Happehatchee Center

Kids Give Back to Nature

2011-06-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

July 9th, Saturday, 2-5pm, Kids Nature Play Date

Kids Nature Play Date is where each child can build with eco-carpenter Kevin a bird house, or bat house, or bird feeder that will be signed by them and given to Happehatchee Center for the birds, And Or paint a pot for plants.

All proceeds go to Happehatchee Center, the eco-spirituality place for people of all ages; www.happehatcheecenter.org

Cost per family is $25.00

Nature gives us everything we need to live and to be happy. This is something kids can do to give back to nature and have fun while learning carpentry and artistic skills.

Please RSVP and place your request for building a bird house, bat house or bird feeder. 239-992-5455

Heart to Lead Film

2011-05-22T11:03:00.000-07:00

The Heart to Lead film shown, Friday, June 3rd, 8 PM, Happehatchee Center.

The Heart To Lead, Women as Allies for the Greater Good is a documentary film that explores the significant role women are meant to play in the evolution of Western culture.

Through intimate narratives by women on the journey to self-discovery, The Heart to Lead explores the emerging paradigm of feminine leadership. Women have a built-in homing device to return to who they deeply are and to where they belong. The film shows women attuning to their strengths and connecting with one another, as catalysts for developing personal and social action. Therefore, a tapestry of women are featured, and taken as a collective they express a colorful profile of those in unison, guiding and serving.

Join us at Happehatchee Center for the premier showing in Southwest Florida. Namaste!!! Ann

International Women's Day Circle Gathering

2011-03-01T14:18:00.000-08:00

Gather The Women is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day, March 8th, Tuesday, from 7-9 PM, at Happehatchee Center.

Join us for a circle gathering with Bonnie Michaels, Patricia Varley, Martha Paquin and Ann Smith who attended the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)last week. We will tell you all about one of the most exciting world gatherings on and for women in Herstory. Estrogen is flowing at the United Nations with the launch of UN Women, the new super agency at the UN and the mantra "we are all UN Women" being sung throughout the world. Hear about the exciting events we experienced as well as sharing your dreams for women and girl's empowerment.

Bring water from your favorite source for a Water Blessing, uniting us as One. The above photo was taken at the UN Women's Circle workshop at the UN CSW meeting where the Water Blessing ceremony is an integral part of the workshop. Donation of $5.00 or more goes to Happehatchee Center.

Body/Mind/Spirit Spa Day for Women

2011-01-09T10:56:00.000-08:00

Cross over the Happehatchee Center suspension bridge and join us for a Body/Mind/Spirit Spa Day for Women.

We invite you to this first time event, a Body/Mind/Spirit Women’s Spa Day, Friday, January 14th from 10 – 1 PM. This wonderful setting is perfect for having a true Time Out in Nature. We are in deep gratitude to Ellen for her gift to all of us in having this eco-spirituality center. Ellen was the guest on Circle Connections radio show. To listen to the archived show go to Circle Connections. http://www.circleconnections.com)

For the Spa Day:

We will come together in a sacred circle to celebrate the magnificence of Mother Earth and all women, to experience body/mind/spirit practices, to share what is going on in our lives, and hopes and dreams for 2011.

Salima Silverman will lead us in yoga.

Nuccia Morelli, M Ed., visiting us from Canada, will lead us in Osho Nadabrahma Meditation, an old Tibetan healing meditation. She is the author of The Circle Gathering Guide: for effective and collaborative meetings at work, at home and in our communities.

Ann Smith, co-founder and director of Circle Connections and a board member of Happehatchee Center, will help facilitate a sacred circle setting throughout our time together.

Bring water and a bag lunch. Donation of $10.00 suggested. Please RSVP Ann by email ann@circleconnections.com or by phone 239-248-2250. Namaste!!! Ann

Meet Jeanie DeRousseau This Friday

2010-07-06T12:23:00.000-07:00

Meet Jeanie DeRousseau, co-founder of LightPages, the online community network, and founder of the newly evolving Women's Learning Exchange, this Friday, July 9th, 11:00 AM - 1:00PM.

Body/Mind/Spirit class: guided and silent meditation; easy and joyful endorphin- producing movements; energy work/play with simple forms of Tai Chi. 11:00 - Noon. Noon Water Blessings for the Gulf, followed by a potluck lunch with Jeanie DeRousseau and a lively discussion about women making a difference locally and globally -- we are interconnected. Namaste!!! Ann

Joy-Filled 4th of July

2010-07-01T13:04:00.001-07:00

We are wishing all of us a prosperous July 4th and joy-filled celebration of our interdependence with all life. My our lives and the lives of our children, grandchildren and great grandchildren be free from the tyranny of poverty, pollution, unhealthy food, lack of health care, and other inadequate living conditions. May the Gulf disaster be stopped. May we all be prosperous, wise and filled with peace, love and joy.

We invite you to join us on Friday’s at 11:00 – Noon for Meditation and Movement; Noon Water Blessing for the Gulf, followed by a circle conversation about hosting a women’s festival in March, 10-10-10-350.0rg event, and other exciting joy-filled events.

When we gather together in a sacred circle expect miracles.
Namaste!!! Ann Smith

Hands Across the Sand

2010-06-15T11:58:00.001-07:00

Sunday Meditation for the Gulf

2010-05-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

I am calling for a group meditation on Sunday evening. (Of course...any time you love water...whether today or tomorrow or Sunday...it will make a difference...so join when you can.)

I am calling for a miracle. Let's join in a meditation to cap the oil leak Sunday night at 8:00 pm Eastern Time.

Let us truly believe this is possible.

Our hearts open to the families who have experienced loss, and trauma. Our hearts embrace all life in the area affected; people, wildlife, flora and water.

Watersongs
Enthusiastically Loving Water

Namaste!!! Ann

USHER OUT THE OLD WELCOME THE NEW YEAR

2009-12-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

Happehatchee Guided Meditation, Chants and Drumming
BLUE MOON Welcome for 2010

Midnight December 31

Meet at the Fire Circle 11:30 with your drum,rattle,flute

Call Ellen if you will help lead Chants or Drum

or help as a fire keeper

992 5455
Bring a snak for after the ceremony

Chief will be leading a SWEAT LODGE before the Circle
LODGE BEGINS AT 6 .. THERE'S ONLY ROOM FOR 10 OF US
SO BE SURE TO CALL TO RESERVE YOUR SPACE 985 9989

Winter Solstice

2009-12-18T10:34:00.001-08:00

Please join Ellen Peterson and me, Ann Smith, in celebrating Mother Earth on the Winter Solstice this coming Monday evening starting at 7PM. This is an invitation to you and your family and friends to come join us and share your dreams around a sacred fire circle at Happehatchee Center. We have missed being with one another and know that when we gather together wonderful connections happen.

My dear friend and Co-Convener of the Millionth Circle, Andrea Watcher, shared her dream on our December Millionth Circle conference call. I am sharing her dream to set the stage for our Winter Solstice Gathering here at Happehatchee Center, Monday, December 21 at 7 PM.

“Dream/Message: Within my dream I was awakened as I heard the BIGGEST sound, the BIGGEST noise that I have ever heard in my life. It was SO HUGE I wanted to know what was causing it. There was no place to look for it because it was SO HUGE and OVERPOWERING. I could also feel it--not just the vibrations of the sound, but a deliberate happening- a continuous churning-not just underfoot, but in my entire body. It sounded as though the gears of the Earth were turning, as if the Earth was changing direction, as if she was making the Great Turning. It awakened me from my dream and my heart was pounding. I knew I also had to make a great turn and change direction.”

Bring your dreams, drums and other musical instruments, and a flashlight. Directions to Happehatchee Center can be found on our website

Love Offering to Happehatchee Center $5.00. For more information or to RSVP call me 239-596-2881 or email ann@circleconnections.com. Namaste!!! Ann

Paneurhythmy at Happehatchee Center

2009-11-05T15:02:00.000-08:00

The Bulgarian sacred dance, Paneurhythmy, came to Happehatchee Center last Thursday. The photo is of the students from the environmental class at Florida Gulf Coast University taught by Donna Roberts.

Paneurhythmy is the sacred dance of life that unites heaven and earth through a series of 28 easily learned movements in a rhythmic circular walking dance. Beautiful classical music is played throughout inspiring every move that brings peace and balance. Valentin Trentchev, a Bulgarian who is living in Colorado came to Naples and Happehatchee so that we could experience this dance as well as learn about Bulgarian culture. He is on the planning council for the Ways Women Lead: Women and Girls in Leadership for the Common Good event, October 24-27, 2010, in Sofia, Bulgaria. www.wayswomenlead.net Thousands of people come from all over the world to dance near the sister lakes of Bulgaria. All who come to Ways Women Lead will be able to experience this as well as many other inspiring programs. To get involved please visit our website and join us for a remarkable journey. http://www.wayswomenlead.net

Kat Epple and DL Turner Concert

2009-08-25T12:24:00.000-07:00

Enchanted Nature Music: Kat Epple, flute, and DL Turner, harp, in concert under the stars at Happehatchee Center

Spellbinding music on flutes and harp will be played in our beautiful garden outdoor theater. Some of the music, inspired by the natural beauty of SW Florida, will be created especially for this pristine, natural setting.

September 19, 2009 at 7PM, $15 admission Please RSVP call 239 206 4393

Refreshments and seating available, or bring your own.

Emmy Award-winning, and Grammy-nominated composer and flutist, Kat Epple, has traveled throughout the world, collecting flutes from other cultures and will be performing on some of those unique instruments this evening. She has performed at the Guggenheim Museums and the National Gallery, has released 23 CDs of original music, and composes and produces music for television, including "National Geographic" and "PBS Nova".

Harpist and composer, DL "Harpo" Turner, sweeps across the strings of his Hand-Made instrument "The Rose Crystal Harp", to create a powerful and evocative musical poetry -- rich, profound and deeply emotional. He has released many CDs of his own original music, and produces albums for other musicians in many styles.

The Little Earth Charter

2009-08-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

Rosie Emery, friend of Happehatchee, has produced The Little Earth Charter. Pass on the good news to others.

