It's that time of week again, already! The ecotrain magazine is full of surprises this week. We bring you incredible vegan recipes, a bit of politics, children's stories, poetry, unschooling, homesteading, art journaling, philosophy.. and loads more.. I hope you enjoy this weeks selection!

@stillgideon

'Return' .. A Memoir .. Independence Day 2018 .. Israel's 70th Birthday ..

Woke up upside down today, to the sound of a man - one of my neighbours- instigating a tug of war over loud speakers, to the delight of the children of the kibbutz where I live.

There's a party going on on the village green, just behind the caravan where I stay as a squatter on kibbutz land. To some, I'm a part of the community, to others- a problem to be solved.

Theyre celebrating the 70th Birthday of the State of Israel. The Jewish State. I'm in a bad mood. Didn't sleep well at all last night. My life is a mess and on top of that, my teeth are falling apart, causing me almost constant pain. Especially when I don't get enough sleep. My dentist has no sympathy. She's from Russia where Life is suffering. If you're not suffering, you're not really living, she would say, if she spoke go me, which she doesn't, not being one for small talk.

I'm facing imminent eviction from this place to make way for a smart new neighbourhood of houses for Jews looking to escape the crowds and rising prices of life in the center of the country.

Was that thunder that I heard...?

I thought I heard the sound of war
As I lay there in my bed
At first I thought it was thunder
Rumbling in the West
Thought, that's funny, I don't remember seeing any clouds.
It was a clear and springlike day today.

Maybe it's fireworks, I thought
Our cousins - as they're euphemistically called
Making a wedding down the way
Arabic dance music till the early hours from huge speakers fills the air from valley to hilltop in every direction from the springtime till the end of the long summer in these parts

But I couldn't hear any music
And the sound was too deep for fireworks, even big ones.

@afifa

📰 📰 What would become the Future of Newspapers in years to come?? 📰

The journalism , has the power to influence public opinion, particularly when newspapers and television stations are trying, through investigations, to bring in the light of "skeletons in the closet" that politicians, businessmen and sportsmen prefer to keep away from opinion of public opinion, as happened in historical reports such as Watergate , which even led to the impeachment of the President of the United States Richard Nixon.

Imagine A World With 100 People

The world is populated by 7 billion people. How would it be if, instead, it was inhabited by just 100 people? How many would the rich be? And the poor? And the hungry? Discover the incredible percentages of a depopulated world!

We live in a world inhabited by over 7 billion people : a crazy amount. To give an idea of ​​how many we are and, above all, how much space we need, the site has been created called a world of 7 billion that allows , scrolling through the page, to visualize all of us.

Interesting Facts about Dreams

Dreams are topic that can be discussed endlessly. Since physiology and neurobiology have taken the field, almost 70 years ago, to study the nocturnal adventures of our mind, many aspects have been clarified. But many continue to investigate. Here are the fixed points acquired so far based on the most recent studies, in possible questions & answers.

@zpedro

3 myths about electric cars that just refuse to die. No matter what - #2

Why am I doing this?

Automotive corporations are one of the biggest industries in the world. The market has become so saturated that most car manufacturers produce (and waste) enormous amounts of cars that are made to last for some years only, before going full kaput and making you sell your organs to pay the mechanic. They don't even profit from the car sell itself, because they know you'll be at their feet craving for maintenance and parts within a few years...

Tesla's idea of making cars that last for decades no matter how much you use them was a bit of a bomb in automotive industry. Even more than the idea of grabbing on to old technology such as electric motors and batteries (Peugeot already tried that in the 90's, messing with oil industry so much that they quickly gave up).

My lovely seed bed to welcome spring!

Gimme some sun!

It's been hell to find some time to write. I'm a proud busy teacher but that would leave some time to read and write on steemit... But finally my new electric vehicle arrived so my free time diminished a lot because of all bureaucracy needed!

Spring is a bit shy here in Portugal and it's been raining like hell since the beginning of March. It's good for renewable energy production, but not so good for our typical mediterranean mood... Sun is half of our mental energy! So I was very happy to finally get some direct sun in my face. The air also feels like spring, a fresh sea breeze mixed with polen and an acceptable temperature at night.

Developing Relatedness

Some weeks ago I started a series of posts about motivation in schools. I started with Self-Determination Theory and its three components: Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness.

From my point of view as a teacher, I left some suggestions of what could be done to promote Self-Determination and motivation in general, regarding Autonomy and Competence. But these three components are meant to work with each other, and you can't really promote Autonomy without promoting Competence, and you can't promote both of them without promoting Relatedness.

