Walking into the Sun

A walk to the neighbor's to drop off an envelope that FedEx left here by mistake this morning. It's close to an hour round trip. Our neighbor is away. so we leave the envelope by his gate. Walking back through sage brush and old oaks across the now dry grassland that characterize the countryside here. A welcome relief after sitting at the computer for most of the day!

For most of June I was in Los Angeles, and now here, with the sun going down over Mount Palomar to the west.

Waves of gratitude and joy. On Sunday we begin our Sanctuary seminar program. A whole new curriculum, integrating Buddhist teaching, NLP, everything we know, vision quest.

Walking as the sun goes down, growing large and red, making way for the full moon rising in the east.

Video from Manzanita

The footage is from the two-week permaculture training we hosted last month. Thanks to Margo Adair, Bill Aal, Starhawk, Ken, Andi, and everyone who participated and helped. The footage was shot by Ken Yamaguchi-Clark and edited by Donna Golden (words and voice are by me). We have miles of footage - look out for more.



Permaculture video from Donna Golden on Vimeo.

more Video at Manzanita Videos

What We Do at Manzanita Village

Engaged Buddhism is an oxymoron. Buddhism is engaged by nature, and so is life. What, after all, is disengagement? It is machinery that no longer works, negotiations that have broken down, relationships that are over, mental illness . . . Disengagement, at it’s very best, can be no better than indifference or disassociation.

We use the term “Engaged’ to make a point. The point being, that we are made whole through the world rather than by imagining the world to be tainted or broken and withdrawing from it – whether through spiritual practice, hedonism, or even activism.

Understanding the interconnectedness of all things, and cultivating that understanding, inevitably leads to a particular world view. As we cultivate that view, it becomes stronger; not like a conviction we hold, rather as a predisposition to trace new connections, and to revise our old views and opinions. It expresses itself as a willingness to grow, and learn, and change.

Compassion is energized by the recognition that we are more effective when we neither to blame imagined oppressors, nor try to 'save' apparent victims, nor even to change the circumstances that we perceive to be causing suffering.

Something more. . .

That level of understanding is scary. We must let go of ‘them’ and ‘us’, and look for solutions rather than drama. We can no longer be nourished by unhealthy relationships. We stand on our own feet. We are no longer just looking for a way to get by.

In short, we are engaged. . .
like a warrior preparing for the unknown, or a poet alert for the next flickering turn of sensibility, meaning, and sound.

Watercolor by Michele Benzamin-Miki

Where do Social Activism, Entrepreneurship, and Buddhist Practice come together?

The answer is: at Manzanita Village.

If it seems strange to you that such things can coexist it may be because you hold certain limiting beliefs about what any of those three things really are.

After the retreat that finished today (we are calling it an 'Advance' rather than a Retreat) it seems clear that to effect change in the world we must collectively move beyond divisiveness, and learn all we can from each other.

What Doesn't Work
- activism that holds to a singular social analysis,
that fosters resentment,
or makes others ‘wrong’
- entrepreneurial values that are solely about gaining,
no matter the cost to others,
rather than building strategic alliances and helping others
- spiritual practice that sets up a dichotomy
by even calling itself ‘spiritual’

. . . all of these come from world-views and patterns of behavior we can no longer afford.

What Does Work

"Unless everyone wins, no one wins!"

The retreat at Manzanita Village that ended today has shown us that this unlikely combination of elements is not only possible, but that the various lessons these elements foster in each other are essential for us all to open to our full potential, individually and collectively.