Showing posts with label growth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label growth. Show all posts

Saturday, September 13, 2025

Regrow Altadena: Free Fest (9/13-14)


Regrow Altadena (BASEstud.io)
REGROW ALTADENA: Here's the overview: We are hosting a "FREE Regrow Altadena: Resilient, Sustainable Communities" beginning on Saturday, Sept. 13th.

This FREE two-day event brings together innovation and community, featuring resilient and affordable homebuilding and home hardening solutions, people-focused mobility, community emergency hub concepts, and shared neighborhood resources like solar, fire detectors, and gardens.

The program also features panel conversations (one with Dharma Buddhist Meditation's Seven)—hosted by and centered on Altadena voices—with active audience participation.
TOPICS INCLUDE:

RESILIENCE and COMMUNITY ASSETS Community + Climate + Culture
🌱 Regrow Altadena is where innovation meets community.

Join R.A. for two days of hands-on climate solutions, resilient home ideas, shared gardens, local food, and music that moves the soul. And all of it is 100% FREE.

Together, we’re building a future where neighborhoods are stronger, greener, and more connected. #RegrowAltadena #ClimateSolutions #CommunityStrong

Hands in the soil, feet on the dance floor
We're here to rock out and move our bums!
From solar powered neighborhoods to thriving community gardens, Regrow Altadena is about solutions all can see, taste, and feel. And yes—it’s free with live music.

Music by Soul Force Project (with Paul Livingstone, Alma Cielo, and band). 🎶 Bring family, ideas, and some dancing shoes! #ClimateAction #LocalLove

Where neighbors become a movement
This isn’t just an event—it’s a blueprint for a resilient Altadena. 🌞 Affordable, fire-hardened homes 🌿 Fresh, local food 🎵 Live music that keeps us inspired Come for the ideas. Stay for the connection. Leave with hope. #Vegan #ResilientCommunities #ClimateFuture

Power in what we share 🌞

The sun will rise again over this city.
From solar panels to shared gardens, Regrow Altadena is about building community assets that keep us strong. Add fire detectors, clean energy, and the wisdom of local voices—and together we’ve got a neighborhood that thrives, no matter what comes our way. FREE and for everyone. #SharedStrength #CommunityPower

Voices + Solar + Safety Altadena’s greatest resource? Its people. 💬 That’s why Regrow Altadena is weaving local voices together with practical tools—solar power, thriving gardens, and fire detection that saves lives. Because resilience isn’t built alone—it’s built together. #ResilientTogether #LocalVoices

BUILD BETTER & HOME HARDENING Safer Homes, Stronger Communities 🏡✨ Regrow Altadena is FREE and open to everyone! Learn how to fire-harden a home and keep our neighborhoods resilient. Add in local food, gardens, and live music—and we’ve got a weekend that’s both fun and future-proof. #FreeEvent #ResilientHomes

Protect what's loved

Wildfires are real—but so are solutions. 💪 At this FREE Regrow Altadena event, discover simple ways to make local homes more fire-resistant, explore resilient community ideas, and celebrate with food, neighbors, and live music. Let’s protect Altadena, together. #FireSafe #CommunityStrong

From Roofs to Roots FREE weekend event → real-world solutions. 🔥 Fire-hardened homes 🌱 Community gardens 🎶 Local music 🌞 Clean energy Regrow Altadena is where resilience meets joy. Bring family, connect with neighbors, and leave with tools to build a safer, greener future. #FreeEvent #ResilientAltadena #ClimateAction

Build homes that stand strong
Learning from Pacific Palisades Fire 2025
🏡 Fire seasons are changing—but our homes can adapt. At Regrow Altadena, explore fire-resilient building ideas: ember-resistant materials, smart design, and landscaping that protects. It’s FREE, it’s practical, and it’s about protecting what we love most—our families and our community. #FireResilientHomes #StrongerTogether

