We all have a need to be a part of something, yet genuine community has become much less important in general. Luckily, the tides are changing and we are returning to a desire to be part of something other than ourselves. If you are interested in meeting people from your community and meeting plants on a new level, join us on Sunday, June 9th from 1pm-2pm as local herbalist, Becky Coleman-Efigenio shares stories about the human and plant world. We desire to cultivate community and showing up as oneself.  Join members and plants of your community that encourage the heart to open. We will close with a tea made collaboratively with the group.

Event information: Free Speaker Series: No fee

Date: Sunday June 9th

Time: 1pm-2pm

Location: Enkyoji Buddhist Temple, Hungerford Building, 1115 East Main Street Rochester 14609 4th Floor, Room 436 & 438

(Look for the big red door directly off the elevator) ;)

      

Hello Summer! It's time to dust off the cold and damp shadows of Winter and lavish ourselves with some Sunshine and happiness. This month we are going to begin discussing self-care and it's many joys! Join us after services on May 26th from 1pm-2pm as we talk about reducing stress, and the importance of self-care, remembering to lighten up and having fun. Explore the relationship between your thoughts, physiology and behaviors with Annabelle Ludwick. We will also discuss learning to connect with our inner joy and what science and spirituality have to say about this.  We hope guests leave inspired to be silly by means of tapping into personal self-care and body energy channels. It's a possibility that we will be doing some yoga to connect ourselves with our loving bodies, so dress comfortably.

Annabelle Ludwick is a 200 hour certified Yoga Instructor, Electromagnetic-matrix Healer, Ayurvedic Herbalism Apprentice, Master Food Preserver, and founder of Whole Being Basics: Yoga and Homesteading. Whole Being Basics: Facebook

Remember all of our speakers are donating their time and services to Enkyoji Buddhist Temple and as such all talks in the Living a Connected Life series are absolutely free. We are so grateful for our speakers and we hope you share your love and praise with them as well.

Event information: Free Speaker Series: No fee

Date: Sunday May 26th 

Time: 1pm-2pm

Location: Enkyoji Buddhist Temple, Hungerford Building, 1115 East Main Street Rochester 14609 4th Floor, Room 436 & 438

(Look for the big red door directly off the elevator) ;)

We have had so many wonderful speakers volunteer their time and knowledge to benefit our community and would like to welcome our 6th speaker on Sunday, April 28th at 1pm. Local herbalist Zachary Imiola will be sharing with us the fascinating topic of Plant Consciousness and The Awakening of Nature. This workshop is about connecting with our body. The body is Nature and by connecting with it, we can connect with all natural things at a deeper level. By stepping out of our mind dominated mode of consciousness and into the body, we experience firsthand the state of unconscious oneness that all Nature lives in, and make it conscious, bringing all of Nature with us in the process.

Event information: Free Speaker Series: No fee

Date: Sunday April 28th

Time: 1pm-2pm

Location: Enkyoji Buddhist Temple, Hungerford Building, 1115 East Main Street Rochester 14609 4th Floor, Room 436 & 438

(Look for the big red door directly off the elevator) ;)

         Join us on March 31st as Rawson Duckett of Flower City Roots helps us to reconnect with our soil. Our discussion will focus on the intertwining nature of gardening and how it can improve our physical health, mental well-being, and spiritual connections. Learn to find the meditative qualities in working the earth, find out why breathing in the air and soil far outweigh the benefits of yogurt, and discuss medicinal connections to local plants.

Event information: Free Speaker Series: No fee

Date: Sunday March 31st

Time: Start - 1pm/ End - by 3pm or before

Location: Enkyoji Buddhist Temple, Hungerford Building, 1115 East Main Street Rochester 14609 4th Floor, Room 436 & 438

Happy Chinese New Year! February brings many holidays celebrating the new year, the return of Spring, and honoring the coming fires of Summer. In addition to Chinese New Year, we just had Candlemass, Imbolg, and Groundhog Day. Our Groundhog friend goes outside and if he sees his shadow, he runs off and we get 6 more weeks of Winter...yay. This year Punxsutawney Phil says yes to an early Spring. Regardless of the little groundhog's opinion though, it's still cold and Winter is still upon us. For many, that signifies extra hours indoors and the occasional struggle with depression. Our vitamin D levels are low and we're itching to go swimming when temperatures reach a high of 63F.

