Organic food sucks!

I’m totally fed up seeing labels of natural products. Seriously! In most supermarkets you find organic apples, Bio yoghurt and fairtrade coffee. It has become a real hype and, quite frankly, it’s ridiculous.

Ok, maybe ‘ridiculous’ is the wrong word. I guess ‘sad’ is more appropriate. Let’s take one of my favourite vegetables as an example: Broccoli. So you go to the veg section of the supermarket of your choice and see a mountain of Broccoli heads piled up in front of you, all nicely wrapped in plastic. The sign says ‘Broccoli – 0.99’. Either directly next to it or a few metres away there’s another mountain, albeit much smaller, with a sign announcing ‘Organic Broccoli – 1.99’ (usually with a tiny footnote: ‘Natural produce’).

Now, what happens in the mind of the person doing the shopping? Very often it will be something like this: ‘Organic…hm, that’s the latest fashion, isn't it? And any fashion product is always expensive.’ It’s like buying an iphone, a Hollister shirt or one of those stupid nespresso machines – you don’t pay for a good product, but mainly spend your money on some fancy marketing campaign. Hence it’s better to buy the ‘normal’ broccoli.

However, when it comes to food, it’s not about fashion at all. There’s nothing cool about organic food, not even if you spell it organiK (no, I didn’t make this up – I’ve really seen it like this). 

The underlying problem of this whole dilemma, apart from the weirdly functioning human brain, is totally inappropriate and misleading labeling. Here’s what it should say on the two signs:

Broccoli – 1.99

Toxic Broccoli – 0.99

And ideally there’d be also a (huge) footnote attached to the second choice: ‘Sprayed with pesticides and insecticides; grown with artificial fertilizer in a monculture – harming the soil and poisining your body!’

I reckon some idiots would still go for the cheaper option (maybe to save up for the new iphone?), but most people wouldn’t think twice and would buy the non-toxic vegetable. Common sense, right? Some more examples:

Cheese – 3.99

Pseudo Cheese – 1.98 (made from milk that comes from cows who have never seen daylight and are pumped up with antibiotics on a daily basis)

Bread – 2.50

Lethal Bread – 1.09 (stripped of all healthy ingredients and with an extra amount of conservatives so that it will stay artificially fresh for at least 8 weeks)

Chocolate – 1.99

Slave Chocolate – 0.89 (guaranteed with cacao that was harvested by hungry, underpaid peasants in the third world)

The list could go on endlessly… I think all ‘normal’ food should be automatically organic, cultivated with sustainable methods under fair conditions. All other food, ie that which is classified as normal today, should be clearly named with words such as harmful, processed, poisonous, chemical, etc. Since we're still far away from being free-thinking and highly conscious people, only the brutal truth has the power to make us change our habbits – fairytales invented by ruthless advertisement agencies won't help. So:

Kill the organic hype – bring on the toxic label!

PS: Having said all this – cigarette packets have been carrying photos of black lungs and messages of ‘smoking kills’ for many years now, and still people continue to smoke. Maybe we’re simply too stupid? Aliens, hurry up!

The art of action

Everyone knows that a glass of water between each beer or gin’n’tonic can prevent hangovers. Nobody likes hangovers. Yet if you visit a busy bar late at night, how many people do you see ordering water?

In 2007 I wrote THE LITTLE BUDDHA, the story about a young Buddha (not Mr Buddha himself) who starts to feel lonely and disillusioned sitting all day long under his tree and so decides to go travelling. On his journey he encounters lots of different people and situations and learns about what really matters in life.

During the last couple of years the book has become quite popular, with lots of fans all over the world and up to now over 25,000 copies sold. Not bad considering that several people had told me ‘you can’t write a book just like that – stop dreaming and focus on a normal job!’ All those disencouraging voices may be reminded of John Lennon’s words: 
“Those who say it cannot be done shouldn’t be interrupting those doing it.”

Anyways, a while ago I’ve talked to a friend who read the book and didn’t think much of it. His comment: “It’s like spirituality for dummies. You don’t say anything new Claus, we know all this stuff already.”

You know what? He’s totally right. THE LITTLE BUDDHA talks about nothing new – no ground-breaking theories, no secret keys to eternal happines. It’s just a nice story that uses long-known wisdoms. In fact, pretty much all ‘spiritual’ books talk about stuff that has been talked about at least a thousand times before. Even the bible – or do you really believe that Jesus and his mates came up with all that clever shit all by themselves? Very unlikely…

Here’s a question: if we already know how to lead a happy life, as my friend suggests, how comes everyone is so messed up? How comes the world is in constant crisis if we know all the solutions?

