Living Earth: Gatherings for Deep Change

Welcome to Living Earth

Upcoming Events

Sunday, July 20, 2008
Summer Berry Celebration Bandhara
Irving Park, NE 7th/Fremont
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Sharing the simple pleasures of summer and Oregon's bounty is one way to strengthen community and enhance our sense of connection... MORE»

Friday, September 12, 2008
Ty Burhoe and Shubhendra Rao
present An Evening
of Classical Indian Music

First Baptist Church of Portland
SW 12th at Taylor
$20 in advance, $25 at the door

Living Earth will host this amazing concert of classical northern Indian music featuring acclaimed tabla player Ty Burhoe and sitar player Shubhendra Rao, protégé of Ravi Shankar... MORE»

Saturday, September 27, 2008
Living Earth Circles Workshop
Riverside UCC Church
Hood River, OR

A Living Earth Circles workshop is an opportunity to step out of our usual routines and roles and connect more deeply at the heart. More About Our Workshops»
Register Now»

First and Third Sunday
lotus flower 4:30-6:30 pm
Yoga Shala SE
Paths of Awakening

Doors open 4:30, meditation begins at 5:00. Join us for this time of silence, contemplation, and reflection to explore the relationship between spiritual practice and our actions for the world... MORE»

Make a Difference!

Volunteers are the foundation of Living Earth’s activities.

You can volunteer to support our programs for peace, community, and cultural change.

Help keep the world turning!

Our Featured Project

Novozybkov Project
Providing radiation monitors and education to Chernobyl downwinders.

Living Earth
PO Box 86960
Portland, OR 97286
503/788-7311

Summertime…

Photo of Hemlock in SW Portland

Summer is bright and beautiful in the Pacific Northwest: gardens are blooming, farmer's markets are buzzing, wildflowers and grasses cover the hillsides, and the cool drizzle of spring is barely a memory.

Political campaigns revving into high gear are generating excitement, hope, anxiety, dread—a full gamut of stressful states that are likely to accelerate as the summer sun moves toward autumn. When the stakes are high, staying wholly engaged without sliding into divisive partisan hysteria isn't always easy, whether we're working on neighborhood concerns, national politics, or global issues.

Living Earth's programs offer practical ways to engage within a context of spacious awareness. Through the summer, practices to cultivate open hearts and open minds are woven into community gatherings, workshops, and opportunities to engage in service and social action. Follow the links below or check "Upcoming Events" on this page for more details.

Living Earth CirclesIn a world facing unprecedented crises and change, transforming our own understanding of what it means to be human, of human purpose and potential, is central to our ability to positively influence conditions around us. Living Earth Circles provide a vehicle for integrating contemplative inquiry and reflection with skillful, effective social action on local and global issues. Read more »

Branches of the TreeLike all organic form, Living Earth is changing as new ways to serve our mission emerge. More and more folks are active in making programs and events happen, and familiar activities are morphing into new patterns. This new form we see unfolding is like a tree with sturdy branches, new twigs, and bright blossoms growing from its roots and trunk. Read more »

Homeless Action ProjectsOur first ongoing community Branch (see Branches, above) began in March when one of our members pulled together a circle of Living Earth volunteers to serve meals at the Clark Center in Southeast Portland. This Circle is incorporating contemplative inquiry with hands on social action in relation to the issues of homelessness and hunger. If you'd like to help out, contact Living Earth board member Bill Scheider for more information.

Sunday GatheringsOn the first and third Sunday of each month, Living Earth's Sunday Afternoon Gathering offers an opportunity to step outside our usual routines and engage in practices that bring us into our hearts. Read more »

About Living Earth

Living Earth offers programs and events that challenge the long-standing cultural stories, models, and institutions that have brought our entire planet to a dangerous precipice. Our intention is to stimulate creative alternatives for conducting our personal, political, and cultural affairs and spark meaningful action for cultural change.

We convene community discussions, host visiting speakers, present public forums, and facilitate workshops that kindle an enlivened awareness of the rich opportunities and possibilities inherent in the human endeavor, possibilities for shaping our lives and human relationships to create a just, creative, sustainable, and peaceful world. We coordinate actions for peace and initiatives that support development of sustainable local communities.

We offer opportunities for deep reflection and spiritual grounding to cultivate spacious awareness and encourage a wide perspective on the social and global issues of our time. We believe wholeheartedly that when understanding changes, we begin to change the world. Read more »