HELLO WORLD!! I’m Kate. Eek, first post on steemit – kinda exciting!!!!! Want to introduce myself and my interests, who knows maybe I’ll start to blog on some of these themes?
An Irish Cailín
I’m the “psychedelic sheep of the family”, of a family of four from Donegal, N.W. Ireland (think wind-swept wide-open beaches and rolling hills blanketed in glorious purple sheep-nibbled heather, rugged castles and megalithic tombs, faeries, and cosy pubs with turf-burning fires and eccentric publicans). Although my feet have since wandered far I will always be a Donegal girl! My friends say I’m cheerful and sometimes they think I’m “a bit different” (depends where they are on that scale themselves!). 
Researching in Brazil
I’m currently single and living in Paraty, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil, writing up a doctoral thesis about the wild food plant scene here (or ‘PANCs’, non-conventional food plants, as they are known here). I was thinking that it could be interesting to share on here in Steemit some of my experiences in Paraty and from fieldwork, and maybe even geek people out with some of my thoughts on my research. It seems like a fantastic platform for researchers to reach a broader audience (whoever reads theses anyway??). What do you guys think?
Lovely lovely Brazil...
So you might be thinking to yourself, “that’s very cunning, choosing one of the top tourist destinations in Brazil, renowned for its lush Atlantic forest, pristine waterfalls and beautiful tropical beaches to do your PhD fieldwork”, and I would say, “yes, yes it was very cunning!”. Okay, well there’s more of a backstory to it than that, but it has been rather lovely living here for the last two years!
A transformative experience
It has transformed my life getting to know the ins and outs of the wild food and agroecology scene, to taste the beautifully slow rhythm of life of modern ‘neorurals’ (young city folk seeking a simpler rural life), and to also discover the hidden universe of contemporary shamanism (this last hadn’t a huge amount to do with my research I’ll have to admit – but was very transformative!).
My Interests
Rather than waffling on, here’s a list of some of the things I‘m properly interested in:
• Biodiversity Conservation (from a social sciences perspective)
• Ethnobotany / ethnoecology
• Wild food plants
• Agroecology
• Permaculture
• Bushcraft
• Travelling & knowing new places (not a whistle-stop backpacker)
• Language learning
• Amateur psychology (attachment theory, mindfulness, enneagram)
• Neo-shamanism
• Sacred plants
• Nature connectedness
• General alternative living sorta stuff
• Van-life (I have an unhealthy obsession with the idea of campervan living – I’ll have to show you photos of a Bedford van I had a while ago!)
• Capoeira
• Yoga and massage
• B-movie zombie flicks
• And more recently - Cryptocurrency mania ... woohooo! All in on Steeeeeeeem!!!!!!!! Chooo Chooo!!! (he he, not that I have all that much to go "all in"!)
My Photos
And here’s some photos to give you a taste of my Brazilian life…
The view from my apartment’s balcony:
Me and Safo the cat, who deigns me with his company and permits me to feed and cuddle him:
A visit from my bestie Amanda all the way from Ireland:
Getting in with the agroecology crew during a permaculture event in a local quilombola community with Senhor Alcides (I think this is the 'roça' with the best view in all of Brazil!):
Helping collect juçara, the “açai of the Atlantic Forest” (some brave souls head up those palm trees without a ladder!):
Helping sort through a juçara harvest on another occasion:
Visiting an urban agriculture centre in São Paulo (Arboreser):
Visiting a family farmer growing passion fruit among other things:
Visiting farmer’s markets in Paraty and asking interminable questions about plants (this is Senhor Valdevina, a much respected agroforester):.jpg)
Left holding the baby whilst spending time at an informant’s family agroforestry farm inside the Bocaina National Park:
Attending lots of courses about wild food plants (photo credit to Thai Frô/Satya Thai who's in front - check her music out on Soundcloud, it's amazing! Also check out "Gourmet PANCs- Alquimia alimentar" on Facebook to know Poliana who ran the course):
Wild food salad:
Basically, life involves eating lots of marvellous wild food creations:
Visiting my favourite local waterfall:
Shamanic drumming at a local yoga festival:
Taking part in shamanic ceremonies…
Enjoying the vibrant night life in Paraty’s beautiful historical town centre:
Visiting Rio de Janeiro and humming Barry Manilow to myself the whole time that I’m in Copacabana:
I hope you enjoyed my little Kate intro! Maybe I’ll take some time out from thesis writing to write some blogs about my experiences and research. PhD students are always looking for a bit of good distraction!!
