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As the clock struck 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve in 2020, and as the British exit from the European Union was finalized, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, tweeted: “Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on.” The First Minister intends to take an independent Scotland back into the EU. BREXIT is just the latest example of the ongoing struggle between those across the globe that are vested in nationalism, and others who believe the only way to stop the ritualized insanity of perpetual warfare is to somehow unite the world through an inherent desire for global peace and prosperity.

The European Union has, since its founding, been seen as a major though incrementalist milestone in moving the entire world towards an eventual federation of democracies. Many of the foundational principles for organizations such as NATO, as well as the EU, are informed by the work of Clarence K. Streit. As the New York Times correspondent at the League of Nations in Geneva, Streit understood the founding principles as they were articulated through the Treaty of Versailles.

He was impressed by this initiative for international cooperation that was formally established on January 10, 1920. He also saw how the League’s collapse was rooted in its inability to tap the power of individual conscience. Streit believed it was a mistake to identify democracy with either capitalist or socialist economics. His was a spiritual conception, one holding that “no community can live without a conscience, that we must hitch the community directly to the conscience of the individual.”

Streit understood that “whether we are establishing government between tribes, states or nations, the process is the same, the basic unit is still the individual man. The government must operate on him individually and the more directly it depends upon him, and upon his conscience, the more realistic and effective it will be.” He held that for global government to work, international institutions would have to penetrate the shell of national sovereignty and reach the core of each citizen’s loyalty. He presented his revolutionary book during a series of lectures at Swarthmore College in 1938.

Streit’s book, Union Now, is a classic work informing federalist political and constitutional thought. He is widely regarded as the founder of the modern world’s federalist movement. He ventured well beyond the sterile universalism of Geneva. He advanced the political and strategic framework, whereby a small union of democracies could develop peacefully. To this day it remains the most serviceable vision for eventual world peace. Such a nucleic union, by leveraging the dynamic-unifying elements of conscience, by making any authentic regional union the root of an ideological union, could eventually grow to encompass a world union since it would be based on the sharing of a universal value: individual freedom grown into a healthy collective freedom based upon the foundations of a healthy family.

A federation among nations, and the idea of tracing the responsibility for world peace to a group of democratic countries, informed Winston Churchill’s offer of a British union with France on June 16, 1940. Enthusiasts within the Union Movement played leading roles in developing the Marshall Plan and the formation of NATO. It inspired The Anatomy of Peace by Emery Reves in 1945. Streit built upon the logic of a revolutionary concept that extended beyond short sighted nationalism. The sovereignty of the individual citizen could at last be realized through a Federal Union of the Free.

In such a world-wide union, the smallest of nations would be “a part of the world and not a world apart.” They would be just as powerful as the greatest. We have many lessons derived from the American revolutionary experience and that of the early European Union. In the first instance, even though the land mass for the state of Rhode Island is just a little over one thousand square miles, it has two senators in the United States legislature. Alaska encompasses well over five-hundred thousand square miles of land, and it also has two senators. California has a population of about forty million people while Wyoming has about six-hundred thousand. Each of these states also have two senators.

While Brexit may have temporarily retarded the progress of a continent that hosted the planet’s first democracy in Athens, many in Great Britain are now regretting their decision to withdraw from the EU. This regional union is the clearest example to date of the schema described by Streit. Consider certain carefully delineated design imperatives as proposed through Union Now:

Just as local affairs in the United States are typically handled by local governments while national affairs are handled by national governments, an evolving world, such as ours, will one-day see its international affairs administered by a global democratic government. Once we’ve broken the cycle of ritualized insanity, where the answer to every problem is more armaments, each individual will be able to exercise greater liberty under such a global union.

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The home is the crowning achievement of human kind. Genuine science, philosophy and religion each recognize the home as the reward for progress, the capstone of an evolutionary struggle. Accordingly, the TLC broadcast is about The Living Crown as well as the Tender Loving Carethat is brought to bear for enhancing this, the most basic institution of human progress. The unique artistry that involves, living on the canvas, presents stimulating challenges as humanity’s masterpiece continues to take form.

Civilization’s most useful creation is certainly worthy of our attention. Here we will spend six minutes each week to focus on evolving science, best practices, and continuous improvements while we work to make our homes into a perfect fit. We will work to develop a better understanding of the close relationship between the enduring value of a stable home environment and the homestead as nurturing infrastructure. In also considering what is often described as housing security, we can clearly see how the home has become society’s true foundation.

