Yesterday morning, at 6:15 am, I received the phone call I had been hoping for from the Post Office. My new chicks were in, ready for me to pick up. Driving the 10 miles of country roads to my rural Post Office, I thought about how really cool it was that I could place an order on the internet to a family of Mennonite farmers in Pennsylvania to send me 25 chicks, specially bred and hatched on a predicted time and day, in a specially designed cardboard box, shipped Priority Mail.
The box was surprisingly small, a tad bigger than a shoe box, perfectly and elegantly designed for its job, and chirping with new life. Following the directions from the breeder’s web site, Kevin set up a plastic kiddie pool we had used to house newborn puppies in seasons past, in the garage. He lined it with pine shavings, added a 1 gallon waterer, a chick feed trough with “chick starter” crumbles, and a two clip on lights. We were ready to start raising our own meat chickens.
My family had layers when I was young. My brother was mostly in charge and he sold the extra eggs to my mother’s friends; delivering them on his bike. I envied the pocket money he always had from this job that seemed easier than the babysitting I did. The fresh eggs, like the other quality food I grew up with, I took for granted.
Three years ago, with Kevin sharing my life on this 8 acre farm and doing all the work, we got our first batch of laying chicks. The motivation wasn’t pocket money, but missing the quality food I had grown up with and the satisfaction that comes from knowing that what we were eating was as good as possible in every way. We had the land, so why not use it?
I’ve come to really love my laying hens. They give me more satisfaction for less work and money than any agricultural endeavor I have ever undertaken. They are so easy! You throw some inexpensive food at them, refill their water, and let them out of the coop to pleasantly nibble at bugs and weeds and pests until twilight, when they put themselves away only needing us to shut the door against predators. In return, they present us with wholesome, tasty, beautiful eggs in shades from white to buff to brown, blue and green. At the moment, we have 13 layers of at least six different breeds, creating a kaleidoscope of color around the yard. They make soft, soothing noises, with some occasional squawking, that adds an agreeable depth to the sound ambience of our home.
Enjoying my laying hens so much, I like to talk about chickens, especially with other chicken-raising people. In the childbirth class I just finished, there was a couple (He has a degree in poultry management from Clemson.) who raise meat chickens for some of the area’s chefs interested in local, quality food. They told me about ease of raising super-delicious Freedom Rangers, the breeder in Pennsylvania, and other details about production. I started thinking, “Why am I not doing this?” and got online to place an order.
Five days later, I had my box of babies. We took each one out, dipped it’s beak into the water and set it loose to run around the kiddie pool. They are unbelievably adorable; delicate round puffs with tiny, useless cherub wings. Each one is perfectly engineered to engage my biologically driven urge to nurture. The fluffy flock of them is completely heart-expanding. They will spend a couple of weeks in the garage before moving to a retrofitted horse stall and let onto the pasture to free-range during the day. In 9 to 11 weeks, after a full wonderful life of freedom and good care, we will take them to the processor to become Christmas gifts for our families and our winter’s supply of chicken to eat.
Although I have heard concerned comments about ‘not being able to eat what I raised,’ we feel just the opposite! We are excited to enjoy the buoyant life of our birds and the benefits of eating ethically raised and slaughtered meat that is healthy and sustainable. And I am grateful to all who helped me get to this place of understanding.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Sunday, September 12, 2010
As it is above, so it is below.
“Ontogeny replicates phylogeny” is such a great saying! And one I think is important to remember when we are wondering about birth. It is a biology (and sometime psychology) theory that explains how the process of embryonic development of mammals is patterned after the evolution of that species through earlier forms. While arguments about where this concept holds true and where it falls apart abound, this insight prompts fascinating reflections on the nature of creation.
I was first exposed to this concept when studying the works of Rudolf Steiner as a home schooling mother. Rudolf Steiner created the Anthroposophy movement in the early 20th century, based in part on Goethe’s phenomenology of form and archetype. He developed Waldorf education from this philosophy, where much of the teaching is done through presenting what Steiner called “true pictures.” Similar in concept to Jung’s archetypes, “true pictures” are identified in religious texts, fairy tales, parables and symbols. They are devices which are laid in creation to give answers to central questions, but leave the mind free to interpret and judge according to one’s own inclinations. Steiner taught that embryonic development follows the “true picture” given in Genesis.
