No politics or unpleasant ponderings this post, I promise!
Just some homesteady happy snaps and a well wishing for a wonderful weekend. š
A sea of sweet potatoes soon to be harvested.Mexican tarragonāan attractive replacement for French tarragon that does much better in the South.
So excited for the mirliton (chayote squash)! Itās growing like mad, covered in flowers and fruit and providing perfect habitat for bees, wasps, crickets, etc.
Volunteer cherry tomatoes thriving on the old duck coop! Weāve never had tomatoes last all summer before, but now I can see how nature would have it done. This is almost an entirely shaded space and the entire coop is filled with volunteers: malabar spinach, datura, and these delicious little morsels.
Time to wean the lambs. It was a loud couple of days as mamas and babies were separated, but with Summer as surrogate herd Queen everyone has mellowed down again. Phoebe, the goat pictured on the left, will have her first mating encounter next month. Her sister, Chestnut, jumped the gun, by jumping the fence to be near the rams, the little hussy! FYIāa goat crossed with a sheep is a Geep, very rare and not very desirable.
Drum roll, please, for this next rare shot . . . A Skittles sighting!
Our barn cat, Skittles, who we see about once a week and lives mostly in the trees.
Mystifying mushrooms! These are quite common, honies (armillaria tabescens) claimed to be good by a good many foragers, but we havenāt tried them yet, because my mushrooming buddy and her husband got wretchedly ill on them once. Oops, I promised no unpleasantries. š
Buttercup paying homage to the pack leader, Tori, she does this multiple times a day.
I suppose these next snaps might be unpleasant to some, sorry! I do get that, I felt that at first too, but I was gradually desensitized as I realized how much economic sense it makes, what an amazing skill it is, and especially how magically delicious it is.
Always an attentive audience at slaughter time.
Our favorite foraging expert who we forayed with nearby this past spring has a great new website all about medicinals. Hereās a short podcast about it, and reminding me that now is the time I should be collecting some goldenrod before winter! Medicine Man Plant Co
Weāve been at this about a decade now, learning by trial and error. Because of a major health crisis in the family, Iāve been introspecting even more than usual these days. Thatās why I havenāt been posting much lately.
I thought it high time to deeply consider what our own health futures might hold, Hubby and I, while we are not under the immediate duress of old age and poor health. Health is one of the main reasons why we committed to this homesteading lifestyle. Other reasons are political, esthetic, quality of life and, for me at least, a sense of urgency to hold on to something precious for future generationsānatureābefore it slips completely from our lives.
Tumeric flowering, didnāt know they do that!
Watching the impact of the Scamdemic not only on the economy, but also on our āhealth careā system has demonstrated unequivocally that, despite the challenges and hardships, weāve made the right choice.
Our āhealth careā system, which is actually a disease promoting system, is beyond hope, in my estimation. (This oneās surely gone viral by now, but in case you havenāt seen it yet, itās brilliant!) The DEVOLUTION of covid vaccine efficacy
I truly believe the only way out of the mess this country has become is by reclaiming our natural rights back from the government.
However, that first means reclaiming our natural responsibilitiesāthose āunpleasantā aspects of life weāve come to outsource to the government (and their corporate partners in crime) in the first place, which has made it ridiculously powerful, as all governments (and their co-conspirators) are wont to be.
We are trying to accomplish that by first demonstrating to ourselves, and then hopefully to others, that such a thing is possible, and also desirable.
But what if, due to our increasing age, we had to choose? Limited strength, mobility issues, cognitive decline, all are serious potential threats to our continued lifestyle here.
Considering this Iāve made a few lists, ranking our current activities against future realities based on: Required inputs, health impact, pleasure principle, and bang for the buck.
It isnāt pleasant. I donāt want to give up any of it, ever! Bees, chickens, pigs, sheep, goats, veggie garden, fruit orchard . . . . But, here goes.
Kombucha, no caveats, it stands alone. If you can make tea you can make kombucha. Itās healthy, itās fun, itās delicious. Hubby no longer drinks beer or soda thanks to this amazing beverage, better for health and finances for us, and far better for the environment too, with almost no waste.
Sourdough bread, and already we have caveats. I know loads of folks think they are gluten intolerant; I used to think I was too. Grains properly prepared are nothing like most store-bought breads, for health and taste. Around these parts you canāt even find good bread. In other locales you may be able to find it, but Iād guess the prices are scary. Making your own sourdough bread is time consuming, but itās not difficult. Same goes for sourdough cookies, brownies, pizza crusts, etc. And, letās face it, gluten-free products are not tasty, so thereās some extra incentive.
