Aug 10, 2022
Cultivating an ImpactfulBelief System
Welcome
Hello, andwelcome to the 6th and final episode of the Season 1 Recap of theSharing Insights Podcast! I think it’s fair to say that it’s been avalue-rich experiment for me. All the same, I hope you, my friends,have gotten some value out of it as well.
Asit is, this is also going to be the final episode of the SharingInsights Podcast.
Yes, this is the grand finale ofthe podcast as we’ve known it. Since I began producing this podcastand learned more about the power of the mic and what we can do withit, I decided to open the conversation up to otherregenerative-focused programs that aren’t exclusively land-based.From here on, the podcast will be known as ‘Regeneration NationCosta Rica’.
The urgency for humanity to getbehind regenerative practices in any and all aspects of itsexistence has begun to grow on me. While I’ll continue toprovide content directed at helping land-based projects gainexposure and learn from each other’s insights, we’ll hear moreabout who’s doing what to help Costa Rica reach carbon neutralityand social equity.
I believe that to help thismovement of regenerative-focused landowners further discover theirpotential, make the impact they intended, and thrive, it’ll do uswell to see what other players are doing in the regenerative field.There are a multitude of empowering projects all around Costa Rica,offering products, services, education, and community-buildingopportunities that our current audience can benefit from hearingabout, and I want to get them on the mic!
The time to make the effortsneeded to hand our grandchildren a world worth having children in,is NOW. The maverick landowners who’ve been the focus of thepodcast so far will continue to be an important focus for upcomingcontent. I already have several interviews with land stewardsrecorded and ready to go.
At the end of this episode, I’llshare more of what I’ve been getting into these past months andwhat you can expect from the podcast in the months tocome.
Let’s get into this theme ofcultivating an impactful belief system and some of the insightsthat our guests have shared with us so far.
None of this show’s guests couldbe where they are, doing what they do, if they didn’t embody animpactful belief system. It’s been a great pleasure to get to knowthese leaders better and witness their brilliance.
So, what is an impactful beliefsystem?
Theworld is full of people trying to make ends meet. The strugglekeeps most folks hyper-focused on the details of what many call the“hamster wheel” or “the rat race” of life. From this place, it’sdifficult to see what one can do to create a positive impact in theworld around them beyond being a “responsibleconsumer.”
There are others, however, whofind the grace to break free from reactionary living long enough todiscover what their passions are and how they can apply them toserve the needs of others in a regenerative way. In a worldwith headlines as disconcerting as the ones we find today, it takescourage to forge ahead with one’s dreams and be the change onewants to see.
Recognizing that a new wayexists; believing that you can find your way there, and holdingfaith that “if it can be done, you can do it”, are some of thefirst steps in initiating and developing an impactful beliefsystem. Transformation awaits those who take thesesteps.
What do our guests have to sayfrom their side of the looking glass?
Just for fun, let's go inreverse order of our episodes, bringing the brilliance of ourfriend Lynx Guimond to the spotlight first. In Lynx’s interview, heleaves us with the commonly shared, but too commonly forsakenadvice to make the effort required to live your dreams. He remindsus that happy people choose to do what they want to do. Likewise,happy people find ways to want to do what they’re doing. Thisis sage advice that does us service each time we remember it.Creating a healthy and holistic lifestyle and environment makesdoing what we love and loving what we do easier. It can drive usforward on our path of living our dreams.
Lynx, and all his crew atSailCargo Inc, also ask us to commit to buying local and dowhatever else we can do to reduce the carbon footprint of theshipping industry. Purchasing used products is another method thatLynx, and many other conscientious consumers, recommend forreducing this planet-altering source of pollution.
It’s become imperative that westart spending more time researching how to effectively direct ourbuying power to support places that are doing what we want to seedone in the world, and form commitments to follow through wheneverpossible. Of course, it’s equally imperative that we forgiveourselves for where we are while we get certain about where we’regoing.
Another one of our guests who’skept his focus on sourcing his needs, and those of his guests, aslocally and mindfully as possible, is Nico Botefur.
