SoCal VegFest Oct 20-21, 2018 (Orange County, CA) | ‘Single best way’ to reduce your impact on Earth

Hi everyone,

The recently released United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report alarmed many, even though some critics stated it continued to be an understatement of the urgent ecological emergency we are living in. Obviously, we need to stop using fossil fuels. Additionally, over a decade ago, the U.N. reported that a fast transition to veganism globally was a necessity and that same message was echoed recently by a 2018 Oxford study published in Science: Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth.

Here’s the good news. The 4th Annual SoCal VegFest is this coming weekend (11am-6pm, Saturday, October 20 & Sunday October 21). Here is your chance to have fun while doing good for yourself and others. This amazing event at the OC Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa has grown bigger each year and offers an amazing array of super-tasty vegan foods, cruelty-free products, inspiring speakers and entertainment.

This year, a student organized exhibit, Vegan 101, has been added to SoCal VegFest for those who want to know how to just get started. That is where you are likely to find me hanging out, so please come say “hi”.

BTW for those of you who enjoyed Connecting the Dots: Finding Compassion Despite Our Differences last April, our volunteer planning team is now forming for doing a similar event at CSU Fullerton in early 2019. Get in touch if you want to volunteer and help us with this effort.

See you soon!

In the spirit of Ubuntu,

Barbara English, LMFT, CBT, TRE® Certification Trainer
Co-founder and Executive Director, Living Ubuntu
livingubuntu.org | facebook | donate »
living vegan (facebook)
sogivemeanf.com | so give me an f (facebook)
(949) 891-2005
[Ubuntu] n. We belong to the greater whole.

Human Flow – tonight (4/12/18), Gene Baur – tomorrow (4/13/18), Connecting the Dots – Sunday (4/15/18)

Hi everyone,

Just a few friendly reminders:

A Screening of “Human Flow” — tonight!
Thursday, April 12, 6:00pm – 9:30pm
Huntington Beach

An Evening with Gene Baur: Increasing Compassion, Sustainability & Equity in our Food System — tomorrow!
Friday, April 13, 7:30pm – 9:30pm
Fullerton

Connecting the Dots: Finding Compassion Despite Our Differences — Sunday!
Sunday, April 15, 12:00pm – 5:00pm
Santa Ana

Space is limited. Please pre-register to save your spot and reduce the length of time you spend in line at check in.

In the spirit of Ubuntu,

Barbara English, LMFT, CBT, TRE® Certification Trainer
Co-founder and Executive Director, Living Ubuntu
livingubuntu.org | facebook | donate »
living vegan (facebook)
(949) 891-2005
[Ubuntu] n. We belong to the greater whole.

“…in dire need of creative extremists” | (2018) January 13: Intro to TRE, February 9: An Evening w/ John Hall

The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be…
The nation and the world are in dire need of creative extremists.
 – Martin Luther King Jr.

Hi everyone,

Just how severe and life-threatening do life circumstances have to be for someone to choose to jump into a small overcrowded raft to cross a turbulent, unforgiving ocean because it looks like the better option? How many make this choice and do they survive? What happens when they do?

Last summer, John Hall, Director of the International Law Program at Chapman University, spent his ‘vacation’ volunteering on the Greek island, Lesvos, helping the many desperate people arriving in rafts to reach safety.

I know John to be a man of great knowledge, experience and wisdom. Beyond that he is a pleasure to be with, full of warmth, and an engaging, heartfelt story-teller. I am very excited that we have created an opportunity for him to tell us about his experiences last summer, plus, help us understand more about what is creating the desperation and what can be done to alleviate it.

Please join us for “An Evening with John Hall: Kindness Amid Chaos, Stories from Lesvos” — Friday, February 9, 7:00pm – 9:00pm.
FREE ADMISSION | VEGAN REFRESHMENTS | DETAILS & REGISTRATION.

Also, we have just a few more spaces for:
Intro to Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®): Connection, Compassion & Community, Saturday, January 13, 6:00pm – 9:00pm
FREE ADMISSION | VEGAN REFRESHMENTS | DETAILS & REGISTRATION. (All are welcome: first-timers and those who have already learned.)

This year, Living Ubuntu will operate according to a ‘gift economy’ as much as possible, offering free admission whenever we can.
If you value our work and have the means and inclination to financially contribute, please do, recognizing that others might not be able to.
We are grateful for your generosity.
Donate.