Our next guest speaker will be sharing insights into our connection with nature even in the heart of Winter. Time with nature is of the utmost value and can help with seasonal depression. Join our conversation to share ideas on bringing nature into the home and connecting more with the natural world. We will also be discussing outdoor Winter opportunities in Rochester as well as what we can look forward to outside as soon as Spring is here!

Join us on Sunday, February 17th from 1pm-3pm after services in the Enkyoji Buddhist Temple

located at 1115 East Main Street Suite 436, 4th Floor, Rochester NY 14609.

Our next lecture will be led by Tom Szulist of Singer Farm Naturals. This discussion will help us to understand and enhance “The human experience” and how we can work with our bodies to help our minds. Tom will explain the symbiotic relationship we have with microbes and how we can mindfully change that experience. Learn how everyday herbs like garlic and turmeric can affect your biome, thus affecting human health. Learn which foods can lead to anxiety/depression and which choices can produce a calm and focused mind. Join us at 1pm at Shoeizan Enkyoji Buddhist Temple on December 9^th or come early for services and lunch! Gassho!

“Living a Connected Life”

with Herbalism

Thursday November 29th, 6pm

Autumn has begun and winter is on its way. We know what that means and it would be nice to have more cups of tea and less visits to the doctor. Join us on the 4^th floor of the Hungerfold Building on November 29^th at 6pm to open the book on herbalism 101. Herbalist, Kristin Grohman will guide you through understanding the value and powerful effect of being in a right, reciprocal relationship with herbal medicine. Her introduction to herbalism will discuss the importance of whole plant medicine and how we can cultivate relationships with the plant world to guide our healing. If you are interested in herbalism but don’t know where to start, this will be a great opportunity! Check out the links for information on the guest speaker, the location, and address!

Location ~ Shoeizan Enkyoji Buddhist Temple of Rochester

Address: ~ 1115 East Main Street Suite 436, 4th Floor, Rochester, NY 14609

Living a Connected Life

Speaker Series in the Hungerford!

Beginning October 2018, Shoeizan Enkyoji Buddhist Temple of Rochester will be offering free monthly presentations on a wide range of topics which tie together how we can live healthier, more vibrant, connected lives!

Join us on October 21st at 1pm for our first speaker, Dr. Joshua Keeler as he explains the world of proper body mechanics and how to create better blood flow to reduce daily pain and discomfort. Click the links below to meet some of our other speakers!

This series will highlight fascinating topics that can enrich our lives and improve our overall health and well-being. Topics will include but not be limited to chiropractic, the great outdoors, herbalism, farming, martial arts and body mechanics, meditation and mindfulness, and managing our stressful lives with plant based whole foods.

To see a glimpse of what the speakers are going to touch on, continue reading the following vehicle visualization.

Let's use the common vehicle analogy as a way to look at your body as a vehicle. First imagine that your body transports you, your inner being, just as your car transports you and your family around town.

How does your vehicle communicate with your computer and your engine? Is the computer your brain, does it tell you what to do? Maybe it is the engine, maybe the brain makes everything else function. Could it be that your digestion is where all of the engine functions happen? If that is the case, what is the computer exactly?

Now think about maintenance of this vehicle. What happens when you don't fuel up your vehicle or don't put in the correct fluids? What happens when your vehicle sits for too long while on vacation or over the winter? What happens when your check engine light comes on and is ignored indefinitely....I've done with this multiple vehicles. If our fuel is our food and our fluids are proper hydration (predominantly water), our vacation is our sedentary lifestyles, and our check engine light is our aches and pains, then how can tending to all of these things in turn help all of the others? Let's say all of the above have happened. Your poor little car sat all winter with an empty fuel tank and won't start. In this particular situation, you get the little gas can and come back and fill up the tank. Still puttering....oh my, now what? Our vehicles have been on standby for so long, it's difficult sometimes to decide what is the quickest fix. Do we eat healthier?....We try a little, go for a walk here and there, see the chiropractor once a month, take our medications....and yet we are still just puttering through life.