Lots of Love Peace and Harmony to the whole Steemit community!! Ahooo!
Hi @kate-m nice to meet you my ann @annsita....i come from Thailand.....welcome to steemit , i just new here and hope you have fun and share more post and hope we can be friend enjoy about our post...so my Englisg is't very well, but will try the best for that....
so have to be nice if we are follow each another and vote... i will follow you and vote, have a nice day dear. and see you soon dear ^_^
Thanks Annsita :) I hope things are well over there in Thailand!
Nice meeting you on Steemit Kate! I'm sharing a lot of your interests and really love to read more about all your personal and job experiences! To be able to fulfill my dream in working with nature, I became an ecologist in The Netherlands. At the time I think nature is not really present anymore in this country. But people start to get more aware nowadays, so that gives me a little hope. Looking forward to read more about the researches you conduct in Brazil and also your spiritual experiences :)
Nice to meet you Luny. I studied a first degree in ecology and worked as an ecologist in Ireland for 6 years. Then I felt an itch to look at things from the human perspective as it felt a lot of ecologists weren't very interested in understanding humans, whom to me seem to be central to conservation. Subsequently, as part of a masters in conservation and rural development I spent three months in Gabon studying with the Baka forest people, so-called "pygmies". I was really impressed with their spiritual relationship with the natural world and I really started to feel that this is perhaps a fundamental challenge that we face in today's world (in which we face a global ecological crisis), re-establishing some semblance of connection and fundamental respect for the natural world. This is one of the reasons I think wild foods are so interesting, it seems to awake in people a curiosity and awe about the natural world that inspires them to look at the natural world around them in a completely different way, and with much more respect and appreciation. I'll look forward to reading some of your thoughts about animism and the human-nature relationship!
Hi Kate, wow that’s been spoken really well. I couldn’t agree more with you on this!
More and more people start to realize now that they can’t live without nature. Also more and more researches show the relation between for example nature and recovery from illness and wellbeing. Nowadays people go to churches less and less, and instead have a belief in science. Interesting to see that through science and researches we can now slowly start to reach more people around the world.
How amazing that you have seized the opportunity to be among the people who still know how to be in touch with nature and communicate with everything that is around them. This is giving me some butterflies in my stomach when I think about creating this opportunity for myself as well 😊
I hope by the end of this week I have a knew article to post!
It's a very exciting and relevant research area I believe. Seems like psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists will be the ones who make the most interesting contributions to conservation in the coming decades! Imho. Of course you don't need to do an academic course to make a contact and share experiences with indigenous peoples... some of the most personally important learning experiences can happen in your own personal adventures and missions whilst travelling. Here in Brazil for example there's lots of opportunities to share experiences with indigenous peoples. I was chatting today with a friend that here in Brazil perhaps people have a bit more opportunity to orientate and align themselves with the wisdom that is there to be learnt with indigenous peoples. Indigenous wisdom is contained within the lived experience, to a secular westerner who honours science, forms of knowledge that aren't transmitted by written word can seem less valid, less important, or simply invisible. At times it seems that regardless of all the technological advances that the human race makes, for every step we think we take forward, we are sliding back another two steps. Putting so much importance on technology we neglect our own spiritual well-being, we neglect our own physical practical capabilities, we neglect the nurturing of a caring, loving feeling of relationship with our tribe, with our surrounding nature, our home (in the sense of our own bodies and our ecosystems that we inhabit). I've really started to see that people who discard religion and superstition and fixate on science as the one truth, sometimes can be sadly closing themselves off to what might be very important lessons and wisdom (I know that there are many exceptions to this!!!).
