Healing ourselves, our communities and our planet.
388 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11217
347 689 3908
melissa@thecommonsbrooklyn.org
Goddard College’s programs in Sustainability ~ come learn about the low-residency programs, a BA in Sustainability and an MA in Sustainable Business and Communities. Goddard is 1/3 less $ than other graduate programs, and is based on a unique, more radical pedagogy than other programs where the student develops and defines their study. You can live what you learn and learn more about what you’re living through these programs. Great for working parents, activists and organizers who want to pursue their studies while continuing to work on what they’re most committed to. Join us Saturday, January 28, 4-5pm at The Commons Brooklyn. Application fee waived for those in attendance. Refreshments provided.
For more information, contact allison@coachtrainchange.com
With Nana Deleplanque, Reiki Alliance Master Instructor.
This is a two-day workshop:
Saturday, January 28, 9:30 to 5
and
Sunday, January 29, 9:30 to 5:30
Reiki means Universal Life Force.
This Energy is all around us, and we can transmit it.
The Reiki process is a simple method of hands-on healing as developed by Dr. Mikao Usui, a teacher of theology in Kyoto, Japan, where the energy is used to normalize mind and body functions.
By the end of the first degree workshop you will be able to:
*Scan the body of the person receiving treatment and perceive areas of reduced vitality flow.
*Channel Reiki energy into yourself or transmit to others, and sense the energy as it flows through your hands.
*Appreciate how attitudes can create dis-ease in the mind and emotions, and how the physical body might be affected.
Nana is Certified Usui System Reiki Master in private practice since 1989 and teaching classes in NYC and France.
If you have questions, please contact Nana by email at info@nanareiki.com or by phone at 917-376-4418.
Join us as Andrew Faust, NYC’s long-time Permaculture scholar, brings together Permaculture and Bioregionalism: two elegant design models that show us how to heal ourselves while we heal the land.
The solutions to our economic and environmental problems aren’t complex or out of reach. Quite the contrary! Our food, fuel and fiber needs can be met in synergistic ways that strengthen community economies reconnecting people with their beauty and biology.
By cooperating regionally and designing ecologically we create and insure healthy and secure economies, landscapes and communities that benefit and enrich for generations to come!
Come and learn how to meet human needs with ecological integrity through Permaculture design.
With Chris Harp and Grai Rice from HoneybeeLives
February 4 & 5, Saturday and Sunday 10am - 6pm
This is a two-day weekend workshop to help get you started with beekeeping. This natural approach to beekeeping helps beginning beekeepers understand the responsibilities of the beekeeper, and develops an understanding of the instincts and community of the bees with a Biodynamic influence. A philosophy of gentle care is imparted, as well as practical knowledge in preparation for starting hives in the spring. This class is also helpful for current beekeepers who are looking for a culture of nurturing.
Intro to Organic Beekeeping: Planning a New Hive for Spring (Saturday 10am - 6pm)
Learn about the basic requirements and responsibilities for organic beekeeping. Understand the community of a hive, the tools involved, elements of site selection, where you can obtain honeybees and equipment, and an understanding of a naturalist approach to their needs. There is a hands-on demonstration of assembling a wooden hive, and extensive class handouts to help new beekeepers.
Understanding and Caring For Your Bees (Sunday 10am - 6pm)
Topics will include: hive congruency and design to benefit the colony (including Top Bar Hives); Honeybee health and disease management the natural way; seasonal concerns and methods to help keep your honeybees strong.
Preregistration is required. $200 per person for the full weekend, or $100 for one day.
Perimenopause and menopause represent a profound but natural shift in a woman’s endocrine function that has too often been “medicalized” by conventional physicians. Most women go through menopause with few or no significant problems, but for some women, symptoms such as hot flashes, loss of memory and concentration, and anxiety or other emotional imbalances can severely impact their quality of life. As women grow older, concerns over cardiovascular health and adequate bone strength also come into the foreground.
Thankfully there are many natural options! In this presentation we’ll discuss dietary and lifestyle choices, as well as herbal remedies with a proven track record for making the transition of menopause more pleasant, as well as natural methods for healthy aging including maximizing bone health and maintaining optimal cognitive function.
Richard Mandelbaum RH (AHG) has been an avid student of plants for more than twenty years, He is a clinical herbalist with a private practice in Brooklyn and in Sullivan County, NY, in which he gives personalized holistic health recommendations, and is the former director of the Clinical Herbalist Diploma Program at the Lehigh Valley Healing Arts Academy in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. In addition to teaching on a diverse range of clinical subjects, he often leads workshops on field botany, wild edible plants and mushrooms. Richard is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild.
Why a feminist zinefest, you say?
Following a year marked by brutal sexual assaults by local police officers and foreign dignitaries alike, the idea of a feminist zinefest resonates strongly for us in 2012. We’d like to showcase the work of artists and zinesters who proudly identify as feminists, and whose politics are reflected in their work.
And also, zines have a special place in our hearts. There’s just something about the immediacy and expressiveness of a little printed booklet, smudged with printer’s ink or photocopy errors. It’s like a small, pocket-sized emissary of ideas, one who will eagerly come with you on a long train or bus ride, and share its hidden tales.
