Andrew Evans, from Cardiff in the UK

Andrew Evans, from Cardiff in the UK, sent in OGC's second submission for our "Care, Dare, Act Aware." Thanks to Andrew a few of his friends and neighbours have tasted the lettuces he's grown, even while he's dealing with a pesky neighbor who doesn't seem to care for the garden much. Inspiring story of good temper despite the obstacles!

Justin O. Milligan, from Santa Rosa, CA

Justin O. Milligan, from Santa Rosa, CA, shares his story of overcoming shame with the courage to change his lifestyle as our 3rd submitter to our Care, Dare, Act Aware story collection! "Back in 2005, when I drove my car all I could think of was that my travel came at the terrible cost of destroying our planet. During that time I was miserable about it. My job required me to drive. I was making money, but felt I was destroying the Earth to do so.
In 2006 I met my future wife in San Francisco at a birthday party. Of course, I had to drive there. Though my passion for my future wife extinguished my shame for a while, before long that driving angst returned. I had to take action.
Today, I have reduced my footprint! I rarely drive, do not own a car, have an Undriver License (Undriving.org), take public transportation (busses, trains, taxis, Zipcars, car rentals, etc.), shop locally, travel by bike (I think I am called what is in the common jargon, a Townie), buy organic, share my thoughts of conscious living whenever appropriate, write to my representatives demanding environmental action, reuse plastic bags, use reusable shopping bags, pay for my carbon output (carbonfund.org), and more! I no longer live in shame.
Without a doubt, I would not have attained my momentum without my wife's influence. I remember when Maria suggested we pay for our carbon output resulting from our wedding in the redwoods. I think I groaned, then made a face, and then said something like, "how can we afford that?!" Turns out that it is not such a burden. Taking action to better our environment, to reduce pollution and to think of ways to live better not only makes me feel good about myself, but it is good. We can make a better world by doing our part not matter how small." Very inspiring Justin, thanks for sharing and inspiring others!https://www.facebook.com/justin.o.milligan

Salil Madaan, from Fairfax, VA

Salil Madaan, from Fairfax, VA, tries to use AC very minimally, which for anyone who has been in that neck of the woods demonstrates that his is a story of phenomenal sacrifice and temperance! Very inspiring Salil! Thanks for inspiring us! Care, Dare, Act Aware thanks you for adding your story to our OGC collection! https://www.facebook.com/salilmadan

Linda Regan, from Santa Rosa, CA

Linda Regan, from Santa Rosa, CA, wants to take deep breaths and not worry about what she's breathing in. For the past 10 years, she's been a volunteer for the American Lung Association, an organization that is fighting hard to prevent anyone from weakening or undermining the Clean Air Act or the protective standards the law provides. As a volunteer for the ALA, Linda is helping fight to ensure EPA has the legal authority and necessary funding to continue to protect the public health from air pollution! Truly magnificent Linda! What a sigh of relief that you care about our air! https://www.facebook.com/linda.regan.10

Rafeqi Ali Ahmad, from Kandahar, Afghanistan

Rafeqi Ali Ahmad, from Kandahar, Afghanistan, decided that if he does IT work and online work then he helps reduce his carbon footprint and it's true. So instead of using paper, he focuses on electronic communication and sees the benefit of going paperless! Care, Dare, Act Aware finds Rafeqi's story to be a story of personal triumph and honor in a challenging situation of bringing UN Peacekeeping efforts to Afghanistan. Thank you Rafeqi, you inspire us and we think you will inspire others as well!https://www.facebook.com/rafeqi

Humanity Rising by John Omaha

Humanity Rising

by

John Omaha

The goal of the spiritual program Humanity Rising is recovery from abuse of
Our Mother The Earth. Abuse of the earth arises from a mind-set that objectifies
Nature and views human beings as separate from Nature. Objectification is the core
wound of the destructive consciousness that has resulted in the global catastrophe
we now face. Objectification of Nature results in extractive activities like mining and oil
and natural gas drilling and most lately in fracking. To the objectifying mind, Earth is
treated like a separate entity from which materials can be taken. The same with the
oceans and the great fisheries that are now catastrophically depleted. The
environment is treated like a vast garbage dump where toxic chemicals, pollutants,
greenhouse gases, and plastic junk can be disposed of. So-called infra human
species are seen as unrelated to Homa sapiens, and species extinction is not
connected to the quite perilous status of human survival. Because humans objectify,
they see other humans as unconnected beings, and genocide, nuclear war, radiation
poisoning, famine, and unrelenting competition are not believed to affect the wellbeing
of any but the victims. The objectifying mind-set is the cause of the mortal
disordering confronting our species.

Spirituality is a world-view that treats all organisms and the natural world, the
planet upon which we all reside, as interconnected. Spirituality is based on
mindfulness. It is a meditative practice that has been empirically shown to enhance
empathy and compassion. Humanity Rising, an organization I founded in 1991, is a
spiritual practice that can take many forms. For over 20 years our spiritual practice
has been the sweat lodge, a collective meditation that has antecedents in Native
American, Teutonic, and Celtic societies. As the objectifying mind-set in the form of
christianity metastasized around the world beginning in the Middle Ages, shamans,
the traditional stewards of spiritual practice were systematically murdered, and when
the mind-set arrived in North America, the cultural genocide continued, and shamans
and spiritual practices were all but obliterated. Fortunately some of the Native
American shamans survived and in modern times transmitted these practices and
the mind-set of interconnectedness to Anglos who were unaware of the ancient
tradition among their own people.

The Lakota People expressed spiritual interconnectedness through the
concept O Mitakuye Oyasin, which means “All My Relations. When we enter our
sweat lodge we kneel in the doorway, touch the earth, and speak the words “O
Mitakuye Oyasin,” which is our commitment that we suffer, celebrate, and pray for the
benefit of all our relations, everything that ever was, is now, or ever will be. The entire
world, our solar system, our galaxy, and the universe is experienced as a living thing,
some of it animate, some of it inanimate, and all of it interconnected. In the lodge we
experience a state of Being of oneness. We are the lodge, we are the Stone People,
the water, the Standing Nation -- the trees that provided fuel to heat the stone people --
the water, the air we breathe, the plant helpers like cedar, tobacco, and sage, the
drum, the hoop with its feathers, the songs. As interconnected human beings, our
work in this world is to be aware, for we are the carriers of self-aware self
consciousness. We bind time. We are the means by which the Universe is aware of
itself. We are also the carriers of intention. Our prayerful intention is that the false,
cancerous objectifying mind-set will be dissolved and that the mind-set of
interconnectedness will take its place so that every living thing including Our Mother
The Earth and Our Father The Sky will once again be harmoniously united in a
healthy, living, interconnected whole. This is the vision, the purpose, and the practice
of Humanity Rising.

O Mitakuye Oyasin