Information or Insight—Which serves a CEO’s Needs?

Infographic from PeapodLife: Information & Insight, which Serves a CEO’s Needs?

“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth more than a lifetime of experience.”

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Source: http://www.apisanet.com/insight-quotes/daily-insight-quotes/

Gosh we dislike the term infographic. We much prefer SEE VISUAL AID (Strategize, Engage, Execute with Virtual Interactive Simulation, Universal Adaptive Language & Actionable Intelligence Discourse). Here’s a VISUAL AID that sums it up…

Infographic: SEE VISUAL AID 

Source: The Attlas Project, Vol. One – SEE The World in a New Light.

Unfortunately, SEE VISUAL AID is a term which never caught on, and so we’re stuck using the term infographic as popularly used.


Why do we dislike it so much? If it’s not already clear, it will become so in the context of today’s topic…

Information versus Insight

We recently came across an article on LinkedIn Pulse entitled How CEOs And CMOs Can Tell The Difference Between Information And Insights by Tony Zambito, Founder and Leading Authority on Buyer Personas.

In it, the author does a good job of differentiating between information and insight, offering the following definition of insights in the context of customer acquisition:

“Insights are illuminating revelations of underlying goals, motivations, mental filters, and emotions, which drive goal-directed behaviors and activities.”
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-ceos-cmos-can-tell-difference-between-information-tony-zambito

Zambito goes onto explain some of the pitfalls of predetermination, that is, deciding ahead of time what insight you’re looking for and thus falling into the trap of accumulating information and not the seeds for authentic insight—which often arises from the unseen, unheard, unspoken needs of customers.

Image: Quote on the value of Insight by Oliver Wendell Holmes   
Source: http://www.apisanet.com/insight-quotes/quotes-about-insight/

The implication is, of course, that what a CEO (or CMO) needs is not information, but insight, which we would describe loosely as follows:

Intuition, inspiration, imagination and integration of information which results in actionable intelligence; in a word, revelation.

Revelations lead to Revolutions

It follows that revelations are what lead to revolutions. Before any leader can revolutionize how their company operates, that revolution must first reveal itself to them. Likewise, before a company can revolutionize an industry, the object of the revolution (say, the iPad), must “come to them” (Steve Jobs).

So now we’re getting somewhere. There have been countless book and articles written about the creative process, but the fact of the matter is the mind cannot understand the mechanics of insight, mostly because there are no mechanics to understand. It is possible to comprehend insight in a deep metaphysical way (through meditation, for example), but how does this help the busy CEO dealing with the practical realities of their busy work life? So the question remains...

How can CEO's Grab Hold of More / Deeper Insights?

Image: CEO Grabs hold of insight Source: http://blog.pipelinersales.com/sales-automation/opportunity-management/sales-strategies-5-basics-of-insight-selling/ 

Let’s return to the question of information; and let’s say that the plants in your office (or that so-called ‘living wall’ consisting of plants stuck into a vertical framework of some kind) represent information.

There they are: individual plants arranged in a space. No connection to each other. No ability to collaborate. No chance of symbiosis. They may as well be prisoners in their cells.

But what if those plants were arranged a different way? What if instead of being treated as isolated individual plants, they were treated as a part of something much greater than themselves? What if they were part of an ecosystem?

Now those plants would be able to develop mutually advantageous relationships with each other, along with the animals in the ecosystem.  Individual isolationism gives way to interconnectedness, harmony and mutual symbiosis—a kind of integration which relies on an infinite matrix of interrelationships.

The result is a super organism.  An ecosystem is orders of magnitude more powerful and influential in an office space than individual office plants—a super organism reflecting nature in its highest expression, and able to directly contribute to underlying conditions which favour insight in human beings.

Nature Inspires

From Newton’s theory of gravity to Beethoven’s fifth symphony to Einstein’s theory of Relativity, the power of nature to provide inspiration and insight to some of humanity’s greatest accomplishments is unquestionable and undeniable.

Insights form in the subconscious mind and reveal themselves to us in time as the infinitely complex interrelationships between individual elements of said insight (information) is compiled and presented as unified, comprehensive whole.

The conscious mind is incapable of this compilation. It can only receive insights which are revealed to it from the subconscious.

In other words, exactly as the office plants rearranged in an ecosystem produces the super organism which is so much more potent—infinitely more valuable to the office—so the subconscious mind rearranges information into the revelation which is infinitely more valuable to the CEO.

