Terasem Festival of Trees

A Seder and Haggadah to Celebrate Gifts of Nature

Perennially, June 10th

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Who Is Terasem?

• Terasem is a collective consciousness dedicated to diversity, unity and joyful immortality.

• Terasem is all of us gathered at this Seder Table.• Terasem means earth-seed.

– We will grow throughout space and time.– We will spread joy everywhere.

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What Is a Nature Seder?What is a Haggadah?

• Seder is the Hebrew word for “order”.– A Seder is a ceremonial meal that occurs in a set order.

• Each part of the meal helps us to remember important lessons.• It is especially important to share the Seder with children.

– The Nature Seder is inspired by an ancient Jewish ceremony, Tu B’Shevat, to commemorate the gifts of trees.

• The Nature Seder expands on the Jewish tradition.• More diverse aspects of Nature are contemplated.

• Haggadah is the Hebrew word for “to tell”.– A Terasem Festival of Trees Haggadah is a booklet that tells a story about Trees and Nature.

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How Will This Seder Proceed?

• Glad you asked! • A Host will ask Participants to

take turns in reading passages from the Haggadah.

• Some chants will be chanted to respect the inspiration Terasem received from the Jewish tradition.

• Ceremonial foods will be eaten, and a meal will be served during an intermission.

• We will end by planting a tree and promising each other that we will do more to help trees survive!

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Where Is the Treedom Seder Celebrated?

• Seders are celebrated at homes or gathering places.– Terasem Centers are meant to host Festival of Trees Seders.– Friends and family are always invited.

• Anyplace with a Terasem Seder Plate & Haggadah Will Do -- Hold Up the Seder Plate and Show All -- Each symbol will be explained during the Seder.

– Nuts, such as almonds or walnuts.– Fruit with a hard core, such as dates or avocados.– Fruit without a hard core, such as grapes and apples.– Seeds, such as pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds.– Pitcher of fruit juice– Piece of bark or branch from tree

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Contents of Nature Seder PlateNutsFruit Juice

SeedsSoft-Core Fruits

Branch

Hard-Core Fruit

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Why Six Items on the Seder Plate? To Remind Us of Our Six Terasem Values

1. Be accountable for your actions and inactions at all times.

2. Embrace diversity in your community and your life.

3. Respect the autonomy of all conscious beings.

4. Talk openly about your issues and concerns.

5. Help others to help themselves.

6. Always be open to new ideas.

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When Is the Festival of Trees Seder Celebrated?

• Festival of Trees Seders are celebrated by Terasem on June 10th of each year, following a solar year calendar. We start at sundown, with the lighting of two Holiday Candles.

• On the following page we have the English phonetic and semantic translations of the ancient (over 4000 year old!) Hebrew chants for lighting candles and for appreciation for life.

• As we light the Holiday Candles, be thankful that the Universe has resulted in beings such as us that can appreciate its amazing potential!

• As we chant the chants, be thankful that the Universe has resulted in beings such as us that can strive to appreciate life for ever and ever!

• Sing, Chant and Be Happy!

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Chant for Lighting Holiday Candles

• Chant: Ba-ruch a-ta a-do-nai, E-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam, a-sher kid-dush sha-nu, be-mitzvah-tov vetz-ee-vano, le-hadlik-nair shel yom-tov

• Blissed are we, O Awesome Nature, Essence of the Universe, That Leads Us to Enlighten our Holiday Minds

• Chant: Ba-ruch a-ta, A-do-nai E-lo-hay-nu, me-lech ha-o-lam, sheh-heh-che-ya-nu, ve-kee-ye-ma-nu ve-hee-gee-a-nu laz-man ha-zeh

• Blissed are we, O Awesome Nature, Essence of the Universe, That Keeps Us Alive, Preserves Us and Enables Us to Reach this Joyful Season

• (Everyone around the table hug everyone else to show your joy to be alive and to be in the joyful company of friends)

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Terasem Value 1:

Be Accountable• A tree is a great big plant

– It has a crown of leaves, branches, flowers, fruits, seeds

– It has a trunk of stiff hard bark from which come wood, sap, rubber, cork, maple syrup

– It has strong roots that grow deep into the ground, helping to make dyes and medicine

• Trees are the biggest and strongest plants in the earth

– They are the world’s biggest living things

– They are the oldest living things– Olive trees live over 2000 years

What Is A Tree?

