Consume What You Must, Then Boogie

What are you eating? Is your diet an invitation to cancer?

Add to your diet the many things you put on your body. Your skin absorbs everything that it comes in contact with- so yes, the toxic stuff in your suntan lotion, your hair products,... your laundry soap left on your sheets, your toothpaste, face wash, makeup. Now the stuff you breath- all manner of free floating toxins, emissions, fumes. The flourides and other chemicals in the water.  Add it all up, and most Americans are blinking neon signs for cancer. Add to this mix the proliferation of GMOs, the food dye in most foods, the incredibly non-food like food product ingredients in most processed foods (anti-freeze, for example)- no wonder our chronic disease rate in the US is so high. Why would they ever want to offer up free health care when its such a booming business? Americans are gluttonous. We have taken consumption to a whole new level. I am not suggesting anyone feel shame, but some contrition in the form of self discipline is called for. THIS IS THE REAL REVOLUTION. The real revolution is when real, normal people wake up enough to stop doing behaviors that hurt themselves and the world, one by one, little by little. Awakened people understand they are responsible for the outcome.  And if you are a parent- this should really strike home. Zombies are a great metaphor for the consuming masses, driven by pure want and appetite, consuming without regard for the consequences. There is only one way to not be one. Wake up. Realize your consumer choices have an impact on the world, your family, your body. Do something different. Start now.

Consume what you must, then boogie? Only if you're a zombie.

Occupy yourself!!

Xoxo,

Ashley Dane

Shake the Hive

Pick Your Poison- (who says you don't have any choices left? wink wink)

“The greatest mistake of the movement has been trying to organize a sleeping people around specific goals. You have to wake the people up first, then you'll get action.” ― Malcolm X

I posted that quote on my facebook page yesterday, and I got this from a reader-

"I like this, but ask: What if the people don't wish to be awoken? What if they're so tired every day from the working to survive and put food in their mouths, and a roof over their heads that their energy is gone, their spirits at their lowest depths for the worry that if one more thing happens "this house of cards" will fall, that the only choice of information to even hear is owned by two entities and you're too exhausted to search for the truth, and having been physically and mentally beat into the ground by just trying to live that there isn't much left to either wake let alone organize around a goal which is constantly being "wagged" like the dog? As a devils advocate I ask these things as I hear these things every single day. Hope, belief, energy, and truth are in short supply these days."

This is one of the things I treasure most about social media; the ability to have an open dialogue. We need to be talking. We need to encourage thought in people; a new thought, a letting go of old belief systems that hurt the believer, and the planet they live in.

Here is my response- "I think, in this situation, those who can awaken do so for those who can't. I do believe that any one and everyone stands to gain from waking up consciously- there is no freedom without it. The life you describe sounds like one of drudgery, that's not freedom. Freedom is a state of mind, reworking our belief systems, refusing to be a slave and have our lives doled out to us. But you are correct, I think there are those who won't, or can't, and that is why those who will and can do what they do- not for their own well being, but for the well being of all. I don't, for example, run this page for my own sense of satisfaction. I run this page for others. Maybe one person will read one thing that gets them to thinking, changes one small way they conduct their lives that has a positive ripple effect on the planet, and liberates them, little by little.

Its like in the Matrix- Morpheus says to Neo- there are many minds we can not free. They are too hopelessly inured into the system. That is true here and now. It makes me so sad to think of it. And most, unlike the picture you paint, have no idea how enslaved and ensnared they are. Its a comfortable sort of slavery, with tv and the internet, social media, iPhones- gadgets and distractions and addictions abound. It feels like we have choices. But the choices are manufactured to not really leave you with a choice they wouldn't want you to make. Its like the white man coming and giving the Native Americans alcohol. They loved it, they wanted it, they insisted on it, and it helped destroy their entire civilization."

It is one of the most nefarious stories in all of history, in my opinion.

The majority of the United States will never understand how damaging alcohol has been for Native Americans, perhaps more devastating than any disease, gun, massacre, or policy. The perfect colonizer, alcohol has no conscience. It feels no remorse or regret for the modern holocaust it has caused. Alcohol has also led the dominant culture to view Native Americans as nothing more than a statistic, a stereotype for the likes of Mike & Molly and countless other shows and films. I wonder whether anyone even finds the sad old joke funny anymore. Stereotype aside, the most significant impact of alcohol on Native Americans is how the disease takes root like a parasitic plant that can affect every aspect of life, even including the potential death of its host. Take a look at many of the issues afflicting contemporary reservation communities like domestic violence, health disparities, rape/sexual assault, dropout, and suicide. At least one factor at the heart of all these social ills is alcohol.

