Monday, December 31, 2007

Floating Islands


We are very excited to announce the addition of Floating Islands to our on going endeavourers to beautify our natural world. The Floating Islands are not only beautiful they are constructed of recycled materials and they remove pollutants from the water. Here are some interesting facts about the Floating Islands.
Floating Islands is an innovative water stewardship tool… BioHaven floating islands do five things:
1. They remove pollutants from a waterway, including nitrates, phosphates, ammonia and heavy metals
2. They provide critical riparian edge habitat – in fact, new land mass for use by all kinds of creatures, from microbes to humans
3. They sequester carbon and other greenhouse gases
4. They provide wave mitigation and erosion control
5. They beautify a waterscape Made from layers of recycled plastic “matrix” which are bonded together with adhesive foam, BioHavens are planted with sod, garden plants or wetland plants and launched onto a water body.
There the plants are allowed to grow naturally, and, as they develop, their roots grow through the matrix and into the water below. Over time, a natural eco-system evolves. The model for this is Nature herself - BioHavens “bio-mimic” Nature. We are part of a new branch of science, Biomimicry, or Biomimetics.BioHavens provide surface area for microbes to thrive. Microbes remove pollutants. BioHavens are a concentrated floating wetland – the huge surface area of fibers provides many times more surface area than an equivalent stretch of bare wetland. Surface area is the key factor for microbial activity to take place, and microbes (bacteria) are the key to removing contaminants from the water. Plants and their roots are also important, but more for the extra surface area the roots provide than for any nutrient uptake the plants themselves account for.BioHavens were invented eight years ago, have been successfully trialed for five years and have been on the market since July 2005. They represent a natural, convenient and cost-effective solution for some of the most intractable and expensive problems on the planet:· “Polishing” wastewater and storm water of nutrients and heavy metals to return it safely to the watershed.· Sequestering carbon dioxide and methane from effluent ponds to reduce global warming· Wave mitigation and protection of levees in the event of severe storms· Extraction of salt
Mining nutrient loads from any waterway and reducing algal blooms· Restoring wetlands without the need for new land· Restoring habitat for endangered species such as the trumpeter swan.They can be made in any shape and size and offer some fun uses to balance the more serious side:· Creating walkways, piers, docks, jetties
Supporting recreational uses, such as picnic tables, floating stages, gazebos….· Floating vegetable gardens which never need watering!· Restoring a natural look and balance to any waterway of any size· New land mass for human habitation.Not only are they natural, aesthetic and functional, they are cost-effective, “green” and virtually maintenance free. Why not add a Floating Island to beautify your world?

Contact Howard at 1 800-291-2143

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Think BIG - Dream BIGGER to Manifest Your Life