We feature innovators sooo, whether you are Harry homeowner or Sally homesteader this program is for you. If you are a maker, a do-it-yourselfer, or a supervising project manager, you will gain valuable insights from experienced builders, contractors, manufacturers, and inventors. Rest assured, we’re not selling perpetual motion machines, although we are providing tips on just how you can tap into the full energy potential for your abode. We will borrow the best from gardeners and homesteaders around the globe to create more food and energy independence.

From that funky collection of batteries in the basement to the growing dome above the kitchen, we intend to cover it all. Through our discussion of in-law suites, granny pods, raised gardens, safe-rooms, stand-alone cabins, automated greenhouses, and even emergency shelters, we will likely gain new insights, on how to best apply the lessons learned, to enhance and sustain our individual modes of living. We will also consider a wide variety of enterprise class projects that can be home scaled.

Our series of conversations will revisit the victory garden as we leverage the technology of our day to produce the healthiest food possible, in abundance. We will learn about closed circuit and micro-irrigation systems. And, we will examine many of the other little things, within the home, that have such an outsized influence on our lives. This program is about entrepreneurial spirit and enjoying the journey as well as the destination.

If you are in a house that feels more like a strife-torn debtor’s prison than a home, we’ll help you to improve it, reduce the cost of running it, or plan your escape with a graceful transition. As you chart the path out of any hole you might have dug for yourself, you’ll hear from others that have been there, done that and about how they got on top of the situation. Perhaps you’re looking for ways to cut or shrink the public umbilical. We’ll talk about highly efficient appliances, versatile energy storage systems, and a wide array of high output home-scaled generators running on plentiful renewable resources.

Tiny homes, RVs, and vehicle conversion projects are gaining more attention as people, from all walks of life, are downsizing while they think about retirement, because they want to free up resources for other passions, or in response to the brutal economics associated with the 2020 pandemic. In such an environment, having a place for everything and everything in its place is important for maintaining our sanity. Even if we live in traditional homes, we can leverage the experience of those living with a minimalist foot print.

Maybe you are starting a home-based business. Maybe you already have one and have a hard time getting away from it for personal time. Our guests will tell you how you can stay ahead so you don’t lose your head. Whether you see the home as base camp or as your headquarters, you can borrow the best from innovators, experimenters, makers, and builders that are enthusiastic about optimizing within a home that supports that quest.

The practical application of lessons learned with respect to our basic sustenance, shelter, and strivings are key to finding and sharing solutions for feeding, sheltering, and supporting the people of the world in a sustainable way. We’ll learn from the work-a-rounds people do when they don’t have many of the things we take for granted.

Sooo, lend us your ear for six minutes each week and we’ll make it worth your while. Embrace the values affirmed here and you will be an integral part within a vibrantly alive culture of benevolence. Share what you learn here and you will be helping to take our planet from one level of true attainment to the next. Subscribe to this program at www.TheLivingCrown.org and, while you’re there, do a deep dive into some of the subject matter. You will also be giving voice to people who are sharing their love as they refine their craft.

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There is a ruggedized form of ministry that closely follows in the footsteps of Jesus. It operates in a way that is both informed by, and stems from, the Parable of the Sower. It serves to soften any compacted soil and it labors to break-up any rocky soil that might prevent seedlings from gaining a foothold. It engages in this necessary soil conditioning so that each individual seed, packed with all the potential God saw fit to include, can be planted at the proper depth and at the proper time. Let’s revisit this particular teaching, how the lessons gracefully transcend time, and how they inform our respective ministries going forward. Jesus put it this way:

“A sower went forth to sow. As he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside to be trampled underfoot and consumed by birds. Other seed fell upon the rocky places where there was little soil. It sprang up quickly because there was no depth to the soil. As soon as it was warmed by the sun, it withered because it had no root as a means to secure moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns, and as the thorns grew up, it was choked so that it yielded no grain. Still other seed fell upon good ground and, while growing, yielded, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold. The kingdom of heaven is also like a man who cast good seed upon the earth; and while he slept by night and went about his business during the day, the seed sprang up and grew. Although the Sower didn’t know just how it came about, the plant came to fruit. First there was the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And then when the grain was ripe, he put forth the sickle, and the harvest was finished.” — The Parable of the Sower as Told by Jesus.

While scattered seed that fell by the wayside may be trampled, this is not the only statement on record where Jesus referred to things of value being “trampled.” In the context of his lesson regarding the folly of casting one’s pearls before swine, he led by example when he refused to dignify the feigned curiosity of Herod whose questions were intended as a mockery rather than a sincere search for truth.