In the spirit of Ubuntu,
Barbara English, LMFT, CBT, TRE® Certification Trainer
Co-founder and Executive Director, Living Ubuntu
livingubuntu.org | facebook | donate »
living vegan (facebook)
(949) 891-2005

[Ubuntu] n. We belong to the greater whole.

***

Intro to TRE: Connection, Compassion & Community

 

We live in extremely challenging times. What is challenging for one affects the whole.
In the spirit of Ubuntu we ‘share what we have’.
Join us for an Intro to Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®) plus a time to connect, re-connect and re-affirm living life compassionately.

Saturday January 13, 2017, 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Irvine Ranch Water District Community Room, 15500 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine, CA 92618

FREE ADMISSION | VEGAN REFRESHMENTS

EVENT DETAILS & REGISTRATION

The Irvine Ranch Water District neither supports nor endorses the cause or activities of organizations which use the District’s facilities. The facilities are made available as a public service.

 

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Finding our way to back to wholeness | Jan 13 (2017) Intro to TRE: Connection, Community & Compassion

JN: So, as a society and as individuals, what is the way back to wholeness?

GM: It’s impossible under capitalism, because the essence of capitalism is to separate the mind from the body. And, basically, people are all considered material goods. People matter only insofar as they produce, consume, or own matter. If you don’t produce, consume, or own matter, then you don’t matter in this society. We have to recognize the severely prohibitive limitations along with the great achievements of this particular way of life. It’s not a matter of providing some utopian prescription.

On a personal level, it’s a matter of deep self-work. One thing we’ve done now is we’ve had a lot of brilliant, necessary research about what trauma is and how it shows up in the form of physical and mental illness and alienation and disconnection from other people and from yourself. And a lot of work has been done on the reversal of trauma and the healing of it—and also on the prevention of it. But, again, we are not applying that knowledge.

– Dr. Gabor Maté
(Read the entire interview: Why Are So Many Adults Today Haunted by Trauma?)

Hi everyone,

What are your thoughts, feelings and reflections as 2017 comes to an end? Despite the innate goodness interwoven with being alive on this earth, I don’t think anyone I know would dispute that this year has been beyond ‘difficult’… in so many ways… and on so many levels.

Aware of the urgencies, from the start of the year, Living Ubuntu jumped in with eagerness to meet as many needs as possible and meaningfully engage on a variety of topics. We collaborated often with others to add diversity to our message and broaden our outreach. We successfully organized, co-organized or participated in more than 20 educational, advocacy-oriented and healing events in 2017. You can find most of our 2017 events here.

Now we are looking ahead to the new year with much excitement. For the past 18 months we have been working on a documentary, “So Give Me An F.” We are very close to finishing our first rough cut of the film so expect to hear more about that very soon. (Yay!)

Meanwhile, since the Introduction to Tension & Trauma Releasing Exercises event we hosted in December reached capacity plus wait list we wanted to start the new year by offering it again in January. Once again, like the description of Ubuntu, we seek to ‘share what we have‘.

Intro to TRE®: Connection, Compassion & Community, Saturday, January 13, 6:00pm – 9pm — FREE ADMISSION | VEGAN REFRESHMENTS | DETAILS & REGISTRATION.

Your support of our work is essential and greatly appreciated. Please consider a year end one-time contribution or monthly donation to help us continue.
DONATE HERE.

May the New Year bring the wisdom we need to find our way back to wholeness.

In the spirit of Ubuntu,
Barbara English, LMFT, CBT, TRE® Certification Trainer
Co-founder and Executive Director, Living Ubuntu
livingubuntu.org | facebook | donate »
living vegan (facebook)
(949) 891-2005

[Ubuntu] n. We belong to the greater whole.

***
Intro to TRE: Connection, Compassion & Community

We live in extremely challenging times. What is challenging for one affects the whole.
In the spirit of Ubuntu we ‘share what we have’.
Join us for an Intro to Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) plus a time to connect, re-connect and re-affirm living life compassionately.

Saturday January 13, 2017, 6:00pm – 9:00pm

Irvine Ranch Water District Community Room, 15500 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine, CA 92618

FREE ADMISSION | VEGAN REFRESHMENTS
EVENT DETAILS & REGISTRATION

The Irvine Ranch Water District neither supports nor endorses the cause or activities of organizations which use the District’s facilities. The facilities are made available as a public service.

***

 

Intro to TRE: Connection, Compassion & Community (December 6, 2017, Irvine, CA)

You share what you have. It is to say, ‘My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in what is yours.’… We say, ‘A person is a person through other persons.’
– Desmond Tutu (on what Ubuntu is)

Hi everyone,

2017 has been a very challenging year for many people – how has it been for you?

