Wayne and joined a packed Festival Pavilion, Ft. Mason, San Francisco crowd Thursday for the annual Pachamama Alliance fundraising lunch. Sweet potato filled with vegan fritata and quinoa, surrounded by guac and corn compote. Delish nutritious and for a good cause: saving the planet. Seems my good causes are usually around this and no exception here.

Pachamama, simply put, stands for the spirit of Mother earth – a term from Ecuador to describe an essense forest people experience, rever and protect with their work and their lives. The Amazon Rainforest, sometimes referred to as the lungs of the planet, is known to produce upwards of 28% of planetary oxygen for the entire planet. And Pachamama Alliance has protected a huge swath of Amazon Rainforest for decades now, helping to unite previously warring tribes into a powerful block of advocates for the forest.

DRAWDOWN, Paul Hawken’s project to reverse global warming, is a major project of Pachamama as well, and our intention is to run the whole series of DRAWDOWN workshops through our budding Pachamama chapter here.

What I experienced at the Ft. Mason luncheon was amazing, encouraging, syncronistic. First person we met was the guy showing cars where to park. You knew who he was by the way he walked and then that LOVE tag he wore…Flute music outside; 1,000 people inside. First off, I knew Jason, the guy we talk to on the phone about Pachamama, and I knew him immediately.

The speakers from varioius tribes in Equador were inspiring, hopeful, deeply wise.
We will learn much more from them am sure.

Second person we connected with was Claire Garrison, lovely Brit who runs Wisdom University for her very inspiring husband, Jim Garrison, creator of the Gorbachav Foundation, State of the World Forum and now this. Claire told us she’s been friends with Lynn Twist, Pachamama founder, for 20 years or so. SO many links! The guy sitting next to me, George von Bozzay, founder of the Biofeedback Institute in SF, attended a marvelous night with me where we tested “brain machines” till a blue light told us we’d hit the alph waves, then the whole group floated out to a deck near the top of Mt. Tam and exclaimed how very brilliant we all were! No ego there? Turns out his partner, Cheryl, was roomies with our close friend, Linda Delair, so met up with George and Cheryl twice! And then Allen and Sun Bear Lundell, creators of the locally famous Dr. Future and Mrs. Future radio programs near Santa Cruz. He said to call in and I will!

So friends old and new amid a swirling room of incredible people determined to restore the planet and learn from indigenous people in the process. We’re all in…more soon!

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