The Earth Charter is a set of fundamental principles that seek to define a just, sustainable and peaceful society for the 21st century. Since its creation in 2000, it has been endorsed by governments, businesses, institutions, world organizations and individuals. The Earth Charter has been embraced by UNESCO as a means of educating the public of the importance of creating a sustainable world. It has as its mission “to establish a sound ethical foundation for the emerging global society…” Thus, the Little Earth Charter ’s focus is to bring that foundation to children aged 4-8.

The purpose of the Little Earth Charter is to help teachers convey its universal principles to children at an early age, with a view to becoming responsible earth stewards for a sustainable future. The mission of the LEC is to reach as many children as possible, in every region of the planet.

The Little Earth Charter has extended its roots and sprouted in the past year. The web-based program is now being integrated into classrooms in Canada, the US, Portugal, Russia, Belgium, Australia, Japan and beyond. Please spread the word. Educating the children is educating the parents. http://www.littleearthcharter.org

Click on this link and watch the YouTube video on Principle 8, The Future.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1DhJ-BfZRY

Namaste!!! Ann Smith

Magical Trip to Maine with Summer

2009-08-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Please pass along this request to those of your friends who are
spiritual seekers and have an open heart for adventure and the spiritual
journey:

Seeking 2-3 women or a married couple who would love to create a motorhome
journey to the Coast of Maine in Aug/Sept. We would plan our route,
lenght of trip, sights to see, share gas and campground fees, visit beaches,
mountains, rivers. I have an '06, 30' 2/slideouts, spacious motorhome with
pure Kangen water filter. I love the healing meditations with our Dreams,
Mother Earth and Mother Ocean, our power animal guides, angels and the
Medicine Woman's inner guide of the Medicine Wheel of Life and hope to make
our journey a retreat for restoring the balance within us and our world to bring
the feminine healing aspect into our experience.

I have practiced Dreamhealing for 25 years and believe that as above,
so below and that we do create our own reality. We are the dreamers,
peacemakers, healers and can communicate with all of Mother Earth's most
amazing creatures as we learn to walk in balance, beauty, harmony and love.
I am creating 'Life is a Beach Mystery Games' to encourage that interplay with
all our relations. May it be a Good Life always, Many Blessings

Summer 207-217-0559 living at the Happehatchee Center, Estero, Florida

Get Ready for October 24th

2009-07-31T07:24:00.000-07:00

Get ready for October 24th, International Day of Climate Action. Join us at Happehatchee Center for planning your community events. For information and resources go to http://www.350.org. To find out and join the planning committee for Naples Leading the Way for Sustainability email Ann Smith at ann@circleconnections.com We are planning a week of fun and inspiring activities. Our dream is for every town and city to host an event.

All are needed in helping to make International Day of Climate Action become a significant event so please spread the word and join us.

Namaste!!! Ann Landaas Smith

2009-07-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

Photo of Being Green Class

Happy Independence Day Weekend

Wishing you a great celebratory weekend and reflection time on what independence means today for us as global citizens. What would happen if we had independence from fossil fuels, toxic chemicals and plastic bags and containers? I believe that following this dream will lead to some of the most exciting and rewarding actions that we will accomplish in our lifetime.

Imagine if all the species of Earth could vote to keep or not to keep us humans in charge of the planet. It seems to me the only ones who would vote yes would be the well-treated dogs and house cats. The good news is that we are awakening to the eco-crisis and changing our life-styles. Members of Circle Connections in partnership with Happehatchee Center are growing into eco-fabulousness, leading the way in preserving and protecting the natural world. We are seeking funding to provide free Being Green classes as a community service. We want to make this so appealing that everyone especially those who have not been awakened will attend. Circle Connections membership is free so please join us and help bring this important program to Happehatchee Center and other communities.

Clam Pass Action Needed
Please take time to help us keep a true jewel known as the Clam Pass Natural Resource Protections Area. It is 570 acres of a coastal mangrove forested tidal wetlands preserve.

Call Collier County Commissioners (239) 252-8097 and tell the call taker that you want the Commissioners to stop all projects targeting Clam Bay. Please also send them an email: fredcoyle@gov.net, jimcoletta@colliergov.net, DonnaFiala@colliergov.net. This is for all who live and visit Southwest Florida.

Please sign the online petition and share it with others the "SAVE CLAM BAY WETLANDS-KEEP IT NATURAL" , go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-clam-bay-wetlands-keep-it-natural

For more information regarding this important action contact Marcia Cravens, Mangrove Action Group by email: sleeplezz@mac.com

We are so blessed to live in paradise. Happy 4th of July.

Namaste!!! Ann Smith

Summer Solstice Celebration June 21, Sunday

2009-06-11T15:12:00.000-07:00

Come Celebrate The Summer Solstice Sunday, June 21st 7-9PM

Bring your family, a flashlight, candle to light and take home, and musical instruments for making a joyful sound. Join Carlene Thissen who will lead us in song, Lulu Carter who will lead us in Outside The Box fun, Ann Smith who will facilitate the Fire Circle, and Ellen Peterson and Bella who will greet us.

Suggested Donation of 15.00

$25.00 for a family

Please RSVP to Ellen by calling 239-992-5455

Winter Solstice

2008-12-21T07:48:00.001-08:00

Winter Solstice this evening starting at 7 PM. Join the Happehatchee bobcat, flying squirrels, Bella our dog, and many other four-legged, winged and leafed creatures along with us two-leggeds in celebrating the Winter Solstice.

Namaste!!! Ann Smith

2008-12-02T12:02:00.001-08:00

Great News!

Today, on the first day of the Northeast Tour, the CIW and Subway reached an agreement to improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers at Subway's Independent Purchasing Cooperative, headquartered in Miami.

Subway, the biggest fast-food buyer of Florida tomatoes, now joins Yum Brands, McDonald's, Burger King and Whole Foods in working for fair wages and human rights for farmworkers in their tomato supply chains. With clear leadership from the fast-food industry, it's time for large tomato purchasers in the supermarket and food service industries to also step up.

Visit www.interfaithact.org for a picture from the Miami-based delegation turned celebration as the CIW and Subway reached an agreement and stay tuned for more details.
Brigitte and Jordan
Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida
Immokalee, FL ~ 239-986-0688
www.interfaithact.org

Repower America

2008-11-08T08:44:00.001-08:00

Please join me in sending a message to President-elect Obama telling him you will support him in bold action to Repower America.

Be sure to ask your friends to join you by sending their own messages to President-elect Obama:
http://www.wecansolveit.org/page/invite/obamapetitiontaf
Then, check out the new Repower America website at www.repoweramerica.org. It is full of actionable information on how we can solve the climate crisis while bringing jobs and prosperity to our country.

Matt and the rest of the online team
The We Campaign

Living in the Sunshine state, we need to be bold in becoming the solar power state. Namaste!!! Ann

November 3rd in Fort Myers, 41 Million Strong Campaign

2008-10-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

When I told someone on a phone call that I was excited about the Women of Color tour coming to our area November 3rd in Fort Myers, Florida, he asked me if I was a woman of color. I am not by skin color but I am a mother, grandmother, sister who cares deeply that all women count especially those whose voices are not always heard or whose issues are not on the mainstream agenda. So I am asking you all to help spread the news that there is a non-partisan campaign to get out the vote and hold elected officials accountable for issues that mater to all of us especially women of color. Stopping violence against women and HIV & AIDS, access to good health care, education, housing, safe and healthy communities, peace and pay equity are key issues that we all want for the people of the United States.

My friend and young colleague, Jacqueline Patterson is the Women of Color United Coordinator. This 41 Million Strong Campaign is a unique movement in the form of a month long road tour with the goal of rallying women of color (Native American/American Indian, African-American, Latin American, Asian and Pacific Islander American and Middle Eastern American) to have their voices heard in the upcoming elections.

Jacqueline Patterson has a website and blog that will keep us updated on this tour so that we can gather support through our friends, organizations and the media.
“We are passionate about ensuring that women of color are represented by the
electorate, and therefore we have dropped everything to hit the road in 20
states throughout the nation and mobilize the vote of women of color," says
Jacqui. This initiative will extend beyond the tour route through radio and print media, as well as web-based content, which will be uploaded on a daily basis via
http://www.womenofcolorunited.org

the tour will visit states that have tight Presidential/ Congressional races
and/or have a significant representation of the WOCU constituents. The tour
will visit Tennessee, Louisiana, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina,
District of Columbia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois,
Wisconsin, Indiana, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, and
Maryland and will conclude in Florida on November 4th.

This is “Women Leading the Way” to unite through sisterhood on behalf of the people of the United States. Namaste!!! Ann Smith

October 18th Organic Gardening Workshop

2008-10-07T15:30:00.001-07:00

Saturday, October 18th Frank Oaks will present his Organic Gardening Workshop.

Join us in learning how to start your own organic garden in your community, backyard or terrace. The Happehatchee Center Community Organic Garden is ready for planting. You can buy a forty-foot row to grow your own delicious and nutritious vegetables. Reservations made by calling Ellen Peterson at Happehatchee Center. The Happehatchee Community Garden is designed by the foremost expert Frank Oaks, owner of Food & Thought http://www.foodandthought.com.

Saturday, October 18th Workshop

Time is 10.00 am. Bring your gardening gloves, water and trowel

Cost is Love Offering: recommended $10.00

Please RSVP for the workshop by calling Happehatchee Center 239-206-4393

BEING GREEN COURSE

2008-09-30T09:01:00.001-07:00

Donna Roberts and I, Ann Smith, will host our first Being Green class starting Friday, October 17th at Happehatchee Center in Estero, Florida. www.happehatcheecenter.org

This exciting interactive 8-week course will change your life in ways that we will image and co-create together. It will bring positive change to our families, our communities, regionally and globally. How? We will find out together. To reserve your place, call or email us soon.

Ann Smith 239-596-2881 ann@circleconnections.com

Donna Roberts 239-810-0241 donnaroberts@zebis.com

Time 10.00 am - Noon

Cost $200.00 includes Circle Connections pin and access to Happehatchee Center’s beautiful setting, walking the laybringth and kayaking and canoeing on Estero River.