Recently, I had the great pleasure of listening to Dr. Gabor Mate in person for the first time. This morning on Facebook, I was delighted to see, “This Surprising Factor Can Make People 4600 Percent More Prone To Addiction: We know the major reason why addiction is transmitted through families – and it is not what most of us think.” (Read it here.)

An ultra-quick oversimplification of what Gabor Mate talks about is that we are all addicts; some use drugs. Instead of asking, ‘why the addiction?‘ ask, ‘why the pain?‘ At the root, historical and childhood trauma lurk as culprits, often unacknowledged. Present day life situations contribute additional suffering. Addiction to work, activism, chronic busyness, alcohol, other drugs, food, sex, shopping, exercise, social media and more are at epidemic proportions and reflect a desperate collective attempt to escape the pain. Healing addiction requires connection… healthy, enjoyable, loving connection. A host of societal ills could be remedied by adopting and addressing this reality.

As much as we long for a good night’s sleep, and the pleasure and benefit of genuine connection, both are dependent upon feeling a subjective sense of safety. When life has been full of stressful challenges, early on or recent, we might not be able to be as emotionally present with one another as we would like to be. We might not be able to fully let down even at day’s end to rest and recover. One of the most effective ways to calm an over-stimulated nervous system is to make use of the body’s own natural recovery system.

Living Ubuntu wants to ‘share what we have‘ and invite you to join us for one last event in 2017, an Introduction to Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®). In addition to learning this method that helps relax the muscles and calm the nervous system after stress or trauma, we want you to join us for a time to connect, re-connect and re-affirm living life compassionately.

Intro to TRE®: Connection, Compassion & Community, Wednesday, December 6, 6:30pm – 9pm — FREE ADMISSION | VEGAN REFRESHMENTS | DETAILS & REGISTRATION.

In the spirit of Ubuntu,
Barbara English, LMFT, CBT, TRE® Certification Trainer
Co-founder and Executive Director, Living Ubuntu
livingubuntu.org | facebook | donate »
living vegan (facebook)
(949) 891-2005

[Ubuntu] n. We belong to the greater whole.

***
Intro to TRE: Connection, Compassion & Community

This year has been extremely challenging for many. What is challenging for one affects the whole.
In the spirit of Ubuntu we ‘share what we have’.
Join us for an Intro to Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) plus a time to connect, re-connect and re-affirm living life compassionately.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017, 6:30pm – 9:00pm

Irvine Ranch Water District Community Room, 15500 Sand Canyon Avenue, Irvine, CA 92618

FREE ADMISSION | VEGAN REFRESHMENTS

EVENT DETAILS & REGISTRATION

—
The Irvine Ranch Water District neither supports nor endorses the cause or activities of organizations which use the District’s facilities. The facilities are made available as a public service.

***

 

June 2017 events: Climate Advocacy Training and Plant-Based ‘Meat’ Sampling

Hi everyone,

Many of you participated in the April 29 People’s Climate March – Orange County. Do you want to get more involved locally on these issues?

Sunday, June 11, 6:30p – 8:30p, Orange County for Climate Action is offering a free advocacy training on Climate Action Plans and Community Choice Energy. This event provides a rare and excellent opportunity to learn directly from Nicole Capretz of Climate Action Campaign, who led the way to groundbreaking climate progress in the city of San Diego. It is intended offer education on local climate issues, additionally, it is meant to help build confidence for those who might be struggling with feeling insecure or inadequate when faced with the thought of speaking up on these issues in public, e.g. at city council meetings. This training will be declared a “no embarrassment zone” for questions and concerns. Many need to feel part of a supportive social network with like-minded others to find their courage and their voice. There are many local opportunities. If this avenue of engagement interests you, please come find out more. To attend, please register here (free): Climate Action Plan & Community Choice Energy – Advocacy Training w Nicole Capretz.

Also, our next Plant Powered OC workshop will be Saturday, June 3, 9:30a – 11:30a at the Whole Foods in Brea. We had a great time in May tackling the “Milk Myth”. This time, the “Meat Myth”. The delightful, well-informed, plant-based advisor, Gina Bonanno-Lemos, will educate us on the health benefits of plant-based eating, and then the real fun happens: sampling of a variety plant-based meat alternatives. Come find your favorite yummy things! Admission is free. Register here for: The Meat Myth & Plant-Based Meat Sampling.

