Tuesday 23 December 2014

Season’s Greetings 2014


YouTube Video: "The Light Shines All Over The World" 
Hope for Light: Marilyn Lightstone on her Iconic, Multi-Faith Holiday Song
Credit: YouTube MarilynLightstone's channel
"However we worship, whatever our clan,
We all first belong to the family of man.
All over the world...The light shines all over the world."
~ Marilyn Lightstone
Video & Quote: Marilyn Lightstone 
Source: YouTube "The Light Shines All Over The World"
At this special time of year we take this opportunity to wish you and yours a magical Holiday Season, filled with family, friends, and the warmth of the season, no matter what faith (if any) you celebrate.

We also extend our heartfelt gratitude for our clients and partners who made 2014 so special. We look forward to an even more prosperous 2015 filled with new opportunities to bring the beauty, tranquility and healthfulness of the PeapodLife to even more people.

Our sincerest wishes for a joyful holiday,
a happy and prosperous New Year for all,
and Peace on Earth for all Beings.

Image Collage: Happy Holidays from PeapodLife 



Thursday 11 December 2014

Plants Know they’re Being Eaten
“Go Ahead, Make My Salad”

Image: Go Ahead Make My Salad 
Credits/Sources: “Healthy Plant-Based EatingTips” https://texas-food-handler.com/nutrition/healthy-plant-based-eatingtips;
“Vegans and Vegetarians take note... If the sole purpose of your diet is to completely avoid the sacrifice of other species, then you should become breatharians.”
We at PeapodLife have made it a point of posting many articles indicating the consciousness of plants. The latest comes from Business Insider, Researchers Have Found That Plants Know They Are Being Eaten.

In it, Modern Farmer  references a study by the University of Missouri which indicates plants are able to sense when they are being eaten and activate defense mechanisms in an attempt to save themselves.

In the study, audio recordings were made of caterpillars eating Arabidopsis better known as thale cress, a member of the brassica family which includes such plants as broccoli, kale, mustard greens. According to the article, scientists like thale cress because it was the first plant to have its genome sequenced, and they believe they are very familiar with how it works.   

The researchers made other recordings of natural vibrations—such as wind noise—which the plant may encounter in nature.  The purpose being to see if the plant would demonstrate the same response to other naturally occurring vibrations in the same way it reacted to the sound of munching caterpillars.

As it turns out, the thale cress produces mildly toxic mustard oils only when exposed to the rhythms of hungry caterpillars making a meal out of them. The toxins are sent to the leaves by the plant in an effort to make itself less palatable (if not outright poisonous) to the unwanted dinner guests.
"Previous research has investigated how plants respond to acoustic energy, including music. However, our work is the first example of how plants respond to an ecologically relevant vibration. We found that feeding vibrations signal changes in the plant cells' metabolism, creating more defensive chemicals that can repel attacks from caterpillars"said Heidi Appel, senior research scientist in the Division of Plant Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and the Bond Life Sciences Center at MU."
Source: Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building: Plants Know When They're Being Eaten and They Don't Appreciate it
Practically speaking, what does this mean to us?

What should feeling plants mean to us?  Earlier, we discussed how plants could sense pain, danger, and now it seems, when they’re being consumed. So what? Why should we care?

It’s all about out our relationship with the world around us and with nature.

A generation ago, most children were raised to “say Grace” before a meal. Why? Why did we do that? In part, it’s to show humility, reverence, respect and give thanks to whatever Force(s) we believe are behind the universe, our planet, and our lives.

On a practical level, it’s to give thanks for the sacrifice of the beings giving their lives in that moment for us. And by recognizing their contribution to ourselves (their bodies literally become our bodies—“we are what we eat”), any ill-intended defense mechanisms will have far less effects on us.

As it happens, many people develop spontaneous allergies to all kinds of foods. Sometimes, to their favourite foods overtime. In retrospect, we guarantee such individuals will find that they consumed such foods unconsciously, mechanically, with little or no regard whatsoever to the spirit of the animal or plant being consumed.

Without such reverence, with only a pure mechanical interaction, there was no superior ray of energy to negate the lower frequency vibrations present in the defense mechanisms of the food being consumed. Once the body “had its fill” of whatever mildly toxic compound it was being exposed to over and over again mechanically, it simply became and developed a corresponding overreaction to even a tiny amount of it.

Being in reverence and awe of Mother Nature is always a good thing, especially when we are taking from her bounty.

PeapodLife Ecosystems are all about elevating our conscious awareness and appreciation for Mother Nature by allowing us to commune with Her in Her highest expression: high-order Rainforest Ecosystems. By becoming more sensitive to, more attentive of, and more appreciative of the life of ecosystems, we become more sensitive, attentive and appreciative of ourselves and others…all beings.

Sensitivity, conscious awareness and appreciation have been accepted practices of inner peace and happiness since the days of ancient mystery schools to modern-day self-help gurus. It’s a path to a healthier, happier mind body spirit connection. Reason enough start living the PeapodLife.



