![17feb.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmdYcBDLq8osr7vJyDTJKXAsv9KEW512oZCxjpJLaZhkyd/17feb.jpg)

I'm happy to see you for this weeks roundup of posts from our amazing ecoTrain passengers. You know, I'm not just saying that, our passengers are really amazing people and have inspired me in many ways through reading their posts. If you are looking to meet and engage with some great people please do read some of these posts and then Say Hi! I would like to give a very warm welcome back to @sashagenji, who took a break from Steemit but is now with us again on @ecoTrain.

Supporting Minnows

Whilst you are here, I would like to invite you to send me any links to posts that you think are really good, but didn't get much attention. They will be upvoted and supported in our upcoming Minnow Support Week Post, and if they are really good I will resteem them to all my friends and followers. We may even invite them to join us as a passenger on the @ecoTrain. There are SO many great people on Steemit and we need your help to find them so we can support them!

DRIVERS CHOICE POST OF THE WEEK

This week I am bringing back the drivers choice of the week! I like to choose the post that I think was really valuable, but didn't get much exposure. We all know how that feels, and so here is a big shout out to @bristena94 who is new to Steemit and is already proving to be an amazing addition to the whole community. I love what you are writing @Bristena94, and I also love team players!

Bristena has just returned from a meditation retreat, and is sharing her experiences. If you have ever thought of meditating, but never got around to it, please give this post a read!

@bristena94

https://steemitimages.com/DQmUotqujEUjSmTxPuzuNTZsHMt22EepQWhQXfUtjs5AP4G/bristena.jpg

My First Meditation Retreat: What Happened When I Gave Myself the Gift of Silence (Part I)

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmY2jx2xtNaoZaq1exsoAB5N4DNzX7m7ek52cVMeN9MZyo/My%20First%20Meditation%20Retreat.jpg

Sunday evening I arrived back home in London after a long coach journey from Newton Abbot, a small town in Devon, South West of England. My five-day silent meditation retreat had ended, but the journey of transitioning and integrating what I practised and learnt there has just begun...

Contemplating upon the impact this retreat had upon my consciousness, an interesting analogy came up.

I had the image of an old version of Microsoft Windows, with too many programs running in the background, a few viruses attacking the system, an annoyingly slow cursor and a very desperate user, who can't get his computer to properly work anymore.

@clara-andriessen

https://steemitimages.com/DQmaPzKdGhJ3FZZtJXkboPJLpFg24nbnQEtU5gZkj43EV2u/clara.jpg

Get your chant on: Learning to play the kartals with your chanting.

https://steemitimages.com/DQmVz3Vq2K4xLkmPUZFXM2XBFBR2TS6JZ7tpMtnMLCV6gRf/IMG_20180216_220101804.jpg

Hi!

This post is a part of the Get Your Chant On Celebration.
More Info Here: steemit.com/ecotrain/@eco-alex/will-you-join-ecotrain-for-the-get-your-chant-on-celebration

Have you ever wanted to learn to play the kartals?I love to chant and I like to accompany it with the tambourine, but I am always amazed at the effect kartals can have when played well to lift up a repetitive mantra. Below is a nice example of how they can sound accompanying your chanting.

@vangelov

https://steemitimages.com/DQma8F2kGUbyk4c7WdHnkJaKpmfFPHEdmbN6uN6nCNdRiNF/vangelov.jpg

Psychology and VR chat - A virtual reality Social Game

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1518792067/tsvol65zvdspsqcy81pp.png

I'm not sure if many of you know about VR chat. It's a new simple and small game which is based on VR. Overall, it's a simple social game where you pick an Avatar and go around user-created Worlds, interacting with other people along the way. Only Voice Interaction. I've been playing this game for a couple of days now, simply because it's quite fun talking to people outside current social restrictions. Mainly because people are more open when they don't meet you in real life. I've also been thinking about promoting steemit which I might end up doing a fun series in the future. The Psychology Behind VRchat...

Cryptocurrency, the pushing force towards a Single World Government

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1518534215/e3fyav5iwww2jfkvyidu.png

In one of his lectures, Terence McKenna says: " Humanity Thrives on Chaos". And I think that this quote stands to be correct when I see the current state of CryptoCurrency.

But sooner or later things will change, everything will settle down and a baseline of operations will be placed.