Nico started with an inheritedpiece of property and a modest budget and has developed it into aregenerative farm-to-table hotel and restaurant, providingentrepreneurial opportunities for many of his neighbors who chooseto offer tours, therapy sessions, and other culturally-focusedclasses and services. The biggest takeaway here is that he firstinvested into his education. Upon deciding to undertake thestewardship of the property and start the business, he took apermaculture course and attended a variety of workshops andretreats to better understand how to work with the land, naturalbuilding materials, and his own inner nature.
The entirety of myinterview with Nico Botefur, the way he goes about theorchestration of EssenceArenal, and the way hisstaff welcomes their guests, demonstrates his belief that “passionis the key to success.”
Another pair of impactfulbelievers is Meghan Casey and her husband Davis Azofeifa. They’rethe sweet couple whose family founded and runs the Chilimate Rainforest EcoRetreat. First, let’slook at their commitment to join forces with the RainforestAlliance. The Rainforest Alliance is an international non-profit organizationworking at the intersection of business, agriculture, and foreststo make responsible business the new norm. They help farmers,forest communities, companies, and consumers champion ecologicallyand socially regenerative practices.
As a reward, businesses thatcomplete the application and mentoring process are validated to useRainforest Alliance’s well-recognized frog certification seal ontheir website and marketing, along with other benefits. Meghantells us, in her interview, how they had many of the social andenvironmental bits down, but Rainforest Alliance helped them withadministrative skills and infrastructure.
She’s also been a leader in hercommunity, assisting her neighbors with entrepreneurial guidanceand training, helping them to tap into the ecotourism market in away that fosters cultural bridging. Meghan and Davis haveempowered their community to collectively foster an ecologically,economically, and culturally prosperous environment for manyfamilies in their pueblo. From language & art classes, tohomestays, to farm tours, horseback riding, and more, they’veturned it into a destination location that’s impacted the lives ofcountless eco-centric people passing through the region.
When I first arrived in CostaRica a dozen years ago in my veggie oil school bus, one of thefirst culturally progressive Ticos that I met was a young man namedEsteban Acosta. He was fresh out of EarthUniversity, working as abiodynamics manager at an organic farm, close to where I live now,and this kid was just bubbling with fun. The kind of fun thatexudes from those who absolutely love practicing their gardenalchemy.
Esteban had built awell-functioning biodigester for the owner’s goat farm, whichEsteban also managed, using biodynamic principles for yard care,food supply, and more.
Twelve years later, Esteban isnow the owner of Viogaz, a premier provider of biodigester systems fornot only agricultural use, but home-scale installations as well. Healso travels the world teaching at biodynamic conferences andhelping commercial-scale farms transition to profit-producingorganic and biodynamic practices.
This inspired student hasembraced the power of enterprise to maximize his potential to servethe earth.
Esteban encourages us to keepour “Why” in mind. This has been a crucial lesson that comes upagain and again for me in strategy sessions. Going severallayers deep into your “Why” can reveal ways of getting your needsmet in creative and oftentimes under-realized ways. Ask yourself,sometimes, why you’re aiming to do what you’re setting out todo. But don’t stop there. Ask yourself why that reason’simportant to you. From there, ask why THAT reason’s importantto you, and go as many as 7 layers deep. This is a valuableexercise we can do when evaluating any of ourendeavors.
Esteban also reminds us thatexperimentation is an excellent teacher, but the key is to balancethat with the wisdom of a mentor. With the guidance ofsomeone who’s already further along the path of exploration, thoseperiods of experimentation can be used to save time, taking themfurther along their chosen way at a more efficient rate.
Our visit with Esteban wasactually an unexpected surprise along our trip. As we weretraveling on our interview tour, I contacted him to refer him toanother guest of mine that we’d just visited. Once on our phonecall, I found out that he was in La Fortuna, taking care of afamily estate. That just happened to be the same town we wereheading to next!
In the mountains of La Fortuna,tucked far away from the hustle of the hot springs resorts, is acommunity called BraveEarth / Tierra Valiente.I was hosted there by two brothers, Aly Kahn & Alnoor Ladha.Our interview was filled with a stream of sage advice —several of those gems you can find as episode highlightson our YouTube channel.
