Showing posts with label potluck. Show all posts
Showing posts with label potluck. Show all posts

Thursday, December 25, 2025

New Year Sacred Ceremonies (12/27)

  • Come to a conscious yoga party!
    10th Annual New Year Sacred Ceremony, Fundraiser, and Veggie Potluck with Stella Han
  • KINSHIP STUDIOS kinshipyoga.com
  • Highland Park, Northeast Los Angeles
  • Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025, 6:00-10:00 pm
  • Room: Studio B
  • Register here: Kinship Studios
Event: Tenth annual New Year Sacred Ceremony (yoga fundraiser for girls, veggie potluck, and gift-giving blanket Native American tradition). Social, potluck, gift-giving blanket price: $25 in advance, $33 day of event.

Beneficiary: Fundraising proceeds will be donated to Yoga Gives Back (YGB), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that empowers women and children in India through education and micro-loans.
ABOUT: Join us for Kinship Yoga’s beloved annual year-end gathering to honor what we are releasing and welcome what we are inviting in. We do this through community, intention setting, and celebration with live music and activities, plus a vegan/vegetarian potluck to share with all -- and lots of gifts.

All fundraising proceeds are donated to Yoga Gives Back (YGB)!

Event Schedule and Flow
  • 6:00 pm–7:45 pm: Sacred Ceremony - a contemplative space honoring the interconnectedness of all life, with culturally respectful observances and shared intentions for peace and renewal in the year ahead.
    • Smudging with Sage – cleanse and ground as we begin.
    • Guided Journaling – reflect on the past year and set clear, heart-aligned intentions.
    • Sacred Chanting – unite our voices and cultivate collective harmony for the New Year.
  • 7:45–10:00 pm: Gift-Giving Blanket, Fundraiser, and Veggie (vegan/vegetarian) Potluck Gift-Giving Blanket – inspired by Native American traditions. Bring one or more new or gently used (mindful) items to place on the blanket, then select a gift someone else has offered. (No purchase necessary—and re-gifting is highly encouraged!
ALL ARE WELCOME—whether or not you're bringing a gift, come to receive.

Fundraiser for Yoga Gives Back
– How? We’ll host a small silent auction and raffle gift certificates. Anyone can also donate monetarily by Venmo: @stella_han_yoga. (Please note “Yoga Gives Back” or “YGB” + your email and phone; this info is visible only to Stella Han). Cash/checks accepted on site. For checks, please write: “Yoga Gives Back.”

Veggie Potluck (optional)
I have to choose what I wear very carefully.
If you’d like to contribute a vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free dish, please email Stella (coordinator) at email stellaheartyoga@gmail.com or come with the dish's name and all ingredients on a small card. All dishes must be vegetarian or preferably vegan (purely plant based). Please include a small ingredient card for transparency (noting any potential allergens. It's appreciated by the health conscious). Potluck contributors will receive 2 raffle tickets—so please let the host know when arriving with one.

What to Wear?
Yoga pants and gear are fine. Or dress warmly and comfortably. Festive or spiritual white attire is welcome (optional) as we gather to set intentions for the New Year.

Questions? Please contact Stella Han by email (stellaheartyoga@gmail.com) or call the studio or send through the Wisdom Quarterly messaging system.

Second party option (FREE)

All are cordially invited to our festive holiday party to celebrate the winter solstice with good cheer and join a candlelight ritual to bring light to animals suffering in dark places around the globe. The ritual includes devotional chanting with Devi Daly as sacred witnessing and an expression of compassion. As the shortest day and longest night of the year, the solstice symbolizes rebirth, renewal, and the return of the light. May our lights usher in a new era of inner peace and peace for all beings! It's a vegan potluck, too. Calabasas, in the San Fernando Valley More
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, December 20, 2025

A Quaker-Buddhist Christmas, LA

Buddhists will perform the Om Mani Padme chant in the Talent Show unless the Dalai Lama does

WHAT HAPPENED?
More similarities than differences
People gathered in silence from all over Los Angeles, guitars in hand. At 10:00 there was group singing of traditional hymn from the hymnal book with old Quaker and Shaker songs, accompanied by piano and violin. Meanwhile, everyone was setting up the vegan potluck. "Service" convened, which means a silent meditation punctuated by anyone who wants to stand up and say something, moved by "spirit," as it occurs to them. An hour later, there are announcements, joys and sorrows, children coming in to talk about what they've been doing outside or in the schoolroom. Then the socializing started with a storm and a self-serve line of many delicious treats. An hour later, the Talent Show began at the mic: stand up comedy, singing, poetry, guitar, drums, Irish fiddlers, a ballet recital, kids doing the "peace train" accompanied by Cat Stevens' hit song, lots of laughs, fun, and creativity.