The question is though, how will Governments find a way to benefit/integrate from this massive pool of Income? The unregulated aspect and transparency make it nearly impossible for "Behind the Curtains schemes.

@sharoonyasir

Confessions of a People Pleaser...

https://steemitimages.com/DQmQtW4KcF7p4sXEbg4ch4PcQfmVXPGfqip8e2un4TAdRi9/1_0ZZCTbfUrz7fH6oW7SNzhQ.jpeg

Oh why is he not smiling at me?
Did I do something wrong?
Did I not dress up like he wanted?
Or is it something wrong I said?
He hasn't uttered a word of admiration to me..
Oh this is killing me inside..
If only he would just tell me I look good enough, I am good enough..

Oh why does she not agree with me?
Is she mad at me?
Is it because I went against her just once?
Or is it because I dared disagree with her?
Or is it because I did not run an errand for her?
If only she would speak to me nicely and tell me I am her best friend...

@eco-alex

https://steemitimages.com/DQmWz5zLNnC3YArG3E7ipGJ8hMyVR4ae4A2xHmoTCkegs3C/alex.jpg

Solutions and Ideas for the @familyprotection cause initiated by @canadian-coconut and @markwhittam

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmasGxhRNE9R1q2Ke7Zcd5MbdkgzsxbdStWjK79kGXALzF/solutions.jpg

I am writing this post in response to @markwhittam 's call out for ideas of how to help the @familyprotection cause (https://steemit.com/familyprotection/@markwhittam/fight-fire-with-fire-then-we-all-get-burnt-again). I have been giving this a lot of thought lately and have written some of these ideas before.. Now the timing feels right for me to share them all in once place! There are SO many things that can be done, but we have to somehow choose the best ones and run with them. Wouldn't it be great if we can have many ideas that all fed into each other and support each other? I think it would, so i have come up with several ideas that all really do work together for the best bang for your buck!

WILL YOU JOIN @ECOTRAIN FOR THE GET YOUR CHANT ON CELEBRATION!?

https://steemitimages.com/DQmZbpRBvsvsVimGJqXdnTDmrin4WMdCtSerMxjfPvpLFW4/chant.jpg

Why Would Anyone Want To Chant?!

I know, I understand... chanting seems WEIRD! .. especially if you have never chanted before. Most religions do it in one way or another, and some religions almost specialize in it. In fact, MANY religions have chanting front and center of their lives! Buddhists Love chanting, as to Hare Krishna Devotees, and Monks are famous for it! In fact, chanting is so important that some religions say it is almost the only path to liberation. Why is Chanting so important to so many religions? Join us in this celebration and find out!

I'm going to cut to the chase here! If you can't or don't want to meditate but you want to get out of your head and into a calm and centered place, then chanting is your ticket! I have been chanting on and off for years, and since the last few weeks I have re-kindled my love for it. The simple truth is that I feel AMAZING the entire day when I chant. When I say amazing I mean, transformed. This is not explainable, but you can experience it very easily. If you are new at chanting then it may take some time to get into it, but once you do it will seem far less strange.. and after you start to feel the benefits you won't even care any more!

Building the first Earthship Ashram with 30 Volunteers and NO Budget! Part 1: The Beginning!

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmYu5B3jC3SsS5RPdmFaMieAsRkdLvkktDd5oFGmYpUVCr/thumbnail.jpg

I arrived in Rishikesh with great expectation, excitement and nerves. What I was about to do was even more ambitious than any of my previous workshops, mainly because of the time frame and size of the Earthship that we were making. I had come up with a totally original design that is based on a model that functions well in hot and cold climates. Yogi Amitram has requested two large U shaped rooms as well as a front greenhouse for grey water recycling in food producing planters (botanical cells). Amitram also wanted mezzanines in both rooms, which meant that we needed a tall roof to accommodate the height. We had a big group of around 30 volunteers, and a few Nepali to help with the grunt work and heavy carrying. We didn't have any skilled labour for most of the start of this, and so as always it was up to me to play all the roles necessary to ensure this large building would work out!

@trucklife-family

WRITING IS MY THERAPY

https://steemitimages.com/DQmPgCXTZkHU9MMRsT13Yx8ht1QsKKuhTxshR365r3w76Ct/image.png

I sit here trying to deal with these tornado of emotions. Feelings of sadness, despair, anger, frustration and then an overwhelming sense of love.

