Florida School of Holistic Living

As the sun spirals its longest dance,
Cleanse us
As nature shows bounty and fertility
Bless us
Let all things live with loving intent
And to fulfill their truest destiny
Ancient Solstice Prayer

The word “solstice” derives from a combination of Latin words meaning “sun” + “to stand still.” As the days lengthen, the sun rises higher and higher until it seems to stand still in the sky. A major celestial event, Summer Solstice gives us the longest day and shortest night of the year. It makes the beginning of the summer season in the Northern Hemisphere. This year’s solstice occurs on June 20^th at 7:59 pm.

The Sun represents how we are in the world. In astrology, our “sun sign” is how we express our urges in the world, whether it is through our creativity, how we want to shine, or our power.

Physically, the Sun governs your heart and spine. Summer is an excellent time to strengthen your spine and increase its flexibility through yoga, a great exercise that can be done out of the summer heat. The long days make it feasible to do outdoor exercise early in the morning or late into the evening to avoid the hottest part of the day. Summer is a great time to look to fruits and cooling vegetables to cleanse your body.

Civilizations have celebrated Solstice for centuries by cultures around the world. It is known as St John’s Day in the Christian tradition, and Litha in the Wiccan tradition. Chinese families honor Li, the Chinese Goddess of Light, on solstice, and Celtic tribes celebrated solstice with dancing and bonfires, thought to enhance the sun’s energy.

The Arctic Circle experiences 24 hours of daylight on Solstice (and, likewise, the Antarctic Circle experiences 24 hours of darkness). Solstice is the longest day of sunlight in the Northern hemisphere for the year. After Solstice, we lose a minute of daylight each day until December 21^st, when Winter begins.

See the Orlando Sentinel Article referenced from April 22 here: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-earthstores2208apr22,0,6660686.story

Dear Editor,

Thank you for interviewing us concerning corporations celebrating Earth Day for your April 22nd story “Retailers embrace Earth Day.”

The one quote you included from me was printed out of its context, and I’d like to present some additional thoughts to give a more clear picture of my message and concerns.

Reporter Laura Brost brought to my attention Earth Day activities from corporations like Walmart.

The quote included in the article best articulated my feelings on this particular corporation’s environmental activities. While I think that every step towards more sustainable business practice is a step in the right direction, my concern is that corporations such as Walmart use these small measures to market their businesses as environmentally friendly, ignoring the environmental damage for which they are responsible by virtue of their other business practices.

Does the sale of environmentally friendly products alone make a business environmentally friendly? My argument is no. While Wal-Mart is giving customers more earth-friendly options to purchase, the environmental damage they impose and the resources they use far outweigh their token environmental gestures.

Your article highlights Wal-Mart’s pledge to reduce it’s carbon emissions by 20% by the year 2012. But the article fails to mention that the company’s new stores will use more energy than its energy-saving measures will save. According to Stacy Mitchell of Grist, Wal-Mart hopes to reduce 2.5 million metric tons of its CO2 emissions, making existing stores 20 percent more efficient. But the new stores built last year alone will add one million tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. Given this rate, the company will be adding 28 million tons of emissions within the same time frame as its reduction due to new store development.

Your article praises the 22 West Coast Wal-Marts operation on solar energy. This is in comparison to over 4,000 Wal-Marts within the United States and more than 3,000 internationally that do not operate on solar power. Think about the carbon footprint of 4,000 SuperCenters and big box stores - does the solar power of 22 of these really contribute to a meaningful offset?

Let’s also examine Wal-Mart’s Acres for America program. While they pledge to donate $35 million to conserve America’s natural land, each of their 4,000 US stores develops an average of 30 acres of natural land (or 120,000 acres total), displacing indigenous animals and birds, destroying food sources and habitats. Their $35 million donation will work to protect approximately 10,000 acres of land, much of which is already protected by the US Parks Department. Is this truly green - or green-washing?

Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott publicly set environmental goals for its company in 2005, including its pledge to Acres for America. In March 2008, at the ECO:nomics Conference, when asked when Wal-Mart expected to fulfill those 2005 goals, Scott said “I have no idea when that will be.”

My printed comment does not reflect my position on corporations like Whole Foods who work in integrity to ensure as many of their business practices as possible are environmentally friendly. For instance, Whole Foods listens to its customers when they request an item be removed from shelves due to animal cruelty connections, and provides its employees with opportunities to give back to the environmental community. Whole Foods is visionary in its efforts to remove plastic bags from its stores and should be applauded for these efforts.