Steiner believed that the creation of each individual may be perceived as a set of two forces joining in the embryo to create a unique being. These two force-systems meet in utero like two moving streams. The physical/genetic stream may be likened to a powerful river which flows through meadows, villages, and cities, and gathers material from these different environments. The spiritual self is likened to a clear, sparkling mountain stream, flashing over rocks and waterfalls, mixing with sunlight and air, yet bearing its own mineral deposits as well. In the mother’s womb these two forces unite. However, before the twining of the physical and spiritual can happen, an environment must be prepared to receive and nourish it. This is how the story of creation is told in Genesis. Before man was created, the Elohim created the heavens, the waters, and dry land, the plants and the animals.
Early embryologists were shocked by what they saw when the first high-powered microscopes became available after World War I. Dr. Karl Koenig of the Vienna Institute of Embryology reported, “It was quite incomprehensible to us: the opposite of what we thought was being revealed. The embryo is not visible during the first two-and-a-half weeks. It is not developing. What first develops are the embryonic sheaths, the enveloping organs. Only when they are established will the first embryonic forms suddenly appear as if out of nothing. It is not the center which arises first, with the environment developing from it, but the opposite which happens.”
Instead, embryonic development repeats the sequence described in the “true picture” of Genesis. It begins with a burst of light at fertilization, moves from a single cell, to a cluster of cells, to a larvae, to an amphibian, to a creature that resembles many mammals at similar stages of development, to a human being who emerges as unique from an other every created. The microcosm repeats the macrocosm.
Genesis first gives us the image of the spirit moving on the face of the waters. As the spirit of the Elohim moved on the face of the waters, they said “let there be light.” The ovum radiates light with what scientist call a “corona radiata,” a radiating crown. Then Elohim separated the light from the darkness. The blastula develops with an inner (tropho-blast) and an outer (embryoblast) space. The globe-shaped form is called the chorion. The Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth plants.” Tiny silica-like fibers, plant like forms appear in the plasma of the chorion. Silica is intimately connected with the chlorophyll light process in leaves. Then the Elohim made two great lights, one to rule the day and one to rule the night. The amnion and the yolk sac separate; the placenta forms and sinks deeply into the blood vessels of the womb. The placenta will be a nourishing, warming sun for the embryo which soon appears. The tiny, sickle shaped allantois appears, looking like a slender new moon.
Then the Elohim made living creatures. Blood is the archetypal criterion of being an animal. At this point, amnion and allantois develop pulsating blood islands. No heart pumps this new formed blood: it pulsates from the plasma of the uterus. And finally the Elohim said, “let us make man in our own image” male and female. Now the true embryo appears. The embryonic disc appears the blastophorous grows, takes on flesh and incarnates.
In the presence of the deep and wonderful mystery of creation, can we be anything but humbled and awed? I believe that we are wise to remember that birth is part of this sequence and we are best served when we allow the divine design to unfold. As it is above, so it is below.
I was first exposed to this concept when studying the works of Rudolf Steiner as a home schooling mother. Rudolf Steiner created the Anthroposophy movement in the early 20th century, based in part on Goethe’s phenomenology of form and archetype. He developed Waldorf education from this philosophy, where much of the teaching is done through presenting what Steiner called “true pictures.” Similar in concept to Jung’s archetypes, “true pictures” are identified in religious texts, fairy tales, parables and symbols. They are devices which are laid in creation to give answers to central questions, but leave the mind free to interpret and judge according to one’s own inclinations. Steiner taught that embryonic development follows the “true picture” given in Genesis.
Steiner believed that the creation of each individual may be perceived as a set of two forces joining in the embryo to create a unique being. These two force-systems meet in utero like two moving streams. The physical/genetic stream may be likened to a powerful river which flows through meadows, villages, and cities, and gathers material from these different environments. The spiritual self is likened to a clear, sparkling mountain stream, flashing over rocks and waterfalls, mixing with sunlight and air, yet bearing its own mineral deposits as well. In the mother’s womb these two forces unite. However, before the twining of the physical and spiritual can happen, an environment must be prepared to receive and nourish it. This is how the story of creation is told in Genesis. Before man was created, the Elohim created the heavens, the waters, and dry land, the plants and the animals.
Early embryologists were shocked by what they saw when the first high-powered microscopes became available after World War I. Dr. Karl Koenig of the Vienna Institute of Embryology reported, “It was quite incomprehensible to us: the opposite of what we thought was being revealed. The embryo is not visible during the first two-and-a-half weeks. It is not developing. What first develops are the embryonic sheaths, the enveloping organs. Only when they are established will the first embryonic forms suddenly appear as if out of nothing. It is not the center which arises first, with the environment developing from it, but the opposite which happens.”
Instead, embryonic development repeats the sequence described in the “true picture” of Genesis. It begins with a burst of light at fertilization, moves from a single cell, to a cluster of cells, to a larvae, to an amphibian, to a creature that resembles many mammals at similar stages of development, to a human being who emerges as unique from an other every created. The microcosm repeats the macrocosm.