Safer by Design 🔥 The future of homebuilding is fire-resilient. From non-combustible, fast, and efficient new build solutions to defensible space, Regrow Altadena is bringing builders, designers, and neighbors together to share the tools and know-how. All free. All for a safer and more connected community. #ClimateReadyHomes #ResilientLiving

Tomorrow’s Homes, Today We don’t just rebuild—we rebuild smarter. 🌿 Join us at Regrow Altadena to learn how homes can be both beautiful and fire-resilient, Free resources, free inspiration, and live music to fuel the spirit. #FireSmart #CommunityStrong

PEOPLE FOCUSED MOBILITY Streets for People FREE event 🚲🚶‍♂️ Regrow Altadena is about people-first mobility: safer streets, green transit, and walkable neighborhoods. Come imagine a future where getting around is healthy, fun, and connected. #MobilityForAll #FreeEvent

Move together

What if streets were built for people, not just cars? 🚦 At FREE Regrow Altadena, explore people-focused mobility solutions, from walkable design to clean transport. Plus food, music, and neighbors. #CommunityStrong #MobilityMatters #FreeEvent

Step Into the Future Resilient streets, safe walking, clean rides. 🚴‍♀️ At Regrow Altadena, we’re reimagining mobility—together. It’s FREE, it’s fun, and it’s for everyone. #PeopleFirst #ClimateSolutions

CLEAN and HEALTHY LIVING Eat Green, Live Clean FREE event! 🥗🌱 Discover plant-powered meals, local gardens, and fresh ways to eat clean and live healthy. Add in music and community—this is food for body + soul. #PlantBasedLiving #EatGreen

Fresh from the garden, straight to the table
Can we grow groves of delicious fruit?
At Regrow Altadena, taste how clean eating and local growing can transform our health. Vegan flavors, fresh ideas, and music that moves us—all FREE. #HealthyEating #VeganVibes

Food That Loves You Back Plant-based. Fresh. Local. 🌿 Join us at FREE Regrow Altadena and explore how clean eating fuels healthy, resilient living. Bring an appetite for change (and good food). #CleanAndGreen #EatLocal #FreeEvent

Rebuilding with native plants panel
FIRE-ADAPTIVE VEGETATION and HEAT ISLANDS Cool the Block, Protect the Home FREE event 🌱☀️ Learn how fire-smart gardens and shade trees can keep our homes safe and our streets cooler. Solutions that grow with us. #FireSmart #BeatTheHeat
  • PANEL on Sunday at 7:00 pm focuses on fire risk. Rising temperatures are reshaping how communities manage landscapes. This panel explores how native vegetation, shaded corridors, and green infrastructure can reduce wildfire risk while lowering urban heat. Panelists discuss approaches to land stewardship that balance ecological health with public safety, how residents can turn yards, parks, and public spaces into buffer zones against wildfires and extreme seasonal temperatures.
Green Shields Against Fire + Heat Plant choices matter. The right trees and gardens can protect homes from fire and cut neighborhood heat. 🌿

🔥 Find out how at FREE Regrow Altadena—where solutions grow stronger together. #ClimateReady #ResilientAltadena #FreeEvent

Shade, Safety, and Shared Roots: From cooling tree canopies to fire-hardened yards, we’re building a safer, cooler future—together. 🌳 Join us for FREE workshops, food, and music at Regrow Altadena. #FireResilient #CoolCommunities

FUTURE ALTADENA Future Altadena: Strong roots, bright future

🌄 What does tomorrow look like for Altadena? A community that protects its people, preserves its history, and plans smart for the future. At Regrow Altadena, the Future Altadena panel will explore how neighborhoods can thrive through thoughtful design, resilient infrastructure, and equity-centered growth. FREE, community-driven, and full of inspiration. #FutureAltadena #ResilientCommunities

Imagine Altadena, Reimagined ✨ The future isn’t something that happens to us—it’s something we build together. From local identity and grassroots organizing to climate-ready development, the Future Altadena panel brings voices from across the community to shape a stronger, more sustainable tomorrow. And yes—there’s food, music, and connection. All FREE. #AltadenaStrong #CommunityFuture

