*  *  N O T I C E  *  *  *  The meeting in January will be held Wed, Jan 16 instead of Tues, Jan 22 .

Dear Climate Sangha members,

Michelle Stevens and I are busy finalizing plans for the next climate sangha meeting, which we will be leading in the absence of Ayya and Diane. The space-time coordinates are Wednesday January 16th 2019, 6:30-8:30 PM, Dharma Center (3111 Wissemann Dr, Sacramento, CA).

“Where Creativity and Buddhism Meet: Keeping a Practice of Hope Alive in an Era of Climate Change”

In this context, we define creativity in its broadest sense: any creative act (whether yours or someone else’s) that brings you hope as you navigate your grief, guilt, spinning thoughts (busy mind), anxiety, depression, etc. about climate change and the Anthropocene. Our intent is that the meeting be inclusive, upbeat, and inspirational. We’re hoping that many of you will bring something to share, though that part is optional (your body and spirit are plenty!) Given time constraints, plan on 3-5 minutes for sharing. If you need more time, please let me know (email me back at this address) and we’ll try to accommodate as best we can given the two hour time frame of the meeting. For those of you bringing visual art, we’ll take a break about halfway through the meeting for folks to walk around and appreciate it.

Here are some examples of creative products you can share (broad definition). This list will get your juices flowing, but is not meant to be “all inclusive.” You may have other ideas, and those are most welcome!

• Vegan recipes or yummies (for the kitchen, we can pass them out as people leave)
  Political comment letters
  Sacred stones, runes, angel cards, etc
  Eco jewelry, tattoos…
  Poems
  Snippets of stories, memoirs
  Paintings, drawings, cartoons, sculpture…
  Music
  Fashion (external advertisement and expression of your eco values!)
  Dance, creative movement (e.g. yoga, tai chi, etc)
  Readings from your favorite authors

Get the idea? Sounds like fun, right?

We’ll have music stands (to serve as easels or to hold your music while you play) and a table for laying out items. If you want to bring copies of your offering to distribute, feel free. For example, you may have time to read only a few paragraphs of a memoir, but you can bring copies of the whole thing for folks to read on their own time.

We’re anticipating a wonderful evening. Together, let’s jump-start 2019 as the Turnaround Year for climate change! ????

Ruthy Ballard
Author, Artist, and Scientist

Typically meeting the 4th Tuesday of each month, the Sacramento Climate Sangha provides dharmic support and a refuge for exploration of our hopes and fears about climate change.