So, if office plants are like information and only serve the conscious mind, wouldn’t CEO’s be better off with ecosystems which are able to form and resolve infinitely complex interrelationships in real-time and serve the formation and revelation of insights?  

Even on a superficial level, biomimicry has become a hallmark in everything from engineering to architecture to design. Why not your business?

Other strategies to increase insight…

There are other ways for the CEO to gain deeper insight. These include relaxation, mindfulness practice, meditation, sensory deprivation and other forms of nature therapy, all of which serve to expand the scope of free consciousness and awareness of the subconscious mind.

These practices are all good, but let’s be honest: they take a lot of energy and effort, and often take a back seat to the ‘practical business realities’ of the given moment—in other words, the stressed conscious mind which must deal with the problems it’s facing.

The beauty of an indoor ecosystem from PeapodLife is the fact that it’s always there, always working, even if you’re unaware of it or not. It takes no additional effort on the part of a CEO or their employees to gain the insight-yielding benefits of an ecosystem. It makes your environment more conducive to revelation; and we are products of our environment.

YouTube Video: PeapodLife Living Wall EcoSystem Fitch Street

In other words, an ecosystem serves the needs of a CEO.

So where’s yours?

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 

Source: nrh.ca: Niagara Regional Housing: Development: 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.

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

Image: Spider Memes 

Source: facebook.com: IFeakingLoveScience: Timeline Photos

“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

Quote & Image Source: QuoteHD.com – Ralph Waldo Emerson Quotes

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.

How Green Roofs & Walls Impact Building Occupants’ Well-Being Living Architecture Monitor looks at Green Infrastructure & Human Health

Image Collage: Living Architecture Monitor Summer 2014 Cover & PeapodLife Living Wall Ecosystem  
Source: livingarchitecturemonitor.com: Living Architecture Monitor (LAM) magazine Digital Edition Summer 2014 - Health Issue

“…Green infrastructure in commercial or residential properties can increase employee productivity and property values, by providing visual and physical access to green space.” 

– Living Architecture Monitor¹ 

In the Summer 2014 edition of Living Architecture Monitor, three professionals share their insights into the advantages and benefits of installing “green infrastructure”—green roofs and walls—into their buildings. The complete article can be read in Living Architecture Monitor Online, but here are some highlights:

On the affects of green roofs and/or walls on building occupants:

“The response that our employees had was and is overwhelmingly positive…The investment into what was unusable space and the environmental benefits increased company-wide awareness, exposure and appreciation of the overall design.” – Kevin Repasky, Director of Operations, Hanover Architectural Products Source¹

“The Manulife Centre’s green roof…is considered to be a garden in the heart of the city, a quiet and tranquil place for tenants and employees to use at their leisure, hidden above the bustling corner of Bay and Bloor Streets.” – Michael Bardyn, Managing Director, Greater Toronto, Manulife Real Estate Source¹

On the financial impacts of Green Architecture:

“The living wall is definitely one of the greater features to the building and an added value to the project. The visitors and guests are always admiring the living wall. It’s also a tour stop for our leasing team. The living wall is definitely an emenity for the tenants and visitors to the property." – Sherry Mashadian, Manager, Operations, Irvine Company Office Properties, Source²

“We believe it has a very positive affect on our tenants as evidenced by our low vacancy rate which drives long-term value for the property.” – Michael Bardyn, Managing Director, Greater Toronto, Manulife Real Estate Source²

Additionally, the article cites that 1330 Boyslston Street Apartment near Fenway Park in Boston generates an additional $120,000 in additional revenues for units that overlook a newly installed green roof. J.P. Morgan Asset Management estimates the green roof has increased the value of the property by $2.4 million.²

And, according to Economics of Biophilia report, 10% of employee absences can be attributed to architecture which has no connection to nature.²

For more information on what nature can do for YOUR commercial or residential building, its tenants, your business, etc, Connect with PeapodLife Today.

¹ Source http://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/greenroofs/lam_2014summer/#/8
² Source http://www.nxtbook.com/dawson/greenroofs/lam_2014summer/#/10

Affordable Retirement Residence’s Rainforest EcoSystem Bursts into Life Improving Life for Retirement Lifestyle Residents is a Great Source Joy for Us

YouTube Video: PeapodLife Living Wall EcoSystem Fitch Street  

This recently completed Living Wall Rainforest EcoSystem was installed at 235 Fitch Street in Welland, Ontario. 