Tuesday 2 December 2014

Wake-Up from Consumption
Wake-Up to Your Ecosystem

Image (Screenshot): The Gaia Foundation - Wake Up Call

CONSUMING THE PLANET

There’s no getting around it: our modern consumer lifestyle is just that: CONSUMING THE PLANET. Sure, we’d like to avoid it, deny it, sweep it under the rug, remain blissfully ignorant, but the fact remains. We are wilful participants in a modern paradigm of social, ecological and economic exploitation happening on a global scale to an extent never before seen on this planet.

The short animation by Steve Cutts, Wake-Up Call, tells the story better than mere words can…

Video: Wake Up Call

The animation shows how digital technology has not only ushered in a new age of exploitation, it perpetuates that exploitation with completely throwaway design:
  • gadgets with non-removable batteries
  • pre-programmed failure dates
  • engineered obsolescence—parts designed to fail after a certain number of months or years
  • devices rendered “obsolete” one year to the next by “the next iteration”
  • and hundreds other clever tricks and strategies to keep us consuming.

THE MORE WE CONSUME, THE MORE WE ARE CONSUMED

What we love about The Gaia Foundation’s video is that it shows how consumption CONSUMES:
  1. Natural Resources
  2. Human Resources
  3. Consumers

Yes, consumers…us. The more we consume, the more we are consumed. The more we get caught up in the frenzy of the owning the latest and the greatest, the biggest and the best, the more we get swept up in a hurricane of exploitation, just as the poor fellow in the animation.

Don’t think so? Consider some video shot on Black Friday, 2014.

Video: Black Friday Fights 2014

If you can’t see these people are spiralling out of control psychologically in a way exactly as depicted in The Gaia Foundation’s animation, then you are unaware of your own nightmare scenario as a consumer.

Just like in the Animation, YOU CAN WAKE UP.

Video: Advanced Human Habitat

PeapodLife Building Ecosystems & Technology is the antidote to the culture of exploitation we find ourselves being consumed by.

EVERYTHING WE BUILD IS BUILT TO LAST.

PeapodLife ecosystems are hand-made here in Canada. No exploitation of foreign workers, no disposable anything. All parts and components are designed to be replaceable, repairable, upgradeable, and serviceable. As for the underlying construction, we build ecosystems to last 100 years (maybe more—the technology has only been around 30 years or so). All indications are your ecosystem will outlive you.

ECOSYSTEMS RELAX YOU AND RELEASE YOU.

Unlike the daily grind chasing gadgets, fashion, media and other forms of disposable consumables, PeapodLife ecosystems are sustainable, ever-changing, ever-adapting generators of pure clean oxygen, beneficial ions, rejuvenating energy and unparalleled natural beauty.  An electromagnetic field of harmony and symbiosis. A space of love.

Our ecosystems are your sanctuary form the world “out there.” If anything, our ecosystems will help you discover the peace and tranquility—the joy and happiness—awaiting you “in here,” within yourself, by clearing your mind and relaxing to the sights and sounds of nature in its highest expression.

Don’t believe us? Just imagine having an ecosystem like this in your home or workplace. You’ll have to use your imagination because videos can’t do nature justice…

Video: Rainforest Ecosystem the antidote for Excessive Consumption

WE HAVE PROGRAMS WHICH MAKE IT EASY FOR ANYONE TO LIVE THE PEAPODLIFE.

Contact us to find out more about our BEST HOMES programs for home owners, low-income renters, even investors.

Tuesday 18 November 2014

Attention Ontario! Don’t be SAD Winter’s here,
Get Yourself a Tropical Rainforest Paradise

Image: A sidewalk snowplow clears snow in Ottawa, Ont., on November 17, 2014. (Errol McGihon/QMI Agency)

Yesterday saw Ontario get hit with the first real blast of winter with anywhere from 5 to 10cm of snow falling in some areas. The wet blanket of slushy snow made for havoc on the streets and the morning commute.

Video: Slick road conditions this morning as snow sweeps through GTA 


Today, in Toronto we are facing temperatures of -7 degrees Celsius with a wind-chill of -18! Yes, winter is here and it’s already messin’ with us!

Worst still, the Farmer’s Almanac is forecasting a worse-than-average winter—even worse than last year. And just to jog your memory, last year included intense ice storms and deep freezes.
“Winter temperatures and precipitation will be below normal, with the coldest periods in mid-December, early and mid-January, and early to mid-February. Snowfall will be below normal in Southwest Ontario and above normal elsewhere, with the snowiest periods in December and mid- to late March.”
~ Old Farmer’s Almanac 2015

Image: 2015 The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Remember what that felt like? Maybe this will help jog your memory…

Image: People walk past fallen ice-covered tree limbs along a road following an ice storm in Toronto in 2013
Credit: MARK BLINCH / REUTERS

Now, instead of all that, many minds turn to thoughts of summer, tropical getaways, all-inclusive holidays, cruises, etc. And we admit: it’s nice to get away from it all. Realistically, not many of use can get away for four months at a time, December to March.

