Sustainability Concepts

A collection of some important concepts and quotes from my recent Sustainable Building Advisor Program, Sustainability Leadership, and Green Marketing courses....

Al Gore in Earth in the Balance book:

"The more deeply I search for the roots of the global environmental crisis, the more I am convinced that it is an outer manifestation of an inner crisis that is, for lack of a better word, spiritual...what other word describes the collection of values and assumptions that determine our basic understanding of how we fit into the universe?"

The Six Governing Principles of Sustainable Design (from The Philosophy of Sustainable Design, Jason F McLennan):

1. Respect for the Wisdom of Natural Systems - the Biomimicry Principle

2. Respect for People - Human Vitality Principle

3. Respect for Place - Ecosystem Principle

4. Respect for the Cycle of Life - "Seven Generations" Principle

5. Respect for Energy and Natural Resources - Conservation Principle

6. Respect for Process - Holistic Thinking Principle

From The Philosophy of Sustainable Design, Jason F McLennan:

• "There is an inherent need in all of us to 'come from somewhere', to know where home is, and to feel in some way that our home is special - indeed that we are special because of it."

I definitely feel that I have this need, but that I don't actually feel like I 'come from somewhere' or know where home is. I don't feel a strong connection to any 'place', especially in Canada. I feel more of a sense of place in England and Europe, perhaps partly because their better sense of place through building design there. In North America, you could almost always just be in any big city because design all our buildings and homes the same no matter where they are located.

• "We have a connection to nature that is inherent and essential to us. When we deny it, we deny a part of ourselves."

I definitely understand this. I have a very strong drive and desire to spend time outdoors and in remote natural beauty. My best memories are from the tops of mountains or hiking along coastal beauty. Nature is where I relax and feel like life is somehow more 'real'. It grounds me and reminds me who I am. I think a lot of people lack this in their lives and it is scary that we are losing our connection to nature as a society.

• "If we want to change a result, we must first change the process that led to the result."

This reminds me of Einstein's definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. We need to fundamentally shift our paradigms and change our processes in order to really change the outcomes. I think this is the greatest challenge of sustainability but also the most important.

Silence du Corps

One of the highlights of my trip to Europe was my 3 day meditation/yoga retreat at Clos Ermitage in Alsace, about an hour south of Strasbourg. The Clos Ermitage is an international wellness centre run by the Libre Universite du Samadeva and hosts a number of different retreats and programs. My retreat was called Silence du Corps and I spent 3 days being silent - both externally and internally. It was a time of introspection and also connection with the other people at the retreat. We were encouraged to interact at breaks and meal times, looking the others in the eye deeply to communicate, as well as offering service to others for serving food and drinks. That was one of the most rewarding parts of the experience - real deep connection with strangers without even speaking a word.

We spent our time meditating in 20 minute sessions, interspersed with Derviche yoga - a combination of standing hatha yoga and tai chi in my opinion. We also did some walking meditation, which was fabulous because the Voyges mountains at this time of year were absolutely spectacular with their beautiful fall colours and we were lucky to have sunshine the entire time. The second evening was a special session where outside guests connected to the Universite came in and we sang together. Although I didn't know the words, it was a great to feel the energy in the room as people came together in song. I have only ever experienced something similar when I attended church with my best friend in elementary school and the whole congregation sang together in happiness. It was amazing!

I had some truly wonderful meditation sessions where I felt peace, calm, love and the beauty of the planet flowing through me. I had only started meditating in July and unfortunately was not doing it on a daily basis. This experience really made me feel the value of meditation and realize I need to embed it in my daily life. Since being home I have managed to meditate for 20 minutes every morning every day except one. I really hope to keep this up - it is a wonderful way to begin my day and puts my mind and heart in the best place possible for my day. There was one break during the day where I sat outside and just observed nature. I watched a leaf fall from the top of a very tall Oak tree - soaring calmly to the ground like that was it's purpose all along. I saw a spider's silk catch the light and move a great distance from one tree to another. I listened to the sounds of the trees and the birds and it was just so great to take a moment to observe these things. This memory helps with my meditation now.