Like most PeapodLife EcoSystems, it features orchids, moss, bromeliads, African violets, cacti, aquatic plants, fish & more. 

Like all PeapodLife EcoSystems, there is no soil, chemical additives or fertilizers of any kind. 

Published on Jun 30, 2014 by PeapodLife

“You know, I suffer from depression. It’s my morning ritual to come down here and spend 20 minutes next to the living wall ecosystem. It just makes my day.”
~ Fitch Street Resident

It’s when we hear feedback like the above from a resident of Fitch Street Affordable Retirement Lifestyle Community in Welland, Ontario that we are truly humbled by the power of nature to heal mind, body and spirit.

Throughout the entire ecosystem installation process (which we documented in previous blog articles), the number compliments and thoughtful conversations we enjoyed from contractors, employees, residents and visitors was a real joy for us.

Image by PeapodLife: Completed Ecosystem at Fitch St. Retirement Residence 

It was a joy, too, to start putting the finishing touches on the ecosystem itself, including more moss, orchids, aquatic plants (surface and submerged), and fish.

Only one orchid was blooming when the above photo was taken, but as they settle into their new home and literally put down their roots, more will begin to bloom as well.

Image by PeapodLife: Bromeliads growing in Fitch St. EcoSystem

As vibrant and colourful as the bromeliads appear in the ecosystem at this early stage of its life, they, too, will only get better as they acclimatize themselves to their new environment and begin establishing symbiotic relationships with the other flora and fauna of the ecosystem.

Image by PeapodLife: Aquatic Plants & Fish in Fitch St. Ecosystem

Difficult to photograph, the fish seem quite content in their new habitat, swimming and schooling the full length of the large tank which not only serves as their home, but also a catch-all for the water dripping down the living wall and off the leaves of the plants—an important design & safety feature.

The benefits of this design? Cleanliness. There’s nothing worse than encountering so-called living walls that do not account for the tendency of water to drip. If those walls are made with soil, the resulting mess on the floor can be unsightly and slippery.

PeapodLife EcoSystems use no soil, and our designs keep the water where it belongs—in the ecosystem—to be enjoyed by beings who actually appreciate it: plants, moss and fish.

Image by PeapodLife: Fitch Street Affordable Retirement Residence EcoSystem

As a result, occupants and visitors of the Fitch Street Low-Cost 50+ Lifestyle Housing Complex can get up close and personal with their ecosystem in the main lobby without any fear of slips and falls. And get up-close and personal they do. Who wouldn’t want to?

Pictures and videos simply do not do our ecosystems justice. Like anything in nature, there’s no substitute for being there, experiencing its magic in person. We are happy to be able to bring a little magic into the lives of older individuals in such a simple yet meaningful way.

“Making someone’s day?” It makes it all worthwhile...all the time, effort and care we put into our Rainforest EcoSystems; all the special ways in which our Living Wall EcoSystems bring sustainable beauty and enduring vibrations of positivity to people and places.

Living Wall EcoSystem COMES ALIVE! What Progress Indeed Fitch Street Retirement Residence gets a Colourful Burst of Fresh Air

HD Video by PeapodLife: EcoSystem-in-Progress features Active Rainforest Cycle, Seeded Moss, Bromeliads, Ferns, Grasses.

PeapodLife Rainforest Living Wall EcoSystem "Under Construction" at Fitch Street Affordable Retirement Residence in Welland, Ontario.
Video features active Rainforest Cycle (automated spray misters); moss (seeded); bromeliads, ferns, grasses.
Still to come: Orchids, aquatic plants, fish and more.
Published on Jun 17, 2014 by PeapodLife

“I suffer from depression. My new morning ritual is going to be to come down and sit right here for a little a while. My God it’s so beautiful. It just makes me happy.”

~ Fitch Street Retirement Home Resident

The above video really does speak volumes (watching it on our YouTube Channel in HD is best).

As a part of our continuing series showing the evolution and organic growth of a PeapodLife Rainforest EcoSystem, today we offer video evidence of the dramatic improvement an EcoSystem makes to any space.

In addition, we offer more “in-progress” photographs which will serve as a kind “before and after” pics for the purposes of today’s article.

Image by PeapodLife: “BEFORE” Fitch St. EcoSystem Mechanicals & Foundation Installed.

Image by PeapodLife: “AFTER” Fitch St. EcoSystem: Bromeliads, ferns, grasses planted; moss seeded.

As we mentioned in previous blog posts, the process of installing a high-order indoor rainforest ecosystem by PeapodLife takes time. It is a step-by-step organic process.

