Pangea Organics

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  How Do We Measure the Significance of Each Experience in Our Lives?

  April 27, 2012 0 Comments

  (April 2012 CEO Newsletter) By Joshua Scott Onysko

  Recently I’ve noticed my mind creating a system to weigh each experience that I have. When I observe the process, I notice that it begins with taking the immediate outcome versus the long term advantage into account. I’ve noticed that the long term advantage tends to supersede any previously held thoughts or conceptions I might have had. In theory, our mind’s ability to sort through the millions of experiences we have every day is quite remarkable…or is it? I’ve been trying to break the patterns in my own mind since I was 15; they tend to hinder rather than contribute to my growth as a human being. As a culture, it seems that holding onto old paradigms tends to only hold us back.

  Let’s take a closer look at why we often cling to what we know (or what we think we know). When we are born, our truths are directly taken from our immediate surroundings. We have no choice but to trust in what is familiar to us. As we grow older we start to reach out, creating our own understanding of the world. At some point, most of us cultivate an understanding of concepts and ideals that make us feel “comfortable” and we stick to them.

  “Breaking open the head” has been an extremely important part of my life. It’s a concept that my friend Daniel Pinchbeck explains in his book of the same title. It boils down to this: allow yourself to truly experience everything and everyone else around you without judgment or preconceived notions. Freedom awaits those who free their minds.

  Enjoy the trip.

  Joshua Scott Onysko

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  True Happiness

  March 26, 2012 0 Comments

  (March 2012 CEO Newsletter) By Joshua Scott Onysko

  People often ask me how I found my path. I think it’s a common question because we’re all searching for our true passion in life. To me, the key to finding our purpose is to first find true happiness within ourselves. When I think of true happiness, I think of the kind of happiness that is not attached to another person or thing. True happiness cannot be found by obtaining something or having somebody; it exists in understanding, appreciation, and the ability to be present. Twelve years ago, when I was backpacking through India, I read a story. It went something like this…

  A middle-aged man approached the Buddha and said, “Buddha… I want happiness,” and the Buddha smiled brightly and said “That is easy, first remove the ‘I’, that is ego, then remove the ‘want’, that is desire, and then what are you left with…?”

  When we spend our lives just “wanting,” we tend to get lost. We forget about what we have and are unable to find appreciation in the present moment.

  Several months later, I was walking down a street in Cambodia. It was a beautiful, sunny day. Up ahead, I saw a young man sitting in the dirt on the side of the road. He was missing an arm and had propped himself up on some old burlap rice sacks. He was carving a 7-foot statue of Ganesha, the Hindu deity, and he had a huge smile on his face. I sat down next to him and asked him if he had lost his arm in a land mine, and he said yes. I asked him what made him happy and he said that he loved practicing devotion by carving, and that it was very nice outside. He explained how fortunate he felt that God had allowed him to keep his right arm so that he could continue to carve stone. Since that day, my perception of my own situation has never been the same. Two days later, I was in a temple in Angkor Wat and decided to start a company called Pangea.

  True happiness is not about finding our path – it’s about finding the fertile soil in which our lives can grow and change.

  Strength and Wisdom.

  Joshua Scott Onysko

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  Balance Your Dragon

  January 25, 2012 0 Comments

  (February 2012 CEO Newsletter) By Joshua Scott Onysko

  This is the year of the Dragon.

  The Dragon is the only mythical creature in the Chinese Zodiac and it is the mightiest. The Dragon is a visionary. The ambition and persistence of the Dragon is unparalleled; it is unmoved by the challenges it encounters. In fact, the Dragon thrives in adversity. People born in the year of the Dragon are primed for success, but they also tend to burn the candle at both ends, leaving them with a sense of emptiness.

  As we walk through this life, we often catch ourselves admiring the strengths and talents of others. As we learn and grow, we will begin to discover that life is never perfect. It will always be a practice, and this is a beautiful thing.

  There is no “one thing” that can fulfill our soul…no experience, skill, or relationship can do that for us. We can feel most fulfilled when we exist solely in the present. There is great wisdom in the moment - not needing to live in the past or the future. When we realize that we cannot affect anything other than right here, right now, we start to experience something greater than any adventure.

  So this year, don’t be afraid to spread your wings, breathe fire, reach for the stars, fulfill your dreams, and balance your inner Dragon. Be present. There is wisdom waiting for you in every moment.

  Strength and wisdom,

  Joshua Scott Onysko

• Learn how Chamomile is Harvested for Pangea Organics’ Egyptian Calendula & Blood Orange Facial Cleanser and French Chamomile with Sweet Orange & Lavender Body Lotion

  January 4, 2012 0 Comments

• Learn how Seaweed is Harvested for Pangea Organics’ Multi-Award-Winning Facial Mask

  January 4, 2012 0 Comments

• Learn how to Make Pangea Organics’ Multi-Award-Winning Facial Mask at Home

  January 4, 2012 0 Comments
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  What I've Learned This Year

  January 3, 2012 0 Comments

  (January 2012 CEO Letter) By Joshua Scott Onysko

  This year, I have learned a lot…

  I have found that our greatest gift is that we are human - that what we chose to do with our physical body often informs who we are inside. We all have the ability to make better choices in every minute of every day. We have a heart to love with and do not have to succumb to hate. We have the ability to see the good in all beings, often finding that the sinner is also the saint.

