 Contributors: Inner Child Press, Poets for Humanity
hülya n. yılmaz editor, William S. Peters, Sr. introduction, Kimberly Burnham, PhD (Integrative Medicine) Foreword, Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy, INDIA, Poet, Writer, Reviewer & Editor Gail Weston Shazor, Asoke Kumar Mitra 7 Kimberly Burnham 8 Anwer Ghani 10 Padmaja Iyengar-Paddy 11 Hussein Habasch 12 Menduh Leka 14 Irene Marks 15 Solomon C. Jatta 16 Clelia Volonteri 17 Muniam Alfaker 18 Shernaz Wadia 20 Rafael Jesús González 21 Francisco José Casado Pérez 22 Jeton Kelmendi 23 Kamani Jayasekera 25 Demetrios Trifiatis 26 Rita Stanzione 28 Welkin Siskin 29 Hema Ravi 30 Rohini Kumar Behera 31 Ernesto P. Santiago 32 Brenda C. Mohammed 33 Ameedah Mawalin 34 Khalid Imam 36 Pankajam Kottarath 37 Ranjana Sharan Sinha 38 Anord Sichinsambwe 40 Xavier J. Frazer 41 Luzviminda G. Rivera 42 Othmen Mahdi 44 Anna Nicole D. Velez 45 Ketaki Datta 47 De’Andre Hawthorne 49 Tianju 52 Noreen Ann Snyder 53 Vijaya Bhamidi 54 Alicja Maria Kuberska 55 Anthony Arnold 57 Olfa Philo Drid 58 Ashok Bhargava 65 Hayim Abramson 66 Geeta Varma 67 Jaydeep Sarangi 68 Gita Bharath 69 Brindha Vinodh 70 Zaldy Carreon De Leon, Jr. 71 Iwu Jeff 73 Venom M 74 Izza Fartmis 76 Santosh Magazine 77 H. W. Bryce 79 Ratan Ghosh 81 Chijioke Ogbuike 82 Omar Godling 84 Iram Fatima ‘Ashi’ 87 Paramananda Mahanta 88 Eden Soriano Trinidad 90 F. M. Ciocea 91 Joan McNerney 92 Otteri Selvakumar 93 Fahredin Shehu 94 Sayeed Abubakar 95 Pragya Suman 96 Sudarsan Sahu 97 John Eliot 99 Alan Summers 100 Tyran Prizren Spahiu 102 [ix] Table of Contents . . . continued Thryaksha Ashok Garla 103 Sangeeta Sharma 104 Antonia Valaire 105 Shareef Abdur-Rasheed 108 Aneek Chatterjee 109 Rahim Karim 111 Dragan Dragojlovic 112 Debbi Brody 113 Josep Juárez 114 Kairat Duissenov Parman 115 Ahila 117 Himasri Barman 118 Lilla Latus 119 Mandour Saleh Hikel 120 Manisha Joshi 122 Diego Bello 123 Eliza Segiet 124 Dilip Mohapatra 125 Pratishta Pandya 127 Willie Jones 129 Sahaj Sabharwal 131 Sridevi Selvaraj 132 Loretta Hawkins 133 Steve C. Sikora 134 Bob McNeil 137 [x] Table of Contents . . . continued Smruti Ranjan Mohanty 138 Louise Hudon 140 Kevin A. Boens 141 Ibrahim Honjo 143 Tom Higgins 144 Elizabeth Esguerra Castillo 145 Norbert Góra 146 Supratik Sen 147 JoAnn Smith 149 Sujata Dash 151 Chad Norman 152 Hong Ngoc Chau 153 Tali Cohen Shabtai 158 Elena S. Eyheremendy 159 S. Pathmanathan 160 Milagros Sefair 161 George Kurian 162 Saroj Mahobe 163 Varanasi Ramabrahmam 165 Adyasha Das 167 Stephanie Alaine Brown 168 Kamala Wijeratne 170 Aditi Roy 171 Zanka Zana Boskovic Coven 172 Anju Kishore 174 [xi] Table of Contents . . . continued Lizzy Anthony 175 Sumita Dutta Shoam 176 Sunil Sharma 177 Christopher Stewart 178 Mohammed Nurul Huda 179 Raja Rajeswari Seetha Raman 180 Valerie Ames Middlebrook 181 Vidya Shankar 184 Warda Zerguine 185 De Vincent Miles 186 Lakshani Willarachchi 187 Mohamed Bourhanem 190 Awatef El Idrissi Boukhris 191 Varsha Das 193 Antoinette Coleman 195 Keith Alan Hamilton 196 A. Annapurna Sharma 198 Suma K. Gopal 200 Siti Ruqaiyah Hashim 201 Kalyna Temertey-Canta 203 Dr. Sigma 204 Gino Leineweber 205 Safia Hayat 206 Jyoti Kanetkar 207 Monalisa Dash Dwibedy 208 [xii] Table of Contents . . . continued Jodel E. Agbayani 209 Mario C. Lucero 210 Md. Khalilur Rahman 211 Shruti Goswami 212 Monica Gray 213 Lana Joseph 214 Nataša Sardžoska 217 S. Sundar Rajan 219 Preety Sengupta 220 Gurdev Chauhan 221 JuNe BuGG 223 Orbindu Ganga 226 Christeen Saparamadu 228 Najma Mansoor 229 Sidra Sahar Imran 231 Vasuprada Kartic 232 K. V. Dominic 235 Aakash Sagar Chouhan 237 Anuradha Bhattacharyya 238 Piyankara Ganegoda & Lakshani Willarachchi 239 Teresa E. Gallion 240 Setaluri Padmavathi 241 Edna Garcia 242 Queen Sarkar 243 Mallika Chari 244 [xiii] Table of Contents . . . continued Tangirala Sree Latha 245 Caroline N. Gabis 247 Gopal Lahiri 248 Pushmaotee Subrun 249 Takatoshi Goto 251 Christine Von Lossberg 252 Avijit Roy 253 Akshaya Kumar Das 254 Shubha Khandekar 255 Nutan Sarawagi 256 Colombe Mimi Leland 257 Elizabeth Kurian Mona 258 Avril Meallem 260 Hiranya Aditi Godavarthy 262 Usha Sridhar 264 Marcelo Sanchez 266 Sylwia K. Malinowska 270 B. V. Siva Prasad 271 Sujatha Warrier 272 Ayo Ayoola-Amale 273 Maria do Sameiro Barroso 274 Rubab Abdullah 275 Muhammad Azram 276 hülya n. yılmaz 277 William S. Peters, Sr. 279
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2020 Currently working with clients as a Health and Vision, and Writing Coach.
For an appointment contact Kimberly Burnham, PhD (Integrative Medicine) at [email protected]
Kimberly Burnham's Publication Credits
Web Content Manager / Editor
2017-2018 Content Manager, Writer, Editor for Insights Into Religion by the Non-Profit Lilly Endowment (2 years) News, Non-Profit, Religion, Sermon Resources. http://www.religioninsights.org
Blogger
Raising Consciousness Now Blog (2013-Present) Brain Health, Consciousness, Peace, Language, Mental Health. https://www.raisingconsciousnessnow.com/blog/author/Kimberly-Burnham%2C-PhD-(Integrative-Medicine) SpokaneFavs Blog. (2014-Present) Intersection of Health, Religion and Peace Initiatives. https://spokanefavs.com/author/kimberlyburnham/ Second Nexus (2017) News, Science, Health, Food, Travel. https://secondnexus.com/author/kim-burnham/ 5 Best News and Entertainment Blog. (2017-2018) Health, News, Food. https://5bestthings.com/author/kimberly/ Kimberly Burnham's Column on LinkedIn Pulse (2010-Present) 12,000 + followers https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlyburnham/detail/recent-activity/posts/ A Selfish Poet, Trish Hopkinson's Blog, Making Money for Poets. (2017-Present) Poetry, Brain Health, Language, Peace. https://trishhopkinson.com/tag/kimberly-burnham/ Sivana Spirit Blog. (2018-Present) Health, Alternative Medicine. https://blog.sivanaspirit.com/author/kimberly-burnham/ Reform Judaism (2017-Present) Judaism, Jewish Themes, Jewish Books and Essays. https://reformjudaism.org/blog/blog-author/kimberly-burnham http://www.ncejudaism.org/finding-a-way-to-judaism/ Our Community of Humanity Blog in Inner Child Magazine (2014-2016) https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog Ride Fit (2016) Bicycling, Sports Health. http://www.ride-fit.com/Blog/Spinning-Bike-And-Turbo-Trainer-Workout-Blog-031113.html#.XHLvmYhKiM9 The Catalyzed Leader Blog (2012-2013). Vision, Brain Health, Leadership Training. https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/the-catalyzed-leader-blog
Academic Journal Articles
Academia.Edu (2005-Present) Journal Articles Health, Brain Function, Language and the Brain, Vision Health. [See all] https://akamaiuniversity.academia.edu/KimberlyBurnham Research Gate (2005-Present) Health, Brain Function, Language and the Brain, Vision Health. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kimberly_Burnham2 Google Scholar Profile (2015-Present) Health, Brain Function, Language and the Brain, Vision Health. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=EI24aaoAAAAJ&hl=en
Individually Written Brain Health Books:
Awakenings: Peace Dictionary, Language and the Mind (A Daily Brain Health Program (2019) by Kimberly Burnham (Creating Calm Network Publishing Group) B07KDZGSJM eBook $4.99 paperback $14.95 Parkinson's Alternatives, Walk Better, Sleep Deeper and Move Consciously (2014) by Kimberly Burnham (Creating Calm Network Publishing Group). Our Fractal Nature, A Journey of Self-Discovery and Connection, Psychology Meets Science. (2011) A Messenger Mini Book by Kimberly Burnham (The Nerve Whisperer Press, The Messengers of Change Program). Balancing the Sleep-Wake Cycle: Sleep Better, Learn Faster, Contribute More, and Enjoy Life to Its Fullest. (2011 Kindle eBook) by Kimberly Burnham (The Nerve Whisperer Press). Regain Your Balance: Ataxia Solutions from The Nerve Whisperer, Find Health and Healing in Six Complementary and Alternative Medicine Arenas (2012 Kindle eBook) by Kimberly Burnham (The Nerve Whisperer Press). Other Books What is Your LinkedIn Story? 21 Questions to Ignite Your Mood and Memory, A LinkedIn Story (Kindle eBook Jan 19, 2014)
Anthology Essays and Poetry
Trees, Healing, and You: Guided Imagery, Poems, Stories, & Other Empowering Tools (2016) by Kimberly Burnham, Céline Cloutier, Daniel Tigner, Margo Royce, Basia Alexander, Jim Conroy (Creating Calm Network Publishing). (Prose and Poetry). Music, Carrier of Intention in 49 Jewish Prayers by Elizabeth W Goldstein, Kimberly Burnham, Shefa Gold and Ann J White Co-editors, Rabbi Elizabeth W. Goldstein and Kimberly Burnham share the pages of this Jewish music anthology with 40 other authors including: Shefa Gold, Kimberly Burnham, Ann J White, Elizabeth W. Goldstein, Serene Victor, Natalie Young, Sheila Pearl, Susan Colin, Judy Caplan Ginsburgh, Joy Katzen-Guthrie, Rosalie Boxt, Beth Hamon, Shawn Israel Zevit, Robbi Sherwin, Jeff Gold, Hannah Seidel, Marci Vitkus, Rebekah Giangreco, Lisa Doob, Shira Wolosky, Sheldon Low, Saul Kaye, P. Faith Hayflich, Victoria Carmona, Brian Yosef Schachter-Brooks, Dahlia Topolosky, Mindy Sandler, Jack Kessler, Eric Komar, Rami Shapiro, Shira Kline, George Henschel, Diane J. Schmidt, Ruth Anne Faust, Aaron H. Tornberg, Arnie Davidson, Rebecca Schwartz, Shelly Aronson, Steve Dropkin, Ter Lieberstein, and Michael Gurian. No Mistakes!: How You Can Change Adversity into Abundance. (2013) Hampton Roads Publishing. All Authors in No Mistakes!: How You Can Change Adversity into Abundance: Madisyn Taylor, Sunny Dawn Johnston, HeatherAsh Amara, Christine Krinke, PhD, Karen Curry, Tianna Roser, Gloria Piantek, Robyn Benson, DOM, Siobhan Coulter, Susana M. Silverhøj, Carol J. Craig, Carole J Toms ND, Kyle Weaver & Scott Edmund Miller, Anne M. Deatly, Ann White (Publisher at the Creating Calm Network Publishing Group), Linda Wheeler Williams, Cliff Thomas, Karen Hasselo, Mandy Berlin, Sara Jane, Janet Rozzi, Tenaya Asan, Patricia Cohen, Kimberly Burnham, PhD (The Nerve Whisperer at St Luke's Rehabilitation Institute, Spokane Washington), Rosemary Hurwitz, Nancy Kaye, Nancy Smith, Christie Melonson, Kathy Jackson, Vicki Higgins. Pearls of Wisdom: 30 Inspirational Ideas to Live Your Best Life Now is an anthology of inspiration with Jack Canfield, Randy Davila, Marci Shimoff, Chris Attwood, Janet Attwood, Dr. Daniel Amen, Robert Evans, Kimberly Burnham, Barnett Bain, Michelle Manning-Kogler and other significant authors. Hampton Roads Publishing, 2012. (Print and audio book). Pebbles in the Pond: Transforming the World One Person at a Time with New York Times Best-Selling Authors Christine Kloser, Marci Shimoff, Robert Allen and Sonia Choquette, as well as other transformational authors including, Kimberly Burnham, Marcelle Charrois, and many more wonderful authors. Transformational Books. 2012. Tears to Triumph, Stories to Transform Your Life Today (2013) Creating Calm Publishing Group.
