I’ve just completed a 2 week course in
permaculture at Ragman’s Farm, Gloucestershire. The course is designed and
delivered by Patrick Whitefield and his wife Cathy-Melissa, a great team, full
of knowledge, love and priceless experience that they share openly and warmly.
During one of the many fascinating
sessions, extraordinary speaker and bee expert Bridgette Strawbridge described
how re-reading her own blog entries made her realise where her areas of
greatest interest seemed to lie. I thought this a great way of exploring what
lines of enquiry and action I should perhaps pursue, as I have been confused
about this for some time. So, having re-read lots of bits of my blog, I realise
that what I tend to write about a lot and what I enjoy re-reading most are the
entries describing my personal journey,
and mainly the unseen journeys of my
mind and spirit.
So, I could sit here for hours trying
to explain the content of the course, attempting to describe complex issues of
garden design, energy efficiency and wind-break construction but I know there
are other people and books and websites that can do that so much more
effectively than I can (see links!).
What I prefer to do is to describe my
own permaculture trip, what the concept means to me now and how the course has
made shifts inside my heart and mind that have already started to affect me and
that I’m sure will continue to do so in the future.
Since I started studying the teachings
of Gautama the Buddha and practising the techniques of meditation he passed on
to us, I’ve seen the teachings reflected in so many areas of life: to me these days,
Ayurvedic medicine is a dhammic medicine which gives us techniques with which
to balance our natural physical states; yoga involves the observation of the dhamma of
the human body and mind. Dhamma is the nature of things, as they are. Ayurveda
and yoga work with nature to bring about harmony to body, mind and spirit.
Similarly, from what I’ve recently
learned of permaculture, it too is dhamma in action- dhammic design. Designing the
home and garden, for example, by mimicking the patterns of Mother Nature and
adapting our habits and routines to live in harmony with nature, rather than
fighting against her. Most importantly, taking the time to observe the land,
with its shapes and plants, its flow and patterns, colours and temperatures, in
all facets of its reality, in order to benefit ourselves and our surroundings
equally.
“Protracted
thought followed by minimal action, rather than precipitate action followed by
protracted regrets.”
Permaculture works on three main
principles and it is from these 3 principles that I will describe the processes
of my thinking and understanding during and after the course:
Earthcare-
What does it mean to me to truly care for the earth?
For me truly caring for our Mother Earth means not only
acting as a custodian of her treasures or as a sensitive manipulator of her
cycles and yields but actually feeling part of her, unable to survive separated
from all that she encompasses. Not just
to love her but to be the love that
she is.
How can I get back this state of being? This
is the question of my meditation. This is the answer to all I’ve been seeking.
From the beginning of my search I knew I would find my answers in nature. Part of the answer, paradoxically, is to stop
looking, to stop trying (so tiringly hard!) and to simply be. In nature. As nature.
This understanding is so familiar to
me that I know that the theories of the permaculture teachings are already part
of our folk memories but what the course provides so well is a vivid reminder
of this and the practical means by which dreamers like we can actually live
this truth.
People
care- As an extension of the above, if I
am one with all that is in nature then all people are inextricably connected
with our Earth. And that in turn must mean that we people are all connected to
one another. This is the teaching of many (if not all) of the major religions,
and it’s easy enough to understand and agree with this in theory, but for those
of us who have lived in isolated family groups, without a steady community for
much of our lives, how do we assimilate this understanding in practical ways into
our everyday lives? How do we avoid letting ourselves slip into the emptiness
and isolation of our fortress homes and fenced off gardens? One of the things that the Whitefields’ course
illustrated so beautifully and with so much heart was that it’s a beautiful
thing to live and share with others. At the very least we cannot survive alone
and, selfishly, we need and will need others in order to survive in these
changing and challenging times. But much more than that was the example of
people care provided by the wonderful group with whom I shared the teaching
room, the kitchen and the fire pit; men and women who became brothers and
sisters in the process. They are a
perfect illustration of how all sentient beings are my family and this makes me
cry tears of joy.
Constraints/limitations-This
design concept is often applied to resources such as money, energy, climate and
time but could also be about being realistic with oneself. One of the most
challenging and yet rewarding aspects of this course was that it made me face
my own limitations. It made me face reality as it is, not as my romantic soul
would like it to be. Without this course, I could have gone on for months,
dreaming of a field in France, of sunny slopes and a herd of goats. Fantasising
a dream that had no chance of ever coming true because I wasn’t facing the real
practical needs I have of community, knowledge and skills and the necessary
confidence to manifest it. Like all the best
periods of development, I had to endure a few days of ego pain, taking
in the steep contour of the learning curve I am on. But, having faced the fear
a little and shared these thoughts with friends who truly listened, I know much
better how I can prepare myself practically with the skills I need to get this
project off the ground- flying- but not so high that it loses sight of the earthly
truth.
Thank you once more to Patrick and
Cathy-Melissa and to my brothers and sisters on the course.
May all beings be liberated. 
People
care- As an extension of the above, if I
am one with all that is in nature then all people are inextricably connected
with our Earth. And that in turn must mean that we people are all connected to
one another. This is the teaching of many (if not all) of the major religions,
and it’s easy enough to understand and agree with this in theory, but for those
of us who have lived in isolated family groups, without a steady community for
much of our lives, how do we assimilate this understanding in practical ways into
our everyday lives? How do we avoid letting ourselves slip into the emptiness
and isolation of our fortress homes and fenced off gardens? One of the things that the Whitefields’ course
illustrated so beautifully and with so much heart was that it’s a beautiful
thing to live and share with others. At the very least we cannot survive alone
and, selfishly, we need and will need others in order to survive in these
changing and challenging times. But much more than that was the example of
people care provided by the wonderful group with whom I shared the teaching
room, the kitchen and the fire pit; men and women who became brothers and
sisters in the process. They are a
perfect illustration of how all sentient beings are my family and this makes me
cry tears of joy.