PeapodLife can offer a practical, viable alternative to help combat what is for most “the winter blah’s” and what can be for some a very real and potentially debilitating condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD.

According to WebMD, people with SAD exhibit many of the warning signs of depression. These can include:
  • Less energy.
  • Trouble concentrating.
  • Fatigue.
  • Greater appetite.
  • Increased desire to be alone.
  • Greater need for sleep.
  • Weight gain.
Source: http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/seasonal-affective-disorder

A number of clinical treatments exist for SAD, including light therapy. This involves shining full spectrum light indirectly into your eyes. Other recommendations include exercise, getting outdoors, eating a balanced diet, etc.

Image: Symptoms and Treatments of SAD 

What isn’t listed as a therapy for SAD is an indoor ecosystem (of course, because there has been no clinical research done in this area yet). All PeapodLife ecosystems make extensive use of full spectrum lighting. It follows that what’s allows rainforest ecosystems to survive and thrive in what is otherwise a dark and toxic environment for them will be good for us, too.

Then there’s the fresh air and vitality we experience when sharing the electromagnetic field of a high order ecosystem. It’s not only like being outside, it’s like being in a beautiful clearing of a tropical rainforest…your very own indoor paradise, right in your own home or office. No need for expensive flights and lengthy holidays. Every day can be lived in paradise when you live the PeapodLife.

Image: Winter be damned! Everyday can be like living in a tropical rainforest paradise with PeapodLife.

So why wait any longer? Don’t let winter to continue messing with you and your emotional health. Stick it to Old Man Winter and the Old Farmer’s Almanac and start living the PeapodLife.

Visit www.peapodlife.com to learn more.


Thursday 13 November 2014

Ecosystem in Senior’s Residence Thrives

Image: PeapodLife Ecosystem at Fitch Street Senior’s Residence

Last week we paid a visit to Birchwood Place, Niagara Regional Housing’s affordable retirement residence located at 235 Fitch St. East in Welland, Ontario.

Image: Birchwood Place 

We checked-in on the ecosystem we installed there, and the photos tell the story of how well this very basic ecosystem is doing.


Image: Orchids blooming in PeapodLife Ecosystem.

The moss is coming along nicely, taking hold and thriving. The orchids are blooming, with more on the way, and some flowers have even matured and produced seed-pods. 

We re-seeded the living wall with the seeds, we will have to wait and see if they can grab a foothold. As you can see from the photos, the wall is quite lush, and new seedlings will have an uphill battle for light given how well all the other plants are doing. 

Image: Ecosystem Thriving.

Even the fish are doing well. Some of the species laid eggs, a few of them hatched. This is a little unusual, since most fish are bred to be infertile. They were a bit too small to photograph without a macro lens.

As you can tell, an ecosystem is not a static thing. They grow, change, adapts and in the case of PeapodLife Rainforest Ecosystems, they thrive. Owning an ecosystem is an adventure. Generally, change happens at a slow pace, but sometimes leads to dramatic developments overnight (like a new orchid reaching full bloom, or new fish being born).

The point is, there’s always new life, new colour, new movement and new things to see and wonder at. Your ecosystem is full of life, and it’s precisely that energy and vitality that PeapodLife ecosystems bring to your life.


Tuesday 4 November 2014

Dancing KINGS & the PEACOCK Life
Men: “Get Down and COLOURFUL” to “Get it On” the Natural Way

Video: At 0.15” these miniscule jumping spiders are nature’s tiny talents.
Source: YouTube – Peacock Spider 7 
“You can dance if you want to,
you can leave your friends behind.
‘Cause your friends don’t dance
and if they don’t dance,
Well that’s no friend of mine.”
~ Men Without Hats, Safety Dance
The natural world is filled with flamboyant, elaborate and beautiful displays by male species courting their female counterparts.

The above ritual by the tiny Peacock Spider, native to Australia, is one such dancing display, complete with colourful abdomen flap which raises just like a peacock’s feathers—hence the name. But these small spiders are by no means the only ones “putting the moves on” their ladies.

It’s no secret that male birds are often more colourful than females, and that they must woo partners using all types of behaviours. But Papua New Guinea’s Birds of Paradise are legendary not only for their elaborate ritual/mating dance, but their beautiful plumage. 

Video: Birds of Paradise

Now let’s face it: the human animal likewise performs its own mating rituals, whether we admit to it or not. And the proliferation of beauty, fashion & lifestyle magazines for women and health, fashion and lifestyle magazines for men are proof of this. Such publications often offer both sexes ways to gain an “advantage” over rivals when it comes to “attracting and/or keeping a mate.”

Image Collage: The “Peacock life” by PeapodLife.

Then there’s “the nest.” Some birds woo a mate by building an elaborate nest which prospective mates come and examine. If the nest is to their liking and meets with their approval, the courtship is successful and mating can proceed.