Individually Written Poetry Books
Awakenings: Peace Dictionary, Language and the Mind (A Daily Brain Health Program by Kimberly Burnham (Creating Calm Network Publishing Group) B07KDZGSJM eBook $4.99 paperback $14.95 Live Like Someone Left The Gate Open by Kimberly Burnham
Anthology Poet Faces of Peace in India was recently published in The Current Anthology and launched at the Prime Poetry Festival on 10 March at Trissur, Kerala. Anthology of the The Kenyan International Poetry, Arts and Cultural Festival June 14, 2019 - June 24, 2019 in Bumala, Busia County, Western Kenya, marks the International Day of the African Child, 16th June 2019. Women Building The World: A Poetic International Women's Day Collection. Kimberly Burnham, Editor / Poet, Thuthukani Ndlovu, Collection Curator. Powerful book. Easy to identify with experiences described in poetry by 25 women from around the world. The Poets: Charlotte Addison; Kimberly Burnham; Sasha Leigh Coutinho; Ruth Ekong; Amina Hussain El-Yakub; Debbie Johnson; Usha Krishnamurthy; Alicja Maria Kuberska; Vimbai Josephine Lole; Cathrine Chidawanyika Makuvise; Chiwawa Fungai Manana; Tanyaradzwa Masaire; Kearoma Desiree Mosata; Xolani Msimango; Cheryl Zvikomborero Musimwa; Patience Osei Bonsu; Sandhya Padmanabhan; Toiwa Petronella; Nyakallo Posholi; Michelle L. Schmid; Linda Simone; Itzela Sosa; Rutendo Matewu Tigere; Latha Y; and Ruth Yacim. The Translators: Glenna Luschei; Xeshelihle R. Ncube; and Silindile Ndlovu. (Creating Calm Network Publishing & Radioactivetuts). 30 Poems in 30 Days: Writing Prompts & Poems from Tiferet Journal Editors: Kimberly Burnham and Lisa Sawyer; Cover Design by Monica Gurevich-Importico; The Poets: Tracy Brooks, Kimberly Burnham, Udo Hintze, Shannon S. Hyde, Catriona Knapman, Maureen Kwiat Meshenberg, Louise Jayne Moriarty, Hazel Saville, Ambika Talwar, Laura J. Wolfe. Healing Through Words (2012) Anthological Writers (Kimberly Burnham), William Peters (Foreword), Janet Caldwell (Preface). World Healing ~ World Peace Volume II: a poetry anthology by Inner Child Press ltd. (Mar 28, 2014) Paper Nautilus 2012 Lisa Mangini (Editor), Kimberly Burnham, Jason Primm, S D Stewart, Paul David Adkins, Jefferey Alfier, Martin Balgach, Janet Barry, Kristen Berkey-Abbott, George Bishop, C L Bledsoe, Duncan Campbell, Melissa Cannon, Darren Cormier, Matthew Denvir, Jacob Edwards, Laren Eyler, Jessica Forcier, Amy Gentile, Jason Hibbitts, Marianna Hofer, Nicole Hospital-Medina, Ann Howells, Marcia Hurlow, Jennifer Roth Jackson, Susan Johnson, Hillary Kobernick, Jean LeBlanc, Kathryn Locey, Edward Manai, Karen McPherson, Kelly McQuain, Zackary Medlin, Ann E Michael, Jesse Minkert, Mack J Mitchell, Brian D Morrison, Rich Murphy, Mike Petrik, Will Pewitt, Frederick Pollack, Melissa Reddish, Stephen R Roberts, Jay Rubin, Michael Saleman, Shae Savoy, Carolyn Foster Segal, Amanda Sibernagel, Gerald Solomon, Jessica Stilling, Doc Suds, Wally Swist, Allison Tobey, Brendan Walsh, William Wells, William Kelley Woolfitt, Mike Wright, Changming Yuan, Sheri L Wright. (2012). Paper Nautilus 2012. Published by Paper Nautilus Publishing.
Found Poetry Poet Kimberly Burnham "write" or "find" poetry collections within the words of other authors of print books, nonfiction, novels, cookbooks, scientific journal articles, etc. Her first found poetry collection, The Adventure of Jewish History, Poems Found Within The Words of Solomon Grayzel's A History of The Jews https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QK1GSGN is available on Amazon kindle for 99 cents. Please contact her if you are interested in having her create a found poetry collection from your book. What she provides: 1. Marketing material for your website, Amazon page and marketing copy 2. 25 plus poems 3. A review for Amazon of your book (ie) https://www.amazon.com/review/R1AXFBM7PU97ZP 4. Promotion on my website. (ie) https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/the-adventure-of-jewish-history-found-poems-created-from-solomon-grayzels-a-history-of-the-jews 5. Blog Interview on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/innitiating-nondual-shaman-kimberly-burnham/ 6. A copy of your original book with the found poems and art work. Cost 1. $125 for found poems and art work created from the pages of your book ($5 per poem if you want more than 25). While you will be able to use all the poems on your website or in your marketing material, the whole collection as an eBook and print book will be on Amazon by Kimberly Burnham.. 2. Three signed copies of your book mailed to Kimberly. Found Poems can be created from: Books (nonfiction, novels, cookbooks, dictionaries) like The Adventure of Jewish History, Poems Found Within The Words of Solomon Grayzel's A History of The Jews https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07QK1GSGN From scientific journal articles: The Art, Science and Language of Colors and Color Vision https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/the-art-science-and-language-of-colors-and-color-vision Empathy from Nature Neuroscience https://www.humankindjournal.org/contrib_kimberly-burnham/issue-13-kimberly-burnham Found Poems fashioned from quotes and writings of famous people: Virginia Woolf's Peace Poetry, A Found Poem https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/virginia-woolf-s-peace-poetry-a-found-poem/ Einstein's Peace, A Found Poem https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/einstein-s-peace-a-found-poem/ Or in the stories of not so famous people's stories. Mohamed Maine Seed https://spokanefavs.com/safety-dreams-and-peace-of-mind/
Inner Child's The Year of the Poet
2014 - 2019 (Present) Member of the Inner Child Press Poetry Posse and contributor to monthly books entitled The Year of The Poet. Poetry published in over 60 books / volumes of The Year of the Poet.
Photographs in Children's books, Educational works, and Magazines
Louisiana Facts and Symbols (States and Their Symbols) Emily McAuliffe.pg 22; Japan (Countries of the World) Michael Dahl. pg 10; Fall Harvest (Preparing for Winter) Gail Saunders-Smith; Making the Most of Shade: How to Plan, Plant, and Grow a Fabulous Garden that Lightens up the Shadows Larry Hodgson pg 84 (center); Shapes: Discovering Flats and Solids (Exploring Math) Michele Koomen pg 7, 13 (bottom); The Growing Edge New Moon Pub pg 48; Backpacker Jun 1996 pg 32; Leisure in Society: A Comparative Approach Hilmi Ibrahim Cover (left side); Butterflies: How to Identify and Attract Them to Your Garden Marcus Schenck pg 18 (Mar 2001); With Cargo (Get Around). Lee Sullivan Hill pg 24; Passport to Mathematics Book 2 (2002). Ron Larson, Laurie Boswell, Timothy D. Kanold and Lee pg 195br; Michigan (America Series) Tanya Lloyd Kyi pg 17; You're Ok, Your Cat's Ok Marcus Schneck Jill Caravan pg 86b; You're Ok, Your Dog's Ok Marcus Schneck Jill Caravan; Canadian Aquaculture, Volume 6 Harrison House Publishers pg 78; Backyard Fruits and Berries: Everything You Need to Know About Planting and Growing Fruits and Berries in Your Yard Miranda Smith pg 23ar; Ideals Friendship Publications Inc pg 25; Long Point Bird Observatory, Volumes 16-23 Long Point Bird Observatory pg 10; Gleanings in Bee Culture A. I. Root Co., 1989 - Bee culture pg 314.
Poetry Publications and Online Poetry Presence
Empathy featured in the Human/Kind Journal (2019) Issue 1.3 https://www.humankindjournal.org https://www.humankindjournal.org/contrib_kimberly-burnham Poetry 24, The News is the Muse. (2019-Present) http://www.poetry24.co.uk/search/label/Kimberly%20Burnham Alabama's 86% Preferring One Religion Over Another The Frog In Me Poem Hunter Profile https://www.poemhunter.com/kimberly-burnham/ 2017 Tiferet Poem-a-Thon Poems by Kimberly Burnham 2017 http://tiferetjournal.com/april-2017-poem-a-thon/poems-kimberly-burnham-2017/ Excerpt from Dear Stranger by Kimberly Burnham (October, 2016) http://tiferetjournal.com/excerpt-dear-stranger-kimberly-burnham/ 2015 Poem-a-Thon Poems by Kimberly Burnham http://tiferetjournal.com/april-2015-poem-a-thon/poems-by-kimberly-burnham/ Winner of the 2013 SAGE USA Story Contest with a poem about the 2013 Hazon Cross USA bicycle ride.
Scientific Journal Articles and Publications
Dr. Richard Baumann, Editor; Kimberly Burnham, Assistant Editor, Perla 1981, Annual Newsletter and Bibliography of The International Society of Plecopterologists.
Presentations and Speaking Engagements
Spokane Pain Conference (2014). Emotional Freedom (EFT) Tap Fests (2013); Raising Consciousness Now Global Summit (2012); Creating Calm Broadcast Network (2013-2014); The Mastermind Show (2013); Inner Child Press Radio (2013); Women of Power Speakers Series (2012); Pearls of Wisdom Teleconference (2012); The Messengers of Change Network's Collective Energy Circle Meditation program (2011-2012); Defeat Autism Now conferences (2006); Alzheimer's Association meetings (2005);
Journalist in the Agriculture and Food industry 1986 - 1995.
One thousand plus articles on nutrition and food including articles in the following publications: Canadian Fruitgrower. 15 articles. Mar 1991 - 1994.; Greenhouse Canada. 6 cover photos, 38 articles. Apr 90 - 1994; Onion World. 24 articles, 1 cover photo. Feb 88 - 1994.; The Produce News. 970 Articles and photos. July 1986 - 1994. ; Alive, Canadian Journal of Health & Nutrition. 1 article, Apr 92.; Seafood Leader. 1 article, Jan/Feb 92.; Canadian Aquaculture. Provesta Pigment news item. July/August 90.; Catering Today. 1 article and photos. Jan/Feb 91.; Cognition - Organic Farming 5 Info review sections, photos. Apr 90 - Apr 91.; Gleanings in Beekeeping. 1 article. June 1989.; The Grower. Cover photo. Mar 91.; The Growing Edge. 3 articles. Fall 89, Winter 89, Spring 90.; Mushroom Trade Report. 2 articles. Feb 91.; Organic Gardening. 1 photo. Apr 91.; Small Farmer's Journal. 1 article. Fall 1989; Jewish Vegetarians. 1 article. Autumn, 1988.
