Green Harmony Living

I came across this helpful article in the Baltimore Sun on Monday, 15.Nov.2010 titled “10 Ways to Catch the Flu at Work”. Here is the link to it http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-ae-workplace-flu-20101111,0,5963862.story

This tongue in cheek article is telling us things we can do to help us get the flu so that we don’t have to go to work. So, I would obviously suggest that one just do the opposite of each of the ten suggestions if one wants to not get the flu. Also, there is helpful information in the description of each suggestion.

However, from my point of view as someone who takes responsibility for my own health, the whole tone of the article is misleading and does not provide enough information. I state this since it portrays humans as innocent victims of “getting” or “catching” the flu virus with no other recourse. When, there are many actions we can take to be healthy. And, I do not suggest getting a flu shot as the solution as I believe this is one of the worst things you can do to your body.
Many people live with this false belief of being a victim. Perhaps, many cling to this belief since they don’t want to change their habits. What the article fails to emphasize and should is that by living a healthy diet and lifestyle, one can avoid getting sick with the flu or anything else. The article does mention at suggestion number ten that “physical fitness and a healthful diet will only improve your immunity, resulting in a milder case of the flu if not causing you to fight it off completely.” I think this is true, but lacks certain detail. Are you ready for the bombshell? From my own personal experience, one only gets the flu when one eats animal foods. Yes, you read correctly! I say this because the only times in my life that I have gotten the flu was when I was eating animal foods, namely meat, dairy, and eggs. At the time, I was eating animal foods as the primary component in my diet and I got sick with back to back flues one winter. As much as I can remember, that was the only time I got the flu in my life. I have changed my diet over the years, and now me and my family eat a primarily organic, raw, vegan diet, meaning organic plant foods that are uncooked. My family, including me, my wife, and our toddler son, don’t get sick now with the flu, colds, or anything else, unless one of us is extremely stressed.

I also do many other things to live a healthier and happier life. These would include, not allowing toxins in my home, spending time with other healthy people, avoiding unhealthy, angry, negative, stressful, and violent people and environments, getting daily light exercise like walking, gardening, bicycling, etc., spending quality time with my family, spending time outside to get sun on my skin and breath in fresh air, getting my hands into the soil to soak in minerals, meditating to relax and distress, playing and laughing with family and friends, going to a park or wilderness to see animals and breathe in the clean air, and so on.

So, I recommend this diet and lifestyle to everyone who wants to avoid the flu, and even better, to live a happy, healthy, long life!

If you want to learn more about truly healthy foods and living a healthy lifestyle, visit our website www.greenharmonyliving.com

Written by Roland Oehme

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

When I first moved to the US, I was so surprised to see that one of my friends threw out her compost or fruit and vegetables kitchen scraps into the kitchen sink’s drain. She said this is a common practice in the US and she gave me a demonstration of the garbage deposal grinding up the composts. I was amazed since I had never seen this before in Japan. I was surprised again when I asked my friend where does the compost go after being ground up, and her answer was “I don’t know.”

I think this is a key example of how the US has made everything convenient for people at the expense of what is beneficial for the environment and their own health. It is a big waste to throw out the produce scraps down the drain where it can contaminate the local rivers, bays, and soils. These scraps are a great benefit to creating compost in the home garden and enriching the soil with organic matter, especially if you buy organic produce.

Fortunately or unfortunately, we had no magic cutter in my parent’s house in Japan. I do not think it is common in Japan even today. Japanese people typically gather their produce scraps and use them in their garden and make compost with it. In Japan, even in its large cities, there is also a curbside trash pickup of organic matter in a special bin that the city uses to make compost for use in public parks. There is a growing environmental consciousness in Japan and people there also do not like to waste valuable materials.

I think it makes a lot of sense to reuse the valuable kitchen fruit and vegetable scraps to make compost for your vegetable and fruit garden. This will give you abundant and healthy harvests! It is even better to choose organic fruits and vegetables when shopping, since then you can be sure that you are feeding your garden, and your family, the healthiest home grown foods possible. After all, what could be more important than your family’s health and wellbeing? If we are asked, “Where does your fruit and veggie scraps go?”, we reply, “They feed our healthy organic garden!”

By Naoko Oehme

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland and Naoko’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Hello Everyone!

I just received wonderful news on Tuesday that Green America, the nation’s leading green business certification organization, has accepted our company, Green Harmony Living, into its Green Business Network membership! So, what does being a “green business” actually mean? Well, this is how Green America explains it in a nutshell. “Green businesses operate in ways that solve, rather than cause, both environmental and social problems. These businesses adopt principles, policies, and practices that improve the quality of life for their customers, their employees, communities, and the environment.” And furthermore, ”Green businesses listed in Green America’s National Green Pages™ have passed a screening process that qualifies them for membership in our Green Business Network™.”

As you can imagine, Naoko and I are thrilled to officially become a member in Green America’s Green Business Network. Being approved by Green America is a great validation that what we are doing is truly green and helping the environment and our community. So, this validation reassures us that our business, Green Harmony Living, is really having a positive impact and doing the right thing. We look forward to growing our green business in exciting ways in the future. Drop us a line if you have any suggestions!