One topic that came up asessential for me in cultivating an impactful belief system ishealing our senses of victimhood and entitlement. Alnoor quoted apowerful Sufi proverb, reminding us that “You are entrusted witheverything, but entitled to nothing.” The more we clearourselves of these egoic burdens, the more we make room to humbledown and witness the ways that life greets us with support andgenerosity.
Another quote that stood out forme was the suggestion to “Make art at every opportunity.” JustinDolan shared similar advice, suggesting that “If you have communalspaces that are beautiful, people will want to protect them andcontribute.” Our video tour of Brave Earth shows that they are definitelywalking the talk. Everything they do there is imbued withintention and an attention to form & beauty that makes being therefeel uplifting.
At StMichael’s Permaculture Country Club, Justin also practices what he preaches. Everytime he finds a new plant, he embraces the urge to get some of itsseed to propagate. The community’s become a living seed bankmatched by few others I’ve seen. Getting in the habit of sharingseeds is a great way to create regional, as well as personalresilience. What if more people did this?
Another way that Justinexercises his impactful belief system is throughexperimentation. His place is a playground of innovativepermaculture designs that he shares prolifically, via social mediaand through farm tours.
Justin brought up a lesserdiscussed value of living a life of impact, and that’s the imprintthat it leaves on your children. His children are immersed ina world of creativity, nature, exploration, interaction with peoplefrom around the world, with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds andages, and they’re invited to be involved with life in thecommunity. Having met many people, along my journeys, who’ve beenraised in such a way, it may be safe to say that his passions andefforts stand a good chance of rippling out through generations tocome.
On the Caribbean side of thecountry, we had the pleasure to visit with Peter and Ancelat Finca La Isla. Peter made a comment in his interview that I wish all listers would deeplyconsider.
He reminds us that, in mostcases, an organic substitute exists for any conventional practice.We must stop giving conventional farm owners our money!Please!!! Whenever possible, consider investing the costdifference required to support farmers who are doing what you wantto see done on our planet.
Ask yourself whose pocketsyou’re choosing to put your money into.
Who’s investing in the kind offuture you want to provide for your children’schildren?
Those are the people,businesses, and practices that we need to be supporting.
Peter’s partner, Ancel, isanother living exemplification of putting one’s lifestyle choicestoward the betterment of the planet, living beings, and futuregenerations. Ancel is an avid student of ancestral wisdom.Talamanca Chocolate is a regenerative-focused cottage industrywhere she stewards and harvests from generations-old cacao trees,with the guidance of her indigenous neighbors. She passes her craftdown to future generations through her internship program. Shebelieves that one of the best ways to learn something is to becomean apprentice of the trade. Teachers like Ancel are making aspecial kind of impact in the way they operate theirbusinesses.
Ancel takes her commitment to practicepermaculture to such an extent that she has many of her neighborsdelivering their kitchen scraps to her, which she composts for hercacao trees.
You first have to believe thatyou can live an impactful life, even with small gestures like this,if you want your life to show you the way toward greaterinfluence.
Ancel also explains that tounderstand the essence of what we eat, we have to experience it -not just in eating it, but by getting involved with the steps ofbringing the product to life through its alchemicalprocesses.
For example, in her ownparticular alchemical method, she chooses to ferment and not roastthe cacao, explaining that the wellness-inducing benefits diminishin the roasting. The fermentation process requires attention,watching nature practice its brilliance. In understanding thestages of fermentation, and the temperatures required to preservequality, one grows a more fulfilling relationship with what they’refeeding their cells and why.
While many of our guests havebeen directing their lives’ focus toward regenerative ends for manyyears and are grounded in the practice, it’s never too late topivot what you’re doing and begin to invent the next chapter ofyour life.
Another resident of the PuertoViejo region is Terry Lillian Newton, founder of Kindred Spirits. Terry’s story tells how she found herself at the helm of asuccessful hotel enterprise and realized that working for thetourism industry wasn’t enriching for her. She began tochange how she marketed what she had to offer to bring more peoplein, who wanted the kinds of experiences that she wanted to offer,centered in connection with each other and the living world aroundthem.