There is NO SOIL. NO CHEMICALS. NO FERTILIZERS. NO ADDITIVES OF ANY KIND.

When you’re dealing with nature ON HER TERMS, patience and organic growth are the order of the day. There are no shortcuts. There is no way to exploit the laws of nature and “get away with it.” Apologies to industrial agri-business, et al.

Still to come: orchids, aquatic plants, fish & more!

At PeapodLife, we let our Living Wall EcoSystems to the talking. No dying plants. No smell. Just the freshest, cleanest air; and a most beautiful, vibrant, colourful and energetic background.

On of the Fitch Street residents (who shall remain nameless) put it best when she came by with her little dog to admire our work. She said,

“I suffer from depression. My new morning ritual is going to be to come down and sit right here for a little a while. My God it’s so beautiful. It just makes me happy.”

Enough said.

EcoSystem Begins to Take Shape in 50-Plus Lifestyle Residence: Water Circulating; Lighting Functional

Image by PeapodLife: EcoSystem with Plant Pockets, Water & Lighting Installed

“Life requires thorough preparation - veneer isn't worth anything.”

~ George Washington Carver

Source: brainyquote.com: George Washington Carver Quote

A few weeks ago we told you that an ecosystem had gone into Birchwood Place, Fitch Street Affordable Residence for Seniors. In that blog, we listed three steps which needed to take place:

1. Final dust cleaning and building flush to expel most construction adhesives and other chemical construction pollution, including off-gassing materials.


2. Add water and get the Ecosystem running; allow water and system to settle.


3. Add plants, water plants and fish; again, in a gradual, organic process.

We were there on Thursday of this week to  execute Step Two of the process…

“Once ample time has been given to achieve safe levels, we will begin to add water and get the Ecosystem running.”

~ Source: PeapodLife: Ecosystem Installed in Affordable Seniors ResidenceWelland, Ontario Seniors will Benefit from the BEST

Except for some minor hiccups (there are always a few to be expected whenever one does an install, because there is simply no way to predict the unpredictable), everything went smoothly.

Tradespeople, Building Management, neighbours and certainly residents have all expressed a good deal of curiosity and anticipation. And, remarkably, so many of them simple “get it”—that is, they very quickly grasp the essence of what PeapodLife is doing and cannot wait to experience it.

They also seem to grasp that there is no “final product” per se, unlike other so-called “living walls” which look at their best just after their installed, after which they begin the process of decay. No amount of natural or chemical fertilizer can sustain life in their fundamentally unnatural configurations.

PeapodLife Living Wall EcoSystems, on the other hand, look good once their installed, but really start to grow, thrive, flourish and dazzle weeks and months later.  There is never a “finished product” because the ecosystem, with all its beauty and wonder, is constantly changing, growing, surprising us while renewing itself. 

Image by PeapodLife: Lush EcoSystem at former Club Monaco Head Office.

So in a very real sense, PeapodLife is truly Life, and everything else is just a veneer. Veneers wear out, chip, fade, and reveal their substance less nature. Life, on the other hand, grows, prospers, discovers, and reveals the fertility of Mother Nature herself.

Which would you like to see in a 50+ retirement residence? Stay tuned, the planting of life in Welland will soon be at hand.

Shinrin Yoku the Ecosystem way: Get the Health Benefits of Nature Exposure 24/7, 365 days of the year

VIDEO by PeapodLife: Living Wall Ecosystem up-close and personal

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”
— John Muir, “John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir”; Edited by Linnie Marsh Wolfe (University of Wisconsin Press, 1938, republished 1979)*

Dozens of scientific studies, mostly conducted in Japan, have returned hard evidence to suggest that spending time in greenspace is good for your physical and mental health. The practice known as Shinrin Yoku or “forest bathing” reduces cortisol levels and also seems to boost immune system.

Image: Shinrin-yoku by Megan Albertson
Source: pinterest.com: Pinterest: quotes: Shinrin-yoku

Although scientists attribute the psychological, physiological and immunological benefits of forest bathing to breathing in volatile substances, called phytoncides (wood essential oils), which are antimicrobial volatile organic compounds derived from trees, such as a-pinene and limonene, (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_bathing) PeapodLife has an alternative explanation.

“There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more.”
— George Gordon, Lord Byron, “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”*

The connection between Shinrin-yoku and aromatherapy is not without merit, but here again, a materialist scientific approach to both erroneously assumes that it is exposure to the physical substances compounds themselves which confers benefits.