BEING GREEN is a worldwide trend encouraging us to recycle, reuse, reduce, buy green, and live more simply. To help heal the Earth and preserve the planet for future generations, we must re-think and reinvent our lifestyles.

BEING GREEN Classes transform our thinking and actions, making what seemed overwhelming or impossible, easy and successful. BEING GREEN empowers each one of us to acquire healthy life styles for ourselves, family, community, and Mother Earth. Together we will make a difference and have fun in the making. In this class together, we will:

• Experience a sacred circle setting of equality, respect, collaboration, and support, in which change becomes easier and more fun!

• Have a safe and comfortable “no-guilt” place to explore and transform consumer-oriented ‘addictions’ and other harmful behaviors into a healthy lifestyle.

• Work and play together to make a difference, staying connected after the class for mutual support.

Join us for shared learning using a variety of practical and multi-media resources. Create your own measures of progress, including alternatives to the gross national product, such as the ‘gross happiness indicator’ and ecological footprint.

International Day of Peace

2008-09-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Happehatchee Center Members,

Sophia 2010 Women and Wisdom encourages you to support the United Nations International Day of Peace, Sunday, September 21st by sending a text message.

In the United States, cellphone users are urged to compose a 160-character message on peace beginning with the world “PEACE” and sending the message to the number 69866

Please join with us and invite others to send:

Peace flows to and from Sophia 2010, Sofia, Bulgaria

CAMPAIGN TO MAKE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE MORE VISIBLE

The United Nations General Assembly established the day in 1981 and set observance annually on 21 September of a “day of ceasefire and non-violence”. The United Nations Department of Public Information will gather the messages, publish them on the website www.peaceday2008.org and deliver them to world leaders gathered for the General Assembly on 23 September. United Nations offices and peacekeeping operations around the world and non-governmental organizations observe the Day of Peace each year. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will ring the Japanese Peace Bell at United Nations Headquarters on Friday, 19 September, at 9:30 a.m. along with United Nations Messengers of Peace, HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, Michael Douglas, Jane Goodall and Midori Goto. He and the United Nations staff will observe a minute of silence at 12 noon.

“On 21 September, the International Day of Peace, I call on world leaders and peoples around the world to join forces against conflict, poverty and hunger, and for all human rights for all,” the Secretary- General said in a message issued on 29 August. “Together, let us send a powerful signal for peace that will be read, heard and felt around the world.” For more information, contact Melanie Nolte, United Nations Department of Public Information, e-mail: nolte@un.org. For background on the International Day of Peace, go to www.un.org/events/peaceday/2008.

Happehatchee Community Organic Garden

2008-09-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hurry while there are still rows available in the Happehatchee Center Community Garden.

You can have your own forty-foot row to plant or share this with a friend, maintain, harvest and eat the most succulent, and healthy Southwest produce. The Happehatchee Community Garden is designed by the foremost expert Frank Oaks, owner of Food & Though, http://www.foodandthought.com. He will also teach you the principles of organic gardening through Happehatchee workshops. You will also be able to swap information with your row mates.

This great opportunity is going quickly so to secure your own row in the garden nestled in beautiful and serene Happehatchee Center, go quickly to the phone and tell Ellen Peterson, 239-206-4393. We are asking a $100.00 donation for your row payable to Happehatchee Center, tax-deductible, for ensuring economic sustainability of the garden.

Just imagine the joy of gardening and feeding your family and friends your own grown food. Imagine the incredible like-minded friends you will make as well as having time for self in nature.

Please take a stroll through our website www.happehatcheecenter.org

Coalition of Immokalee Workers & Whole Foods Partnership

2008-09-11T10:14:00.000-07:00

Good News!!!! Whole Foods and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) have reached an agreement to "work in partnership to help improve wages and working conditions for Florida tomato pickers"!

As CIW member Gerardo Reyes says, “With this agreement, the Campaign for Fair Food has again broken new ground. This is not only our first agreement in the supermarket industry but, in working with Whole Foods Market, we have the opportunity to really raise the bar to establish and ensure modern day labor standards and conditions in Florida.”

Whole Foods Market will support the CIW’s “penny-per-pound” approach for tomatoes purchased from Florida, with the goal of passing these additional funds on to the harvesters. Additionally, Whole Foods Market is exploring the creation of a domestic purchasing program to help guarantee transparent, ethical and responsible sourcing and production, using the company’s existing Whole Trade Guarantee program as a model. Whole Trade Guarantee, a third-party verified program, ensures that producers and laborers in developing countries get an equitable price for their goods in a safe and healthy working environment. The goal is to purchase Florida tomatoes from growers that will implement a similar program.

To read the full press release visit http://www.interfaithact.org/wholefoodsciw and stay tuned for more news in the days to come!

Living Now Expo Saturday, August 2nd

2008-07-23T09:15:00.001-07:00

Join Happehatchee Center members Saturday, August 2nd at the Living Now Expo!

The Living Now Expo is a unique heath and wellness event for the Mind, Body, Soul and Spirit. We will be an exhibitor at the event and hope that you will join us for this exciting day! Come meet Ellen Peterson, Ann Smith and other Happehatchee Center members at our booth. We have exciting news about upcoming events to share with you as well as a good time to get to know you.

Living Now Expo will be held on Saturday, August 2nd, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, near Bell Tower Shops in Ft. Myers. Admission is only $20, and you may bring a friend for FREE. You'll get a chance to win prizes including annual gym memberships, books, CDs, FREE classes, coaching sessions, alternative healing sessions and more! Special pricing is available for speaker presentation sessions.

The following is a schedule of the day's events:
Registration opens 7:30 am
Exhibit hall opens 8:30 am
Speaker Presentations begin 9:30 am
VIP Speaker Panel Dinner 7:00 pm
Celebration Dance 9:00 pm

Be sure to purchase your tickets early to ensure you reserve your seat at the presentations of your choice and save money off day-of-event pricing. Also, there are a limited number of tickets available for the VIP Panel Dinner. You can take advantage of the on-line specials for greater savings. To purchase tickets and for more information, click www.LivingNowExpo.com

Namaste!!! Ann Smith

Stop Trashing the Climate

2008-07-09T17:28:00.000-07:00

"Stop Trashing the Climate"

On June 5, 2008, Floridians Against Incinerators in Disguise (FAID), and Florida League of Conservation Voters, released "Stop Trashing the Climate", in conjunction with the producers of the report, Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, Global Anti-Incinerator Alliance, (GAIA), Institute for Local Self-Reliance, (ILSR), and Eco-Cycle.

The Florida presenters included Ron Saff, MD, Allergy & Asthma Specialist; Joy Towles Ezell, President of FLCV, Susie Caplowe, FLCV Co-ordinator, high school students, League of Women Voters of Tallahassee and several local community activists. The bottom line is that trash is a major contributor to climate change; recycling and composting are an excellent solution. This report was released on United Nations World Environment Day and the findings of the report offer tangible solutions to climate challenge, documenting that minimizing waste and increasing recycling and composting have the same climate protection impact as closing one-fifth of the nation's 417 coal-burning power plants. Coal combustion is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

"Incinerators in disguise" are being promoted throughout the state as a positive solution, clouding the truth. Stop Trashing the Climate shows that all types of incinerators are a detriment to the climate and the wrong direction for Florida. The "incinerators in disguise" are unproven technology, competing for taxpayer subsidies, fly under the regulation radar, and could potentially pop up next to every landfill across this state.
To read the report: www.stoptrashingtheclimate.org
www.FloridaLCV.org; www.ilsr.org; www.no-burn.org; www.ecocycle.org

NYTimes Article about US Sugar sold to Mother Earth

2008-06-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

Good News for Mother Earth

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/25/us/24cnd-sugar.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1214340758-AQ0wOhHVDZhTdEAqtFAFWA

New York Times, June 24th

LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — In a deal that environmental groups said would be the largest ecological restoration in the country’s history, a plan for the state to buy the nation’s largest producer of cane sugar was announced Tuesday by the governor and officials of U.S. Sugar Corporation.

Governor Charlie Crist of Florida, with Robert H Buker Jr., the chief of U.S. Sugar, held up an agreement struck between the state and the sugar producer.
The intention is to restorGe the Everglades by restoring the water flow from Lake Okeechobee, in the heart of the state, south to Florida Bay. That flow had been interrupted by commercial farming and the Everglades have suffered as a result.
Under term of the tentative deal, U.S. Sugar would continue farming and processing for six more years before closing the business and allowing 187,000 acres of land to return to its natural state. For its part the state would pay U.S. Sugar $1.7 billion.

Governor Charlie Crist said the deal was “as monumental as the creation of the nation’s first national park, Yellowstone.”
Environmental groups hailed the undertaking. “This is putting it back the way it was in 1890,” said David Guest, a lawyer with Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund. “When you come back in 20 years, it will look indistinguishable from the way it looked before the white man.”
Margaret McPherson, a vice president of the Everglades Foundation, said: “I’m so proud of my governor and my state. We are doing something smart and thoughtful an d something for the future.”
Negotiations to complete the deal were not complete but state officials said they hoped to sign a contract in September.

Robert H Buker Jr., the chief executive of U.S. Sugar, said he was saddened at the prospective demise of the company, which employs 1,700 people. But he said “it’s the dollars and cents, and it the right thing to do.” Ardis Hammock, is an owner of Frierson Farm which has grown sugar cane for decades, selling to U.S. Sugar. “I’ve lived my life for sugar,” she said. “My husband has worked sugar for 35 years.”

The state will buy all the U.S. Sugar land and production facilities, including a new mill and a railroad operation and “a half-eaten pastrami sandwich in the refrigerator” Mr. Buker quipped.

Sumer Solstice Celebration Friday

2008-06-16T18:09:00.000-07:00

Sumer Solstice Celebration Friday

Solstice Celebration and ritual at Happehatchee Friday night commences at 7pm.

Come celebrate the changing of day and night. Honor the Solstice goddesss Hestia, Bigid, Pele, and Aphrodite...Drum, chant and raise the energy that fuels our changing of the sunlight hours as we turn slowly toward harvest and fruition of our dreams
Bring a bite to share.