She found that magic moment whenshe chose to pursue her dream and combine her love and respect forhorses with her passion for teaching yoga and mindfulness, sold herhotel, and bought KindredSpirits where it is now.She finds that both therapies synergistically foster calmness,balance, and self-awareness, and have been impacting the way herstudents experience the world ever since.
The moral of the story is thatif you aren’t in love with what you’re doing, consider completelyremodeling the business plan to connect with your passion.I’ve had to do that with my own life, including the direction ofthis podcast. When it feels like life is calling you to amore aligned purpose, it may be a good time to get curious andexplore the call.
In doing that, she reminds us totry and let go of our attachment to the specifics of how thatpassion gets to express itself, and learn to appreciate the innateessence of what, where, and who we’re working with.
Ed Bernhardt is another guestand friend who lives a life guided by an impactful belief system. Imet Ed when I first arrived in the country. I soon learned andbenefited from the generosity of his farm’s living seed bank.Taking the time to visit him for this interview, however, gave me adeeper look into a man who’s made this world a betterplace.
Ed’s passions for teachinggardening, agroforestry, and natural building have changed theworld around him. This soft-spoken revolutionary has taught organicgardening to children, mothers, agricultural institutions, anduniversities throughout the country while hosting hundreds ofstudents at Finca Alba Nueva over the decades. As a prolific author, he’sinspired and instructed countless readers, rippling his influenceout in ways that he’ll never be able to know.
Ed teaches that EcologicalHealth Gardens lead to health, happiness, and longevity. Once youstart eating a big salad every day, change happens. You beginbuilding new cells with proper building blocks, and wellness gets alot easier and makes more sense.
Ed recognizes that it’s easy toget depressed and feel like there’s little that we can do to helpthe world, but any achievements that we can make with our personalgrowth or health stand a statistically-high chance of leading onetoward happiness. It’s pretty straightforward, even if the resultsmay vary. Eat a strictly whole-food diet for a few months, evaluatehow you feel, and get excited about the feedback. This pattern hasa way of encouraging continued growth.
Start small and build fromthere. Don’t overstretch yourself. Work on what is sustainable foryou now, and you’ll increase the chances that you’ll persevere. Itcan be challenging to make significant life changes, but notimpossible. Especially considering the abundance of resources andthe myriad of options we find ourselves surrounded by these days -more than what most people generally like to admit to themselves,anyway.
Likewise, the health of ourecology is influenced by the quality of its building blocks. Ourability to thrive on this planet relies, for one, on us puttingmore plants in the ground. Luckily, the interaction with one’senvironment and the soil itself happens to be therapeutic.All the more reason to get our hands and attention to the earth,plant more trees, and be ancestors worth giving thanksto.
In our conversation, Ed describes how Applied Human Ecology is apractice of not just thinking about our ecology but navigating lifeas an extension of it. How do we get started? Get dirty!
When times get hard, people goback to growing their food. Incidentally, it also provides agrowing number of entrepreneurs with lifestyle-supportingopportunities.
One rebel who figured that out,a good long while ago, is Suzanna Leff. She’s been making animpact with her humble piece of riverside paradise for a fewdecades now. There, she teaches apprentices how to plant andharvest food, as well as how to prepare the few choice value-addedproducts that she sells at the market.
Her belief that she can live thelife she wants to live and have people come to her and learn whatshe has to offer, has afforded her a comfortable place on the edgebetween minimalism and enterprise.
Above all, Suzanna honors thevalue and importance of finding our passions. She reminds us toobserve, reflect, and surrender to what the world brings to us andlearn how to be in service to that.
When I asked her, at the endof our interview, what she thinks that anyone could do, nomatter where they live or what resources they have, to make adifference in the world, she answered that growing food is one ofthe most important things that we can learn to do, rightnow.
As a land steward atFinca Amrta, Suzanna feels that the ability to providethis kind of lifestyle to guests is one of the most empoweringgifts we can give someone. Living an impactful life meanssomething different to everyone. The most potent moment iswhen we find what that is for each of us and aim to redirect ourlives to align with it.
Welcoming someone from a cityupbringing and offering them the opportunity to gain perspective onhow true that can be, annually redirects the course of countlesspeople’s lives, through projects like those that I’ve beeninterviewing for this show.