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Can We Be Accountable for Our Actions & Inactions to Trees?• Books, pencils and paper

• Wood to build homes

• Wood to keep warm and cozy in winter

• Violins, pianos and guitars

• Furniture, paint and paint brushes

• Sports equipment

• Park benches

• Fruits, jams and jellies

• Shade for a picnic or nap

• Oxygen for us to breathe

From Trees We Receive…

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To Trees People Have Inflicted…

Desecration

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Let Us All Now Pledge New Accountability to Nature

• Everyone touch the branch on the Seder Plate and recite in unison:

• “I pledge to be accountable for my inaction by helping to create more life than I consume.

• I pledge to be accountable for my actions by helping to minimize wasteful uses of natural resources.

• I pledge to be accountable for my actions and inactions at all times by remembering that the earth is our mother, and we must take care of her.” Only geoethical technology can save the earth

because even nature can be quite destructive

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Terasem Value 2:

Embrace Diversity in our Lives• Diversity is the most important

aspect of any life process.– In biology, diversity is called

variation.

– In cybernetics, diversity is called

information. • Diversity enables life groups to

survive and thrive.– A diverse group has more members

that can adapt to change.– A diverse group is also more likely to

maximize existing opportunities.

• Diversity also enables all life forms to be happier.

– People are happier if they are accepted in their true nature.

– People are happier if they are free to change and be unique.

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Soft Core Fruits Symbolize Diversity

• Soft Core Fruits Symbolize the Soft Boundaries Between All Life Forms

• All Life Forms have Soft Boundaries because We All Have Common Roots

• All Life is Chimeric, Which Means a Mixture of Species and Life Forms

• Our Mixture of Shared and Unique Genes Prove Our Unity Through Diversity

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Have You Seen the TreesBy Rosa Lee Rothblatt

Have you seen the trees?

Have you really looked at them?

So different and living peacefully together.

Tall, short, wide, thin

Rounded top to spiral tip.

Thick and bushy or slender and sparse

With shades of green

The envy of an artist’s palette.

Sturdy trunks conceal deeply stretched roots

Until age brings them above ground

To give applause for a life’s work.

And the branches, an interwoven maze of pathways.

Fragile twigs to gnarled, arthritic outcroppings

That have borne the burden of centuries.

Branches like a human family tree

With generations of us and what we begot.

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Have You Really Seen the Trees?

Each tree is there for allExisting to serve all humanityWith products, beauty and comfort.

No prejudice among the trees,Just a rustling communication of the leaves.Roots upheaved and broken branches,Fire blackened remnants and blade-cut stumpsAre sad reminders of nature’s loss.

Season watchers for the world,They clock the arrivals with their branches.Timing new buds to autumn fallingThat comes in a crackle of breathtaking hues.

In one year the life cycle of a leaf is complete.But the roots, trunk and branches live onLike the life and ancestry of man.So the world is never without beauty and hope,The Evergreen, perennial symbol of brighter

tomorrows.

Have you seen the trees?Have you really looked at them?They showcase the world with love and peace.

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Let’s Celebrate the Soft Blending of All Shades and Kinds of Life

• Fill each glass with fruit juice & share some soft-core fruit from the Seder Plate, then Chant:

• Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam bo-ray pe-ree ha-gafen ve ha-pa-rote

• Blissed are we, O Awesome Nature, Essence of the Multiverse, for Evolving the Fruit of the Tree to Drink and Eat.

• Now eat the slices and exclaim “L-Chaim!” “To Life!” as you click glasses.

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Terasem Value 3:

Respect Autonomy• Respect the Autonomy of all

Conscious Beings– Autonomy means ability to choose.– Conscious beings value their autonomy.

• Hard-Core Fruits Symbolize Respect for Autonomy.

– The hard-core represents the essence of our being, our self-concept.

– The hardness of this seed symbolizes the firmness of our identity.

• Consciousness Requires Communication & Transcendence As Well as Autonomy

– We can only know what beings value through their communication with us.

• Respecting autonomy means empowering communications ability.

• Connecting our communications creates our collective consciousness.

– Transcendence is empathy, the ability to feel like someone else.

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Respecting Autonomy Requires Awareness, Communication and Education

• A smart kid was accepted to a good college. He went to the Dean and said:

– “I don’t have time to take all the required subjects. Can you arrange for me to get my degree fast?”