Video: “The Bachelor Pad” in Nature

This also has its correspondence in the human animal. The “swinging bachelor pad” is but one example of how men attempt to make a good impression on prospective partners, by showcasing their success, cleanliness, organization, likes and interests, tastes in food, design & music, and much more. 

Now, imagine if your “bachelor pad” had one of PeapodLife’s high-order rainforest ecosystems…

Image: PeapodLife Rainforest Ecosystem turns any Bachelor Pad into a sanctuary for new “lovebirds” to become “empty nesters.”

The colours, vivacity, freshness, vitality and life-affirming energy of our indoor rainforest ecosystems will surely turn any bachelor pad into a sanctuary where “lovebirds” can meet, mate and perhaps even become “empty nesters.” But not just any old nest…a nest of MUTUAL HARMONY & SYMBIOSIS, as embodied by one of our high-order ecosystems. The essence of balanced, sustainable beauty. 

In other words, while what starts off appearing as “The Peacock Life” in time reveals itself to create The PeapodLife. And who doesn’t want a relationship of mutual harmony and symbiosis? Contact PeapodLife today and get to work on your “Nest of Paradise.”


Thursday 23 October 2014

BEST HOMES Investment Case Study


FOR DISCUSSION PURPOSES ONLY. ACTUAL VALUES MAY VARY. NOT AN OFFER.

Here’s a very simple scenario, but a target scenario for Toronto (based on an actual property available for purchase, real world renovation costs, real estate fees, etc. and greenhab investing with PeapodLife BEST HOMES Program):

House in trendy/desirable “Junction” in Toronto (nicely renovated properties sell in $1.3-1.8 million range in the Junction, usually for asking price, sometimes above asking).

Image: PeapodLife BEST HOMES Investment Case Study

The Bottom Line

In this scenario, the Investor nets out at an estimated ROI of 77%.

As you can see, PeapodLife takes a 1% commission / management fee for managing the PeapodLife BEST HOMES process beginning to end on behalf of the Investor. We are therefore incentivized to create a truly stunning home, perform outstanding marketing and promotion to and through the real estate brokers (and beyond), negotiate the best sale price, and realize savings whenever and wherever possible. This is a preliminary fee% for initial deal, and is subject to increase moving forward, based on performance.

We are certain that there are investors who will want varying degrees of involvement, etc. in the process. PeapodLife’s goal is to identify the “right” investor(s) for PeapodLife BEST HOMES. Ones who can SEE our Vision/Mission (SEE – Social, Environmental, Economic) of our consortium of partners, and who want to get on the same page with us: to make money building BEST HOMES and bringing Advanced Human Habitat to the world. We encourage any Investor to check their values against ours and that of our Non-Profit Division, www.GenesisEcoFund.org, as expressed on its website and PeapodLife’s blog: http://greenaddition.blogspot.ca.

And again, please understand that no other company in the world has PeapodLife’s ecosystem technology. Any Investor who thinks they can build something on par with a BEST HOME will soon find themselves knocking on PeapodLife’s door. Also, we have made no mention of our social housing opportunities, and commercial building concepts. We are trying to keep things simple at this stage.


Thursday 16 October 2014

Life After Digital shows Need to bring Balance to the Dark Side

Video: How digital technology and social media impacts our lives
Credit: TVO 
“That Place…is strong with the Dark Side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go.
[Luke: What’s in there?] Only what you take with you.”
~ George Lucas via Yoda, Star Wars
Image: Social Media Hell 

Everything has a dark side. Unfortunately, there’s only one way to get past it…we have to descend into it, experience it, go through it, so we may discover something about ourselves and emerge into the light on the other side.

Digital technology and social media are having impacts on our lives no one could have ever imagined or predicted.  People are finding themselves descending into depths of darkness and depravity that are beyond disturbing—they are life-altering (in some cases terminally) experiences.

Last night TV Ontario aired a documentary: Life After Digital, which not only looked at the rise of interactive technology in our lives, but the emergence of social media and the impacts they are having on us. Some positive, others anything but.

From the tragic, much-publicized case of online predation and cyber-bullying which led to the suicide of Amanda Todd, to the emergence of “revenge porn,” the documentary obviously looked at some pretty dark extremes.

But it also looked at some of the more subtle yet ubiquitous effects of technology on our lives. For instance, the allure of the Internet as a shortcut to fame and/or fortune. Or the lingering anxiety we feel for the approval of others measured in “friends, followers, and likes.”   

You can watch the documentary online here. Also, be sure to watch The Agenda with Steve Paikin TONIGHT on TVO (Thursday 16th of October, 8pm & 11pm) for an in-depth panel discussion on the issues raised in the documentary.

Image: The Agenda with Steve Paikin 

For our part, we thought we’d get our two cents in ahead of time, by going a bit deeper into this thing called the worldwide web and ask some tough questions.

