Rainbow Family of Living Light

Counter Culture, Natural Living, Paganism

The Rainbow Family of Living Light is a counter-culture, in existence since approximately 1970. It is a loose affiliation of individuals, some nomadic, generally asserting that it has no leader. They put on yearly, primitive camping events on public land known as Rainbow Gatherings. Inspired in large part by the first Woodstock Festival, two attendees, Barry “Plunker” Adams and Garrick Beck, are both considered among the founders of the Rainbow Family

The first official Rainbow Family Gathering was held at the Strawberry Lake, Colorado, on the Continental Divide, in 1972. Use of this site was offered by Paul Geisendorfer, a local developer, after a court order was issued against their gathering at the original location on nearby Table Mountains.

Regional Rainbow Gatherings are held throughout the year in the United States, as are annual and regional gatherings in dozens of other countries. These Gatherings are non-commercial, and all who wish to attend peacefully are welcome to participate. There are no leaders, and traditionally the Gatherings last for a week, with the primary focus being on gathering on public land on the Fourth of July in the U.S., when attendees pray, meditate, and/or observe silence in a group effort to focus on World Peace. Most gatherings elsewhere in the world last a month from new moon to new moon, with the full moon being the peak celebration. Rainbow Gatherings emphasize a spiritual focus towards peace, love, and unity.

Detox Juice

Counter Culture, Hippie Food, Libations, Natural Living

I’m not one of those that goes on juice detoxes — although this juice could almost persuade me otherwise!

1 medium-sized beet, scrubbed well

1–2 carrots

1 small apple, cored and chopped

1/2 cup chopped pineapple

juice of ½ lemon

14 mint leaves

½ inch knob of fresh ginger

Mix all the ingredients in a juicer or blender and serve.

If you use a blender for this recipe, rather than a juicer, you will get a much thicker juice, due to the fibrous pulp from the fruit and veg being retained. You can add a little water to the recipe to thin it, or run the juice through a fine mesh sieve.

Cheap High: Robotripping

Counter Culture, Drug Culture

With all the pot and other dope going around, some people still insist on drinking cough syrup to get high. Robitussin DM can be purchased without a prescription, but you may have to sign for it in New York. It contains a small quantity of codeine, pheniramine, maleate, and glyceryl guaiacolate (a muscle relaxant). The effects are sedation and euphoria. The most common method of ingestion is straight or to mix Robitussin DM with an equal amount of ginger ale and drink. Never underestimate the potency of any drug. You can have an overdose of cough syrup.

There are four levels of “plateaus”, based on dose, reported by individuals who abuse dextromethorphan.

  • The first plateau is between 100 mg and 200 mg. At this level of abuse, the effect is a mild stimulation.
  • The next plateau occurs between 200 mg and 400 mg. Individuals taking the drug at this level will likely experience hallucinations and euphoria.
  • The third plateau occurs between 300 mg and 600 mg. Individuals at this plateau will likely experience issues with motor coordination and distorted visual perceptions.
  • The highest plateau is between 500 mg and 1500 mg. At this level, individuals can experience dissociative sedation.

Street names associated with robotripping, including dex, skittles, robo, triple C, and poor man’s PCP.

Drive Like A Hippie

Counter Culture, Drug Culture, Hippie Crafts

SWEET HIPPIE RIDES

Volkswagen Microbus (1942–1971)

Volkswagen Beetle (1950–1965)

Volkswagen Squareback (1962–1973)

Volkswagen Fastback (1962–1973)

Volvo sedan (1950–1965)

Saab (1950–1965)

GMC/Chevy or Ford pickup (1951–1956)

Retired mail truck, school bus, hearse, ice cream truck, or repair van

INTERIOR DECORATIONS

Beads

Peace symbol pendants

Sage (to cover odor)

Crystal teardrops, strung on leather straps

Stained-glass pendants, strung on ribbons

Dreamcatchers

A lock of your old lady’s hair

PAINT YOUR VEHICLE! CONSIDER…

Breaching whales (not “beaching” whales. That would be a bummer.)

Grateful Dead skeletons and/or bears

Flowers

Psychedelic swirls

Airbrushed likeness of Jimi Hendrix, or yourself, or your old lady

IF YOUR “CAR” IS A BICYCLE

Spray it with paint (pink, green, or zebra stripes).

Add streamers to the handlebars.

Thread wildflowers between the spokes.

Find a small child to ride on your handlebars.

Attach a basket to the front (for carrying produce) and a milk crate to the back (for carrying litters of kittens).

Add a cheerful-sounding horn.

Glue tiny plastic farm animals all over the bumpers.

TYPICAL HIPPIE BUMPER STICKERS

Peace slogans*

“Music slogans

Marijuana slogans*

Tolkien quotations

*These may increase chances of getting pulled over.