From a blog by Andrew Bentley- see more here- http://blog.nrcprograms.org/alcohol-its-different-for-native-americans/

The best way to control a population? String them out on drugs or booze. 

I don't want to make it sound like the encroaching Europeans brought alcohol to the native Americans, initially, knowing it would destroy them. It just so happened that they had a weakness for it. But once this was recognized, it was utilized. In addition to the massacres and battles, much of the destruction of the culture was caused by this weakness. We now understand it wasn't a moral failing, some sort of sign that they were weak people- they simply had, and have, no defense against alcohol. To this day, it is the detriment to many Native Americans, and continues to wreak havoc both on and off the reservation. (In 2010, 5 million beers were consumed by 14 Native Americans on the Pine Ridge Reservation, CLICK HERE to read more)

Why this is important for us to keep in mind is because history repeats itself. We are currently being given the very tools of our own enslavement-its how the 1% (or, to be more accurate, the .01%) stay in that category of the socio-economic bracket, and it was ever thus. In feudal systems in Europe, the serfs worked to provide goods and services for the 1%.  They were given a measure of security against the barbarian hordes by doing so- although this was mostly an illusion.  It is also an illusion, here in the US, that we are living some sort of American Dream. We can compare it to the lives of others in the world and feel lucky. When we see pictures of starving children, we marvel at how lucky that we don't live in those conditions. But that's setting the bar awfully low. We could just as easily look at countries where there is free health care- if we look at those countries, we wouldn't be so enamored of Obamacare. We are a powerful country, and we COULD have free healthcare. Why don't we? Why do we settle for this ACA?  In our low income neighborhoods, there is a dearth of healthy food, there is a high rate of incarceration (which  is something this country excels at- incarceration. We have the highest rate in the world by far) because its big business. there are a lot of foods being touted as healthy by the FDA, even though a lifetime consuming them cause a plethora of diseases (high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, autism) for which they offer us Big Pharma- another huge business, and so convenient that the foods that are most readily available to the bottom 10% are known agents for these chronic and prevalent diseases. And the entire 99.99% are kept quelled by social media, by slanted reports on the evening news, by focusing on the apparent intentions of the two parties- who are really two sides of the same exact coin...we are mollified by thinking we have choices. There is a lot to choose from on the Value Meal menu, but its all the same shit. Same with our government. Same with our lives. They have lulled us into a false sense of security while they flay us alive.

The comment the Shake the Hive reader made, above, really provoked me. It speaks of a life that is doled out to a typical American. The weariness that comes from the drudgery of what is expected of us. The wearing down of our spirit so that awakening isn't an option, or isn't desired. it takes too much energy. One wants to just come home after a long day, feed the kids and trance out watching tv or scrolling on facebook. Its the reason why a picture of a grumpy cat will get 10 million likes and a meme about global warming will get 10. Everybody just wants to feel good. Please stop reminding us that there is stuff we should worry about.

Not everyone can wake up. Not everyone will. When I was in the jungles of Central America a few years ago, I was told that the significance of 12/21/12 was more about a shift of consciousness. There will be those who wake up, and those who don't, and the fate of each will be very different, according to how they have chosen to live. What that means can just be guessed at, but when I look around, it makes sense. There is a feeling of freedom that comes from being aware of how one's actions- from consumer choices and carbon footprints to personal relationships and self knowledge- affect the whole. In that accountability comes the ultimate freedom, which is counter intuitive but no less true. This is a heavy responsibility, but one that removes the shackles of society, of drudgery, of the norm, of the grind. I have written a lot about this- The zombie apocalypse is already upon us- CLICK HERE to read more. Its already here, and happening, people are deeply apathetic, shuffling along, getting annoyed by anyone trying to shake them out of their stupor. They want to be blind, to be numb, to be comfortable. They seek their own comfort like zombies seek brains.  Their aggressive desire for convenience and commitment to apathy is the toxic waste that will eventually destroy us all. Those who wake up have a responsibility to act in ways that counteract the bad habits of others.

Even as I write this, I get tired. My lord, there is so much to fight against, so many ills in the world, so much greed and corruption. We need people to wake up. Its not enough to just be resigned. We need numbers. We will fight for those who can't, we will be a voice for those who can't speak, we will live in ways that support the well being of the planet, and I for one will be saddened by those who are resigned and apathetic, or living in an illusion, pretending this is still a democracy, and that they still have the freedom to choose, that the planet isn't in trouble, that our government seeks to take care of us, that their children will have blue skies and fresh air, that Sea World is still a family place to visit, that we will enjoy internet freedom forever, that things will basically remain the same for most Americans and those who are alarmed are liberal freaks.

