"The Harvest Spirits Celebration: Story Making in the Food Forest" – An Alternative Halloween Event by Willi Paul, Mythologist, Planetshifter.com

'It's our intent to teach, share, and invigorate the songs that travel thru this great Family; to hold space for the songs to do their healing work, to brew the melodic magic of collective singing. It is about bringing people together who feel called to awaken, and nurture our spiritual life thru communion with songs (and prayers, chants, blessings, and so om) of celebration of life in this temple universe. Such songs clarify our lives, strengthen our communities, and foster personal and planetary renewal.'

- Singing Alive

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The Harvest Spirits Celebration: Festive Story Making in the Food Forest -

Nature-based family fun
Building our web of relationships
Getting together, face-to-face, heart-to-heart
Feeds our Bodies and Spirits
Not Kmart super hero costume candy spook dance
A Nature Spells Space
Care of Earth, Care of People
Stories for our Lives

One adult or teams of one adult and one kid with festive masks venture into the Circle to receive hints / clues from as many stations are they like and can seek-out the assistance from the Tree Mother on their draft their stories and songs. She ultimately receives the creative offerings from the participates.

Completed short stories and songs are then shared aloud. After the Harvest Spirits Celebration, the community-built Circle is an evening merry making space for all.

The Harvest Celebration Circle Specification -

+ The major circle is 80' in diameter

+ 12 hanging lamps run by re-chargeable batteries light up the perimeter

+ 8 story stations made of 2 adjoined food crates (with hints and clues on paper) occupy the middle circle

+ The inner circle is 20' in diameter and surrounds the tallest tree in the Food Forest

+ 2 Jack o' Lanterns guard each entrance to the inner circle at North, South, East and West

+ The Tree Mother (teacher / harvest spirit leader) is at the Big Tree

+ Home brought and on-site forest detritus make-up the two walking paths that bi-sect the Circle

+ The Halloween Celebration Circle is a low impact, multi-purpose and temporary celebration space for the community

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'The Maitreya EcoVillage meditation sanctuary will be a very beautiful, octagon-shaped natural-built structure dedicated strictly to yoga, meditation and other such practices. Having started meditating when I was 17, I'm convinced that it has been very beneficial and that more people COULD benefit from meditation than ARE benefiting from it. I expect that within a three block radius of here, there are dozens of people who would love to have access to a beautiful and quiet place to get away to. As the coming weird times get weirder, I expect that people will feel a greater yearning for such a place and practice. Here is a five minute monologue on meditation.'

- Robert Bolman