Well, it has been quite a ride since my fall. Or, to be more precise, it has been a non-ride, a total no-go for nearly two months.
To make a long, painful convalescence short, I have had an enforced period of rest and slow living, which I have so desperately needed for a very long time. Which is probably why I fell in the first place. My body really needed to sit down and stay put for a while. For weeks on end, as it turned out.
I have had quite a few nasty falls in my adult life, five this year alone. Some people fall ill when they are overworked and overwhelmed. I just fall. Fall down on the job, as it were. I keep keeping on until I am standing on my last leg which can no longer support me. And so then I fall.
Clearly the lesson is in learning my own limitations. In honoring my own exhaustion. In slowing down for a change. In stopping while I am still standing. In being kind and indulgent to my Self. In respecting my royal prerogative to rest when I feel like it.
Sound familiar?
We Queens live lives enriched by our own hard won sense of purpose, passion and power. We live in an expanded universe of possibility as we strive to fulfill our own best potential, and at the same time further the causes that we promote for the good of all.
We hold positions of influence and responsibility. We are directed and enthusiastic. We are excited and charged. We are also, some of us, driven. There is, after all, so much to do and so little time. We are raring to go. And go. And go. And keep right on going.
My dear, regal sisters, we mustn’t allow ourselves to get carried away by busyness. (Do you hear me, Queen Mama Donna?) It is so easy for the demands of the outer world to lure us away from our essential Selves, to sever us from our own inner center of gravity.
This internal/eternal Self is what gives us our energy, our inspiration and our moral authority. If we lose contact with our soul being, we lose our balance, our perspective and our effectiveness. We lose everything.
We must, for the sake of our Selves, for the sake of each other, for the sake of our entire beleaguered planet, make our Self-care become a priority. Let us take the time to nap, to meditate, to walk under the trees, to stare out the window. Time to be. There is so much at stake.
We must be vigilant Queens, unrelenting in the defense of the sanctity and sovereignty of our own Self-concern — physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual — if we are to be fit, wise and worthy enough to rule our domains.
May we enter this new year with both feet on the ground, firmly rooted and steady. May we stand in our center, unshakeable.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
The Queen’s Chronicles: FALL DOWN GO BOOM
One month ago today I fell in my office. I don't know what happened. Falling is a funny (though definitely NOT humorous) thing. One minute you are going about your business and the next, you are on the floor.
As I crashed down, I heard an ominous POP. Luckily, my dear assistant was here. And also luckily, I was able to see my acupuncturist right away. I did not break anything, but I tore my psoas muscle. I never even knew I had one. Never heard the word before. But I learned that it is a very major muscle, one of the largest in the body. It encircles the lower torso like a girdle and connects the pelvis, hips and spine. Essentially, it holds the upper and lower parts of the body together.
The first thing everyone asked was whether I had broken anything. I might have been better off if I had. Apparently, an injured muscle is much more painful and takes much longer to heal than a broken bone. Indeed, the pain in my groin and sciatic region has been excruciating.
I have been seeing my acupuncturist regularly and have received some miraculous energy healing, as well as reiki and homeopathic remedies. These have all helped enormously, but mainly what was and still is needed is total rest. I used a walker for a couple of weeks, which made it easier to get to and from the bathroom, but I stayed in bed most of the time.
Every day brought a small (SMALL) improvement in terms of pain and also range of motion. I am grateful, because I am a zillion times better now, but I still hurt when I step on my right leg and am exhausted by every step I attempt. After 4 weeks, it is clear that this will be a long haul to total recovery of my mobility.
My healers tell me that I need at least another week of serious bed rest and I am glad to comply, because I do feel like I need it. But the good news is that I have been hobbling without the walker and use the cane less and less. So all of the rest and treatments have been working marvelously. And by next week, I should be up and about in some fashion — surely not at my usually intensity, but I will not be bedridden any more!
I am overwhelmed with the tremendous support that I received this month. When word went out about my accident, my spiritual communities — my students, clients, readers, and colleagues came through for me both spiritually and physically in so many wonderful ways.