By sharing the knowledge from such a wide range of experts, we hope to provide and gain (we will be listening too!) insight into how we can balance the options to improve our physical bodies, our mental and emotional states, and our spiritual beings.

Little Lotus Seeds will begin during service hours on September 16th!

Shoeizan Enkyoji Buddhist Temple of Rochester will now be providing a children's mindfulness practice to help our new Lotus Seeds grow and bloom!

Lotus flowers bloom in ponds and swamps. They bloom in standing water, often times muddy. Despite the muddy water in which they grow, lotus flowers remain pure and clean. In the same way, the Buddha’s teachings are within the “muddiness” of this world. As practitioners of the Lotus Sutra, we wish for all beings to see the pure land in every day life and see the potential for Buddhahood in every being that they meet.

Our children at Little Lotus Seeds learn the techniques and skills necessary to grow up peacefully within the muddy difficulties of life in a way that is harmonious with those around them. Children will have opportunities to learn calming techniques such as breathing, yoga, and a variety of forms of meditation depending on the energy level of individual students that day. Parents are invited to attend regular services at the same time and allow children to attend class in the dojo space. A community lunch (usually vegetarian) is served immediately after service and childrens' lunches will be offered with specific dietary needs in mind. Please feel free to join us at the Enkyoji Buddhist Temple on Sundays from 10:30am-12:00pm starting September 16th 2018!

Beauty in the Muck

This week the babies and toddlers meetup will continue at the new time, 2pm on Thursdays. The song for this week is a Spanish version of "Hey Diddle, Diddle, the Cat & the Fiddle" called "Ay Tirirín". The youtube video Ay Tirirín - Hey Diddle Diddle

All meetups will be at Laughing Gull Chocolates located at 1868 E Main St, Rochester, NY 14609.

     Welcome to Rochester's new Spanish baby book club and sing-a-long hour. That's a mouthful for sure. How do you name something that has not really become a thing? Juega y Aprende means "play and learn" and that is the premise for our little Spanish language baby and parent meetup. We sit, chat, play, sip tasty beverages, sing songs in Spanish, and read baby books in Spanish. It's a free meetup at an awesome new dig called Laughing Gull Chocolates on Thursdays at 2pm. When you attend, you get a discount too but no purchase required. Don't worry, you're going to want something anyways. They have hand-made chocolate treats from fair trade chocolate, coffee, local grocery products and gifts. On top of the that, there is a clean and safe space for babes and toddlers to toddle around. Juega y Aprende is like a book club in that I check out books each week from the library but also like a sing-a-long in the sense that I theme them to songs that I've memorized to share with the group. After all, the babes aren't looking forward to sharing their feelings about Wuthering Heights for an hour....just quite yet. It is a bit like a Spanish language meetup in that we code switch conversationally between Spanish and English depending on attendance and language level. Regardless of all of these things, it's cute and it's fun. If you have been thinking about teaching your child Spanish and don't know where to start, start with immersion. This week for example, I will be bringing an assortment of story books about bed time and we will be singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in Spanish. Each week, I will post a photo of the lyrics to the song for attendants to look back on and practice at home and this blog will be the new location announcing upcoming events and themes. My only disclaimer, don't be shy, I'm giving up on that too. Our little dude is 6.5 months old and no one has time for perfection!

     This is what I would have said to my little wiggle worm when I held him for the first time if I had not been sleep deprived or been under the restraints of almost certain postpartum depression. Instead I don't remember any special thoughts or feelings, only relief after the exhaustion of childbirth. Christmas was two weeks later and while I've had plenty of "ah, awe, ooh," moments, the daily grind was anything but picturesque. Now at six and a half months, I feel blessed. There are little situations that push me to the limit but now I breathe and try to remind myself about how lucky I am to have this little guy in my life.

