What happened on the Mushroom Hunt? (2/4)

Dhr. Seven (Dharma Buddhist Meditation, Feb. 4, 2023), Jen Bradford (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

I see it now. I can meditate by calmly opening up my doors of perception, all six senses..

What if there were a way to commune with mushroom consciousness? (psychedelicsangha.org)

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What happened on the Feb. 4th mushroom hunt?

Native American Buddhism? See Vining.

We gathered in Hahamongna, the ancient meeting place of the local Native Americans, variously known as the Tongva, Kizh, or Gabrielinos.

Under a rising sun and streaming persistent chemical trails -- like cobwebs strewn across the sky -- we defined mushrooms as the "fruiting bodies" of mycelium, the magic underground filament structures that build forests, nourish trees, breakdown woodland debris, and make available the minerals and elements necessary for chlorophyll-based organisms, the flowers, baby greens, and grasses in bloom all around us.

Armed only with knowledge, the peaceful troupe proceeded into the woods. There we met the polypore on the side of logs, matted mycelium in the mulch, purple blewits, whitish russala, black inkcaps, a reishi-lookalike, and LBMs.

Inkcap mushroom sprouting among the verdant greens (Emmy)

Easter egg hunt find, a young, oval inkcap with veil (Emmy)

Inkcap beginning to droop and melt into black ink (Emmy)

Blewit with purple stem over a bed of chickweed and nettles (Emmy)

Above all the action are the fruiting bodies sending out spores to further the mycelium.

Below every mushroom (fruiting body) is the mycelium (root-like filament structures)

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The sacred "fruit" of Judeo-Christianity

The local acorns littered the path, and found European stinging nettle crowding out the chickweed at the base of the ancient oaks in the grove, where the mycelium was delivering nutrients. We meditated with blewits in hand, spotted turkey tail shelf mushrooms hiding behind a spreading vine, met the sacred datura (moonflower), California sagebrush, white sage, castor bean and other invasives, toyon berries, black sage, coyote bush, coast live oak, pine needles bursting with Vitamin C, saw bunnies, ducks, fish, quail, squirrels, as P-22 (Los Angeles' own mascot puma/mountain lion for the last ten years) was being eulogized at the Greek Theater in Griffith Park, simulcast live on Pasadena City College's local NPR affiliate (scpr.org).

It made me love Nature again.

We ended with hugs and handshakes, Native American and Buddhist wisdom delivered appropriate to opening up to our lives, to our senses, and mindful in our approach to issues arising in the gray asphalt world we came from and were returning to.

But for a time, we were green devis and devas, unseen woodland fairies frolicking as we learned that Scandinavian Santa Claus, Sami shamans, and Easter egg hunts are all based on mushroom lore. Special thanks to our guide, Seven, and Christopher Nyerges and other instructors at the School of Self-Reliance. See everyone tomorrow at the Wild Mushroom Fair 2023, South Coast Botanic Garden, Palos Verdes Peninsula, Los Angeles.

• An Inglorious Columbus: Evidence that Buddhists Discovered America (Edward P. Vining, forgottenbooks.com)
• Don't like toadstools? What about hot rods?

Mushroom hunt, wild plant foraging, nature walk in the local woods, Feb. 4, 2023

In nature, in the wild, all things have a purpose.

Mushroom hunt, wild edible plant foraging, nature walk, and mushroom meditation led by Native American student of author and expert Christopher Nyerges (schoolofself-reliance.com) in the Arroyo Seco area (near JPL) of the Hahamongna Watershed Park opposite La Canada High School: $30.

Visit us at Wild Mushroom Fair

We’ll venture into the arroyo through weeping willows and derelict waterways to see the greening flora of a sunny California winter. We'll explore the spiritual and medicinal dimension of mushrooms.

We're in search of specimens, wild foods of the Tongva, and the riparian plants of Tongavaar (as the Native Americans called Los Angeles).

During this mushroom hunt and nature walk, we’ll learn about the amazing things that grow and the many uses of what we find -- oaks (acorns), sages, blewits, tree oysters, nettles, mulefat, mugwort, horehound, willow, mallow, and so on.

Plant medicine is the best medicine (Psy Sangha)

There are many plants, which we may or may not see, depending on conditions. We are sure to see many wild edibles that sprout at this time of year when it’s wet alongside mushrooms sprouting chaotic from their beds.

Cooking/preparation tips of the edibles we find will be discussed. (Not all beautiful things are edible). There are always lots of surprises.

Dress comfortably. Those who enjoy this walk may be interested in the Ethnobotany Certificate program run by the School of Self-Reliance (schoolofself-reliance.com).

• Disclosure Project: Mushroom Hunt and Wild Food Walk, Hahamongna, Pasadena, Sat, Feb 4, 2023, 9:00 AM | Meetup
• Nature Center: Mushroom Hunt and Wild Food Walk, Hahamongna, Pasadena, Sat, Feb 4, 2023, 9:00 AM | Meetup
• PasaDharma: Mushroom Hunt and Wild Plant Walk, Hahamongna, Pasadena, Sat, Feb 4, 2023, 9:00 AM | Meetup
• Previous events: WALKABOUT FOR MUSHROOMS, WILD FOODS, AND RIPARIAN PLANTS (1/14)
• Mushroom Hunt and Wild Food Walk, Pasadena, Sat, Jan 28, 2023, 9:00 AM | Meetup
• Suggested reading: Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants (byChristopher Nyerges)
• Mushrooms Demystified (by David Arora)
• Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West: Cultural and Scientific Basis for Their Use (by Native American Medicine Woman Cecilia Garcia and USC Professor Dr. James D. Adams)