how do i do the
charting?
Basically, you earn or lose points for
actions and behaviors. These are added up to get your daily total. Usually
you count an activity in only one category, even if it is applicable to
more than one. The exceptions to this rule are marked by an
asterisk * --these can be considered as "bonus" categories. For
example, you ate many vegetables in a given day. That counts in
the vegetables category. But if 90% of your food also was
organic, you get an additional point in the bonus category of
"organic." And if a great deal of those vegetables were eaten raw, then
you get 2 more points in the "raw foods" category. Voila!
When you place numbers in each box, I recommend drawing a zero with a
slash in all otherwise empty boxes. It creates greater acknowledgement
of each area of activity and the overall chart ends up looking better.
It
is possible to create another chart on the back side. Here you may list
kindness activities individually. You may include other important items
to track, such as your unicycling practice, your pH levels, and your
emotions. If you are in Adventure Club, then this is essential.
the 17 events of the
chart:
EVENT
|
MAX
PNTS
|
HOW
TO SCORE:
|
BOOKS THAT INFORM THE SUBJECT
 |
| Kindness |
5
|
Acts
of Kindness may not be large, but they must be offered to strangers, people you aren't
dating, working for, or related to by
blood. One
point per act. Also, include activism that is directed toward helping
the local or planetary eco-system and/or the creatures that inhabit it.
If you volunteer, that's a point. If you give someone a ride in your car, that's a point. If you donate to charity, that's a
point. If you collect trash on walk, that's a point. If you see
someone who looks lost and decide to help out, that's a point. If you
speak out for non-human species, that's a point. Here's an idea: Set the rainforest site as
your home page and click it everyday to save 11.4 sq ft of rainforest. And/or also the Care2 site, which is beautifully designed.
|
 |
Yoga
|
6
|
Two
points per class (or 60 minutes self-practice). Any kind of yoga counts,
including Laughing Yoga, Gentle Yoga, Restorative Yoga, and Power Yoga
and other classes that are more-or-less yoga. Teaching a yoga class
counts here also.
Other classes could go here too, like Zumba or dance (although those could be put in the exercise category below (you decide).
|
 |
Meditation
|
3
|
One
point per session. Generally speaking, a meditation session is about
20-40 minutes long (let's say). Also,
different approaches to meditation count, such as guided meditation,
chanting meditation... but not "I was meditating while walking to work."
|
 |
Exercise
|
3
|
One
point per workout. Aerobic exercise would count here: running,
swimming, cycling, dancing, walking... A session might last 20-60
minutes. You
may include
games like tennis and soccer here as well as martial arts, gymnastics,
circus practice, etc. Anything that moves the body a lot and gets the
heart rate up. Studies show that walking just 30 minutes a day
has amazing health benefits.
|
  |
Transportation*
|
2
|
If
you got about all day long without using any motor to propell you, then
you get two points. This is true even if you stay home.
If you took mass-transportation
or carpooled all day, then you get one point.
If you are the driver of the carpool, see "motors" (below).
You may gain inspiration from Julia
Butterfly Hill, who lived in a 1000-year-old redwood tree for two years
and eight days, not once driving.
|
 
