Why construct with native materials?

The conventional American residential or commercial building is almost entirely composed of manufactured materials of one kind or another from start to finish. From dimensional lumber, steel, concrete, plastics in countless forms, and other petroleum products, to the carpets, lacquered oak, and so called "green" of processed bamboo, the construction "industry" is a toxic and energy gobbling conglomerate adept only at meaningless repetition.

And it imbalances the Universal System on which we all depend for sustenance.

The resulting "efficient to build but unconscious" housing or office units are at the same time insulating and disturbing to the subtle and physical body of the human inhabitant. Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is becoming common place and is only one of many symptomatic expressions of our growing allergy to our built environment. Children are particularly hard hit because of their immature and vulnerable systems. Psychological as well as physical disorders are rising drastically and can be partially attributed to the over stimulation of our powerfully over electrified and electromagnetic residences, and their often extreme toxicity.

The conventional construction still wastes energy, water, and space resources at alarming rates whether inhabited or not.

Only the top end custom models allow a worker's soul to shine forth in the craftsmanship required to finish them. The production line mentality of mass production easily denigrates those who build them, turning workers into "wage slaves" of the material world.

Constructing with native materials creatively effects all of these concerns.

A native material is one that is both in its natural state and local to the building site. The closer a material is to these two qualifiers, the more native it is, and the less it is likely to cause imbalance in the Universal System. In fact, these native materials can cause our system to be more finely balanced. As an example, remember how you feel when wearing cotton, wool, silk, hemp, gold, silver, and copper, in contrast to wearing rayon, Lycra, poly pro fleece, nylon, and other petroleum products. Wood, stone, clay, glass, natural fibers - all feel comfortable.

What is that all about?

Basically, natural materials breathe the universal breath; they can decay,they are irregular shapes, they are smaller pieces, they are dense or granular, and they are ALIVE.
The breath is spirit... the essence of the physical body's life. We can stop eating, drinking, sleeping, etc., but when we stop breathing we die... when we revoke our spirit we die. The quality of our breathing determines the vitality of the spirit in our body and our ability to be consciously connected with our origin.

Our homes must breathe the cosmic breath.

Native materials are often free or cheap if they can be harvested by the user, and require labor input to be prepared for installation. Skill, craftsmanship, and will forces are developed in building with native materials. Exceptional materials like gold, silver, copper, and glass don't breathe or decay the same, but they nobly conduct elemental forces into our sphere providing light, inspiration, and life force through our creative expressions in their use.

Building with native materials is regenerative for all who participate; particularly when hand tools are used to work the materials and join them.

Minimizing machinery on the work site is a worthy goal for several reasons.
1) The bigger the machine, the bigger the mess.
Although a backhoe can make a big hole or a trench real fast, they are very large and heavy quickly turning ground to mud, dust, and obliterated trees, plants and wildlife.

( more soon)