Silence, singing, eating, and being peace
The Orange Grove Friends Meeting (OGMM, ogmm.org, Orange Grove Monthly Meeting) is having a spectacular (and very liberal) Quaker Christmas Celebration for all its Atheist, Agnostic, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, (Anti-Zionist) Jewish, Muslim, Pantheist, Secular, and Sufi attendees. It's a vegan/vegetarian potluck with caroling (singing beautiful traditional seasonal songs from the hymn book), feasting, friendship, socializing, and a big TALENT SHOW. Sign up with Kindred. It's all FREE.
Why? It's The Zen of Quakerism as described by Peter Taylor in Friends Journal.

Quakers and Buddhists have [more than] a few things in common. Most importantly, they share a common humanity and a commitment to creating peace in the world.

Pasadena + Santa Monica are unprogrammed meetings in peaceful silence

They are both enlightenment religions. Both [Founder] George Fox and the Buddha experienced a transformative, liberating awareness through the dedicated practice of quiet contemplation.
The best tasting foods give peace to the world.
My life is an intersection of these religions. I was born a Quaker [referred to as a "Friend"], to Quaker parents with Quaker grandparents and great-grandparents. I attended Friends schools through college. I sat in many meetings for [silent] worship [waiting on the spirit to move me and fellow parishioners]. I have always been proud to be a Quaker.

I found Buddhism later in life, when I was 27 years old. I was looking for a tonic for depression. I found Buddhist philosophy and writing soothing to my condition. I liked that Buddhism talked about meditation as a remedy to suffering.


Friends: Buddhist-Quaker harmonic unity/nature
Even though I had been meditating [listening, sitting in receptive silence, being move by the presence of a Godly Great Spirit] all of my life in Quaker meetings, I had always struggled with how to do it.

As a child, meeting for worship [which for unprogrammed Quakers means no priest, preacher, pastor, or person in charge, just Friends sitting in silence punctuated by anyone who wants to stand up and speak as they are moved to do] was somewhere between difficult and excruciatingly painful.

Quakers get monkey mind?
[Monkey Mind:] To amuse myself, I would count things. I would count people with glasses. I would count ceiling tiles. I would count the seconds on my watch. I would welcome any spoken message that would break up the monotony of the silence. I would welcome the break of meeting so I could talk and run around again.

When I learned to meditate in the Buddhist style, I learned to keep my awareness focused by counting my breaths. I learned to hold my body still while I focused my mind [heart]. I found a specific place to put my hands.

In meditation, I was relieved of the burden of being moved by the Spirit to speak and say something spiritually profound.

Learning Buddhist meditation techniques taught me how to sit in Quaker meeting. Through all those years of Quaker upbringing and Quaker education, I had somehow missed that fundamental teaching.


The enso or Zen zero of stillness
In my Zen Buddhist practice, I sat many hours of meditation. I did sitting meditation, walking meditation, chanting meditation, bowing meditation, eating meditation [mindfulness], tea-drinking meditation, and listening meditation. I went on a retreat to the Detroit Zen Center and did cooking meditation, cleaning meditation, weeding meditation, and hours and hours of sitting meditation.
All that meditation was not necessarily peaceful or easy as I did it. What I found is that the rest of my days became more peaceful and easier to manage. The meditation worked. It created peace. More: The Zen of Quakerism

Peter Taylor explains his motivation for practicing Zen and Quakerism
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, May 30, 2025

Party: Oh Happy Days Reunion (6/1)




WHAT HAPPENED?
Building may be gone, spirit lives on
Potluckers gathered to cook on four separate stoves in a very green garden with wild birds singing that made the mindfulness instructions seem easier to incorporate. New stimuli in an unfamiliar garden allows all of the senses become alive to what the feet are feeling (sensing), what fragrances of vegan food cooking are wafting, what sights and sounds are being taken in with new faces and networking opportunities, old friends and new fellows in acts of collective compassion, and finally the many delicious flavors from the grill, gluten-free vegan protein doused with Korean BBQ sauces over brown rice angels hair noodles and fresh kale, strawberry cheese cake from Silverlake. The sixth sense (the mind) had many delights to watch dispassionately with great interest but not self-interest, not "How does it relate to me?" reckoning, measuring, surmising, simply taking in. The health community in Altadena-Pasadena has remained cohesive and strong with loving bonds for Oh Happy Days Vegan Cafe and grocery. Music, slam poetry, and heartfelt talks were featured as we ate more than we could comfortably hold -- Korean, Mediterranean, Indian, Mexican, all-American grilled veggies, baked potatoes, kombuchas, punches, teas, and all of the usual entrees. The guest of honor was overwhelmed with the show of affection and enthusiasm for bringing back the store.