Poetry Reading by hülya n. yılmaz of her new book "This and That" plus the reading was kicked off by one of Hulya's poems put to music by Jason Adams.
Barış in Turkish (Peace in Turkey) "Barış" (peace), "Baris" (pronounced Barish), Esenlik (peace), "Huzur" (serenity, tranquility, quiet, harmony), "Sulh" (peace), "Rahat" (comfortable), "Sükunet" (tranquility), "Sükûn" (peace), "Asayiş" (peace, public order, quiet, rest, public security, safety), "Iji" (good) or "Sessizlikor" (silence) in Turkish (tur) or Türkçe spoken in Turkey, Cyprus, and Greece. There are 70.9 million Turkish speakers mostly in Turkey with smaller populations found in Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Cyprus, and Kazakhstan. Turkish words in English date back to the 16th century, with "vizier" (1562), "tulip" (1578) and "caftan" (1591) being among the earliest to arrive. Languages of Turkey include Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli, Azeri, and Kabardian as well as Arabic, Armenian, and Greek. "Barış" - the "I" is pronounced as a cross between an English e and an i. The "ş" is pronounced like “sh.” Turkish (tur) or Türkçe—"Barış" (peace), "Baris" (pronounced Barish), Esenlik (peace), "Huzur" (serenity, tranquility, quiet, harmony), "Sulh" (peace), "Rahat" (comfortable), "Sükunet" (tranquility), "Sükûn" (peace), "Asayiş" (peace, public order, quiet, rest, public security, safety), "Iji" (good) or "Sessizlikor" (silence) —Turkey, Cyprus, and Greece. Kimberly Burnham's Latest Community of Humanity Column
25. Healing and the Poet's Brain March, 2016 Not everyone aspires to be a poet. Not everyone enjoys reading poetry but perhaps we should rethink the role of poetry in individual healing and brain health. Start at the beginning with the feeling—what is that feeling—that creates a stirring poem .... [Full Article] @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #interfaith #spirituality #communityofhumanity #neurotheology Enjoy the October, 2014 cover story featuring Kimberly Burnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/feature-of-the-month.php and see her poetry at http://www.innerchildpress.com/the-year-of-the-poet.php #Healing #Poet #Brain #World #Peace #Healing #CommunityOfHumanity by #KimberlyBurnham #InnerChildPress Magazine http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php 24. Role of Interfaith Group in World Peace February, 2016 Role of Interfaith Group in World Peace Are you part of a religious or spiritual community? Do you feel connected and understood by your neighbors? Do you feel like we are all part of the community of humanity? There are some religious communities that are trying to convert people ... [Full Article] @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #interfaith #spirituality #communityofhumanity #neurotheology Enjoy the October, 2014 cover story featuring Kimberly Burnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/feature-of-the-month.php and see her poetry at http://www.innerchildpress.com/the-year-of-the-poet.php Role of #Interfaith Groups #World #Peace #Healing #CommunityOfHumanity by #KimberlyBurnham #InnerChildPress Magazine http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php 23. A Happy New Year the Neurotheology of Dopamine, January, 2015 A Happy New Year the Neurotheology of Dopamine. This year eat, sleep, move your body, meditate, sing, love and if you can do it in community even better. According to Kenneth Blum et al (2015) “Finding happiness may not only reside in our genome [genetic material or genes] but may indeed be impacted by positive meditative practices, positive psychology, spiritual acceptance, love of others and self, and taking inventory of ourselves-one day at a time.” [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #dopamine #parkinsonsdisease #neurotheology 22. On Motivation, Let Go of Carrots and Sticks December, 2016 On Motivation, Let Go of Carrots and Sticks ... Why do we do things? What motivates you? Do rewards or punishments motive you, truly? If we want peace and success in this world for all communities and for all people, what do we have to do? Recent world events have shown how people try to motive others. The problem ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #motivation # peace #neurotheology 21. Pattern Recognition at the Parliament of World's Religions November, 2015 Pattern Recognition at the Parliament of World's Religions. Bowls of colored sand stood ready on October 15th, 2015. Across the hallway people were preparing vegetarian food. Hanging from the walkway ceilings were flags and banners with quotes on peace, the environment, and faith. A walking mediation labyrinth was being laid down in bright blue tape. Stages ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #2015Parliament #peace #neurotheology 20. Inside, Seeing From the Fourth Dimension October, 2015 Inside, Seeing From the Fourth Dimension. If you draw a four sided square on a piece of paper, it is said to be a two dimensional object. It has length and width but not height. Of course a piece of paper does have height, so it is not truly a two dimensional object but for our purposes we will think ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #vision #peace #neurotheology 19. Thriving on the Beauty in Diversity September, 2015 Thriving on the Beauty in Diversity. There is value in enjoying our differences and similarities. When everyone is the same life is boring. Our brains are not excited if all we can see is one kind of tree or all we can buy is one kind of car, which is the same as everyone else's. Sameness also increases competition ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #diversity #beauty #neurotheology 18. The Source of Peace August, 2015 The Source of PEACE. With the 4th of July celebrated in the US, I have been thinking about war and peace and how we separate ourselves from one another and how we build our communities. My contribution to the monthly poetry anthology, The Year of The Poet II from Inner Child Press focused on peace and the first three quotes in this column. Albert Einstein said, "Peace cannot be kept by ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #peace #poetry #neurotheology 17. Inside and Outside July, 2015 Inside and Outside. Who Are We Exiling? "Is it true you used to be a Mormon?" He was tall, dark, and handsome with a bright warm smile. "Yes" I said to the man who was on Benay Lappe's Queer Talmud Retreat with me. "Me too!" He said as we explored what we had in common. ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #exile #LDS #neurotheology 16. Connection to the Earth June, 2015 Connection to the Earth. Two years ago I was bicycling through Spokane, Washington on a 3000 mile Cross-USA trip from Seattle to Washington, DC. In the last two years I moved across the country from Connecticut to Washington state and this spring just moved into a new house with trees and land for a large garden. Sponsored by Hazon which means vision in Hebrew, the bicycle adventure ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #earth #connection #neurotheology 15. Vignettes May, 2015 Vignettes ... Words shared can cause joy and pain, delight and laughter, misery and despair and ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #stories #connection #neurotheology 13. Finding the Faces of My Community April 2015 Finding the Faces of My Community ... When I look into your face do I see a predator or prey, a friend or enemy, are you trustworthy or ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #stories #faces #neurotheology 12. Neurodiversity March 2015 Neurodiversity ... We have agreed to call a certain wave length of light: RED but we can't know if we see it the same... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 11. Chronic Pain From An Alternative Medicine Perspective February 2015 Chronic Pain From An Alternative Medicine Perspective. Pain abounds in our community, but so too does joy and success and creative solutions. The pain in a child's face, tears streaming after a fall on the grassy hill or the scratch of a tree branch. The pain of loss ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #chronicpain #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 10. Brain Solids January 2015 Brain Solids. Sometimes we have to shift dimensions to see the connections and the tiny tendrils that reach across the walls and canyons. My kitchen table, for example, feels solid, a light blond wood that gives a deep solid tone when my knuckles rap on it. My hands feel solid, too. And I imagine this is what is real, the solid things in my life. In Traditional Chinese Medicine ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #brain #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 9. Conversion December 2014 The cold, solitary and hibernation energies of winter can be warmed by community, acceptance and change as once more we move toward spring and new life. What NEW life will you drink into your core? What energies will you convert in the joy within the balance of your life? Are you a convert? Do you seek converts to your cause? ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #conversion #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 8. Attachment Disorders and What Do I Need? November 2014 Every month, pick up each thing in your house. Hold it. Feel it. Notice the texture, the color, the softness and ask yourself, "Does this bring me JOY?" This is an adapted exercise from Suze Orman, a well known financial advisor and TV personality. Paying attention to what we are attached to can be good for the wallet and for the heart. A Move ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #moving #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 7. Playing Back A Colorful Life With Lots of Moving Pieces Playing Back A Colorful Life With Lots of Moving Pieces. Last week I participated in a Playback Theatre workshop or playshop as we called it. Penny Clayton from the Centre for Playback Theatre taught this amazingly rich beautiful class in Seattle about five hours drive from my home in Spokane, Washington. One of the values of Playback Theatre is to create a space where everyone feels ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #playback #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 6. Kind Possession Now October 2014 Kind Possession Now. Possession! What do you possess? What are your prized possessions? What have you worked hard for or perhaps inherited? There is a beautiful coffee table book entitled, Material World: A Global Family Portrait (1995) by Peter Menzel, Charles C. Mann, Paul Kennedy and a host of amazing photographers. It is a graphic and statistical snapshot of families worldwide ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #possession #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology If Not Now. The famous Jewish religious leader, Hillel, born over 2000 years ago in Babylon in 110 BCE said, "If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?" His words, "If Not Now?" have sparked a movement within the Jewish community which is looking at the means being applied to the peace process in Israel and Palestine. Jews are considering what is justified in the name of creating peace and safety. Is there a line that can't be crossed even if your own life, your family, your land and possessions are in jeopardy? ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #ifnotnow #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 5. Future Time and Space Unknown September 2014 Future Time and Space Unknown. John F. Kennedy said . . . "Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal." ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #future #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology Who do you consult about the future? Psychics feel the energy, look at auras and predict the future. Astrologers consult the stars, giving us guides for ways to live our lives based on what they see. Whether it helps or hurts is an individual mindset. ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #future #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 4. Real Community Prayer August 2014 Real Community Prayer ... There is a saying, "Worrying is like praying for what you don't want." ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #prayer #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 3. Poetic Responsibility and Peace July 2014 Poetic Responsibility and Peace ... Do you know someone who uses poetry to create healing or, perhaps, through poetry or other means seeks to build a stronger peace in this world? If you do, have you ever asked yourself whether you have any responsibility toward that person? Often we ask ourselves what our responsibility is when we ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #responsibility #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 2. Jiggling Eyes, Genetics and The Potential to Recover June 2014 Jiggling Eyes, Genetics and The Potential to Recover ... By the time I was twenty-eight, I was working as a professional photographer and a freelance journalist. I had seen Paris from the top of the Eifel Tower, climbed to ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #vision #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology 1. The Resilience, Beauty and Healing in Natural Diversity May 2014 The Resilience, Beauty and Healing in Natural Diversity ... Environmentalist and author of The Fifth Sacred Thing, Starhawk said, "Value diversity—for diversity creates resilience." ... [Full Article @KimberlyBurnham http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php #vision #stories #neurodiversity #neurotheology
Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Healing and the Poet's Brain Not everyone aspires to be a poet. Not everyone enjoys reading poetry but perhaps we should rethink the role of poetry in individual healing and brain health. Start at the beginning with the feeling—what is that feeling—that creates a stirring poem. “A poem begins as a lump in the throat, a sense of wrong, a homesickness, a lovesickness," said Robert Frost. Poems are also for finding those things that will shift the sickness and the despair into hope, inner peace, and a sense of freedom. The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry "When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.” Poetry, Storytelling, and Blood Pressure Telling your story in prose or poetry is helpful in letting go of stress and to decrease blood pressure symptoms. This study showed that "storytelling is emerging as a powerful tool for health promotion in vulnerable populations. The storytelling intervention produced substantial and significant improvements in blood pressure for patients with baseline uncontrolled hypertension," according to Houston, T. K., J. J. Allison, et al. (2011). "Culturally appropriate storytelling to improve blood pressure: a randomized trial." Ann Intern Med 154(2): 77-84. Who do you tell your story to? Whose stories do you hear? Try writing a short story or poem about an experience you have had. “...and then, I have nature and art and poetry, and if that is not enough, what is enough?” Vincent van Gogh Recovery From Serious Illness In a study that aimed to explore the effect of a poetry writing program for people who had experienced a serious mental illness researchers said, "Participants responded enthusiastically and each group demonstrated an increase in wellbeing over the course of their workshop, moving them from medium to low risk on the Kessler-10, a measure of wellbeing. Participants enjoyed the challenge of writing and the companionship of other group members. Psychiatrists are in a position to encourage patients who have experienced a serious illness to explore writing as a way of coming to terms with their experiences," according to Rickett, C., C. Greive, et al. (2011). "Something to hang my life on: the health benefits of writing poetry for people with serious illnesses." Australas Psychiatry 19(3): 265-268. These studies seem to indicate that poetry writing and storytelling can contribute to physical and mental health. It can also help us connect to the reader or listener of our story and helps us imagine someone else's feelings during an experience they tell us. “Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back. Those who wish to sing always find a song. At the touch of a lover, everyone becomes a poet,” said Plato. Dementia and Brain Power Help An article in "Dementia" reported, "This article focuses on poetry interventions as one example of cultural arts interventions. The use of poetry might seem counterintuitive, given that people with dementia lose their language abilities and that poetry is regarded to be the most complex literary form. I argue that expanding on existing research on poetry interventions from a health and science perspective with a humanities approach will help illuminate how poetry works to enhance the exchange with people with dementia. Drawing on participant observations of poetry interventions by Gary Glazner (Alzheimer's Poetry Project, USA) at the New York Memory Center, I frame poetry interventions as a specific form of oral poetry in which people with dementia are positioned as cocreators of embodied texts and directly benefit from the power of the spoken word," said Swinnen, A. M. (2014). "Healing words: A study of poetry interventions in dementia care." Dementia (London). Another study reported on a series of poetry writing workshops, "All of the women said that they benefited from the workshops, but their experiences differed greatly. Themes included competence and self-efficacy, personal growth, wanting to contribute and poetry writing as a way of coping with the progression of the condition. Creative activities such as writing poetry hold promise for enhancing the quality of life of people with dementia," according to Petrescu, I., K. MacFarlane, et al. (2014). "Psychological effects of poetry workshops with people with early stage dementia: an exploratory study." Dementia (London) 13(2): 207-215. Poetry enhances the quality of life of people with dementia and perhaps anyone who writes or reads poetry. Do you know a poet? Ask them how their life is better because of poetry. More Community of Humanity blogs: https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php
Community of Humanity Blog (2014-2016) Kimberly Burnham, PhD
Published in over 100 books, Kimberly Burnham is a writer, poet, and complementary medicine practitioner. She authored Awakenings: Peace Dictionary, Language and the Mind, a Daily Brain Health Program for people interested in improving their brain clarity, creativity and muscle movements. Her current project focuses on color words, the brain and vision health designed to assist people in seeing better. Kimberly's Ph.D. (Integrative Medicine) considered manual therapy techniques (Integrative Manual Therapy, Matrix Energetics, Acupressure, Reiki) and health coaching for people with Parkinson's disease. She is an avid gardener and environmentalist, who bicycled 3000 miles across the U.S. in 2013. Kimberly Burnham is the managing editor of Inner Child Magazine and on the board of The United World Movement for Children. For a brain health coaching phone consultation or an appointment in Spokane, Washington contact Kimberly at https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/ or email her at [email protected].
Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Role of Interfaith Group in World Peace Are you part of a religious or spiritual community? Do you feel connected and understood by your neighbors? Do you feel like we are all part of the community of humanity? There are some religious communities that are trying to convert people from other religious communities to their way of seeing the world and interacting with the powers that be in the universe. But more and more today, interfaith communities are springing up, perhaps in response to hate speech or bigotry and sometimes in an effort to be proactive and create peace. Communities that are trying to convert people to their religious beliefs and interfaith communities are very different and have a very different impact of world peace. Spokane, Washington has a very active interfaith community. Each month or so, the Spokane Interfaith Council creates an event called Meet The Neighbors. This month we met at the Islamic Center of Spokane. The purpose is education, an opportunity to see the inside of another religion's sacred space, and talk with people—one person to another. At events such as Meet The Neighbors it is easy to see that we all have a lot in common, we want our children to be safe from harm, we want to learn and grow in the world, have a warm home, and meaningful work and lives. After listening to the Muslim call to pray, members of the Muslim community share what is most beautiful about their religion. "That moment in pray when I connect deeply with my creator," said one man. Several people in the audience quietly nodded in agreement. Past Meet The Neighbors events have taken place in Sikh temples, Jewish synagogues, Bahia (Muslim) centers. Next month we will visit a Native American center. In early February there will be another event in Spokane designed to encourage dialogue and learning. As part of the Being Religious Interreligiously Lecture Series and in honor of the 50th anniversary of Nostra Aetate (an encyclical from the Pope) at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, Dr. Amy Jill-Levine will be speaking on "Of Pearls and Prodigals: Hearing Jesus' Parables through Jewish Ears." In an earlier interview with David Neff, Levine said, "In working with Christian congregations and clergy groups, I find an enormous interest in Jesus' Jewish context—how the parables would have sounded in Jewish ears and what the controversy stories suggest about early Jewish practice. I think that if Christians want to take the Incarnation seriously, they should also take seriously where and when and to whom it occurred. Hence the volume has 30 short essays on such topics as the Pharisees, the temple, the ancient synagogue, Jewish parables, Jewish miracle workers, Jewish beliefs in angels and the afterlife, Jewish family life, and so on. "The Jewish Annotated New Testament" also serves to correct unfortunate stereotypes of early Judaism that sometimes find their way into Christian preaching and teaching. It also addresses anti-Jewish teachings such as that all Jews are "Christ killers" or lovers of money or children of the Devil. The annotations provide historical contexts for the passages that give rise to such canards as well as note that the vast majority of Christians read their Bible as a text of love, not hate." I also recently attended an Interfaith Havdalah presentation. Franciscan friar, Al Mascia and Steve Klaper, a cantor or Jewish musical leader ask Christians to come early to Catholic Vespers and Jews to stay after their Havdalah (Saturday night ending of the Jewish shabbat). "The Interfaith Havdalah is not a mixture of faith traditions; rather we are unique communities praying in each other's company," said long time friends and colleagues, Al and Steve. As part of the Jewish Havdalah, Steve Klaper leads Mincha (afternoon prayers) and Maariv (evening prayers) with songs like Shalom (Peace) Aleichem (peace be upon you) and V'hi No'am which is taken from the 90th Psalm, noted Klaper, saying the Psalms are something both traditions have in common. Making the transition from Jewish Havdalah to Catholic Vespers, the leaders ring a Tibetan bowl and encourage participants to take a deep cleansing breath. The candle in front of Friar Al is then lit and they sing "Upon the Lighting of the Lamp at Vespers". Other songs that are part of the Vespers service include "Rejoice, Rejoice" and "Shalom My Friends." Noting the inclusion of the song "Upon Giving Thanks for Incense," Brother Al explained that both the Jewish Havdalah and the Catholic Vespers has an olfactory or smell component. As they close the service, Brother Al says, "Shavua Tov" wishing Steve a "good week" and Steve responds by wishing Al, "Shabbat Shalom" or a peaceful Sabbath. "We light candles as an external expression of prayer, said Brother Al ending the event with a quote from the Sufi / Muslim poet, Rumi, "A candle doesn't lose its light by enlightening another candle." The 13th century Persian poet also said, “Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing there is a field. I'll meet you there." And sometimes it is enough just to pray beside each other because as Rumi said, "When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.” https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php 
Community of Humanity Blog (2014-2016) Kimberly Burnham, PhD
Published in over 100 books, Kimberly Burnham is a writer, poet, and complementary medicine practitioner. She authored Awakenings: Peace Dictionary, Language and the Mind, a Daily Brain Health Program for people interested in improving their brain clarity, creativity and muscle movements. Her current project focuses on color words, the brain and vision health designed to assist people in seeing better. Kimberly's Ph.D. (Integrative Medicine) considered manual therapy techniques (Integrative Manual Therapy, Matrix Energetics, Acupressure, Reiki) and health coaching for people with Parkinson's disease. She is an avid gardener and environmentalist, who bicycled 3000 miles across the U.S. in 2013. Kimberly Burnham is the managing editor of Inner Child Magazine and on the board of The United World Movement for Children. For a brain health coaching phone consultation or an appointment in Spokane, Washington contact Kimberly at https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/ or email her at [email protected]. Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Pattern Recognition at the Parliament of World's Religions Bowls of colored sand stood ready on October 15th, 2015. Across the hallway people were preparing vegetarian food. Hanging from the walkway ceilings were flags and banners with quotes on peace, the environment, and faith. A walking mediation labyrinth was being laid down in bright blue tape. Stages were being prepared. The words of spiritual leaders and seekers were about to fill the rooms of the 515,000 square feet Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah. A pattern was forming. An empty convention center transformed into a sacred space, a microcosm of life on earth. Ten thousand people from every continent and corner of this round earth filled the space with consciousness of the devastation and the challenges the community of humanity face but also hope, love, and a commitment to peace. There were turbans, scarves, yamaks, crowns, masks, robes, crosses, and all manner of symbols as people of faith talked together from their respective vantage points on how best to show gratitude for the blessings of life. Five days later the bowls of colored sand were transformed in the hands of Tibetan monks into a stunning mandala for some people: a tool for gaining wisdom and compassion. For others a mandala is a geometric piece of art that blesses this world with beauty and gives pause to all of us consumed in a busy life. The pattern emerges only through the work of someone willing to have patience and dedication to express themselves in compassion. The vegetarian food, prepared by the Langar Sikh community brought nourishment and joy to thousands. It also won the heart and minds of everyone open to seeing the strength and magnificence in the face of the men and women who welcomed each person. "Thank you for coming, Kimberly," a Sikh man said each day I visited. Giving for no other reason than because there was a need to be filled and a desire to be of service, a beautiful pattern emerged from the work of the Sikh community. Nearby the spires of the LDS (Mormon) temple were recognizable with the gold statue of the angel Moroni on the top. The yellow leaves on the mountain trees, the cool water in the fountain, and decorative pumpkins all converged in a warm and welcoming pattern of the fall in Utah. The 2015 Parliament of the World's Religions graced us with a glimpse of what this world can look like when people of all faiths listen to the other and see in their eye a neighbor or relative. What do you need? What can I share? What can we do together to take our message of peace into the world? "It is difficult to change how you read a text but ask a new question: Do I need to read the text in a new way as I find myself in a new situation?" Brandan Robertson noted, "Many communities fear, unnecessarily, that there is a relationship between change in belief and decline." How can we find success in breaking out of a negative pattern and gain an expanded vison of love? "We have had thousands of years of hatred and slavery. Let's try a little friendship, " said Wande Abimbola, a Yoruba man from Nigeria. In other words, let's change the pattern where it is not working for us. The Imam Jamal Rahman started his presentation with a Koranic whoooooooooo huuuuuuu, creating with sound a pattern of peace. "Silence is not the absence of sound. It is the absence of the little self," he said. Can you find your pattern of peace in the silence? "Mother Earth the source of life not a resource," said Chief Arvol Lookinghorse. Take a little and give back some. Breathe in a little and give some back. This is how we can all continue to live in peace and abundance. "God is Echad," said Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, quoting from the Jewish Shema prayer: God is One. "One is not a person alone but all connected into oneness," she added. Can you find yourself in the pattern of oneness? Participants at the 2015 Parliament of the World's Religions also had a chance to see films and theatre productions weaving poetry and light into a pattern that can change the world. Born Into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids teaches us that we can break free of the patterns that keep us in poverty, prostitution, or uneducated. But it is easiest and most successful if someone gives us a hand and we take their hand, and work with them. Referring to her home on the other side of the world in New Zealand, where they are already in tomorrow, Rangimarie Turuki Rose Pere said, "I have come from the future. What do you want to know?" She also shared an image of her land where 6000 hectares of indigenous trees grow. "Children come in with intuition. We only have to love them," she said. Arnold Thomas taught us, "Relatives, what if this is—heaven all around us? Are we behaving in a manner that our grandchildren seven generations from now will enjoy this earthly heaven?" In this microcosm that was the 2015 Parliament of the World's Religions we learned that peace and harmony are possible. Today, we begin again to put into action what we learned. https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Inside, Seeing From the Fourth Dimension If you draw a four sided square on a piece of paper, it is said to be a two dimensional object. It has length and width but not height. Of course a piece of paper does have height, so it is not truly a two dimensional object but for our purposes we will think of it as such. You can also think of a house with no roof as having walls in only in two dimensions. From above you would be able to see everything inside the house or inside the square on the piece of paper. The contents of the house or square would be vulnerable to the elements and to being seen. You can easily see inside from the third dimension or from above. It is the reason castles were often built on a hill, so that they would not be vulnerable from above. As three dimensional beings we often create protective structures for ourselves, like putting up walls and a roof to protect ourselves from the rain and wind. There is a wonderful movie, based on the book on Amazon, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott. "It describes the journeys of A. Square, a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland, where women-thin, straight lines-are the lowliest of shapes, and where men may have any number of sides, depending on their social status. Through strange occurrences that bring him into contact with a host of geometric forms, Square has adventures in Spaceland (three dimensions), Lineland (one dimension) and Pointland (no dimensions) and ultimately entertains thoughts of visiting a land of four dimensions—a revolutionary idea for which he is returned to his two-dimensional world. " Spoiler Alert: The feminist values in the book written in the early 1900's are appalling. The movie, which is much more recent, leaves the misogyny of the book behind. In Lineland, which a one dimensional space where there are only lines which can move forward or backward but have no concept of width (side to side) or height (above and below). A two dimensional creature like a square visiting from two or three dimensional space can see the middle of the line from the side or from above. So, from the second dimension you can see inside one dimensional space. From the third dimension you can see inside a two dimensional space, which begs the question, "Where do you need to be to see inside of a three dimensional object?" Some people consider the fourth dimension to be time. If we can follow light and energy through time, perhaps we can see inside —people, buildings, and other three dimensional objects. Think about it, for a moment, what is needed in order to see inside another person. There is the physical —medical technology can use energy (ultrasound, x-rays, infra-red light) to "see" inside a person's body. Alternative medicine practitioners use their hands to feel these energies and "see" or feel what is going on inside a person but with time we can also get to know someone, if we really paying attention. Have you ever spent time with a person who you felt could see inside your soul? What was it like to feel their full attention for a period of time? Are you using time to see the world and community of humanity around you? Think about where you would have to be to be able to see inside the fourth dimension or time. In a way by engaging in the moment, learning from experiences, and remembering the best of the past you are seeing into time. Imagine what the future could be like if we all could see ... https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Thriving on the Beauty in Diversity There is value in enjoying