  I’ve learned that when we believe in each other, anything is possible. The inherent nature of human beings is to thrive in a world of chaos. The things we value most in life - truth, love, and freedom - cannot be won; they will be here for us when we choose to let our guard down.

  I’ve learned that life is bound to challenge us and that in every moment we will find both good and bad. We must accept what life presents, try and see the good, and give more than we take.

  I’ve learned that failure is only experienced in not trying. When you chose to follow your dreams, everything can be seen as an experience and one experience gives birth to the next.

  I’ve learned to create as many miracles as I ask for…and they have come from somewhere. Intention often predicts the outcome, so plan accordingly. Identify the things in life that do not serve you and let them go. Often, the thing that serves us is completely unexpected, like a sheep dressed in a wolf’s suit.

  I’ve learned that there is freedom in allowing things to happen. The more energy you use trying to control what is, the less energy you will have to create what isn’t.

  Most importantly, I’ve learned that the heart is unique in that you can follow, lead with, and speak from it, all at the same time. If we lead into 2012 with our hearts, together we will create the world in which we all wish to live.

  Much love, Joshua Scott Onysko

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  If You Live Your Truth, You Won't Waste Time Disproving Others

  December 20, 2011 0 Comments

  (December 2011 CEO letter) By Joshua Scott Onysko

  In traveling this life we learn many skills, some of which do not serve us. One of the skills we pick-up is “labeling." It is not always a negative practice, but more often than not it is.

  We identify ourselves and others with many things and drop each other into categories. For example, many of my friends would say I am a left wing democrat. This label effectively drives a wedge between me and anyone who does not fall into this category. We spend so much time declaring the differences between ourselves and others. Why? Every minute we spend thinking or talking about our differences, we are losing precious time to simply be who we are.

  It is so simple to be ourselves when we stop labeling each other; less stress, less anxiety, less conflict…have I sold you yet?

  Try it for a week, every time you find yourself labeling, try not to…sit back and allow life to be, if you truly believe in something, live it.

  Here’s to peeling back the labels in 2012!

  Yours, Joshua

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  Sacrifice and Devotion

  November 17, 2011 0 Comments

  (Pangea Organics November 2011 CEO Letter) By Joshua Scott Onysko

  In almost all philosophies and religious views, sacrifice is mentioned. It is usually tethered to giving up something of importance to achieve a greater view of life. It’s an interesting concept because so much of what we engage in is driven by wants or needs. If we take a deeper look, we may find that we have lost the difference between the two.

  I like to make a list once a month of my wants and needs, this helps me prioritize and also causes me to ask the question, “Where do these come from?” If there was a chain around your ankle, wouldn’t you want to know what the other end was attached to? I do not think that all desires are negative complexes, but I find more often than not, my wants delay the fulfillment of my needs. Ultimately, the road to achieving my purest intentions detours when I fulfill my desires more quickly than my needs.

  An unjustifiable sacrifice is living life and not pursuing your dreams. Failure does not lie in the process but rather in never trying.

  This day is your day…seize it.

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  What To Do About Nothing

  November 7, 2011 By Pangea Organics CEO Letter November 2011 0 Comments

  (Pangea Organics November 2011 CEO Letter) By Joshua Scott Onysko

  Hindus and Buddhists have a word to describe volitional formations, mental dispositions formed by an inner will that affects action patterns, that word is samskāra. As with most words of an ancient language or philosophy, the sentiment of samskāra has remained steady in contemporary times but the meaning often deviates.

  One of my yoga teachers says that samskāra is the perpetual habits that bind us to our past, present and future. Our life’s work (or many lives’ work) could be to free ourselves from this karma, eventually breaking away from the binds of our own samskāra.

  If we take a deep look at our life and the pathways we follow, we discover patterns; similarities in the people we spend time with, the choices we make, the food we eat, etc. These details, however small, are not trivial. When we make conscious decisions to tweak our habits and begin to etch new trails time organically deepens these grooves and takes us down freshly cut roads.

  Perhaps because I am convinced this is my last life, I like to take short cuts. Did you know that 87% of the population has three main interests and these are reflected by the magazines they buy? Here’s a short cut, the next time you go to a magazine rack, pick three magazines that you have no interest in, and read them cover to cover. You may find that you didn’t care for the content, but in this act you did something very important, you broke a pattern and exposed yourself to someone else’s trip.

  From here, the possibilities are endless; you may find yourself obsessed with breaking patterns.

  A few more pattern changers:

  1.Change your hair style (74% of men do not change their “do” after the age of 24, for the rest of their life!)

  2.Talk to a stranger.

  3.Take the long way home.

  4.Try new foods.

  5.Listen more than you usually do; we have two ears and one mouth, use them accordingly.

  6.Go roller-skating.

  7.Listen to new music, like really listen.

  8.Write a letter to someone you haven’t talked to in years.

  9.Do something that you thought you couldn’t.

  10.Now you tell me something…I am all ears.

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