Raised garden beds, and more caveats. Starting to garden at an advanced age is probably not going to be too successful. Of all we do here it claims the prize of Most: most expensive, most labor intensive, most greatest learning curve, most unreliable results. Still, I love it! So, continuing to garden with some foresight and adjustments is perfectly doable. I insist!
That short list makes me sad. Itās the bare bones and I hope such sacrifices will never be required of usāno more chickens, goats, big dogs, great big garden?!
I donāt even want to consider it, but there it is.
Tori surveying the gopher damage. Bad rodents!
There are also many projects still on my list to successfully accomplish, which are in trial and error mode now. Like making all our own body care and household cleaning products and herbal medicines. Hubby has future hopes of making furniture, if his current to-do list will ever allow it. No time for poor health here!
So, another short list is in order. The three things, in addition to those above, that I hope and pray we never get too old for: 1. Bees ā not even for the honey necessarily 2. Chickens ā they are easy enough to manage, but they attract predators 3. Goats ā mostly for the cheese making, but theyāre pretty good company too
And the three things we would most likely not be able to continue into old age: 1. Slaughtering ā tough work, no doubt about it 2. Orchard ā even established ones are a lot of work 3. Pigs ā high maintenance, yes, but so delicious
We have no intention of ever rejoining urban life. And as far as intentions go, avoiding nursing homes and hospitals is right at the top of that list as well.
No rest for the weary around here! Our goal of year-round garden harvesting has been met and is every bit as rewarding, and exhausting, as I expected.
Living, working and eating according to the season is remarkably satisfying.Ā Ā In the last couple of years especially Iāve spent much less time learning from books and much more on direct observing and experimenting.Ā Ā
Iām thinking our next goal should be to throw the calendar and the clock out with the garbage. Show those Amish what a real Luddite looks like! HA! š
This time of year the spiders tell me itās a good thing Iāve got the cool season crops out already. Many of them were started indoors, then transferred outside under shade cloth which will remain until the heat breaks, fingers crossed we donāt get an early frost.Ā Ā
Iāve just started harvesting the sweet potatoes, the luffa and peppers are going crazy, the radishes, volunteer cherry tomatoes and lettuces are finally happy again and Iām most excited for the mirliton squash (chayote) that is finally getting its first flowers.Ā Ā This will (hopefully) be our first success with mirlitons following multiple failed attempts.Ā Ā I love this squash, but it thrives in southern Louisiana mostly, because it needs a very long warm season, even longer than we get here.Ā Ā I started these indoors in February, along with the turmeric, also a first for us this year.
As soon as it cools down Iāll also be harvesting honey, lots of herbs for drying and pesto, along with foraged leaves and roots for teasā sassafras, beauty berry, sumacāand once we finally get some rain, itāll be time for mushrooms.Ā Ā Ā
Hubby will be filling the freezer with lamb and pork and freshening our flock for spring lambs and a few to add to our growing herd of milking goats.
Hibiscus in May, hibiscus today . ā¦ still not blooming because I got a late start.
The honey bees love the Thai basil and the native bees especially love the salvia and the sweet potato and luffa flowers.Ā Ā Weāve decided next year to plant an entire row of luffa in the orchard just for the bees and pigs.
Hope you can enjoy a moment of piglet playtime! Surely there will be time for a wee rest in late winter?
Sanity still reigns on the wee homestead and I thought maybe a few of yāall might need a decent dose of it during these crazy dog days of summer amidst continued global chicanery.
The garden looks more like a jungle, but there is a method to the madness. Mostly itās called ātoo hot to botherā. Still, it looks better than it ever has this time of year (which is saying very little) so Iām proud of a few things worth sharing.
The pigs are eating well off the luffa, which does so well here it actually out-competes the grasses. I wish we liked to eat it too, but I do use the sponges. Itās widely consumed in some cultures, so I might keep trying recipes to see if anything can improve its very bland taste. Plus, the bees love it, so itās definitely a keeper.
Weāre pretty limited on the veggie harvest this time of year, which means eating okra almost daily. Iām really not a big fan and itās not even a fun one to harvest. Itās prickly and the fire ants scout every inch of it waiting to fall into your gloves or onto your thighs as you cut the spears. Its only redeeming qualities, if you ask me, are that it thrives in the heat and the flowers are pretty.