From Past to Future, Together Altadena’s story is rooted in resilience. 🌳 Now it’s time to write the next chapter. At Regrow Altadena, the Future Altadena panel dives into how housing, small business, culture, and green innovation can create a future where everyone thrives. Join us—free, local, and full of ideas worth sharing. #FutureAltadena #CommunityStrong

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
The BASEstud.io Regrow Altadena Expo is looking for dedicated volunteers to help facilitate our two-day event focused on resilient, sustainable communities. This is a unique opportunity to gain experience in event management, network with innovators, and support community-responsive innovation.

Our exhibitors and speakers will focus on practical solutions for sustainable rebuilding. If you have a passion for climate solutions, green technology, or community impact, we'd love to have you on our team. Volunteer roles offer a behind-the-scenes look at the future of sustainable development. Learn more and apply to volunteer here.

Let's restore the foothills with native plants.
Want to build resilient communities? 💪 Volunteer for the BASEstud.io Regrow Altadena Expo! Help innovators and neighbors on Sept. 13-14th and make a tangible impact. ➡️ Learn more and APPLY TO VOLUNTEER HERE. #RegrowAltadena #Volunteer #CommunityBuilding #Altadena Join the BASEstud.io family!

🌱 Help us create a more sustainable Altadena at our two-day Expo, Sept. 13-14, 2025. Meet awesome people, learn about green innovation, and give back. Sign up. #Altadena #VolunteersNeeded #CommunityImpact #SustainableLiving

Gain behind-the-scenes experience at the BASEstud.io Regrow Altadena Expo, Sept. 13-14. Network with innovators from LACI and help build a greener future. Volunteer with us! #VolunteerOpportunity #CleanTech #EventManagement #LACI #ResilientCommunities

Thursday, August 7, 2025

We choose our suffering (Edgar Cayce)


The struggle to meditate sucks. Being there, ah!
Edgar Cayce (A.R.E. or Association for Research and Enlightenment) conducted trance-channel readings that revealed a great deal more than he the man could have known. The council or collective that came through brought forth much understanding.

Our suffering is not necessarily accidental. While bad, offensive, and sometimes insufferable, there is something that could be learned if we would view it that way.

The Aggregates that experience are dukkha.
What is "suffering"? The Buddha often spoke of it long before Cayce, so it might be good to ask him, as this is a very misunderstood term. The ancient term is dukkha, "disappointment," "unsatisfactoriness," the range of the unpleasant between annoyance and agony. The Buddha defined suffering this way:

An Exploration of Anicca, Anatta, and Dukkha in Buddhism – Indo-Buddhist Heritage Forum
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Suffering is much more than one thing.
"Rebirth is suffering, aging is suffering, death is suffering; sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair are suffering; contact with what is disliked is suffering; separation from what is liked is suffering; not getting what one wants is suffering. In short, the Five Aggregates clung to as self are suffering [unsatisfactory, disappointing, unable to fulfill, associated with pain]" (SN 56.11).
  • Hey, why talk about it? Why doesn't the B shut up already? Yeah, yeah, yeah, we suffer. Got it. That's clear enough. We're doing everything we can to AVOID it. So the less we talk about it, the better we'll feel. Duh! Become a hedonist. And shut yer yapper, O Great One.
Sadly, this view has been prevalent since before the time of the Buddha, so when the Buddha, the Awakened One, bothered to mention this ugly word, dukkha ("suffering"), were people or devas happy to hear it? No way. That's the last thing they wanted to hear about.

Pain is inevitable, but suffering's optional.
This is where the misunderstanding begins, and it could end here if hearers would just put away their aversion and LISTEN. A doctor comes in with the results of your scan and examination. Want to hear what's wrong? No way, just get right to the cure! Let's only talk about perfect health. What's it going to take? It's going to take all that? Forget it. I'll keep my illness. Why, I never... It's only when we see how bad and big the problem is that we adopt the right view about it and are open to the cure.

