Eckhart
Tolle tells us that “It
is only our lack of awareness that limits us.” So how do we
cultivate awareness, and how do we open ourselves to our full
potential?
The
current common educational systems are flawed and impede true
learning processes. A classic classroom system fails us in that it
creates dependency, regimentation, and apathy, and dulls the fire to
learn. The follow-the-orders way of learning (and living) stifles
the imagination and is tremendously wasteful of our human potential.
We need to break away from this mold in order to reclaim our minds
and spirits, and experience the richness of our creative power.
Our
world is confronting desperate problems and we need all possible
human creativity and pro-activity to solve them. We cannot just
blindly follow our leaders, teachers, gurus and so-called experts.
We must rise up together to make positive change and to break away
from the collective insanity. This means we need a new way to learn.
The
very nature of living a simple and sustainable lifestyle elicits a
new manner of learning in and with the world. It is a constant
first-hand learning-by-doing in which we participate with our bodies,
see our hands as useful tools, grow in emotional stability, and feel
the power of our own potential. Since we are active participants in
our cycle of livelihood, what we do or don’t do affects the whole
system for better or worse, and reflects back on us. Through this
direct interaction, we begin to understand that there is no
separation between the world and us. Recognizing this
connectivity automatically makes us more responsible and aware
beings, freeing us to indulge in our limitless creative intelligence.
By
engaging in simple, sustainable living, we are already making the
world a better place—using less of the world’s resources, setting
an example for others, and rising up to our full potential as a free
creative beings.
At
Mama Roja, we are a fellowship of learners and teachers, encouraging
an atmosphere conducive to personal growth,
where we can all thrive mentally, physically, and spiritually. “The
teacher and the taught together create the teaching.” We
invite an expanded learning experience by seeing each other as
valuable resources. Each of us has a vast treasure-store of
knowledge and experience, and sharing that with each other allows us
all to have more tools in our “personal toolboxes.” And we need
all of the tools we can get to take part in the reshaping and
redesigning of this world!
Just
as learning from each other is natural, vital, and beautiful, so is
making mistakes. If something is learned in a process, even
if it “fails”, it is no longer a mistake! If you are stuck and
just following orders, you are not really learning. So, ask
questions, experiment, explore new techniques, bounce ideas off each
other, and search for natural, healthy solutions, and congratulate
yourself if you make a mistake.
It
is up to each of us to make life a rich, rewarding experience. So
let the learning process be fun and joyful! If we are not enjoying
what we are doing, then we are doing something wrong. “Growing
and developing should be lifelong activities—one of the most
pleasurable and exciting experiences of life at all ages.” –W.
Coperthwaite
Oh the muddy days of February have led us right into the muddy days of March... Mud on the walls, our feet, our faces, our whole bodies! Yes, work IS play!
Okay, the work part looks like this:
Other fantastic news... we now have a washing machine! And the best part is that is doesn't require electricity! A little pedalling from the bike seat and some buckets of water from the river and --voila-- mud-free clothes! 
Now to just let it dry a bit, then we can light it up for fresh baked goodies!
We laso took a few trips around Misiones. Here we are in O´paybo (school for natural health) in Alem testing and prepping for a future workshop to transform a wood plank shed into a luxurious mud composting bathhouse.
