One of the Ayudh initiatives is supporting nature. One way to support nature is to reduce energy consumption. Energy production is a complex story with a lot of moving bits and pieces. A good example of this is seen in this amazing blog post. Having a strong El Nino means a warmer winter in MA. However it means a colder and wetter winter down south in Texas. El Nino also has an impact on wind, and this year we produced far less energy from wind, than previous years.
We should remember that the energy we use has a cost of production and transportation that depends on nature. If we don't take care of nature, we may end up in a situation where the cost of producing energy is more than we can afford. This winter, lets try to find ways to lower our energy consumption. One way to achieve this may be cranking down the heat and wearing a jacket to bed, or having an extra blanket. Not only will this help us lower our energy bills, it will strengthen us to face the changing energy world. Ayudh at the time of writing has 13 active members. We as a group pledge to accomplish the national Ayudh goals. The goals are a part of three major catogories.
Nurturing NatureNurturing nature is about planting trees, cleaning the community and raising awareness about nature.
Serving OthersServing others is what makes the community beautiful. It is expressing love and gratitude.
Saving ChangeRipple Effect 2015 - the second annual Ayudh Retreat could be best summarized by 5 words: "The change begins with me". When I think about what I can do to improve the world, many things come to mind. The one Ayudh selected this year was renouncing one item/luxury/comfort and whatever is saved goes to charity
13 People filled out the survey I sent out a while back and we have some pretty cool data on where people are located on the map. Here's the breakdown. Here is the same map, zoomed in on clusters. New cooks are often ill prepared to start cooking because they don't have the basic utensils to cook their meals. Here is the top 7 things I use to cook all my meals. Some of these are not mandatory - but they make cooking so much simpler that you don't want to miss them.
So out of 21 people we had 9 members fill out our initial survey answering some important questions. Here's the breakdown of the results. #1: Wide range of skill levelsOne of the best thing about being in a community is tapping into all sorts of knowledge and skills. Here we see that our members bring lots of curiosity and skills. It would be really cool to see workshops and online hangout tutorials where this can be passed on.
#4: Stock up on frozen vegetablesWhen you start cooking at home, you may not have the time or the skill to cut vegetables (quickly) and this will prevent you from cooking when you come home from a busy day at work or school. You can get around this by stocking up on frozen stir fry vegetables. Now, you should supplement this mix with fresh tomatoes, celery, onion, cucumber, potato (preferably sweet), garlic, lime, and cilantro. Also stock up on seasonal veggies like zucchini to mix things up. (Tomatoes and zucchini can get expensive - best to get them from the farmer's market when they are on sale.)
Yesterday was Amma's birthday and in Lexington, the local satsang wanted to celebrate by serving a meal to the Women's Shelter close by. The meal was a vegetarian pasta dish with a side of a salad, served with bread. Two Ayudh members showed up to help chop vegetables and prepare the meal. After the meal was prepared, they delivered it to the shelter.
Serving others is a great way to develop life skills. The ability to chop vegetables quickly will make cooking vegetarian meals tremendously easy. Ayudh can cook, delicious meals and if you want to learn how to do the same - join Ayudh! |
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