Hacking of the American Mind
The Buddha would have had a much nicer time to only speak positively and in an "airy fairy" sort of way, doling out magic, bliss, sprinkles, blessings, smiles, good cheer, good news, and the energy of a modern motivational speaker. He could have just told everyone who came to him in pain, confused, or ignorant, "That's right, you're doing great, attaboy, right on, keep it up!" They would have been so happy to hear it. But because he understood and was willing to show us the awful truth, he came to be called the Master Physician. He never met a kind of pain he couldn't cure. The first step? Recognition. Second step? Cause or diagnosis. Third step? Assessment or prognosis. Fourth step? (This is the best one!) The cure, solution, course of treatment, the way to fix what's broken as described in the first step.

"Suffering"?
I can take it because I'm a bodhisattva. Ouch!!!
No single English word captures the range, depth, and subtlety of the ancient Pali and Sanskrit term dukkha. Many translations try ("disappointment," "suffering," "unsatisfactoriness," "stress," etc.) Each captures part of the meaning in a given context. There is value in realizing more than one term is needed because the thrust of Buddhist practice is broadening and deepening the understanding of a term so important to the Buddha that he often claimed to only teach two things -- what is dukkha and what is the elimination of dukkha. Until its roots are finally exposed and eradicated, we will not understand why he focused almost as much on the problem as its solution. When landing on the single best English translation, think again. No matter how we translate dukkha, it's always subtler, deeper, and less satisfactory than that.
The Number 1 misconception tech founders have – that it has to hurt (Renita Kalhorn)

Monday, July 28, 2025

World Nature Conservation Day (7/28)

What's better the vertical or Horizontal Forest? Hmm, seems pretty clear (cut)
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Bhumi Devi: Nature Spirit
World Nature Conservation Day
is an annual event held on July 28th. This day stresses the need for preserving a healthy environment and natural resources to maintain a stable and healthy society. Saving plants and animals that face the threat of extinction is one of the primary goals of World Nature Conservation Day. Also, the celebrations emphasize keeping the various components of nature such as flora, fauna, energy resources, soil, water, and air intact. In addition, World Nature Conservation Day underlines the need for preserving the environment for future generations. We are therefore tasked with the need to leave a healthy planet for those coming after us to enjoy. More: nationaltoday.com/world-nature-conservation-day/

Friday, May 30, 2025

Punk Rock in SLC (film) and Kalama Sutta


Punk rock made sense to rebels
SLC Punk!
is an American comedy-drama film written and directed by James Merendino. The film centers around Steven "Stevo" Levy, a college graduate and punk living in Salt Lake City during the mid-1980s. SLC Punk!, which was released in 1998, was chosen as the opening-night feature at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival [2]. Merendino created the film based on his experience growing up in Mormon-heavy Salt Lake City. Although the film is not autobiographical, Merendino has said that many characters were based on people he knew [3]. More

What's so punk about Buddhism? Well, it is anti-authoritarian, into direct experience rather than intermediary priests. It is about questioning and going "against the stream." Just ask punk Buddhist Noah Levine, his Buddhist dad Stephen Levine, or his long-time teacher Jack Kornfield.

[Mormon] Jesus saves? Buddhism is all lies? - Are you envious of lay people, and do you regret?
Western monk explains his choice of Theravada. - How can we know and be sure? Bodhi

Not until I was sure did I claim to know and see.
It is so sad to hear this last man's words. The same accusations were hurled at the Buddha in his day by Brahmins and doubters. While it may sound reasonable to us as we assume, it is completely wrong. The Buddha DID NOT follow his own thinking or take a "best guess" and the meaning of life. It was about awakening to the Truth he could never have imagined. It has so little to do with "thinking" and so much to do with directly experiencing. But he did not stop there. He verified again and again and taught a path of verification and purification. Buddhism is not a belief system, as much as people try to treat it that way or make a "religion" out of it. It is a path-of-practice, a set of instructions. One must practice (walk) the path to verify it for oneself. There is nothing to believe or accept on blind faith. There is everything to investigate and see for oneself. What is the most "punk" sutra? That would have to be the Kalama Sutta, the Buddha's invitation to self-inquiry. "Don't believe anything I say just because I say it -- or even that of your teachers or books or traditions. But you yourselves must know and see" is the gist of what the Buddha is saying to the Kalamas, a group of people who rightly doubted him as "just another teacher about to exalt himself and condemn others." The Buddha shocked them when he didn't do that but still managed to teach them the Dharma.

