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30 Day Meme -- Day 08 and Day 09
Aug. 1st, 2012 07:47 pmDay 08 – A moment
Being in the Mat-Su Valley part of Alaska with Amber, walking along the rocks of a stream connected to a glacier and collecting silt from a large glacier you can see from her house:-)
Day 09 – Your beliefs
Wow, this is a loaded question... I am a panentheist -- I believe that God is in everything and yet beyond everything that we are capable of knowing. I believe all the gods known exist as some type of spirit, and I believe there are spirits in all living, and some non-living, matter. I think I'm some kind of eclectic Christo-Pagan, starting to realize my Celtic roots. I feel connections to the goddesses Brigid (my namesake) and Persephone. I believe in reincarnation and other dimensions. I believe in heavens and a purgatory of some sort, where we all eventually realize the pain we cause others and feel that pain ourselves and feel remorse, but do not believe in any kind of hell. I follow the teachings of Jesus, but do not believe in the trinity or the idea that he is literally God anymore than any of us are (though I believe he was a prophet). I believe in ghosts and spirits of all kinds. I believe there is no death of the soul and eternity is true existence -- time is an illusion.
I believe in treating others how they wish to be treated, as long as that doesn't infringe on the rights of others -- including your own. Politically I'm very liberal, though I used to be pro-life. This was because of my belief that even bacteria and stones possess souls and it seemed a risk to kill something that might already be living. Yes, I felt bad for sperm that died. Now I see abortion as sometimes necessary and a right, but one that should be treated seriously and not forced on anyone. No one should be guilted into it or guilted for choosing it.
I'm in the process of trying to become a "mostly vegetarian" (meaning vegetarian except for maybe 4 times a year) and buy cruelty-free products. I believe all living things are of equal importance and want to do as little damage and as much good as possible.
( 30 Day Meme List )
Being in the Mat-Su Valley part of Alaska with Amber, walking along the rocks of a stream connected to a glacier and collecting silt from a large glacier you can see from her house:-)
Day 09 – Your beliefs
Wow, this is a loaded question... I am a panentheist -- I believe that God is in everything and yet beyond everything that we are capable of knowing. I believe all the gods known exist as some type of spirit, and I believe there are spirits in all living, and some non-living, matter. I think I'm some kind of eclectic Christo-Pagan, starting to realize my Celtic roots. I feel connections to the goddesses Brigid (my namesake) and Persephone. I believe in reincarnation and other dimensions. I believe in heavens and a purgatory of some sort, where we all eventually realize the pain we cause others and feel that pain ourselves and feel remorse, but do not believe in any kind of hell. I follow the teachings of Jesus, but do not believe in the trinity or the idea that he is literally God anymore than any of us are (though I believe he was a prophet). I believe in ghosts and spirits of all kinds. I believe there is no death of the soul and eternity is true existence -- time is an illusion.
I believe in treating others how they wish to be treated, as long as that doesn't infringe on the rights of others -- including your own. Politically I'm very liberal, though I used to be pro-life. This was because of my belief that even bacteria and stones possess souls and it seemed a risk to kill something that might already be living. Yes, I felt bad for sperm that died. Now I see abortion as sometimes necessary and a right, but one that should be treated seriously and not forced on anyone. No one should be guilted into it or guilted for choosing it.
I'm in the process of trying to become a "mostly vegetarian" (meaning vegetarian except for maybe 4 times a year) and buy cruelty-free products. I believe all living things are of equal importance and want to do as little damage and as much good as possible.
( 30 Day Meme List )
I think it's admirable and that everyone should try to be as environmentally-friendly as possible. I went on a manic shopping spree last year and bought a bunch of environmentally-friendly products that I'm still using. We also recycle as much as we can and don't throw food in the garbage usually.
( 365 Day Meme )
( 365 Day Meme )
My Non-Vegetarian Issues
Apr. 23rd, 2010 03:23 pmToday I am having a chicken sandwich with guacamole on it. I had decided last month to eat meat once a month so as to avoid cravings and giving up on vegetarianism altogether. I may not be a vegetarian, but I eat like one except for once a month. I figure the little amount I will consume is still better than what I would consume if I went back to my old diet and completely gave up on vegetarianism. I think there is too much emphasis placed on an "all or nothing" attitude in regards to veganism/vegetarianism and other means of helping the environment and animals. If everyone did what they could feasibly manage to leave less waste in the environment and to help animal causes there would be a greater impact and greater change than everyone feeling like they have to do all of that perfectly and completely and many people knowing they can't do that for one reason or another. We can all help in some manner. I can't afford to have all my products completely environmentally friendly, but I'm switching over a lot. Sometimes there are cheap, homemade replacements available. I also am keeping my leather and suede clothing. I don't intend to buy any more (unless there were some reason that necessitated it), but I'm not going to put to waste what I do have, or give things away that are still very useful to me and would be costly to replace.
