During the first three months of 2010, Meredith and I experienced a quantum leap of activity. With the addition of the Gaudi-esque Montesueños Towers art studio, a new guest room, a meditation tower with a panoramic view of the Andes and Yamburara valley, and many enhancements to the lush gardens, we can see Montesueños’s potential as a world-class eco-retreat and university for peace, sustainability, the arts and new science. We are fully equipped for the Internet, and we now have about 7000 square feet of space, including an artistic conference-and-dining room for up to 100 guests, ten bedroom spaces—each with a private bath—and a fully equipped kitchen in each of the two houses. We thank Virginia Igonda and the Macas family for all their help during this intense move forward.
I myself have felt shot out of a cannon during the last few months. After we hosted housefuls of guests over the holidays, we participated in many videos here and I spoke at the University of Loja, while planning for imminent gatherings on what I call the Ecuador Initiative: the importance of saving the Amazon rainforest and indigenous peoples by developing clean breakthrough technologies, especially in energy, to replace dirty oil drilling, mining and logging practices (see Ecuador Initiative blog article). Some of those ideas are summarized as follows:
- the clean removal of mercury and refinement of gold in the tailings from mining operations;
- the development of clean breakthrough energy technologies under protection;
- the use of clean fuel technologies and additives such as HHO (Brown’s Gas);
- the cleanup of hydrocarbon waste through the use of biodegradable acid solutions;
- expanded eco-tourism, health tourism and educational tourism;
- the development of exportable jungle medicinal herbs and their safe biotechnical applications, independent of the large pharmaceutical corporations;
- the application of organic, biodynamic and permaculture agricultural methods;
- ecological water purification and recycling through innovative technologies such as Schauberger’s;
- the cultivation of commercial hemp for textiles, paper, oil, rope and construction materials;
- reforestation projects, using funds and know-how from international sources to restore the forests’ former vitality and biodiversity and to employ Ecuadorians seeking work;
- environmental technologies in recycling, waste management, ambient energy, etc.;
- alternative currencies and regional trade integration;
- information technology initiatives;
- the taxation of real estate profits and the establishment of high ecological standards for real estate development throughout Ecuador.
Then, on January 27, I celebrated my seventieth birthday amid many more video shoots here. Just after that, we convened an international think tank on innovation. This group of Australian, American and Ecuadorian inventors and visionaries formed a new entity dedicated to the integration of sustainable technologies to give nations like Ecuador (and the entire world) the option to convert from the extraction and export of dirty, nonrenewable resources to clean ones such as those listed above. In the process, we believe it will be possible to leave nature and the indigenous peoples alone and gain sovereignty for nations, bioregions and communities in need of preservation and restoration. Once our group becomes more established, you will hear more about what we intend to accomplish. As you can see from the list above, embracing these innovations is a long-term effort that has barely begun. People need to be thinking in these ways rather than in terms of short-term corporate bottom lines and the durations of elective political office. Hopefully, my new appointment as director for Ecuador affairs for the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Organization, affiliated with the United Nations, will help expedite our Ecuador Initiative for innovation.
We then met with Alberto Acosta, the former Ecuadorian energy minister who two years ago headed a constituent assembly that drafted a new constitution which provides for equal rights of nature and of indigenous peoples—an unprecedented measure for any nation. The constitution was ratified by an overwhelming majority of the Ecuadorian people. Acosta was also the first to propose that the oil be left in the ground in one of the most sensitive, biodiverse rainforests on Earth, the ITT block, within Yasuni National Park, if the world community were to match funds with Ecuador in lost potential oil revenues. Mr. Acosta, the environmental groups, and indigenous nations would be natural allies in our innovation efforts. Representatives from Ecuador have made substantial progress in pledges from some European countries to keep the oil in the ground in Yasuni.
Between March 19 and 23, Montesueños hosted and I co-facilitated with Terry Tillman the workshop Transforming the Dreamer. Thirty-one years ago, Terry facilitated a Lifespring training which changed my life from that of a mainstream physicist at Princeton University to one of stepping outside the box to embrace a new science of consciousness and free energy. This training taught me to let go of my fears of not belonging to the crowd and paved the way for a new spiritual path and a career of writing and speaking about bold new paradigms for a sustainable future for humankind. Transforming the Dreamer was an experiment in blending experiential education, personal growth, and information about threats to the environment as well as opportunities to develop sustainable technologies. The experience that fifteen of us in residence shared proved to be a great learning for each of us. We realized that the challenge of addressing and then transcending personal issues is central to any effort to form an Earth Team of dedicated change agents. We also had an opportunity to take the Pachamama Alliance’s award-winning symposium Awakening the Dreamer, which focuses upon the vital issue of how to redirect society towards a new course of action that will be necessary to move into a world of authentic sustainability.
During April, I will be traveling throughout the U.S. to give some talks and to visit with relatives, friends and colleagues. Between May 4 and 8, we will be hosting Charles Feil’s Tao of Photography workshop at Montesueños. (gallery link) More updates will be posted soon.
All the best,
Brian