I received thousands of emails and cards from all across the country as well as Canada, England, Spain, Greece, Australia, and Iceland, which cheered me no end. Also, poems and prayers to inspire me, lots of great advice as to healing modalities, gifts of ointments
and oils and liniments, long distance reiki and healing, and money to help defray all the costs in a month when I could not work.
How can I ever express the depth of my gratitude? Your love and support humbles me and makes me so proud.
I did notice something troubling in all the emails that I have been receiving. So many of you have also been falling of late. An amazing number of you have been tumbling down and receiving a wide array of injuries of your own. Is this cosmic? I don't know. But I want to
suggest that we all be a little more aware, a little more careful, a little more centered as we negotiate our lives.
These are disorienting and troubling times and we need to be solidly grounded. The world needs us to be strong and healthy — ready, willing, and able to care for ourselves, each other, and our poor precious planet.
I send blessings of gratitude and healing to you all. May we enter this new year with both feet on the ground and our ideals and ethics, our prayers and blessings, our best intentions of love and peace soaring above in heavenly majesty.
xxMama Donna
As I crashed down, I heard an ominous POP. Luckily, my dear assistant was here. And also luckily, I was able to see my acupuncturist right away. I did not break anything, but I tore my psoas muscle. I never even knew I had one. Never heard the word before. But I learned that it is a very major muscle, one of the largest in the body. It encircles the lower torso like a girdle and connects the pelvis, hips and spine. Essentially, it holds the upper and lower parts of the body together.
The first thing everyone asked was whether I had broken anything. I might have been better off if I had. Apparently, an injured muscle is much more painful and takes much longer to heal than a broken bone. Indeed, the pain in my groin and sciatic region has been excruciating.
I have been seeing my acupuncturist regularly and have received some miraculous energy healing, as well as reiki and homeopathic remedies. These have all helped enormously, but mainly what was and still is needed is total rest. I used a walker for a couple of weeks, which made it easier to get to and from the bathroom, but I stayed in bed most of the time.
Every day brought a small (SMALL) improvement in terms of pain and also range of motion. I am grateful, because I am a zillion times better now, but I still hurt when I step on my right leg and am exhausted by every step I attempt. After 4 weeks, it is clear that this will be a long haul to total recovery of my mobility.
My healers tell me that I need at least another week of serious bed rest and I am glad to comply, because I do feel like I need it. But the good news is that I have been hobbling without the walker and use the cane less and less. So all of the rest and treatments have been working marvelously. And by next week, I should be up and about in some fashion — surely not at my usually intensity, but I will not be bedridden any more!
I am overwhelmed with the tremendous support that I received this month. When word went out about my accident, my spiritual communities — my students, clients, readers, and colleagues came through for me both spiritually and physically in so many wonderful ways.
I received thousands of emails and cards from all across the country as well as Canada, England, Spain, Greece, Australia, and Iceland, which cheered me no end. Also, poems and prayers to inspire me, lots of great advice as to healing modalities, gifts of ointments
and oils and liniments, long distance reiki and healing, and money to help defray all the costs in a month when I could not work.
How can I ever express the depth of my gratitude? Your love and support humbles me and makes me so proud.
I did notice something troubling in all the emails that I have been receiving. So many of you have also been falling of late. An amazing number of you have been tumbling down and receiving a wide array of injuries of your own. Is this cosmic? I don't know. But I want to
suggest that we all be a little more aware, a little more careful, a little more centered as we negotiate our lives.
These are disorienting and troubling times and we need to be solidly grounded. The world needs us to be strong and healthy — ready, willing, and able to care for ourselves, each other, and our poor precious planet.
I send blessings of gratitude and healing to you all. May we enter this new year with both feet on the ground and our ideals and ethics, our prayers and blessings, our best intentions of love and peace soaring above in heavenly majesty.
xxMama Donna
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The Queen’s Chronicles: SOUP FOR THE SOUL
I am so glad and grateful to be snug at home during these two darkest weeks of the year. At the Winter Solstice, the sun returns to the northern hemisphere and the days will become incrementally longer. So, the two following the solstice will be equally dark, but the energy will be different. We will be beginning to emerge from the dark. Right down we are descending ever further down into it.
