The Sequoia Retreat Center

Local Artist Highlight: {froggie fairy earrings} these adorable froggies perched upon their little mushrooms bring only the best vibes. ORDER NOW to ensure on time delivery! https://www.silvatoothdesigns.com @cursedartbitch #handmadegifts #frog #mushrooms

Sunset moon rise at The Sequoia tonight. #ShotOniPhone12

2020 has been full of challenges, gratitude to be still standing. Gratitude is the only way forward together. Wishing you all an Amazing 2021 once we get there! Be Well.

Good Morning blessings over Peace Park #redwoodwedding #microwedding

Julie from @thesequoiakitchen is the master of delight!

Buddy’s lazy #dogdays

It’s Labor Day. Most Americans are BBQ’ing. Except these guys! Thank you for working through the holiday to help us put our neighborhoods back together after the #czulightningcomplex THANK YOU: #pge #att #comcast #daveytree #santacruzcounty #santacruzsheriff #calfirefirefighters who am I forgetting?!

I am happy to report that it has changed for the better!!! The amazing Ben Lomond Fire Department {along with others} really held the line. @calfireczu is now doing the heavy lifting to get this over the finish line at Fall Creek. I am so grateful! CalFire is here and has now taken over the protection of The Sequoia, Waterfall Lodge. Our Forest Angles can now have a supporting role. Because so many have asked, I’m confirming that all the buildings are intact! At the Se...quoia end, The Commercial Kitchen, Alba Vista, Za Zen and Las Alas are safe. In the middle village Sunrise, the Stones & Flower cabins are safe. Waterfall Lodge & The Woodland Cabins are safe. {there are 2 cabins that I hear need repairs}. We & our neighbor were affected - evidence of burn is here, and there will be repairs needed, but the buildings survived. Did you see the Letter a Dad wrote to his Daughter in Outside Magazine? He writes, You have to kneel down and honor the weather. -Dr. Wallace J. Nichols https://www.outsideonline.com//home-lost-czu-lightning-com It made me think of one of my favorite poets, Rumi, he said, There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground. I AM A TREE HUGGER & I love the beauty of these mountains, the grandeur, the solid granite, the tender ferns. So, I admit, I often hug a tree. I often kneel and pray under them. I actually, even hug our large redwood water tank. I really, really love that big redwood tank. May the stress we have been under be lifted from our backs and may we remember why we are on the planet: to create the kin-dom of G-d. -Diane #czulightningcomplex #nationaldogday #resucedoggie #benlomondfiredept See more

I am grateful to write, all is well on our part of the mountain! Pic from June: Buddy loves to do tours because: Who are these people who arrive & give me a long walk?? {woof} Buddy is hoping to Welcome everyone back soon (you know, after we all recover from the biggest wildfires in California recorded history, and after the pandemic / are you kidding me? 2020 gets zero stars) GIANT GRATITUDE TO BEN LOMOND FIRE @benlomondfiredepartment and all who have kept us safe. Frie...nds, Please DONATE to their auxiliary! They must be going thru equipment like gang-busters! I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say that the fire departments up & down our valley aren’t only protecting our towns, they are holding the line for #losgatos & #saratoga. Making a donation goes such a long way to help them do this live saving work. SEQUOIA GRATITUDE TO CAL FIRE @calfireczu I heard 200,000 gallons rained down on the Santa Cruz Mountains today! YOU GUYS ARE CRUSHING IT! I truly hope ya’all know how much we appreciate your support of our little community. We know it’s a big state and resources are spread thin trying to help everyone.

Friends please consider donating to Ben Lomond's All VOLUNTEER Fire Department. They are working so hard to beat back this fire. Help them replenish equipment! All the work they do will save Ben Lomond, but will help keep this fire from making its way to HWY 17 or Santa Cruz or Saratoga or Los Gatos.