Survivor John Hopkins
Once upon a time, there was a vegan restaurant, grocery store, and vitamin shop in Altadena (Los Angeles) called Oh Happy Days.
It was in a time warp and felt like a den of vegetarian hippies and an old-timey General Store after hiking down on Lake Avenue from the Cobb Estate (home of Groucho Marx) and White City, looking down on LA, Orange County, even Santa Monica Bay and Catalina Island.

We are all Friends in the new Los Angeles
The local Native Americans -- now called the Kizh (Tongva, Gabrielenos) -- must have loved the view of their land next to Hahamog'na (headwaters to the LA River starting Pasadena, near the Rose Bowl), east of the Tataviam Tribe in the Valley (Fernandeño), They would have loved it more if they could eat here with the hippies and health conscious.

Burned in Eaton Fire

The shop burned down in the Eaton Fire, along with the owner's Altadena home, vehicles, and those of his workers. Read all about his harrowing survival:
The comeback Reunion/Potluck
John Hopkins controls the music like The Fonz
Clearing the Eaton Fire debris has taken months, due to its size and also clearing Pacific Palisades. But things are developing apace.

In the meantime, before it formally reopens, Oh Happy Days is returning to its monthly Potluck Parties with a REUNION (with music and mindfulness meditation) at nearby home:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, December 28, 2024

Year End Yoga Party, Sacred Ritual


WHAT HAPPENED?
Sign up here: Kinship Yoga Studios
We convened, got raffle tickets, placed potluck items on a table, reviewed the silent auction objects on offer, and settled in for the hailing of the Four Directions by Araceli in Native American tradition, with a conch shell trumpet and palo santo incense. Then we journaled a letter to ourselves to be opened in six months, the summer to come, sharing a small part of it with the whole group as we got in touch with a vision of nature and a sacred animal. Very New Age. Then the Sanskrit chanting began, accompanied by bongos, a spaceship like percussive instrument, and harmonium, in call-and-response kirtan. This was followed by the raffle, with a free ticket going to anyone who brought a potluck item. The prizes were in the $50 to $180 range, donated by local merchants supporting Yoga Gives Back and Ambassador Stella. Everyone got two hugs and we met eyes with another person, all designed to get people out of their shells and into the social community. Many females pranced about in skimpy yoga gear, laughing, making new friends. Then we feasted and had mocktails, hot chocolate, fresh persimmon juice, exotic teas from the Tea Bar, as well as soft drinks. This was followed by effusive sharing by anyone who wanted to say something, as we moved to the gift exchange blanket. Participants were encouraged to donate a gift for it, which everyone could see. Then items were chosen, infused with good mojo as the items got handed to the left and arrived at the designated chooser.

Yoga New Year: 108 Sun Salutations (1/1)
(This means everyone ended up with a gift, and some with more than one. The owner, Ryan and his young daughter, Louisa (the youngest teacher the studio has ever produced), were on hand. It was all handshakes, hugs, and even some yoga jokes. (Yoga jokes? A hippie is standing in front of a yoga studio and the owner says, "Man, you gotta leave." The hippie replies, "Nah, Man, 'amastay," you know, which sounds like "Namaste." Dumb as it might sound, it got a great laugh because up until tonight, no one knew there were such things as "yoga jokes." Not to be outdone, Ryan the owner said the place wasn't always going to be called "Kinship." He toyed with the idea of naming "Om Depot." That also got a great laugh). Hugs, kisses, number exchanged, and some people lingered to chat after four straight hours of spiritual fun and frolicking. It was a great time. And we were all reminded that in three short days, it's the 108 Sun Salutations Yoga Challenge in the same room at noon.