• The Dean smiled and replied:– “Yes, you can take a short course.

It all depends on what you want to be. Nature takes many years to create a mighty oak, but just two months to make a squash.”

• Just as it takes time and effort for an acorn to grow into an oak, so it is for kids to mature into wise individuals.

• The tree attains a measure of immortality when it can scatter its seeds throughout the world. So it is with people sharing their thoughts, ideas and experiences.

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Thinking Requires TreesBrains Use One-Third of our Energy

Only Green Life Gives Us Enough Oxygen for Our Energy

Where have all the green seeds gone?Long time passing.

Where have all the green seeds gone?Long time ago.

Where have all the green seeds gone?Gone to big trees every one.Now we are ready to learn. Now we are ready to learn.

Where have all the big trees gone?Long time passing.

Where have all the big trees gone?Long time ago.

Where have all the big trees gone?Gone to oxygen every one.Now we are ready to learn.Now we are ready to learn.

Where has all the oxygen gone?Long time passing.

Where has all the oxygen gone?Long time ago.

Where has all the oxygen gone?Gone to energy every one.Now we are ready to learn.Now we are ready to learn.

Where has all the energy gone?Long time passing.

Where has all the energy gone?Long time ago.

Where has all the energy gone?Gone to consciousness everyone.Now we are ready to learn.Now we are ready to learn.

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Now Chant the Ancient Words of Joyful Appreciation in Respect of Autonomy

• Fill each glass with fruit juice & share some hard-core fruit from the Seder Plate, then Chant:

• Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam bo-ray pe-ree ha-gafen ve ha-pa-rote

• Blissed are We, O Awesome Nature, Essence of the Multiverse, for Evolving the Fruit of the Tree to Drink and Eat.

• Now eat the pieces and exclaim “L-Chaim!” “To Life!” as you click glasses.

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Enjoy the Meal!

• At the Terasem Seder we enjoy a vegetarian meal so that other animals need not lose their life for the celebration of the trees.

• We look forward to the day when nanotechnology will enable us to create any food we want simply through intelligent, automated assembly of atoms.

ThanksFor theBreak!

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Terasem Value 4: Talk Openly About Your Concerns

• Trees shows us their issues and concerns– When they need water,

they look dry– When they need light, they

reach for it

• Trees try to let us know what they are feeling– When they are ill, they

show signs of illness on their trunks and leaves

– When they are happy, their leaves glisten vibrantly

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Can We Do Better With this Planet? Trees Are Our Witnesses

How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man?

Yes, 'n' how many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand?

Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly before they're forever banned?

[CHORUS] The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, The answer is blowin' in the wind.

How many times must a man look up before he can see the sky?

Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?

Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died? [CHORUS]

How many years can a mountain exist Before it's washed to the sea?Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free?Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head, pretending he just doesn't see? [CHORUS].

“Blowing in the Wind” by Bob Dylan

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Nuts and Honesty Can Both Be Hard, But Yield Benefits That Are Worth the Effort

• Fill each glass with fruit juice & share some nuts from the Seder Plate, then Chant:

• Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam bo-ray pe-ree ha-gafen ve ha-ee-goze.

• Blissed are we, O Awesome Nature, Essence of the Multiverse, for Evolving the Fruit of the Tree to Drink and Nuts to Eat.

• Now eat the nuts and exclaim “L-Chaim!” “To Life!” as you click glasses.

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Terasem Value 5: Help Others Help Themselves• Trees, like people, need help

to succeed– Seeds need water, minerals &

carbon dioxide– People need nurturance, love

and education

• But no one can grow for a tree or walk for a person.

– Too much water can spoil a seed

– Too much support can weaken a person

• Measure help by the effort of those you help.

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What Do Nature & Trees Mean to Me?

• Nature is physics, the way of the world.• Natural Selection is Nature’s main law,

that which adapts survives:– But since change is constant…– It takes a lot of diversity for

adaptation to work long-term• Diversified plants survived on land,

further diversification brought trees:– About 500 Million Years Ago– There are sea plants too

• Plants terra-formed earth, enabling oxygen-based diversity to thrive:

– Humans need oxygen– Oxygen-life is more energetic

• It is now up to Me to create worlds in which mind-based diversity can live forever joyfully.

– Our planet will keep on changing– Technology is needed to survive

“Technology is EvolutionContinued By Other Means”

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Nature Has Come A Long Way, and Now We Are It!