RSVP Happehatchee Center 239-206-4393

Best times for watching this full moon, an incredibility huge moon for Solstice. To find out the story from NASA if you want to know why the moon is so large click on http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/16jun_moonillusion.htm?list203200
Check out our RSS feed at http://science.nasa.gov/rss.xml!

Best Times for Watching Full Moon are:
June 17th 7:43 p.m.
June l8th 8:35 p.m.
June l9th 9:22 p.m.

Shop Green July 19th Pot Luck Picnic

2008-06-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

Happehatchee is planning a fundraiser that will help you Shop Green for What Matters. Imagine a program that takes a portion of people’s everyday shopping dollars and translates them into a legacy fund for Happehatchee? Most of us buy our everyday household products without realizing the risk on our health and the environment. When you choose to”Shop Green for What Matters” you will be redirecting your monthly purchasing habits to support Happenhatchee in creating a legacy fund. Everyone who shops becomes a donor – yet you use no “new money”. Additionally, all the products you purchase are non-toxic, extremely cost competitive, environmentally safe, manufactured n the U.S., and full guaranteed.

Join us at Happehatchee on July 19th from 3p.m to 6p.m. for a pot luck picnic and a full explanation of how you can join in this “legacy” fundraiser to support the on-going efforts of Happehatchee Center.

Call Catherine Fazzina at 239-269-2854 to reserve your space and for more information

Interfaith Action for Immokalee Farm Workers

2008-06-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

This past week, CIW member Lucas Benitez was in Geneva, Switzerland to take part in the United Nations Human Rights Commission meetings, reporting on the reality of unjust conditions faced by farmworkers in Florida. Indeed, news of the Campaign for Fair Food -- its growing support and continued triumphs -- is spreading widely. Now with Burger King joining Yum Brands and McDonald´s in ensuring fairer pay and safer working conditions for those who harvest their tomatoes, a brighter future for our state´s farmworkers is underway.

If you would like to have a CIW farmworker leader speak to your congregation, Sunday School class, faith-based organization, or civic group, please contact us via email or the phone number below so that we can arrange a presentation to address the role of people of faith and others in the blossoming Campaign for Fair Food. Together, we are transforming the injustices in the fields by creating a more humane, more dignified food system!

Have a wonderful week,
Jordan, Brigitte & Melody
Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida
239 986 9101
www.ciw-online.org

Animating people of faith to unite with farmworkers to constructively resolve the injustices in the fields of Florida!

Organic Gardening Workshop, Saturday, May 31

2008-05-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

Organic Gardening Workshop to Celebrate Farm Workers’ Agreement with Burger King
Group to use workshop to push for protecting farm workers from toxic chemicals in the fields

A network of people of faith and religious institutions that advocates for the rights of tomato pickers in the fields of Immokalee will use a workshop on organic gardening to celebrate a recent victory by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). The advocacy group also plans to press for measures to be implemented to protect farm workers from toxic chemicals in the fields.

Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida will take the opportunity at the workshop to recognize the CIW’s hard-fought agreement with Burger King. Under the deal signed on May 23rd in the U.S. Capitol, the nation’s second largest fast-food chain will pay tomato pickers a penny more for every pound of tomatoes they pick and improve their working conditions.

The organic gardening workshop will take place on Saturday, May 31, at the Happehachee Garden, at 8791 Corkscrew Road in Estero. The workshop, which will be from 10 am to noon, will be facilitated by Frank Oakes, one of the first organic farmers in South Florida and owner of Food & Thought, a certified organic eatery in Collier County.

Oakes will show participants how to have both an indoors and outdoors organic garden even if space is small. The cost is $35 for the general public; and $20 for senior citizens and students. All proceeds go to Interfaith Action. Please bring a container for taking home your newly planted organic seeds.

Participants are also being asked to bring a lunch, and after the organic gardening workshop, to join a gathering of people who want to develop collaborative approaches in preserving southwest Florida for the generations to come.

This will be a time to get to know workers of the CIW, staff members from Interfaith Action, as well as peace and environmental groups.

Among topics to be discussed are ways in which farm workers can be protected from the toxic effects of pesticides and other chemicals. Presently, the workers are required to be in the fields sprayed with dangerous chemicals. There needs to be a provision in place to allow farm workers to enter the fields several days after they are sprayed.

ORGANIC GARDENING WORKSHOP
Happehachee Garden
8791 Corkscrew Road, Estero
Please RSVP Ph: (239) 206-4393

Burger King Signs Agreement with Immokalee Workers

2008-05-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

Burger King signs agreement with the farm workers of Immokalee, Florida.

With corporations ruling the world, it has been hard to imagine a small group of immigrant farm workers from an unknown town in the United States being granted justice from the fast-food giants, but they have. Today Burger King signed an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW). For the past year, Burger King resisted CIWS demands for a raise in pay and fair working conditions, the same agreements that McDonalds and Taco Bell had signed. Burger King used every mean-spirited tactic to discredit CIW including hiring an espionage group to spy on them. This led to Burger King's downfall when news of their dirty tricks made national news. There is a new spirit in our country and it is lead by small groups everywhere. I am privileged to work with CIW and Interfaith Action. They model Circle Principles in every action they take.

CIW started in 1993 when a worker in the fields of Immokalee, Florida was beaten because he asked for a drink of water. When the other workers saw his bloody shirt they all walked off the field and refused to go back to work. They began organizing meeting weekly in a room borrowed from a local church. Immokalee is a small town of great diversity with a population made of up about 50% Mexican, 30% Guatemalan, 10% Haitian and other nationalities (mostly African-American) 10%. When they received the Robert Kennedy Memorial Award that is given to an individual, CIW insisted on it being given to three of the workers saying we are a group made up of leaders. They live out shared leadership, “power-with”, respect for diversity and a circular model of organizing instead of a hierarchy. They reach out to all who join with them, bringing together all the religions, unions, student groups, women’s groups and more.

In the statement announcing the agreement, the Coalition's Lucas Benitez eloquently laid out what is at stake in the fight ahead: ”This is no time for complacency. Conditions in the field are still appalling. And now that the deal with Burger King has been signed, it's a moment to leverage that agreement to go after WalMart, Whole Foods and the other big supermarket chains. If McDonalds and Burger King can agree to take care of farm workers, there is no reason other companies shouldn't spend a few extra pennies for their tomatoes…Today we are one step closer to building a world where we, as farmworkers, can enjoy a fair wage and humane working conditions in exchange for the hard and essential work we do everyday. We are not there yet, but we are getting there, and this agreement should send a strong message to the rest of the restaurant and supermarket industry: Now is the time to join Yum! Brands, McDonalds and Burger King in righting the wrongs that have been allowed to linger in Florida's fields for far too long." For more information go to www.ciw-online.org

Next Saturday, May 31st, Happehatchee Center will host a victory celebration along with an organic gardening workshop and a networking lunch. Come celebrate with us and join in the thinking and planning for co-creating a new earth. Call 239-206-4393

FUN - D - Raiser for Good Cause

2008-05-22T12:48:00.000-07:00

Judi Woods, who is a dear friend of Happehatchee Center, is holding a funraiser for
Footsteps to the Future, the unique mentoring program for young women in foster care.

FUN-D-RAISER Friday June 13th from 4 to 7:30 at Noble Jewelers

It's a win win situation for all. Round up your old gold, any kind, come to the party, and sell it .

You make money $$$ ( and who can't use some more cash these days) and help our "Footsteps Girls" at the same time.
Noble will buy your gold.. you keep your money, and they will donate 20% of any purchases ( including the purchase of your gold) to Footsteps... This event is for the good of all ... how much more positive and fun can we get!!!

So, come drink some wine, join with your friends and do something awesome for yourself and others!!!

Noble Jewelers is at 11601 S Cleveland (41) between Colonial and College, east side of the street..easy to find and plenty of parking.

Please pass the word to all your friends. I hope to see you there! Namaste!!! Ann

Greenprint Thursday, FGCU

2008-05-20T05:30:00.000-07:00

Greenprint Thursday, May 22nd

Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) Continuing Education the Southwest Florida Chapter of the American Institute of Architects presents Greenprint.

Greenprint: A Vision for SWFLSpeakers: Senator Burt Saunders Dennis Gilkey Please join us for this timely update on the recent Florida legislative session, becoming informed and involved in planning a regional vision of sustainability in Southwest Florida! Participants will: Discuss changes and updates which occurred during the recent Legislative session relevant to environmental preservation and conservation; Discuss implications of requirements regarding improved energy efficiency in new buildings and increased use of ethanol in gasoline; Describe measures being taken to increase use of renewable energy and implications; Discuss Century Commission for a Sustainable Florida objectives and mission; Describe the recommendations of the Century Commission for 2008, with an emphasis on "design" objectives in the community; Share perspectives on: Trends in Population and growth in Florida Sustainability issues that affect the construction/development industry

DATE: May 22, 2008, Thursday

TIME: 8AM - 11:30AM

LOCATION: FGCU Main Campus 10501 FGCU Blvd South Student Union BallroomFt. Myers, FL 33965

Fee: $30

Pre-registration is suggested. Seating is limited. Call 239-590-1095 to register.

Crystal Bowls

2008-05-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

May 21, Wednesday 7.00pm

You don't want to miss one of the most enchanting evenings where all you have to do is show up, get in the most relaxed position and listen to the etherial sound of the crystal bowls singing to you.

PURE QUARTZ CRYSTALLINE SINGING BOWLS
The beauty of an evening hearing the crystal bowls is that for once your mind is quieted. Anyone who has had trouble with that in sitting meditation will surely appreciate how effortlessly the crystal bowls sweep you into another state. That challenging busy chattering mind of ours that is the 'keeper of the lists' is lulled to sleep. From this deep state of relaxation your physical body can heal itself. Your mental body can take a break from the stresses of the world, and you can nourish your spiritual self. I play the crystal bowls intuitively. It has been a growing 'knowing' over the past 2 years. 7 beautiful opaque pure crystal bowls are each tuned to a different note on the musical scale which resonates with a certain chakra (energy center) in the body. As an example, the root chakra at the base of the spine is the key of C and the color is red. I believe my Root Bowl connects with Mother Earth and helps us to work on issues that are involving the material world. All my efforts playing this music are to honor Mother Earth where the crystals came from.

