In a small, secluded village nestled within the embrace of ancient forests, the practice of permaculture had been passed down through generations, intertwining with the people’s spirituality. The villagers believed the land held a spirit of its own, a benevolent force that thrived when nurtured with love and respect. They practiced permaculture not just as a method of sustainable agriculture, but as a form of healing and communion with the Earth.
Each season, they gathered to celebrate the bounty of their harvests, sharing stories of the land and its wisdom. Elders recounted tales of how the earth spoke through rustling leaves and bubbling streams, guiding them to cultivate harmony and balance. As they worked the soil, they whispered invocations of gratitude, feeling the pulse of life beneath their hands. The villagers found healing in this connection, for as they tended to the land, it tended to their spirits, creating a symbiotic relationship that nurtured body, mind, and soul.
Through storytelling, they passed on the sacred knowledge, ensuring that the cycle of healing and growth continued, weaving a tapestry of life that honored both the seen and unseen forces of nature.
Greetings beautiful souls, I'm Bevin.
How did I become so interested in permaculture? It all started when my hippie family moved from the suburbs to a remote valley in Oregon. Together, we ran a working farm, with a large food-bearing garden, wildflower meadow, herd of goats for milking, and Angora rabbits whose fur we brushed and sold to local textile artists (no bunnies were harmed in the knitting of winter sweaters).
We gardened organically, reused everything, and developed innovative solutions. Then, I left for college and lived in large cities for most of my adult life, until I had enough of the corporate fast lane. Recently, I moved to a rural town in Mexico's Sierra Madre mountains to reduce empathic energy drain, get 'back to Eden', and grow my gifts as an Earthworker, herbalist and healer.
What is Permaculture, anyway?
Permaculture is an ecological design system with principles that can be applied individually and collectively. Practiced by indigenous peoples for tens of thousands of years, the term permaculture was coined by two Australian gardeners in the 1970s. It stands for both 'permanent agriculture' and for 'permanent culture'.
It involves three key ethics: People Care, Earth Care and Fair Share. Permaculture is site and community specific, while we share ideas and practices around the world, we always begin on the street we live. As opposed to industrialized agriculture, permaculture balances humans getting their needs met, with all other species and ecosystems always receiving what they need. It provides more sustainable ways of engaging and interacting with the natural world, within your family system, inside your close relationships, as you pursue a career, and how you give back to your community. There's no strict dogma, but those who practice permaculture in their lives (and in their gardens) tend to follow the following 12 principles:
- Observe, then interact. So often our society encourages us to 'jump right in', but often we miss crucial details.
- Design from pattern to details. Begin with the big picture in mind, then allow the details to gradually emerge.
- Use small, slow solutions. Take one small action, observe the results, then slowly scale what's working holistically.
- Catch and store energy. Collect resources when they are abundant and preserve them for a later time.
- Obtain a yield. Set goals and expect a reasonable return for your time, energy and attention.
- Use renewable resources. Everything has not only one, but multiple purposes. Reduce, reuse, recycle.
- Produce no waste. Moving beyond mindless consumption, making conscious choices.
- Value diversity. Release supremacy and monocultures in favor of curiosity and variety.
- Integrate, rather than separate. Be inclusive, invitational, and recognize our interconnectivity.
- Apply self-regulation + respond to feedback. Willingness to listen, manage our emotions, and learn forward.
- Pay attention to the edges. Use all available space, listen to, believe, and uplift the marginalized.
- Respond creatively to change. Adapt, flex, and ask yourself, what's the 3rd, 4th, or 5th option?
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My friend, you crave a life of meaning and purpose and long to use your gifts to make a difference for people and our planet. Yet, passionate, sensitive souls are often torn by what feels like a no-win choice point.
Do you pursue your creative, spiritual and holistic soul work and struggle financially, or 'be practical' and collect a regular paycheck?
Ah, the joys of late-stage capitalism...
By questioning unhealthy standards which push you to run on the hamster wheel to nowhere, you inspire others to question. The more people who question, the quicker collective philosophies about money, work, and purpose will shift.
I help you identify where you have the power to make personal changes, and when the obstacles you face are systemic, requiring community-based solutions. When you select unique metrics of success, and live them fully, you hold space for others to do the same.
Abundance is more than money, it is a way of thinking, believing, sensing, and living. When you look around for evidence of abundance, you open to Universal flow and embrace receptivity.
The Abundant Empath book is an invitation to channel all the goodness that wishes to flow towards you, and in service to the greater world.
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