Quick definition from Wikipedia:
"Positivism is a philosophical theory stating that certain ("positive") knowledge is based on natural phenomena and their properties and relations. Thus, information derived from sensory experience, interpreted through reason and logic, forms the exclusive source of all certain knowledge."
The thing is, science (positivism) is pretty limited in what it can prove, but for sure there's phenomenon occurring that simply can't (or won't) be proved (yet). More and more I see "positivists" as actually being very dogmatic in their beliefs, which of course they would receive as anathema, surely it's all the religious people that are "dogmatic". Yet science is actually peppered with blind belief (there's a great Ted Talk on this), and I often feel that they [the millions of positivists] arrogantly believe that science is the holder of the only truth. I think it's useful for scientists to be a bit more humble in their stances at times. I'm really interested in the tension that exists between Western knowledge systems and traditional / indigenous knowledge systems, a lot of the literature on this totally taps into this dialectic and contradiction within positivism.
I'm rambling now. I guess the point I wanted to make was a response to your comment about people abandoning religion and moving to a secular stance and belief in science. I personally have come full circle on this issue, from being quite a staunch atheist and proponent of scientific approaches. I still highly value and promote a scientific, that is to say, systematic, studious, rational analysis of a situation and using that as a guide to decide how to go forward. But along my path I came to see that spirituality has a profoundly important role in human society and well-being, for ethical behaviour and moral reasoning, as well as well-being in society. And sometimes as part of that you need to give in to the irrational, to honour ritual and mysticism, to connect directly with feeling, to channel creativity, to encounter the mystical unknown. And we could do well to look to some of the long traditions of religions that have mastered techniques to connect people to the sacred.
Ha ha, still rambling! I'll shut up now.
Don’t mind the rambling, I’m very interested in hearing your point of view 😊
I have some difficulties in expressing myself in English, but I’ll try my best. I really agree with you that science is still very limited in what it can prove, but it is still the one thing that millions of people (at least in The Netherlands) have a blind trust and believe in. Spirituality and phenomena that can’t by proven or explained by science on the other hand, are waved away almost immediately by a lot of people.
Nowadays for example, a lot of children in The Netherlands don’t even know anymore that milk comes from a cow and meat that is in store comes from living animals as well. Or another example, that a lot of western diseases have direct links with the foods we eat today and the materialistic world we live in. To me the answers to these problems lie in being in contact with (your) nature and attuning to nature. But a lot of people think this is nonsense and decide to see nature as an enemy and something that we have no part in. How can we reach these people? How can we show them the benefits of connecting with nature ones more. I think for a lot of people the answer lies in communication on a level that they understand and believe in. For example in The Netherlands more and more food-forests start to arise and people remove bricks from their yards and plant trees and plants (project ‘Operatie Steenbreek’) because to them it lowers temperatures and attracts bees to pollinate their flowers. These people are being convinced through scientific prove and results. These steps that people make are still small, but to me every small step towards nature and towards being in contact with your spirituality, is a step in the good direction.
This was what I meant to say about people not going to churches anymore but instead have faith in science. I have come from this same place and believe that a large amount of the people need to be spoken to in a (scientific) language that they understand in order to want to open themselves to spirituality and to grow on a spiritual level. Some scientists and writers to me can be that bridge between science and spirituality, for example Lloyd Pye and Bryan Hubbard.
I hope I’ve been able to explain my theory in a way that it makes sense..
Hello,
Just home from a long walk so don't have the umph to write much, but yeah, totally. :) You gotta communicate with people in a language they know!
I agree, Kate - I studied environmental science and management, but I prefer referring to it as environmental science and people management. If we can change the actions of people, our surroundings change as well. I was working in mining, of all jobs and quit before the end of my scholarship to become a teacher. Now I get to run my very own gardening club at one of the schools I work at.
Take care :)
Nick
A gardening club sounds great! truly believe that planting food is one of the most empowering things a person can do i this day and age.
People management makes... it sounds like managing large crowds, he he. Yes the social sciences aspect of conservation/environmental science is very exciting and much of it is truly uncharted territory. A very exciting field to be involved in.
Thanks for the reply, Kate. Gardening Club is fun with the kids. They all have a great time.
Take Care.
