by Judith | Apr 23, 2019 | Earth Day, Holistic Nature of Us, nature, Podcast, storytelling
Description: This Algonquin Water Song expresses loving gratitude for the water and raises the consciousness and connection of women with Mother Nature’s greatest gift. The song is easy to learn, and our hope is that millions of women will sing it, raising their own connection and awareness of the water they interact with daily even in the shower or at the sink. Sing it 4 times, facing each of the 4 Directions. We believe this is a powerful step to change, leading to both a spiritual as well as the environmental shift on our planet.
This song was written by Irene Wawatie Jerome for Grandfather William Commanda’s 2002 Circle of All Nations gathering. It is recorded with permission from the Wawatie and Commanda families and the Circle of All Nations Foundation and the Elders in Canada.
Please note: This information and use of the water song is shared here with permission. It is my intent to honor our elders and their teachings. Honoring our water is needed and timely. Women traditionally hold the water. It is with gratitude I share these messages, song, and information.
About My Guest: Grandmother Nancy is of Algonquin and French heritage and has followed the Red Road since childhood. Seeking out elders willing to teach, her first two mentors were Lakota, one an author, one a medicine man. An Ojibwa medicine woman, then a Mi’kmaq grandmother later adopted her. Community elders gave her permission to pour lodges since 1991. She served as a facilitator for a Native Women’s Circle in federal prison for 17 years.
A Sundancer and a Sacred Pipe carrier, she is acknowledged as an elder and a grandmother in her communities in Canada, where she was given instruction to bring out and share certain teachings. Grandmother Nancy is a well-known storyteller, sharing legends from many different Nations in schools, health facilities, and the pow wow circuit. She was a staff member of the Joined Nations of Connecticut, a youth organization for those of Native heritage. She has given talks in Calgary, Canada, St. Croix USVI, and at various centers in New York, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. She also owned and operated an equestrian business until retirement, and now incorporates Horse Medicine in some of her lectures about Native culture.
Transcript: #59 Grandmother Nancy
Algonquin Water Song: click on this link to view the short video with the Algonquin Water Song. I hope you enjoy it. It brought me to tears. My heart sends a big thank you to our elders who share this wisdom. It’s timely and it’s special. Remember all comments are appreciated.
Enjoy, Judith
by Judith | Dec 21, 2018 | Holistic Nature of Us, Interviews/Community Outreach, nature, Podcast, storytelling
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Description: Winter solstice is upon us. Our seasonal wheel turns once again into a new season marked by the path of the sun and the moon. It is said that Grandfather Sun starts his return to Grandmother Moon on the Winter Solstice.
I am honored to have Craig Standing Bear, Storyteller, flute player, moccasin maker tell a story for our Winter time. Winter, in indigenous tribal life here in America, was a time to fix and mend, a time for stories. The Storyteller was valued and held a place of esteem. After all, he had the news, the gossip, and the tales to pass along from one tribe to the next. On the Winter solstice, we end autumn and gives thanks for her blessings. As our wheel turns to winter, enjoy an original story told by Craig honoring winter. The podcast is enhanced with original flute songs by Craig from his CD, Reflections. Contact Craig directly to purchase his CD: www.mohawkleathers.com
About My Guest: Craig StandingBear is Mowak, Scottish and French Canadian. He has much experience telling stories for schools, libraries and other venues following his Native American tradition. He plays the flute, makes moccasins and other leather goods. He can be found at Powwows here in New England, go to wandering bull website for 2019 powwow schedule.
Transcripts: #43 Craig Standing Bear
by Judith | Nov 30, 2018 | Book, gifts, storytelling
I love to read, always have. From fiction to sci-fi, young adult and non-fiction, my pile grows. And I couldn’t be happier.
For these holidays I thought I would send out some suggestions from authors I have met through my writing groups including APSS, the Association of Publishers for Special Sales. These folks are dedicated writers, storytellers and I have learned so much from them about the craft of writing. So today, my note is brief. Enjoy the varied genres and brief descriptions. Remember all comments are appreciated.