Genesis first gives us the image of the spirit moving on the face of the waters. As the spirit of the Elohim moved on the face of the waters, they said “let there be light.” The ovum radiates light with what scientist call a “corona radiata,” a radiating crown. Then Elohim separated the light from the darkness. The blastula develops with an inner (tropho-blast) and an outer (embryoblast) space. The globe-shaped form is called the chorion. The Elohim said, “Let the earth bring forth plants.” Tiny silica-like fibers, plant like forms appear in the plasma of the chorion. Silica is intimately connected with the chlorophyll light process in leaves. Then the Elohim made two great lights, one to rule the day and one to rule the night. The amnion and the yolk sac separate; the placenta forms and sinks deeply into the blood vessels of the womb. The placenta will be a nourishing, warming sun for the embryo which soon appears. The tiny, sickle shaped allantois appears, looking like a slender new moon.
Then the Elohim made living creatures. Blood is the archetypal criterion of being an animal. At this point, amnion and allantois develop pulsating blood islands. No heart pumps this new formed blood: it pulsates from the plasma of the uterus. And finally the Elohim said, “let us make man in our own image” male and female. Now the true embryo appears. The embryonic disc appears the blastophorous grows, takes on flesh and incarnates.
In the presence of the deep and wonderful mystery of creation, can we be anything but humbled and awed? I believe that we are wise to remember that birth is part of this sequence and we are best served when we allow the divine design to unfold. As it is above, so it is below.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Preparing for birth...
I have the privilege of teaching childbirth preparation classes at the Charleston Birth Place each Tuesday evening. After a day of counseling at a mental health center, it is wonderful to gather with a group of expectant parents who are full of hope and love for each other and their waiting-to-be born child. Getting ready for the birth of a child, especially a first baby, is such an exciting time of self-discovery.
As a midwife and therapist, I created the Best Birth childbirth preparation class to educate, support and inspire woman and their partners to make the make the best choices for their best birth. But, this class is not just about birthing, it is about living! Best Birth childbirth preparation series is based on the ageless midwives’ saying, “We birth how we live.” This statement recognizes that we don’t turn into someone else when we give birth. We are always us, even when we are having a baby. So, we will each greet the experience of birth in the same way we greet our other life experiences. We will follow our old familiar patterns. During our baby’s birth, we will each be who we are at that moment. Who we are influences how we experience birth and what birth will feel like to us.
What will birth feel like? That’s everyone’s big question isn’t it? That is why women come to a childbirth preparation class, to find out what birth will feel like and how to deal with those feelings. Truthfully, I don’t know what birth will feel like to anyone. I know what birth felt like for me, and it was completely different all four times! That’s because from birth to birth I had new experiences and received new information that changed how I thought. Because my thoughts had changed, I changed how I lived my life. Because I lived differently from birth to birth; I birthed differently. We birth how we live.
So, in my classes we explore how we live our lives in relation to ourselves and others. How we experience our thoughts and our bodies. How we cope with change and stress. How we identify our needs and ask for our desires to be met. And we make decisions about living differently, not only to prepare for birth, but for the rest of our lives. After all, birth is just a part of life, although it is a very special part, and it is even not the most difficult part of having a child!
As a midwife and therapist, I created the Best Birth childbirth preparation class to educate, support and inspire woman and their partners to make the make the best choices for their best birth. But, this class is not just about birthing, it is about living! Best Birth childbirth preparation series is based on the ageless midwives’ saying, “We birth how we live.” This statement recognizes that we don’t turn into someone else when we give birth. We are always us, even when we are having a baby. So, we will each greet the experience of birth in the same way we greet our other life experiences. We will follow our old familiar patterns. During our baby’s birth, we will each be who we are at that moment. Who we are influences how we experience birth and what birth will feel like to us.
What will birth feel like? That’s everyone’s big question isn’t it? That is why women come to a childbirth preparation class, to find out what birth will feel like and how to deal with those feelings. Truthfully, I don’t know what birth will feel like to anyone. I know what birth felt like for me, and it was completely different all four times! That’s because from birth to birth I had new experiences and received new information that changed how I thought. Because my thoughts had changed, I changed how I lived my life. Because I lived differently from birth to birth; I birthed differently. We birth how we live.
So, in my classes we explore how we live our lives in relation to ourselves and others. How we experience our thoughts and our bodies. How we cope with change and stress. How we identify our needs and ask for our desires to be met. And we make decisions about living differently, not only to prepare for birth, but for the rest of our lives. After all, birth is just a part of life, although it is a very special part, and it is even not the most difficult part of having a child!
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