|
Vegetables
|
6
|
One
point per helping of vegetables. In my view, one need not measure the
vegetables exactly. Each meal can have a
maximum of three points (up to the max 6 points per day). Some
non-sugary fruits count as vegetables: cucumbers,
tomatoes, and lemons. Sweet fruit doesn't get points. A green smoothie, therefore, might bring in up to three points.
SPECIAL
EXCEPTION: If you fast all day, you can have 9 points (but no points "raw" or "organic").
|
 |
Raw
Food*
|
2
|
If
you ate 80% raw foods, 2 points. If 50% raw, 1 point. Raw
means that your calories come from vegetation that hasn't been
heated above 118 degrees. Why do we eat raw foods?
To get the glow.
|
  |
80%
Organic*
|
1
|
One
point for eating 80% organic and/or from your own garden and/or from
local growers. Note that eating out at restaurants almost always
nullifies this row (In Athens, Gymnopedie and Farm 255 are the possible
exceptions).
|
  |
Cleanings
|
2
|
Of
course there are many ways to clean oneself but the two that count
here are a) flossing one's teeth and b) drinking half your body weight
in ounces of water. (A 100 lb person would drink 50 oz of water... a
gallon is 128 oz). Note that if you entirely cut salt out of your diet, you may not need that much water.
One point for flossing; one point for water.
|
  |
Mind-body
Meeting*
|
2
|
Awarded
for a 50-minute or longer session of any sort of therapy and/or
massage. You may be the recipient or the provider. Also, if you have a
powerful
communication with someone, in which both parties work to understand
one another and resolve conflict, you may have
1 or 2 points at your
discretion. Also amorous meetings may count as communication if they
last over 20 minutes. Whoo hoo! Finally, being with friend(s) or
family member(s) in a way that feels significant may count here, as does hugging a tree, an animal, or the ground itself.
|
  |
New
Purchases
|
--
|
You
lose one point for every item or package that you buy. This mainly has
to do with discretionary consumer items.
Exemptions include business expenses,
food & anything in the grocery store, any media (books, movie
tickets, etc),
and anything vintage or used already. Note that gasoline is counted
below in the motor section, so no need to count it here.
If you order
steamed vegetables (let's say) and the meal is served to you in a styrofoam plate, then
that is a new purchase.
|
  |
Animal
Products
|
--
|
You
lose one point per serving of an animal product, such as meat &
fish, dairy, and eggs.
Take breakfast, for example. Each glass of milk is minus one (even if
it is a large glass). If you have one egg over easy, minus one. If you
have three eggs scrabled, minus one. An omlet might be minus two
because it is quite large and also has cheese and milk. If you have a
breakfast of eggs, sausage, and yogurt, then minus three. If you have
cereal with milk on it, then minus one (no need to count the cereal
again in the gluten section below since we only count an event in one
category). There
are no limits to how many points one may lose per meal or per day.
Note: If you buy cat food for your cat, that doesn't count off.
Same for dogs, although they may not require meat.
Note: Organic animal products also count off, although you may still qualify for the organic bonus point (above).
|
 
|
Sugars
(except fruit)
|
--
|
One
point is lost per sweet thing eaten. Note that if you were to have a
sweetened yogurt or ice cream, then it would be minus one even though
it applies in two categories. Fruit is exempted but maple surup, agave
nectar, and honey cost points.
|
 |
Wheat
Gluten
|
--
|
One
point lost per serving of bread. French bread would cost one point even
though it contains gluten and egg and daily and sugar. However, if it
was a large plate of French bread, you might judiciously count off two or even three
(much as a large salad would give you a bonus of two or three). It is true that
not everyone is highly allergic to wheat gluten, but actually it is a
disaster to eat it as a human being. There are key books on this topic
which you might want to look at. The overall point is that humans
evolved over some 400,000 to 2.5 million years (depending on when you
mark "human") but only in the last 10,000 did anyone start planting,
harvesting, and baking wheat. Our bodies don't process it properly. 98%
of wheat eaten by Americans is enriched (even if it says "whole wheat"
and of a modified strain called "Dwarf wheat." Very inflamatory.
|
  |
Intoxicants
|
--
|
One
point lost per drink. One point lost per cigarette (harsh!). Two points
per recreational drug, since generally the dosage is equal to at least
two drinks.
It is fascinating that yoga does have a history with smoking hash and
I've read that the Vedas were written under the influence of
mushrooms... but you can find all the happiness you need by looking
inside... and it is a better path to demonstrate for others.
Coffee counts here if you regard it as an intoxicant and would like to stop drinking it.
|
 
|
Motors
|
--
|
If
you operate a motor vehicle that gets less than 30 miles to the gallon,
then
lose one point if you drive at any point in that day. Subtract another
point for 20 or more miles of daily driving.
If your work causes you to drive (i.e. deliveries) then no point loss,
but no transportation bonus for being self-propelled. Driving to work
counts off.
If you are the driver of a carpool, then you may have an
act of kindness point (above). If all of your driving was
informed by carpooling, then no loss of points here. If you carpooled
but also drove solo, then carpooling could count as an act of kindness,
but the solo driving would count off.
If you drove or operated a 2-stoke engine at any point in the day, minus
one. (This includes lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and scooters with a 2-stroke engine.)
|
  |
Non-offset
Trips
|
--
|
You
may offset the carbon made during longer trips via groups like carbonfund.org.
Otherwise, you drop 1 point per 60 miles of driving
solo or 120 miles if in the vehicle with other people (whether driving
or not, including busses and shuttles). For planes, also lose 1 point
per 60 miles. No loss of points for electric trains.
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