     What he has succeeded in doing is bringing light and life to a silly 30 something who was still lamenting long lost days of freedom that one can only know through being single and working part-time in a dead-end job. What I mean here is, I spent most days for several years in a vicious cycle of getting up late, falling asleep because of staying up late, not accomplishing anything and then feeling guilty and thus staying up late after a nap to try to get things done. I was miserable more often than not whereas now I appreciate sitting and finishing, gasp, a hot cup of coffee. The mundane and boring moments have become peaceful times of reflection. A phone call to a family member is something special and to be remembered. Playtime with my cat, a conversation with someone in line, even shushing my little one to sleep are all perfect moments in the here and now. If we do not enjoy the mundane, we waste the majority of our happiness waiting for the exceptional. He has taught me, enjoy these less than desirable things...the diapers, the litter box, the dishes, the pulling of weeds, and especially the shushing to sleep. That is surely what we will miss.

It has been an idea of mine for some time now to photograph something groundbreaking in the community. Recently, I was fortunate to stumble upon the iGrow Youth Farm of Tallahassee, Florida. The garden is managed by a few dedicated adults and ten or so unlikely gardeners: local high school students. They team up twice weekly to work, plan, and sell their produce. I was immediately drawn to them because they are an integral part of something else growing in Tallahassee: community gardens! Luckily, I had the chance to spend some time with them to learn what they’ve learned, to feel their sense of community, and to try to understand why they like gardening.

The teens are very knowledgeable about the processes of gardening. I really loved the details they shared: how the compost works, why there are several layers, why it shouldn’t dry out, and why it needs oxygen and nitrogen. One high school student explained how a local garden is much more cost effective than a commercial store. There is literally much less overhead, as there is no “big-box” to pay for. Also, there is no middle-man: the teens harvest the food when the customers stop by for their orders. Food doesn’t get any fresher, and that makes the teens proud.

This is a magnificent opportunity for youth to experience food in a whole new way. They are learning when to plant, thin, and harvest crops, as well as how to do everything else that goes with a garden. However, there is much more to do than just grow food. Each Monday they get the chance to cook a meal together using the foods they’ve grown. The gardeners are even sharing in the chore of building a shed to store their tools and supplies. The adult team leader working with them on the shed has built houses with Habitat for Humanity, so the teens are getting the added bonus of learning carpentry skills from someone with experience. He is definitely making sure the work is done right, too. The last time I visited them, they were creating a gradient to the land to prevent water from settling underneath the shed.

Most important was the insight into what they liked about the garden.  The students are well aware of the garden’s benefit to the community and are pleased to share with the neighbors who frequently keep an eye out for the garden area. Of course they appreciate reaping the edible rewards of all their hard labor as well. My absolute favorite response was related to compost: a student’s fascination with the alchemy behind composting. By combining many different separate recognizable pieces, we get something completely new yet still familiar – soil.  It reminded me of building a community, which is exactly what these students have accomplished.

If anyone is interested in supporting the iGrow Youth Farm, don’t hesitate to visit them! They are located on Dunn Street in Tallahassee, and you can find them tending to the garden every Monday and Friday afternoon. Available at the garden are many varieties of greens, carrots, chives, chard, parsley, lettuce, and kale. If you are interested in having your own garden, the teens will build and install raised beds for customers who request it. If you don’t have space for a real garden, they also sell iGrow buckets — self-watering container gardens — pre-planted with tomatoes with a built-in trellis for customers who would like to ease their way into gardening. Maybe with a little help from the iGrow Youth Farm, you can say “I grew something" too.

       This darling little place is a garden in Tallahassee called the Betton Hills Community Garden. Coordinated by Sue Hansen of Tallahassee, the garden is managed well with 12 orderly 10 foot by 10 foot square plots which are individually purchased. Gardeners decide what they would like to grow, and tend to their plots accordingly.                                                                      

Once a month, everyone pitches in for their “work day” which includes the chores and upkeep of the area as a group. For instance, one helpful gardener painted on a protective coat for the garden sign that was a little under the weather. Normally “work days” also include weeding, mulching, and raking the common areas. They have really put a lot of work into this garden from the beginning. Just the ground for the beds alone was designed by layering the following items in this order: a layer of cardboard, six to eight inches of leaf mulch, two year old mushroom compost, and seaweed with granite dust mixed in. More leaf mulch and shredded tree bark was used in the walkways. These crafty locals also designed several gorgeous benches and their garden sign with abandoned wood.