The Gospel is not to be thrust upon those who despise it. The incurious, the insincere, and the insolent are often found wandering aimlessly along the wayside. Those who are self-satisfied, not ready to reach for truth, too busy to grow spiritually, or whose hearts have become too calloused, may represent a soil too compacted to receive precious truth-bearing seed or a soul too distracted to enjoy seed bearing fruit. They may miss opportunities, but God wastes nothing.

If we are somehow reluctant to consume that which truly nourishes, the sparrows are not. Another way of looking at this is in the way birds may also play a role in scattering consumed, but undigested, seed. While those who are religiously atheist might look at Charles Darwin’s writings and his observations on the Galapagos Islands and conclude that such research is “proof” that evolution is happenstance, a person of faith is likely to reach entirely different conclusions from the same data.

We might see the same variety of birds, including one with a beak capable of crushing nuts and seeds to obtain nourishment. Then we see another bird with a beak so long and slender it can extract nectar from a delicate flower without crushing it. While the atheist would look upon this microcosm as random chance involving a collection of disparate elements, the believer beholds such beauty as yet another inspiring example of God’s handiwork.

Such an ingenious system of specialized and precisely targeted distribution, for an island’s limited food supply, is evidence of mind. The atheist sees the universe as the juxtaposition of random fortuitous events where somehow magic matter organized through mindless causation. The person of faith sees orchestration, by an ingenious composer and conductor, within a universe of universes responding to evolutionary over-control. Evolution is, after all, simply an unfolding, creativity that occurs over time.

Some must hold that science and religion are mutually exclusive in order to maintain an incoherent world view. This reflects a lack of understanding with respect to a trifurcation that took place during the enlightenment; For science is to facts, what philosophy is to meanings, and what religion is to values.

The Parable of the Sower highlights the fact that seed falling by the wayside is not likely to take root. That means both the seed and the labor are more likely to be wasted. The story of the sower highlights a very familiar process in a way that is factual as well as meaningful.

This particular story, as told by Jesus, presents the facts and meanings through a parable, a teaching style and technique also known as a parabolic analogy. He did this so that those of us “with ears to hear,” would find it not only factual and meaningful, but also valuable.

by Dr. Martin Eigenberger

They will blow any energy density comparison out of the water, lasting anywhere from a decade to 28,000 years without ever needing a charge. 

The nano diamond battery has the potential to totally upend the energy equation.

The graphite is rich in the carbon-14 radioisotope, which undergoes beta decay into nitrogen, releasing an anti-neutrino and a beta decay electron in the process. NDB takes this graphite, purifies it and uses it to create tiny carbon-14 diamonds. The diamond structure acts as a semiconductor and heat sink, collecting the charge and transporting it out. Completely encasing the radioactive carbon-14 diamond is a layer of cheap, non-radioactive, lab-created carbon-12 diamond, which contains the energetic particles, prevents radiation leaks and acts as a super-hard protective and tamper-proof layer.

Consider the Source

 Consider the First Source!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word choreographed an assembly of amino acids into an exquisite array of specific proteins. Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” In so doing God demonstrated a penchant for genomic writing, preceeded by an amazing series of prebiotic events, in a highly orchestrated presentation of evolutionary overcontrol.

More about God’s Handiwork!

Ever try throttling back a nuclear power plant? Yeah right! Failing that, what would you do with the excess capacity? Engineers with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) faced these same challenges in the late 1960s.

Their solution was to build TVA’s largest hydroelectric facility on the top of a mountain. What??? No really, the top of the mountain. Construction began in 1970 and was completed in 1978. The Raccoon Mountain project uses excess nuclear capacity for pumping water to a reservoir on top of the mountain.

Then, when demand is high, they can tap the potential of 107 billion gallons of water, held back by a 230 foot high and 8,500 foot long dam, to generate up to 1,616 megawatts of electricity.

What can the homesteader on a hill learn from this example? Could we build home-scale Raccoon Mountains to help in balancing our own electricity generating potentials and demands? Fact is, we could. We have more options than ever before.

With the right combination of solar, wind, and hydro generators, together with a great variety of new battery solutions, we can develop more dependable ways of powering energy efficient home appliances.

In the meantime, that compost pile over there is outgassing. Any ideas?

Consider the Source

 Consider the First Source!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word choreographed an assembly of amino acids into an exquisite array of specific proteins. Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” In so doing God demonstrated a penchant for genomic writing, preceeded by an amazing series of prebiotic events, in a highly orchestrated presentation of evolutionary overcontrol.

More about God’s Handiwork!

What if the excess heat produced for a greenhouse was used to heat the soil that’s in the surrounding area? Raised beds could have transparent caps that protect the early plantings from a late frost. I love the way the raised beds in this image have contours.

This is a parable about prayer. It is based upon the 1912 movie Falling Leaves.