our differences and similarities. When everyone is the same life is boring. Our brains are not excited if all we can see is one kind of tree or all we can buy is one kind of car, which is the same as everyone else's. Sameness also increases competition, which if you think about it — what is competition ... the differentiation of self as better than another in some way. In order to win you have to be different. If we value differences then everyone can win in some way. Everyone can be better or best adapted to a particular task. What are you good at? What can you be the best at? The biological value of diversity is survival. The more different kinds of birds, butterflies, or dinosaurs there are when the environment shifts or changes, the more likely one, two, or more will survive. If everyone is the same and the environment becomes too cold, too hot, too blue, the wrong mix of air, or too much water, none will survive. But if some people, animals, butterflies, or bacteria do better in the cold, hot, blue, or wet environment then they can survive and life continues. An example of this kind of diversity is Charles Darwin's finches. He studied all the different types of beaks on the finches of the Galapagos Island. Each beak seems designed for a particular kind of food, whether for sucking nectar from a bright purple flower, chewing tiny protein filled seeds, catching mosquitoes on the fly, or picking grubs out from under layers of fractal shaped tree bark. We don't even have to agree on whether these differences evolved or were created in order to enjoy the beauty and practicality of being different. If all the birds are eating exactly the same kind of food, they will run out. There is enough for a greater number of birds in a diverse environment with a variety of birds skilled in finding and eating different things. You could look at the extinction of dinosaurs and say, they were too similar in their needs for food, temperature, air, etc. Their environment changed and none survived, but some creatures, like horseshoe crabs did survive from a time before the era of dinosaurs. The horseshoe crabs were different from dinosaurs in the ways that mattered in the new environment and they survived. They thrive in coastal water today. There are lots of ways in which we enjoy diversity. Many people like to see lots of different kinds of butterflies in a ripe summer field. True, some people try to kill the white cabbage butterflies, which eats vegetable crops, but it is the caterpillar that does the most damage. The adult butterfly feeds on nectar and pollinates flowers. Some people don't believe in the giant blue morpho butterfly of Latin America, it is so rare and elusive. Some people even hate butterflies and find them creepy. Other people study certain types of butterflies and ignore the rest. You may have a favorite kind of butterfly but none of this changes the benefit to butterfly survival of having lots of different kinds of butterflies. In this world we have a diversity of religions and faith traditions. Perhaps there is a survival value in the variety of ways to appreciate life, community, and nature. Perhaps there is some other kind of value in having a diverse and pluralistic society. Different religions came out of a wide variety of different cultures and environments. It seems odd to think of one as better than another or more valuable than another. The religions of the world are just different from one another and each appeals to certain people and doesn't appeal to others. There is a Japanese saying, "There are many ways to get to the top of Mount Fuji." Let us appreciate the beauty, even of what we don't understand or enjoy on other levels. It is simply enough that someone enjoys the beauty of what exists. https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Vignettes Words shared can cause joy and pain, delight and laughter, misery and despair and ... I wrote once to Reader's Digest. Asking to be published, I submitted my brief stories—100 words exactly crafted to tell how I am. "You are chosen", they said, "to take the next step." Post words on a wall. Use language to spread colors into life. See what your neighbors, tall and small, says. Wear your blood red beating heart on your sleeve and so I flirted with life on a big stage. Words came. Someone else chosen and I alone with my thoughts. Winking Only a little intimidated, I winked at her across the campground. I was, after all, bicycling 3000 US miles. She was riding only the first week. I wasn't really flirting. I was in a new realm, a little off balance. It changes you, the challenge of riding 70 miles a day, waking up in new places every morning, feeling sunlight on your face and the wind sometimes blowing straight in to your face. It's hard to get your bearings when you are always moving towards the horizon. And sometimes you do that magically unpredictable thing that turns out amazing. Rich Colorful Vision With a 28 year-old photographer's eye, I scanned magazines in the ophthalmologist's waiting room. Wasn't good news when he finally saw me. "You need to consider what your life will be like if you are blind." A stark white coat, impressive degrees on the wall, "it is genetic, so there is nothing you can do," he darkened my life. I went to massage school, a profession you can do blind, if you have to. There I found acupressure, craniosacral therapy, nutrition, matrix energetics, reiki and the keys to the kingdom of better eyesight at 40 than 28. Peruvian Gatekeepers As if to say, "why are you here?', Peruvian ibises squawk. The color of Andean snow, they fly as I respond, "the universe conspired, bringing me to this Star Gate near Lake Titicaca. I am here, feeling a deep peace, a rightness with the world." After a mile pilgrimage across farmland, my guide, Bruno motioned to channels carve, an outline in granite. So old, no knows by whom but legend goes: in flight from Spanish conquistadors, an Incan priest took precious artwork, walked through stone and up to the Pleiades', opening a channel from the stars to me. 12 Million Plus Great Horned Owl Her beautiful silk kimono spreads the color of sunset. I remember. But even a Japanese bride wouldn't draw this Tokyo crowd. What has summoned photographers with 300 mm lenses stretched out like tree trunks. Following their eyes up a massive tree stands against the densely populated skyline. A great horned owl peaks out. Waiting for him to fly, one photographer peers through an identical camera body to my Canon. I beg in Japanese, "just for a moment, lend me your lens." Capturing a wise owl so adaptable he can live alongside 12 million people. Montana Proud Cross-USA Bicyclist At 55, I bicycled 84 miles into Forsyth on July 4th. "Freedom", said a grain farmer asked about life in Montana. "We know everyone", said three small town women power walking. A six year old, I realized "Gringo" was not good in Bogota. I barely knew Vietnam's location, as a teenager when someone spit on me in Europe. At 22, I stayed inside my Tokyo apartment on Hiroshima day. Bicycling Seattle to DC, seeing beauty, talking to people, feeling sunlight on my face, hearing birds sing, I am a proud American for the first time, ever. Life Is Uncertain Live Your Passion Egyptian beachfront shopkeepers see me achieve my bucket list #57: Red Sea SCUBA diving. The hotel where I dreamed last night is three armed check points away from the Blue Hole near Dahab. Warm water, clear as it laps the Sinai desert, containing brightly colored yet poisonous lionfish and deadly camouflaged stonefish. Exhilarating. Jacque Cousteau called it, "Earth's most beautiful place." Loved Red Sea diving. It's the week before I work in Tel Aviv, helping people heal. The clinic door opens. Someone reports, "A bombing near home in NYC." It is September 11th, 2001. Walnut Trees Planted a walnut tree today in back of my new house with her and the kids—an act of faith in nuts which will not come for five years. Uncertainty reigns. Will I know the nutty crunch, seeds grown with tough shells and soft spongy coats worn to protect yet falling away in the fertile earth, growing into seedlings, then in the blink of an eye or 30 years a 75 foot tree continues reaching for sunlight, growing to the outer limits of what is possible with abundant resources, feeling gratitude for love, and the willingness of trust. https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Finding the Faces of My Community The face conveys evolutionarily significant information. When I look into your face do I see a predator or prey, a friend or enemy, are you trustworthy or not, a part of my community or an "other", a potential partner or friend? Beyond helping me to survive, will you help me create and love more deeply? Much of this information gathering comes from my eyes and from what I see in your face. I feel your movements deep in my mirror neurons reflecting back how it feels to smile, laugh, cry or yell. My eyes are very important in how I see you and the perspective I take on people's emotions, intentions and creative processes. I wonder sometimes what is reflected in my face as I peer into the faces of those around me or as I walk by without looking. What does it say about me, about my connection to my community if I don't look into your face? Springtime bring flowers like the white and yellow narcissus, named perhaps for the Greek word for intoxicated (narcotic) and the mythical Narcissus, who seeing his face, falls in love with his own reflection in a pond. Glassy lake surfaces, internal and outer mirrors, window glass with the sun reflecting off our faces, a shiny piece of metal, someone's glasses—these are all way we can see our own face or a reflection of what others see. What do other people see when they look into my face? Sometimes they smile with love and sometimes their brows furrow with concern or compassion. Sometimes their eyes light up in joyful recognition or surprised confusion. Who do you see when you look into my face? Look and see me. Facing the world is a delightful process with shifts and changes like a kaleidoscope of spinning jewels and colors as I turn my attention from one face to another. Face me as I face you. Who are you saving your face for? Gary Zukav put it this way, "The coming and going of the seasons give us more than the spring times, summers, autumns, and winters of our lives. It reflects the coming and going of the circumstances of our lives like the glassy surface of a pond that shows our faces radiant with joy or contorted with pain." What is reflected in the face of this community of humanity, which shines out impacting the creativity and growth in your life? https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Chronic Pain, From An Alternative Medicine Perspective Pain abounds in our community, but so too does joy and success and creative solutions. The pain in a child's face, tears streaming after a fall on the grassy hill or the scratch of a tree branch. The pain of loss with the death of an uncle. The pain of sore muscles after a 100 mile bicycle ride. The pain of a chronically injured shoulder stiff in the morning. The pain of rejection of a friend shaming you in public. What to do about all the pain? Noticing someone else's pain, reaching out to them and doing what we can to alleviate the pain is a sign of brain health. It can be scary to see someone in pain. I might wonder if their pain is contagious. Will I have pain if I help them? Seeing someone in pain can also make me wonder about my own fragility and vulnerability to pain. But reaching out with caring and compassion strengthens the connections in my brain, improves my clarity and cognitive function. Medical research also indicates that from a brain perspective and perceptual point of view there is very little difference between social emotional pain and physical pain. The children's taunt, "sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me!" is simply not true. So what can I do with my skills in complementary and alternative medicine to help my community find the creative solutions? What does Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupressure, CranioSacral Therapy, Matrix Energetics or Reiki have to say about pain and all the ways to alleviate it? Color Yourself Comfortable Traditional Chinese Medicine shines the way catching bits of colored light striking eyeballs and skin penetrating inward to the emotional body shifting physical and emotional pain Yellow the color of the stomach and spleen fuels immune and detoxification on the clock at work exchanging nutrients for toxins The color of bile rises and soothes anger green the nourishing light of a cool forest Heart beat red colors of blood flow rich in iron nutrients digested in the small intestine A large white breath drawing in the color of snow assuaging the grief of loss with oxygen on the path to muscles breathe in plus a long breath out find that sweet spot of comfort Blue flows the water elements the kidney deciding what will stay and what goes forward and out draining fear from life leaving in its place joy and comfort Acupressure Hands Healing Pain Three points times two improving pain conditions soothing the autonomic nervous system In the neck GB 21, SI 14 and SI 15, In the arms LI 4, LI 10 and LI 11 After acupressure she said it feels better my neck moves easier the muscles soft and supple racing heart slowing to a calm even beat - Research from Matsubara, T., Y. C. Arai, et al. (2011). "Comparative effects of acupressure at local and distal acupuncture points on pain conditions and autonomic function in females with chronic neck pain." Evid Based Complement Alternat Med 2011." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2952311/pdf/ECAM2011-543291.pdf Subatomic Light Visualization: Where Exactly is the Pain? This exercise and visualization can be used for any part of the body. Here we focus on the neck and shoulders. 1. Take a couple of deep breaths and close your eyes. Rest the eyelids and turn vision and intuition inward. 2. Start to focus on the neck and shoulders. Make sure your hands and arms are in a relaxed position. Let your elbows and shoulders relax. Feel your head sitting comfortably on top of the neck with your spine aligned. Be loose and supportive. 3. Name the structures as you relax them. Relax your right shoulder, elbow, wrist and fingers. Focus on the left shoulder. How does it feel different as you relax the muscles in both shoulders? 4. Feel the fabric of the clothing on your shoulders. Is it easier to notice the top of the shoulder or the upper arm where the fabric meets the skin? Feel the clothing or fabric or air as it meets your skin throughout your body. 5. Now focus on a deeper layer. Which side is more comfortable? Can you visualize and feel the muscles, ligaments, tendons, cartilage, bones, blood vessels, nerve fibers and all the tissues that make up your shoulders, neck and throat. 6. Move inward to a smaller layer - the cellular level. Notice the difference in the color of muscle cells and red blood cells. Feel the density and flexibility in the bone cells compared with the tendon cells. 