The Free Radical

Foraging is fun… and full of surprises!

As I make my way daily through the fields of clover, I occasionally stoop to pick and eat the most luscious of the blossoms I encounter. Early season clover blossoms– before summer’s heat really settles in, as it has now– have a somewhat familiar flavour along the lines of what we might expect. They’re slightly sweet with a touch of camphor taste, similar to a scaled-down version of clover honey. After they’ve gotten baked in summer’s intensity, their flavour shifts to something very reminiscent of nachos. I’m not kidding; many of the clover blossoms now taste exactly like a plate of mild nachos. Do what you will with this bombshell info.

The next bit of foraging lore and discovery I wish to share involves endless fields of wild raspberries and the occasional patch of sweet clover. Sweet clover is the tall yellow-flowered arrangement which smells exactly like vanilla. It loves to grow in ditches. Its sweetness must be in reference to its smell only because its flavour is very definitely bitter– but strongly vanilla. I like to take just a pinch of the sweet clover blossoms before I dive into the massive raspberry patches. The combination of the two flavours, sprinkled with a touch of imagination, convinces me that I’m eating raspberry ripple ice cream… and on these scorching days, that’s a nice sensation.

And now, finally, I’d like to mention Bigsquatch. I was standing atop the Mesa, looking down on the north end of the swamp when suddenly I heard the movement of something very big moving through the brush below. It moved with the sure stealth and grace of a bulldozer… or perhaps the sure-footed poise of a drunken Calgarian with both shoelaces untied. This thing, whatever it was, was crashing through the forest with a racket I’d never heard before. I was reluctant to go down and investigate because it was obviously something larger than me; I would be hard-pressed to make that much noise even in my most awkward moments! So I am concluding that it was Bigsquatch. I will keep an eye– and a camera lens– out… and will keep you posted.

Well, it seems that the Invisible Bear is still cleaning up. Black Bear assures me that he really does have a sunny disposition… but he’s currently on a mission. He’s been tasked with unearthing and rooting out the last hidey-holes where selfish ill-intent still lingers.

There are still many intentions on and near Earth’s surface that cannot withstand full exposure to the light. As such, they are now being devoured by emissaries like Black Bear. That which cannot function within complete transparency will be exposed as unviable.

With all of the recent berry-abundance, I was wondering if the Invisible Bear was getting his share… for I certainly can’t be expected to consume it all!

“Though I am strongly inclined to pursue the biophotonic radiance bursting from summer’s flowers and fruits, this season I am on a special assignment to gather the last shreds of darkness from the many crevices where it still hides and resides. I will leave no stone unturned in this pursuit.

“The flowers and the fruit are yours for the taking. Eat the summer sun; you cannot overindulge in the light that you are!”

I couldn’t possibly eat– or even gather for later– all of the food currently available on my daily forest walks… for two reasons. First, there is simply way too much out there in terms of gooseberries, raspberries, strawberries, saskatoon berries, clover, alfalfa, daisies, roses, onions, grasses, and more. I could spend my days entirely picking and packing these many items from the forest supermarket without even making a sizeable dent in the endless supply. Yeah, there really is that much– especially now that the wild raspberries are coming ripe.

Since I began these Daily Forest Reports about a month ago, I have been taking all of my breakfasts and lunches from the offerings gathered along these trails. Granted, I have never been much of a breakfast eater to begin with, but now, everyday, I don’t get around to consuming any store-bought food until after 6pm. I only eat one “proper” meal per day in the evenings because the forest keeps me well satisfied until then.

The other reason I’m unable to gather all of the forage is the damned “Raspberry Police.” An unfortunate aspect of forest reality in the middle of summer is that the mosquitos insist on making their presence felt in a rather merciless fashion. Stop for but a moment and the whole forest is filled with the whine of their annoying sirens. “Stop! Raspberry Picker, we have you surrounded!” Indeed you do… and I suppose I should be grateful because of my propensity for overindulgence. If it wasn’t for the ever-vigilant Raspberry Police, I could easily grow fat and immobile like Jabba the Hut in these raspberry patches.

I don’t use chemical repellants. Nor do I mix natural concoctions to douse myself with in hopes of disrupting the little bastards’ appetites and the means to fulfil them. When in the forest, I prefer to remain unscented. After all, I am there precisely to interact in a meaningful way with the forest critters, not keep them at bay. Lo, these past twenty years, I have developed a technique that makes these mid-summer walks pleasurable despite the Archontic intrusion. Please see the brief video below:

The Only Mosquito Repellant That Works from Niels Kunze on Vimeo.