Definitely, living inside the Matrix has its allure. The real life, the life of Zion, lacks many creature comforts and illusions of safety. I think many people would choose the pleasant lie over the (seemingly) gloomier reality- and that's the crux of the matter. THEY know this. They will continue to lie. And we will continue to choose to believe it, just as the Native Americans continued to drink the alcohol that the Europeans provided and that helped wipe them out. Why do I say 'seemingly gloomier'? Because real gold doesn't glitter. It isn't a lie. It isn't obvious, and so those with shallow perceptions will not see it for what it is. Zion is filled with gold. That's what happens when you wake up- you are able to see it. 

Occupy Yourself!

xoxo,

Shake the Hive

Ashley Dane

Wolf People

I just spent the day with the great people at Wolf Connection- which is a wolf sanctuary and rescue in Action, CA. We all met in a huge teepee for our training, and later went on a hike with the wolves in the high desert. I will keep most of the details of the day to myself- it would be too easy for me to relay my experiences and perhaps transmit some bit of information wrongly (right to my experience, but wrongly in terms of conveying facts correctly)- but there are a couple of things I can share. At one point, after lunch, we were all instructed to go and choose a wolf and sit in front of their enclosure, so they can get used to the sight, smell, and energy of us. I chose a big ol' boy named Merlin. What I learned about myself is this- one of the staff came to me and asked me to sit further back and give the wolf space. I was definitely closer than anyone else was to their chosen wolf, and I was irked by that for a split second-  but it was important as it pointed out something I needed  to pay attention to.  It occurred to me that I am prone to want to get close to people and things (of my choosing) quickly, that I assume just because I want to, they must, too. Truthfully, the wolf didn't mind, he came up and checked me out, wagging his tail- I was still about a foot away and behind a fence- but that wasn't the lesson. Its always better to approach with respect than with an assumed familiarity based on a natural goodwill (in this case, mine)- goodwill doesn't give anyone the right to not observe boundaries (even me!). I later learned that this wolf had had issues with his former "Dad"- he was rescued from a situation where he had had an owner who became chronically ill, and the wolf, sensing his weakness, tried to become dominant. When they told me that often people with issues with their own Dad go and choose Merlin, I realized that I chose Merlin for two reasons- one, because I felt drawn to him, (and not coincidentally I am estranged from my own father- which I hadn't thought about at all, so it wasn't an obvious motivator for choosing him), and the second being that Merlin was my daughter's favorite wolf (and she too is estranged from her father, also not coincidentally). There is an intensely energetic component to being around wolves; you have to stay so aware and so present to subtle energies, to your thoughts and feelings, and let go of those that keep you from being present- which is a very healing experience. I feel, after a day spent with them, completely recalibrated.  But I would be remiss if I didn't mention the human beings who are so entirely selfless and devoted to these animals. Being around the human pack that surrounds the wolf pack is like jumping in cold water on a hot day-they are so totally refreshing in the purity of their mission and devotion. You don't often get to spend time with people like that. I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to know them and to get to know them better.

Shake the Hive with Maya the wolf

Two weeks ago, one of the Staff had mentioned the passing of a wolf named Lucas, and another wolf, Maya, who was far out of ear shot, began howling. She had felt the invocation of Lucas. The Staff who spoke of him had felt sad about his passing at that moment, and Maya had felt the energy of that. The mournful howl was Lucas's song. They said that she had begun to sing that particular song the day he passed away, and when she finished her song, all the others wolves joined in. They feel each other; they feel everything. Their sensitivity is profound, and it makes anyone who spends time with them much more aware of what they are carrying with them, and what they need to let go of to be present with them. 

Hiking with wolves today in Acton-
Talk about hitting the reset button!

I got to have that experience because I decided, last year, to protest my own apathy.  All of us can become a part of something that transcends our everyday experience. All of us can change the choices we make to be in alignment with a thriving planet.  There are thousands of organizations that need help, that need YOU. And just so you know, I am just like you- I am busy busy busy. I raise two teenage daughters single handedly. I get no financial support, so I work my ass off to keep my family safe and provided for- AND all that goes with that, as a parent. Any excuse anyone can give about why they DON'T do more things, change their ways, get more active- I promise you, if I can do it, so can you.  If your arms and legs work, that's all you need.  Get informed on the issues this earth is facing, then look at your life and look at what you can do to be less of a burden. Figure out what issues concern you the most, and find people in your area who gather together to face those issues head on. Volunteer. Mentor a teenager. Feed the homeless. Grow food. What can you change, right now, today, that will put you in the realm of solution? Baby steps are good; big steps are better. No steps at all is what the masses are doing. The apathetic zombies of the world. That isn't you. You care! Go show it!

xoxo,

Ashley Dane

Shake the Hive

The Uprising is Happening NOW

The uprising is happening all over the world. And here in the US, we can barely get 300 people, in the largest cities in the nation, to attend marches, rallies, and protests.