@stortbeker

Ride With Me – Fernwood in the Sunshine

After many days of Winterly Wet-Coast Weather, meaning gloomy rainfall, we are finally we are rewarded with some clear skies. How different everything looks. All of a sudden the bike-ride becomes more than just getting from A to B. One tends to notice how lovely the neighborhood has become. Perfect time for some pictures!

Hometown Flair with some Extra Flair

The place I'm riding through is nothing particularly famous. It's called Fernwood, a neighborhood of Victoria, BC where my friend Ryan lives, who owns the bike-shop I'm volunteering at. It's fairly quiet, residential, and mostly overlooked by outsiders. Up until now I haven't payed too much attention to it either.

Working at Recyclistas Bike-Shop

For the better part of the last two weeks I have been eating, breathing, and dreaming about bikes. Oh, and of course working on them. At Recyclistasvolunteers are always welcome, and usually the first days they are given the important duty of taking bikes apart. Many donations come in, almost on a daily basis, and they need to be disassembled. What seems to be mundane busywork is actually an important job in many aspects.

@hopehuggs

A Clamerous Friend - A Story About Finding the Pearls on the Inside

It was a great beautiful day when Claire the clam woke up to attend her first day at school, but little did she know there was a storm coming.

She unearthed herself, shaking off the sand from her pink outer shell and felt the warmth of the sea giving her a big cuddle, before the currents took her all the way to school as she anxiously awaited what today held; being the new kid at school is always hard.

She doesn't have eyes, so she will have to make new friends without seeing what they look like. She always judges sea creatures on their inside, their personality, not their outside, which she can't see. That's why she had really good friends back at her old school that she really missed. She'd rather have a few friends that like her for who she truly is rather than for her looks.

Poem: The Path Somewhere Over There..

My life lays around me in shambles
I decided, my feet must take gambles
Let my face be scratched by brambles
My eyes alight like candles

I can just see the path just ahead
Through the mist that has spread
The path where the wise tread
I must get there before I'm dead

Bongo's Big Mistake: A Story About Learning From Our Mistakes

Bongo is a fun-loving, trouble making puppy who can't help but make mistakes.

He has a bad habit of digging up the garden and tracking the dirt into the house. At the sight of his muddy paw prints on the nice clean furniture and floor, he was sent to the dog house.

Every time this happened, he would sit and mope in the corner on his towel with his guilty eyes looking up at his owners scolding him. When he was being punished right after a bath he would think nothing of it. He would be dried with his towel and carry on like usual, until one day while sitting in the dog house he realized he didn't like being punished.

@trucklife-family

Growing up in a Culture of Guilt.

I do not wish to generalize in this post, I just wish to discuss my experience of growing up in Ireland and the effect that the catholic church had on the mentality of the people and also the effect of growing up in a country that was colonized. I realized how much guilt was embedded into our society when I moved away from Ireland and especially now as a parent looking back on how I was brought up.

Welcoming New Steemians To This Great Platform

Steemit is such an amazing platform that has created a huge global community. It continues to bring together so many different people from all over the world. It really is a true representative of the great diversity we have on this planet. Everyday I continue to learn so much from everyone's blogs and to be truly inspired. Connecting me with so many amazing people.

@solarsupermama

Jelsa Mommy Chapter 2

I am playing around here with a fiction story about a new kind of heroine, one whose heroism derives not from fighting or invisible planes or swords but from her very powerful feminine energy. This is all in a very early rough draftish sort of phase, so it is by no means polished. I am just trying to get a feel for the story and see what others think. It's my story, so please don't heist it in any way. If you do, I will hex you or something.

Unschooling 101 Part 2: Freedom of Activity

The wisdom of letting kids decide what to do with their day

I wanted to share the basics of unschooling for those who don't know much about it. It's important for young parents to know what their options are, and it's really wonderful for everyone to have a basic understanding of different educational theories, so we can work together to support all families in helping children grow into loving and powerful adults in whichever ways work best for each family.

Editing to add: If you're new to the party, here's the link to Part I

Freedom. It's what's for breakfast.

@sagescrub

How I Ended Up Renting an Off Grid Homestead (and Why)

Short answer:

I am hooked on homesteading and can't wait to start my own!

Long answer:

I used to live in Southern California where my garden gave me solace from the urban and corporate lifestyles. Eventually a series of events, realizations and decisions led me to pursue farming and Permaculture. I started volunteering many days a week for local urban farms by the time I realized I really wanted to be in the Pacific Northwest.

https://steemit.com/ecotrain/@sharoonyasir/why-you-must-ask-yourself-the-right-questions

Wild Food: Load Up My Omelette with Dandelions Please!