7. Then go even deeper. Embrace life inside the cells, each cell as it listens.Notice the activity of the cell walls pulsing positive and negative. What are the tiny organelles within the cells doing. Here lie the mitochondria, the powerhouse of the cells and the genetic material. Feel the movement as the cells of the right shoulder breathes - taking in oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide. Is there a sense of comfort at this level? 8. Then deeper still into the realm of atoms. Notice the carbon atoms with electrons spinning around neutrons and protons. Feel the space at the atomic level with a stable core around which electrons circle, balanced in their orbits. Does the front of the neck feel different from the back of the neck at this level? Is there comfort at the atomic vibration? 9. Then telescope into the weird and wacky realm of quantum physics, quarks and bits where electrons pop in and out of existence, where nothing is real and everything is vital. Feel the flow in your shoulders as electrons pop in and out of existence, spinning free in space, where they have as much space as they want., where photons and bits of light shine out through the neck and shoulders with warmth, compassion and creativity. 10. Now look around this tiny universe inside your shoulder at the cells and tissues that make up the muscles, ligaments, tendons, cartilage, bones, blood vessels, nerve fibers and all the tissues that create the reality of your shoulders, neck and throat. 11. Notice again the feeling of the fabric of your clothing on your skin. Does the temperature feel different where there is a sweater or a shirt or bare skin touching the air? 12. Breathe in some of that air and expand your senses out into the room as you feel the air in the room. Is it still or moving? What do you hear around you? And finally when you are ready open your eyes and notice all the things that have changed in you and in your surroundings. Visualizing yourself with an expanded sense of ease. Meditating on the ways to bring success and comfort to all those in your community of humanity as you reach out to yourself and others with compassion. https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Brain Solids Sometimes we have to shift dimensions to see the connections and the tiny tendrils that reach across the walls and canyons. My kitchen table, for example, feels solid, a light blond wood that gives a deep solid tone when my knuckles rap on it. My hands feel solid, too. And I imagine this is what is real, the solid things in my life. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we talk about solid organs and hollow organs. The water elements, Kidney and Bladder, form a Ying and Yang pairing, the solid kidneys contrasting the hollow bladder but both are water elements associated with the color of deep lakes and cloudless skys and with creativity. While the kidneys and bladder are said to be the seat of the emotion fear, water is the most powerful element. It can move around any obstacle in its path without losing its essential nature. Water can, in time, dissolve the hardest mountain. Is my hand really as solid as it seems? Is my body or my life as solid as it seems? My hand as it pounds the table, solidly filled with carbon, oxygen, iron, and hydrogen. Molecules of water flowing through my veins, building walls full of carbon, iron, potassium, calcium, and more. In that microscopic dimension I am a mass of vibrating particles, it can be hard to say where my hand ends and where the air begins. Does this molecule of carbon or calcium belong to my hand, the air or the table? When I reach my hand out to you, touching your skin, what is you and what is me? What Is? It is here where electrons pop in and out of existence, that I am really connected to everything and nothing is real. One molecule is not more important than another, yet each one is vital to the continued existence of this world as we know it to be. It seems solid as we bump up against our reality. The other day, I cycled past a turtle. I had to stop to look closely since I could only see the shell; the body was all pulled in and tucked away. A dog was farther down the trail and I wondered: where does the turtle's head begin? Where does the sniffing nose of chocolate Labrador retriever end? And if we don't even know where it all begins and ends, then why are we so afraid of the solid things in our life? We are all solid and vital and vibrating at such a rate as to make it impossible to distinguish at the edges when I end and you begin. Aisles in the Brain Millions of threads wandering in and out of time through different dimensions venturing forth weaving unaware of the beauty embedded in the fabric of connections My life reaching across the aisle shaking hands with someone not so different still eyes on the aisle the wall, the canyon sometimes missing the bridge Just a thread the barest hint of substance manifests, yes manifesting physicality a root from a seedling water cracking open seed matter reorganizing a tiny tendril ventures forth Across the path a turtle wanders balling up pulling it all in at the sound of a dog barking immobilized by vibrations words flowing across the network learning, interpreting curious sniffing Feeling for unknown hostility of heat the warmth of a cozy fire a wintery aisle dividing life and food and water the love of a child nurturing the seed the turtle and the dog Till growing tall deeply rooted a thick rope bridge cradles the aisle I reach across enjoying the risks no safety inside the shell holding safe this community of humanity https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Conversion The cold, solitary and hibernation energies of winter can be warmed by community, acceptance and change as once more we move toward spring and new life. What NEW life will you drink into your core? What energies will you convert in the joy within the balance of your life? Are you a convert? Do you seek converts to your cause? Conversion is defined in many ways. One way is the act or process of changing from one form to another or from one state to another or from one religion to another. Make Something Useful Food is converted into energy and the building blocks for a healthy body. The state of the food is changed in the conversion process. The food is broken down into molecules that can then be used in different ways. We call this conversion process—digestion. The food is digested or broken down into its essence. Your body builds these component parts into something new. Religions and political parties talk about conversion and converts. They often actively look for converts. We look for people who agree with our view of the world. Sometimes we try to convince them that our view is the only correct or true way to feel about life. But there are very few absolute truths and there are many ways of seeing reality. Then again perhaps you don't agree with me on this issue. Perhaps this statement is not true in your world. I can live with that. Dion Fortune, a witch, defined magic as the art of changing consciousness at will. Perhaps a convert, who changes their way of seeing the world with consciousness, is magic. Or maybe the magic is in celebrating and respecting each person as they see the world in their own unique way. Is there room in this world for the intellectual and heart-based exploration that leads to finding what is it that truly resonates with one's mind, body, and spirit? What are your views? Is your community made up of like-minded people? Do you embrace diversity and respect what others believe about the world? Do you have a clear sense of what you believe is true while still holding truth loosely enough that others can believe differently? Mormonism Flowing Into Judaism I grew up Mormon. I spent summers in Utah on my cousin's farm, while I lived with my international businessman father and artist mother in various countries. In every new place, I had a built-in community of like minded people, until I changed. I came out and created a life incompatible with Mormonism. I set off to find a new community full of accepting people. I was not looking to convert but after 14 years of living a Jewish life, I made it official this summer. Over the years after leaving the Mormon church and becoming Jewish, my view of the world and life has changed significantly. A lot of the changes came because of community and how I felt in one community compared to another. For me it is also about who I am. I stopped liking who I was as a Mormon and felt better about who I am as a Jew. It is ultimately a very personal choice and I have no stake in what other people chose as long as I get a choice in my life. Adaptation Conversion can also be defined as the adaptation of a building for a new purpose—for example, the conversion of a house into apartments. It is the act of changing something that may not be useful any more into something that is useful or more function or more of what is needed today. What is the purpose of your life? Has it changed over the years? Composting is also a kind of conversion. Sticky waste products, moldy foods, freshly cut green grass, and dead brown leaves are piled up together and bacteria, bugs and worms convert it into dirt from which new plants and food can grow. Something that was not useful or functional is repurposed. Picnic tables can be made from juice boxes. Something that we might throw away can be converted into a place in the shade where we can eat or play cards or laugh with old friends. The Order of Life From the field of logic comes this definition of conversion: the transposition of the subject and predicate of a proposition according to certain rules to form a new proposition by inference. It is about changing the order of words or the relationship of the words that brings something new. Even American football gets into conversion defining with "the act of scoring an extra point or points after having scored a touchdown." Conversion is a chance to win or to score extra points, a bonus if you will. What are you converting into a positive attitude in your life? There is a famous math problem. There are three doors. You are asked to choose one door. Once your choice is made you are shown what is behind one of the two doors you didn't choose. It is counterintuitive if you can you should change your choice. You should change because that increases your chance of winning. With A, B and C as choices you have a one in three chance of getting the car or whatever prize is behind one of the doors. Say you chose A and then are shown that there is nothing behind B and offered a chance to choose again? You should choose C because now you have a one in two chance of winning whereas before when you choose A you only had a one in three chance of winning. Changing your choices or converting to a new or different way of thinking can sometimes be a good thing. New information and experience can inform new choices or new ways of living. New ideas can change how you feel and the kind of world view you resonate with. Another synonym for conversion is metamorphosis. Imagine that your current beliefs about the world are a black and orange caterpillar. What kind of change would you see with the wings of a monarch? What new information or experiences would it take for you to morph into the king of your castle or the master of your life? What would it take to be okay with everyone in this community of humanity having the same opportunity to live life believing what we want to believe about the world around us? Adapt Now! https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Playing Back A Colorful Life With Lots of Moving Pieces Last week I participated in a Playback Theatre workshop or playshop as we called it. Penny Clayton from the Centre for Playback Theatre taught this amazingly rich beautiful class in Seattle about five hours drive from my home in Spokane, Washington. One of the values of Playback Theatre is to create a space where everyone feels respected and listened to as they tell their story. Like an ideal world, the class was a microcosm of people who were similar and different in many ways from me. I listened to them. I watched them and I told my story, too. Sometimes, I listened and then retold the story or played it back using only fabric. Telling the story I had heard through the colors I chose, by the way I moved the fabric through the air, by the shape I created with gauzy ribbons of color. I learned that a piece of fabric can be imbued with life and become a character, an emotion or theme in the story. Once the fabric takes on a role, it must be treated with the respect due the storyteller, that person brave enough to share a part of themselves with a room full of strangers or sometimes even harder a room full of friends or colleagues. Sometimes, I listened as I eyed the musician's table replete with still instruments for me to select and bring to life. There were so many different ones to use to illustrate with robust sounds the emotions contained in the words of the teller's story. You can try this now. Think of an experience. What instrument would you use to tell the story if all you could use was one instrument—not your words, not your body, and not your facial expressions? What would be the beat that told your story if you could only use a drum or tambourine? I recently heard the Spokane Symphony play Peter and the Wolf, a musical story by Sergei Prokofiev, where each character—Peter, the duck, the wolf, the birds and other animals are all portrayed with a specific instrument. When that character is in the story their instrument is played. The story of how the characters interact and weave in and out of the story becomes a lively and expressive symphony of sound. I listened one evening in the park surrounded by my Spokane community. Sometimes in the class I listened for the over arching theme. What was the teller really saying? What was the moment in the story when everything changed—the royal moment? What title would I give this story, if asked? I tried to find the strongest feeling that the teller felt as they spoke to me or as they gently gave their story over into my hands? What did I feel as I heard the story? How had the experience touched the teller and those around him? With only my body and mouth, what sound and movement could I make that in a short moment brings to life the retelling of the teller's story? What had I seen in her body or hands as she told the story? What could I give back to her that would say, "I hear you. I understand or am trying to understand you." I listened for a pair of emotions? Did the teller express sadness and joy—both parts of the same experience? Were they nervous and excited to be launching on a new venture? How did they feel about the dogs at the house where they were staying? I listened for those mixed emotions with which we face life. It is not always a smooth and easy ride, but it is also not all an uphill battle. I am reminded of the quote attributed to Plato, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle." But it is not