9th annual New Year Sacred Ceremony, Yoga Gives Back fundraiser, Potluck w/ Stella, Araceli, Veronica
Date: Saturday, 12/28/24, 6:00 pm-10:00 pm. Welcome to the 9th annual New Year Sacred Ceremony (fundraiser and Veggie Potluck) the final Saturday of the year.
Join us for Kinship’s beloved annual gathering to honor the end of one year and welcome the New Year with community, intention, and celebration.

All proceeds from this fundraiser benefit Yoga Gives Back (YGB), a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women and children in India.

 
Event Schedule
  • 6:00 pm: Sacred Ceremony
We begin with a sacred ceremony to honor the interconnectedness of all life. This space will be infused with culturally-inspired observances, reverence for ancient wisdom teachings, and intentions for peace and healing in the coming year.

  • 7:45 pm: Fundraiser, Veggie Potluck, Gift-Giving Blanket
After the ceremony, we continue with a fundraiser, delicious veggie potluck, and the beloved Gift- Giving Blanket tradition. This portion of the evening includes opportunities for music, poetry (open mic), and community connection.

Event details

New students, Kingship, Highland Park
Sacred Ceremony creates a sacred space to honor life’s journey and our relationships with all beings. Through culturally respectful rituals and shared intentions, we cultivate a collective vision of peace for the New Year. Our gathering includes a series of meaningful activities to inspire growth, healing, and connection: 
  • Smudging with white sage
Purify and cleanse personal energy through the sacred practice of smudging. Using the smoke of white sage (Salvia apiana), we clear away negative energies and create an open space for healing, renewal, and positive transformation.
  • Journaling activity
We take a moment to reflect on our journey and set powerful intentions for the year ahead. Answer a few curated questions to guide reflection, focusing on what we wish to release and what we want to invite into our life.
  • Sacred chanting
Together, we chant sacred Sanskrit mantras, uniting our voices and hearts in harmony. This collective vibration invokes peace, healing, and strength, setting a powerful intention for the New Year ahead.
  • Gift-Giving Blanket

History (Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz)
Inspired by Native American traditions, the Gift-Giving Blanket invites us to bring a gift to share with the community. After laying a gift down on the blanket, everyone will have the opportunity to choose a gift brought by someone else. (No need to purchase any gifts; we encourage to recycle from our own possessions to lighten our load). Gifts can be new or gently used items. All are welcome — whether or not bringing a gift to share.
yoga-gives-back.networkforgood.com
Yoga Gives Back is a non-profit organization that supports women and children in India, providing educational opportunities and micro-loans to help them build sustainable lives. Stella Han is an ambassador for YGB and will lead this fundraiser. Contribute directly to the cause via Stella’s fundraising portal:
Alternatively, donations can be made via Venmo: @stella_han_yoga. Please include “YGB” in the comment section along with an email and phone number. (All personal contact information is only visible to Stella Han). Cash or checks are accepted as well.
  • Veggie potluck

What is there to eat? Compassionate veggie food
Bringing food is optional, but to contribute, please email Stella (the coordinator and organizer) at stellaheartyoga@gmail.com with details of the dish you plan to bring. All dishes must be vegan or vegetarian. Please also include an ingredient card next to the dish for transparency so diners can avoid allergens like gluten (wheat, barley, rye, oats, buckwheat, all of which contain their own form of this popular toxin that destroys the cilia of the gut lining and results in malabsorption and eventual malnutrition). All contributors to the potluck will receive 3 raffle tickets. Please mention to host about contribution to ensure receiving the raffle tickets.

  • Attire
What about New Year's Eve?
Dress warmly and comfortably. If feeling inspired, festive or spiritual white attire is optional as we gather to celebrate and set intentions for the New Year with a clean slate. We look forward to coming together in community, celebration, and giving.

For more information or questions, please contact Stella Han:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, December 21, 2024

Vegan Winter Solstice Party (12/21)

WHAT HAPPENED?
Annie, let's invite everyone to our NYE party
The party took place in a Jewish household, with many Jewish vegans and allies in attendance. After an opening circle of welcome and personal introductions, the 40 or so partygoers -- having laid out their exotic vegan dishes on a long table -- grabbed plates, dove into the vegan cocoa (chocolate drink of cacao nibs, coconut milk, rice syrup sweetener, and secret ingredients brought to a froth by a swirling device). There was lots to sample, savor, taste, and dig into, with good company on top of that.