Customers wishing to support true environmental initiatives with their dollar must do their own research on each product and each company they patronize to ensure the integrity of its environmental efforts. When a company like WalMart markets itself as green, it dilutes the message of the rest of the environmental community, who actually extend their financial and staff resources to ensure they act in integrity and do not compromise their environmental values.

Should WalMart be considered the next green company? Not if you’re looking through “green-colored glasses” and really examining its environmental impact.

- Emily Ruff, director of Florida School of Holistic Living and Evolve Store
More resources:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_11708.cfm

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/03/29/business/033008sustainscorecrd.txt

http://walmartwatch.com/issues/environment/

http://walmartwatch.com/img/blog/environmental_fact_sheet.pdf

http://walmartwatch.com/img/documents/battlemart_docs/WhatHappensWhenWalMartComesToTown.pdf

(from www.cfearthday.org)

Central Florida Earth Day 2008 celebrated the environment April 19th and 20th. April 19th saw one of the area’s largest community gatherings for the planet, and April 20th saw an unprecendented number of volunteers sharing their time in direct action to help the local environment.

Many of you had the chance to participate in this weekend’s Earth Day. The strong gathering of community was inspirational and motivating for those behind the scenes who worked to bring Earth Day to life, and to those who participated. The organizers’ humble and deepest THANKS goes to each and every one of you who came out to support the local nonprofit organizations and businesses in our community who are committed to forging a more sustainable path.

We thank each person who came out to help, who spread the word or invited their friends, and who took a moment to share the experience with us on April 19th at our Thornton Avenue Festival or April 20th during our direct action events. It was a beautiful day and the sign of much positive growth in the last year for our community - and much more to come! Lance Turner of AeonBlu shares some beautiful visions of the April 19th festival here. WESH Channel 2 News featured the event in the clip shown here.

If you enjoyed the event - if you learned something - if you connected with a like-minded individual - if you discovered something about our community - and if you wish to see more events like this in the future - consider showing your support for the continued programs of the Florida School of Holistic Living and the grassroots organizations of our community through a donation to help sustain their work and future events like Central Florida Earth Day. Visit this link to share your support. Every dime and every dollar makes a difference, and we thank you in advance for your generosity.

What can you do now to carry on the spirit of Earth Day? Educate yourself. Pay attention. Connect with the community. Get involved. Learn more about volunteer, community, and educational opportunities in the sustainable community by visiting our website.

– Emily

Despite the fickle temperatures of recent weeks, one thing is clear in Central Florida - Spring is just around the corner.  Seeds are sprouting and the weather is warming.  Winter gave us respite to relax, reduce our activity, and go within.  Spring brings us a time of renewal and rebirth - in fact, for many indigenous cultures and for the zodiac, Spring Equinox marks the beginning of the new year.  With the new beginning comes a perfect opportunity to cleanse the old to make room for new energy and vitality.

While juicing, raw food fasts, and “master cleansing” are all popular and effective ways to cleanse our bodies, for those whose daily routine does not afford for the lifestyle shift such cleanses can require, there are fortunately many other gentle yet powerful ways to release the unwanted to pave way for new growth.

An often overlooked aspect of cleansing is truly nourishing the body.  Springtime tonic herbs like nettles, red clover blossoms, and dandelion leaves help build the blood so that it can more effectively deliver oxygen to all the cells of our body - an important element in fully cleansing our tissues.   Dandelion and burdock roots are also effective and gentle herbs to help cleanse the liver and the blood of stored toxins.

Fresh squeezed lemon juice is an alkalizing tonic that can help jumpstart the body’s own cleansing abilities.  Another fabulous cleansing tonic is raw apple cider vinegar.  Mix a spoonful in a glass of water - and, for those with less than adventurous palates, add a bit of honey to mellow the flavor.  Your grandparents likely relied on this tonic to keep themselves cleansed and energized - try it a half hour before each meal to enjoy its support as a digestive aid, too.
Perhaps most ignored in our bustling urban culture is the cleansing effect of spending time in nature.  Get out of the stale air of your office, remove yourself from the pollution of urban living, and recharge your body with life-giving oxygen by visiting a nearby river or forest to restore your respiratory system - and your spirit.  Try a day trip to the Econlockhatchee River or Wekiva Springs, two natural gems right in our backyard.  A walk in the woods can often cleanse your body and your mind as effectively as the trendiest (and priciest) cleansing kits.