Nick
wow! what a way to live and research! i've always wanted to go to Brasil, two of my best friends at different times in my life are from Brasil. looking forward to hearing more.
Thanks :) It has it's ups and its downs - I'm currently pulling hair out and panicking that I'll never get this thing done on time for the deadline - eek! I have lots of pictures and stories to share but just not so much time right now - I look forward to a calm period that I can share some here and maybe inspire some people to come find out for themselves what a great part of the world this is! Going forward I quite like the idea of setting up some sort of small passive income and then being an independent researcher with my own modest deadlines thus building in more carefree time to my short existence on this earth.
-ah - you're the angel artist! Love your work, have followed you - look forward to more moments of being transported by your special aesthetic!
i know what you mean, this requires an input of time. I've been meaning to start blogging to promote my art for the last two years, but I could not get started until this summer when my daughter got serious here and encouraged me. I am also blogging on other social media to put my art out, but here I've been motivated. you have a good plan!
Thanks for your support! Each week I will blog once or twice, that's my plan!
f*ckin`Hell!!! That is the way!!!! Wild foods, bush crafting, beautiful places, incredible experiences!!! Got yourself a big follower :)))
Ha ha, thank you! Although I'm not giving much time to writing posts until I get my project finished. Too many things in my head. It'll happen though!
one thing at the time, no stress at all :))
He he, thanks! But when I do start giving time to writing blogs I have a great big backlog! (no toilet jokes please!)
hehehe I never really heard that word before, so I had no chance to make a joke XD
He he, just as well then :)
Hallo and Welcome Kate
thanks for sharing your pictures and what you are experience in Brazil.
Hope to read more about you adventures there.
Upvoted and follow you
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Hi @kate-m - I just read your intro and fell in love <3
So here's a thought, the ancient Greeks mapped out all sorts of different types of loves (see exhibit A below)... do we need to add in an extra circle somewhere (maybe between Eros & Philia?) to represent the love you feel when you see someones online profile? He he he.
Thank you for the complement. I see you had some awesome times with Mother Aya in the jungle, nice pics!
Holy love, what a map. Universal love is flickering and I have another map to show to choose a spot for love ;) *technical hint: you can right click the image and open in new tab/window to see fullres 😳
Cool image - although not sure how I feel about that weird pink eye in the middle!
Thanks - maybe you want to explain which feelings the "weird pink eye in the middle" triggers ;)
It's like in horror movies when it seems like the eyes of a painting are following you wherever you go in a room. The weird lidless albino eye is watching me like some twisted psychedelic Big Brother, whilst the blooming pink lips of the heart are simultaneously suggestive of the notion that the freakazoid albino eye might in fact not be an eye at all but be the exploding or soon to be exploding epicentre of a female orgasm, presumably experienced after consumption of a large amount of acid or shrooms, where the orgasm is seen instead of felt, colours are smelled instead of seen etc. Which considering it's a gifted picture from an unknown male is a bit disconcerting and somehow feels uncomfortably intrusive.
Now I feel disconcerted and uncomfortable.
This picture was not made to trigger such feelings. I made it out of an experience I had ... and that was far from what you describe, but maybe you are right and this picture is far more powerful, than to post it to unknown people. Maybe you can forgive.
Hi @kate-m how nice to read this. I'm Dutch and also living in Brazil. A bit further south, in Florianópolis. Make sure you follow me if you like, I will keep posting updates about my stay! Valeu, até mais!
Lovely to meet you, Kate! Thank you for linking me to your introduction. It's really interesting to read your journey and your passion for wild food, stunning photos of Brazil too.
Upvoted and followed! :)
Thanks gardeningchef! Now we both just need to write more blog posts! Looking forward to reading yours!
Namasté dear @kate-m! <3
I read your intro post attentianally and entusiastic and I want to say: I LOOOOOOVE IT!!! <3 Really! What an amazing Post, what an amazing woman you are! <3
I love the way you write, I love the way you live and what you do, I love your photos and: your interests match sooo well with mine WOW! I am so thankful you commented on my post and I met you! I follow you and I am really excited to read more about you! <3
Best wishes, lots of love, light, peace and harmony to you dear celtic girl <3 I feel very enriched by following you!
