Living in quite a rural area surrounded by fields, I can observe the change of nature through the agricultural cycle – if I take the time to look at it consciously. This brings me directly to mindfulness: consciously being right here, right now, using all my senses and being involved with what is and what I’m doing. If I take the time I can feel the connection to the elements even in the strongest concrete: while drinking mindfully a cup of tea, taking a shower, working on the computer or even when going to toilet or bringing out the waste. Connecting for me is not the problem, giving it space within a busy daily life is the challenge! The greatest help is my son: A master of mindfulness - seeing flowers and hearing birds on the way to kindergarten I have ignored because I was thinking already on work. I can still learn a lot from him.

I honor the Earth not only through the high day rituals, but especially by living a good life based on positive and nature respecting virtues and by teaching my son those virtues and leading by example. Honoring the Earth for me has much to do with piety, perseverance and fertility. Piety as an inner attitude when working with the plenty of nature, perseverance as to continue these workings, fertility as a recognition that with all our machines and technology, we are still dependent on Mother Earth to give us nourishment. My honor is an inner attitude showing in things like a prayer for the meals once a day, trying to buy and cook only as much as we need, so that food doesn’t go to waste.

We try to live a balanced life with regard to ecology and a desire for some luxury. I go shopping with a box, so that I don’t need plastic bags, we separate waste and I’m proud to see that my 2 years old already knows that “plastic” goes into the “yellow bag”. I try to buy fruits and vegetables of the season, mainly local, same with meat and eggs. The house we built in 2010/2011 is a low energy house working with a heat recovery pump and photovoltaic panels on the roof. On a sunny day we don’t only completely produce our own energy, but sell 50% of our production into the local energy net for someone else to use. We have tilled stove and re-use rain water. In the garden I balance my desire for flowers and wildlife supporting plants like hedges. We will soon grow our own herbs and lots of berries. I believe an ecological live has to be a personal choice and everybody chooses differently, and balances differently according to his/her own needs, preferences and possibilities.

I live on an archeologically excavated Neolithic settlement, nearby a hill bearing Odin’s name, near the area of the great Thing of the Germanic Chatten, who strongly integrated and merged with the unknown Celtic tribe living there before them. The Roman settlement of Amisia is near by and the next greater village was host to the sacred Donar-Oak, destroyed by Bonifatius. On the “Oden-Mountain” we have a legend about a host, now associated with Karl the Great but most probably earlier associated with Odin and the Wild host. Another legend connected with this area is the legend of the Blue Flower, later the leading symbol of Romanticism. This special flower opens in legend the door to the mountain (Odenberg or Scharfenstein, both nearby) where a big treasure lays there – and in another interpretation by Romanticist Ludwig Tieck the tree of life. As an important great River bore the Celtic female name of Ardana, I started contacting her in what maybe was her local form as Rigani-Ardana with quite some good results. I like to work with the landscape surrounding my hearth and the Gods connected with it. I believe this was in ancient times the way. Nature religion signifies for me that the Gods and nature of the place I live should dictate my working with them with where I don’t know the Gods, I improvise comparing Archetypes. Naturally I am lucky that my chosen hearth culture, the Celts, lived here.