There is the story of the kindergarten teacher who asks a child what she is drawing. "I'm drawing a picture of God," the child replies. "But, sweetheart," says the teacher, "no one knows what God looks like." They will in a minute!" says the child. Now, that is a perfect example of Thinking BIG !! Big Thinkers possess this childlike faith. Not a childish faith that lacks maturity and understanding, but an attitude of deep faith in themselves. If you are a big thinker, you have an inner voice that asks "why not" and "what if" and you're in tune with your own skills, talents, and abilities to SEE the unseen or create the uncreatable. Here's another example of a Big Thinker: The Italian sculptor Agostino d'Antonio worked diligently on a large piece of marble. Unable to produce his desired masterpiece, he lamented, "I can do nothing with it." Other sculptors also worked this difficult piece of marble, but to no avail. Michelangelo discovered the stone and visualized the possibilities in it. His "I-can-make-it-happen" attitude resulted in one of the world's masterpieces - the statue of David. Yes, sometimes, all it takes is to have unstoppable belief and high-faith in your own creative talents to turn your imagination into reality. But, if thinking big is all it takes, by now, wouldn't we already have a world full of people steadfastly achieving their goals and bringing major accomplishments into their life? Let's look at an example of a Big Dreamer first; then maybe I can shed some more light on the question above. There is the story of Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) who hears an ethereal message ("If you build it, they / He will come") that inspires him to construct a baseball diamond in the middle of his Iowa cornfield - with the promise that the ghosts of famous baseball players will inhabit it for games at night. Ray heard his inner voice (let's just say his connection to source or his higher-self), believed in the possibilities (however far beyond obvious), talked about it with intention, clarity, and passion. He took action on his inner promptings, regardless of how nonsensical they seemed at the time. One of the manifesting mentors I interviewed basically told me everything in the world is suggestion - just one step away from a dream. Life is indeed a dream and the producers of Field of Dreams make this point during a scene where Ray's father (John) asked: "Is this heaven?" Ray Kinsella: No - it's Iowa.John: I could have sworn it was heaven. Ray: Is there a heaven? John: Oh, yeah. It's the place where dreams come true. (Ray looks around, seeing his wife playing with their daughter on the porch.) Ray: Maybe this is heaven. Yes, Big Dreamers - just like Big Thinkers - find it easy to believe that all things are possible, and that life can be as passionate, pure and invigorating as fresh-cut outfield grass. However, oftentimes, this is where to two similarities end. For instance, to me, the movie Field of Dreams isn't so much a story of a possibility-thinking farmer, searching for boyish excitement in his life, as much as it is a story about TRUST and the power of VISION mixed into the manifesting process. A bonafide Big Dreamer is somebody who is what I like to call a Vivid Visionary. Just like Ray, they have a personally compelling belief in the "inner voice" that prompts them along to take the little steps that eventually lead to bigger steps, unleashing the power of manifestation in their life. And that power basically says: whatever it is you think constantly about, feel good about when talking about it, or become immersed in with unwavering emotion and focus, will become evident for you - not only to your own senses but to those around you who were involved while you took that first small step. Sure, we all know the movie was fiction - a fantasy film, based on W. P. Kinsella's 1982 novel "Shoeless Joe" - however, when you watch the progression of Kevin Costner's character (Ray), from the first few dismissals' of his inner voice to his KNOWING that he was personally responsible for turning his vision into reality, you get to see a Vivid Visionary in the making. My friend Dr. Michael Norwood, defines vision like this: "A Vision has many components. It may start off as a goal, a mission or even a dream. However, whereas the goal, mission and dream describe something one accomplishes, a Vision is something one becomes." The question was once asked of a highly successful businessman: "How have you done so much in your lifetime?" He replied, "I have dreamed. I have turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do. Then I have gone to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night I dreamt about my dreams and turned then into my Vision. And when I awoke in the morning, I envisioned my day - I knew what action that I needed to employ to help me pull in the resources and people to support my Vision and make it a reality." Personal Accountability Check - How many of you reading this truly spend at least 15-minutes a night imagining what you want in your mind, energizing it with feeling (i.e., putting yourself in the picture versus looking at the picture screen from the auditorium), and then affirming it mentally when you wake up? Come on - be honest ! One of the Manifesting Mentors I interviewed told me emphatically: "Just 15 minutes of creative visualization a day can change you life in unimaginable ways. It's just that most people don't believe in their own imagination".Read that twice. Three times, if you want to. There's incredible wisdom and stinging truth in that statement. More so than just personal confidence, big picture thinking, or being an idea-driven person, being a Big Dreamer is all about taking your wants to sleep, thinking constantly about them, talking about them, planning them with focus, and adding all the spices to your dreams that will give you the realization of actually manifesting your dreams - bigger, better, and faster than ever. The ability to image, and the ability to expect what we dream about to come true, are two of the finest qualities of being a human being. Together, with belief in our own reality-creating power, we can truly be a Vivid Visionary. As Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the U.S., said: "We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers." So, dream on - but, add some ACTION (without it, you're just a Big Thinker), sprinkle in some FOCUS (think about your dreams / desires enough to bring them into consistent awareness), and top them off with TRUST (that you will, without question, always get exactly what you ask for). You truly are the one who STARTS it all - from day dream, to night dream, to living out your dream - regardless of how outside of you it may SEEM! I'll leave you with one final quote / scene from Field of Dreams. [ On wondering who the voice was - telling him "If You Build It, He / They Will Come" ] Ray Kinsella: What are you grinning at, you ghost? Shoeless Joe: "If you build it -" (gestures toward catcher, who is Ray's father, John Kinsella) "- he will come." Ray : It was you? Shoeless Joe: No, Ray. It was you.
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Barry Goss is the author of The Manifesting Mindset – which can be downloaded for free HERE - and the co-Founder of ManifestLife.com ~ From asking the questions very few dare touch to being fascinated by the authors, coaches, healers, and spiritual guru's who do things in a seemingly 'magical way', Barry has dedicated his life to connecting with these the world's top manifesting mentors and sharing their secrets, techniques, and strategies with you.
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Picture The Yellow River - Courtesy of The Natural Gait