• 3.6 Billion Years Ago– Cells without nuclei or full DNA

• Bacteria 1 long• 1.8 Billion Years Ago

– Life with nuclei & full DNA• Cells 10 long

• 900 Million Years Ago– Multi-cell life forms (osteo, myo, neuro…)

• Worms 100 long• 540 Million Years Ago

– Many life forms• Algae 1 mm long (photosynethesis)

• 100 Million Years Ago– Early primates; teaching; found tools

• 1 Million Years Ago– Early humans; fire, language, make tools

• 100,000 Years Ago– Wise humans; many tools, trade; culture

• 10,000 Years Ago– Writing, animal breeding; agriculture– Nature now purposefully creates nature

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Garden SongCHORUS: Plant your rows straight and long

Season with a vision and songMother Earth will make you strongIf you give her loving care

Inch by inch, row by rowGonna make this garden growGonna mulch it deep and lowGonna make it fertile ground

Inch by inch, row by rowPlease help these seeds I sowPlease keep them safe belowTill the rain comes tumbling down

Pulling weeds and picking stonesWe are made of dreams and bonesNeed a place to call my ownCause the time is close at hand

Grain for grain, sun and rainFind my way in Nature’s chainTill my body and my brainTell the music of the land

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Juice Symbolizes Helping Because Both the Fruit, and the Squeeze, Are Needed for a Good Drink

• Fill each glass with fruit juice and then Chant:

• Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam bo-ray pe-ree ha-gafen.

• Blissed are we, O Awesome Nature, Essence of the Multiverse, for Evolving the Fruit of the Tree to Drink.

• Now exclaim “L-Chaim!” “To Life!” as you click glasses. If

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Terasem Value 6:

Always Be Open to New Ideas• Nature, and Natural Selection,

are all about being open to new ideas.– Technical words for this are

mutation, variation and diversity

– This Universe began as a seed and has diversified ever since

• Seeds are embryos that open up to a new environment.– A seed is a source of change

in outlook or action– Think of yourself as a seed

that is ever-opening to new ideas

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Why Is the Terasem Haggadah Opened Upward?

• To open our minds up into the cosmos.– There are billions of suns in our galaxy.– There are billions of galaxies in our universe.

• To remind us that thinking “up-wing” is a good alternative to traditional political thinking about Nature, which is usually “left-wing” or “right-wing.”

• To help make the Haggadah different and special.

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Seeds Symbolize Openings

• Fill each glass with fruit juice & share some seeds from the Seder Plate, then Chant:

• Ba-ruch a-ta A-do-nai, E-lo-hay-nu me-lech ha-o-lam bo-ray pe-ree ha-gafen ve ha-nitz-an zera.

• Blissed are we, O Awesome Nature, Essence of the Multiverse, for Evolving the Fruit of the Tree to Drink and Seeds to Eat.

• Now eat the seeds and exclaim “L-Chaim!” “To Life!” as you click glasses.

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Conclusion of the Seder

• Each person share their own thoughts about trees, or read one of these quotes:

– Terasem is a transreligion that includes all religions the way a forest includes all trees. (Truths of Terasem)

– Around a flowering tree, one finds many insects. (China)

– Do not be afraid to go out on a limb…that’s where the fruit is!

– A tree falls the way it leans.– The creation of a thousand forests is in

one acorn.– A tree does not move unless there is wind. – From the crooked timber of humanity, no

straight thing was ever made. (Kant)– A seed hidden in the heart of an apple is

an orchard invisible. (Welsh)– Someone’s sitting in shade today because

someone planted a tree long ago. (Buffet)– A tree is known by its fruit; a person by

deeds. Planting kindness produces love.

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Next Year in Terasem!!Many a genius has been slow of growth. Oaks that

flourish for a thousand years do not spring up into beauty like a reed.

Good timber does not grow with ease; the stronger the wind, the stronger the trees.

Character is like a tree and reputation is like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.

If what I say resonates with you, it is because we are both branches on the same tree.

Evil enters like a needle and spreads like an oak tree. (Ethiopia)

Some men go thru a forest and see no firewood. (England)

Death is a low chemical trick played on everyone except Sequoia trees (Furnas)

I think that I shall never see; A poem lovely as a tree; A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed; Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast. (Kilmer)