Roughly 8 million tons of plastic finds its way into our oceans every year. It effects our eco system in a massive way as fish and marine life often mistake debris for food. Plastic and other garbage has become so rampant that a study found 25% of fish in California and Indonesia contained some sort of particulate pollution in their guts.

Plastic pollution won’t disappear overnight, but it can be used as a symbol to inspire people to be conscious of what they use and throw away. WashedAshore.org is a non-profit based in Oregon.

Their website explains:

The Washed Ashore Project is a non-profit, community-based organization with a mission of educating and creating awareness about marine debris and plastic pollution through art.

Check out some of their inspirational work below and remember to do your part to reduce, reuse and recycle:

By Andrea Schulman | Raise Your Vibration Today

When I first learned about the Law of Attraction, it took me some time to lighten up. I had lived for almost 30 years believing that life was serious and that all of my decisions and actions were very, very important. However, when you’re taking life too seriously, life becomes hard and dreary. Spending every day of your life believing the stakes are high just makes it too hard to trust the journey and allow good things to come.

It might have taken me awhile to lighten up, but that’s ok. Though I’ve come a long way, I’ve come to learn that lightening up is a process that never really ends. While many days I consciously choose to take the path of least resistance, I still have others were I allow worry and control to seep back in.

The truth is, we always have room to grow.  Becoming more “enLIGHTENED” is an ongoing process that never ends. Each day we simply take steps that either bring us closer into alignment, or we take those that don’t, and we choose which direction we are stepping in every single second of every single day.

Living in a world filled with technology, it’s pretty common to find that most people nowadays have at least one or two electronic devices. It’s also pretty common to find that a lot of people are out and about, whether it be traveling or undertaking outdoor endeavors like hiking and camping. So, what is one to do when you find yourself on a backpacking expedition or camping trip and you don’t have the amenities of say, a generator?

Janulus, a company based out of Minnesota, has been developing portable wind turbines, and their Kickstarter campaign to raise money for four of their new models launched not long ago. They started out with a $50,000 goal, and within the morning of their launch had received $43,000. Apparently people think this is a great idea!

Have you ever met an empathic person? It can be quite the experience. Empaths are those who have the ability to read people’s energy levels. Some say that this ability is genetic, being passed from one generation to the next, so if you or a family member have experienced the ability to perceive and read the energies of others, there’s a good chance that you or a loved one are empaths.

Having the ability to analyze a person’s energy comes from being highly sensitive. You can scan their thoughts and feelings, and possibly even past, present, and future life occurrences. Having this ability doesn’t necessarily mean that you fully understand it, but you recognize that you are sensitive to other people’s energy. Correctly being able to perceive and mirror the energy of another person can be challenging, but it is a gift that allows us an added layer of perception.

These seven tips will help empaths and highly sensitive people navigate and cope with their ability, so as to not get overwhelmed.

1. Schedule alone-time for you: Being alone allows one the space needed to release emotion, energy and stress.

We’ve all suffered emotionally throughout our lives. Similarly, we’ve all experienced trauma, regardless to what degree it personally manifested. Yet once we become an adult, each and every one of us has the responsibility to alleviate our suffering and redesign our mind into a more functional and healthy state of existence.

When we’re born, we’re forced through environmental conditioning which will always have both its positives and negatives. Our greatest influences are generally our parents, followed by our peers. This ‘programming’ is also deeply embedded in the societal and cultural paradigms of our time.

When we enter into our early teens we begin to question who we are and the world around us with greater veracity. If our energy or inner fire strongly conflicts with how we’ve been ‘taught’ to live, then we’ll rebel heavily. In contrast, if we’ve been given respectful discipline and realistic information by our parents, as well as a really good opportunity to independently explore and create how we think and behave, then we’re less likely to engage the world in contempt. That’s because we’re much more free than others who have been forced into the box they’re in.