1. Murder beyond the Precipice: Mystery, Suspense, Fiction
Penny Goetjen: National award-winning author Penny Goetjen is a self-proclaimed eccentric, known for writing late into the night, transfixed by the allure of flickering candlelight. Fascinated with the paranormal, she usually weaves a subtle, unexpected twist into her stories. When her husband is asked how he feels about his wife writing murder mysteries, he answers with a wink, “I sleep with one eye open.”
Book Blurb: Set in a deceptively tranquil harbor town on the coast of Maine, MURDER BEYOND THE PRECIPICE tells the story of the Livingston family who is no stranger to tragedy. Losing both parents at a young age in what authorities ruled an accident, Lucretia Livingston, the sole heir to the estate, is left to pick up the pieces. But many locals question the circumstances surrounding their deaths and if the family’s wealth was an irresistibly seductive motive for crossing the line.
2. The Storm: 
Young Adult Fiction, Inspiration, Motivation
DAN BLANCHARD is a bestselling and award-winning author, speaker and educator. “The Storm: How Young Men Become Good Men” is the first book in Dan’s Granddaddy’s Secrets teen leadership book series. Dan has been featured in over 100 television and radio shows, as well as several of the world’s top ten podcasts. Check out Dan’s book by clicking on the link below
https://www.amazon.com/Storm-Young-Become-Righ…/…/0986239828
Book Blurb: The Storm is about a teen struggling with life in a violent and frustrating world. He’s trying to do what he can, but he’s angry about the hand life has dealt him. Then, out of the blue, his estranged and mysterious Granddaddy stops by to see him. They go for a walk in the park, and for one stormy and magical afternoon, Granddaddy talks about being a former WWII fighter-pilot, about his past, his famous friends, and about how he escaped a meaningless life.
3. At the Garden’s Gate: Non-Fiction, Meadows, Sustainability, Wild Edibles, Medicine Wheel: A Memoir
Judith Dreyer, is an international author, speaker, and educator. Her first book, At the Garden’s Gate, seeks to inspire us to look at our land spaces differently and ask important questions?
“Beautiful and thoughtfully written, At the Garden’s Gate traces a woman’s inner journey as she creates a wildflower meadow. The meadow becomes a teacher, a metaphor for life and a calling. Tucked within the pages of this magical book are threads of gold; poems, quotes, meditations, and ceremonies one can use in one’s own garden. And also sound and practical instructions for creating a wildflower meadow.” Rosemary Gladstar, author
and herbalist from her wildflower meadow in Vermont
http//:www.judithdreyer.com/blog
4. Asylum, a dark suspense saga: Fiction
Kathryn Orzech, Connecticut native, and seasoned world traveler writes mystery, suspense, and thrillers set in New England “and other exotic locations.” An avid film fan and news nerd, interests include history and geopolitics, society and culture, science and parapsychology, leaving few subjects off her literary table.
http://dreamwatch.com/dreamwatch-press/asylum-a-dark-suspense-saga/
Book Blurb: On an innocent day in 1899 while her father travels abroad, twelve-year-old Maggie Delito unwittingly witnesses a shocking scandal. The next day, she’s dragged from her family’s estate and locked in an asylum to ensure her silence. Beneath the noted asylum’s polish of respectability, a wicked villainy hides in dank shadows—and Maggie fears she will be its next victim.
Seventy-five years later, Laura Delito inherits more than assets when her prestigious family’s mysterious past comes knocking. After sacrificing an independent career on the brink of success, she assumes control of Delito’s failing jewelry business while daring to expose its ghosts—a strange old woman, cryptic messages, and a rare antique key that might unlock the truth. As she pursues clues from the Northeast to North Africa, she fails to see danger looming close to home.
5. Roots2Wellness: Non-Fiction, Health and Healthy Eating, Self Help, Inspirational
Janet Verney: Janet Verney is certified in Integrative Health and specializes in Women’s Wellness. As The Wellness Designer, she creates fun and educational programs for women around the world. Janet is passionate about living a rich and full life through delicious food and an abundant
lifestyle!connect@roots2wellness.com
Book Blurb: Roots2Wellness is one woman’s story of overcoming a serious, chronic health condition. It takes you on a journey from a point of pain, sadness, and torment to living in wellness, love, and passion which changed the course of her life and can change yours…forever.