How can anyone know anything?
The Buddha gives a standard: Start from what you
already know to be true from your own experience.
In the Kalama Sutta the Buddha lists the criteria by which any sensible person can decide what to accept as true or not: Do not blindly believe religious teachings, he tells the Kalamas, just because they are claimed to be true, or even through the application of various methods or techniques.

Direct knowledge grounded in one's own experience can be called upon [as the deciding factor]. The Buddha advises that the words of the wise should be heeded and taken into account, but he does not propose passive acceptance.

Rather, the Buddha promotes constant questioning and personal testing to identify truths that verifiably reduce one's own disappointment, suffering, and misery (dukkha) and that of others.

The Kalama Sutta (also called the Kesamutti Sutta) states [3]:
  • Do not go on what has been acquired by repeated hearing (anussava), nor upon tradition (paramparā), nor upon rumor (itikirā), nor upon what is written in scriptures (piṭaka-sampadāna), nor upon surmising (takka-hetu), nor upon axioms (naya-hetu)... More

Friday, April 25, 2025

Planting TREES for Arbor Day? (4/25)

Trees do not come alone but are interdependent with the beautified environment of elements.

They cut down the world’s tallest tree!
(MyLifeOutdoors) April 19, 2025: See mylifeoutdoors.com. Get a 14-day free trial of MyHeritage: bit.ly/MLO_MH Contact our representatives: geni.us/2AVADNorthwest Forest Plan Amendment: geni.us/MOrda. Executive order to log National Forests: geni.us/TxWFz.

I'm very green, so green that I used an electric chainsaw. Elon gets it!

He massacred trees: White man arrested in Downtown L.A. chainsaw tree mystery
(KTLA 5) April 23, 2025: A man has been arrested in connection with dozens of city-owned trees in Los Angeles that were cut down with [an electric] chainsaw over the Easter Holiday weekend.  The suspect, Samuel Groft, 45, was arrested [on eight counts of] felony vandalism. [His crimes may cost the city more than $300,000 dollars to repair, but will a spend a penny of that on buying seeds to plant many additional trees to install in our concrete jungle?] KTLA's Mary Beth McDade reports. Details: DTLA chainsaw tree massacre suspect in custody

Living in a police state: Arbor Day driver


National Arbor Day (April 25, 2025)
The future Buddha, Prince Siddhartha Gautama, was born with the help of a sal tree in a garden.
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Why the world needs millions more trees
Broadleaf. Evergreen. Conifer. How well do we really know our trees? Now we have a goal for National Arbor Day. Visit the arboretum.org in Los Angeles (by boat, not plane, like Greta Thunberg).

America’s first Arbor Day took place toward the start of the 1870s — right around the time the U.S. Congress established Yellowstone National Park with its Old Faithful Geyser.

