On the 10th of June each year Terasem celebrates one of its five annual holidays, the Festival of Trees in honor of Nature. This booklet describes the ceremony for this Festival, which occurs around dinner.

1. 1
Invitation
• Truths of Terasem Section 2.3.4 says "Understand better Freedom, Nature,
Obligation and Transcendence with ceremonies after each calendar quarter’s
third Gathering, respectively."
• On June 10th we celebrate the gifts of nature with our Festival of the Trees. We
have a special Seder (a story-telling dinner) and Haggadah (story-telling guide).
• In Joel Garreau's recent book, Radical Evolution, he writes: "If culture and
values are ever going to shape our technological evolution, we will need to mark
our transcendence at every point, to show that we're treating it seriously and
taking responsibility. The nice thing about ceremony and ritual is that while
churches can and should get involved -- with their vestments and their
sanctuaries -- it can start from the bottom up. It can start with individuals and
small groups -- including those who describe themselves as spiritual if not
religious -- taking ownership of their future and inviting others to stand and
witness. At these rituals we can deliberately seek patterns and tell stories --
stories that perhaps can begin to contribute to the master narrative of what is
happening to us.”
• Our Age of Joyful Immortality has got to start somewhere. Might as well be
around our campfires.

2. Terasem Festival of Trees
A Seder and Haggadah to
Celebrate Gifts of Nature
Perennially, June 10th

3. 3
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.

4. 4
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.

5. 5
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!

6. 6
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

7. 7
Contents of Nature Seder Plate
NutsFruit Juice
SeedsSoft-Core Fruits
Branch
Hard-Core Fruit

8. 8
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.

9. 9
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!

10. 10
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)

11. 11
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?

12. 12
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…

13. 13
To Trees People
Have Inflicted…
Desecration

14. 14
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

15. 15
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.

16. 16
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

17. 17
Have You Seen the Trees
By 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.

18. 18
Have You Really
Seen the Trees?
Each tree is there for all
Existing to serve all humanity
With 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 stumps
Are sad reminders of nature’s loss.
Season watchers for the world,
They clock the arrivals with their branches.
Timing new buds to autumn falling
That 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 on
Like 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.

19. 19
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.

20. 20
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.

21. 21
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.

22. 22
Thinking Requires Trees
Brains 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.

23. 23
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.

24. 24
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.
Thanks
For the
Break!

25. 25
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

26. 26
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

27. 27
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.

28. 28
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.

29. 29
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 Evolution
Continued By Other Means”

30. 30
Nature Has Come A Long Way,
and Now We Are It!
• 3.6 Billion Years Ago
– Cells without nuclei or full DNA
• Bacteria 1 µ long
• 1.8 Billion Years Ago
– Life with nuclei & full DNA
• Cells 10 µ long
• 900 Million Years Ago
– Multi-cell life forms (osteo, myo, neuro…)
• Worms 100 µ 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

31. 31
Garden Song
CHORUS: Plant your rows straight and long
Season with a vision and song
Mother Earth will make you strong
If you give her loving care
Inch by inch, row by row
Gonna make this garden grow
Gonna mulch it deep and low
Gonna make it fertile ground
Inch by inch, row by row
Please help these seeds I sow
Please keep them safe below
Till the rain comes tumbling down
Pulling weeds and picking stones
We are made of dreams and bones
Need a place to call my own
Cause the time is close at hand
Grain for grain, sun and rain
Find my way in Nature’s chain
Till my body and my brain
Tell the music of the land

32. 32
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.
Iflifeturnssourlikealemon,
Tryturningthatbreakintoa
Sweetbenefit,likelemonade.

33. 33
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

34. 34
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.

35. 35
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.

36. 36
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.

37. 37
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)