to share this post and pictures with my dear friend Lena 
Organic farmer Adi shows us local fruits and vegetables around North Lombok
I have been staying in Adi's village in North lombok for two weeks now and he has been introducing me to a whole load of amazing local fruits and vegetables. I'm surprised daily by everything he has to show me that it seemed a good idea to document everything. Adi once lived on a patch of land with his parents where there were many kinds of different fruit trees and they would grow many different vegetables but now days he lives in the village and his childhood home no longer exists. The land for farming which locally they call 'the garden' is split between different families and mainly peanuts are grown and harvested twice a year in the dry season and rotated as a rice crops grown in the wet season. There are beans, chili and fruit trees placed all around the edge of each piece of land and some plots are growing spring onions, green leafy vegetables and corn.
Felt kitty craft for your car
Ever since a friend of mine forced me to run and turned me into some kind of project of his, I was thinking about ways to repay him since he is spending a lot of time and effort to help me. He is one of those people who enjoy handmade gifts and appreciate everything that it takes to make one so I decided to use my secret special skill to make cute stuff and made him a decoration for his rearview mirror. I knew he loves cats so deciding what to make him was a no-brainer.
"Meditation HOW and WHY" - part 13: Difference between mental and emotional meditation
With each new post about meditation, more and more of you are reaching out and saying how you can not concentrate enough and even though I suggested Vipassana as a great start, I do feel a need to explain how in certain meditation techniques you do not have to avoid or neglect your thoughts. Before we start, here is the list of previously published posts in this series that you can read and learn a lot:
Ride With Me – Qualicum River Ride
How would you describe a perfect bike-ride? For me it would be a day-long outing in nature, preferably in beautiful weather. It would have minimal interference by motorist, include some good challenges for the mind and body, but be overall a pleasant ride with lots of amazing things to see, feel, and experience. This past Sunday I went on a ride that included all of this, and was as close to perfection as I can imagine. Outsmarting the Progressing Berry Season It all started with a shortage of salmon berries. For the last weeks we’ve been snacking on the incredible abundance of berries I described earlier, but seeing that we're in late July, the salmon berries have gotten quite scarce. Eaten by bears (and us), or just shriveled unpicked in the sun.
Official Clearance – Building Permit and Inspections for the Doighouse
A Reason to Celebrate!
The waiting is over. Less than a week ago we received the official green light for the Doighouse Build. All those weird ways of constructing a truly unconventional house have been thoroughly evaluated by high ranking pencil-pushers, until they were found acceptable for the local building code. This is a significant step forward, not only for Tony and Susan, but for everyone else who wants to build a similar sustainable house in BC. Are We Gonna Be Done This Year? As happy as we are about finally being a legal construction project, it is hard to ignore that it’s almost August! We were hoping to have this paperwork done sometime in May. By now any hopes of having the roof up this year have been completely surrendered to realistic thinking. Instead, we want to get as much done as humanly possible, and focus on the bond-beam instead. That concrete beam poured on top of the last course of tires will tie the weight of the structure together, so it can be buttoned up neatly for the heavy rains of the winter season. So sure, one would think all we’ve gotta do now is pound, pound, and pound some more tires, but things are not that simple. When playing by the book, there are a number of hoops prepared for us to jump through, in form of building inspections.
Finally, a Compost Toilet in the Trailer...♻ Now we can talk Relycling for REAL!!!!
No More Stank in our Tiny House...! The throne's in place... all it needs now is a good coat of paint!! We never used the toilets in our campers, growing up... well only to pee and that would either get dumped in proper places or on the road as we drove around! It is only urine and supposedly, it is sterile, so it really shouldn't hurt anything! My grand parents made this toilet seat that fits over a 5 gallon bucket (you know, the European equivalent). They would drape it with a plastic shopping bag, the same way you would for a garbage can. That's where they'd poo!
You Don't Have to Like Someone to Respect Him...
Asif Rangoonwala is a successful British Pakistani who has earned massive success and made quite a lot of wealth with his dedication and hard work. In a podcast on Connect.Inspire.Grow which is an amazing, new podcast channel, he said something that stayed with me for good and that made me a realize a very important thing. That's what he said, 'You don't have to like someone to respect him.'When I heard this, I was like 'Man, this guy is so intelligent.' Often in life, we disrespect people, are rude to them and don't take their viewpoints into consideration. Why? Not because they are wrong or don't say the right things; but because we don't like them.
Steemit Literacy center in Bamenda- Cameroon is training new steemians
Steemit Literacy Center "... nurturing young steemians"Another great initiative from 
Really Big Sunflowers and the Birds - Saving Sunflower Seeds for Human Consumption
During Summer, we are harvesting so many things in the food forest. From tomatoes and peppers to cucumbers and sweet melons, there is always something to get excited about. And, it is definitely a busy time on the homestead. Often we are so busy, we forget to harvest the sunflower seeds before birds and squirrels get them all. And, it doesn't take very long for a few birds to peck your seeds away. But not this year!
What's Happening This Week?
The Medicinal Cooking Collective Week 4 Guidelines: Cooking For The Lungs & Large Intestine / The Metal Element
Welcome to this fourth and penultimate week of the medicinal cooking collective challenge! We are cooking according to the Chinese 5 Elements, and this week we focus on the Metal element which is associated with the lungs & large intestine, the colour white, a spicy flavour, and the feeling of sorrow. When the lungs are out of balance they can be helped by eating foods that embody these traits, and help you to restore balance to the body. These days with pollution as it is, eating for the lungs is a great benefit to people in most parts of the world. If you eat white-coloured food, it is supposed to benefit your lungs, large intestine, nose and respiratory system, and skin. So I hope you join us this week and start your shopping for white foods! These foods have a dispersing effect and promote energy circulation. They most benefit sluggish, damp, lethargic and cold people.
The 's Question of the Week Tie-up Post: Are women who dress provocatively responsible for unwanted attention, or should men learn to control themselves?
This week the
Introducing 
: Celebrating & Promoting Natural Healing on Steemit
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