Many have asked how can I help? Please considering donating to http://benlomondfd.com/auxiliary/ Anything you are able to donate will help. I imagine many resources have been depleted.

The Golden Rule is the essence of Sequoia. There is magic on this mountain for sure. There is also a grounding in respect for the world’s religious. A grounding that We Are One. When Humans first went to the moon and looked back at earth, there was a shift in remembering that we are all one. It’s an ancient concept. All the worlds religions say in one way or another: Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You. The community is taking care of one another: donations, ...housing, protecting one another’s homes. There was AIR Support today!! Yay!! The Forest Angels and Ben Lomond Fire continue to work so hard on this part of the mountain. They are miracle workers. They are the best example of caring for one another. That’s the Golden Rule in action! Reading about looters was a huge disappointment. Sometimes we forget and need reminding of The Golden Rule was a lesson learned so long ago. Some call is karma. I think it’s more than that. Your actions create your future. This Art Work was in Las Alas Lodge when Scott used to come and hold seminars in the 80s. When Mark Hendricks walked us through the grounds in 2007, we were so happy to see that this simple, yet profound art had survived. Just typing that word makes me tremble. The art work will survive. It was the one thing we brought home with us on Thursday. This valley is full of amazing, capable, resilient people. As much as this community is fighting this fire, most important is to survive. Cal Fire and Gov. Newsom’s message to evacuate is right when it comes down to the life-death choices. Survive. Everything else can be rebuilt. As of this writing, it’s RAINING over Santa Cruz County!! The visualizations are working!!! There is repairable damage to several building. I don’t have details. I don’t have info about Quaker. But there is a good chance the efforts at Waterfall/Sequoia will save the homes/retreat below. Surrounding all of you blessing. You are stronger than you belief. You are loved more thank you know.

Old photo, but as of 5pm we are safe. The Forest Angles are working overtime. Thank you for posts & reaching out. It means so much to know this little slice of heaven has meant so much to so many over so many years. Surround our #santacruzmountains in protection.

Friends, Please active all your connections!! Full Court Press to support our Volunteer Firefighters! They are kicking this fire’s butt! Do what you can to demand full support them TODAY! They need more resources. Please do what you can. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEL0xsLg_BN/

Where is our John Wayne? Our John Waynes are here, up and down this valley {he’s & she’s kicking this fire’s butt}. Holding ground. Not giving up. Just like the Sequoias Holding Ground & Standing Tall. Thank you @benlomondfiredepartment #CZULightningComplex I was reluctant to post this video taken Thursday afternoon. Our beloved little slice of Ben Lomond Mountain. It was very hard to leave. So many have reached out sending love & concern. Thank you. This is devastatin...g for our little valley and all who live here. As of Friday, 8/21/20 6pm: Confirmation that the retreat center is still unharmed! Neighbors have lost houses. Lot’s of spot fires around us that anonymous heroes & Ben Lomond Fire are doing their very best to put out. The efforts today have been absolutely heroic and effective. But it’s not close to over. The 3 centers up here {Sequoia, Waterfall, Quaker} may still experience damage. The fog, cool temperatures & low wind speed last night helped too! I’m hoping for more of the same tonight. I’m absolutely not giving up hope!! Now, all we can do is scour the satellite maps and social media to try and get some idea of what is happening. I’m keeping hope alive. The maps also show that the town of Boulder Creek is threatened. Felton is threatened. Scotts Valley is threatened. UCSC is threatened, and after that would be the town of Santa Cruz. It’s already burned all the way to our beloved central coast to Davenport and to San Gregorio. VISUALIZE A PROTECTIVE WALL AROUND OUR LITTLE NEIGHBORHOOD. AND RAIN FOR ALL OF CALIFORNIA @peachstyle_with_jennifery #CZULightningComplexFire #VisualizeRain

Forest Friends visiting Alba Grove this morning. Everyone was getting their walk in early today!

A different view from the lodge A different summer than we expected #sequoiaretreatcenter