Luffa and Okra, 2 heat lovers
Itās our first harvest of scuppernong grapes and Iāll soon be making some wine and jelly. Iām kind of sick of canning, after all the pickles and having tried several new canning recipes this year, but I must find the grit somewhere and get back to it. For my latest experiments weāll soon be tasting pickled watermelon rind, melon butter, and some exotically flavored cucumbers. Thatās in addition to all our usual staples of pickles and salsas and sauces.
Green scuppernongs, yum!
Iāve also made poke wine! It tastes pretty weird, but is supposed to be an excellent medicinal, so I thought it would be good to have on hand this winter. Despite popular hype, poke berries are not poisonous. Well, not exactly anyway. The seeds inside the berry are poisonous if chewed. You must extract the juice or swallow the berries whole.
Poke berries and poke wineButtercup decorated with Poke berry splotches š
Our pear harvest was quite small this year, but those will be processed soon too, into cider and preserves. My favorite, figs, have been doing better after a couple years of total failure. Too bad we eat them too fast to preserve them!
Iāve settled into a nice routine with milking our goat Summer and am extremely pleased with the cheeses Iāve been making. It took some getting used to, fitting it all into a workable new plan, after making mostly large-batch cheeses for several years. Iām using only traditional methods now too, so no more expensive cheese cultures to purchase.
Making melon butter and goat cheeses. Pictured here: left: crottin; right: mozzarella Middle: my favorite preserving book
Organizing seeds and preparing the fall plantings are also in high gear. Itās a real challenge in 90+ degree temps to be considering the cool season crops. Iāve got some started indoors under lights and my direct sow method amounts to throwing a variety of seeds in the ground every week, waterIng liberally, and keeping fingers crossed. Usually, eventually, some seedlings get brave and make an appearance and if weāre lucky, will produce something before the first frost.
Handy Hubbyās still rockinā the new utility room and itās already looking fabulous! Itās been a 100% DIY project for him and he never fails to impress. Once done Iāll give him a proper staging and big kudos post.
Big days on the wee homestead! The cucumbers are coming in by the bushel full, the lambs are dropping like rabbits, the mushrooms are growing like mad and the bees sound exceptionally pleased. I canāt keep up!
Luckily, Handy Hubby is here now every day, thanks to his āearly retirementā (that is his layoff six months ago) thanks to The Great Scamdemic. With his steady efforts and attention our place is shaping up beautifully and my stress levels have been reduced by half, even as chaos still reigns. For these are not the only new milking mamas, Iām now officially a milkmaid in training myself!
Welcome, Summer! Two piglets for a goat in milk was our barter with a friend. Sheās settling in nicely and Phoebe was the first of the herd to greet her.
Learning to milk in humid and buggy 95 degrees F is every bit as pleasant as it sounds. š
Impressive udder and gymnast-like capabilities!
Handy Hubby crafted me a nice milk stand from plans posted by Fias Co Farms, a very good resource for goat newbies.
The chanterelles will surely give up very soon in this heat, so I forced myself to brave the mosquitoes and ticks once more to gather one last big basket full. I came across a new variety while hunting thatās not in any of my books, so I contacted Texas Foraging expert Mark āMerriwetherā Vorderbruggen, who identified it and directed me to this excellent site:
Since our temps went from April-like to August-like overnight, I got stuck in a bit of a bind with the bees. Because Iām trying to work between 3 different hive types (very stupid, do not entertain this folly I would advise) Iām trying to get them to move of their own accord. It is working, but it is quite a slow process. I will eventually have 3 colonies from this one very full nuc without too much destruction or fuss, or at least thatās my plan.
To end I offer a true garden success. Iāve been experimenting a lot with companion planting, sometimes with advice from permaculture books, but sometimes just by my own observations. This year I planted sunflowers very early, before it was warm enough for the cucumbers and melons. My thought was to attract the bees to the garden like a lure down to the still small cucumbers. Itās worked like a charm and the trellises are bursting with activity.
Iām also trying some new tricks with the tomatoes, letting the cherry types go wild, but highly managing the large varieties and interspersing them with various herbs, lots of comfrey, turmeric and ginger. The results are not yet in on those efforts, but Iāll keep yāall posted.