The answer, or at least part of the answer, is that the human being is highly talented when it comes to forgetting. For example, we all know that life is much more enjoyable and meaningful if we live in the Now. A pretty simple concept really. Yet amidst the daily whirlwind of worries and fears, of broken hearts and holiday planning, we forget to take that occasional conscious breath and to put our attention to the present moment.

Different books with the same messages have been and will continue to be written because we need to be reminded of those messages, over and over again. It’s human nature: we only learn through repetition, no matter whether it’s memorizing vocabulary, mastering a craft or embracing the present. 

Some skills naturally require many repetitions, like when you want to be become a really good musician; other skills require simply awareness – that is, becoming aware of the benefit or necessity of a certain action and then to do what needs to be done.

So coming back to the water and alcohol: until we put a valuable life lesson into practice, we’ll have to keep on suffering. Unless knowledge is applied, even the most intelligent person will remain an idiot.

Choices

Recently at the local healthfood shop I was staring at a 500g packet of organic brazil nuts. 9€ – quite expensive I thought, just for some nuts. Then I started wondering: if the local bar had mojitos on offer for 4,50€, pretty much everyone would be delighted about the bargain. A couple of cheap cocktails – who would think twice?

Whenever a discussion starts about sustainable and ethical products, soon the argument of price is raised: Buying green and organic stuff is far too expensive – “I just can’t afford it!”
Yet how comes we can afford all sorts of other crap?

18 € for 50 nespresso capsules (250g) – great value!

18 € for 6 shitty coffees at Starbucks – business as usual

18 € for 1kg of organic fairtrade coffee – rip-off!

3 € for half a chicken from Lidl – bargain!

3€ for a chicken kebab – normal

3 € for half a dozen organic eggs – expensive!

299 € for a new flatscreen TV – I’ll take 2!

299 € for a new smartphone – of course

299 € for a new solar panel – what for?

79 € for a hoody jacket from Abercrombie & Fitch – almost free!

79 € for the same from Adidas or Nike – fair enough

79 € for a hoody from Armedangels – those eco people are thiefs!

A better world exists – choose it!

Daily silence

Today exactly one year ago I finished my first Vipassana course – a 10 day silent retreat with 100 hours of meditation. Check out the article I wrote about my experience, here.

During the last 12 months I’ve managed to keep up the daily practice. With very few exceptions, every morning I’ve sat down, shut up and observed what’s happening inside. More recently I’ve also become interested in Zazen, the meditation practice of Zen Buddhism. Although there are many differences between Vipassana and Zazen, at the core I feel they’re pretty much the same: It’s all about learning to see the way things really are, rather than living in a delusional fairy-tale world, tormented by broken dreams, unfulfilled desires and lies.

Now, when talking about meditation, any kind of expectation shouldn’t really be present at all. However, since I’m just a pretty normal, unenlightened guy, some expectations have slipped in. So if you had asked me one year ago what effect one year of meditation would have, I would have come up with all sorts of different ‘ideas’. Here are some reflections regarding these ideas: After one year of meditation…

I can sit in the full lotus position for hours without any discomfort

Sadly, this is not the case. I can’t even do the half lotus; my legs still fall asleep and after some time my back still starts craving a comfortable bed. Yes, I’m able to sit now for an hour without agony, but no pain? Nope. We are not monkeys, and I’m no fucking Yogi!

I've become a really peaceful person

I wish! Actually, more the opposite has occurred: I’ve been more angry than I was before. While this is not always fun, on the whole I regard this to be a good thing though. What’s the point in trying to be peaceful, when inside you’re feeling like you could set the world on fire? Regular meditation is helping me to accept the emotions that are present, be it anger, fear, grief or ecstasy. Like everything else, emotions come and go – so the trick is to not hold on to them; let them be, observe and then move on. As long as I don’t act out what I’m feeling, ie getting up and punching the first person I see, it’s fine because there’s always something to be learnt about myself.

I'm getting better at meditating

Again, wishful thinking. I used to assume that Zen masters are able to dip into deep and blissful trance states whenever they want, instantly! But actually this is not true. Even the Buddha himself had shit days when his restless mind drove him nuts (at least that’s what I’d like to think). What I’m learning more and more is that meditation is not about having goals – it’s quite a difficult lesson since we’re living in such a goal-orientated society. But really there is no goal, because a goal lies always in the future. The moment, the here and now, couldn’t care less about whether you’re getting better at meditating or not. As Brad Warner says, “Just sit down and shut up!”