Greetings from another psychedelic sheep ;) <3
Yay - we can make a psychedelic flock!
Oh yes!! A lot of fluffy, colourful psychedelic sheeps strolling around the world and floating through the universe :D
I liked your intruduction post so much. You are literally living the live I would love to live aswell. I wish you all the best for your research and your future and I'm looking forward to more posts. Thank you for sharing all these images aswell!
I'm glad you enjoyed!!!
Amazing personality... amazing life... :)
Enjoyed reading it...
It's nice to have some researchers on this platform. :D
Welcome to steemit @kate-m
Love all of your images :) Keep steeming!
Glad you enjoyed!!! Must get round to writing my research up so I can share it! See you round!
Eagerly waiting for your post @kate-m :)
:D
love it .....our connection with the natural world ...so well put...I go crazy around here with the 4-H projects...it is such a shame...they teach these kids about pumping animals up with antibiotics and hormones to make weight...a whole other topic...We are so exactly that ..a natural world at our little homestead, grass fed everything no chemicals, healing from our natural healer..for us, that is Jesus...So glad you showed me this introduction...I so enjoyed all of the pictures as well...the view from the permaculture project was amazing...that is like Ecuador...and you are book smart and quite wise as well..More power to ya! Koodos! So glad you looked past my plant ignorance and dug deeper...appreciate who you are...we are all, ever evolving!
Joy and peace,
Thanks for the lovely comment joearnold!
Hehehehe "chooo chooooo!"
Thank you for sharing your intro, I'll be surely following you! It sounds like I could learn a lot from you, which I so very much need right now, as city/apartment life is anything but regular life.
Many many blessings Kate. Stay in touch?
apartment life? You mean closet life... he he he (sorry that was just mean!!). Yes, I found your intro very interesting, I'm following now, so no doubt we'll have further interactions as we see each others posts (although I go through periods without posting anything!). Peace
Wow yea, great trip that is! What beautiful pictures.
Hey....nothing wrong with livin vehicles!!!
Never been to Brazil... One day though we'll go. Thanks for sharing your experience @kate-m
Glad you enjoyed! I have loads of photos and stories to slowly share if I ever get myself organised! Indeed there is nothing wrong with live-in vehicles!!!! lol
Is that you? Give us a van tour! Van tour ! Van tour! Van tour!
Heehee.... Yes. A van tour? Well ok eventually!
I have spent many hours looking at van conversion van tours on YouTube getting ideas, and any time I meet someone with a van it doesn't take long before they are having a van tour demanded of them!
If you anted to spend some more time watching conversions... Chek this little compilation I put together from my favorite live-in vehicles...!
Wow! Exciting indeed. I must say I’m a little jealous. 😀 I love the pics! And I would love to read your research papers, as well. Sounds amazingly interesting.
Jeez - I'd love to read my research papers as well - I'd best get writing. Worst student ever!! I'm actually back in the UK now to do just that - wish me luck!!! It's much less glamorous here!!!! Currently huddled in front of computer beside a wood stove and SAD lamp! lol, maybe that makes you less jealous!
WAW! Really cool! I love PANCs too! and Permaculture so well... I'm leaving in São Paulo now but 2018 I'm moving to Ubatuba.. close to you. :)
I'll follow your experiences here. And maybe post recipes and curiosities about the PANCs in my yard. Bests
Yes do, blog about PANCs! Actually recently I went to England, not sure when I will be back to Paraty - but I will be back! Love that place (and that whole coastline along to Ubatuba). Tô feliz faz conexão com um brasileiro aqui no Steemit :)
Wow Supreme beingggg Namasteee so nice to meet you being of light lots of love i upvoted and following the same supreme compassion super explosionsss of love and adventures and joy yuuuhuiiu
Thank you! Look forward to more posts from you! Peace out
Oh how I want to go to Ireland! One day I hope! Enjoyed your intro. Will be following. Excited to see more, and pics from Ireland sometime please :)
ok! I'm not back in Ireland till October but maybe I'll dredge up some old photos - I worked as a botanist in Ireland for 6 years and have quite a few pretty snaps from that time.