In the stark dark of the season in the dark of the long night we are compelled to turn inward toward the center. Drawn by an irresistible magnetic force, we are pulled inside of ourselves, inside of our homes, inside of our relationships for the comfort, warmth, love, safety and peace that we seek.
Because it is difficult to see in the dark, our other senses are awakened and called into action to guide us through the gloom. If we pay careful attention, we can smell and taste the flavors of excitement, affection and creativity and. If we listen very carefully, we can hear the buzz of life that surrounds us and if we keep still enough, we can feel the energizing charge that radiates throughout the universe warming us from within.
But we need to dig deep to feel the heat just now. The sun is absent. The air is chilled. The Earth, Herself, is cold as death. The only heat left is locked deep inside the molten core in the middle of our deepest selves.
The heart is the center of our being. It is the buried treasure that rewards us when we dare to travel the dark tunnels that lead to the essence of our soul. It is the furnace from which radiates the heat, the power and passion of our lives. The heart is the most honest manifestation of our authentic self. The seat of our heart’s desire, the grace that lies at the heart of all that matters.
The hearth is the heart of the home. It is the high altar of the art and craft of living. Its central heat fuels the most basic and most profound daily rituals of nurturing, sustenance, support and cheer. The hearth stokes the healthy spirit that comes from physical ease and emotional fulfillment.
My home hearth calls me so insistently these days. “You are home with us,” it cries with joy. “Come cook!”
And cook I have. I made a surprisingly super-luscious coq au vin. Surprising, because I had never made this dish before and I just sort of made it up, guided by my longing for blissful candle-lit home-cooked dinners. I made zucchini in tomato sauce, which I froze in small containers in anticipation of future zucchini pastas and omelets and zucchini au gratin.
But I mainly made soup. Great pots of lentil, black bean, mushroom barley and cabbage soup. My freezer is full of single-and-double-portion-size jars of soup. And I am not souped out yet. Still on my to do list are chili, chicken ginger spinach, chicken vegetable, Scotch broth, cram of tomato, and gumbo. I am a kitchen goddess concocting potions and brews and spells of happy home and hearth and heart.
Let us all use this time of darkness well. Let us explore our hearts and souls for the insight, inspiration and enlightenment that we may find there. Let us worship at the domestic shrine and share the holy sacraments of soup and stew, mulled cider and cocoa. Let us open our hearts and our homes to all of the possibilities of love. Let us create peace in our hearts, in our homes and in the world.
In the stark dark of the season in the dark of the long night we are compelled to turn inward toward the center. Drawn by an irresistible magnetic force, we are pulled inside of ourselves, inside of our homes, inside of our relationships for the comfort, warmth, love, safety and peace that we seek.
Because it is difficult to see in the dark, our other senses are awakened and called into action to guide us through the gloom. If we pay careful attention, we can smell and taste the flavors of excitement, affection and creativity and. If we listen very carefully, we can hear the buzz of life that surrounds us and if we keep still enough, we can feel the energizing charge that radiates throughout the universe warming us from within.
But we need to dig deep to feel the heat just now. The sun is absent. The air is chilled. The Earth, Herself, is cold as death. The only heat left is locked deep inside the molten core in the middle of our deepest selves.
The heart is the center of our being. It is the buried treasure that rewards us when we dare to travel the dark tunnels that lead to the essence of our soul. It is the furnace from which radiates the heat, the power and passion of our lives. The heart is the most honest manifestation of our authentic self. The seat of our heart’s desire, the grace that lies at the heart of all that matters.
The hearth is the heart of the home. It is the high altar of the art and craft of living. Its central heat fuels the most basic and most profound daily rituals of nurturing, sustenance, support and cheer. The hearth stokes the healthy spirit that comes from physical ease and emotional fulfillment.
My home hearth calls me so insistently these days. “You are home with us,” it cries with joy. “Come cook!”
And cook I have. I made a surprisingly super-luscious coq au vin. Surprising, because I had never made this dish before and I just sort of made it up, guided by my longing for blissful candle-lit home-cooked dinners. I made zucchini in tomato sauce, which I froze in small containers in anticipation of future zucchini pastas and omelets and zucchini au gratin.
