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“The
More Beautiful World
Our Hearts Know is
Possible”
A talk by
Charles Eisenstein
Thursday,
March 19 — 7:00 pm
Armory Center for
the Arts
145 N. Raymond Ave.,
Pasadena
In a time of social and
ecological crisis, what
can we as individuals do
to make the world a
better place?
Renowned author and
visionary, Charles
Eisenstein will
give a talk on the
critical failings of the
mainstream economy and
opportunities for
change, the topic of his
widely acclaimed book, “ The
More Beautiful World
our Hearts Know is
Possible”.
“This inspirational and
thought-provoking book
serves as an empowering
antidote to the
cynicism, frustration,
paralysis, and overwhelm
so many of us are
feeling, replacing it
with a grounding
reminder of what’s true:
we are all connected,
and our small, personal
choices bear unsuspected
transformational power.
By fully embracing and
practicing this
principle of
interconnectedness—called
‘interbeing’—we become
more effective agents of
change and have a
stronger positive
influence on the world.”
- www.charleseisenstein.net
Learn how a shifting
paradigm is gaining
momentum in communities
throughout the world,
and how you can get
involved in local
efforts to promote more
sustainable, human-scale
economics. A community
discussion will be held
immediately following
the talk.
Tickets available
on-line, or at the door.
Variable ticket price,
no one will be turned
away for lack of funds.
The Local Economy
Incubator of the Arroyo
Sustainable Economies
Community Organization
is excited to host this
event with the support
of Transition
Pasadena and
Project
Butterfly.
“A
More Beautiful World”
Reading Circle
Friday,
March 13 — 6:45 pm
Arroyo Food Co-op
494 N. Wilson Ave.,
Pasadena
Transition Pasadena will
be hosting an informal
reading and community
discussion of the
Charles Eisenstein book
(Eisenstein will not be
at the reading circle,)
at the Arroyo Food
Co-op; all are welcome!
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30 Days
for the Earth
A series
of talks, workshops,
and encounters leading
up to EARTH DAY 2015
Throop Hall, Throop
Unitarian Universalist
Church
300 S. Los Robles
Ave., Pasadena
Donation of $5 for
talks, requested at
the door
Our relationship with
our earth home is one of
the most important and
primal relationships. It
informs how we conduct
ourselves in all other
relationships.
Transition Pasadena
partners with Throop
Unitarian Universalist
Church to present a
series of talks,
workshops, and
encounters that
highlight our
relationship to the
earth, our stewardship,
and possibilities for
healing.
"Carbon-free
Prosperity"
Sunday, March 22 —
2:00 pm
Rob Haw, JPL Systems
engineer and climate
activist will look at
the science and behind
human caused global
warming. He will
delineate a range of
possible solutions for
slowing climate change
put forth by various
groups, including
Citizens Climate Lobby.
Rob will also give
personal examples of how
to decarbonize your
impact on the planet.
"Joy of Low-energy
Living"
Sunday, March 29 —
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Climate scientist Peter
Kalmus will share his
experiences as he and
his family journey
toward a lower carbon
footprint, focusing on
how using less fossil
fuels turned out not to
be the burden one might
expect … in fact, he
says it’s made his life
happier!
The second part of
Peter’s presentation
will guide the audience
to calculate their
carbon footprints, then
present concrete ways to
decrease their impact on
the planet. Please bring
a pencil, calculator,
and information about
your driving, flying,
and consuming habits,
including a gas and
electric bill, to get
the maximum from the
workshop. If not
available, Peter will
show ways to
‘guess-timate’ your
usage.
"Rethinking
Water"
Sunday, April 12 —
2:00 pm
Meredith McKenzie, Cal
Poly Pomona lecturer and
water activist, will
present a talk on
California’s water
infrastructure, the
drought, and long term
strategies for
sustainability and
rehabilitation.
"We
Roll Up our Sleeves…"
Sunday, April 19 —
2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Free
Please join us as we
welcome many
environmental,
sustainability, and
social justice groups
for a meet and greet
mixer of casual
conversation and ways to
get active.