A Mirror for Humanity

For starters, is it not obvious that the worldwide web is an outward expression of the collective unconscious of the planet? Two glaringly obvious facts support this assertion of truth:
  1. Everything on the Internet came from someone’s mind at some point in time.
  2. Everything that persists on the Internet does so because it appeals to something in people’s minds. Not just one or two people, either…thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands (or more).

This is not an easy fact to swallow. But a fact it is. Wishing it were otherwise or pretending that somehow we are exempt from it does not change it. We are culpable. We are not innocent.

After all, have we not all chuckled at some Internet meme, at a YouTube “fail” video featuring the mishaps and suffering of others? Have we not all sent nasty emails or “flamed” someone in a comment?  Downloaded “free” music, movies, software, etc.? Indulged in fantasies of every kind, from real or simulated violence to real or simulated pornography to…[fill in the blanks]?

And if not, have we congregated online with like-minded individuals to point fingers, condemn all that is wrong with the world and assert our own “holier than thou” positions of being “in the right?”  

All that and more is there, online. And all that and more is here, inside our own psyche. The thing about technology is that it brings our dark side up and out of us.
“He’s more machine now, then man…twisted and evil.”
~ George Lucas via Obi Wan Kenobi, Star Wars
Image: Darth Vader Mosaic 

We are products of our environment, and we are what we eat. The more we interact with each other and the world through the mechanistic medium of digital technology and social media, the more we strengthen the binary, mechanical processes in our own psyche: black or white, yes or no, right or wrong, us or them. Action– reaction. Stimulus – response. Input, output.  Automatic. Unconscious.

There is no middle way in technology. No softness, no kindness, no compassion, nothing gentle. Forget the soothing voice of Apple’s Siri…there is no love there. Just programming. The more we engage in programming, the more programmed we become. It is a fact. It is undeniable.

And what is that programming? What is running on the program of our subconscious mind? We need look no further than the Internet: conspiracy theories, personal professional and philosophical attacks, revenge porn, identity theft, hacking, binge-watching, time-wasting, etc. Fear, anger, pride, lust, greed, laziness, etc. 

The more identified we become with technology, the more it becomes a part of us…the more it becomes us…the more we become it. We lose our humanity in the process. Don’t believe us? Just consider the new wearables and the enthusiastic anticipation—if not outright euphoria—being expressed online for the arrival of these gadgets and devices.

Image (modified): Montage of Wearable Technologies 

What’s even worse is the pseudo-esoteric talk of the “singularity” being promoted by the likes of Raymond Kurzweil and others, who actually see the evolution of humanity taking place through the proliferation of the very technologies that threaten our core values.

Is there an antidote?

There has always been a place of refuge from the monstrosities imposed on humanity which emerge from the depths of human depravity itself: nature.

Many have expounded on the virtues of nature to soothe and invigorate, inspire and insight, relax and rejuvenate, to help one reconnect with one’s true self. And we certainly don’t need to repeat ourselves for the umpteenth time. 

We will mention that in recent years, the natural havens and sanctuaries of the world are becoming an ever-scarcer resource, as multinational corporations and our voracious appetites for consumption have placed a higher valued on “natural resources” via the decimation of pristine environments.

And let’s face it, living our life at the speed of the digital age means we don’t all have the time or energy to spend walking in nature an hour a day (especially not when we have a backlog of hundreds of emails, dozens of IM’s, countless tweets, several episodes of our favourite show on the PVR we need to catch up on…not to mention the vacation pics to post and the latest version of “this or that” software to download and install).

ENOUGH ALREADY! If we can’t get away into nature, how about inviting nature back into our lives?

An indoor ecosystem fills our living space with an electromagnetic field resonating with harmony and symbiosis…the exact opposite of the vibrations we experience in social media hell.

Where social media is all often about everybody expressing their “opinions” in short, reactionary, oftentimes offensive ways, an indoor ecosystem is about experiencing the peace and harmony of who you really are. 

Where the internet is all about bringing out and feeding the darker aspects of our psyche, the ecosystem is about bringing forth and nourishing our better, brighter, Higher Self…the part of us which longs for the end of all suffering for all creatures…for calm, wellness, peace, harmony, joy and happiness.

These are the “killer apps” of an indoor rainforest ecosystem from PeapodLife.  

Image by Peapodlife: Indoor Ecoystem at Fitch Street Retirement Centre, Welland

So our answer to Life after Digital? Live the PeapodLife.

You don’t have to go live in a swamp like Yoda to surround yourself with the life-force of nature. Bring balance to the forces at work in your life. Immerse yourself in lush beautiful nature. It sure beats living on another kind of world…

Image: Death Star



Thursday 9 October 2014

Nature’s Worth, Beyond Words

Image: “For going out, I found, was really going in because what I gained most from nature is beyond words.” ~ John Muir & John Fowles.