But I mainly made soup. Great pots of lentil, black bean, mushroom barley and cabbage soup. My freezer is full of single-and-double-portion-size jars of soup. And I am not souped out yet. Still on my to do list are chili, chicken ginger spinach, chicken vegetable, Scotch broth, cram of tomato, and gumbo. I am a kitchen goddess concocting potions and brews and spells of happy home and hearth and heart.
Let us all use this time of darkness well. Let us explore our hearts and souls for the insight, inspiration and enlightenment that we may find there. Let us worship at the domestic shrine and share the holy sacraments of soup and stew, mulled cider and cocoa. Let us open our hearts and our homes to all of the possibilities of love. Let us create peace in our hearts, in our homes and in the world.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
The Queen’s Chronicles: HARVESTS OF GRATITUDE
To all my dear ones,
When the going is good and the living is easy it seems only natural to be thankful. But what about all those times when nothing seems to flow? When energy is blocked and life flows like a river of glue.
When we are stuck in the rush hour traffic jam of dailiness and our bodies and souls start to feel like banged up bumper cars? When things seem so crazy and out of whack that we wonder what do we have to be thankful for?
“Well,” as my dear friend Daile once wisely and calmly commented in the midst of a work disaster that would normally have driven her mad, “at least nobody died.” That's it, exactly. Perspective.
The trick is to be able to maintain a healthy perspective. If we can manage to do that, we will automatically enjoy a perpetual attitude of gratitude.
People who have themselves been ill and those who caretake others have earned a certain understanding of this point of view. Everything is relative (in both senses of that word). For most of us, though, it is a daily, hourly, minutely learned lesson — one that we tend to forget in the flurry.
Here is a moving meditation to help us remember:
Take a walk someplace nice. Alone.
With each step you take, name one good thing that you have in your life. Say this aloud or silently.
Step.
My health.
Step.
My love.
Step.
My dog.
Step.
My network of circles.
Step.
The clouds.
Step.
The beautiful moon.
Step.
Trees.
Step.
A new friend.
Step.
That certain memory.
Step.
Not knowing war.
Step.
A secure home.
Step.
Two feet.
Step.
My heart, my soul, my spirit.
The list is endless.
Gratitude boundless.
Thank Goodness!
I am especially thankful for all the heartwarming support you showed me this year and expressed in so many wonderful ways. You bought my books. Thank you. You came to my workshops. Thank you. You forwarded my messages to your own circles of friends and family. Thank you. You wrote me amazing letters filled with spirit and soul. Thank you.
I would have to walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China in order to name each great gift that I received from you. Thank you all so, so much.
With bountiful blessings of fulfillment and peace,
xxQueen Mama Donna
When the going is good and the living is easy it seems only natural to be thankful. But what about all those times when nothing seems to flow? When energy is blocked and life flows like a river of glue.
When we are stuck in the rush hour traffic jam of dailiness and our bodies and souls start to feel like banged up bumper cars? When things seem so crazy and out of whack that we wonder what do we have to be thankful for?
“Well,” as my dear friend Daile once wisely and calmly commented in the midst of a work disaster that would normally have driven her mad, “at least nobody died.” That's it, exactly. Perspective.
The trick is to be able to maintain a healthy perspective. If we can manage to do that, we will automatically enjoy a perpetual attitude of gratitude.
People who have themselves been ill and those who caretake others have earned a certain understanding of this point of view. Everything is relative (in both senses of that word). For most of us, though, it is a daily, hourly, minutely learned lesson — one that we tend to forget in the flurry.
Here is a moving meditation to help us remember:
Take a walk someplace nice. Alone.
With each step you take, name one good thing that you have in your life. Say this aloud or silently.
Step.
My health.
Step.
My love.
Step.
My dog.
Step.
My network of circles.
Step.
The clouds.
Step.
The beautiful moon.
Step.
Trees.
Step.
A new friend.
Step.
That certain memory.
Step.
Not knowing war.
Step.
A secure home.
Step.
Two feet.
Step.