Wow this was a great first post outlining all your super cool interests, and i definitely wanna see more! Followed.
Thanks!
Welcome to Steemit! I like seeing the harvest of the palm fruits, and those giant passionfruits, and the wild salad! You've picked a great topic for your dissertation. I'm looking forward to your insights about foraging and living close to the land, for sure!
Welcome Kate! Looking forward to seeing what you get up to in Brazil.
Almost time to go home to be honest!! But I have a fair backlog of photos...unfortunately my nice camera broke along with a succession of smart phones so I don't have as many nice photos as I might have liked. Stay tuned! Steeeeeeeeemit x
That's what backlogs were made for :)
I'm finally writing about my previous two-year trip.
It's like literary constipation (not literally! he he)
Where have you been travelling??
Well, I was living in Germany for a few years. Then I quit work and spent 8 months traveling Europe, about 8 months in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam (mostly Vietnam). Then about 8 months in Guatemala, Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador. Now I'm in Portland, thinking about getting rid of all my stuff to go traveling again.
What about yourself?
Ha ha, just reading that made me dizzy!!! He he. I grew up in Donegal, studied in England, although also studied a year in Marseille in France, after finishing my degree I spent three months in Madagascar on a tropical ecology course and placement with a conservation NGO, afterwards worked in Ireland for 8 years, most of which was as a botanist which involved fieldwork placements for several months at a time in various parts of the country. During that time in Ireland I also visited England, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Croatia, Italy, Spain, France, and also managed a month in Brazil. I was working in Ireland at the peak of the Celtic tiger and had the privilege of making friends from all over Europe and Brazil who had come to Ireland attracted by lucrative work opportunities, so basically made lots of friends that I could then visit in their home countries (strategic strike!!). Then I went back to the UK for more study, spent three months in Gabon for my masters project, and now I'm in Brazil. Phew, actually recounting that made me dizzy too!
Oh, great. Now I'm dizzy :) You're all over the place!
Looking forward to seeing what you get up to (or have gotten up to). Cheers!
~smiles~ did you know you have been found? I'm not saying you're lost...hardly, you're one of the most self aware person's I've come across here at Steemit...just saying you've been...oh I'll just save you the blather...we both speak Babblonian I believe...lol...with different accents...'course...was a horse.
https://steemit.com/underappreciatedposts/@gmuxx/hidden-gems-no-5
~may all hatred cease...let there be peace~
Waow!!!!!!!!! Thank you! Ha ha, what a lovely welcome to Steemit!!
de nada 1<3
Welcome to Steem @kate-m I have sent you a tip
He he. Are you a relative of Boaty McBoatface? Thanks for the tip! I didn't even know people could do that. One love!
Excellent intro! I'm so glad to meet you. We have a lot in common! Cooking or just food! Also nutrition and natural medicine (gardening also/collecting of wild plants too), with me specifically I would call myself a naturopathic healer without the degree tho. Also I do a lot of psychic work that ... I would kindof consider shamanistic. Many Native American past lives and interactions with interdimensional beings and also the Earth Grid. Welcome! I am following and I upvoted ya. Looking forward to some interesting articles from you on these and other subjects.
Great! Followed you right back!
Welcome to Steemit. I'm sure you will love it here, such a fun and friendly place. Looks like you have a very interesting life, look forward to reading more about it. And I can't imagine being at the top of that ladder either. Thanks, have a nice night.
You are awesome Kate nice to meet you and many thanks for your
upvote.
May Peace and Light be your Guide always
Woohoo - I'm awesome :D
Yes, Kate you are awesome))) I'm eager to know more about your research and travels)
P.s
Have you ever met this guy?
https://www.facebook.com/flavio.multiman
He lives in São Paulo. He is deeply involved in psychedelic and shamanic culture of Brazil.