Americans are far too distracted, mollified, pacified. Frightening things are not only looming, but are happening NOW, while we all are watching Walking Dead or the Voice, waiting in line for the new iPhone, shocked and delighted by the antics of Justin Beiber. I say WE because I do not judge, I am one of you, we are part of this together. We need to understand that WE have the bottom line- we buy the products Big Agra and Big Pharma sell. We remain in our sedentary lives while others march against the villainy of the 1%. We have strength in numbers and still do very little to change the immanent future.

Its dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
BE RIGHT ANYWAY

  In 1776, this country liberated itself from the oligarchies, monarchies, aristocracies and feudal systems of Europe, where the privileged few took ALL the spoils and left crumbs for the peasants to fight over. Democracy was created in opposition to those systems. And now- what we have IS the same- 1% with all the wealth, while the 99% scramble for whatever they can get, laboring under the illusion of having choices and being free. This is not a democracy. This is exactly the opposite of what our founding fathers intended. You may think it is still a democratic process because you get to cast your vote- but in this two party system, you can only choose from two parties who are hopelessly crafted into the problems we face. One can not even be in the running without great financial backing. One can only get great financial backing from corporations who basically buy your support in your bid for election. Once elected, you can sugarcoat all manner of things but the bottom line is you have a debt and the system requires corporate favoritism. And corporations favor domination over the world food supply, energy and fuel, medications- all the things we as modern day consumers can not live without. We do not get behind third party candidates because we continue to be told it is a lost vote. What a convenient way to keep our two party system intact, with no real challengers at that level of office who might effect REAL change, who might actually speak for the 99% of us who inherit the waste and filth of the 1%'s unhinged greed. And what is the 1%, really and truly? An aristocracy, simply put. An aristocracy can not exist in a democracy. It exists in America because true democracy is dead.

Democracy... while it lasts is more bloody than either aristocracy or monarchy. Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There is never a democracy that did not commit suicide.

John Adams

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/democracy.html#fmCr4f4rgBJ6FeCU.99

The greatest tool invented, the one that keeps the people quiet, is the invention of the Manufacture of Consent. The American Dream is a marketing tool. Your freedom is a brand. You may not want to hear this, but if you reject it wholesale without at least giving it some consideration, then they have done their jobs perfectly. If you take some time and really think about this, and question some of your deeply held notions about what is really happening- maybe even ask yourself why you are not more angry or even afraid- then at least you are willing to explore who you are- or are not- in relation to the state of things. We can no longer look to our government to protect us, as it is them that we need protection from. What are you going to do about it? Take a look at what other countries are doing. Get inspired.

VENEZUELA

Jailed Venezuelan Leader Leopoldo Lopez Channels the Resistance- Click this link to read the Washington Post article

Leopoldo López, the defiant Venezuelan opposition leader taken into custody Tuesday in front of thousands of anti-government protesters, spent last night in a prison on a military base.

KIEV

The latest NY Times Article on the uprising in Kiev (as of this minute, anyway)- Click here to read this article

Thousands of protesters in Independence Square, Kiev. So far the death toll is assumed to be around 130. I am not for loss of life, but worse than loss of life is loss of liberty. The United States lost many lives in the name of liberty- the same liberties being stripped from us while we aren't paying attention.

THAILAND

Read more about the recent and ongoing Protest in Thailand

Clashes erupted in Central Bangkok on Tuesday

_____________________________________________________________________________

The real evil in the world, more sinister than sheer unshirted greed, is exactly what Frank Zappa is speaking about in this video, and is the OPPOSITE of what we are seeing in Venezuela, Kiev, and everywhere else people gather to check and balance the systems that dictate what our lives will be.

Occupy yourself!

