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Monday, June 1, 2015

Gift Ecology Pilgrimage (updated)

日本語はこちら
*this article is being edited so it is impermanent. Please do check out the links!

The Great Adventure begins!
A pilgrimage of 14 Japanese adventurers to places founded on the principles of ecology, compassion, and social transformation in the magical Bay Area. An experiment that will change our lives in some way, and shine light on what is possible. This will be a journey of hope and inspiration, full of cross-cultural pollination.


WHAT I DO (for context)

These visits to the West Coast are an important source of inspiration for my “work” in Japan. In Japan, the title that I go by (and that people know me by) is 共生革命家 (Kyoosei kakumeeka).  First two characters mean co-existence or inter-being, next two mean revolution, the last is home. My purpose in life has increasingly become focused on figuring out how I can best serve humanity and the earth. I love it, what could be more meaningful than that?!!! More and more, I feel guided on this path of interdependence and liberation.

My work consists of a variety of experiments in and around Tokyo that include guerilla seed planting,  guerrilla gardening, meditation flash mobs..... I also teach permaculture, compassionate communication (based on Nonviolent Communication), mindfulness, facilitation skills, gift ecology, etc. I've been experimenting with a gift economy based livelihood and that has been a really interesting journey. Almost all my workshops/presentations have no price set, there is no obligation to pay, its my gift. In fact, I want everybody to know how to live ecologically and compassionately, so I'm trying to remove as many barriers to that knowledge as possible. Money is often a major divider, so without a price, I'll get people who lost their jobs, students, professionals, and even bankers! But, I do invite people to support me if they like what I teach, what I do, or just are inspired to contribute. I was transformed by Goenka's vipassana meditation centers. They practice a pay-it-forward system, and so your 10-day meditation retreat (clean sleeping space, food, service) is already paid for! Definitely try it out! 

Since I stopped living on farms, and now do my social change experiments in Tokyo and across the Pacific, I've moved back to a higher consumption (lower material production) life-style. (if you are interested in how I used to live, click here) But, I have this belief that if the work I do is meaningful, somehow I will be supported to do it. It's been 2 years, I'm thriving, and I have a diverse global support network! So this gift economy works, or more accurately, I am alive and it is the path I am now on. I'm meeting more and more people who live and practice the gift economy, like Mark Boyle in England, Pancho in Oakland, Nipun Mehta in Santa Clara, and numerous more. My brother just moved to the Possibility Alliance, which seems to be a major hub for gift economics. Exciting!!!

*more on my experiments and books


THE TOUR

With my friend Eri Suzuki, we planned a tour to meet amazing sustainability activists and experience life-regenerating sites. The tour was primarily focused on urban permaculture, but then I added in agroecology, and then just had to integrate the gift economy. There is a lot of overlap here, and for me these are the foundations for the next era of humanity. The tour is also a "gift" in itself to the participants. 12 Japanese have come together to visit these sites with us and explore the gift economy, or as I now refer to it, the gift ecology. Its not just an economy. Life is a gift, air is a gift, water is a gift, sun is a gift, trees are a gift. Without these gifts, our lives would not be possible. Our economy needs these foundational "free" inputs. Without the ecosystem, our economy would not exist. So we all live in a gift ecology, but often our minds are heavily focused on the conventional economy, and one-on-one exchange. People are always giving us things too, and we are always giving others things, no matter how "poor" we are. In fact, our parents (and/or care-givers) give us so much for us to be alive today. Our life is a gift or the Earth and our human family.

Back to the tour. So, we took a leap of faith, and while there are real costs that require money, we decided to gift it to the tour participants in a similar manner as my workshops. They have no obligation to pay, but they are invited to contribute if their heart is inspired. And we extended the invitation to everybody. Lots of people are contributing to us for this experiment, people who have generously donated money, people who have offered their homes, people who are excited to make us a delicious meal, people who are in Japan helping coordinate logistics and media. It's quite the trip! It really feels like an ecology of goodness.

Our hope is that this will create a solid ripple in our consciousness. The tour is just one experiment in a larger global movement. Eri and I are changing, the participants will probably be transformed, those that give to the tour will probably experience something special, and the story will spread beyond our imagination. We are creating a new reality together. Join us! You can contribute to this experiment, start your own, or join one of the amazing people/places in the links below. The transformation comes from giving. We live in a gift ecology. Yay!

Contact us if you are wanting to be involved in someway (or leave a comment). Our response might be a bit slow but we'll make sure to get back. And if you want to contribute financially, you can donate to the experiment too! Click on the Donate button on the right of the blog and please leave a comment (we want to know what moved you!)

tup2015baytour(a)gmail.com  change the (a) to @

Below is the schedule for our pilgrimage. All are super highly recommended places (with beautiful people), so if you are in the area (or even if you are not), please go visit and experience them. These are places that demonstrate solutions. And the people are dedicated to revolutionary sustainable living and radical social change. We're all in this together.

THE PILGRIMAGE

May 31 ARRIVAL
  • 1~3pm Karma Kitchen in Berkley 
  • Head to Los Gatos to stay with Plum Village friends Sally and Beem
  • Sangha meditation at Sally and Beems
JUNE 1 AGROECOLOGY@University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)
JUNE 2 Alternative Santa Cruz & PICA
JUNE 3 Food and Meditation


  • 7 pm Awakin Santa Clara community meditation and meal with the Mehtas
  • 11 pm Casa De Paz / Canticle Farm
    • JUNE 4 Canticle Farm (Meditation, Farm work, Food prep)
    • Meditation
    • Casa de Paz/Canticle Farm tour and presentation of the project 
    • All day do things with Pancho and Sam
    JUNE 5 Canticle Farm
    • Meditation
    • All day preparation for Awakin at Casa de Paz 
    • 19:00 ~ Awakin circle@Casa De Paz
    JUNE 6 EAST BAY PERMACULTURE
    JUNE 7 EAST BAY PERMACULTURE 2
    • 10am ~ Gill tract farm with Allison Shiozaki
    • Lunch at Bay Edo Wakana Kawamura’s place with revolutionary Japanese women
    • 1pm ~ Transition Town Albany garden tour 
    • 3pm ~ Edible Schoolyard tour
    • 4:50pm~ Berkley Food Forest
    JUNE 8 Occidental Arts and Ecology (OAEC & Sebastopol)
    JUNE 9 San Francisco
    JUNE 10 Each on their own path
    After that, some will visit the magnificent Giant Sequoias and I will head to the Nonviolent Communication Leadership Program retreat (NVC). NVC has been an integral part in helping me understand the gift ecology, and committing deeper to this path.

    I also want to super highly recommend Vinoba Bhave's book, "Moved by Love." He is a remarkable man that I am surprised I never knew. I heard about him from Nipun, Pancho, Satish Kumar, and a friend who started the Sloth Club in Japan, gave me this book.



     More ripples to come.
    Step by step, as we kiss the Earth
    We can heal our hearts
    and be moved a little more by love

    Love life
    Love people
    Love the Earth

    Student of life
    Kai
    at

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