My heart, my soul, my spirit.
The list is endless.
Gratitude boundless.
Thank Goodness!
I am especially thankful for all the heartwarming support you showed me this year and expressed in so many wonderful ways. You bought my books. Thank you. You came to my workshops. Thank you. You forwarded my messages to your own circles of friends and family. Thank you. You wrote me amazing letters filled with spirit and soul. Thank you.
I would have to walk the entire length of the Great Wall of China in order to name each great gift that I received from you. Thank you all so, so much.
With bountiful blessings of fulfillment and peace,
xxQueen Mama Donna
Friday, November 16, 2007
The Queen’s Chronicles: HOME SWEET HOME
I’m home. I’m HOME. I’M HOME!!!
I have been on the road on and off for the past three years. Never home for more than six weeks at a time. Always off to another talk, another bookstore appearance, another workshop.
Mind you, I am not complaining. I have been to some great places and met thousands of incredible women. I’ve seen lots of lovely sights, had many amazing conversations and shared the spirit in some extraordinary rituals.
But I have packed and unpacked and repacked one bag too many!
Now I am home for the entire winter. I don’t have any travel plans until late March when my spring schedule intensifies and takes me to Pennsylvania and then Massachusetts, Northern California, and the Pacific Northwest. Which means that I will be home for almost five months until then. Which is perfect, as I hate to travel in winter and I love to hibernate and nest. What bliss!
All I want to do for a while is cook and clean and transplant my plants. Putter around my house and dance to my favorite CDs. File all the loose papers in the piles on my desk. Write in my journals and do some creative work. Take long walks and longer baths.
I used to do these things all the time as a matter of course. But my travel schedule came to dominate my existence. I was always either away, preparing to go away or recovering from having been away.
This made having a balanced, relaxed life here in NYC very difficult. Let alone having a social life like a normal person.
But now that I am back, I am reconstructing a life rich with the pleasures of communion and conviviality. Already this week I found time to have tea with two lovely women. Tomorrow I will host a small party for my dear Blessing Band. And Sunday I will make a beautiful brunch for eight.
Is life paradise or what? I am so happy to be home.
I have been on the road on and off for the past three years. Never home for more than six weeks at a time. Always off to another talk, another bookstore appearance, another workshop.
Mind you, I am not complaining. I have been to some great places and met thousands of incredible women. I’ve seen lots of lovely sights, had many amazing conversations and shared the spirit in some extraordinary rituals.
But I have packed and unpacked and repacked one bag too many!
Now I am home for the entire winter. I don’t have any travel plans until late March when my spring schedule intensifies and takes me to Pennsylvania and then Massachusetts, Northern California, and the Pacific Northwest. Which means that I will be home for almost five months until then. Which is perfect, as I hate to travel in winter and I love to hibernate and nest. What bliss!
All I want to do for a while is cook and clean and transplant my plants. Putter around my house and dance to my favorite CDs. File all the loose papers in the piles on my desk. Write in my journals and do some creative work. Take long walks and longer baths.
I used to do these things all the time as a matter of course. But my travel schedule came to dominate my existence. I was always either away, preparing to go away or recovering from having been away.
This made having a balanced, relaxed life here in NYC very difficult. Let alone having a social life like a normal person.
But now that I am back, I am reconstructing a life rich with the pleasures of communion and conviviality. Already this week I found time to have tea with two lovely women. Tomorrow I will host a small party for my dear Blessing Band. And Sunday I will make a beautiful brunch for eight.
Is life paradise or what? I am so happy to be home.
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Queen’s Chronicles: BLESSINGS OF PEACE AT HALLOWEEN AND BEYOND
This year I was invited to lead the world famous Greenwich Village Halloween Parade with blessings. As the Grand Marshall it was my duty and privilege to walk ahead of the parade and bless the streets, transforming them from their secular purpose into spiritual pathways. In addition, I was called upon to bless the participants of the parade as well as the inhabitants of the city.
This was an amazing opportunity to spread positive energy on an extremely large scale. About 30,000 people walked in the parade and two million more lined the parade path. The NYC Halloween Parade is one of the 10 biggest tourist events in the world! And of course, about eight million folks actually live here.