One more thing. This coming Sunday, May 21, we are headed out to Farm Sanctuary in Acton to participate in a vegan picnic on the grounds followed by a private tour that includes visiting with the animals. We are almost at capacity, but have room for one more person to join us. Seriously, only one more space is open. We have a carpool in both north and south Orange County and either has room for one more person. The tour is $10. If you want to come, email: info@livingubuntu.org.

In the spirit of Ubuntu,

Barbara English, LMFT, CBT, TRE® Certification Trainer
Co-founder and Executive Director, Living Ubuntu
livingubuntu.org | facebook | donate »
living vegan (facebook) | plant powered oc (facebook)
occlimateaction.org | facebook
(949) 891-2005

[Ubuntu] n. We belong to the greater whole.

Sat May 6, 2017: “The Milk Myth” & “SEVEN”

Hi everyone,

Last week was amazing! Thank you so much to all who came out for any or all of the events, Socially Accepted Practices & Traumatic Impact on Adolescents’ Development, The 11th Annual Golden West College Peace Conference, and Crises in the Ocean: How Compassionate Action Benefits Us All (w/ People’s Climate March). Additional gratitude to the incredible speakers, volunteers and organizations that helped to make all three events possible, highly successful and well-attended.

So, what’s next?

This coming Saturday, May 6, 10:00am – 12:00pm, come join Plant Powered OC at the Whole Foods in Brea for The Milk Myth & Non-Dairy Food Sampling! In honor of May as the month of Mother’s, we will be re-thinking our relationship with milk. Plant-Based Nutrition Advisor, Gina Bonanno-Lemos, will help us understand the research that begs to differ with the dairy industry slogans, such as “Milk Does a Body Good” and the myth of ‘happy cows’. Along with some serous learning, this event is going to be super-fun! We will be sampling plant-based milks, cheeses and ice cream. For those who want to learn more about how to transition to eating more plants, here is your opportunity to taste before you buy, and learn about the differing health benefits all at the same time. Admission is free. Space is limited. Register here.

Also on Saturday, May 6, 7:00pm, SEVEN – A Documentary Play, is being hosted by Neighborhood Congregational Church Outreach in Laguna Beach. Seven is a groundbreaking work of documentary theater that captures the remarkable lives of a diverse and courageous group of global women leaders. We are grateful to the organizers at NCC; they have graciously offered to donate 50% of the proceeds to Living Ubuntu. Come out and support, if you can.

“Riveting, explosive, and inspiring drama…starkly emotive…reaffirm[s] the belief that one person could indeed make a difference.”
— Huffington Post
(Read more about SEVEN)

And, for those of you who recently heard Gene Baur speak and are now interested in visiting Farm Sanctuary, we will be headed out there on Sunday May 21st. Space is limited. If you are interested, email: info@livingubuntu.org.

See you Saturday?

In the spirit of Ubuntu,
Barbara English, LMFT, CBT, TRE® Certification Trainer
Co-founder and Executive Director, Living Ubuntu
livingubuntu.org | facebook | donate »
living vegan (facebook) | plant powered oc (facebook)
occlimateaction.org | facebook
(949) 891-2005

[Ubuntu] n. We belong to the greater whole.

:::UPCOMING EVENTS:::

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These systems are failing | April 12, 2017 – Moby, Gene Baur, Allison Argo, The Last Pig

Moby: Are You Lost in the World Like Me?

Hi everyone,

Devoted followers of Moby might have noticed that he stopped touring and has committed much of his time to Animal Rights. Additionally, he has been quite outspoken on the environment and our current political situation. One of his recent music videos was nominated for a Webby Award. Beyond the animation, his message names something many of us recognize: “These systems are failing.” How many of us are struggling to come to terms with a deep sense of alienation amidst countless profound uncertainties, challenges, atrocities, injustices and insecurities in this world? Through his music, Moby asks us, “Are You Lost in the World Like Me?”

Next Wednesday, April 12, Moby will be making a very rare appearance in Orange County, joined by Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary, and filmmaker, Allison Argo — plus a screening of her latest documentary, The Last Pig. This is going to be a truly amazing event!

Please join us for Critical Conversations at Soka – Vegan Meat-Up with Moby, A Safe Space for the Curious Carnivore — buy tickets here.