“For going out, I found, was really going in because
what I gained most from nature is beyond words.” 
~ John Muir & John Fowles

Normally, when one thinks about a TED Talk, one’s mind turns to images of highly educated, intellectual, experienced and/or self-important individuals strutting around on a stage for 10 to 20 minutes or so expounding the virtues of their work, field of study, insights, discoveries, theories, etc.

Image: UAB’s Sarah Pacak in the TED 2012 Spotlight  
Source: University of Alabama at Birmingham: UAB News Blog: UAB's Sarah Parcak in the TED2012 spotlight

PeapodLife enjoys TED Talks as much as the next person, but every now and then, one comes along which decides to do more showing then telling. A TED presentation which adhere’s to a picture is worth a thousand words school of knowledge.

It just so happens that today we share the highlight of just such a presentation; and well, you could say it presses all the right buttons with us…

Video: Nature Beauty in HD and Slow Motion  
Source: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJ73zhytr2E


In the spirit of this video, we decided to share another which will give you a sense of how you can feel every time you find yourself in the company of your own indoor ecosystems from PeapodLife:

Video: Beautiful World - Equator 3 1080p HD  
Source: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is-GRMIvVXE

Of course, as beautiful as such videos are, they are no substitute for being there, for experiencing nature directly, personally and intimately. There’s something about the energy and vitality combined with peace and tranquility that cannot be duplicated or substituted.

That is why PeapodLife works with nature to bring lifeforce back into people’s stale, stressful, technocratic, and often toxic living environments. We don’t waste our time with novelties, mechanical monstrosities and half-measures which offer at best a mere fraction of the benefits of real ecosystems—and in some cases can actually seriously deteriorate the health of your space.

Rather, we invite nature on its terms—self-contained high-order rainforest ecosystems—into your home, office, school, retirement and/or healing centre so that you and yours can benefit from its calming and rejuvenating powers.

There is only one way to bring the harmony and symbiosis of nature into your life, and that’s to work in harmony and symbiosis with nature itself. This is PeapodLife’s secret, and why no other competing technology comes close to how our solutions can make you feel.

Consider that, especially considering winter’s fast approaching—one the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting will be worse than last year’s winter!

In light of all this, imagine being able to enjoy the energy, fresh air and soothing comforts of your very own high-order indoor rainforest ecosystem:

Video: PeapodLife Living Wall EcoSystem Fitch Street 

…even as you find yourself in the middle of winter, surrounded by this:

Video: 12-Hour Winter Snowstorm  
Credit: Edward Huff  
Source: YouTube - http://youtu.be/QBjD9mIRf5o

Enough said.



Thursday 2 October 2014

Organic Landscaping:
Better than “Man-made;” more than “Nature’s Way”


Image Collage by PeapodLife: Organic Landscaping in Bloor West Village, Toronto

“If a landscaper says they want to fill your garden with manufactured stones,
you may as well tell them to use plastic plants and Astroturf.”
~ PeapodLife  

Some may be under the impression that PeapodLife only does indoor ecosystems. Not so. We specialize in all manner of organic landscaping, from decks and patios to gardens to chemical-free pools and ecosystem ponds.

What we don’t do is “industrial landscaping,” with cookie-cutter approaches such as pre-fabricated stones which are completely lifeless. There’s a reason why the expression, “on the face of the very living rock” exists. Anyone who works with stone in any meaningful way knows that stone is alive.  Not in the way that plants and animals are alive, but they are alive nonetheless. They have energy. They have character: a face, a body, a right-side up and an upside-down. If a landscaper says they want to fill your garden with manufactured stones, you may as well tell them to use plastic plants and Astroturf.

Industrial, commercial landscaping has an overly polished, mechanical feel…like the so-called living walls of PeapodLife’s competitors…which feels like plants being forced into some manmade design schema. It becomes a kind of artificial expression. Real plants, fake rocks, a completely contrived, disconnected, disingenuous landscape.

Real stones, consciously arranged and interconnected make all the difference. Since they are interconnected, they reflect the interconnectedness of all things. Since interconnectedness is foundational to nature, they act as cornerstones. Since they are alive, they bring a garden to life:


Image: Front Yard Garden by PeapodLife featuring Rhododendrons and Real Stone

Just as ancient peoples built their incredible stone structures and monuments without mortar (even bridges that still stand today!), creating “the perfect staircase” is not about pre-fab anything, or super-expensive single pieces of rock “perfectly cut.” No. Working with stone means just that: working with the stone! Let the living pieces of stone guide you into beautiful, organic expressions of “nature’s perfect staircase.” 

Image by PeapodLife: Front Stone Staircase

If done properly, the hewn stone staircase or pathway integrates flawlessly into the surrounding garden, appearing as though it belongs there, as if Mother Nature herself intended it to be there, as if they appeared there on the landscape organically…the effect is subtle, deep and profound. It’s a feeling that is not altogether aesthetic…it reaches beyond the 5 physical senses.

Image by PeapodLife: Real stone staircase winds through backyard rock garden and leads to deck patio.