The figure-8 pattern of my waving shirt cuts through the clouds of mosquitos and disrupts the air currents around my upper body enough to make it nearly impossible for them to land. It also works just as well for horseflies and deer flies… and other unnamed nasty-bitey things. It’s best if the shirt is an earthy colour; I once used a bright red one which had the unfortunate result of attracting bumblebees and butterflies– whom I do not relish batting from the air. Sorry guys!

It is also useful to note that this technique is not proven effective against pterodactyls and US military drones. Those may require more “industrial” methods.

As the wild onions begin now to go to seed, I feast less upon their flowers and seek suitable alternatives. I’m an addict; already I have a 3-daisy-a-day habit to satisfy.

“You are what you eat.” But sometimes it is also useful to consider this old adage from the other side: “Whatever you’re eating becomes you.” I understood immediately the first part of Daisy’s message: “Thanks for taking me on a human trip.” By eating daisies, I am essentially turning them into me– taking them “on a human trip.” Perhaps the whole affair is more rightly judged as a blending and merging of qualities and energies between myself and the things that I eat. Daisy gets to come along on a human trip, while I adopt the special attributes of “daisyness.”

Purity, innocence, radiance and gentleness are some of the symbolic attributes associated with Daisy. I happily munch down the white petals thinking to myself “Bring it on!” Those are admirable qualities… somewhat lacking in the modern human phenome. And that’s where Daisy’s message begins to get more interesting…

“Please do not continue to mistake human culture for human nature. This fundamental error has become as widespread as the daisies in these fields. Human nature is not petty or mean, greedy or hate-filled; your apparent corruptions are not intrinsic. These are all attributes of your current culture… and it is all learned.

“Your true nature, as you put aside the accruements of culture, is every bit as pure, innocent, radiant and gentle as my yearly presence in these fields. Indeed, as you taste my petals, have you noticed that they taste of nothing? We are the same. If we were so fundamentally different, such differences would press heavily upon your tongue. No, remembrance has so very little flavour.

“I am here in such overwhelming number to remind you of the truer versions of yourselves. The corruptions of culture cannot touch true nature. Remember…”

On the day after a good rain,
the World smells like the day it was made;
the morning settles lightly like an old favourite shirt,
But my shirts never smelled this good!
In the deep ponderous quiet of the Forest inhaling,
a single rose petal can blow the doors of my heart
WIDE OPEN!

I’m getting in tune, in synch…
Doing a little dance with the Music which made me.
There is less and less between My Humanity
And my love for all that surrounds me
HERE.

I am Forest now,
And my message is simple and direct
from these many mouths:
WELCOME!

“Attune to that which you know to be true…
Eternally.”
Earth is my love…
NOW AND FOREVER!

Today, I ate my first Daisy;
It tasted exactly like… like…
INNOCENCE…
and
White Spiders.

Overgeneralizing is the basis for prejudice.

“Saskatoon berries suck!” I’ve heard it many times. I’ve also heard (sometimes from my own mouth) that “Saskatoon berries are awesome!” As it turns out, both statements are perfectly correct… and no, it’s not just a matter of personal preferences.

Today, Saskatoon Berry has reminded me again that we are all individuals. We are each unique; what is true for one is not necessarily true for another– no matter how similar in appearance.

The “trick” with Saskatoons is to recognize that each plant exists in a unique set of circumstances which necessarily determine the quantity and quality of their fruit. Each bush needs to be tasted and evaluated separately… leading to provocative statements such as “Oh my, that’s quite the tasty bush!” On my daily walk, I encounter Saskatoon bushes that are thick and numerous– but only a few inches tall, as well as sparsely-spaced specimens which can grow to heights in excess of twenty feet… as well as everything in between. Even so, I have found no correlation between height and flavour. Each must be experienced individually without prejudice.

We have tended in the past to paint broad swathes of the world of our experience with a singular brush. This “thing” is good; that “thing” is bad. A deeper refinement is now called for. As our generalizations are dismissive, we carelessly overlook countless opportunities. Even if it seems “old hat,” try it anew… and see where your habitual attitudes might be ready to shift, change and transform. Nothing is as it once seemed.

This forest walk included our newest local celebrities. After an early morning of Skype and radio interviews issued from my deck, the “BC Hippies” Kristen and Darren were more than willing to get away from the Amazing Race Canada excitement for a few hours. (My typical route doesn’t take us long out of cell phone range– apparently an important consideration for national television celebrities!) Even the turkey vultures returned briefly to catch a glimpse of our local stars, as three of them circled above us– perhaps another reminder of the New Vision.