There is the famous gardening adage of ā4 in a rowā but it seems there should be another one something like āEvery single success brings 4 new challengesā.
Because of course, now that weāve spent years building up a gorgeous loamy soil from our heaps of sand and clay, the moles, voles and gophers have moved in with a vengeance. Itās gotten so bad Iāve had to enlist Handy Hubby with his big guns.
Rodent traps: a lot of work, but at least they are working, 4 captured, and counting.
And now that we have the fanciest coop in the county, weāre losing more eggs and chicks than everāto the only beasts still able to penetrate the walled and fenced fortressāsnakes. Another job for . . . Guess who?
Yes, thatās a water moccasin, poisonous. Hubbyās also found a couple of HUGE rat snakes stuffed full of eggs and chicks.
A dozen chicks lost and a broody hen giving new meaning to āa bucket of chickenā
Of course the snakes donāt go after the rodents, why go to the extra effort of hunting when thereās free food lying around everywhere?
Of course the cat doesnāt go after the snakes or the rodents, or maybe she does, but she canāt keep up with the steady traffic.
So weāve lost all our cabbages, most of our broccoli, a couple dozen onions (donāt believe the hype, onions are not a rodent deterrent by any stretch of the imagination).
But, at least the forest beasts are well-fed.
Tori: āI donāt like onions anyway, whereās the chicken?!ā
Just a wee update with some happy snaps because weāve been keeping as busy as bees around here!
The bees are busy indeed and multiplying like rabbits. Time to expand their chambers or to do some splits.
Bearding in summer, not too unusual in our hot climate. But, bearding in spring, probably a sign theyāre really cramped and fixing to swarm.
I did end up losing one colony, the only one I have in the conventional Langstroth model hive. Iām going to blame myself for that though, I left a super on over winter and we had a really bad winter. They made it through alright from the looks of things, but left about a month ago, probably because their numbers were still too small to keep a mansion clean while trying to nurse babies to build up the colony again. There was no evidence of freezing or starving, so I suspect they left as a small swarm. Thatās my story anyway.
Construction continues on the best project so far. Handy Hubby is building an addition to our house and Iām over the moon excited about it! This place was never meant to be a year-round residence, it was initially used as a weekend cottage and hadnāt been used for many years by the time we moved in.
Handy Hubby with his loyal helpers!
Weāve been cramped for quite a while, but now weāll have a new, very necessary and very functional, climate-controlled Utility room. Thank you, my love, better late than never! š
We arenāt cat people but we adopted a barn kitten last year to try to help with our mouse, vole, mole, gopher, snake problems. Apparently she didnāt get the memo, or realized the problem was so bad she needed a crew.
Skittles, our frisky barn kitten having kittens.
Our piglet population is back down to a manageable size since trading 2 piglets for a milking goat to be delivered next month and 2 others for a breeding ram after a friend has freshened her flock. We also traded a beehive for some bantam hens because they are known for their strong broody behavior, and sure enough, hereās one tightly tucked on her clutch. Itās one of my favorite things to trade with folks and leave Uncle Sam with his funny money out of our pockets for a change.
You canāt see me! Bantam hens, known for tucking up in tiny corners to brood.
As for garden developments, I continue my efforts incorporating permaculture features. I keep experimenting with good companion plants; Iām planting more perennials amongst the annuals; Iām doing more succession planting; Iām getting lots of comfrey growing for āchop and dropā composting.
Spooning the onions
Comfreyāuseful permaculture plant
Bees on chervil gone to seed
My latest addition is a āpoison gardenā including such toxic beauties as datura, belladonna and castor bean. Iām testing a few tricks like āspooningā the onions, which is to remove the dirt from the bulb tops to encourage larger storing onions. Iām watering weekly with āpoop soupā that is, watered down cow manure Iāve gathered from the stray cows sometimes wandering our property.
Itās a dirty job, but anything for my plants!
As always, I let the herbs and greens go to seed, but this year Iām going to get better about seed-saving. The price of seeds is going through the roof! Another new project Iām dedicating time to is more propagating, but not just the easy stuff anymore, like figs and roses and mulberries.
Iām going for the big timeāānativeā trees! Wild cherry (because they taste so amazing), Osage orange (because they are so useful) and prickly ash (because they look so cool) are at the top of my current list.
Prickly Ashāprickly is an understatement!
Wild cherryāthe most delicious cherry flavor EVER!