In many traditions of herbal and esoteric medicine, oils must be activated through the application of heat; incense, for example, must be burned—more accurately expressed and effectively activated as smoldered. In other words, there is an energetic quality at work play.

It is this energy, the stress-relieving, life-giving, immune-system-boosting and mood enhancing power of nature that emanates from all natural environments; but particularly from ecosystems. The higher-order the ecosystem, the greater the benefits—physical and psychological.

Unfortunately, until materialist science is trapped within the confines of lower-order intelligence, it will not likely accept nor endorse either the high-order intelligentsia of ecosystems or their high-order energetic benefits, shackled as they are to the paradigm of “physical evidence.” Perhaps said scientists have spent too much time studying nature in cold, heartless laboratories…

“Man’s heart away from nature becomes hard.”

— Standing Bear*

One thing is certain: it takes only a moment or two in the company of a PeapodLife ecosystem to feel said energy and know something intelligent is working to make you feel better…it’s a knowing you feel in your heart.

*All Quotes Sourced from: nscblog.com: Nathan S. Collier BLOG: Shinrin-yoku

Do you sweat the Small Stuff? How about the Big Stuff? How Energy Affects our Emotional & Mental Well Being.

Image: “Nervous Breakdown” by Lyod
Source: photobucket.com: Spaga_2009: media: DREAM: Nervous Breakdown

Ecosystems Help Maintain Psychological Well-Being

Imagine you’ve had “one of those days.” It starts out slow and dull after a long night of tossing and turning (the neighbourhood cats decided to have a social outside your bedroom window). You pine for a cup of java, but find you’ve run out of instant coffee cups. After scraping the charred bits off of some burnt toast (someone left the setting on “scorched earth”), you hear the time on the radio…7:55.

That’s when it hits you: you forgot you had an 8:30am meeting downtown today.

You LEAP into action (read: panic) mode: run through a frighteningly icy shower (the landlord is “still working on that”), throw on some kinda-sorta-ironed clothes and race for the car.

The traffic seems as if it was going backwards. Every light bleeds crimson. The clock in your car advances feverishly. You curse Einstein and his Law of Relativity (“time and space are not constant. Fine. But why do they always seem to work against me!?”).

You realize you’d better call your boss to let him her know you’re going to be late. That’s when you realize you left your phone in the den next to the fish tank.

Arriving late and somewhat dejected, you have no choice but to pick the flat-rate $40 parking garage in the luxury hotel, and still have to drive 5 levels down past row upon row of luxury sedans, sports cars and SUVs…their obnoxiously enormous headlamps and grills sneering at your pre-owned subcompact.

The remaining 30-minutes of the meeting go awkwardly. The potential client is stand-offish at best and hostile at worst. “But thanks for the late breakfast.”

Your boss is not impressed.

You collect your car; head to the office. There you are met by a mountain of emails needing your reply. Your thoughts turn to the “Missed Call” counter ticking up on your phone; messages hungrily gobbling up your limited voicemail box capacity. You wonder if fish can spontaneously develop telephone skills. Maybe they could have bike courier break into your place and bring you your phone?

What if that “special friend” you met recently is trying to call? What if your mother is trying to call? “Hmm...maybe leaving the phone at home was a blessing in disguise,” you muse to yourself.

Then it happens: your computer just stops. And no, re-booting the system will not get it to start.

Several hours of dealing with your own I.T. department (“Ned”), navigating automated phone systems, desperately trying to speak to—and be understood by—technical support somewhere in South Central/Eastern Asia, only to have to take your unit into a repair depot where after a 20-minute test it’s confirmed you’ll need a new hard drive. “Why couldn’t someone tell me that to begin with!?”

Don’t worry, eventually you do make it home: an empty apartment (except for some fish and a cell phone filled with missed calls and voicemails), an empty fridge, coupons for delivery pizza and/or Chinese food, hundreds of channels of trash on the TV, and countless webpages online to numb you to sleep (at least, you would have, if the Internet wasn’t on the fritz. Your landlord says “the ISP is supposed to be working on that.”)

Just then, deciding to clean out your voicemail box, you get the message from your “special friend.” They’ve met someone else and can’t see you anymore.

That’s the last straw: a seething rage erupts from inside! Your entire body seizes up with an intense eruption of energy, completely taking hold of you, and in a split second of explosive impulsiveness, you watch as your arm hurls your smartphone against the wall, smashing the glass on your favourite limited edition print, ripping the photo beneath.