So is that “organic landscaping?” We’re sure you’ll find many approaches and definitions on the Internet, and frankly, we could care less what others’ think. What matters to PeapodLife is this: working with nature to help it achieve its highest expression, so that it can freely give back all it has to give. 

Just as indoors, it’s about creating a space of love; for in the final analysis, love is the underlying quality of all of nature: true beauty, selflessness, sacrifice, harmony, oneness, etc.

Many interpret these words to mean “letting nature do its thing” in one specific way…
Image Collage by peapodLife: Wild Gardens 

And if you like wild gardens and wild gardening, more power to you. But this is not the only way in which nature expresses itself. It is the most common way, to be sure; and largely free from human intervention—except perhaps for some forethought, selection of plants, etc.

But nature is capable of expressing itself in ways which are uncommon, require human participation / cooperation, and which result in gardens and landscapes which are not just beautiful, they make you feel special just by being there.

If we likened it to the most common of all activities in nature, sex: there is the physical act of sex with a purely physical goal (either the creation of a baby or the enjoyment of physical pleasure or both). It requires no particular connection whatsoever apart from the physical.  Basic fornication. It’s as common as can be. An industry, in fact.

Then there is making love. And at the risk of sounding cliché, anyone who has ever experience this latter expression of that most natural function, sex, will attest to the difference between the mere physical act with mere physical goal(s), and intimacy which transcends the physical…an act of union which is transformed and transforming. It is much less common these days…and certainly something the sex-related industry knows nothing about and cares even less for. It is interested only in pleasure.


Image Collage by PeapodLife: Sex versus Making Love

And that’s where landscaping and gardening—like all things—are today. At one end is the manufactured, industrial approach which organizes nature into man-made eye-candy; and on the other end of the spectrum is the wild approach which creates “all-natural” landscapes which certainly look and feel as if they are completely devoid of human participation. The former is an expression of human mechanicity, the latter mechanical nature.

Then there’s the middle way…the way of lovemaking. When landscaping and gardening are no longer about creating something of aesthetic pleasure; rather, they are an experience…a labour of love for the expressed purpose of co-creating of a space of love. It’s neither cramming nature into human “design,” nor is it letting nature run amok to sow its wild oats however it sees fit.

Organic landscaping and gardening, in PeapodLife’s view, is about making a conscious connection with the very heart of nature itself—which is love—and allowing that deep connection to inform and unfold itself through a conscious co-creative process.

Image: Backyard Garden by PeapodLife with integrated sprinkler system

To make a physical space requires a physical act. To make a space of love requires a process of love-making. Most anyone who loves gardening, loves cooking, loves painting, loves just about anything creative should get this on some level, especially those who do it for the pure joy of it—not for a living.

At PeapodLife we are blessed with the good fortune of being able to offer you our joy for—and mastery of—creating beautiful natural spaces of love, even as in this case—featured in photos throughout this article—on a relatively small front / backyard in the heart of Bloor West Village.

We want you to be able to experience nature beyond the five senses…feel special just by being in your garden. All that (and more) is how PeapodLife practices organic, conscious landscaping.

Note: This garden was freshly planted and is still in-progress. Still more to come, including moss and more features. Stay tuned for updated photos.


Tuesday 30 September 2014

Nature’s Plea: “Work with Me, People!”

Image: Spider Memes 
“When Nature has work to be done, she creates a genius to do it.”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Image: “When Nature has work to be done, she creates a genius to do it.” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Now, we’re not saying Mother Nature is a like a neurotic director on set losing her marbles at a cast and crew who refuse to cooperate with her and realize her vision of “a perfect picture.” But one must admit, given the recent eruptions and earthquakes, it may not be an altogether inappropriate comparison.

And we also must admit, when it comes to developing a healthy relationship with nature, our approach has been anything but that of a “genius.” Surely not the kind of genius Emerson is referring to.

Pesticides, GMO’s, pollution, climate change, deliberate introduction of invasive foreign species, devastation of vast ecosystems…humanity’s track record of “working with our director” comes up sorely wanting.

But there are “geniuses” out there, ones who believe it is better to work WITH Mother Nature than against her. One of them is PeapodLife’s resident ecosystem guru, Wolfgang Amelung, proprietor of Genetron Systems and inventor of the living wall ecosystem.

Here Wolfgang is featured on a piece produced by CBC’s Venture, back in the 1997, when he first took the world storm with his invention.

Video by PeapodLife: CBC Venture Report on PeapodLife Partner, Genetron Systems 
Source: YouTube - PeapodLife

Hot on the heels of the authentic work of a real genius whose passion is working with Mother Nature, a slew of so-called clever people saw the living wall ecosystem and decided “I can do that!”

The result was a plethora of so-called “living walls” and “green walls” which flooded the market and still linger today: cheap knock-offs which are chemically fed, soil-based, and don’t have any resemblance whatsoever to an ecosystem—and thus have little or any resemblance to real nature, apart from their inclusion of plants.   