I would like to give you a visual to hold if you have never heard the crystal bowls singing. This morning I was watching the concentric circles that appeared on the surface of my pool when the drops of water from a previous rain fell from the screens at the top of the lanai. One circle would radiate through the whole pool and sometimes ripple back upon itself. Then another would drop beside it with overlapping circles. This is a visual of how the crystal bowls sound when I play them. I am grateful to be able to share this wonderous experience with all of you.

Love & Light

Daryl Salerno

Chanting with Ellen Wachs

2008-05-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful night.

Experiencing the Soul Chants and tasting the elixir of flower essenses. Culminating with a walk through the labyrinth in the (near) full moon light. A night to remember and cherish in our dreams.
Join us for the next. Watch for the schedule.

Thank you Ellen for a truly fantastic experience.

eCrone Ellen

Organic Gardening Workshop, May 31

2008-05-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

ORGANIC GARDENING WORKSHOP

Saturday, May 31, 10am-Noon
Noon Networking Lunch

Frank Oakes, one of the first organic farmers in South Florida and
owner of Food & Thought, will teach us how to have an organic
garden even if space is small and indoors. We will also have farm
workers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and
Interfaith Action staff with us.

Bring your lunch and join us after
the organic gardening workshop for a gathering of people who
want to make a positive difference in South Florida! This will be a
time for getting to know CIW, Interfaith Action, peace and
environmental groups. Together we will develop collaborative
approaches in preserving our area for the generations to come.

Bring a container for taking home your newly planted organic
seeds.

Cost is $35.00, Senior Citizens and Students $20.00. All
profits will go to Interfaith Action.

To register for the workshop,
please call Happehachee at 239-206-4393
Happehachee Garden
10am-Noon, Noon Networking Meeting in main house
8791 Corkscrew rd., estero

2008-05-08T10:47:00.001-07:00

BEING GREEN

In the past it was unpopular to Being Green as Kermit the frog sings. Now we know that it is a worldwide trend to recycle, reuse, reduce, buy green, grow organic vegetables and herbs ( Peace Gardens), and live in simple elegance.

Circle Connections will soon start Being Green classes, a 12-step like program that makes Being Green fun, rewarding and easy. It will be taught in a sacred circle no-guilt setting where everyone is respected, listened to without judgment and best practices and information will be shared. We will encourage one another to take on green practices that work for us one day at a time. We will explore our addictions and other harmful behaviors. We will transform them into a healthy and sustainable life style.

I will offer Being Green classes at Happehatchee Center

Tuesday, 7 - 9.30pm and Friday, 10 - 11.30am

Dream with me and Kermit about bringing this program everywhere. Click on and listen to Kermit sing It Is Not Easy Being Green.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpiIWMWWVco

Namaste!!!

Ann

Organic Gardening

2008-05-08T05:14:00.000-07:00

In Today’s New York Times, Home & Garden, is a good story about Wendy Johnson who “helped pioneer organic gardening in the United States. “ Go to http://http//www.nytimes.com/pages/garden/index.html and read how she “germinated a movement toward conscious eating and conscious growing, linked with the ethic of taking care of the land,” said Randolph Delehanty, a San Francisco historian. The organic Buddhists, led by Ms. Johnson; her husband, Peter Rudnick; and two influential teachers, Alan Chadwick and Harry Roberts, were “among the first people to take the idea of stewardship of the land and make a lifestyle out of it,” said Fred Bové, the former education director for the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society.
As a gardener, Ms. Johnson combines the conventional and the not-so. She grows roses and apple trees but also advocates compost and manure teas to boost the immune systems of plants (add 2-3 cups well decomposed compost or live manure per gallon of water; steep for 3 days). A columnist for Tricycle, the Buddhist magazine, she occasionally lapses into the woo-woo in the book, defining “inter-being” as “looking mindfully at broccoli and beet plants” and knowing that you are all one.”

Happehatchee Workshop on Organic Gardening is Saturday, May 31st, from 10:00 to Noon. Come and learn how to create your own organic garden even if your space is small.

Pure Quartz Crystalline Singing Bowls

2008-05-07T13:46:00.000-07:00

By Daryl Salerno

The beauty of an evening hearing the crystal bowls is that for once your mind is quieted. Anyone who has had trouble with that in sitting meditation will surely appreciate how effortlessly the crystal bowls sweep you into another state. That challenging busy chattering mind of ours that is the 'keeper of the lists' is lulled to sleep. From this deep state of relaxation your physical body can heal itself. Your mental body can take a break from the stresses of the world, and you can nourish your spiritual self.

I play the crystal bowls intuitively. It has been a growing 'knowing' over the past 2 years. 7 beautiful opaque pure crystal bowls are each tuned to a different note on the musical scale which resonates with a certain chakra (energy center) in the body. As an example, the root chakra at the base of the spine is the key of C and the color is red. I believe my Root Bowl connects with Mother Earth and helps us to work on issues that are involving the material world. All my efforts playing this music are to honor Mother Earth where the crystals came from.

I would like to give you a visual to hold if you have never heard the crystal bowls singing. This morning I was watching the concentric circles that appeared on the surface of my pool when the drops of water from a previous rain fell from the screens at the top of the lanai. One circle would radiate through the whole pool and sometimes ripple back upon itself. Then another would drop beside it with overlapping circles. This is a visual of how the crystal bowls sound when I play them. I am grateful to be able to share this wonderous experience with all of you.

Join us for a Crystal Bowl Meditation at Happehatchee Center, May 21, 7pm with Daryl Salerno

Happe Drum Circle May 16th

2008-05-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

Happee Drum Circle

Come to Spirit of Drumming Drum Circle! Friday, May 16 2008 6:30pm, and ongoing on the third Friday of every month at Happahatchee Center.

http://www.ubakahill.com

We will gather at 6:30 PM around the fire pit.The circle is open to all levels of drummers. This drum circle was inspired by a weekend workshop "The Art and Spirit of Drumming with Ubaka Hill." The workshop was in March and sponsored by CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans). It was such a success that many who participated and attended the concert wanted to keep drumming together and to practice some of the rhythms Ubaka shared with us. We will be teaching and playing some of these pieces as well as sharing and expanding drum songs of our own. Bring drums, bells, percussion, instruments and food to share. Please also bring a heart offering for Happehatchee ($5 or $10) for maintaining the Center. Check out Ubaka's website at: http://www.ubakahill.com/

Organic Gardening

2008-05-05T13:57:00.000-07:00

Organic Gardening Workshop, May 31st

Mark your calendars and tell your friends that Saturday, May 31st, Happehatchee will host an organic gardening workshop. Frank Oakes, one of the first organic farmers in South Florida and owner of Food & Thought, will teach us how to have an organic garden even if space is small and indoors. We will also have farm workers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) and Interfaith Action staff with us. The workshop will be from 10:00am to noon in the soon-to-be Happehatchee garden. Cost is $35.00, Senior Citizens & Students $20.00. All profits will got to CIW Community Center building.

Last week CIW farmworkers and people from across South Florida and the country delivered 84,952 signatures to Burger King Headquarters in Miami! Petitions from all 50 states and 43 countries were presented in a colorful ceremony. Please visit http://ciw-online.org/ for all the photos and news coverage from the event as well as the petition for printing out and getting signatures.

Bring your lunch and join us after the organic gardening workshop for a time of getting to know CIW, peace and environment groups. Will will use this time for dreaming and planning together on how we can make South Florida a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable area.

Soon we will have a poster for distribution.

Namaste!!!

Mother's Day Standing Women

2008-05-02T15:30:00.001-07:00

Mother’s Day, May 11th, we will be standing for the world’s children and grandchildren, and for the seven generations beyond them.

We dream of a world where all of our children have safe drinkingwater, clean air to breathe, and enough food to eat.

A world where they have access to a basic education to develop theirminds and healthcare to nurture their growing bodies.

A world where they have a warm, safe and loving place to call home.

A world where they don’t live in fear of violence-in their home, intheir neighborhood, in their school or in their world.

This is the world of which we dream. This is the cause for which westand.

We will be standing at 1 pm in a beautiful bamboo grove by the Peace Pole on the sacred grounds of Happehatchee, an eco-spirituality center in Estero, Florida.

Women around the world will be standing at 1 pm local time in parks, schools, churches, town squares, beaches and yards. Please join us at Happehatchee or gather your friends, family, neighbors and strangers and stand for five minutes of silence in a location convenient for you. For more information and to tell where you will be standing go to www.standingwomen.org

Namaste!!!

Merry Month of May at Happehatchee Center

2008-05-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

Happy May Day and Month.

Beltane is the old Celtic name for May Day in its most popular Anglicized form), which is derived from the Irish Gaelic 'Bealtaine' or the Scottish Gaelic 'Bealtuinn', meaning 'Bel-fire', the fire of the Celtic god of light (Bel, Beli or Belinus). May Day ushers in the fifth month of the modern calendar year, the month of May. This month is named in honor of the goddess Maia, originally a Greek mountain nymph, later identified as the most beautiful of the Seven Sisters, the Pleiades.

Please go to Special Events on our website for May events including May Day Fire Circle tonight; TransZen Dance with Premrup Saturday, May 3; Cosmic Heart with Ellen Wachs May 17th; and more.

Being Green with a Solar Water Heater
Join us at Happehatchee Center for a day of learning about new technology where you will learn how to build a simple, effective, solar water heating system from materials available at any home improvement store. A system you can build for $300 that will save you over $100 per year in electricity and displace over a 1000 pounds of CO2 emissions each year. For more information, contact Carter Quillen,PE @ CalusaSETI@yahoo.com or call 239-992-5455.

Mother's Day, May 11th, is Standing Women (five minutes of silence) that will happen around the world at 1 pm local time. Happehatchee Center will host this event at 1 pm. We are looking for others to host events at your church, school, backyard, parks, beach or community. It is easy to do and each celebration adds to the global "womanfestation" of peace. Standing Women's website has all the details. http://standingwomen.org Please let me (Ann Smith) know if you will host this event so I can include it in a broadcast.

Have a Very Merry Month of May.

Namaste!!!