Most of all, remembr that the Spring Equinox ushers in a time of new balance.  This season invites us to raise our awareness to what is out of balance in our lives, so that we may tend to these elements and cleanse negative patterns, energy, and routines out of our lifestyle.  Engage in simple morning meditation, take a walk upon waking, listen to calming music, or begin a springtime journal to help you reconnect with that which stabilizes your mind and cleanses your spirit.   Just like the plants in our garden, we need a strong, nourishing foundation to grow.  Feed yourself this Spring - and discover the natural cleansing of balance.
- Emily Ruff

A recent study by the Associated Press exposes an alarming number of pharmaceutical chemicals in the drinking water of over 41 million Americans. The drugs, including antibiotics, hormones, psychiatric stabilizers, and steroids, are found prevalent in municipal water supplies and also contaminate watersheds throughout the country. In addition to amplifying concerns of antibiotic resistance, the investigation highlights concerns about bottled water (which is typically repackaged tap water), environmental pollution, and chlorine - which, when added to our water supply, can actually make such chemicals more toxic. The study samples the nation’s 50 largest cities, and rural areas in every state, and highlights the far-reaching environmental effects of pharmaceutical drug use.

These chemicals enter our water supply through wastewater discharge, since our bodies release many chemicals we take in. Most wastewater treatments do not fully cleanse all chemicals. Environmentally, aquatic life such as fish and soil-living species such as earth worms are found to be undergoing acute biological changes, such as hormonal shifts.

While the answers to protecting the environment from widespread contamination from pharmaceuticals, given their overuse in our society, are unclear, the question remains: how do we protect the health of our families? The solutions are not simple. Drinking bottled water is typically of little help, as much bottled water is simply overpriced, repackaged tap water filtered through charcoal or with minerals added to improve its flavor. Bottled water is also typically packaged in plastic, which can leach its own chemicals into the water when stored over time.

Filtering your water using distillation or reverse osmosis will help remove almost all such chemicals – but it comes at its own price, and with many excess gallons of water. The school’s resource store, Evolve, offers several water filtration devices, though we still recommend families investigate and understand their options thoroughly before making an investment.

For now, our country is simply scratching the surface of what appears to be a deep environmental consequence of decades of pharmaceutical overuse by our culture.

Our first step in a better direction? Avoiding such contamination by returning to natural means of health care.

Read the full AP article here.

- Emily Ruff

Spring is fast approaching!  As we prepare for the warmth and sun of the coming season, planning for our gardens and planting our seeds, it’s an excellent time to reflect on the balance of light and dark that spring will bring with us.   Mark your calendars for a special Spring Equinox Celebration on Friday March 21…and visit our new and full moon circles to help prepare your spirit for Spring!

We are pleased to announce new spring classes to get you out into nature!  Our garden tours and workshops introduce you to the natural world.

We’re also expanding our co-op – we’ve recently added bulk items and continue to add new farmers each day for greater variety of freshly harvested, organically grown produce.  Have you tried our farm fresh Florida grown produce?  Treat yourself and your family to the most nutritious and affordable organic produce around – that supports the local economy!

We’ve got some exciting volunteer opportunities in the coming months that combine community and planetary service with educational skills, such as in our Community Garden.  Stop by our center to learn more!

Green Blessings,

Emily Ruff

Director

Happy New Year! I was blessed to travel during the holidays to the Yucatan Peninsula with a beautiful group of students. We studied Mayan philosophy, religion, and science with Elder Hunbatz Men of the Itza tradition.

We spent our days visiting pyramids and sacred sites, breathing in their energy, marveling at their magnificence, learning their significance within the ancient culture, and reawakening our spirits to the sophisticated civilization which took its lessons from the universe to live in harmony with the Earth.

The simple the sophistication of the ancient culture spoke to me throughout the journey. How simple it is to look at the stars or sit under a tree, and yet how profound are the lessons we find in nature’s simplicity. In our modern world, we’ve created technologies in an effort to make our lives more efficient: complications to our lives in an effort to simplify them. What a paradox!

As I planted a tree at the Mayan eco-spiritual community Lol Be, I saw how the natural world teaches us so many simple ways to fill our path with meaning. We simply must slow down to listen!

Get back to your roots this new year! Join us for a class or a moon circle to reconnect with the simple blessings life shares.

Green Blessings,

Emily Ruff

Director