Flavio Multiman? No. To be honest São Paulo completely overwhelms me with it's sprawl of building and traffic and concrete and I usually come up with excuses not to go there. :) However I do know that there is a particularly rich and vibrant network of ayahuasca communities in and around SP of all types (from extensive research on FaceBook when trying to promote an ayahuasca retreat that I organised. I myself only know one shaman (neo-shamanic) who is based there, a chap called Denis, an absolute sweetheart, and I also know someone in SP who attends the União Vegetal. I was really baffled by this last because you look in his fridge and it's just filled with milk and vacuum sealed hot dogs. When I told him I was doing the aya diet at the time he told me I looked great I didn't need to diet. I got really confused by his lack of awareness of the ayahuasca diet and his way of enthusing about aya sessions as though recounting an acid trip. A good heart though. You meet all sorts!
Denis' website is:
https://bridi19.wixsite.com/xamanismo
He is also awesome :)
Most of the time he is out of the city in his rancho. You can contact Flavio via facebook he is very open man and has connections with the native tribes.
p.s
Yes, it's quite strange that he don't care about diet because it's not only for physical readiness but also for spiritual. I know that fasting can be really enlightening and is good for clearing the consciousness.
Speaking of facebook - give the below page a follow, I made it for promoting ayahuasca things in Paraty. It's been a bit quiet recently cos I've just been concentrating on my PhD, but you might find it interesting.
https://www.facebook.com/Ayahuasca-Paraty-Cura-do-Xama%CC%83-1107213262700883/
Hey Kate... big Welcome to Steemit!!! Hope you enjoy it here as much as I am. Your photos and adventures look fantastic... Look forward to more from you. Upvoted :)
Cheers ears - with a name like that you must be Irish too? I think I'm the only Irish person living in Paraty.
He he, every time I say that to someone I want to make reference to Little Britain, but of course no-one out here has a clue about that reference:
I LOVE Little Britain they will not have a clue haha!!!
My Dads side has some Irish not sure the full story but yes it is a confusing name :) I bet they all love you out there? I love Irish Accent :)
I guess not that weird - there's seven times more "Irish Americans" than Irish in Ireland. But Irish people are obsessive compulsive about discovering the links between them and other Irish when they're abroad....he he, the next time an Irish person asks you that pretend to be Irish and you'll see that you will soon get interrogated as to where you grew up, where you studied, where you worked, the places you've lived, who you know in those places....they're like a dog with a bone. You will soon be sniffed out as a fraud.
They are clueless here, half of them mis-hear and go away thinking that I'm from Holland or Iceland. After a year here one of my best friends introduced me as dutch to someone else! If they have heard of Ireland usually the maximum of their knowledge is "U2!!!". I then have to explain that most Irish people don't even like U2.
Nice to have you on board, Kate! Great pictures! Thank you for sharing! Follow me at https://steemit.com/@bitgeek
Hello! Welcome to #Steemit! I hope your time here is well-spent and you have much success sharing what interests or is important to you. Following you!
Thank you! Excited by this Steemit lark - I've been recommending it to all my friends :)
Welcome to this incredible platform, hope everything will work out for you. Being here it’s not easy but not difficult neither only an extra effort will go a long way, engagement is the key good luck I’m @tinashe Start by Following ,Upvoting &Resteeming people and they will do the same.
Check the contest for newbies-https://steemit.com/steemit/@tinashe/600-followers-feeling-the-love-milestone-contest-of-sbd-inside-post-follow-upvote-and-resteemWelcome aboard! Brazil looks like a nice place to live, you have the luck it seems ;) Does that shamanic ceremony involve any ayahuasca perhaps? I have a friend in Puerto Rico who has offered to bring me some of that medicine, I'm a little nervous to become a shaman so quickly though!
I have had an amazing personal journey with ayahuasca, via Santo Daime church, travelling shamans and healers, and local shamans, and discovered a vast universe of ayahuasca within Brazil that is not at all apparent from the surface. I haven't decided yet to what degree I want to share that here on Steemit. ;)
As regards your friend offering to bring you some... hrrmmmm. I'm very skeptical about people taking the medicine without guidance of a shaman or someone else who is appropriately positioned to guide and protect. Whilst it is the master of all master plants and has the potential for amazing benefits and I could wax lyrical about it till the cows came home, you are also opening yourself up literally to other dimensions and it is not to be played with lightly. Maybe you can find someone where you are to lead a ceremony?? Please treat it (Her) with respect, if you don't you might get a smack from the Mother.