Ann Smith

Saturday, April 26th Solar Water Heater Workshop

2008-04-25T06:57:00.001-07:00

This is a workshop you don't want to miss. Carter Quillon, an inovative green engineer, is presnting Low Cost Solar Water Heater Workshop.

Come learn how to build a simple, effective, solar water heating system from materials available at any home improvement store. A system that will displace over a 1000 pounds of CO2 emissions per year and put $100 bill in your pocket from energy savings.
Workshop includes an overview of various solar thermal technologies and basic physics of the system, as well as the actual construction of a unit. The cost is $35 for the workshop and an additional $300 if you want to actually build one for yourself.

When: Saturday, April 26th ??

Where: Happehatchee, our eco-spirituality home.

Eager to see you tomorrow. Namaste!!! Ellen and Ann

For more information related about this workshop you can email Carter at CalusaSETI@yahoo.com.

News From Interfaith Action

2008-04-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

Here is an update from the staff of Interfaith Action,

On the heels of a successful day of testimony before the U.S. Senate last week -- where the Coalition of Immokalee Workers spoke to our nation´s elected leaders about the grim realities of forced labor, poverty and other abuses in Florida´s fields -- the CIW and supporters will be delivering tens of thousands of signatures to Burger King´s Headquarters on Monday, April 28 as part of the National Petition Drive to End Slavery and Sweatshops in the Fields.

What: Delivery of Petitions to Burger King HQ (art, music, speeches & more!)

Where: Burger King Corporate Headquarters, 5505 Blue Lagoon Drive, Miami, FL 33126

When: Monday, April 28th, kicking off at 3:30 PM

Who: Coalition of Immokalee Workers and supporters

If you are able, please join us for the procession! Also, if you cannot bring your signed petitions with you to Miami for the official mass delivery, or drop them off at our office by tomorrow, please fax them into us at (239) 657 5055 as soon as possible.

Thank you as always for your support, and have a wonderful week,

Ann, Jordan, Brigitte & Melody
Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida

Happy Earth Day

2008-04-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day

HAPPY EARTH DAY

Shopping at Whole Foods (near Pine Ridge Road) and 5% of their profits are going to the Friends of Florida Panther Refuge. If you're more local to Coral Springs, you may want to go to their Whole Foods that's doing a WINE TASTING as a fund raiser for the Florida Panther Friends group - April 25 6-8pm. There'll be food and drink and fund-raising going on!!!It's a GREAT way to help Save panthers and support a good cause. HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Namaste!!!

Ann Smith

Earth Day Celebration Tomorrow Koreshan State Park

2008-04-18T16:10:00.000-07:00

Come join Happehatchee volunteer staff tomorrow, Saturday, for the Earth Day Celebration at Koreshan State Park. Festivities start at 10.00 am. Bring your lawn chairs and join us at the Happehatchee table and take part in the many activities held throughout the day. You will see our new banner handpainted by our board member, Genelle Grant. Help us distribute our flyers and tell people about our beautiful center.

Earth Day is a name used for two different observances, both held annually during spring in the northern hemisphere, and autumn in the southern hemisphere. These are intended to inspire awareness of and appreciation for the Earth's environment. The United Nations celebrates Earth Day, which was founded by John McConnell in 1969, each year on the March equinox, while a global observance originated by Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in, and since January 1970 also called Earth Day, is celebrated in many countries each year on April 22, including America

Each one of us is needed to make a difference. "If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." — Thomas Edison

It is time we astound ourselves.

Namaste!!!

Ann Smith

Latest Update of Immokalee Farmworkers in DC

2008-04-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

We have both encouraging and alarming news to share - including the CIW´s recent visit to DC to give testimony to the Senate, and the startling revelation that Burger King has been tied to clandestine efforts to sabotage the Campaign for Fair Food in an exposé by the Ft. Myers News-Press, published on Sunday.

CIW TESTIFIES BEFORE U.S. SENATE HEARING

Yesterday, Lucas Benitez of the CIW testified in Washington D.C. for a US Senate hearing about slavery and sweatshops in Florida´s fields.

Also in attendance was Reggie Brown, leader of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange which represents 90% of the state´s tomato growers. The Growers Exchange has, for the time being, halted the CIW´s historic penny-per-pound pass-through arrangement with Yum Brands and McDonald´s by threatening $100,000 fines for any grower who wishes to participate.

Brown and the Growers Exchange have cited "legal concerns" as their excuse for blocking growers´ participation. This explanation was powerfully dismissed by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont:

"Mr. Brown, do you really expect the committee to believe that the attorneys at Yum Brands [the largest restaurant corporation in the world] ...and McDonald’s [the largest fast food company in the world], 26 law professors and two highly regarded law firms are wrong and you are right?”

Senator Sanders was joined by Senators Durbin and Kennedy in blasting the Growers Exchange´s claim that tomato pickers make $12.46 an hour. Springing from the discrepancy of the Growers Exchange´s assertion of decent wages and the reality of farmworkers´ grinding poverty, the Senators called upon Brown to turn over the Growers Exchange´s wage and hour records to the US Government Accountability Office, the "investigative arm of Congress."

ESPIONAGE & LIBELOUS POSTS TRACED TO BURGER KING HEADQUARTERS

A leading story from the front page of Sunday´s Fort-Myers News-Press reveals that a professional infiltrator has been discovered in the ranks of the Student/Farmworker Alliance, a key ally organization to the CIW in Immokalee. The hired spy, Cara Schaffer, is outed in the News-Press article as president of Diplomatic Tactical Services - an " investigative firm that advertises its ability to place ´operatives´ in the ranks of target groups."

The article goes on to detail how a number of libelous emails and posts to websites, under the name Activist2008, have been traced back to none other than Burger King´s headquarters in Miami. Check out the whole article to learn more about this bewildering development:

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080412/NEWS01/80412019/1014

The Senate hearing and discovery of espionage highlight the need for us to keep the pressure on Burger King via the CIW´s Petition Campaign - please sign here, if you have not already, and encourage others to do the same: http://ciw-online.org/2008_Petitions/

Lastly, thanks to all who came to our gala on Friday - we had a wonderful time and raised over $15,000 toward the CIW´s soon to open Community Center! (We are still in need of substantial donations, however, to complete the project - please contact Jordan for more information.)

Namaste!!!

Ann, Jordan, Brigitte & Melody
Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida

Immokalee Workers go to Washington DC

2008-04-14T05:26:00.000-07:00

A Senate hearing has been set for this coming Tuesday, April 15th in Washington, DC, where the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee will be investigating why slavery and extreme labor abuse continue to plague our food production in the 21st century and what can be done to end farmworker exploitation.

Meanwhile, the National Petition to End Sweatshops and Slavery in Florida's fields continues to pick up momentum! Thank you to everybody who has mailed us your petitions or let us know that you are collecting signatures. If you aren't collecting petition signatures, it's not too late to begin! Visit www.interfaithact.org/getinvolved to download a PDF of a the petition or individual quarter sheets that you can pass out to your congregation and then collect. We will be delivering petitions to Burger King on Monday, April 28th so if you can return your petitions to us by April 24th we will ensure that they get counted and delivered to Burger King!

If you need some inspiration for a creative way to collect petition signatures visit www.interfaithact.org/petition to how see how one congregation printed the petition and photos from the fields on farmworker work shirts and then collected brightly colored signatures. The shirts were created by members of St. Columbkille Catholic Church in Ft. Myers and hung on a clothesline in the narthex to provide a powerful visual and invitation for additional parishioners to sign. In additions to pictures you can find instructions on how to make the shirts yourself.

Finally, the Denver Fair Food Committee organized a creative action last week to deliver signatures to Denver based Chipotle. As you may remember, Chipotle used to be owned by McDonald's but was sold before the McDonald's agreement was reached and Chipotle has yet to embrace their own "Food with Integrity" slogan by ensuring dignity for those who pick their tomatoes. For more visit www.ciw-online.org.

We look forward to receiving all of your petitions in the mail and if you are interested in joining us on April 28th for the procession to deliver them to Burger King please let us know!

Thank you!

Brigitte, Jordan, Melody, and Katie
Interfaith Action of Southwest Florida
Immokalee, FL ~ 239-986-0688
www.interfaithact.org

May 11th Standing Women at Happehatchee

2008-04-13T04:26:00.000-07:00

Happehatchee will host Standing Women, May 11th, at 1 pm.

Standing Women will stand again on May 11, 2008, 1 pm local time.
Last May hundreds of thousands of women and girls, along with the men and boys they love, in 75 countries and on all continents of the world stood together in parks, on beaches, in churches, at graduation ceremonies, in their backyards and at school yards or anyplace they could find to stand in a global wave of humanity in support of a better world for our children.

We invite women and their families everywhere to take this "stand" with us again, on May 11 at 1 p.m. local time for just 5 minutes, to rekindle the world with our common vision.

We stand for the world's children and grandchildren, and for the seven generations beyond them. We dream of a world where all of our children have safe drinking water, clean air to breathe, and enough food to eat. A world where they have access to a basic education to develop their minds and healthcare to nurture their growing bodies. A world where they have a warm, safe and loving place to call home. A world where they don't live in fear of violence-in their home, in their neighborhood, in their school or in their world. This is the world of which we dream. This is the cause for which we stand.

To learn more and register your standing, go to the Standing Women website at www.standingwomen.org

And please pass on the invitation and our YouTube video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eNJ4oVQKxU to your friends.

The vision we hold together can become a reality when enough of us come forward and take a stand...

With hope and thanks from the women of Ohio

What is Bioenergetic Therapy?

2008-04-11T15:36:00.000-07:00

Citation: Friedman, H. & Glazer, R. (invited submission--expected publication, 2008). Bioenergetic Therapy. In I. Weiner & W. Craighead (Eds.), The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, 4th Ed. John Wiley and Sons.