My Ego and all desires have disappeared

Haha, that’s a funny one. Where would the Ego go? To heaven? Hell? A black hole? All the new age crap of ego destruction is just so unhealthy and especially UNREAL! What’s the problem with having an Ego? I think it makes much more sense to try your best at becoming friends with your Ego. Acknowledging its existence, because otherwise it will rear its ugly head even more and will play power games with you. Regarding the desires: I think there’s nothing wrong with having desires either; the problem starts when you allow them to control your life. When you become a slave to your desires, that’s when the real suffering starts. It’s that greedy voice in your head that drives you to the shopping mall when you could just go for a walk and watch a beautiful sunset. Meditation has helped me to question my desires and to see them for what they really are: random thoughts that promise happiness. Yet if I’m not happy today, what am I supposed to do with promises? Put them in a frame and pray to them?

Everything is just wonderful

Hm, let me see… No, it’s not. On many days life sucks, no matter how long I sit in silence. I think Hollywood and the advertisement industry are very guilty of causing these kinds of wrong expectations. If only I met the right partner, if only I found the perfect job, the perfect home, the perfect answer to all my questions, then everything would be superdupa and I’d be living happily ever after. Bollocks to that! Life is cruel, painful and eternal happiness doesn’t exist. But you know what? That’s fine. Life is still beautiful. It’s an entertaining ride through ups and downs and we should be grateful for having been given the chance to experience it all. One thing daily meditation is doing for me is that it keeps me from overreacting and indulging in all the extremes. When I have a bad day, I might still be a moody German giving my house mates lots of frowns, but I know it will pass; likewise, when I sign a publishing contract for a new book, it certainly puts a joyous smile on my face but I’m not jumping around like a maniac any more. Because even the best day of my life will pass, and then what? The higher I jump, the lower I will fall. Which is not to say that you shouldn’t get excited, but just don’t expect the great moment to last. Cause it won’t.

In summary: 30-40 minutes of daily silence might not turn me into an enlightened saint any time soon (whatever that is, englightenment), but the regular practice really helps me to be more honest with myself – and this honesty makes everything more real and more fun too! Furthermore, rather than ‘understanding’ life only intellectually, I’m getting first hand experience of what it actually is: 

A colourful collection of fleeting moments!

In love with music

Great, another year being Single on Valentine’s day. Not that I care too much about commercial love days anyway, but it sucks seeing so much romance when you don’t get any yourself. Nevermind, there are more important things. Like...MUSIC!

What would we do without it? Seriously. Have you ever tried to dance to silence? Live a year without melodies? Be happy without your favourite tunes? It ain’t much fun...

Latest from the day when I started working in a local record shop at age 16, I was totally hooked! I’m hopelessly in love with what many call THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING IN THE WORLD.

For about 20 years I’ve been making mixes – first on 90min cassettes tapes, then on minidiscs, then on CDs and now MP3s. I adore exploring new music and putting it it together, it’s like doing a sound puzzle.

So for all the lonely souls out there and also for the loved-up ones, here’s my present to you for Valentine’s day: over 20 mixes of simply great music!

There’s something for everyone: Reggae, Soul, Ska, Rock, Electro, Swing, Chillout, Bluegrass, Folk, Acoustic - upbeat, downbeat, you name it! Music to dance, cry and love to, and most importantly: music to ENJOY!

Listen to any of the mixes online by going either to my DJ website – www.mr-mikosch.com – or straight to my page on Mixcloud: www.mixcloud.com/MrMikosch

Lions, sharks and the human beast

17 years ago I was diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia when suddenly a 2.5 meter shark passed right in front of me. He (or she?) briefly looked at me and then continued peacefully along the way. It was an absolutely amazing experience!

The strange thing is this though: sharks are said to be brutal killers – shound’t I be dead?

From an early age on we learn that sharks are dangerous. Our parents, friends and especially the media teach us that sharks love to eat humans. But the truth is far from it: They’re very shy animals, often they are even more scared of us than we are of them. And sadly, while our fear is irrational, theirs is justified.

Each year an average of 5 people get killed by shark attacks. At the same time humans kill over 100 million sharks – annually. That’s about 10.000 per hour! PER HOUR!

Most sharks are caught, their fins cut off and then the rest of the body is thrown back into the water. Fins are profitable, bleeding animals are not. Makes sense, right?

Another vicious animal is the lion. Not suprisingly, we either lock them in cages so we can stare at their amputated wilderness, or we kill them. But what if we treated them differently? Check out this video, at least the first couple of minutes. It’s probably the most beautiful thing you’ll see today:

Looking beyond our illusionary fear, here’s what lions and sharks really are: They’re beautiful animals! And they're the police of nature! As top predators they control the balance of the eco-system they’re living in. Sharks for examle eat fish which feed on plankton. Plankton takes carbon out of CO2 and thus produces breathable oxygen. No sharks mean more fish which means less plankton which means less air for us. Considering that about 75% of all our oxygen comes from the deep sea, the health of the oceans is vitally important to us. In other words: without sharks we are screwed!