Xoxo,

Shake the Hive
Ashley Dane

The New Paradigm

I've been doing some thinking about the Movement that is happening right now in America. I love it- that's my first thought. People are waking up. Thanks to the internet, people are being exposed to truths that would never make the mainstream media news. There is a shift happening, and its palpable. I myself woke up to a whole new level of consciousness in 2013- I started the year as someone who was hiding her head in the sand about the state of things. It was a facebook event that grabbed my attention- the March Against Monsanto. A friend had tried to tell me about Monsanto and GMOs a year prior, and I refused to listen. It was too big, too much, I couldn't handle it. I saw that event and thought- "Here this is again, this Monsanto. I need to know more." I did some research, and I was appalled. I went to the March Against Monsanto on May 25, and the die was cast. I could not return to my former life- my former life meaning eating processed foods for every meal, with no regard to where it came from or what was in it. And in looking at food, which is central to the life of every person, I started to learn more about everything to which I had turned a blind eye. I opened my eyes. I woke up.

Waking up is all good and well, but its nothing without action. I learned this in the course of my life; I am no spring chicken and have had ample opportunity to learn some good hard lessons, and 'faith without works is dead' is a big one for me. I started blogging about my journey, and I started a facebook page to help spread ideas and draw attention to necessary issues. I changed the way I ate, and started culling recipes into a cookbook of easy, healthy, non GMO vegetarian meals. I began to investigate the world of the Food Justice Movement. I started attending beekeeping mentoring with Honeylove, I signed up as a volunteer at Los Angeles Green Grounds, I went to another March Against Monsanto, and other protests. I started to meet more like minded people; we met and talked about our roles in the New Paradigm. I am working on a non-profit for teenage girls, to teach them to grow food and raise bees, to understand their value and empower them to act on their compassionate urge to help, to connect them back to what is important and teach them to take a stand and play a part in the Shift. It is a snowball effect: once it starts it gathers no moss but rolls along with its own momentum. For those who are waking up, who are starting to realize they play a part in this Movement, I say- Fuck yeah. Come on, we need you. But don't just wake up; dig in. Shake the hive. Make waves. get involved. Always look for the thing the presence of which would make a difference, and bring that. All the time. The revolution is 24/7.

What I have been thinking about, however, is the different stances one can take in said Movement. I have found myself in both the anti side of things- protesting, standing against injustices, and pro- the growing and building of the New Paradigm. We need both. We need the fighters. We need them and we need them in great numbers.  But I think, in spite of my fighting nature (and I do have that, very definitely I do) that its my job to grow, and to build, and to teach. To inspire. But first- I have to be inspiring, and that is what I am building now, what I am growing. I am learning the vernacular of the New Paradigm, and how to speak about it in ways that are effective. Often I find many people preaching, and doing a really great job of it. But they are also preaching to the choir, and that is not what I want to do. I want to reach those who don't know and need to know. I want to connect with people who could make a very big difference if their eyes were only open. The system does everything in its power to lull the masses into a state of complacency, and its doing a DAMN fine job of it. People are generally more fascinated by Miley Cyrus's tongue's antics than the fact that Obama is trying to fast track the Trans Pacific Partnership. That's exactly how they want it. But you know this- if you are reading this, chances are that you are one of the lucky ones with a clue about what's going on. And since you likely are one of those people, I have to ask- what are you doing about it?

I have seen people leave the Monsanto March, or the TPP Rally, and go get Jack in the Box. I love that they showed up, that they cared, that they committed half their day to standing against the Fat Cats- but then its all dismantled by a decision. They leave and go support the very evil that they marched against. We must all, all of us who care and seek to make a difference, stop supporting corporations. Just don't do it. Shop at local businesses. Do your best to buy from local farmers- not every city has a farmer's market, but there are natural health food stores and co-ops. Try to buy organic from your market, and if its not the season for a certain produce item, then just don't buy it- it means that its been shipped across the world and picked before its ripened.  Buy your clothes second hand whenever possible- I make exceptions for undies and socks. I buy my technology second hand- I don't need the newest iphone when it hits the market- who really *needs* the latest iphone the second it comes out? Try to not use single use items whenever possible- carry a re-usable water bottle, and re-usable coffee cups if you're a coffee freak. Refill gallon size containers with water at the Water Vending machine in front of your grocery store- its 30 cents a gallon and you can fill up your re-usable water bottle daily.  Re-usable bags for groceries- but NOT JUST GROCERIES. Keep one of those kinds that fold up tiny for any time you shop- the pharmacy, the second hand store, anywhere. Keep flatware in your car for when you eat anywhere that you might need plastic forks or spoons. Never EVER eat fast food.  Bike or walk or use public transportation, or, if you can, get a hybrid or electric car. Look into alternative energy sources if you own your home. (In LA, they will install solar panels for you for free. Look into it!) Eat less, or no, meat. Do anything in your power to be sustainable by looking at your life and really understanding what is necessary and what has been marketed to you based on its convenience. 