                     Sue shared one particular story with me that demonstrates the group’s commitment to the garden’s success. She described, “When our garden was approved by the City, the City installed a water meter close to the edge of the property, by the sidewalk and on a slope.  To get water to our beds required approximately 80 feet of hose.  Because the garden is located in a park area maintained (mowed each Monday) by Parks and Recreation crews, we had to keep removing the hose and keep it coiled up in the central area of our garden so it would not interfere with their mowing.  The slope got muddy and slippery; it was difficult and hazardous. So we built some sturdy wooden steps to get to the spigot. I informed the City of what we had done and why, and two weeks later they installed an underground pipe and a spigot in the center of our garden, no charge!  To pay to have it done would have cost us $10 per foot.” This story really speaks to me because it shows how they were able to cooperate with the governing body affecting them. With a little creativity and patience, they were able to peacefully resolve a situation that affected their community.

         When a group of people come together to create something amazing, they really need to be able to work together like this. That is why one of the most important aspects of community gardens is the community. Luckily, they have this wonderful skill of camaraderie. These green thumb friends take a break here and there to recount the important things in life. Of course, the gardeners really benefit from each other’s expertise as well. If one gardener isn’t sure about a particular vegetable, one of the other growers is bound to know the answer. When they are done sharing the chores and each other’s company, they share their wonderful creations.

Some of the colorful edibles from their garden that day were winter greens, broccoli, cauliflower, leeks, basil, tarragon, parsley, turnips, and ginger. In the summer they usually have tomatoes and peppers as well.

         If you are in Tallahassee and would like to join this community, feel free to send me an email and I will get you in contact with them.

         Recently, when traveling to Ireland, I had this ridiculous elaborate plan to stop one day in each special place which I’d dreamt of for so long. We had a week…so that was a bad plan. So, there are the famous Cliff’s of Moher, there are numerous ancient Celtic ruins, and the awe inspiring Giant’s Causeway to the north. This didn’t even begin to touch on all that most people travel to Ireland to see; it was just my personal plan.

         I didn’t see any of it. Upon inspecting the train system on our second day in Dublin, we quickly realized that there wouldn’t be enough time to go to each location we had in mind. So we planned to leave Dublin and head towards our predetermined departure location, Shannon Airport. This, we presumed, would allow us to see the Cliff’s of Moher, to stay in Dingle, a famous seaport relatively close to the Cliffs, and maybe visit Galway before we left. Our train left Dublin at 11am on our third day and we made it to the closest town near Dingle at around 3pm. The next bus to Dingle left at four. Our hour long bus ride into the vast countryside was convincing enough. We would enjoy ourselves more in one location than spending so much time to get to each new site. We also settled on Dingle because it satisfied several other personal “must see” requirements. An Daingaen is a Gaeltacht – a region where Gaelic is spoken frequently and preferred. It is also known for its live pub music scene, and is a harbour fishing town.

         The first night still allowed me the time to grab a bite and take in the season’s last amazing performance of live pub music. Then the wonderful beauty of travel took shape. Something occurred that was far better than our original plan. Apparently, the Dingle Peninsula was once named “the most beautiful place on earth” by National Geographic. What!? I can’t really describe how excited I was as a photographer to learn that information. Cliffs, beaches, and rolling hills covered in farm houses and pastures of sheep as far as the eye can see. This was, however, a journey outside of town in which one was supposed to rent a car or take a bus tour around the iconic peninsula. We had neither option, no car and running low on funds.  As luck would have it though, I met the kindest couple from Connecticut who decided to let us join them on their self driven tour. In return, they were compensated with complete coverage of their journey.

          So whether it is your wedding day or that big trip to the Emerald Isle that you’ve planned your whole life, go with the flow. God is there on your wedding day and definitely in Ireland.