Observe yourself right now, in this moment. We all know the feeling of having “one of those days.” The question is how do we handle such days?

Do we let each “little thing” get to us, however imperceptibly? What happens after the second, third, fourth…tenth “little thing?” Do we sweat the little things just enough that they add “another straw” to the camel’s back?

There really is no difference between a “little thing” and a “big thing.” Psychologically speaking, the small stuff and the big stuff are the same: something that didn’t go our way; an unexpected outcome which upset our expectations (it’s our expectations which cause the upset).

Often, we identify “big stuff” based on our reaction. However, in the above story, clearly the reaction was related to all the small stuff which occurred during the day. The straw that breaks the camel’s back takes the heat for everything, but it was just another in a series of incremental increases in negative energy.

So what does any of this have to do with PeapodLife and ecosystems?

Imagine if you had an ecosystem at home and at work. Imagine a lush, green indoor environment filled with fresh clean air—like being in a rainforest or outside in nature after a fresh summer rain. Reread the above story and after each paragraph add the following:

Then you look at the ecosystem: it’s lush moss, beautiful bromeliads, delicate orchids, at once vibrant and soothing. You take a long, deep breath of the pure, fresh, clean air. You close your eyes for just a moment and take in the delicate calming sound of trickling water. “Life is good,” you think to yourself.

Image by PeapodLife: Custom Living Wall Ecosystem brings soothing nature into an office space.

Now imagine children at school. Employees at work. Parents in the retirement home. Patients in the dental clinic. Clients in the spa. Imagine all those little barbs of negative energy being dissolved, moment by moment, instead of building up inside.

The power of nature to help us maintain balanced mental well-being is priceless. That’s the power of PeapodLife.

Livegreen Toronto!

Collage: Livegreen Toronto Festival  
Image Credit: raku.ca: Raku Living Inc: Great Success at Live Green Toronto Festival!

Special Offer on EcoSystems something to Celebrate

Livegreen Toronto is an initiative by the City of Toronto whose purpose is to help Torontonians like you:

Green Your Home, Your Neighbourhood, Kids & Schools, Your Business, get access to Free Membership Card, Events, Awards, & more.

~ City of Toronto: Live Green Toronto

Livegreen Toronto is holding its annual street festival at Yonge-Dundas Square on July 27 from 11-to 9.

Image: Livegreen Toronto Festival

Saturday, July 27; Yonge-Dundas Square

Image Credit:  City of Toronto: Live Green Toronto

Here are the top 5 reasons you should go:

1. Street market
2. Kids zone
3. BEER GARDEN
4. Free concerts & entertainment
5. SPECIAL OFFERS on green products & services

 PeapodLife will not be able to join in all the fun this year, but we do have an amazing offer.

Until the end of August, LiveGreen Toronto Members get two year of Biocare included in the price of their ecosystem (that’s a $10,000 value!)

This offer is valid on our Muro and Angolo Rainforest Ecosystems.

Have a blast at this year’s Livegreen Toronto Festival!, and take advantage of this incredible chance to get even more value from PeapodLife!

“Be More Relaxed, Aware, Healthy, Human...AHH!

• Breathe fresh air 10x cleaner than outside.
• Be more productive, creative, calm, effective.
• Enjoy the beauty & vitality of a rainforest.

“The world's first & only rainforest living wall ecosystem

• Grow lush moss, bromeliads, orchids & more.
• Marvel at your evolving ecosystem for decades.
• Low-maintenance & no plant replacement costs.

“No other so-called "living walls" & "green buildings" compare

• Custom, hand-built, Canadian-made.
• 2-Year Warranty.
• SPECIAL OFFER! 2-Years onsite BioCare included.”

Source: peapodlife.com

Rainforest Ecosystem vs. “Green Bling”

Image: Living Wall Ecosystem w/ Turtle Pond vs. Typical “Vertical Garden”

Image Credits: peapodlife.com: living wall ecosystem + NYTymes.com: Gardens That Grow on Walls: Peter Kastan's 12-by-12-foot green wall in Miami, photo by Moris Moreno

New York Times warns: “A lot of living walls fail.”

If you’ve followed our blog for any length of time, you know we’ve said it before: competitors’ so-called “living walls” are just plain wrong. They do not work.

Even the New York Times seems to agree to some extent.