Being able to travel and find myway into so many unique projects as a young man changed my lifeforever after. The belief system that I developed along the way hasimpacted the belief system of countless others. That’s how itworks. We’re all a small part of this morphogenic organismcalled humanity, and we all have our place in influencing thewhole.
Through these experiences, I’velearned how inherently healing it can be to physically connect withthe elements of nature. Putting our hands in the dirt, taking timeto feel the breath enter our lungs and the breeze caress the hairson our skin, submerging ourselves in the oceans, rivers, and lakesof this world, attending a sweat lodge or other fire ceremony, andpraying in whatever ways connect us to the ethers are all ways thatwe can replenish our lifeforce and assist ourselves in bringing ourbodies, minds, and emotions back to balance.
It’s hard to live a life ofwellness and contemplative impact without taking the time andmaking the effort to connect with life outside of the house.There’s a value in releasing the grip that we so often drive ourerrand-driven lives with, that’s difficult to perceive from thatplace of grasping. I’ve learned to remind myself that I can’tafford NOT to take a break from the doing and be. For that matter,it’s also worth mentioning the value that taking a break from foodand doing an annual nutritional cleanse can provide for the body.It's just another step all of us would do well to take along thepath toward developing the discipline and clarity of mind thatempower our efforts toward developing an impactful beliefsystem.
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Ahhh, well, there it is. I didit. I finally made it through this recap series. I don’t think I’lllikely do a recap like this again, in the same way. At least not inan audio format. All the same, going back through all theserecordings for this recap series has brought my attention to manythings that I’d missed before.
I hope you’ve also pickedsomething up in these reviews that you previously missed. If not,perhaps you’ve received a reminder for some things that you forgotto take note of when you listened to the interview the first timearound. Perhaps you’re listening to this as your firstepisode because someone shared it with you, and you’re excited tolisten to an interview or two.
Either way, it’s not just whatwe learn and believe that make the impact we’re dreaming of. Whatwe put into practice is the activating element that brings ourbeliefs to life.
I mentioned at the beginning ofthis episode that I’ve changed the name of the podcast toRegeneration Nation Costa Rica. With that, I’m opening up theconversation to explore regenerative projects in Costa Rica on thelevels of Agricultural, Business, Community, and evenGovernment-level initiatives that I think we’ll all do well tolearn more about and consider taking advantage of andsupporting.
One of the reasons thatthe podcast took such a long break is that I’ve gotten prettydeeply involved with a grassroots regional sociocraticorganization, here in Costa Rica. I’m pretty excited about theprospects of what we’re building. The Diamante Bridge Collective iscomprised of seasoned landowners, community builders, local anddigital economy enthusiasts, and a variety of other skilled andpassionate people who’ve chosen to combine their impactful beliefsystems to create something bigger than themselves.
One of the collective’s focuseshas been turning properties over to trust and establishingprotocols for dedicated individuals to apply for land stewardshiprights, allowing them to build a home, grow food, and raise afamily. They also get to live amongst other like-mindedchange-makers, shifting the paradigm that only those with money canlive in a rural community, grow food, and build a home that nolandowner has the right over.
Another is a wellness circledesigned to better understand the needs of the region’s residentsand find ways to meet them collectively.
Regenerative enterprises areanother key focus, where we’ve been fundraising to kick startmobile bamboo curing stations, greywater system installations, anda recycling station designed to reuse local waste as buildingmaterials for nearby projects.
I’ll be sharing more about allof this in future episodes. For now, I’m just happy to reportthat I’m alive, thriving, and well. The pause from thepodcast and exit from my previous land project has afforded me roomto step back and re-evaluate how I can best serve the world aroundme
To be clear, if you'vesubscribed to the podcast, you don’t need to do anything tocontinue receiving future episodes. The old URLs will redirect youto the new website name. You can now find the show athttps://regenerationnationcr.com.
In the next episode, I’lldescribe, in more detail, what’s been going on in the life of JasonThomas and what you can expect from Regeneration Nation CostaRica.
Remember to support projectswhose impact you believe in by subscribing, rating, and reviewingthem in notable places. For that matter, don’t be shy aboutsharing quality content with your friends.
At all costs, whatever you do,use it as an excuse to shine!