It's like a roller coaster, I'm questioning why? trying to make sense of something that is so unfair and through it all trying to carry on with my day to day life.

I cannot allow myself to go down that path, where I over analysis everything. As a mother, I have my children that need my time and my energy and they are my constant reminder that life carries on.

That flow that we have in life, that flow that I love to talk about, can slow down but it must not stop.

It's Time To Welcome Some New Steemians Aboard This Great Plaform

https://steemitimages.com/DQmUrYK5KJ3Nzj2dMtwvHAnfGgUGsuukFBpJ3yu851Yv4Aw/image.png

We all know that Steemit is an amazing platform that has created a huge global community.

Bringing together so many different people from all over the world, from all different walks of life.

It is a true representative of the great diversity we have on this great planet.

It enriches our lives and provides us with so many different ways in which to improve our day to day living, sharing such a wide variety of skills. We get to read so many inspiring posts, posts that humour us, posts that lift us up. We get to connect with so many people.

Grow Food Anywhere : Container and Vertical Gardening

https://steemitimages.com/DQmZ3ueDjsD3HU15DnXCa4yyLC6J4vmipBFpcHbcX35bVQj/IMG_3551.JPG

We all live in so many different abodes, be it stand alone houses, apartments, trucks, buses or yurts. At one time or another I have lived in all of these, currently I am in a truck, my preferred type of home. I love to travel, to move to see new places, but I also love to grow food. There is nothing quiet like the taste of fresh vegetables straight from the earth.

So over the years I have experimented with different ways of growing food. Whilst we were in France a few years back I done a wee workshop about vertical gardening. Because everyone should be encouraged to grow their own food. No matter how much space they have, be it indoors or on a balcony. It is so pleasurable, so good for you and moves us away from being so dependant on supermarkets, helping us on the path to be more self sufficient.

@mountainjewel

Wildcrafting 101

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmbFXmSeuqjnu3HAjctqHpo1imAzF8XXcPsSTrzhvU8xeH/8212EEDD-7ADB-4203-A514-E20F75714AEA.jpeg

Wildcrafting is the responsible and conscientious harvesting of fungi & wild plants leaves, nuts, fruits, bark, root and berries in their habitats. It's an exciting and empowering way to engage with your ecosystem and meet your needs from the wild.

Wild plants carry a vigor surpassing that of domesticated species. Don’t be fooled into thinking you must go deep into the wilderness. Wildcrafting can be done anywhere, even in a suburban setting. It’s best to familiarize yourself with some easy to identify and common species and make sure you’re not interacting with pesticides or pollution and that the species you’re looking for don’t have poisonous lookalikes (more on all of this below.) After reading the guidelines and basics presented below, we feel you will have a good start in order to feel comfortable to go out on your own.

Plant Expedition Success: We Found North America’s Caffeine Plant in the Wild

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmQraf5ByMfwrLCBV7MaHRzzePd5LkmfdR7cX3qUdezQNn/315F0915-99A1-4CB1-9902-2CF8EE27A048.jpeg

Wooohooo! We found it!!

Often an expedition is about the journey and not the destination, right? Especially for people searching for plants- often it can feel like a needle in a haystack! Well today all of our searching paid off and we stumbled upon Yaupon Holly, North America’s only known caffeine-containing plant, right away!

We are going to spend all day in this spot, but wanted to let the news out right away!

All of the plant photos were taken this morning from the wild!!

@likedeeler

https://steemitimages.com/DQmeNmNomPPdsqQHDeZTg4yeYZGq8BHiQKKdrqKTXSZkqy5/likedeeler.jpg

International Childhood Cancer Day

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Yesterday was Valentine´s Day, for those who care about corporately inflicted happiness initiatives, today is International Childhood Cancer Day. Few things in life make me more sad than the fact that even children can get cancer and die of it. In my home town there is Bärenherz (Bear Heart), a hospice for dying children and their parents can also stay there with them.

I remember how heartbroken my grandmother was, when my mother died of a stroke aged 46, she kept saying “This is not right, children are not supposed to go before their parents!“ But at least her only daughter got 46 and also gave her her only grandchild, imagine the parents´ pain if a small child dies of cancer.

@ecotrain looking for delegations

https://steemitimages.com/DQmNebs355JaxZec6k3Ey9tAu1jXcUoRjEHGeixC3yk2226/image.png

One of the reasons for the existence of steemit is giving its underlying proof of stake cryptocurrency Steem some real world application. By upvoting posts, people give Steem and SBD to authors, making Steem the most active of all cryptocurrencies, as can be seen on blocktivity.