Water Bottle Dilemma
Apr. 11th, 2010 12:35 pmRecently I bought Michael and me water bottles from Target because I'm trying to buy big containers of water instead of little water bottle to cut down on waste. We each have a water bottle to use for water or other liquids. We have cups, but we can't bring them out with us, and both of us need to stay hydrated because of physical conditions. I bought Michael a nice red stainless steel one with a smallish opening at the top and it cost $10. I just bought a cheap, yet wide, plastic pink one, but the top is way too big and I always spill on myself. Not a big deal with water, but an issue if I wanted to put apple juice in it or something. Yesterday at Old Navy, with Phil and April, I saw the kind of water bottles I got Michael for $5 instead of $10 and they had some with really pretty designs (like butterflies). Even though it only cost $5 I still didn't buy one because I was worried how much expenses at the ballet would be. Things were cheaper than I thought and I'm sure now that I want a water bottle from Old Navy. Michael is leaving today and I asked my mother, but she got really irritate with me (which always upsets me) because she thinks I should have bought it yesterday and she's repainting my old childhood bedroom today. Michael is going to drive me, but it is to a different, closer, Old Navy location so I hope they have water bottles, too. I have a package to mail, too, but it will be pretty small and shouldn't cost that much to ship.
Shopping Day - Vitamins and Shampoo
Mar. 22nd, 2010 04:31 pmToday I went and bought new multivitamins because I had a huge, unopened container that expired the beginning of 2009:-/ They are expensive! I bought the generic ones. Then at Target I found all the Seventh Generation cruelty-free housecleaning products, including the ones I bought in bulk from amazon.com. I guess I can just buy them in-person now (but I intend to make homemade all-purpose cleaner when I run out of that). Also I was able to get cruelty-free floor cleaner, which is what I was looking for. I don't need very much of it at a time, so I hope to make it last. I still have some Pine Sol to finish off, too. Then I went to Bath and Body Works to look for shampoo, but they only had 3 kinds in the store and none of them I liked (they were things like "orange ginger"). When I came home and checked the website again I saw a bunch of shampoos, including the one I really wanted -- warm vanilla sugar.
However, I double-checked and while their final products are cruelty-free they don't check their ingredients for being cruelty-free. So I found Aveda online, which is supposedly completely cruelty-free and bought shampoo and conditioner from them (I checked Target's website and it looked much cheaper to buy Aveda online than through Target unless someone made a typo). So I ordered Aveda shampoo and conditioner online. Hopefully I will like it, but I not too picky (other than scent). There is some debate over whether cruelty-free products made under a larger company that isn't completely cruelty-free should be purchased or if only companies totally cruelty-free should be supported. I think it's perfectly fine to buy cruelty-free products from otherwise non-cruelty-free companies because it will show the companies there is a market for cruelty free products and hopefully they will do more cruelty-free work.
However, I double-checked and while their final products are cruelty-free they don't check their ingredients for being cruelty-free. So I found Aveda online, which is supposedly completely cruelty-free and bought shampoo and conditioner from them (I checked Target's website and it looked much cheaper to buy Aveda online than through Target unless someone made a typo). So I ordered Aveda shampoo and conditioner online. Hopefully I will like it, but I not too picky (other than scent). There is some debate over whether cruelty-free products made under a larger company that isn't completely cruelty-free should be purchased or if only companies totally cruelty-free should be supported. I think it's perfectly fine to buy cruelty-free products from otherwise non-cruelty-free companies because it will show the companies there is a market for cruelty free products and hopefully they will do more cruelty-free work.
Cat Food Dishes and More
Mar. 8th, 2010 12:22 pmI told Michael I wouldn't spend any more money this month on "green" things except maybe small things, like when I run out of toothpaste, etc. However, if I go to the pet store later this month (which I might have to, for cat litter) I will probably buy 3 small bowls for the wet cat food. The only reason I haven't so far is that often they don't finish the wet food and I would be really disgusted to clean out their bowls. I hate wet cat food. Michael has been suggesting I buy wet cat food dishes for years (I used to use one). So I might end up buying those.
I also read in a natural living post about replacing (most) paper towels with regular dish-like towels and replacing paper napkins with cloth napkins. Or replacing Kleenex with handkerchiefs. I'm not sure of the prices for that stuff, but I will consider it maybe next month. I have a ton of unopened paper towels (which I also use as napkins), so I could wait awhile. I also have an unopened box of Kleenex. I'd like my next purchases to be closer to when I'm actually running out of my "normal" products. The cleaning products I bought when hypomanic aren't things I really need yet, aside from the dish detergent. And there are many easy ways to make all-purpose cleaners, so after I run out of all that stuff I will just make my own all-purpose cleaner.
In the future I will run out of things at different times, so it should be a lot cheaper to replace things one at a time. I wish I could find a good cat litter, but like I said, the really good ones naturally/good for the cats make my whole house smell bad. I hope to find a better litter, but it may take awhile.
I also read in a natural living post about replacing (most) paper towels with regular dish-like towels and replacing paper napkins with cloth napkins. Or replacing Kleenex with handkerchiefs. I'm not sure of the prices for that stuff, but I will consider it maybe next month. I have a ton of unopened paper towels (which I also use as napkins), so I could wait awhile. I also have an unopened box of Kleenex. I'd like my next purchases to be closer to when I'm actually running out of my "normal" products. The cleaning products I bought when hypomanic aren't things I really need yet, aside from the dish detergent. And there are many easy ways to make all-purpose cleaners, so after I run out of all that stuff I will just make my own all-purpose cleaner.
In the future I will run out of things at different times, so it should be a lot cheaper to replace things one at a time. I wish I could find a good cat litter, but like I said, the really good ones naturally/good for the cats make my whole house smell bad. I hope to find a better litter, but it may take awhile.