Joining me in this honorable endeavor was my magnificent Blessing Band of 30 wonderful individuals who are deeply earnest in their desire to extend blessings of peace and positive community spirit to New York City and beyond every chance we get.
We walked ahead of the parade for the entire route, blessing as we went. We were dressed entirely in white and silver to emphasize the purity of our intentions. Since this was not a performance, but a real ritual, we were not wearing masks or elaborate face paint, as we wanted our eyes and facial expressions to convey the sincerity of our serious, yet joyous, mission.
Our blessings were offered with smudge, or burning sacred herbs, which I call, “holy smoke.” In addition, we used bells, bubbles, glitter, and energetic chanting to spread our blessings. We shared blessings of peace, blessings of good will, blessings of community relationships, blessings of safety, blessings of protection, blessings of peace, and blessings of love.
The experience was amazing. As we passed by chanting “Blessings!” folks along the sidelines reached out their hands and bowed their heads so we could bless them! Monsters and devils, nurses and cartoon characters, ghosts and super heroes, alike, thanked us for the blessings and offered theirs back to us in the hundreds of languages and dialects spoken in New York. I blessed all the police in the street for their patience and good humor and was duly rewarded by hundreds of grins.
Such an enormous crowd. And so incredibly diverse. Yet there was only laughter and smiles and blessings and joy. Not one drunk or belligerent person. Not one incident. Not one disturbance of the peace. The only wild behavior was evidenced as creativity and ecstatic good humor. But that is typical here in the Big Apple.
When ever I am away somewhere lecturing or leading workshops, someone will inevitably ask me why I choose to live in New York City where “there is no nature.” I always respond by saying that in New York, the wildlife is the people. And I mean that in every sort of respectful, positive way. Think of the mouth-watering variety of food, music, costume, and custom here. I just adore riding the subway, watching the folks read their newspapers and realizing that every paper along the line is in a different language!
People from nearly 200 counties, having a full palette of beliefs and backgrounds, manage to live and work together in New York City in admirable peace. As huge and diverse and broken down as it is here, everybody pretty much gets along. And I am pleased as punch and very proud to be part of it.
I have given programs on multicultural ritual celebrations in schools where there are 65 nationalities represented in the student body. In a typical classroom an Egyptian boy sits next to a Korean girl who sits next to a Guatemalan boy who sits next to a pretty girl from Azerbaijan who was wearing a veil just months before. And they all get along very well. Their mutual immigrant experience connects them together and they relate.
And when they are old enough, they date. Those segregationists in the 1960’s were right when they said that if kids go to school together they will inevitably fraternize and worse. Hormones are color blind, you see, and they are responsible for a beautiful, brave new world that is developing right in font of our eyes. Living New York City is an experiment in the future. And it works. What is more, if we can do it here, it can be done anywhere.
There is still a chance for peace on this poor beleaguered planet.
This was an amazing opportunity to spread positive energy on an extremely large scale. About 30,000 people walked in the parade and two million more lined the parade path. The NYC Halloween Parade is one of the 10 biggest tourist events in the world! And of course, about eight million folks actually live here.
Joining me in this honorable endeavor was my magnificent Blessing Band of 30 wonderful individuals who are deeply earnest in their desire to extend blessings of peace and positive community spirit to New York City and beyond every chance we get.
We walked ahead of the parade for the entire route, blessing as we went. We were dressed entirely in white and silver to emphasize the purity of our intentions. Since this was not a performance, but a real ritual, we were not wearing masks or elaborate face paint, as we wanted our eyes and facial expressions to convey the sincerity of our serious, yet joyous, mission.
Our blessings were offered with smudge, or burning sacred herbs, which I call, “holy smoke.” In addition, we used bells, bubbles, glitter, and energetic chanting to spread our blessings. We shared blessings of peace, blessings of good will, blessings of community relationships, blessings of safety, blessings of protection, blessings of peace, and blessings of love.