As for foraging, a favorite spring activity for me, in addition to pokeweed and dandelions, Iāve got another new favorite: greenbrier tipsātaste just like asparagus. The root, along with sassafras root, were once the main ingredients of root beer, which I plan to try soon. Yum!
If youāre needing a dose of good news from Texas youāve come to the right post. Iām so pleased to report the snow and ice have been replaced with spring temperatures virtually overnight. One night with snow is already considered a lot here and we had it for a week.
Once I realized the piglets, sheep and goats were faring just fine, my worry was for the bees. Weād covered as much as possible in the garden but I had little hope anything would survive. Itās only the lightweight row cover, which in normal times would be enough here.
Itās certainly not rated for 4 inches of snow and ice, for a week, and for the second time this year. I expected rows of dead onions and lettuce but was pleasantly surprised.
Best news Today: All 6 colonies are alive and seemingly thriving! I couldnāt be more thrilled because, of course, Iād considered the worst, but prayed for the best.
Iām so glad now that my instinct in fall was to not take any honey, even though I waffled for weeks about it. I think sometimes procrastination is actually a 6th sense at playāan inner voice hinting to you that the time is not yet ripe. Or at least in hindsight that excuse is marvelous for reassuring youself of your keen judgement, which only works if it indeed did turn out to be keen, which with gardening in Texas these days is more like Russian Roulette than Old Maid. (Bad pun intended, if you can catch it!) š
Or, ignore my babbling (wiser choice) and offer yourself one full minute of BeeZen. Thatās todayās happy bees, feasting on the Chinese cabbage Iād left to go to seed just for them, which survived our week-long āArcticā blast (meanwhile, the Arctic has Texas temps, go figure), now a welcome treat! Along with the henbit, which survived in bloom under the snow for a week. WOOHOO!!!
Now, deep breath, and . . .
Hubby camped with all 4 dogs in the living room so he could keep the wood stove burning, thatās our only heat source. And, unlike so much of the state, we only lost electricity for one night and had prepared the water pipes, kept the faucets running, which is the common hack around here, and hopefully also saved some perennials with tarping, but time will tell.
The best thing that could come from yet another weather disaster, not just here, but anywhere, is that folks get prepared. Itās not fun, itās not comfortable. But without it the lesson is always the same and should be neon-level obvious by now: Self-reliance is FAR greater peace of mind than relying on collapsing structures. Food, water, energy, folks, time to get back to the basics!
Mattress moved to the living room in front of the wood stove, Handy Hubby managed to fit in there somewhere.First time theyāve ever been inside, and they were SO good!
Itās time again for some fun snaps. Apparently my āextremistā opinions are not nearly as popular as far as posts go. What a mystery! š
As usual, not suitable viewing for vegetarians.
But, our veggie of the year has definitely been the turnip. Not too sexy, I know. Personally I think the turnip is way under-rated. Lucky for us, they were so prolific this year weāve been giving them away, feeding them to the pigs and eating them ourselves pretty much daily. Raw, baked, stewed, roasted, fermentedādonāt knock āem ātil you try āem! (And if you have any yummy suggestions for preparation, please do share.).
Hakurei F1 Turnip from Johnnyās Seedsāfantastic producer, delicious and nutritious
Our small asparagus bed was so over-packed we created 2 huge beds for them, had to go outside the garden fence and cut down a few trees to do it, and still had enough to give a big box away to a sister homesteader.
I also dug up the ānaked ladyā lilies, day lilies and iris, replanted a bunch of them and still had loads to give away. I love to spread the wealth! It was A LOT of work, but hopefully worth it. Time will tell.
(Note to new gardeners: DO NOT crowd your asparagus, those crowns are a nightmare to separate once they get over-clumped. Lesson learned the hard way.)
Fava beans and lovely greens and my favorite herb, chervil.
Mama Chop, ready to pop! Papa Chop must be very proud, he got Virginia preggers too, her first time. Loads of piglets coming any day now.
We had to borrow another ram, apparently the last one was sleeping on the job. Heās been keeping very busy.
Handy Hubbyās Grand TajMa-Coop post coming up soon, itās a beauty, so stay tuned!
Dare I say, itās the classiest coop in the county?Have a Great Dane of a day!
Relatively speaking, we had an excellent year. Iām not the type to gloat, really. It comes as no surprise to me at all that my experience is pretty much the polar opposite of most folks most of the time. I accepted that ages ago and prefer to think Iām perfecting this āgiftā bit by bit, year by year.