Dandelions!!!

are one of my favorite wild foods. I sure do like the hunt and discovery of less common native and wild foods that get me out into nature and exploring. But there's something to be said about the dandelion.

Dandelion is STRONG! And resilient. Highly nutritive. That is the kind of food and energy I want to be ingesting today.

@celestialcow

Steemit-ironchef Round 14: Red Rice Asparagus Sushi with homemade 'soy' sauce

This is my second entry to the 14th round of #steemit-ironchef challenge hosted by @progressivechef! I don't normally enter twice but I had so much left over rice, because I can't eat too much of it, it's so filling! I wanted to make Sushi for a while, I'm telling you I haven't eaten sushi in years! and I used to love it so much! not just because i'm vegan but also because I don't eat white rice or soy.
Whilst I was traveling in South East Asia last year, I found a pack of really high quality Nori seaweed, 100% seaweed no extra ingredients, I wouldn't want to consume. Apparently you can tell if seaweed is good quality if the color is dark, and mine looks almost purple so I believe what the packet tells me is true.

Steemit-ironchef Round 14: Red Rice served with Curry & banana sugar eggplant fritters

I'm getting my entry in early for the 14th round of #steemit-ironchefchallenge hosted by @progressivechef! The theme is rice, not something I eat very often because I find it quite starchy & bloating. I gave up eating white rice along time ago because after researching it does not offer the health benefits of whole grain and wild rices. I find wholegrain hard to digest and takes ages to cook but red rice is just perfect for me, it's softer but has a light bite and has such a pleasing color to it. I only every buy organic rice because I have seen first hand the amount of pesticide that gets sprayed on to rice paddies.

Steemit-ironchef Round 13: Caviar Lentil Crepes w/ Indian spiced patties & wild flowers

It's Friday 13th and here I am submitting my entry to the 13th round of#steemit-ironchef challenge hosted by @progressivechef! This week was to use Lentils, As many people know already I'm vegan and this is a staple in my kitchen, because they are filling, tasty and high in protein. Normally I don't really create anything special with Lentils, I just boil them in a pan with a little seasoning and eat them with whatever I'm having. But for this contest I really want to elevate this modest ingredient.

@stillwatersart

Pond Maintenance and Goose Egg Rescue 🌿🐟💦

The trees are leafing out and days are warmer. Now is the time when mowing and gardening take up a lot of our time. One unique task is keeping our pond intact and clear of floating moss. This moss can cover almost the entire pond if we don't address the issue.

A Little Abstract Art Journaling

I had some scrap paper that I had tried out some other techniques on and I decided to start the design with cut out shapes from this scrap and then I glued them to a soft watercolor background that I had done earlier. Then I let the shapes inspire me to draw around them with oil pastels. The version above has been altered with an app called Prisma on my iPad. Here is the original.

@sharoonyasir

Why You Must Ask Yourself the Right Questions...

What is the thought that runs in your head whenever you encounter an obstacle or find a task too daunting to work on? You are likely to think: 'Can I do this?' or 'I don't think I can do it' right? Let's just go through the consequences of these thoughts.

When you ask yourself if you are capable of doing something, you question your competency. Can I do this makes your mind come up with the different scenarios in the past that highlight your shortcomings and failures and prove you that you are quite incapable of working on the task at hand. Similarly, when you ask yourself if you have the capability to address a certain problem or a task, you again encourage your mind to think of all the experiences where you were unable to do so.

@mountainjewel

What Does Your Forest Taste Like? How To Make An Artisanal Herb-Infused Vinegar & 6 SBD Contest: Make Your Own Flowers, Weeds & More Herbal Vinegar for Spring!

Spring is the time when everything is waking up. Flowers bud from trees and plants shoot up from the earth seemingly overnight. The forest and fields start growing dense mats of green. Many of these plants are edible and encourage our bodies to take on the vibrant and youthful energy of Spring.

Longing: How the Mystical Poetry of Rumi Drew Me Away From Christianity

At one point I was planning to be a traveling Christian missionary. This will shock many of you who likely perceive me as an animist pagan (truth, but isn't the story always greater than that?).

I was raised in the Christian church (evangelical in the Midwestern United States, a notoriously conservative area) and went to college at a secular university (I got a soccer & academic scholarship).

I started off studying religion "to know what other people believed." "Presumably to be more respectful as I tried to convert them!

@eco-alex

Punching with an angry gaze to increase strength. Qi Gong 8 Brocades Part 7

This seventh brocade practice is particularly good for the liver. The liver can express anger, and anger can be both healthy and unhealthy. This practice works to create a sense of appropriate balance in the liver so that anger when it does manifest, it expresses itself in a healthy appropriate way.

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