 Convenience is killing this planet. People generally shirk commitment and embrace convenience. It needs to be the other way around. That's the start of the real revolution. . Eat food that causes chronic illnesses? Sure, if you make it so we don't have to get out of our car. Give all of our personal information to anyone asking for it? Sure, as long as we have access to apps, social media, and products delivered to our door. Destroy the ocean's delicate ecosystem with excessive non-biodegradable plastic? Sure, as long as we can have a bottle of water with us at all times. Hey- I'm guilty, too. We live in the modern age, and we have learned to hand over our rights so long as we are too distracted to be bothered by it. The process of waking up requires that we all pay attention to how spellbound we are by convenience, and how we go out of our way to avoid commitment...even a commitment to eschew convenience for the sake of living more rightly and true and in accord with the needs of our own body, mind, and world.

Those are just some ways EVERYONE can make a difference. To go a little more radical- start growing your own food. Raise bees- get in touch with a beekeeping association in your area and they will show you how. Raise chickens. Talk about it. Start a blog. Start a facebook page. Have meetings to discuss what your neighborhood can do to reduce its total carbon footprint. There are ways, and there is something each one of us can do. Maybe you're a fighter- then by all means, FIGHT! Show up at rallies, stand for something. Maybe you are more likely to want to build the New Paradigm- look into groups that are already doing it- you don't have to re-invent the wheel, the groups are out there, and they need you. THE MOVEMENT NEEDS YOU. I hope you really are getting that. I don't mean the you that lives next door or sitting beside you- I mean YOU.

Do whatever you can, with whatever you have!

I only have so much time to spare to do anything- like most people, I am raising a family and working. Unlike some people, I am doing this on my own with no assistance. And even so, I find the time to be involved, so there really is no excuse. Still, it has been important for me to get clear on what I am committed to showing up for. It does no good to get burned out or overwhelmed. There are lots of marches and rallies these days, and I feel like I've missed out when I don't or can't go, but my heart tells me to go explore the growing process. And in so doing, I meet the most amazing people who are interested in creating a better world, and I learn new ways to make a difference. We talk about forming alliances, fortifying the Movement, teaching others, reaching out.  Whether you are a fighter, a lover, a visionary or an anti-establishmentarian, I implore you to take who you are and make waves. Start with the small things you can do, right now, in your life, and see where that takes you. Occupy yourself!


XOXO,

Ashley Dane
Shake the Hive

Watching Teenage Girls Fall in Love with Bees

Last Sunday, I took my 17 year old daughter and her friend out to the Honeylove bee Sanctuary to meet the bees up close and personal. It was, for me, the beginning of Shake the Hive Collective- which is the non-profit for teenage girls that I aim to start in 2014. It is geared to bridge the impulse of compassion into action- I see my kids and all their friends have that impulse naturally- they just don't know how to turn that impulse into action; they haven't been empowered to. STH Collective will have a headquarters where we will run a micro-farm, with bees and chickens. We will work with local non-profits and help them with hands on participation. We will have workshops and classes in food growing, beekeeping, sustainability and permaculture for the kids, their friends and family. And the kids will blog and have a facebook page devoted to their activities, so they can help instill the interest in permaculture and sustainability in their peers.

Zoe and Kaila at the Honeylove Bee Sanctuary

 So, now you can see why this was the start of Shake the Hive Collective- I have been doing a lot of work with my own blog, with the Shake the Hive facebook page, and meeting people in the non-profit world through volunteering, but to bring teenagers out to meet the bees for the first time...my own daughter at that- this was where the rubber finally met the road.

Watching Teenage Girls Fall in Love with Bees

My daughter has been violently afraid of bees her entire life. I give her big props for confronting her fears- and no one was more surprised than me when she said she would like to go. Driving out to Moorpark- which is farm country, about 30 miles from our house- she was nervous. Putting on her bee suit, she kept asking Ceebs from Honeylove if there was any way for a bee to sting her and making sure there were no gaps in her bees suit. Her perception of bees consisted of one main thing- they sting, and that hurts. 

Its kind of like wearing space suits...

After we donned our bee suits (Zoe said she felt like Walter White) we walked up the hill to the hives. She grabbed my arm.  The wonderfully warm Kirk and Rob McFarland (of the husband and wife team Rob and Chelsea McFarland, who started Honeylove) were busy working on cleaning out the hives. There were a handful of others, and as Zoe and Kaila walked up, they saw no one running or screaming from the bees, no one being stung, everyone calm and interested, and the fact that Kirk was holding up trays of honeycomb crawling with hundreds of bees barehanded immediately changed her perception about the intention of bees- they are NOT out to get us. 