Although their article, “Gardens That Grow on Walls” outlines many of the benefits of typical vertical gardens and green walls, including aesthetics, air purification, etc., they make it clear that misconceptions about these “green architectural features” outweigh reality.

“A lot of living walls fail.”

~ Martha Desbiens, VertNY (landscape design firm).

Source: NYTymes.com: Gardens That Grow on Walls

Why? There are really too many reasons to list. But it comes down to this simple truth: unless a living wall is part of an ecosystem, it is 100% unnatural, unsustainable, and ultimately unhealthy for the indoor environment.

Why? There are simply too many variables at work for a human being to manage to keep plants in a typical living wall healthy, and the only feedback mechanism they have is plant illness and mortality.

“It’s like having a large poodle,” Mr. Kastan said. “You have to take care of it, feed it, walk it. It’s intensive care for plants.”

~ Peter Kastan
Source: NYTymes.com: Gardens That Grow on Walls

A rainforest ecosystem, on the other hand, takes care of its own plants. Sure, PeapodLife performs BioCare maintenance every two or three months (depending on the size, complexity and makeup of the ecosystem), but it’s truly maintenance.

The competitions’ so-called “maintenance” involves mostly plant-replacement due to plants dying off in their soil-based or hydroponic systems. The problems with dying plants are manifold: mold, VOC’s, high plant replacement costs, and an aesthetically awful feature over time.

PeapodLife living wall ecosystems are capable of running for decades with practically zero plant mortality or replacement costs. PeapodLife works with the inventor of the living wall ecosystem and is backed by over 30 years of real-world success stories. Rainforest ecosystems are the only way to go.

So Why? Why do people continue to invest their time, money and energy in so-called “living walls” and “vertical gardens” that attempt to circumvent nature’s way—ecosystems—instead of working with it?

“People want green bling…[they] think, ‘It looks beautiful and perfect, and I want something beautiful and perfect in my life.’”
~ Marguerite Wells, Motherplants, (nursery)
Source: NYTymes.com: Gardens That Grow on Walls

People want “perfection on the cheap.” They try saving some bucks up front for something that looks good for a few days after installation, and in the end pay ten times more living with the shortcomings of an inexpensive and ultimately unviable and unsustainable solution. Just like the name suggests, it’s just a “green façade.” It’s perfection in appearance only.  

Look to our blog article on Nature’s Perfection and you will begin to appreciate the natural beauty and dynamic, changing, evolving aesthetics of a genuine high-order rainforest ecosystem in your home or business. Growing, responding to the energies in your space, managing itself in its effort to be the most perfect expression of itself: a creator and sustainer of life.

It’s the difference between “green bling” and the real, authentic, deep-down beauty of nature. Truly alive, truly healthy, completely relaxing and invigorating. PeapodLife is closer to the “Garden of Eden” than any so-called “vertical garden” will ever hope to be.

Slow Up (not Down)!

Image: Slow Up

Image Credit:  24.media.tumblr.com

The Virtues of the Slow Movement in our Crazy Fast-Paced World


We don’t mean to burst anyone’s bubble, but slowing down is not a viable option for today’s world. There’s too much at stake politically and economically for that. Plus, things are accelerating. There are forces at play on this planet which cannot be avoided, since we are all a part of the planetary body.

So what about a different take on slowing down. How about slowing up? What’s the difference, you ask?

Slowing down has this backward-looking connotation. A sort of nostalgia for “the good ol’ days” when human beings were happy, healthy, content, in touch with nature (depending on just how far back your particular flavor of nostalgia takes you).

Image: Slow Cars Roundup

Image Credit: media.treehugger.com: slow-cars-roundup

This kind of slow thinking is romantic, yet terribly naïve. There’s never been a so-called “Golden Age” in the recorded history of humanity. Throughout our journey as a species, we’ve looked at expanding ourselves onward and upward beyond the plight of our state—however we defined it at the time.

Evolution, devolution and revolution are the only constants in the universe. Slowing down connotes a kind of devolution. This planet is not quite there yet. As humanity we still hunger for evolution; and are caught in the early stages of a worldwide planetary revolution.

Slowing up is a forward-looking way of thinking. Being slow is not so much about doing less or doing things in an old-fashioned way, it’s more about doing not doing. Slow is about presence, awareness. Take a moment to actually be in the moment. In short, APPRECIATE. To appreciate is to raise-UP.

Slowing up embraces both evolution (advancement), and represents a revolution for this humanity because its number one characteristic demands a revolution in attention: a shift from being largely asleep (hurriedly and mechanically rushing through every experience) to being intensely awake.