And guess what? They don’t work.

Nature works because it is an ecosystem. Balanced, intelligent, able to adapt to changing conditions. Soil putrefies and dies, filling the air with more contaminants than the plants in it can clean. Hydroponic systems fill the air with chemicals and fertilizers. Neither systems are capable of producing ionized living water, and both types of systems suffer from mold and mildew problems due to the moisture.

But wait! Don’t PeapodLife Living Wall Ecosystems also produce a lot of moisture?

Yes they do, but our ecosystems produce ionized living water—negatively charged ions—which suck contaminants out of the air. The electromagnetic field of an ecosystem is balanced, meaning mold is kept in check. What flourishes in its place is moss—a feature no other so-called living wall is able to duplicate.

PeapodLife ecosystems were developed and patented by a true genius who knows the benefits of working with nature—not against it. Now those benefits are available to you: in your home, workplace, school, retirement centre, wherever wellness, calm, clarity and wellbeing are of importance and value.


Tuesday 16 September 2014

What does it really mean to “get back to nature?”

Image Collage by PeapodLife: BECAUSE YOU DON’T NEED TO MOVE TO YELLOWSTONE TO “GET BACK TO NATURE”
Credit: Morning in Yellowstone: sometimes you wake up in the middle of a bison herd. 
“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach and not. When I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
*Quote and Image from Walden.


The above quote by Henry David Thorough notwithstanding, we have some pretty interesting ideas of what it means to “get back to nature.”

It seems a simple enough concept, especially to children, to whom getting out exploring the wilderness seems to come naturally (at least, it used to be, before the “i-Tech” generation).

Image Collage by PeapodLife: Back to Nature - Then v.s. Now. 
Sources: Kids in Nature: http://www.back2nature.ca/
iPod Back to Nature 
Credit: Insanitystudz 

Just where does this technological “i-age,” including the “selfie” take us? To innovations like the “Bird Photo Booth.” It’s cool, no question, but does it qualify as getting back to nature? Judge for yourself.

Video: GoPro: Bird Photo Booth bird feeder and birdcam for Bird photography like never before
Credit: Bryson Lovett

Don’t get us wrong, the GoPro is an amazing piece of technology which allows individuals to capture nature as never before…

Video: Beautiful Nature - Autumn - GoPro 3 

And, of course, GoPro offers the ultimate in “high-performance, high-definition selfie technology” to capture “grown-up kids having grown-up adventures” approach to getting back to nature:

Video: 4 Month GoPro Travel Adventure 
Credit: Henry Cramer


But there’s still good old fashioned intrepid exploration, discovering the hidden gems and secret mysteries of nature, like this subterranean haven:

Image: Underground Green Haven 


What all these forms of so-called “getting back to nature” have in common is that they are illusory and/or temporary; in other words unsustainable. As exciting as a 4-month adventure holiday may be, 4 months is 4 months. It is a holiday; it is not sustainable.

“So we’ll capture it for posterity!” we think.

As cool as shooting and viewing high-speed, HD nature footage may be, it’s not the real thing. And unless you had your camera mounted on a helmet, no: you were not really there. The second we start worrying about “capturing the moment,” we’re taken out of the moment. Truly.

That’s part of the problem with the whole “i-Generation,” “selfie” and “be a hero” culture: we’re so focused on saving the experience for later—or sharing it with others—we deprive ourselves the pure, unadulterated experience itself. And, we falsely believe that others can experience what we experienced. Sadly, like us, they get a watered down, filtered version of it. Yeah, it’s pretty cool to watch, but it’s not the same.

What we’re really talking about, then, is getting back to nature more permanently…in a sustainable way. Living with nature.

And there are plenty of really dramatic ways of achieving this goal which, let’s face it are more or less beyond the reach of most of us…

Image Collage by PeapodLife: There’s a more attainable way to get nature back into your life


And then there are the old standby, log homes and cabins…

Image Collage by Peapodlife: Log Homes


…quaint, rustic and “natural” to be sure, but ultimately deadwood—lifeless.

And don’t even get us started with potted plants. POTTED PLANTS ARE NOT NATURE. When you separate soil from the earth, put it in a pot and bring it indoors, it immediately begins to putrefy (die, rot, decompose). And although the plant in the soil may appear to be doing well, overall it is polluting your indoor environment and reducing air quality.

At PeapodLife, we believe the BEST way to “get back to nature” in a SUSTAINABLE WAY, are high order indoor rainforest ecosystems.
  • Home
  • Office
  • School
  • Health Centre
  • Retirement Community

And the reasons are simple: no other way of “getting back to nature” is truly sustainable, without abandoning civilization altogether. PeapodLife is all about ecosystems—mutual harmony and symbiosis—reconciling that which must live together sustainably. For humanity, that time is long overdue.

And what does getting back to nature living the PeapodLife look like?

Video: PeapodLife Living Wall EcoSystem Fitch Street


Remember: videos are not the same as experiencing it first-hand.