"Earth
Healing, Heart
Healing"
Four Thursdays on
March 26 and April 2,
9, 16
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
What is your intention
for earth care and
connection during
“30 Days for the Earth”?
” Join us on four
Thursday nights to
explore your heart
connection to nature
through meditation,
discussion, and
movement. To reserve
space, please email:
[email protected]
— January Nordman
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Mulch
for the People
The drought sounds
increasingly serious,
and yet most Pasadena
houses still have front
lawns!
Pasadena will pay us to
remove them; so what’s
stopping us? You say you
don’t fancy hours of
back-breaking work,
digging out your lawn?
We’re happy to tell you
that it’s much easier
than that: spread
cardboard over your
lawn, get free
chipped-tree mulch from
the City and spread it 6
inches deep over the
cardboard. No digging,
and your lawn is gone,
ready for replanting
with drought-tolerant
plants and trees for
summer shade.
So where can you get
this mulch? The City
provides some at Victory
Park once a month, but
it will need to provide
much
more, and
really get the word out
about using mulch for
lawn removal, in order
to change the amount of
pure drinking water
Pasadenans are using on
lawns.
Support the efforts of
Mulch for the People by
calling or emailing your
council person today!
And read more at:
https://www.facebook.com/MulchForThePeople.
— Sylvia Holmes &
Lin Griffith
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Solutions
can be Simple,
Pasadena!
Pasadena is one of only
three cities in this
state to have its own
Health Department rather
than being part of the
county system. Pasadena
Health Department is
currently trying to
address the issue of
poor nutrition and
obesity, specifically in
the Northwest part of
this city which has been
identified as a “food
desert” for lack of
sufficient fresh food
access.
Two of the solutions
they have identified
are: (1.) promoting and
supporting community
gardens, and (2.)
placing fresh fruit at
check stands in the many
mom-and-pop food
stores/liquor stores.
But small food markets
may be reluctant to move
the more profitable
bongs and condoms away
from the check stand to
make room for fresh
apples and oranges.
We see a simple
solution: Plant fruit
trees in public places!
But there’s a hitch: the
City of Pasadena has a
policy (‘unwritten’
according to city
arborist, Darya Barar)
of not allowing planting
of fruit trees (except
olive) on city
property. So here are
two city plans at odds
with each other: improve
fresh fruit access, but
don’t plant fruit trees.
We envision creating an
orchard in each city
park, where local
neighbors take
responsibility for fruit
tree maintenance and the
fruit is available to
everyone. Win: improves
our nutrition. Win:
strengthens our
community ties. Win:
improves our food
security for the long
term.
Help this solution come
to life by speaking out
your support at the
upcoming Urban Forestry
Advisory Commission,
Wednesday, March 11,
2015 – 6:00 PM City
Yards (2nd Floor), 233
West Mountain Street.
Contact Therese Brummel
[email protected]
to learn more about this
Transition action.
— Therese Brummel
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A
View from the Piano
Community, music,
and Repair Cafe
I've been observing
community formations
since we started this
Transition Initiative so
many years ago. Many of
us have noted that
community is quite
likely the most
important aspect of
Transition work. I've
had some observations
recently that happily, I
now have the time to
write about.
Many years ago, when the
former Arroyo Time Bank
co-hosted the Altadena
Urban Farmers Market,
several of us noticed
the large-scale
community that
developed, as people
came to shop. By the
time of the last market
day, we further realized
that a lot of people
were coming and hanging
out even after many of
the vendors had sold
out. We decided that
people were hungry for
"in the flesh" real
community and were
enjoying the community
vibe. It certainly was a
wonderful feeling that
got generated each
month. A feeling that
isn’t available in
online communities.
With each of our
projects since then, we
have been kind of
subconscious of this
aspect, then
peripherally conscious,
and now, in the last
year, I would say it's
become a primary goal to
create this community
feeling. Certainly the
Placemaking efforts
embody this
consciousness most
directly. I think our
community building
efforts are quite
noticeable at the Repair
Cafe.