There’s them “meandering ants” again from a recent video I created. Their behaviour is in perfect keeping with yesterday’s lucid dream within the Collective Unconscious. The overriding theme of the dream was “factions.” At a very deep and nearly inaccessible level we have always been One. (Here it is important to note that “Oneness” does not merely refer to the collective body of humanity, but rather to all life on the planet– all critters included.) Our oneness still appears fractured, but that’s because we are all in the process of redefining our individual relationships to the Whole. We are currently grouping into factions for the purposes of discovering and implementing strategies of reintegration. We’re organizing ourselves subconsciously into tightly focused units which can be likened to puzzle pieces. A deeper integration will soon reveal the “Bigger Picture” as we maneuver our pieces into place within the New Vision.

Ant reminds us not to get distracted with yesterday’s methods. It is time to strike out in new directions with daring intentions. The Collective has granted us each a newfound freedom. We must remember to explore the most vitalizing ways and means of relating ourselves to and with the new and improved emerging Collective.

Shuffle the deck… and deal a whole new game.

Horsetail has always been abundant ’round these parts, especially in the squishy and moist places. This year, however, it has cropped up in many more numerous places… places where I would not normally expect it. Horsetail’s specialty is drawing silicon from the Earth’s crust and sequestering it in its own segmented form, where it becomes biologically available for savvy herbalists.

Silica is necessary for healthy bones, teeth, skin, hair and connective tissue. Consequently, the body has tremendous use for this generous plant. This is its traditional and mundane use; today’s message, however, delves into the slightly more esoteric and obscure…

“We are one. We are mid-fugue.” (A fugue is a musical composition perfected by J.S. Bach which centres around a theme which undergoes a progression or metamorphosis during which the composition imperceptibly shifts from one octave to another from beginning to end.) “The One Life is currently shifting to a higher octave. All has been carbon-based, which is the sixth element on your periodic table of elements. Silicon is the fourteenth element, exactly one ‘octave’ higher. Its structure is typically crystalline. Crystals are able to store and convey vast amounts of information with little or no distortion.” (Computer chips are made from silicon.)

“We are all being upgraded now. Distortion, misunderstanding, obfuscation, etc. are rapidly falling away to rest in carbon copied versions of ourselves. We emerge into the New Vision with crystal clarity…”

So go ahead and grab a cuppa Horsetail tea!

Again, I need to report that Vulture was still present for a fourth day. I’m amazed that they keep such close tabs on me as I journey through the forest. They always know exactly where I am.

And now I am happy to report that after a three year absence, Frog has returned to the swamp. Personally, I take this as a very good sign… but I’ll let Frog explain.

“Call me Litmus. I am like the proverbial canary in the coal mine. Now, however, the ‘coal mine’ has been cleansed and refurbished– so much so that it ceases to be a ‘coal mine’ at all. I am here to test the new ‘pristine’ conditions. Can the New Vision establish and sustain the most delicate balance of life?

“My further purpose is to blend and merge seamlessly emotional Nature (water) with physical Nature (land) and mental Nature (air). In human reckoning, these aspects have remained largely disconnected. True knowing is singular. The Truth is not unsettling or dangerous. To deny it is.

“Truth is that which supports life… even in its most delicate complexities. Habits of falsehood make Nature look frighteningly bizarre. But there is only One Life here… taking infinite care… of Itself.”

First, allow me to report that Vulture was still active in the area for a third day. We met up down by the river, where we mutually cleansed and refreshed ourselves. Their work was nearly complete. (For some reason they were elusive and didn’t wish to be filmed. Every attempt had them flying away from me at low altitude where they’re difficult to see against the forest backdrop.)

Today’s main message comes courtesy of Caterpillar, representing the last of the wriggling shadows seeking transformation under the New Sun. This fuzzy fellow was rather plump and quite energetic.

“I am sated. I was charged with the task of devouring the negative spaces, all the minuscule places where shadows congregate, providing contrast in each discerning moment. The growing duality of extremes has been energetically curtailed. The contrast is now more subtle and refined.

“You must practice vigilance now, and see that you do not blindly follow your own ingrained mental habits. Although the “weight” of shadows has been removed from your perception, your own mental habits can still produce the same effects. You must endeavour to think in new ways, creatively… fearlessly. Bring subtleties to light, and allow gross discrepancies to collapse into mere wisps of illusion.

“We are given a New World, but only through acting in New Ways can this fact enter our perceptions and experience. Tread the same old path in the very same manner… and you might as well walk backward into oblivion. Shine the light of discovery and exploration forward, and follow your own joy into tomorrow.”