And the amazing thing is that while doing all those transactions Steem is only running at 0.14 % of its capacity, compared to other cryptos doing less transactions but running at much higher capacity, not to mention Bitcoin which, when I checked last time, was running at 100% capacity plus 8717 unconfirmed transactions, slightly down from 8830 unconfirmed transactions yesterday. Time for a changing of the guards, I´d say.

@solarsupermama

Emigration, Immigration, Bullying, Extortion, Murder, Destruction of Families, and Other Fun Tales

https://steemitimages.com/DQmWfcMx7M71zCfe8qsGHErVJDYCShj5buiH9oDLcShsRMM/image.jpeg

Well, let's talk about something totally non controversial, shall we?! Immigration is a red hot issue. Everybody and their mama has a big fat opinion about it. Unfortunately, very few people really understand how it works and base their opinions on the ten second sound bytes of the media and the politicians. Even if you do understand how it works in your country, the rules are likely different in other countries. For example, I totally don't understand what the hell is going on in Europe. What is a Schengen country anyway?! Quite frankly I don't understand US immigration very well because I'm from there and don't have to think about it there and also because it is insanely complicated. The one thing that is the same everywhere? Immigration officials have you by the balls. And some of them really, really get off on that power.

@sharoonyasir

You are My Funny Valentine <3

https://youtu.be/FgjHZAPSDhw

Today is the 14th of February and one of the most awaited days of the year by a lot of people all across the globe. Yes, it is Valentine's Day and a day when the roads will be massively blocked today especially in the evening and at night beause of all the people rushing to restaurants and florists and stores to have Valentine's dinner and buy presents for their loved ones. It is nice, but not something I enjoy much.

Well, I did celebrate it briefly when I started dating my now-husband. He would gift me nice presents on Valentine's Day and we'd go out for a lunch because I couldn't meet him after college hours so we settled for a Valentine's Lunch instead of a candlelight dinner. After 2 years of doing that and dating each other, we became used to seeing and loving each other haha so Valentine's Day stopped becoming a big day for us. Not just that, quite often, we'd end up fighting on all the days we wanted to be special like our birthdays, anniversaries, Eid and even the esteemed Valentine's Day. Somehow whenever we'd plan for something on a special day or occasion, it wouldn't turn out that way and we'd end up feeling glum and dismayed and lose temper quickly and have a huge fight for basically no major reason at all.

@bristena94

https://steemitimages.com/DQmUotqujEUjSmTxPuzuNTZsHMt22EepQWhQXfUtjs5AP4G/bristena.jpg

Take a Break from your Busy Life and Recharge Your Batteries at the Spring Retreat in Ybbsitz, Austria in March 2018

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmbxSoGsvrE3eAovnerSUTZbXaHx74vD1BBn4Jtrt2NtfV/yogadom.jpg

Hello dear ones,

Today I'm excited to announce that I will be part of the Spring Retreat team organized by the one and only Dominik Reza Zaerin-Holubovsky (Yoga Teacher, Personal Trainer, Massage Therapist) in Austria, March 2018.

In this article, I intend to say a few words about Dominik and our retreat, as well as offer you, the reader, an invitation to join us.

I met Dominik a few years ago through his Kundalini Yoga classes he held in various parks and indoor locations across London. I joined his class following a recommendation from a good friend of mine, and that class turned out to be one of the most challenging but rewarding yoga classes I ever took at that time.

@schoonercreek

Growing Alliums From Seed, Onions & Shallots, Tricks of the Trade

https://steemitimages.com/DQmcScPcJE3w7itMYSFLP7F9ohFwurPW7h43WTLMhp3f722/fullsizeoutput_b4d.jpeg

We have been elbow deep in potting mix over the last week, folks and most of our early spring crops are sown in flats. We will be sowing the high tunnel this week as well.

Some of my favorite things to grow from seed are onions and shallots. I am just crazy about shallots, and onions go in just about everything. The flavor of shallots is absolutely amazing and they are delicious raw or cooked. Their flavor is kind of a cross between a red onion, garlic, and a white onion, but yet they have their distinction.

Some people who can't tolerate onions can enjoy shallots without the gastrointestinal issues.