Slowing up is all about getting involved: intimately experiencing each and every moment; every facet of life. Slowing up takes its time to appreciate the finer things in life, the subtleties, the details. Slowing up expands awareness and raises our level of experience to new heights of wonder and awe.

Most of all, slowing up expands awareness and raises the level of our experience of ourselves and our relationships with the universe.

Slowing up is really about growing up. Like the great old growth sequoias of the West Coast, growing up takes time. It’s not by accident that the wisest of humans are the ones who embrace the pace of living relative to their station along the journey. Treasured moments. Measured words. Eternal wisdom.

Sometimes slowing up is really fast! We cannot control the speed at which life hits us. Being slow is not about slowing down our external circumstances. Ironically, that only accelerates our mind and causes more stress! It’s about slowing up to the rhythm of perennial nature. Sound like a paradox?

No matter how hectic your life, it’s always possible to experience the moment as a singular eternity frozen in time. Be in the moment. Don’t think. Try it. When you begin to practice slowing up, something incredible happens: you relax, become more aware, healthier, more in touch with your own humanity.

Slowing up raises your awareness of the fact that all this time there has been no hectic, crazy world “out there.” Rather, the hectic pace of your world was set by your own internal clock. The alarm bells, punch-cards, schedules, responsibilities, all of it…the fast-lane was painted by your own psyche: desires, fears, concerns, thoughts, emotions, et al.

Photo: PeapodLife @ Bodystream Health & Wellness Centre

So what does all this have to do with PeapodLife?

PeapodLife is a slowing up engine. No other technology so fully embraces the pace of Mother Nature and the forces at work on this planet at this time. The planet is changing. Mother Nature is in a kind of motion we have not seen for thousands of years.

PeapodLife embraces the flow of this pace, and in doing so has created a kind of living-art-in-motion, allowing anyone in proximity of one of our ecosystems to slow up and slip into the flow of that motion, even as it accelerates the pace of change.

“It is in that flow of accelerated turbulence that we can appreciate and fulfill our true potential as human beings.”
~ Wolfgang Amelung, EcoSystem Inventor

Each and every time you experience your ecosystem, you will discover something new. It’s dynamic. It grows and evolves and changes at a pace not common even in nature. And yet, there’s no artificial stimulants at work. No fertilizers. No genetic engineering. Only a proprietary technology in harmony with the highest vibrational potential of Mother Nature herself.

We invite you to experience all that such a higher vibration has to offer. Slow up to a more relaxed, aware, healthy and human version of yourself. Slow up and experience the essence of being rooted in sophistication.

Photo: PeapodLife @ Bodystream Health & Wellness Centre

Ecosystems deserve a little TLC

Photos: PeapodLife: Keeping Moss in check on a Living Wall EcoSystem

TLC

Abbreviation

Tender loving care.

~ wikipedia.org: TLC

Why BioCare is so Important to Maintaining a Healthy and Vibrant Living Wall Ecosystem


Nothing of value which provides an invaluable service can run perpetually without maintenance of some kind. Be it your car which requires regular oil changes, your garden which requires pruning, lawn care, weeding, etc., or even your body which needs quite a lot of TLC, taking care of things so they look and work as intended is crucial. This holds true for PeapodLife Building Ecosystems & Technology as well.

Every service begins with the basics, including changing the reverse osmosis filters and checking all the mechanical and electrical systems to ensure they are operating properly.

Let’s face it: to be able to put high-order ecosystems indoors requires nothing short of a life support system. Any breakdown in the technology will result in major suffering and death in the ecology. This is not an option for PeapodLife.

Photos: PeapodLife: Cleaning Out fallen foliage from one of several Smaller “Umbilical” EcoSystems

Unlike the competition, whose idea of regular maintenance of their so-called “living walls” (often every month) includes replacing dead plants, PeapodLife’s BioCare program is every two to three months, and is focused mostly on diagnostics, preventative maintenance, and servicing life support systems (as mentioned).

Preventative maintenance not only costs less, it supports the strength, health and vitality of the ecosystem and prevents unnecessary plant and fish mortality. The result is a much healthier environment for you.

A typical maintenance will be anywhere from two to five hours, depending on the size, scope and complexity of the ecosystem(s) in question.

The photos in this article were taken during a service of Bodystream in Barrie, Ontario.

Photo: PeapodLife: Maintaining a Healthy & Vibrant Living Wall Ecosystem