Oh, that's a good idea, healing, massage, food
Eating and socializing, socializing and eating, we turned our attention to a sacred candlelight ceremony for animals led by Lisa Levinson. One by one those who wished came up and lit a candle at a central coffee table upon which had been placed pools of water. The small candles were lit, the dedication made, and the candles floated atop the watery surface, as if to combine the elements with spirit and the lovingly kind intentions of those doing the lighting. With everyone gathering energy and sending it out for the benefit of humans and animals and human-animals, there was some weeping, profound joy, and a net of compassion spread out in all directions. There was some Jewish singing of the Hebrew sort, a Muslim dedication in the name of Allah, Buddhist dedications of Metta and wisdom-wishes for enlightenment of the world, and the singing of sacred Hindu chants with a heavy German accent. This is Southern California, and we're nothing if not eclectic.

New Year's Eve Party | Ellora
There are other Vegan Spirituality events, including potlucks, throughout the country (when the website veganspirituality.com is not being hit by a denial-of-service attack and always at Vegan Spirituality on Meetup). Then we were all invited by Vanessa (ellorawellness.com) and Annie (Fruitluck Meetup) to the giant Vegan New Year's Eve party, a kind of formal catered event with massage on Dec. 31, 2024, in West Los Angeles. Then more socializing, hugs, networking, invitation and recipe exchanges, thanks to the hosts, until we were told that we didn't have to go home but we couldn't...at least not in the sacred shabbat space.

Vegan Winter Solstice Party and Candlelight Ritual for Animals
Lisa Levinson (Vegan Spirituality)
Host Lisa Levinson (Vegan Spirituality Meetup) cordially invites all to a festive holiday party to celebrate the winter solstice with good cheer.

Join a free candlelight ritual to bring light to animals currently suffering in dark places around the globe. It's the shortest day and the longest night of the year, so the solstice symbolizes rebirth, renewal, and the return of light. May our lights usher in a new era of inner peace and external peace for all beings! 
VENUE: We're gathering indoors in Chatsworth (deep in the Valley) at a private home with plenty of free street parking.

The home includes a toddler and indoor/outdoor cat. Sorry, no dogs out of respect for our hostess.


POTLUCK DETAILS

Vegan Christmas Dinner Recipes
For the potluck, bring a vegan (100% plant-based raw or cooked foods with no animal products of any kind) potluck dish to share, your own plate/cup/utensils, and an open heart.

We will have extra plates and utensils on hand. Be mindful to bring a dish rather than a snack or drink that way we have plenty of food for everyone.
  • IMPORTANT: Please bring a meal to feed 4-8 people versus just a snack or drink so there's plenty of food for everyone to enjoy.
Vegan (farahrecipes.com)
All are welcome, whether vegan or not. In the spirit of compassion ​and in honor of animals, we request that all food is vegan and all clothing ​is free of animal products. For food, that means no flesh, dairy, eggs, honey, or derivative byproducts in food. For clothes, that means no down​, fur​, wool​, or leather​. Please share your delicious vegan ​dishes and favorite vegan clothes with us!

RITUAL: For the ritual, tea lights will be provided. You're welcome to bring your own candle. Here's an option if you want to purchase vegan candles (Etsy).
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, August 2, 2024

Vegan Potluck and Movie Screening (8/3)


WHAT HAPPENED?
It was incredible. The food was delicious. The attendees were kind. And the documentary was mind blowing. Highly recommended. The movie reveals the massive hidden industry of killing cows for flesh in Hindu India -- through corruption, bribes, deception, the slaughter of water buffaloes and, worst of all, the consumption of dairy. It is raising cows for milk and cheese that ends up leading to their slaughter for various reasons: when they get older and dry, when they are sick, when they are male and useless to milk producers, when they get injured, when it costs too much to feed them, when they are kidnapped from shelters to be slaughtered on the illegal market. Milk and meat are unhealthy, but people believe them to be "pure" or religious, and so it is consumed on a massive scale. But people are kept in the dark about what is going on. They see no reason to change their diets because they have been sold a set of lies that holds the system together.

Come enjoy a pleasant summer's evening of vegan treats, good company, and a screening of the new award-winning vegan documentary:

Mother's Milk: Uncovering the Global Diary Disaster.

The Plant Based Treaty
Winner of Best Director, Best Documentary, Best Screenplay, and Best Social Message at the Jaipur International Film Festival. An Animal Alliance Network selection. Brought by The Plant Based Treaty | Eat Plants, Plant Trees.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)