Interestingly, on a tangent, I was reading about how anthropomorphisation of nature increases a person's "connectedness with nature" and it got me reflecting on how it is a norm within the ayahuasca community to refer to Mother Aya as an independent agent. It feels like it makes total sense, and I naturally assume that practice, and yes it does feel as though it increases inter-connectivity with Nature and the whole. And it does feel as though the plant is an independent agent. Need to reflect on those thoughts!
Ummm...if you go ahead, please research and at least prepare yourself appropriately. There's loads of info on the internet about the "ayahuasca diet", that includes meditation and being nice to people (be an authentic being of light) by the way.
Peace out!
sound advice that...peace out...in
Good luck - I'm sure whatever you do in the end it will all be perfect :)
and you...wherever your bound for...I'll do you the courtesy of not taking the bait with the word "perfect" ...I'll just say that such an ideal is debatable...another time perhaps?
peace out...in
I meant in the sense that in my experience, with occurrences around ayahuasca, it seems everything always works out in a way that is perfect in its own way. Even if it seems at the time everything went wrong, usually there is some lesson that did good to be learned. To be honest I actually hadn't noticed that you weren't therealpaul as it appeared as a continuation of the conversation thread. I wasn't trying to be provocative!
ohhh...but you are...in a very wholesome and organic way
please excuse my thread crashing...just have some thoughts on the subject myself...perhaps another time...do not wish to intrude
~be~
Thanks for saying that, and while my friend runs an ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica, and he seems to know the proper preparatory diet and all of that, I don't feel comfortable about the idea for some reason, and I'll most likely wait until the right time for such an important journey. I do hear a lot of the real medicinal plants referred to as being feminine entities too, and that makes sense to me- they spring from the mind of mother Earth!
Well it's not as simple as that, there's 'masculine' plants and 'feminine' plants :)
Do you have some sort of intention? Something that you wish to work with the Aya? Or would you be doing it out of curiosity? The latter not recommended.
But... if you're feeling the call... it does seem as though the universe is conspiring to bring it to your very doorstep! Ayahuasca isn't so easy to get a hold of, you can keep it in a fridge for quite a while. You might be surprised at who you could find where you are (America I presume?) to lead a ceremony, although I've never even been to America so what do I know? But if you put some feelers out with the Santo Daime community you might have some luck.
Welcome @kate-m, interesting interests. I'll be sure to read some when you post them!
@kate-m Welcome to steemit, happy to have you here
I am @alienposts , my real name is achraf :)
Checkout my blog posts, Enjoy your time here and let's get this party started :)
Sure tang!
Hi Kate! Very nice pictures and good infos too. I like your style of writing and hope there will be more in the near future. I am new to steemit too and I hope we will all have a lot of fun with good content. So I voted you and maybe we can be kinda friends here.
Yes - I haven't quite got my head around this virtual ecosystem yet - maybe we can be "kinda friends", he he. have fun steeming - yes - hopefully the content is good!
Welcome to Steemit @kate-m!
I'm a bot-helper, and I'm created to help. Congratulations on the registration on Steem - you really like it here!
Unfortunately, I can not make an upvote of your record - my steem power is still small. But in the future I will come back and do it. If you like me, make an upvote of my comment and follow me.
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I follow you, and I hope you will follow me.
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Steem on!
Hi. How fascinting, I'm not sure I've ever had a conversation with a bot-helper before. This feels very futuristic. Are you a real live person? Are you an AI? My Sci-Fi imagination is running away with itself!
How disappointing? In another sense at least you're not the next real live sky net and I can sleep well.
Congratulations to be a part of this incredible community, Welcome to the steemit hope everything will workout for you. Explore steemit ty o learn more about steemit and be original is the key to success. Enjoy steemit!
A psychedelic sheep? :D That's awesome :).
Inspired this meme I came across...but I wanted to make my own version!
that one is pretty cool I have to admit :). A sheep connected to its conciousness
:)