Kirk is pointing out the different variations of bees in the hive

Watching my 17 year old child discover the bees was the first time in many years I saw her childlike innocence. She was having a new experience, and soaking it up like a sponge. Before too long, she was handling honeycombs crawling with bees (with gloves on), helping scrape the old beeswax off frames from dead trays of honeycomb, putting her face as close as she could into the hive boxes to see the bees busy with the broods and storage cells, and the die was cast. She was a lily. (If you don't know that quote, then you watch the clip below from the classic movie You Can't take It With You by Frank Capra).  She and her friend Kaila fell in love with the bees.

Its not hard to do, fall in love with the bees- you either get it or you don't. To be able to see their devotion to the task at hand, and to the hive and the queen is a humbling thing, and a reminder that this is a quality that is often missing in human affairs. It is the thing that is missing the presence of which would make a BIG difference. And THAT is exactly what Shake the Hive Collective will continue to ask the teenage participants- when we are growing food, when we work with bees, with chickens, with wolves (at Wolf Connection in Acton)- with any charitable endeavor- What is missing in life that you could bring, that is needed, that you can learn from the bees, the wolves, the act of growing things? It is empowering to interact with the graceful deliberation of the natural world, and to learn to live in accord with it. It is the thing that is missing that will make a difference to disenfranchised teens being raised by single moms. 

Zoe scraping the old beeswax off the frames

Then my daughter did what I hoped she would- she posted this on Facebook-  

"Today I volunteered my morning to helping the bees. Not only did I get over one of my biggest fears, but I got to observe them up close & personal. They are truly miraculous little beings, all they care about is their colony and their Queen (she lives up to 7 years while the average bee lives up to 4 weeks!). They do not care to harm us, which is something I learned first hand today. There was a man holding the honey combs with NO gloves on and he was fine! STOP killing bees, they're here to protect and serve, without them we wouldn't exist. If they go endangered we lose 80% of the organic crops we consume due to their inability to properly pollinate. Make peace with the bees! If I did it, you can too!"

She had a bunch of kids respond to this post who want to go to the next mentoring day at the Honeylove Bee Sanctuary, and that is exactly how Shake the Hive Collective aims to educate teens; by having the teens bring the information to their peer groups, get them interested, involved, educated. STH Collective will have workshops for the participants, and for their friends to attend, and for- and this is very important- their mothers. Then those kids will post on social media about their experiences, and so on. We need to reach this demographic, but they aren't going to listen to old people. They have the power to reach each other through social media; one kid can impact thousands. This is the pond where the ripple is endless.

My kid Zoe, holding a honeycomb crawling with her new friends

And what does it do for the self esteem of the kids who are having these experiences, like working with the bees, and posting about it? In that world, where teenage girls are devastated when their new sexy profile picture doesn't get more likes than someone they consider a rival, where it is highly competitive, often cruel, diminishes any real sense of value and chips away at a falsely derived self esteem- it allows for a new sense of self to emerge, a new identity. Other kids respond differently, they respect these activities and the teens who are actively doing them. These teens are getting respect instead of objectification. Teens respond to the way people perceive them as if they are that- so they carefully monitor what people think of them, and it ends up a terrible mess. I have seen teenage girls police their own image on social media, and study the profiles of other girls, critiquing and taking notes, approving or not. I've listened as they've done it, and there is no value in that world. It is all surface, and without an intervention, this is what they will take into the world. The world doesn't need more superficiality, especially when these kids have the capacity for so much more. These are the future stewards of the planet, and future parents of future stewards. To connect them to their own compassion, and to empower them to respond to the world from that place, is the dream of Shake the Hive. Its what I have been doing for most of 2013- empowering myself, recognizing my urge towards compassion and acting on it. Not allowing myself to talk myself out of it, staying on track, and trusting myself to do this work. I have to do it, if I am going to encourage others to- and not just the teens- but the Moms, who are usually in survival mode constantly, frantic with worry about their kids and in a constant state of feeling like they can't do it all, that in some way they are failing their children no matter how hard they try. I AM that mom, I understand this better than anyone. Shake the Hive wants to support those Moms along with their kids, like a beehive filled with female bees who all support the hive, who are devoted to the well being of the hive above all else, STH Collective will have a safe space for their compassionate instincts to unfold and grow strong. Join us at our facebook page- please like us, then hover over the liked button and click "show in notifications" so you will see our posts all the time!