Contact us at feministzinefestnyc@gmail.com for more information!
Trade School celebrates practical wisdom, mutual respect and the social nature of exchange.
We will be opening our doors for 2012 this March for consecutive Thursdays at the Museum of Art and Design, at Cuchifritos Gallery in Essex Market and in a series of events where we will be raising money to keep those doors open through April at our own storefront.
In lieu of traditional Kickstarter campaigns we’d like to invite you to a party, to give you something face to face for your support of Trade School. Come to the Brooklyn Commons for a night of live folk music, potlucking, and traditional dancing. Performers include Little Green Apples and Aaron Roche.
Bring food! Bring dance shoes! Bring your friends! If you don’t have food, bring an appetite. If you don’t have dance shoes, bring a willingness to learn from our teachers. If you don’t have friends, come make some.
$10 suggested donation, no one turned away.
Trade School
http://tradeschool.ourgoods.org/
OurGoods
http://ourgoods.net/
The Program is designed to provide students with a sound foundation in botanical medicine from a clinical perspective, for those who are more serious about home use of herbs or who are considering going on to a possible profession in herbal medicine in the future. It is intended for people who have already studied introductory herbal medicine or have some prior experience with herbs, such as the nine week course taught at the Commons. (Students should contact the instructor about this if they have any questions).
The class will meet for nine months, on the first Monday from 6:30-9:30 pm and third Saturday from 10 am-4 pm of every month (*see calendar for exceptions to this). Meeting for a full day each month will also allow us to hold class outside or occasionally go on botany outings to study and gather herbs and prepare remedies. Richard Mandelbaum RH(AHG) is the primary instructor, guest instructors will be invited as well.
The curriculum will include:
• Botany, Field botany identification, and harvesting skills, including regional field trips (we will ask students to pitch in for gas and tolls when leaving the city)
• Physiological systems and holistic protocols
• Diagnostic and Clinical Skills – Intakes and Formulations
• Materia medica- approximately 50 medicinal plants in depth
• Clinical Cases: in class and at home assignments
• Medicine making and formulations
• Diet and nutrition
• Introduction to Traditional Chinese Medicine
• Introduction to Phytochemistry
• Legal and regulatory issues revolving around the practice and manufacturing of herbal medicine
• Safety and toxicity
Class will meet:
Mon 3/5
Sat 3/17
Mon 4/2
Sat 4/21
Mon 5/7
Sat 5/19
Mon 6/4
Sat 6/16
*Mon 7/23
Sat 7/21
Mon 8/6
Sat 8/18
*Mon 9/10
Sat 9/15
Mon 10/1
Sat 10/20
Mon 11/5
Sat 11/17
Richard Mandelbaum RH (AHG) has been an avid student of plants for more than twenty years, He is a clinical herbalist with a private practice in Brooklyn and in Sullivan County, NY, in which he gives personalized holistic health recommendations, and is the former director of the Clinical Herbalist Diploma Program at the Lehigh Valley Healing Arts Academy in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. In addition to teaching on a diverse range of clinical subjects, he often leads workshops on field botany, wild edible plants and mushrooms. Richard is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild.
This nine-session course, taught by Richard Mandelbaum RH(AHG), is comprised of eight three-hour Wednesday evening classes and a six-hour Saturday field trip. The course is designed both for people already using herbs as well as people just getting interested, and will be useful for people who are considering going on to study herbs more in depth or those who may just want a more solid foundation for their own family and home use.
Session 1: General introduction to using herbs wisely: using herbs within a holistic mindset; learning from our herbal traditions; the law and herbal medicines; safety and toxicity; dosage
Wednesday, April 18
6:30-9:30 pm
Session 2: Herbs for the GI tract and liver, including diet and nutrition and how they relate to herbal medicine
Wednesday, April 25
6:30-9:30 pm
Session 3: Introduction to botany for herbalists and gardeners
Wednesday, May 2
6:30-9:30 pm
Session 4: Botany Field Day at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden
Saturday, May 5
10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Session 5: Herbs for the immune system
Wednesday, May 9
6:30-9:30 pm
Session 6: Herbs for emotional and mental well-being: reducing stress, improving sleep and elevating mood
Wednesday, May 16
6:30-9:30 pm
Session 7: Herbs for the cardiovascular system
Wednesday, May 23
6:30-9:30 pm
Session 8: Herbs for male and female reproductive health
Wednesday, May 30
6:30-9:30 pm
Session 9: Healthy lungs, and healthy bones and joints: herbs for the respiratory and musculo-skeletal systems
Wednesday, June 6
6:30-9:30 pm
Richard Mandelbaum RH (AHG) has been an avid student of plants for more than twenty years, He is a clinical herbalist with a private practice in Brooklyn and in Sullivan County, NY, in which he gives personalized holistic health recommendations, and is the former director of the Clinical Herbalist Diploma Program at the Lehigh Valley Healing Arts Academy in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. In addition to teaching on a diverse range of clinical subjects, he often leads workshops on field botany, wild edible plants and mushrooms. Richard is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild.
For low-cost workspace or to rent space for an event or to offer a class, please email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).