One other thing worth mentioning about this experience is that all of the guidance for the meditation and yoga was entirely en francais. I have not spoken or studied French since early 2005 and it was a bit of a shock to be thrown back into it. Our instructor spoke nice and slow though which made it fairly easy to understand most of it, and at least the gist of most of it. We had a couple of meditation sessions that were done to a recorded voice, of course in French, and I found this much easier to meditate to - my brain was forced to focus on understanding the French and it was not allowed to wander to other topics. Now when I have to bring my mind back to my breath during meditation, I think "j'inspire, pause, j'expire"and count my breaths en francais. It is an excellent way to bring my brain back to where it was in Alsace earlier this month and remember how it felt.

Overall it was an incredible experience and I am very thankful to my French colleague, Heidi, for finding this retreat for me. I feel very lucky to have almost randomly come across it and hope that I will someday be able to visit the Clos Ermitage again - preferably with a stronger understanding of French, Derviche yoga, and meditation!

For anyone hoping to start meditating, I would recommend trying the online course at http://beta.findmeditation.com. This is what I started in July and put me on this path.

Trip to Europe: London and Munchen

After 6 years and one month I finally returned to Europe. I cannot believe I had been away that long - I honestly thought I would either move there or go back frequently and have no idea how 6 years have passed!

My cousin conveniently was getting married just outside London in September so we planned a three week trip to Europe almost a year ago. Turns out Tyler ended up going to work in Amsterdam for 3 months so we had to adjust our plans a little.

First stop was London. Spent a couple of days there recovering from jet lag and shopping. The Canadian dollar is doing great compared to the pound so shopping in London was quite fun for the first time ever! But High Street on the weekend is rather busy and exhausting with jet lag. We went out for delicious Indian at a local restaurant around the corner from our hotel (St Athans), and it was so good, we went back the same night. Indian food is soooo much better in the UK.

Tina and I got up rather early on Monday morning to go to renew our UK passports. It was incredibly efficient, easy and everyone was so helpful. Rather different than the long line ups at the Victoria passport office that I've previously experienced. And our passports arrived 2 days later! Awesomeness!

Next stop, Munich for Oktoberfest. We stayed at a lovely hotel (Englisher Garten Hotel) right beside the Englisher Garten park. First night we went to a truly German restaurant beside our hotel and I tried herring (raw) and the local Oktoberfest beer. It was a good dinner and a very German experience. Next day we went to Oktoberfest around 1pm because we didn't have reservations so wanted to make sure we got a seat. The grounds reminded me of the Stampede - rides, food booths, places to buy various fair items - but plus a large number of HUGE beer tents. We checked out a few before settling on one. We managed to find seats because the reservations didn't start until 5pm and we were only going to be there for an hour or so. We ordered up some 1L jugs of beer and of course a giant pretzel. Since it was still fairly early, there weren't too many shenanigans, but was some singing and definitely drinking ;) We moved on to another tent but things were getting busy so we ended up sitting outside. It was a beautiful day so was nice, we just had to deal with the cigarette smoke. We had seen some women go by with buckets of pickles and so of course Tina had to have one. Our waiter, Tom, didn't quite get what we were asking for, but some helpful Germans sitting next to us finally translated for us. Tina also ordered a whole chicken and of course we had another 1L of beer. Eventually Tina went inside to hang out with the Germans and Ty and I followed in later (we knew their table number) but couldn't find her as by this time everyone was standing on the tables and there were definitely shenanigans happening. Ty left me at the entrance to one row to look for her, and then I managed to make friends with some local German doctors and they invited me up to their table for some food and beer. Tyler returned but couldn't see me in the crowd. So we got split up...I left the tent and went to our pre-designated meeting place, but no one was there. Eventually Tina and Tyler came back for me; they had both gone back to the hotel thinking I was with the other person! We made it home safe and I would say had an acceptable Oktoberfest experience :)

The next day was a little rough. We mostly walked around and hung out in the park for a while. It was too bad we weren't feeling well because Munchen is a beautiful city and I would have loved to explore it more. I don't know what they put in their beer, but man, it sure results in some nasty headaches. Next trip will involve less beer and more city :)