The experience was amazing. As we passed by chanting “Blessings!” folks along the sidelines reached out their hands and bowed their heads so we could bless them! Monsters and devils, nurses and cartoon characters, ghosts and super heroes, alike, thanked us for the blessings and offered theirs back to us in the hundreds of languages and dialects spoken in New York. I blessed all the police in the street for their patience and good humor and was duly rewarded by hundreds of grins.
Such an enormous crowd. And so incredibly diverse. Yet there was only laughter and smiles and blessings and joy. Not one drunk or belligerent person. Not one incident. Not one disturbance of the peace. The only wild behavior was evidenced as creativity and ecstatic good humor. But that is typical here in the Big Apple.
When ever I am away somewhere lecturing or leading workshops, someone will inevitably ask me why I choose to live in New York City where “there is no nature.” I always respond by saying that in New York, the wildlife is the people. And I mean that in every sort of respectful, positive way. Think of the mouth-watering variety of food, music, costume, and custom here. I just adore riding the subway, watching the folks read their newspapers and realizing that every paper along the line is in a different language!
People from nearly 200 counties, having a full palette of beliefs and backgrounds, manage to live and work together in New York City in admirable peace. As huge and diverse and broken down as it is here, everybody pretty much gets along. And I am pleased as punch and very proud to be part of it.
I have given programs on multicultural ritual celebrations in schools where there are 65 nationalities represented in the student body. In a typical classroom an Egyptian boy sits next to a Korean girl who sits next to a Guatemalan boy who sits next to a pretty girl from Azerbaijan who was wearing a veil just months before. And they all get along very well. Their mutual immigrant experience connects them together and they relate.
And when they are old enough, they date. Those segregationists in the 1960’s were right when they said that if kids go to school together they will inevitably fraternize and worse. Hormones are color blind, you see, and they are responsible for a beautiful, brave new world that is developing right in font of our eyes. Living New York City is an experiment in the future. And it works. What is more, if we can do it here, it can be done anywhere.
There is still a chance for peace on this poor beleaguered planet.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Queen’s Chronicles: BLESSING HALLOWEEN
Tonight I will be leading the famous Greenwich Village Halloween Parade with blessings. This is an amazing opportunity to spread positive energy on a very large scale. About 30,000 people walk in the parade and two million will line the parade path. The NYC Halloween Parade is one of the 10 biggest tourist events in the world!
Joining me in this honorable endeavor is my marvelous Blessing Band of wonderful individuals who are deeply earnest in their desire to extend blessings of peace and positive community spirit to New York City.
We will be walking ahead of the parade for the entire route, blessing as we go. We will be dressed all in white an silver to emphasize the purity of our intentions. Since this is not a performance, but a real ritual, we will not be wearing masks or elaborate face paint, as we want our eyes and facial expressions to convey the sincerity of our mission.
Our blessings will be with smudge, or holy smoke, as well as bells, bubbles, glitter and spirited chanting. We will share blessings of peace, blessings of good will, blessings of community, blessings of safety, blessings of protection, and blessings of love.
Please join us in sending out blessings to those who will be in attendance, to all our loved ones, to our cities, to our country, to our world community, and to our precious planet.
Read about this:
http://gothamist.com/2007/10/31/donna_henes_urb.php
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_234/urbanshaman.html
Be blessed!
Joining me in this honorable endeavor is my marvelous Blessing Band of wonderful individuals who are deeply earnest in their desire to extend blessings of peace and positive community spirit to New York City.
We will be walking ahead of the parade for the entire route, blessing as we go. We will be dressed all in white an silver to emphasize the purity of our intentions. Since this is not a performance, but a real ritual, we will not be wearing masks or elaborate face paint, as we want our eyes and facial expressions to convey the sincerity of our mission.
Our blessings will be with smudge, or holy smoke, as well as bells, bubbles, glitter and spirited chanting. We will share blessings of peace, blessings of good will, blessings of community, blessings of safety, blessings of protection, and blessings of love.
Please join us in sending out blessings to those who will be in attendance, to all our loved ones, to our cities, to our country, to our world community, and to our precious planet.
Read about this:
http://gothamist.com/2007/10/31/donna_henes_urb.php
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_234/urbanshaman.html
Be blessed!
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