We really love Green America since they are a great quality organization promoting green values for people and the environment. The best part is they provide a huge array of resources for everyone at their website: http://www.greenamericatoday.org/ We recommend that everyone visit their website and use it on a regular basis for all of your needs.
They produce an online and printed Green Pages (look for GHL’s listing !) that lists all of their approved green businesses. They also have resources on being a responsible shopper, green investing, sane financial strategies, they produce a green publication called Green American and have email newsletters, and produce the Green Festivals across the country each year (read below). As you can see, Green America provides a lot of information for a great quality of life.
And much of what Green America is suggesting is motivated by the idea of keeping capital in the hands of small businesses and communities instead of large corporations. This idea is very important for all of us, as every time you shop at a supermarket or mall or gas station or bank, or use a credit card, etc. you are very likely supporting big corporations who are reaping large profits and often don’t treat their workers fairly and don’t care about local communities in which they operate. This ‘power in the hands of a few” system has been operating like this for years and is one of the main reasons that America and many Americans are hurting financially today. If you are sick and tired of supporting the faceless, greedy, spineless mega corporations, then we encourage you to take positive action supporting change (and yes, if we all take action we can change everything!) by supporting Green America’s programs and by following their suggestions. Visit Green America’s website now: http://www.greenamericatoday.org/

We have exhibited at Green America’s Green Festival for the past two years in Washington, DC, and now that we are a certified green business means that we can continue to do so. In fact, we have signed up to exhibit at the 2010 Washington, DC Green Festival on October 23rd and 24th. Roland has attended every Green Festival in DC for the past six years! According to Green America, Green Festival is the world’s largest sustainable festival. They are currently held in four cities across the US every year, including Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, DC. This event attracts a lot of people, about 35,000 attended DC’s 2009 event. And all topics are covered so there is something for everyone to experience. Every year I am amazed at how much this event has grown and every year there are new companies and new speakers to see there. At the Green Festival, I really feel a green can do attitude in the air that keeps me motivated for a long time afterwards!

We invite you to visit our Green Festival booth on October 23rd & 24th in Washington, DC!
We will be located in the “Organic Food” section near the “Organic Foods Dining Area”. Our booth numbers are 851 and 852. To find out more, visit here: http://www.greenfestivals.org/washington-dc/news/ And, if you are interested in volunteering to help us at the booth, please let us know as we can always use a helping hand.

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living – Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store – Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design – Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours – Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Hello Everyone!


Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living ? Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store - Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design - Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours - Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Hello Everyone!

When I was a child I did not know what being green, environmentally friendly, or sustainable living meant. I was a kid who wanted to play with my friends, have fun, and seek adventure. I did have my sensitive side that I think has been my guiding force toward eventually caring for the planet.

What really got me started to care for nature: its plants, animals, and ecosystems, was my father and mother both whom shared their love for nature to me. I fondly remember my parents sharing the book Where the Wild Things Are with me. I still think of this book today everytime I see yet another natural place destroyed for the socalled sake of progress. Progress into oblivion I think since we fail to realize how precious nature is. Back then we as a society did not know as much as we know now about green living. I especially learned from my father to listen and observe nature, and that this was your guide to understanding nature. So, I learned to truly appreciate nature and all its living organisms with a sense of wonder. That sense of wonder and appreciation of nature is my primary focus in my life. Everything I do is based upon this belief system; some might even call this belief my religion. Seeing nature at its unbridled wildness gives me the greatest joy and feeling that all is well in our world. I am the most happiest when I live surrounded by nature’s bounty, away from the sterile and lifeless human made world of concrete, glass, and steel.

Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living - Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store - Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design - Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours - Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Hello Everyone!

Green Harmony Living was conceived by husband and wife, Roland and Naoko. Roland has been on a journey of truth and health for much of his life. He has lived on two continents, and traveled to many countries. Having recently lived in southern California, Roland experienced the epicenter of the rawfood lifestyle firsthand. He and Naoko currently follow a healthy, mostly rawfood, vegan diet and green lifestyle.

Roland and Naoko started GHL with one main goal in mind: to provide humanity with one source to find the very best green products that will allow everyone to live a fun, healthy, planet friendly, and vibrant green lifestyle. We know today’s shopper has many choices of online shopping sites to choose from, even of green websites with the growing awareness and concern for the health of our bodies and the planet. So, we decided to create a truly unique store that would set us far above the competition and keep our customers satisfied. We personally test many products and choose only the best ones that meet our stringent sustainable criteria to sell on GHL. Our criteria:

First, we offer the best products ever made, that are the best designed, the easiest to use, that really work, that are the most durable, and that are products you really need for everyday life.

Second, we offer the widest range of products for all aspects of a modern lifestyle, including home, office, travel, and so on.

Third, we carry the greenest, most sustainable products that are biodegradable, nontoxic, recyclable, recycled, and reusable.

Fourth, we bring you the healthiest, most nutritious foods and drinks that are fair trade, organic, vegan, chemical free, gluten free, nonirradiated, preservative free, rawfood, superfood, and wholefood.

Fifth, we offer you the lowest prices and great customer service to keep you, our customers, happy.

In summary, we strive to bring you the greenest superstore that offers the widest selection of the greatest, earth and human friendly products, at the best prices, in order to allow your life to be easy, enjoyable, and smart. We would love to hear from our customers if you have any suggestions or any other ideas to improve our site. To all of our loyal customers, thank you for trusting us and for your continued support.

Happy Green Living!

Roland and Naoko
Founders
Green Harmony Living


Thank You and Make Today a Wonderful Day!
Roland’s Websites:
Green Harmony Living ? Planet friendly website
Green Harmony Living Store ? Raw, Vegan, & Organic Foods & Products
Green Harmony Design ? Beautiful, Edible, & Sustainable Gardens
Green Harmony Tours ? Sustainable Ecotours to Germany

Roland's introduction is as follows. Please check!


Roland's Website
Green Harmony Living
Green Harmony Design
GreenHarmonyTours

Hello! My name is Naoko Oehme.
Please click to read Naoko's introduction!

Our Websites
Green Harmony Living
Green Harmony Design
GreenHarmonyTours

This blog is intended to share with people the latest ideas on how to live a greener, more sustainable lifestyle in harmony with nature. Our webstore offers you the best organic products for your green and healthy home. Please visit our website for more information: www.GreenHarmonyLiving.com.