Sources: Hippie Handbook

Joseph Campbell on Being Born in Interesting Times

Ancient World, China, Mythology, Quotes

“I have read somewhere of an old Chinese curse: ‘May you be born in an interesting time!’ This is a VERY interesting time: there are no models for ANYTHING that is going on. It is a period of free fall into the future, and each has to make his or her own way. The old models are not working; the new have not yet appeared. In fact, it is we who are even now shaping the new in the shaping of our interesting lives. And that is the whole sense (in mythological terms) of the present challenge: we are the ‘ancestors’ of an age to come, the unwitting generators of its supporting myths,the mythic models that will inspire its lives.”

~ Joseph Campbell

Gluten Free Banana Maple Bread

Breads, Counter Culture, Hippie Food, Natural Living

Everyone loves a piece of freshly baked banana bread, especially one that’s sugar, gluten and wheat free.. It is a perfect accompaniment to tea or coffee, or just on its own for a snack.

¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons linseed (flaxseed) meal

2 cups almond meal

½ cup desiccated coconut

½ cup millet flakes

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla powder

1/8 teaspoon Himalayan salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

3 ripe bananas

¼ cup melted coconut oil

½ cup maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 315ºF. Line a loaf tin, measuring about 9½ x 5 inches, and about 2½ inches deep, with parchment paper.

Put the linseed meal in a bowl, mix in ¾ cup water and place in the fridge for 5–10 minutes, or until the mixture gels together and takes on an egg-white consistency.

In a large bowl, combine the almond meal, coconut, millet flakes, cinnamon, vanilla, salt and baking soda.

In a small bowl, mash two of the bananas using a fork. Mix in the coconut oil and maple syrup.

Add the banana mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix until combined, then pour the batter into the loaf tin.

Slice the remaining banana and arrange over the loaf. Bake for 35–45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool before slicing.

The loaf will keep for 2–3 days, stored in an airtight container in the fridge or at room temperature.

How to Grow an Avocado Sprout from a Seed in a Jar

Counter Culture, Hippie Crafts, Natural Living

Why did hippies do this? No one knows. For a while there in the seventies, it was difficult to find a hippie windowsill that did not have an avocado seed sprouting in a jar. (Some hippies credit this phenomenon with ending the war in Vietnam.)

  • An avocado
  • 3 toothpicks
  • A jar

Peel and eat the avocado. Save the pit.

Let the seed dry for 48 hours.

Peel off the papery brown skin.

Insert 3 toothpicks equidistant from each other around the middle of the seed, pushing them in far enough to feel securely lodged.

Place the seed, pointed end up, in the jar so that the toothpicks rest on the edge of the jar’s mouth, suspending the seed.

Add warm water to the jar so that the bottom third of the seed is submerged.

Put the jar in a warm spot, away from direct sunlight.

Check the seed daily, adding warm water to the jar so that the bottom third of the seed is always in water.

When the seed begins to sprout roots, move the jar to a windowsill.

Soon you will see a stem push up through the pit. When the stem is 3 to 4 inches high, you can plant the seed in soil.

Sources: The Hippie Handbook

Creamy Quinoa Porridge

Counter Culture, Hippie Food, Natural Living, Vegetarian

Quinoa is gluten free, high in protein and fibre, and is low GI, meaning it is slowly digested for longer-lasting energy. Lucuma gives the porridge a natural sweet kick, with cinnamon and nutmeg for a touch of spice

2 cups cooked quinoa

1½ cups rice milk

1 cup coconut cream

2 tablespoons maple syrup, plus extra to serve

1 teaspoon lucuma powder *

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon Himalayan salt

2 tablespoons sunflower seeds

2 tablespoons chia seeds

1 tablespoon golden raisins

Bring the quinoa and rice milk to the boil in a separate saucepan. Add the remaining porridge ingredients, stirring well. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When your porridge has reached a thick, creamy consistency, remove from the heat and ladle into four serving bowls.

Serve warm, with an extra drizzle of maple syrup.

* A natural sweetener prepared from the Peruvian lucuma fruit. Known as ‘Incan gold’, the pulp of the fruit is dehydrated to produce the powder, which is commonly added to smoothies, treats and breakfast foods.

Cosmological considerations in the general theory of relativity

Astrophysics, Science, Today in Science

Today in Science history —> On this day 104 years ago, Albert Einstein presented the paper “Kosmologische Betrachtungen zur allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie” (“Cosmological considerations in the general theory of relativity”) at the weekly meeting of the Prussian Academy of Sciences in Berlin. The pivotal research, often overlooked amid Einstein’s many accomplishments, applied his newly minted general theory of relativity to the universe as a whole. The study of cosmology would never be the same again. Despite the shortcomings of Einstein’s model universe, the paper was a major advance at a time when many astronomers believed that the Milky Way constituted the entire universe.

#Science #Einstein