always a hard battle. Sometimes there are moments of exquisite joy and love and abundance. Most often there is some of both. I listened to the sounds my fellow actors made. I watched out of the corner of my eyes the movements they choose to retell the story, to convey what they heard as we shared the stage. And I thought about what I could add so the teller of the tale would know they were heard and respected. Did they feel respected simply for living life, sharing an experience, taking a moment to look inward at what their life means to them and what it means in a global context? In the back of my mind I thought about when and how we would end the retelling of this story. How would the sounds and movements end? What would the fluid sculpture look like as we, each of the actors, came together on the stage? I wondered, "would the teller see beauty in the sculpture that our bodies made at the end? Would they see their story and some greater meaning of the experience from a new perspective? I tried to find my way, my part of the whole story. In the polarity walk, I moved and made a sound, that organically rose from me in response to the exercise as I walked across the room. I also listened and watched as the other person—my friend and colleague—walked towards me in a way that rose organically from them. Often times funny, sometimes tragically we walked towards each other, making a sound and moving forward. At that meeting point where we came into contact with each other, where we came into relationship with each other, I took on their way of walking. We each took on the sounds that rose from the other and shed our own movements and sounds. We finished walking across the room in the other's shoes, in their way, trying to feel what they feel, showing how well we listened and saw them. I hope that everyone in the room felt as seen and heard as I did for we are all part of a community now. The community that grew out of listening and respecting is now our community and part of a larger Playback Theatre community and global environment. https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Attachment Disorders and What Do I Need? Every month, pick up each thing in your house. Hold it. Feel it. Notice the texture, the color, the softness and ask yourself, "Does this bring me JOY?" This is an adapted exercise from Suze Orman, a well known financial advisor and TV personality. Paying attention to what we are attached to can be good for the wallet and for the heart. A Move In the process of moving last year, I thought a lot about stuff. What to move? What to take? Where to put it between here and there? Where there should be? What I can live without? What do I need to live? What is important? The last year has been an interesting journey in the relationship to my stuff and attachment to physical location. My dad says, "never pack more than you can carry yourself for a mile." June 2013 started with a flight from West Hartford, CT to Seattle, Washington. What did I need to take for a nine week bicycle journey across the country? What could I take on the plane? Fortunately, I took Southwest so I was allowed two free bags—two big duffel bags. My bicycle flew by itself on Bike Flights and was waiting when I arrived in Seattle. Bicycling Did I have too much stuff for a bicycle ride across the country? Yes. Did I have everything I needed? No. I found it impossible to plan for every need. I could have bicycled 3000 miles with only three cycling jerseys instead of four but I really could have used an extra pair of comfortable biking shorts. I could have used a soft pillow instead of a pillow case stuffed with clothes. Experience teaches us how to pack and what we really need to navigate life. Sometimes that experience comes in handy because we repeat a part of the journey or walk a similar path. Sometimes we just have the experience and can share it, so others on a similar journey can pack better. On what parts of your journey have you learned something worth sharing? How are you sharing your wisdom? The most surprising thing I learned is that I can, if needed, run my life from my iPhone, including write blog posts, post pictures on LiveMapp and Pinterest, create Facebook and Google Plus posts, make LinkedIn business connections, do radio interviews about life on the road, have conversations with friends back home, email clients, catching up on world news, and do internet searches for information about the coming weather and places of interest along the way. I can do it all without a computer or any other electronic device. I just need my phone. Everything I needed for camping at night could fit in one large duffel and everything I needed for daytime clothing and electronics could fit in another duffel. Of course, I counted on access to laundry a couple of times a week and a wall outlet for charging my phone every day. A bicycle trip is a study in what do you really need? What are the connection you really need in your life? What is important beyond the stuff? You learn a lot spending nine weeks on a bicycle with time to think, to plan, to challenge yourself to do something great, and most of all to breathe in all the joy of life. I had to make sure I had enough to keep warm and enough layers to take off to stay cool, rain gear, back up batteries—it is challenging to plan for all the different situations that arise in life. A few months after bicycling from Seattle to Washington, DC and then returning home to West Hartford, CT, I decided to leave the East coast and I set out on another journey. Deciding what to put in my car for the drive out to my parent's place in Utah was challenging. The rest of my stuff would go into a POD—a big box. I didn't know how long it would wait for me to decide where I would land so I had to figure out what would I really need to live my life for the next few months. The POD And like much of life, at least my life, the time my stuff sat in the POD was much longer than I expected. I didn't predict my trajectory very well. I didn't have quite enough experience to know that I would spend five months at my parent's place in Utah with only what I drove across in my Honda Accord. Were there things I wished I had put in the car for easy access? Yes. Did I do okay without buying much to replace stuff in the storage container? Yes. Did I look forward, once I decided, to holding, arranging and playing with my stuff in Spokane, Washington, where I am landed? Yes, hopefully for a long, long time. But I have learned what I really need and what I can do fine without. I understand my needs better. I have grown in my ability to navigate the journey. The Root of Tantrums "When we hear the other person's feelings and needs, we recognize our common humanity," says Marshall Rosenberg, developer of Non-Violent Communication. He goes on to say, "At the root of every tantrum and power struggle are unmet needs." What do you really need? https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Kind Possession Now Possession! What do you possess? What are your prized possessions? What have you worked hard for or perhaps inherited? There is a beautiful coffee table book entitled, Material World: A Global Family Portrait (1995) by Peter Menzel, Charles C. Mann, Paul Kennedy and a host of amazing photographers. It is a graphic and statistical snapshot of families worldwide. Families are photographed in front of their homes with all of their possessions outside—furniture, cars, pots and pans, yes, everything. In each photograph, they hold or stand surrounding their most prized possession. What that item is varies dramatically from one country to the next. Each family is a statistically average family for that country—an average number of children, average income, average size of home. It is a remarkable book about what we as part of this community of humanity possess and what we place value on. Experience Sometimes I look around my apartment and think about what my possessions would look like out in front of my home, what would be my most prized possession and what is irreplaceable for me. I have a photograph on my bulletin board of a scuba diving trip in Dahab, Egypt. I am smiling. My hair is slicked back and I am loaded up with scuba gear ready for my second dive of the day. I am surrounded by newly found friends. We don't know that it is just a few days before September 11, 2001 when I will be in Tel Aviv, Israel working. I have a memory and a photograph of a time in my life when I am vibrantly alive and fearless in my travels around the world. Life and love and vitality course through my veins—irreplaceable life. Marshall Rosenberg, developer of the field of Non-Violent Communication said, "It's harder to empathize with those who appear to possess more power, status, or resources." But is it simply the possession that makes the difference or rather is it our attitude and the way we possess power, status and resources? Is it really about the inequity when we compare ourselves with those around us? Our Lives Are our lives better if we are grateful for what we have? Are our lives better if we are happy when those around us succeed in what they are trying to do or have? Are out lives better if we help others gain what they need? Our Needs Marshall Rosenberg, who has participated in peace negations in the Middle East and at home in family conflicts said, "I would like to suggest that when our heads are filled with judgments and analyses that others are bad, greedy, irresponsible, lying, cheating, polluting the environment, valuing profit more than life, or behaving in other ways they shouldn't, very few of them will be interested in our needs. If we want to protect the environment, and we go to a corporate executive with the attitude, "You know, you are really a killer of the planet, you have no right to abuse the land in this way," we have severely impaired our chances of getting our needs met. It is a rare human being who can maintain focus on our needs when we are expressing them through images of their wrongness." How are you trying to get your needs met? Does someone else have to lose for you to have what you need? Does someone else have to be wrong or bad for you to have what you want? The land, the money, the water, the safety, the love—we all have basic needs we are trying to meet. Is it only the love of a certain person that will suffice in meeting your need for love? What if your love is unrequited? Is it only a specific piece of land that will suffice in meeting your need for shelter? Who are you looking out for and who looks out for you? If Not Now The famous Jewish religious leader, Hillel, born over 2000 years ago in Babylon in 110 BCE said, "If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then what am I? And if not now, when?" His words, "If Not Now?" have sparked a movement within the Jewish community which is looking at the means being applied to the peace process in Israel and Palestine. Jews are considering what is justified in the name of creating peace and safety. Is there a line that can't be crossed even if your own life, your family, your land and possessions are in jeopardy? Whether we are seeking inner peace, peaceful families or peace between communities, there are certain attitudes and processes that don't move the peace process forward. The line between what we will do and won't do is different for each of us but I believe we each have a line over which we would not step to defend even our own lives. As part of a family, a community and a global village, it is worth it for each of us to look at and imagine where that line is for us. We can each ask ourselves, "What is worthwhile? What means everything to me? Do I want peace and love more than anything else? Today I want to close with a quote attributed to Plato, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Future Time and Space Unknown John F. Kennedy said . . . "Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal." The Space We are a community. We share this earth. Think for a moment of all the people with whom you share a relatively small space—a house, a city, a country, a world. We are linked through space as we bump up against our own reality—the space that contains our lives. Very few of us ever leave this planet to roam in space but we each have space that we share with others, right now. Right now, I am sitting in a house, shared with, sometimes, eight other people—adults, children, even a couple of dogs, even though they are not "allowed.". Just outside the window of my apartment—my share of this building—is a bluff where I run into people hiking, a bicycle trail I share with many others, here in Spokane, Washington. There are parks filled with sweet smelling flowers, animals, trees, and other people. This is my home but I share it with many others. Last week, I went bicycling on the Fish Lake Trail. I rode behind a five year old as he wobbled back and forth in space. We surprised a deer, who stayed for a moment to thrill us before leaping off into the trees along the trail. The boy jumped off his bike, dropped it to the ground and ran off into the forest convinced that he could catch sight of the deer again. "It is long gone," I called after him waiting for his return. He had to see for himself the impermanence of one experience as a new moment comes—learn for himself to enjoy that moment when you startle a deer grazing by the side of a trail because you only have that moment and then it is gone. But now in his mind's eye he will always have that split second watching the grace of a beautiful doe, muscles taut and strong moving through the air as if unbound by gravity. I owned a house once but like the deer, I didn't stay. I changed and the trajectory of my whole life shifted so that I could be here now. Now, I rent my apartment so even this space that is just mine, is not really mine at all. And in time this man-made structure will change and even the landscape around me will transform over time. It is not the space that matters. It is how we share space that makes all the difference. Is it really worth fight and killing over space. Space that was never ours and never will actually be ours. Who are your neighbors? Are they like minded souls or vastly different? What have you or can you learn from them in the future? The Future Another thing we have in common is the unknowingness of the future. For some people it is their job to know the future. What do you "know" of the future? What do you predict for yourself? Who do you listen to predict your future? Futurists watch 24 hours of news compressed, sped up in 15 minutes, glimpsing only the highlights—the trends and seeing the pattern, they predict the future. Doctors never having all the necessary details predict death and disability—not knowing the strength of a unique individuals resolves, resources, relationships that can create healing surprises. "You may become blind," says one to me, but he continues to be wrong for the last 28 years. And no one knows the future. History Repeating What is the past but a template, a line headed in a particular direction? We can see the trajectory