This past Monday Shalaco Sching and I officially launched 300 Acres (http://300acres.com) - a project poised to raise $70,000 in 30 days to save 300 acres of ancestral land for the Shuar/Quichua people in Puyo, Ecuador.

The 300 Acres Project sprung from the recent Google Earth Outreach/Indigenous Mapping Summit at Google headquarters in Mountain View. I participated by helping with logistics, and brainstorming “ice-breakers” and curriculum with the Google Earth Outreach staff. I took this effort on as a volunteer project on top of my full-time position as Community Manager for Google Sidewiki.

I met many amazing indigenous people from all over the world – but one story stuck with me. It was that of Flavio Santi, the Shuar/Quichua healer and leader of the Amazanga people in attendance from the far-reaches of Puyo, Ecuador. He gave a captivating talk with poignant analogies that gently inspired the hearts of everyone that listened to him. I was so taken by his story that it led me to the question – What can I do?

His goal – purchase 300 acres of ancestral land that was taken from the Amazanga people…and do it in 30 days or less. It’s not that he threw out this gauntlet to see if we could achieve it. He and his people only have 30 days to make this happen. Building on the amazing ground work already in place, I decided to put my Web 2.0 skillset to the task.

So, I hired a dear friend (ahem, Shalaco) to be the web developer and nudged my talented boyfriend to be the graphic designer, and with some fairy dust and a lot of support I took on the lead as content director for this website. And, here we are – less than a week later from when I heard the touching tale of the indigenous people being encroached on by developers, land investors, and the industrial world-at-large. My plan – tell everyone I can get a hold of that WE CAN SAVE THE RAINFOREST IN 30 DAYS.

When you look at the big picture – we’re actually protecting ancient wisdom and cultures while combating the globalization that leads to the destruction of our precious resources.

Consider yourself a “bioneer” by giving your contribution to the Amazanga people. And for those that are on Facebook playing Farmville – try this one on for size. We’re making Farmville a reality, and we’re making it global!

Sincerely,

Natalie Villalobos

P.S. You can give your donation or Facebook/Twitter support at 300acres.com

Last week during my BIL talk I briefly mentioned the differerent options of what you can use for personal, portable tea ceremony. I mentioned that some people like the shiny touch and feel of porecelin, while others may favor glass, or something more earthen. Personally, I tend to prefer something that is handmade from clay, which to me ultimately feels more grounding. Pottery that is charcoal fired is nice, with a smooth non-glossy glaze. It's delicate feel contributes to the sense of innermost softness. It appeals to our sensibility of practicality and depth.

When purchasing tea pots and wares I tend to pick up items that have a symmetry or whimsical nature about them. This too contributes to the attiude with which you'd like to celebrate your life and what you'd like to bring to it. I also greatly enjoy the rough edges of gritty clay based products which I feel mimic the feeling of what it'd feel like to cup earth in my palms.

I've also found it difficult to make beautiful artisan cups and pots portable. The two best things that I've found that I carry with me everyday are a thermos from Timolino or a Kerr jar with a cozy (see pictures below). Honestly, the soft Kerr jar feels like a warm stuffed animal in your hands - it's darn comforting and if you're extra talented I suggest picking up your own felt and doing some custom designs on it. (The cover itself is removable so you can wash the jar)

How do you transport your tea/ceremony?

(from the folks at Just Fine Design Build P.S. Don't blame them that it comes with only the finest SF coffee)

(as seen on In Pursuit of Tea)

I am down in Long Beach this week on behalf of Google Sidewiki - to distribute HD Flip cams to attendees who use Sidewiki to generate conversation on the conference website. So far I've given out 15 or so of the 25 that I have. It's going well - the crowd is diverse. Technologists, scientists, authors, TED escapees, venture capitalists, altruists, etc.

I thought I'd add to the blend and speak on two passions of mine - Tea and Meditation. I should also say that I've never spoken on these subjects before - at least not to a crowd of unknown people.