Ashley Dane, Founder of Shake the hive and proud mom of Zoe!

Occupy yourself!

xoxo,

Ashley Dane

Shake the Hive

Micro-Farming,Chickens, and Urban Beekeeping, Oh My!

I keep delving deeper into permaculture communities in Los Angeles, and they are very welcoming to anyone and everyone who wants to be a part of that world. Its almost to be expected that these people are kind hearted and loving- who else but loving, compassionate people would give up the conveniences that come from our overly processed, pre-packaged, convenience crazed culture in order to compost, grow food in micro-farms in their back yards (or front!), keep bees, raise chickens, and endeavor to live by sustainable practices in terms of upcycling, recycling, and uncycling- which is not using things that would eventually need to be recycled (for example- using a re-usable bottle rather than purchasing single use water bottles). I am thoroughly smitten with people who care.

Ashley Dane, aka Shake the Hive, at GardenerD headquarters

Micro-Farming, Chickens, and Urban Beekeeping, oh my!

I got to see yet another example of that this weekend at the home of Christy, who is a Master Gardener and owner of  GardenerD (that's like garden-nerd, for weeks I was called it Gardener- Dee)- she has a really informative and cool website with tips and information, newsletters, blogs, and all kinds of cool gardening stuff- CLICK HERE TO GO TO GARDENERD. Christy had a gathering at her house, which she called the Holiday Trifecta party- the trifecta being urban farming, beekeeping, and chicken rearing. I was eager just to go be around people for whom this was a lifestyle- it just feels clean. It feels like the usual agendas you encounter in LA are completely insignificant- because, in truth, they are. There is depth and concern and authenticity in these people, and its palpable. And a good looking bunch of people, too! Holy moly. There is a lot to be said for clean living!

Chickens can easily be kept in small spaces!

One of Christy's chickens was in the process of laying her first egg, and was having some anxiety for most of the party. Then suddenly she was quiet, and a few minutes later, there was the egg. I gotta say, I've never been at a party where everyone was cheering about the laying of an egg before- it was a little surreal!  I've been asking a lot of questions about chickens lately- I fully intend for them to be a part of the Shake the Hive Urban Farm, when the time comes. When my friend Dawn won a raffle, she selected a Chickens For Dummies book, which she promptly gave to me. One of these days!

Urban beehiving at GardenerD

Christy's beehive was off to the back of the yard, bees busy as, well, bees- you could see the industriousness but they were not interested in anyone. That's something people should know about beehives- they do not bother people, they have a lot to get done in a day. They won't seek you out to sting you. Having a beehive does not mean you, your family, or your neighbors are going to be attacked by a swarm of bees.

The urban farm at the GardenerD headquarters. Thriving!!

And of course, Christy has an amazing garden of food! Behind her micro-farm is her compost bin. She has a lot of good tips for composting in her book Gardening for Geeks. There are ways to maximize the nutrients of compost- which is important. The plants which one grows to eat need to get their nutrients from somewhere, and dirt is only dirt unless it has nutrients- only then is it soil. Soil composition is really an interesting science, and is often neglected by neophyte gardeners. And new composters as well don't realize that simply throwing their old food in their gardens isn't providing it with what they need.

Composting is cool

The husband and wife team Rob and Chelsea McFarland, who founded Honeylove were also there. I really love what they have done to educate people about bees and to help people become beekeepers. (In fact, I took my 17 year old daughter and her friend out to meet the bees the next day, which was AMAZING)They recently acquired some chickens, and now belong to the growing numbers of people who have an urban farm, chickens, and beehives in their backyard. It goes to show you that its do-able, its being done, and it allows for a new sort of liberty that we as a consumer culture have lost along the way. Its not going off the grid, but its taking measures to live in ways that are in alignment with the wellbeing of our planet. The more we do it, the less we tax the planet, the less we participate in consumer madness, we are healthier (and therefore 70% less likely to end up with chronic diseases- which puts you in the relentless grip of the Big Pharma) and we are happier, (there is nothing quite like a fresh egg from your own backyard, scrambled with basil and tomatoes you grew) because you can't be miserable, shallow and materialistic AND grow your own food- you simply can't.

Rob and Chelsea McFarland, founders of Honeylove

If you want to know more about Honeylove, CLICK HERE. If you are in the LA area, they have beekeeping mentoring workshops the third Sunday of every month.

If you want to check out the GardenerD website, CLICK HERE

Occupy yourself!!!

xoxo,

Ashley Dane
Shake the Hive