Following are some highlights, some whys and hows and so forth, not meaning to boast or give advice, but rather to contrast previous years with my rosy 2020 perspectacles.
I perfected sourdough bread. Iāve been getting failures regularly for years without understanding why and thanks to one farm friend and her new guru, Elaine Boddy, I got the bitch slap needed to learn I was doing it ALL wrong. Not only was I making it infinitely more difficult than it had to be, I had a flabby starter and was creating needless waste. Weāve entered into higher consciousness sourdough on the wee homestead, praise be.
She doesnāt just make it look easy, she actually makes it easy.
I have also become a Kombucha master. Really, a master. Itās easy to say that for a number of reasons, but especially because so few folks drink it around here, or like it once they try it, that itās in the realm of āacquired tastesā and only needs to appeal to Hubby, and two nearby friend-aficionados. Iāve been working on signature blends for months, using seasonal herbs and fruits, have Kombucha vinegar in a few flavors and am now aging Kombucha champagne. Itās the funnest thing ever. Or, Iām just a real geek like that.
Of course, no one becomes master without help, and in Kombuchaland, this is Scripture:
Even funner than making cheese and much easier too.
Three great gardening successes overshadow the multiple failuresālike a second year of sweet potato perils and a fourth year of melon miseries. I leave those to ponder in an upcoming post. For now, itās Cranberry hibiscus, Blue coco beans and Trombetta squash. I really canāt praise them enough and they were prolific and worry-free and I canāt wait to plant them again in profusion.
But I once said that about the sweet potatoes and the melons, so Iāll shut up now.
Trombetta squash, delicious as summer or winter squash, we have one still standing in the kitchen waiting to be enjoyed.Itās the sepals that are most popular for tea-making with the Thai red Roselle, aka cranberry hibicus or rosella.Still eating these six months later and a second crop of volunteers came back at the end of summer.All the wild grapes and pears weād harvested and processed and froze in preparation for wine and cider-making were spoiled, because Hubby accidentally turned the deep freezer off. His one big dumb move of the year, pretty mild, relatively speaking again.
Extra-special mention goes of course to the best news of the year, Hubbyās layoff-rebranded early retirement, a somewhat unexpected miracle that has improved my reality already in very unexpected ways. Sometimes the true weight of a burden isnāt fully realized until itās lifted.
I think he prefers his current working conditions.Pretty certain it will take him a while to get sick of us, but just in case, thereās always the sourdough.
I knew heād take over most of my animal chores leaving me more time in the garden and the kitchen, where I most prefer to be. And that heād build more and relax more and check off items on the to-do list at a more satisfying pace. Weāve added two large asparagus beds, coop 3.0 has raised the bar once more in poultry housing, the orchard looks positively professionally and my promised potting shed is in the planning phase finally.
What I had not expected was how good all of that would feel and that it would come so early and that heād be so glad about it and that weād be prepared enough for it to not miss the income much in the foreseeable future.
Thereās incredible empowerment and peace of mind in preparing, and not just financially. It has gone in a single year from āPreppingā being something we heard mocked for a decade in the mainstream to now feeling like we were choosing wisely all alongānot the easy road for sure, but the right road for us and the many others doing likewise.
And with that a wee bit of a boast.
And another. Still, mask-free, with no need or intention to alter that reality or any of the layers horse shit coming down the pipeline with it in future. Have I earned the right yet to say what I really think about these fucking vaccines? Decker, at Dispatches from the Asylum, says it best so far: vials of battery acid.
Just mark me down in your permanent āanti-vaxxā file and if they send the goons to our house, warn them theyāll be given a good ole-fashioned goose chase. (hmm, bravado before breakfast, I must be feeling good!)
Food for thought for the New Year:
āIgnorantly worshiping our own being on the theater of the external world leads to pathological behavior and neurosis. We are ensnared and enslaved to the will of despots in all sorts of guises. We are wide open to irrationality, manipulation, mania and insanity. As parents often work to deliberately undermine our will and identity, the world’s leaders and misleaders use our psychic dissociation to their advantage. In fact, our estrangement from ourselves is the main reason for the rise of all tyranny. However, the deadly predicament ends the moment we heed the inscription at the Oracle of Delphi – “Gnothi Seuton” or Know Thyself. No other instruction is needed on the journey toward enlightenment.ā