Bioenergetic Therapy

Harris Friedman, University of Florida

Robert Glazer, Florida Society for Bioenergetic Analysis

Key words: bioenergetics, Lowen, Reich, energy, character

Word count: 499

Bioenergetic therapy combines bodywork with psychoanalysis. Also known as bioenergetic analysis or simply bioenergetics, this therapeutic system was created by Alexander Lowen (2004), a protégé of Wilhelm Reich (see Sharaf, 1984) who in turn was Freud’s student; as such, it stems from the Freudian psychoanalytic tradition. It is seen as a humanistic psychotherapy for its holistic mind-body approach and is also sometimes grouped with gestalt, orgonomy, and radix as a neo-Reichian therapy. Bioenergetics is a way to understand and therapeutically intervene both psychologically and physically. Diagnoses focus on both understanding psychological issues through traditional psychoanalytic concepts (e.g., defense mechanisms) and physical issues through observing bodily form (e.g., posture) and function (e.g., qualities of movement during respiration) stemming from Reich’s (1980) insights into the role of chronic muscular tension patterns (body “armoring”) in shaping “character.” The etymology of emotion refers to movement (i.e., e-“motion”) and muscles are the organs of movement, so armoring inhibits both emotional feelings and expressions (e.g., pelvic tightness related to sexual conflict blocks both sexual pleasure and performance). Though mind and body are discussed as if separate, they are assumed functionally identical, differing only semantically: what happens mentally through “character”-istic ways of experiencing life (e.g., proneness to feeling panic) affects physical expression (e.g., causing chronically-raised shoulders, as if anticipating being attacked), while what happens bodily (e.g., chronically-raised shoulders) affects the mental (e.g., increasing the likelihood of breakthrough panic), in mutually-reinforcing ways. Consequently, bioenergetics always involves both psychological and physical processes: the psychological work is similar to the search for meaning in psychoanalysis, while the bodywork focuses on increasing freedom of movement and energy available to the person. A key tenet is that the level of energy available determines overall quality of life (e.g., depression is seen as related to both lowered psychological experience of energy and literally “depressed” physical energy, such as caused by decreased respiration due to chronic muscular tensions in the chest, while bioenergetic treatment of depression may involve vigorous physical movements, such as kicking and stretching, to increase physical energy, and psychoanalytic explorations to regain emotional contact that was previously blocked by chronic muscular tensions and can only become re-experienced after physical release). Bioenergetics aims to relieve such chronic maladjusted patterns, both mental and physical, and is applicable to understanding and treating a variety of psychological conditions. It may be particularly helpful for diffuse, so-called negative, symptoms--such as a lack of feeling pleasure and aliveness. In contrast to most bodywork, bioenergetics considers it essential that physical changes be processed in the context of psychodynamic understandings of character in order to result in permanent changes; in contrast to most psychotherapies, bioenergetics considers that psychological interventions without corresponding bodily changes result only in short-lasting effects that inevitably revert to characteristic ways of experiencing and behaving. The combination of psychological and bodily approaches allows bioenergetics to help clients resolve emotional problems and realize greater pleasure in life than would either approach alone, facilitating self-understanding grounded in body experience and continuously reinforced through freely expressed emotions.

References

Lowen, A. (2004). Honoring the body. Alachua, FL: Bioenergetic Press.

Reich, W. (1980). Character analysis (3rd Ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux. (Originally published 1933)

Sharaf, M. (1994). Fury on earth: A biography of Wilhelm Reich. Cambridge, MA: DaCapo Press.

Further Reading

Lowen, A. (2006). Language of the body: Physical dynamics of character structure. Alachua, FL: Bioenergetics Press. (Introduction by Harris Friedman)

Lowen, A., Lowen, L., & Skalecki, W. (2003). The way to vibrant health. Alachua, FL: Bioenergetics Press.

Lowen, A. (1977). Bioenergetics: The revolutionary therapy that uses the language of the body to heal the problems of the mind. New York: Penguin.

What is transpersonal psychology?

2008-04-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

Citation: Hartelius, G., & Friedman, H. (invited submission--expected publication, 2008). Transpersonal psychology. In I. Weiner & W. Craighead (Eds.), The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, 4th Ed. John Wiley and Sons.

Transpersonal Psychology

Glenn Hartelius, California Institute of Integral Studies

Harris Friedman, University of Florida

Key Words: consciousness, meditation, mysticism, spirituality, transpersonal

Word Count: 998 (text only, not including title, references, etc.)

Transpersonal psychology (TP) emerged in the US during the 1960s, a turbulent time in which psychedelic experimentation and the rediscovery of mysticism, primarily from Eastern and indigenous traditions, caused much deep reflection. It grew from the growing discontent by some humanistic psychologists who questioned the limitations of a solely human-based psychology that paid scant attention to consciousness and spirituality. Although TP had many earlier roots, its formal birth is generally linked to the debut of the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology. The lead article in this journal’s first issue was written by one of TP’s founders, Abraham Maslow (1969), who had played a key role in developing humanistic psychology and then refocused his attention on developing a psychology centered on human connections to the cosmos. Among other notable TP founding figures are Stanislav Grof (1985) and Charles Tart (1975). The emergence of TP resulted in a split between humanistic and transpersonal psychologists centered on whether TP should remain part of humanistic psychology or become a separate field, which occurred with the founding of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology as separate from the extant Association for Humanistic Psychology. There were subsequent unsuccessful efforts to form a Division of Transpersonal Psychology separate from the extant Division of Humanistic Psychology within the American Psychological Association. Today, both of these associations have now organizationally remerged, while the Division of Humanistic Psychology is now home for a TP Interest Group. TP and humanistic psychology are increasingly seen as complementary, such that to be fully humanistic requires recognizing the transpersonal while, conversely, to be transpersonal requires being first grounded in humanistic concerns.
In its early years, TP focused primarily on studies of altered or non-ordinary states of consciousness, such as caused by psychedelics or spiritual practices (e.g., meditation) that promoted a sense of being trans (i.e., beyond) the ordinary ego, which assumed a consensual baseline of human experience that could become altered. This view of TP then progressed to one that viewed the psyche as profoundly interconnected with a radically expanded sense of self trans the isolated individual, which included the possibility of identifying with the cosmos as a whole and does not assume altered states but, rather, posits alternative states that are equally viable to presumably normal states. Then TP progressed further into becoming a psychology of transformation, fostering the cultivation of post-conventional development, as in higher states of consciousness. Today, though there is still debate on defining TP, all three of these themes are evident (Hartelius, Caplan, & Rardin, 2007).
As many of the areas studied by TP were ignored, or even seen as taboo, in most mainstream psychology schools at the time of its founding, the creation of the doctoral-degree granting Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (initially called the California Institute of Transpersonal Psychology) in 1975 opened an avenue for training new TP researchers and practitioners. Around this time, other U.S. schools offering opportunities to study TP at the doctoral level emerged (e.g., the California Institute of Integral Studies, Saybrook Graduate School, etc.), as did a number of schools offering master’s degrees (e.g., Naropa University, West Georgia University, etc.).
One profound implication of TP is that Western assumption about psychology are not necessarily universal, nor are they necessarily better than alternative conceptualizations, an insight congruent with the growing multiculturalism in psychology. This also led to the development of several non-psychological transpersonal disciplines, such as transpersonal anthropology, that recognized the transpersonal perspective as broader than just psychological. It also led to the rapid global expansion of TP, including the growth of many transpersonal associations worldwide and the launch of the International Transpersonal Association in 1978 (whose name intentionally excluded the term psychology to be inclusive of other disciplines). This broader stance was also reflected in the name of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies (founded in 1981 and initially called the Australian Journal of Transpersonal Studies) in which TP is conceptualized as one among many transpersonal fields of studies (Friedman, 2002). Soon other schools and journals focusing on TP and transpersonal studies were created throughout the world.
TP’s growth also promoted the profound insight that traditional conceptions of science have significant limitations, a paradigm shift in psychology that paralleled the so-called cultural wars in which qualitative approaches were seen by many as equally valid to quantitative approaches in research, despite the growing hegemony of rigid views of science within psychology (e.g., viewing experiments as a “gold standard”). Many in TP challenged such rigid beliefs about science by positing various epistemologies as alternative, but not inferior, bases for research and argued that traditional scientific approaches may not have validity when studying humans, who have agency and are not subject to determinism in the same way that non-sentient beings and inert matter may be, especially at the highest expressions of consciousness and spirituality. Many in TP also supported use of unique human science approaches that differ from methods employed in natural science, as well as use of traditional scientific approaches when applicable (Braud & Anderson, 1999). For example, millennia of meditators within some spiritual traditions have explored higher consciousness and spirituality using cumulatively shared internal observations, which can be seen as constituting an alternative scientific method no less valid than those of modern science and, perhaps, more valid than could be gained through modern experimental methods for studying such phenomena.
Currently TP faces a number of challenges, such as differentiating itself from the psychology of religion, which has begun focusing on spirituality more openly, but in a way that is typically based on monotheistic Judeo-Christian assumptions and tends to focus more on the demographics of spirituality as compared to TP’s emphasis on indigenous and Eastern mystical traditions, as well as on the experience of spirituality.
In addition, profound insights about alternatives to materialistic assumptions, such as gleaned from studies of near-death experiences, tend to align TP with parapsychology, but the explicit connections between these fields are not yet fully developed. Last, clinical applications of TP, such as in assessment and psychotherapy, are still in their infancy.

References

Braud, W., & Anderson, R. (1999). Transpersonal research methods for the social sciences: Honoring human experience. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Friedman, H. (2002). Transpersonal psychology as a scientific field. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 21, 175-187.

Grof, S. (1985). Beyond the brain: Birth, death, and transcendence in psychotherapy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

Hartelius, G., Caplan, M., & Rardin, M. (2007). Transpersonal psychology: Defining the past, divining the future. The Humanistic Psychologist, 35(2), 1–26.

Maslow, A. (1969). The farther reaches of human nature. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1, 1-9.

Tart, C. (1975). States of consciousness. New York: E. P. Dutton.

Suggested Readings

Daniels, M. (2005). Shadow, self, spirit: Essays in transpersonal psychology. Exeter, UK: Imprint Academic.

Walsh, R., & Vaughan, F. (Eds.). (1993). Paths beyond ego: The transpersonal vision. Los Angeles, CA: Tarcher.