I've had a variety of
roles during RC, but
over the last year I’ve
been playing the piano
and I've been able to
observe this “community
thing”. When a performer
concludes a piece, the
most obvious reaction of
the community (audience)
is the applause. There
are also interactions
during a performance and
it is this communication
that is the essence of
great art. This is true
in performances where
the audience is sitting
down and listening
intently and in other
performances where the
piano is a background
sound. The audience is
moving around and
talking, etc. I’ve
noticed that I can get
an audience to respond
to what I’m doing even
in the background kind
of performance. It’s
especially noticeable
with volume changes. I
can also hear, or feel
the reaction to a
particular note that I
make sing or a
particularly delicious
melody or a dramatic
change in volume. There
are other times as well.
One thing that has been
fun to play with is the
dramatic change in mood
in a multi-movement
piece of music. For
example a fast and happy
first movement that
contrasts with the
second, typically quiet
and sad, movement. A
particular Clementi
Sonatina in C has a
short second movement,
where I like to see how
quiet and softly I can
play it. It’s fun to see
how quiet I can get
talking people to be,
even while they're
talking during this
particular second
movement. The melody is
so lush and when I bring
it down in volume, it
seems that people want
to hear it so badly,
that the “room” will get
quieter. Even at RC, I
notice this effect. The
community breathes as
one.
Many of us have noticed
the community aspect of
RC and are consciously
working to build that
part of it. If you
haven’t come to
experience Repair Cafe
yet, you owe it to
yourself to come to one.
Even if you don't have
anything that’s broken,
come and participate in
the Really Really Free
Market, or listen to
some music. If you have
a thought that there’s
something you could
perform please contact
me. Even if it isn't a
musical performance,
let's figure out how to
do it. I can be reached
at [email protected]
— David Cutter
Repair
Cafe Pasadena —
Save the Date!
The
next Repair Cafe
will take place on
April 18,
10 am to 1 pm at
The Peace and
Justice Academy.
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Building
Community in the
Garden
All plants grow in
community. It is a
natural process that has
developed over millions
of years. We see this in
microcosm each time we
plant. Broccoli doesn’t
thrive in a tomato
patch, but excels when
planted with kale and
potatoes. Sometimes
buffer plants can be
used to create a
mycorrhizal divide that
will allow unlike plants
to thrive together. Then
the goal can be growth
and living to ones’
potential.
We see this same process
in our garden community.
We plant ourselves
firmly and grow in
community. Yet sometimes
there is disagreement or
conflict. Sometimes our
shared vision falters.
At these times our
buffer is heart-to-heart
communication.
We begin with a moment
of silent meditation to
ground ourselves. Then
we sit together silently
as one person speaks. We
listen from the heart,
without thinking ahead
to what we might say. We
speak from the heart,
honoring those we
address while addressing
the issue. We know our
voice is heard and
valued by the attention
and focus of our
listeners. Through this
process we come to
resolution. We create
peace so that all in the
garden thrive.
Throop
Learning Garden
300 S.
Los Robles Ave.,
Pasadena
Sundays, 8:30 am to
10:30 am
Notes
from the Garden
Rain initiated a riot of
wildflowers at Throop
Learning Garden. Swathes
of colorful poppies,
phaecelia, sages, and
ceonothus paint the
garden in oranges,
purples, and blues.
Winter crops of kale,
lettuce, and onions
co-mingle with spring
crops of peas, beans,
and chard. Blossoms
abound on the apple and
plum trees in clouds of
pink and white.
Bees and hummingbirds
hover enjoying the sweet
nectar of abundant
blossoms. The ravens
have returned to their
nest in the belfry.
The garden is never more
beautifully alive than
when all is abloom. Come
by and enjoy the color,
fragrance, and food.
— January Nordman
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Published on
March 10, 2015; CC
BY-SA
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