Ascension Tips On Zombies, Being Naked and Afraid, and a Simple Life A look at popular movies and television series would suggest that we have a fascination with the end of the world, the breakdown of society, and fending for ourselves. The Walking Dead was so successful at capturing our interest that it launched another zombie thriller, Fear the Walking Dead. Other shows include: Naked and Afraid, Alaskan Bush People, Alaska: The Last Frontier, Z Nation, Doomsday Preppers, Falling Skies, Man vs. Wild and many, many more. Survivalist Armageddon movies include: I Am Legend, 2012, San Andreas, Red Dawn, World War Z, and the Mad Max and Terminator movies. Again…just to name a few. In a google search for this article, I also learned there are prepper meetup groups. So while I have been meeting up to meditate and share energy, others have been meeting up to share survival tips. Is there something wrong with us? Are we looking for the world to end? Do we really want to live in the wilderness, to be all alone? I must admit that I am a huge fan of The Walking Dead. Sunday nights are worked around the show in my house. Because I am fully aware of the Law of Attraction (LOA) and have seen how thoughts attract things in my life, I felt it was extremely important to explore my fascination with this genre. I had to be clear about what I was potentially creating in my life and in the greater world around me. I explored my thoughts and feelings. Believe it or not, it took months to figure it out fully. I knew I was not interested in the world ending or in mass chaos. I certainly was not interested in living outside and having to find all of my own food. I did simply enjoy being entertained by these types of stories. In the spirit of the LOA, I reaffirmed my gratitude for the life I have and for the chance to have fun watching these scenarios in a fictionalized way without having to live them. But I knew there was also something more to my interest. As I continued to play with it, I realized I was interested in returning to a more connected way of life and some greater simplicity. I was also clear that I was not interested in giving up many of the comforts of life. I am not one who believes that living a spiritual path means living without abundance. But I was interested in moving away from getting my food from large, monoculture farms and returning to small scale (even backyard), organic farming. I was interested in eliminating genetically modified foods (GMOs) from my life. As an adult, I had always wanted to have my own large garden. I longed for the juicy tomatoes that I ate like an apple each summer growing up in New Jersey. I finally had the opportunity this year for that garden. I grew most of my plants from seed and created a garden so big that the weeds finally beat me by the end of July and I could barely keep up with the canning and freezing. I also became interested in permaculture—how I could create an edible landscape with fruit trees and bushes, nut trees, my vegetable garden, herbs and medicinal plants, all taking full advantage of the good and bad aspects of my land and what I had available. I looked for ways to keep the water on my sloping land when it rained, so it penetrated my hard Tennessee clay and kept the nutrients and topsoil on my land, rather than allowing it to run off into the creek at the foot of the property where it would find its way to and pollute the rivers and, ultimately, the ocean. I learned natural ways to improve my soil as I grew my crops, rather than simply depleting it. I asked my son not to mow the lawn until I harvested the dandelion, red clover and plantain (not the banana kind, but the “weed” kind). I allowed the wild edibles lamb’s quarter, purslane and chickweed to grow freely in the vegetable and flower gardens. I added them to my salads and smoothies. I forbade my son from mowing a large field so I could see what would grow and to provide habitat for pollinators, rabbits, turtles, snakes and all else who needed it. I was rewarded with a field of beautiful wildflowers which even included the gorgeous passion flower and even several passion fruits. I took pleasure in reconnecting with nature, becoming grounded and enjoying the seasons. I made it a point to relax more and appreciate the sounds and sights around me, even when I was at my busiest. I regularly stopped to take deep breaths and listen to the birds, bugs and rustling wind. I designated a strip of brush and trees between two fields as people-free territory for the fairies (I really did.) I asked that everyone stay out of that area and if they needed to go into it, that they ask permission of the fairies first (they did!). I was interested in working with the rhythms of the garden and the whole property. I asked for permission before harvesting plants and I always apologized when I inadvertently hurt a plant or overharvested an herb. I didn’t apologize on purpose…it was reflexive! I appreciated a simpler way of life, even though it wasn’t always easier. It certainly would have been easier to go buy of jar of Ragu rather than start the tomatoes from seed, plant them in the garden, water them, pick off the gnarly looking tomato hornworm, harvest, can them, then make the sauce when I was ready for it. But it connected me back to the earth and to a simpler way of life. It connected me back to myself. I felt more relaxed and healthier. I knew I was putting better food into myself and my family. It renewed my gratitude for the earth and all that I had. Wouldn’t it be great if we all took some of these simple steps to reconnect? What if we all had a small garden in our yard, and preserved the soil and water. Imagine how different life on The Walking Dead would be for Rick, Carl, Michonne and Darryl if they could walk down any street and find all they needed to survive growing in every yard. On the other hand, I guess it would make for far less compelling T.V.! Know that I’ll be sitting glued to my T.V. next month for this season’s premier of The Walking Dead, after finishing a bowl of homegrown, organic soup. To get you started on returning to a simpler life, check out these sites: Permaculture: http://www.permaculture.org/resources/ Wild Edibles:  http://www.twineagles.org/edible-wild-plants.html Organic Gardening: http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening.aspx Small Space/City Gardening: http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/gardening-techniques/small-space-gardening-zm0z12fmzsto.aspx Dangers of GMOs:  http://responsibletechnology.org/10-Reasons-to-Avoid-GMOs For the brave at heart…here are images of the Tomato Hornworm: http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=tomato+hornworm+images&id=83F07434FEAB68686F905D646929BC8896AEF4E6&FORM=IQFRBA Views:]]>