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies (free online journal at
)

Voices of the Grandmothers

2008-04-08T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hear the Voices of the Grandmothers
I hear the voices of the grandmothers calling me
I hear the voices of the grandmothers calling me
Wake up, wake up, they say, Wake up
Listen, listen
Listen, listen
May the rivers all run clear
May the mountains be unspoiled
May the trees grow tall
May the air be pure
May the earth be shared by all (2x)

Composer Unknown- From the CD "Home to the River of Love"
Listen to MP3 chant

Everglades and Public Lands at Risk - Please Act Now!

2008-04-07T10:34:00.000-07:00

House Leadership Digs in on Zero Funding Florida Forever and the Everglades

Speaker Marco Rubio and House Policy and Budget Chair Ray Sansom have indicated that they are serious about cutting Florida Forever and Everglades spending to zero in the proposed House budget. In statements in the media and at council meetings, the House leaders have drawn a hard line, pitting conservation against other state spending needs. The House is now poised to pass the first appropriations bill in 30 years with no land conservation funding and the first budget in eight years without Everglades funds.

Florida will continue to grow, people will move here, build homes and businesses here. If we don’t continue to protect land and restore ecosystems along with the growth, the job will become that much more expensive and challenging in the future. Protecting the environment and restoring critically damaged ecosystems cannot wait and deserve part of the state’s budget this year and every year.

Senate leaders are holding firm on their commitment to fund Florida Forever and split funding for the Everglades between projects to help water flow though Everglades National Park and projects to clean up Lake Okeechobee. You can thank Senate President Ken Pruitt, Budget Chair Lisa Carlton and Environment Chairman Burt Saunders for digging in – but put your energy into communicating your support for the Everglades and Florida Forever to your elected Representative in the Florida House.

Please write your Representative and ask them to ask Speaker Marco Rubio and House Budget Chair Ray Sansom to restore funds for the Everglades and Florida Forever.

Click here to sign a petition online.

Psychology of the Budding Buddhas

2008-04-06T10:10:00.001-07:00

Dearest Friends of Happehatchee,

We give our respect to the 'round the globe happening online, featuring interviews and discussions with Oprah Winfrey and Eckard Tolle. You can watch these lessons live on Monday evenings at 9pm by going to Oprah.com and signing in. You can listen to previous lessons any time after noon on Tuesdays for the one broadcast on Monday evening or for all earlier lessons. We are very excited to have higher consciousness made so available to all, all around this planet.

In conjunction with these broadcasts, our Psychology of the Budding Buddhas, which meets regularly on Tuesday mornings at 10am-11:30am on the screened-in porch at Happehatchee is also listed as a venue on Oprah's website for discussion of these lessons. Our format is that we sit in silence, practicing an ancient Tibetan meditation technique called Tonglen, working on behalf of peace for all. Following the grounding in Essence from this meditation technique, we discuss whatever feels relevant, including questions about the last evening's internet broadcasts.

As with any activities catalyzed by Premrup, all are welcome. No previous experience with meditation or groups necessary. $15 suggested donation with all proceeds given to Happehatchee for its development. No one excluded for lack of funds.

This nourishing, ongoing group originally began in October, 2008. In sitting together week after week, we have grown a loving and connected energy field, based in meditation and the need to release what Eckard Tolle refers to as the "pain body" on behalf of planetary wellness. We welcome your participation, whether for one time or the long haul.

Due to Premrup's other commitments, this group will NOT meet April 8 and 15, 2008.

We are overjoyed to see other venues at Happehatchee exploring the means to wholeness as proposed by Eckard Tolle.

Premrup has been involved in this work grounded in meditation since the 70s. She is available to discuss your questions related to meditation techniques as a means of overcoming egoic preoccupations, fears, anxieties, and feelings of isolation and separateness, acting as a meditation counselor for your inner growth in individual sessions. Again, all proceeds go directly to Happehatchee. She has worked as a clinician in many counseling settings all over the world, and offers her spiritual conversations, being overjoyed to give back some of what she has been given and has to share!

Please feel free to contact her via e-mail: premrup@mindspring.com

or by phone: (239)949-1746

YinPowerment Retreat

2008-04-05T04:25:00.000-07:00

I thought I had cancelled the YinPowerment Retreat this weekend for many reasons that seemed right at the moment. Well you can't cancel YinPowerment. It wants to come forth. Two wonderful women who had paid their money way ahead of time are coming anyway. One is from California and the other from Naples. We three and others who show up will explore how to become new leaders for a New Earth, using Echart Tolle's words.

We will be ready to greet all who come this evening to the Women's Fire Circle at Happehatchee, from 7-9PM. All are welcome, just bring yourselves as you are, the I am, your dreams for yourself and for a New Earth. Also bring a flashlight and candle. Love offerings of $10.00 go to Happehatchee's development so that our center grows into our collective dreams for an eco-spirituality center. Come early and walk the labyrinth.

Namaste!!!

Ann

FGCU Students Build Labyrinth @ Happehatchee

2008-04-03T14:24:00.001-07:00

On April 2, 2008, the Earth & Spirit class conducted by Patricia Fay and Dr. Maria Roca at Florida Gulf Coast University constructed a labyrinth on the grounds of Happehatchee Center. The Earth & Spirit course explores relationships between spiritual practice and the natural environment. This was their second visit to Happehatchee.

Duringthe first visit they found out we wanted to have a labyrinth and they volunteered to help us build one. They researched the history and spiritual ractice of the labyrinth. The students and teachers came up with a design that naturally fit into the environment.

Yesterday they came and within an hour and a half had cleared and smoothed out the land, laid out the labyrinth design and placed sea shells for the paths. We ended by holding hands and walking the labyrinth together led by Ellen and her dog Bella. Just when we had finished the rain came pouring down, blessing us and the labyrinth. It was a magical experience. The labyrinth is now ready for you to walk at Happehatchee.

STANDING WOMEN - MAY 11th, 2008

2008-03-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and as we prepare to celebrate the mothers in our lives we often neglect to recognize the most important mother of all: Mother Earth. On Sunday, May 11 at 1 p.m., thousands of people around the globe will stand together in silence for five minutes in local parks, schools, churches and other gathering places to promote a better world for future generations. The result will be a 24-hour global wave of humanity standing to motivate and invigorate others to realize the dream of a better world for all.

In May of 2007, thousands of women stood together in 75 countries and on all the continents of the globe to show their support for the world of which they dream. Inspired by a story written by Sharon Mehdi of Ashland, Oregon, The Great Silent Grandmother Gathering, collectively they decided that it was time to take a stand to make a difference. By standing for a moment of silence, participants will recognize the importance for all of the children of the world of issues such as safe drinking water, clean air, food for all to eat, access to basic education, adequate health care and safety from violence.

The event is not limited only to women, however, and many men stood in May 2007. Julian Koss of Sarasota, Florida has actively promoted the event in his state. “We’re all obligated to leave for our children and the ‘seven generations to follow’ a better world,” says Koss.

Standing sites in all 50 U.S. states and around the globe are listed on the website and range from large-scale groups of a thousand or more to individual standings. Participants have the option of attending one of the gatherings listed or starting their own.

Visit StandingWomen.org to Tell Where You Will Stand and See Where Others Are Standing

Earth Hour

2008-03-28T13:52:00.000-07:00

www.earthhour.org

What?
Turn the lights off for a full hour tomorrow, 3/29/08, starting at 8 p.m. your time, and you'll join millions of people around the planet coming together for a worldwide cause: global warming. (it’s not required, but see the last line in this message for how to pledge your participation)

Why?
· Immediate impact. Last year's Earth Hour, which happened only in Sydney, Australia, had the effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for an hour. This year's event is global, so savings will be even bigger.
· Long-term impact. Earth Hour raises awareness while making a marked impact in energy usage in your community. Earth Hour organizers are also raising awareness by promoting energy-efficient lighting.
· Short-term impact. An hour off of your electric bill this month? Let the savings encourage your own Earth Hour every week and see the effect on your wallet.

How?
· Turn 'em off at 8 p.m. your local time, Mar. 29 (that's tomorrow-Saturday).
· Earth Hour - pledge to turn off your lights here, and receive Earth Hour updates and tips.

Banner Needed

2008-03-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

Happehatchee NEEDS

A BANNER

No...An artist to create a Banner to use above our table at EARTH DAY.

IF YOU WILL SUPPLY THE TALENT..WE WILL BUY THE PAINT,OIL CLOTH

OR WHATEVER YOU NEED

EARTH DAY IS ON THE 19 OF APRIL

call Ellen at 239 992-5455 if you can help

Visiting Happehatchee

2008-03-27T15:01:00.000-07:00

We hope to be one of your favorite places to be.
There will be
Sites to be at peace and meditate or not.
A place to watch the river run through
A plot to garden
A labyrinth through which one can wander to seek one's truth.
A porch where one can meet for mindful discussions with Budding Buddahs led by Premrup or join a Trance Zen Dance
A Sweat Lodge to release tensions built by our modern life styles with Joe
Tai chih and yoga to be experienced with leaders, Deb and Sue who radiate charm, love, and wisdom.
Meditation in Motion with Isabelle
Chant and Ceremony to Awaken the Cosmic Heart with Ellen Wachs
Leadership conferences teaching the skills of circle leadership.
Women's Sacred Circles with Ann
Crystal Bowl Concerts with Daryl
Playful gatherings to celebrate days such as International Women's Day, Solstices and
Freedom to design your own event for others to share.

TRANCE ZEN DANCE

2008-03-26T20:31:00.000-07:00

YOU'RE INVITED!
TRANCE ZEN DANCE
SATURDAY, MARCH 29
11 am - 1 pm
Happehatchee Center
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ecstatic nature abounds. Come get refreshed and join with friends, new and old, as we dance, meditate and share, where a river runs through!

Move in toward your center to trance/dance and kirtan music while we move amongst the group to identify energetic holdings and read your energy. Following the dance, assemble together to share your experiences and hear information "downloaded" from observing your movement about your energy patterns. Allow the river to run through you!$15 Love Offering Suggested, with all proceeds going to Happehatchee Center's development.For information and directions to Happehatchee, contact Premrup at 239-949-1746.

Visit www.quantumpremrup.com

PLEASE NOTE: SCHEDULING CHANGE FROM SUNDAY TO SATURDAY, MARCH 29