I proposed this:

This talk will address our need to find balance amongst the ever increasing desire to be constantly connected to our highly addictive shiny technology thingies. I will discuss how to find time in the day to meditate, bring up some breathing techniques, and propose how the simplicity of tea drinking can help us achieve mindfulness. I’ll also be touching upon some of the mental and physical disorders technologists suffer from, and what common sense wisdom we can all conjure to overcome them.

I'll have to post the talk here when the BIL and TechZulu staff are done editing things down. I desire feedback from my community - whether you're a teaist, fellow meditator, techie, whatever. It's for the betterment of diseminating information that can help us all. I wanted to stray from talking about how meditation affects the brain and the health properties of tea. I wanted to share how simple techniques that I've learned over the years are being utilized in the greater tech industry to find balance and well-being in our increasingly busy lives. And I think I did it. First verision. Draft 1. Now I want to revise it, learn from it, and take it farther.

I added elements of Native American principals, cultural elements from Japan, China, and Iran, and spoke with a lot of Non-Violent Communication flavor. We all already have the ability to access the calm and the present - and by all means, I'm new at this. But I think we're all affected by a rushed and overly connected life, even if we can't accurately look and admit to ourselves how wound up we are. Especially us tech kids.

So, I present you with my slides. Huge thanks to @drkkolmes and @SorenG for insights and learnings and to the Meditation list at Google for your support.

Recently we received some really fantastic press on two of the projects I've dedicated my heart to for the past few months.

The Raygun Gothic Rocketship on featured on Time.com

Ephemerisle - a floating fesitval of politics, community and art on Make Magazine

Based in the Bay Area, the Seasteading Institute's mission is to "further the establishment and growth of permanent, autonomous ocean communities, enabling innovation with new political and social systems." They just hosted their second annual Seasteading Conference, and this weekend, they host the first annual Ephemerisle Festival of Politics, Community, and Art, being held October 2-4, 2009 in the Sacramento River Delta. The entire festival will be in the water, with a large central community platform augmented by participants bringing their boats, rafts, and unique homebuilt floating structures. The goal is to "provide a fun and innovative venue for the public to get their first taste of seasteading." There will be music, dance, open mic performances, and even classes on how to build your own floating platform. One of the theme camps, named Apocaisle, is working on producing a how-to for modular floating platforms that are easily reproducible; they are also working on creating Ephemerisle's pirate radio station. Ephemerisle's wiki has lots more information, including attendees platform-building notes, like Matt Bell's DIY for building a floating camp platform for 2 for under $120.

I've been a big fan of Mike Giant's for years. Ever since my ex-boyfriend Ben introduced to me his art by showing me the tattoo of a buxom nurse holding a needle that Mike did on his arm. What I love most about Mike's art is that he illustrates the type of woman I group up intimidated by in San Jose. Granted, I lived in an affluent suburb, but Chicano/Latino/Mexicano "cholas" still peppered my life - whether I was on the West side or the East side. He captures the romance of these "gangsta' women" and the almost indentured servitude and respect they give to their culture and their men. I own a couple original pieces, and am proud to call Mike an acquaintance and attend his art gatherings at the Skullz Press on Divisidero in SF. Today while surfing around on Rebel 8, the clothing line run by Joshy D, I stumbled upon the reasoning behind the "8" that I see in Mike's work, and now have a better understanding as to why others who are interested in his art might want it tattooed on them.

I have profound respect for Noah Levine and how he has been guiding the incorporation of Buddhism into the punk rock life/lifestyle throughout the world. Souls previously harboring anger, destruction, violence, and addiction have learned to set themselves free with wisdom taught through his meditation group and book - Dharma Punx.

Here Mike discusses the symbology of the "8" which I believe transcends punk, art, and instead is the act of being punk through art. It shows how we can still be spiritual while keeping our cultural identifiers.