…we all own flashlights | Upcoming Events

We cannot turn the light switch on for anyone. But we all own flashlights. With any luck, on any given day, we know where to aim them for each other. We do not rescue anyone at the margins. But go figure, if we stand at the margins, we are all rescued. No mistake about it.
– Father Greg Boyle: I thought I could “save” gang members. I was wrong.

Hi everyone,

In addition to my great appreciation for Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries and the sentiments he expressed in the above article, it reminded me of a poem by Mary Oliver called, The Journey. We save the only life we can, yet in so doing, sometimes we save one another.

We feel stronger, more secure and have more enjoyment when we feel well-connected with others. When we feel part of a group that we feel safe being in, then we allow our vulnerability to surface, and only then can we genuinely love one another. By contrast, when we feel threatened, our defenses go up. We begin to also fear our own vulnerability, sometimes projecting onto it that it is in and of itself the enemy. Vulnerability is not the enemy. It is where life lives. Our greatest strength is when the many come together as one in shared vulnerability.

“…we all own flashlights. With any luck, on any given day, we know where to aim them for each other.”

April brings together Earth Month, Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month, Animal Cruelty Prevention Month and much more. We offer a very full calendar of Upcoming Events with many opportunities to join us. This week includes the OC for Climate Action planning meeting, a super-fun Spring Garden Veggie Workshop, and a TRE Group Shake, followed by next week’s truly amazing April 12 Critical Conversations at Soka Performing Arts Center – Vegan Meat-Up: A Safe Space for the Curious Carnivore (scroll down for more info).

Hope to see you soon.

In the spirit of Ubuntu,

Barbara English, LMFT, CBT, TRE® Certification Trainer
Co-founder and Executive Director, Living Ubuntu
livingubuntu.org | facebook | donate »
living vegan (facebook) | plant powered oc (facebook)
occlimateaction.org | facebook
(949) 891-2005
[Ubuntu] n. We belong to the greater whole.

:::UPCOMING EVENTS:::

Orange County for Climate Action (OCCA) Meeting
Tuesday, April 4, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
Newport Beach

Spring Veggie Garden Workshop! (Plant Powered OC)
Wednesday, April 5, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Costa Mesa

Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE) – Group Shake
Thursday, April 6, 4:00pm – 5:00pm
Newport Beach

Vegan Meat-Up: A Safe Space for the Curious Carnivore
With Moby, Gene Baur, Allison Argo (Soka PAC)
Wednesday, April 12, 7:00pm – 9:45pm
Aliso Viejo

A Screening of Speciesism
With Filmmaker, Mark Devries — a Pre-Conference Event (GWC)
Thursday, April 20, 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Huntington Beach

Socially Accepted Practices and Traumatic Impact on Adolescents’ Development
With Special Guest, Gene Baur, Co-founder, Farm Sanctuary
Thursday, April 27, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
Fullerton

11th Annual Golden West College Peace Conference:
“A Sustainable Peace: Equity, Equality, and Environmental Interdependence in the 21st Century”
Friday, April 28, 8:30am – 5:00pm
Huntington Beach

Crises in the Ocean: How Compassionate Action Benefits Us All  & People’s Climate March – Orange County
Saturday, April 29, 9:00am – 4:00pm
Irvine

Keep Calm & Go Vegan | Intro to TRE Feb 15 | Veggie Grill fundraiser Feb 23

Hi everyone,

One of my favorite t-shirts says, “Keep Calm and Go Vegan”. It is a pretty simple suggestion for optimal health, addressing both of the major causes of disease-causing inflammation in the body (i.e. chronic stress-trauma states in the nervous system and consumption of animal products as a mainstay in one’s diet) while supporting compassionate living at the same time.

For those alarmed by recent local, national, and global events, let alone the day to day situations we all go through in our own personal lives, the “Keep Calm” part might seem unrealistic and possibly ill-advised. However, we are not at our best when living with our emergency response system “on” all the time and sometimes we lose access to the “off” or “dimmer” switch.

If “Keep Calm” is desirable but challenging for you, please consider attending Introduction to Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®), Wednesday, February 15, 7:00pm – 9:00pm in Newport Beach. As always, if paying the registration fee is out of reach for you, please get in touch so we can make other arrangements. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. (What is TRE®?)

And about that “Go Vegan” part. Will you come join us at the Living Ubuntu fundraiser at the Veggie Grill (by Tustin Marketplace) on Thursday, February 23? Come for dinner any time between 4:00pm and 9:00pm, mention “Living Ubuntu” and the Veggie Grill will donate 33% of the sales to us. Your support would mean a lot.

Scroll down for additional Upcoming Events.