Celebrate nothing less than humanity’s endearment toward nature on April 25th, just after Earth Day.
What to do? National Arbor Day Activities
What one madman did in LA, we can all undo by getting out and helping nature (arborday.org).
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Plant a tree, preferably one native and appropriate to the region.
  • May we suggest using an acorn to produce an oak? And avoid watering its stem, but rather water around it to encourage it to grow strong roots far and wide.
What better way to celebrate Arbor Day than to plant our very own tree? It's an incredible experience watching a tree grow over the years.
Why did the Buddha love trees so much?
  • One mark of goodness (Buddhist skillfulness, wholesomeness, unselfishness, selflessness, nongreed, letting go, generosity, loving-kindness, giving, dana, compassion, thoughtfulness) is "planting trees the shade of which we will never sit under" because they take so long to grow. Why should we be unselfish? One good reason might be to look around and realize that we have shade because of the kindness of others (Native Americans, land caretakers, and bhumma-devas or woodland fairies and angelic light beings) who came before us. That should be reason enough. But this reflection may also help: Just as we cannot harm others without simultaneously harming others, we cannot help others without simultaneously helping ourselves. It may not be obvious, but that's just the way it is by a natural regularity we can call karma, the law of receiving back in kind what we put out into the world, not only immediately but also after a long time.
It's an unbelievable feeling knowing that we made it happen. Don't print this article! Deforestation is a huge problem with many implications, and reducing our paper usage is the most immediate way to make a difference.

We can go a step further by seeking out brands with sustainable business practices (not just greenwashing by corporations and the PR firms they hire to sell sell sell), and by adopting strong composting and recycling habits.
  • Siddhartha awakened with the help of this Bo tree
    EDITOR'S NOTE: Let's not just recycle the way they do in Hollywood. Let's precycle the way they have been doing in Berkeley for decades. What's that? It's considering where something is coming from, what waste it is producing by reducing, reusing, and recycling. Pre-cycling is thinking ahead of time, maybe even thinking out for seven generations like the Indigenous peoples of America, the Native American tribes, and the Buddha spoke of doing. The Buddha said that? When asked about benefiting the deceased by the "transfer of merit," the Buddha explained that we have relatives. And if we do something for one who is not in a place able to receive it, it will still benefit our other relations out for seven generations. It's an odd coincidence to mention seven if the two are not related, so either they both knew something or the Buddha's teaching reached the Americas just like American historians like Edward P. Vining (An Inglorious Columbus) and Rick Fields (How the Swans Came to the Lake) have documented happened centuries ago. How can we "transfer" good karma because isn't "karma" one's own doing? Yes, it is, but it can be transferred in this way, according to the Buddha. There are worlds one may be reborn into that provide little to no opportunity for doing good. If one has a deed done on his or her behalf AND one appreciates, approves, applauds, and rejoices on account of that, then that one so doing is producing lots of skillful (good, meritorious) mental karma. And that will be of benefit there in that place. Only some places allow for this transfer to take place, but the Buddha said that our "relatives" extend out for seven generations, and with so many beings involved, it is impossible that we would be without being in just such a place to receive our transferred karma. So it will not go to waste, and who knows? It may be that we find ourselves reborn in such a destination needing help and overflowing with gratitude (like the "grateful dead") when a relative does something good on our behalf.
Take a hike -- the good kind! Hiking is a great escape from the doldrums of everyday life, and it's an activity that's great for people across a wide age range.
  • Where better to do it than out in nature? "Forest bathing" is a practice of doing it in the buff or at least scantily clad to absorb the dappled sunshine and negative ions as the trees and green environment exhales after breathing in what we exhale. It's an opportune time to be mindful rather than worried all full of discursive thoughts. 
Why We Love National Arbor Day
The Buddha, ready to pass away into final nirvana and make an end of all rebirth, walked faraway until he came to twin sal trees, reclined between them, and bid the simulation farewell.
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Natural beauty is one reason. With so much of our population living in big cities, it's easy to lose sight of nature's greatness and splendor. Sniff a frangipani. Inhale the sappy ooze of a pine. Behold a cherry blossom.

Our planet needs love. Despite some disagreement about whether or not global warming is real and the fault of irresponsible corporations and thoughtless consumerism, there's no debating that keeping our planet healthy helps to keep us healthy. We avoid polluting, so let's avoid over-consuming.

There's a lot to love about a holiday that helps make our planet a better place. There's a global movement with over 40 nations having their own version of Arbor Day. Therefore, it's safe to say that this holiday is worldwide.

We've got a lot to be thankful for when it comes to trees, so it's only natural that so many cultures have their own day to celebrate. Source: National Arbor Day

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