@stillgideon

Some thoughts on Open Relationships... Making the world a better place by learning to love

https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://steemitimages.com/DQmUY2X8tb6wXPyfPdvybzR7d76SYGrSvkmi6vnJ2yRaS51/20180210_171104.jpg

We've been talking this week about open relationships - especially since Karly changed her Facebook relationship status to 'in an open relationship', with me. Some friends were curious about this announcement and what it meant. Most were supportive though also some appeared concerned for her emotional well-being.

Even though I'm a very private person, especially in the extent that I reveal details of my personal life on Facebook, I didn't mind her making this public declaration - even though I rightly predicted that it would likely bring an avalanche of propositions from admirers, upon seeing her as open minded, adventurous and available. I think it's an interesting discussion for our times, and an important one, worth having.

@ecotrain

Supporting People Who Help
Make The World A Better Place

find previous ecoTrain magazines at @ecotrain

DRIVER
@eco-alex

CONDUCTOR
@likedeeler

VIPS
@bub
@omdemian
@kalima

PASSENGERS
@bristena94
@clara-andriessen
@ecoinstant
@gardenbsquared
@geke
@hopehuggs
@kiaraantonoviche
@misslasvegas
@mountainjewel
@sashagenji
@schoonercreek
@sharoon-yasir
@solarsupermama
@stillgideon
@trucklife-family
@vangelov

If you are new to Steemit, love to write, and would like to join the ecoTrain community as an official passenger please email me on steemit.eco.train@gmail.com

Supporting Minnows

DRIVERS CHOICE POST OF THE WEEK

@bristena94

My First Meditation Retreat: What Happened When I Gave Myself the Gift of Silence (Part I)

@clara-andriessen

Get your chant on: Learning to play the kartals with your chanting.

@vangelov

Psychology and VR chat - A virtual reality Social Game

Cryptocurrency, the pushing force towards a Single World Government

@sharoonyasir

Confessions of a People Pleaser...

@eco-alex

Solutions and Ideas for the @familyprotection cause initiated by @canadian-coconut and @markwhittam

WILL YOU JOIN @ECOTRAIN FOR THE GET YOUR CHANT ON CELEBRATION!?

Why Would Anyone Want To Chant?!

Building the first Earthship Ashram with 30 Volunteers and NO Budget! Part 1: The Beginning!

@trucklife-family

WRITING IS MY THERAPY

It's Time To Welcome Some New Steemians Aboard This Great Plaform

Grow Food Anywhere : Container and Vertical Gardening

@mountainjewel

Wildcrafting 101

Wildcrafting is the responsible and conscientious harvesting of fungi & wild plants leaves, nuts, fruits, bark, root and berries in their habitats. It's an exciting and empowering way to engage with your ecosystem and meet your needs from the wild.

Plant Expedition Success: We Found North America’s Caffeine Plant in the Wild

Wooohooo! We found it!!

We are going to spend all day in this spot, but wanted to let the news out right away!

All of the plant photos were taken this morning from the wild!!

@likedeeler

International Childhood Cancer Day

@ecotrain looking for delegations

@solarsupermama

Emigration, Immigration, Bullying, Extortion, Murder, Destruction of Families, and Other Fun Tales

@sharoonyasir

You are My Funny Valentine <3

@bristena94

Take a Break from your Busy Life and Recharge Your Batteries at the Spring Retreat in Ybbsitz, Austria in March 2018

Today I'm excited to announce that I will be part of the Spring Retreat team organized by the one and only Dominik Reza Zaerin-Holubovsky (Yoga Teacher, Personal Trainer, Massage Therapist) in Austria, March 2018.

@schoonercreek

Growing Alliums From Seed, Onions & Shallots, Tricks of the Trade

We have been elbow deep in potting mix over the last week, folks and most of our early spring crops are sown in flats. We will be sowing the high tunnel this week as well.

@stillgideon

Some thoughts on Open Relationships... Making the world a better place by learning to love

@ecotrain

Supporting People Who Help Make The World A Better Place

find previous ecoTrain magazines at @ecotrain

If you are new to Steemit, love to write, and would like to join the ecoTrain community as an official passenger please email me on steemit.eco.train@gmail.com

** Click Here For More Information on the ecoTrain **

Supporting People Who Help
Make The World A Better Place

Click Here For More Information on the ecoTrain