but know nothing of the things chosen or not chosen that will shift the trajectory in an instance. Each day is new. George Bernard Shaw said, "If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must man be of learning from experience." There is a joke about a psychic suing her employer for firing her without notice. We are masters of only this moment. History or the past is brim full of experiences, that color and hold the seed of the present moment, but this moment changes the next. In the movie, Next, Cris Johnson, who can see a little bit into the future, says, "Here is the thing about the future. Every time you look at, it changes, because you looked at it, and that changes everything else." Predictors of The Future Who do you consult about the future? Psychics feel the energy, look at auras and predict the future. Astrologers consult the stars, giving us guides for ways to live our lives based on what they see. Whether it helps or hurts is an individual mindset. Newscasters night after night speak about what has happened and speculate about what is to come. Weather reporters look at the last hundred years investigating what the combination of temperature, winds, pressure, and humidity did in the past and tell us there is a 30 percent chance of rain. That is what happened 30 percent of the time under similar conditions in the past. I wonder if one day in the future, theaters and restaurants will band together and sue weather forecasters when they are wrong about that "huge" winter storm, that doesn't come. Everyone stays home, business and experiences lost because of a prediction. We can never get that time back, that time we worried about the future. Foresters and gardener plant trees and perennials and have a certain expectations and hopes for future yields. Stock brokers buy corn futures or gold futures. Parents have children and plan funds for future education. Middle managers speculate on retirement funds. And we all plan but none of us knows. So if you don't know what the future will bring, what are you saying about the future—something that will never exist—as every cell in your body listens? What are you predicting about time, about which, Albert Einstein said, "The distinction between the past, present and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion." Community of Humanity Now When will we truly see our connections, our community of humanity, and realize that it is not time and space that matter but what we do with the time and space we occupy right now? https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Real Community Prayer There is a saying, "Worrying is like praying for what you don't want." Do you pray? What are you praying for? Sometimes I wonder truly, "What is prayer?" Is it the thoughts I have when I meet a relationship challenge? Is it the song in my heart as I bicycle past a beautiful blue lake cradling the clouds on its glassy surface? Is it the words I form and speak in a worship community? Is it the gratitude I feel when I wake up creative and brilliant in the morning or as I watch the light fade from the sky at night, knowing I have lived one more day. I don't know anyone who would object to these things. Who would deny my right to express and communicate with the world in this way. But for some, the way I pray in my heart or in my community divides me from the community of humanity. We all have needs: food, shelter, warmth, a sense of connection and more. Do you pray for these things for yourself, for your family, and for your community? Where is the line where you stop praying? Is it a boundary around yourself, your family, your community, your nation, your continent or your species? Is it possible to pray for everyone? What does that mean? What kind of a time and space commitment is that—praying for everyone and everything? It could take up every minute of every day for the rest of my life. And what kind of life would that be? If I pray for my neighbor do I not, first have to think about who is my neighbor? Who is your neighbor? Where do you draw the boundary, the line around what is you and yours and what is other? I have crisscrossed the globe, lived in five countries and worked for short periods of time in a dozen more. I know how to feel like a stranger, a foreigner, a Gringo, an ugly America, a third culture kid, or a global nomad. I feel how people draw the lines around yours and mine. And so I continue to search for the abundance that knows no limit, where there is enough for all and we are one community of humanity on a connected and vital planet as the title of this page implies. We are joined with all the other living creatures and with even the molecules of the earth and the sky. Recent research associated health with praying and an expectation that the prayer would be answered. Researchers said, "This study assesses the health-related effects of trust-based prayer expectancies, which reflect the belief that God answers prayers at the right time and in the best way." They also found, "people who endorse trust-based prayer expectancies will have greater feelings of self-esteem; and higher self-esteem is associated with better self-rated health." Krause, N. and R. D. Hayward (2014). "Trust-based prayer expectancies and health among older Mexican Americans." J Relig Health 53(2): 591-603. When you reach out to ask and thank the universe or power beyond yourself, do you expect a response? How is your health and self-esteem? How is your neighbor's? In another study which "investigated the effect of Muslim prayer (salat) on electroencephalography (EEG - Brain waves), autonomic nervous activity and heart rate variability," researchers found, "during salat, parasympathetic activity increased [rest and digest] and sympathetic activity [fight or flight] decreased. Therefore, regular salat practices may help promote relaxation, minimize anxiety, and reduce cardiovascular risk." Doufesh, H., F. Ibrahim, et al. (2014). "Effect of Muslim Prayer (Salat) on alpha Electroencephalography and Its Relationship with Autonomic Nervous System Activity." J Altern Complement Med. Do your daily practices promote relaxation, minimize anxiety and reduce cardiovascular risk [heart attacks] for yourself, your family and your community? Community, community, community to cultivate your imagination. A 2013 study showed, "many social scientists attribute the health-giving properties of religious practice to social support." The researchers argued "that another mechanism may be a positive relationship with the supernatural, a proposal that builds upon anthropological accounts of symbolic healing. Such a mechanism depends upon the learned cultivation of the imagination and the capacity to make what is imagined more real and more good." Luhrmann, T. M. (2013). "Making God real and making God good: some mechanisms through which prayer may contribute to healing." Transcult Psychiatry 50(5): 707-725. What do you think is real? Is your community and connections real? My favorite definition of what is real comes from the book, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. The Skin Horse, in the Velveteen Rabbit, "had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it. "What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" "Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." "I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled. Researchers go on to support the "claim that a relationship with a loving God, cultivated through the imagination in prayer, may contribute to good health and may contribute to healing in trauma and psychosis. " Luhrmann, T. M. (2013). "Making God real and making God good: some mechanisms through which prayer may contribute to healing." Transcult Psychiatry 50(5): 707-725. How do you make real connections? https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php Originally Posted in Our Community of Humanity at Inner Child Magazine
Poetic Responsibility and Peace Do you know someone who uses poetry to create healing or, perhaps, through poetry or other means seeks to build a stronger peace in this world? If you do, have you ever asked yourself whether you have any responsibility toward that person? Often we ask ourselves what our responsibility is when we see someone doing something bad. Should we step in and stop them? Will we get hurt in the process? Will someone feel shamed? What are the risks and dangers? In an editorial column rebuking someone who used religious language in hate speech, Rabbi Menachem Creditor said, "Jewish tradition teaches that "All who can protest against something wrong that one of their family is doing and does not protest, is held accountable for their family. All who can protest against something wrong that a citizen of their city is doing and does not protest, is held accountable for all citizens of the city. All who can protest against something wrong that is being done in the whole world, is accountable together with all citizens of the world. (Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 54b)" Perhaps many of us feel clear on our responsibility when we see someone doing something harmful to individuals and communities, but what is our responsibility when we know of someone who is doing something great—something that furthers the cause of peace and healing? What is our responsibility when someone changes our lives for the better? Is it enough to enjoy knowing them and go about our busy day? If we step in and share their message with our community will we be more visible in the world? Will they? What will happen? There is a saying among journalists, "if it bleeds it leads." Too often our attention is drawn to the blood and gore of life but what of the people who are quietly going about their lives looking each day to make this earth a better place and publishing books with titles like World Healing, World Peace? What of the people who are giving thousands of poets a forum to give voice to their creative ideas and heartfelt emotions lighting up the world? Recently, I had a chance to talk with William S Peters Sr or 'just bill' about where his nearly 50 years in publishing, writing books and poetry is taking him. I started to think about each of us, whose lives he has touched in such a warm and generous way. I started to think about our responsibility. Of course, we can and should continue to enjoy the ways he provides a forum for our voices, through anthologies, personal appearances and individual conversations. We should follow and take pleasure in his leadership as he guides us into places where our voices can change the world, whether it is a world a thousand miles away where someone reads our poems or down the street where we do a book reading or talk to a friend in a cozy cafe. As a part of this community of humanity, we have the privilege to tell others about both our own part in creating healing and peace in the world and Bill Peters' way of making our contribution possible through the written and spoken word. If you are one of the thousands of poets whose life has been touched by William S. Peters Sr., thank him by sharing his message with someone today. And then look around at who else nourishes your community and share their message. We are all connected! One of us knows someone who knows someone who chooses Noble Peace laureates and in so doing extends the laureates influence to an even greater number of people. One or two of us knows someone who knows the President of the United States or another world leader. At least three of us know of bookstores where there are book readings and workshops. Thousands of us know people in powerful positions within a country, community or family, who can be touched by our collective voices. Sharing a personal and collective message grows the positive impact. The ability to dry the tears of a million of children is amplified. We need to sow and nourish the seeds we have been given. As Bill says, "I have always likened Life to that of a Garden. So, for me, Life is simply about the Seeds we Sow and Nourish. All things we “Think and Do”, will “Be” Cause and eventually manifest itself to being an “Effect” within our own personal “Existences” and “Experiences” . . . whether it be Fruit, Flowers, Weeds or Barren Landscapes!" Who do you know? https://www.nervewhisperer.solutions/peace/category/community-of-humanity-blog http://www.innerchildmagazine.com/the-community-of-humanity.php |
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Home of the Daily Peace Challenge. Learn about world peace - one word and one language at a time. (c) Kimberly Burnham, 2022 The Meaning of Peace in 10,000 Languages Looking for grant money to complete this peace project 
Kimberly Burnham, PhD (Integrative Medicine)
860-221-8510 phone and what's app. Skype: Kimberly Burnham (Spokane, Washington) [email protected] Author of Awakenings, Peace Dictionary, Language and the Mind, a Daily Brain Health and P as in Peace, Paix and Perdamiam: an Inner Peace Journal To Stimulate The Brain Kimberly Burnham, The Nerve Whisperer, Brain Health Expert, Professional Health Coach for people with Alzheimer's disease, Memory Issues, Parkinson's disease, Chronic Pain, Huntington's Ataxia, Multiple Sclerosis, Keratoconus, Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Neuropathy, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Spinal Cord Injuries, Brain Health Coaching ... Contact Kimberly Burnham in Spokane Washington (860) 221-8510 [email protected]. Chat with Kimberly about Parkinson's, Poetry or other Brain related issues.
Not Taking Advantage of Your Amazon Author's page?
Kimberly Burnham helps authors get their books out into the world more broadly by improving their free Amazon Author's page and book pages, posting a book review on her blog and on her LinkedIn Pulse blog (over 12,000 followers) Promotion packages start at $50. Contact her at [email protected]. See her Amazon Author's Page. See her list of publications including her latest book of brain health meditations, Awakenings: Peace Dictionary, Language and the Mind, a Daily Brain Health Program.  Look Inside on Amazon
Now Available: AwakeningsPlease share and write a review on Amazon.
Poet-In-Residence Position
I am looking for guest blog opportunities and a position as poet-in-residence. My current project is writing dictionary poems using words in different languages for the English word "peace." You can read some of my poems on Poemhunter . As poet-in-residence I would write poems on different words in different languages and broadcast them throughout the social media blogosphere. Each poem would link back to your site where the word or language appeared. I would expect some sort of stipend and a six month to one year placement. Please contact me for details if your organization is interested in having a poet-in-residence to help get your message out. [email protected] 
Buy the print or eBook, review Awakenings then contact Kimberly for a free 20 minute brain health consultation. Email or Phone
(Regular rates $120 per hour or 10 sessions for $650.) (Integrative Medicine)
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