(Seen here with Derick Montez, protoge of Mike Giant at Skullz Press. Photo courtesy of Merlin Jackson)

 From Mike:

"A lot of people ask me what the “8” means. For myself, it’s a reference to the Noble Eightfold Path as taught by Shakyamuni Buddha about 2500 years ago. Through deep introspection and mindful living, following his path has revealed that my own greed, hatred, and delusion are the roots of my suffering. His teachings helped me understand that my suffering originates from within me, not from some outside source. By practicing his Noble Eightfold Path as best I can, I honestly feel like I’ve liberated myself from much of the base suffering I feel day to day by simply understanding that my ego is a creation of my thinking mind and I don’t need to pay it much attention if it isn’t helpful.

The Buddha broke his Eightfold Path down like this:

1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

Although this sequence isn’t particularly chronological, in my experience Right View helped the development of Right Intention, which in turn helped the development of Right Speech, and so on down the list.

Gaining a proper understanding of Right View is the first step in realizing liberation through the Eightfold Path. Right View is sometimes translated as “right perspective”, “right vision” or “right understanding”. It revealed to me a way of seeing life as it truly is in the present moment, rather than experiencing life as conceptualized within the confines of my thinking mind. In this way, Right View helps me understand that I create my own suffering, and happiness for that matter. I learned that I must be personally responsible for maintaining peace and tranquility of mind because nobody else will do it for me. Once I had really established Right View for myself, I was able to free myself from my fear of inevitable sickness, aging and my eventual death. I also began to understand the base nature of human existence and Ultimate Reality. And although Right View may begin with concepts and propositions, through diligent meditation practice it has gradually become a way for me to eradicate the distractions of my thinking mind.

Right View has also revealed to me the Law of Karma, such that every action in body, speech and mind will have a likewise reaction depending on your intention. To put it simply, if you wish to have a life free of suffering you must act with that intention in everything you do. If your intentions cause harm to those around you, it should be no surprise that someone else intends to harm you. Violence feeds violence. Only non-violence brings peace. I have certainly found this to be the case in my own experience.

Right View also revealed to me the nature of impermanence, such that all things are subject to change. Nothing is absolute, or static. There is no birth, nor death, only change. Fear of death exists in all of us, and it holds us back. We weren’t designed to last forever. We all have to make our peace with death before we can really live. Take advantage of your time right here right now before it’s too late.

As an example of how to understand Right View, consider a leaf on a tree. You may look at a leaf on a tree and allow your mind to create all kinds of distinctions about the leaf. You could compare its color to other leaves. You could compare its size and shape to other leaves. You could think about how old the leaf is or consider how long until it falls from its branch. You could give the leaf a personality and create its life story. You could consider all kinds of “What Ifs”. Like, what if a gust of wind comes along and breaks the leaf free of the branch? What if the tree catches fire? What if the leaf has magic powers?

Or, you could just sit down, quiet your mind and meditate on the leaf. This is how you get to know the leaf as expressed through Right View. With Right View, you can see that the leaf has no beginning and no end. You can see that the leaf is connected to the tree that is connected to the Earth that is connected to the sky. You can see that the rain that falls from the sky is in the leaf. You can see that the leaf produces the oxygen we all need to breathe. You can see that the veins in a leaf grow in the same way that the veins in your body grow. You can see that when the leaf is dry and old, it falls to the ground, disintegrates, becomes fertilizes for the tree, and is again reborn as the tree itself and everything around it. With Right View, you will see that you and the leaf are in fact One.

And once you have established Right View for yourself, you will also see that as a human being you were meant to be happy, content, and loved. Simple as that.

From the Dhammapada:

“All experience is preceded by mind, led by mind, made by mind.
Speak or act with a corrupted mind,
And suffering follows
As the wagon wheel follows the hoof of the ox.

All experience is preceded by mind, led by mind, made by mind.
Speak or act with a peaceful mind,
And happiness follows
Like a never-departing shadow.”"