I really recommend the documentary SHARKWATER – beautiful, sad and inspiring. And even free!

Now, you may wonder what all this has to do with you? You don’t eat sharkfin soup and you neither kill lions nor do you visit the zoo. So what are you trying to say, Claus?

Here it is: The world is a hyperconnected, living organism – if you destroy one part, it will affect all the rest. A simple concept, but somehow difficult to grasp for the highly evolved human mind.

Kill sharks and the oceans won’t be able to provide us with oxygen; cut down the rainforest to have burgers and salami and again – no trees, no oxygen. Burn all fossil fuels and the air gets polluted leading to...guess what? That’s right, no oxygen. So basically if we continue with our ‘ignorance-is-bliss’ strategy, we’ll suffocate!

Already I hear the Japanese say, ‘but sharkfin soup is so delicious!’ And the white man adds, ‘but I just adore the taste of lamb!’, while everyone insists, ‘I need a car and want to fly to Paris for the weekend to do some shopping!’ Human reasoning, you gotta love it!

Killing sharks for soup, cutting trees for juicy beef and polluting the air for comfort – you would think these are selfish acts, but they’re not. They’re stupid, because ultimately we’re committing suicide.

Here’s a final thought: If we as a species want to kill ourselves, that’s fair enough. But why do we need to kill all the other species in the process too? Surely we could figure out a smarter and more respectful way to go to heaven. Although I guess we won’t go to heaven anyway, because hell is where it belongs: the human beast!

Who knows, maybe some of us will end up like this…:

Change starts with your underpants

Once all politicians are replaced, there will be peace; once the banks are back in public hands, financial equality will be only a question of time; and once Monsanto is dead, everything will be just fine. Hm...

A few weeks ago I was in a healthfood shop, buying organic oats and fairtrade chocolate. As I was standing in the queue, waiting to pay, I noticed a small section nearby with a few different cloth items: t-shirts, socks, underpants, pyjamas and a couple of nice jumpers. All made from organic cotton, dyed with natural colours and produced under fair conditions. I grabbed a pair of boxershorts and proceeded to checkout.

„That’s 22,68 Euros”, the old lady at the till said.

„What? How much are the underpants?“

„18,90.“

Really? Almost 20 Euros for a piece of cloth that soon will be destroyed by frequent washing cycles and unavoidable farting – a bit expensive, innit? At H&M you get similar ones for 4,95 and in some other places they’re even cheaper. Perhaps I ought to scrap the idea of organic underwear and instead get more chocolate…

Who's evil?

Here’s some nice little background information: almost 50% of all cotton is genetically modified. In the EU, growing GM cotton is not allowed – but hardly anybody buys clothes anymore which are made in the EU. And now guess who’s the industry leader for GM cotton? Bingo: Monsanto! And those child-labour factories in Bangladesh, China and India, do they use organic cotton? I know, stupid question.

Our capitalist world is ruled by demand. That’s not good and neither is it bad, it’s just the way it is. What really matters is this: who demands all this cheap stuff? The evil rulers? Do they force us into the shopping malls and make us consume crap? Or is it us?

Who allows companies like Monsanto to grow?

The main argument against clothes made from organic cotton is the price. But that’s ridiculous: If it said ‘Calvin Klein’ on the label, most people wouldn’t hesitate to spend 20 Euros on a pair of underpants. As so often, it’s simply a question of priorities.

Another common argument is the lack of availability – ‘but where can I find organic clothes?’ Strange, when looking for new games, cheap flights or free porn, everybody knows where to go. But when it comes to finding out useful stuff, the internet seems to disappear miraculously from the face the Earth.

Small is beautiful - and very powerful!

We are attracted by ‘big’ solutions and put our hopes in everything that promises to solve all of our problems in one go: new elections, new inventions, the new job and of course, the new year. But big changes will only ever happen when many of us make lots of small changes in our everyday lives, starting today!

Who cares if the new president gets a solar-heated indoor pool and ‘considers’ less subsidies for seed empires? It’s normal people like you and me who have to take responsibility and create real changes. Remember, we are the 99%!

The clothes you wear, the food you eat, the transport you use – on a daily basis you can make little changes that, when added up, can make a huge difference. And yes, it starts with the underpants you wear. Or in other words: if you ain’t gonna change yourself, don’t expect to see a better world!

PS: It’s Christmas time – why not surprise a loved one with some really clean underwear?