So let go of that negative chatter in your mind, and get started on changing the course of your life forever. From altering thought patterns to choosing the correct foods, ROOTS2Wellness delivers many routes to healing, digging to the places deep inside where wellness begins. Whether you’re overwhelmed by feelings of fear or caught in a downward spiral of poor health, this inspirational read contains everything you need to begin taking action—and to enjoy the bloom of vibrant health that can only come from nourishing your roots.
6. Christmas Shadow: Fiction, Paranormal Romance and Suspense
CarynMoyaBlock@gmail.comBook One of the Shadow Walker-Lycan Hybrid Second Generation Romance Series
Caryn Moya Block: In January of 2012, Caryn Moya Block began her writing career with the debut of Alpha’s Mate which won the “Global E-book Award for 2012” in contemporary romance. She was also named one of the “Top 50 Indie Authors for April 2012” from E-Reader Reviews. Her novel, A Siberian Werewolf in Paris, was chosen as a paranormal category finalist in the 2014 RomCon.com Readers’ Choice Awards.
Caryn continues to write, giving her readers five different series to choose from: The Shadow Walkers Romance Series, The Witch Guardian Romance Series, and the very popular, Siberian Volkov Pack Romance Series. She has just begun the second-generation character books with The Volkov Family Chronicles Series and The Shadow Walker- Lycan Hybrid Second Generation Series. CarynMoyaBlock@gmail.com and http://carynmoyablock.com/
Book Blurb: Aleksei Sokolov, a Shadow Walker-Lycan Hybrid, is trying to protect his best friend, Daven McCloud. He installs an Isanti security system in Daven’s Beverly Hills estate and assumes his identity. Stepping into Daven’s shoes puts him directly in the path of a killer, but it also puts him in the path of Sheridan Harbrook, who has been contracted to decorate Daven’s estate for Christmas.
When she meets with the man she believes is Daven, she can’t help but be surprised at how different he is when he doesn’t have a starlet on his arm. Feeling that she’s misjudged him, she lets him kiss her goodnight, even though the evening was strictly business.
She likes the man and one kiss tells her she could more than like him. But as their relationship progresses, danger surrounds them both. Will involving herself with a client put her in the crosshairs of a murderer and will this Christmas be her last?
7. LIke A Tree: Jean Shinoda Bolen: International BestSeller: Non- fiction, Archetypes, Trees, Women’s Rights: One of my goals over the past couple of years is to keep track of all the books I read. I enjoy going back over them at the end of the year. We have amazing choices for our book tastes.
Jean Shinoda Bolen’s Book, Like a Tree, touched my heart. She draws a parallel between women and the deforestation of our trees. Backed by research, myth and archetypal forces, she takes us on an incredible journey that has its heart in compassion, community and the desperate need for women and trees and its forest ecosystems, to be valued once again.
I hope you enjoyed the possibilities presented here. Great books for a snowy winter’s day. Please share and comment. It’s appreciated. Happy Holidays. Judith
by Judith | Nov 20, 2018 | Body: Nutrition and Recipes, Cooking, Holistic Nature of Us, Interviews/Community Outreach, nature, Podcast, storytelling, wisdom
Description: History is told from the eyes of the recorder, often orally noted and passed down, and where and when possible, through documents and letters. What is the true history of Thanksgiving? What is the Native American record of this holiday connected to the colonial time period of the 1600’s? Rachel Sayet, Mohegan tribal member, adjunct lecturer for Native American Culture Classes and presentations, relates the stories told among New England Tribes. The oral tradition was valued, revered and served a great purpose during that time period. Thanksgiving, as told by the native peoples from NE America may surprise you. Enjoy a thought-provoking discussion, stories, and prayer told by Rachel Sayet.
About My Guest: Rachel is a Mohegan tribal member from Uncasville, Connecticut. She received her bachelor’s degree in restaurant management from Cornell University. While attending Cornell, Rachel worked in kitchens and took many culinary classes. Upon graduation, Rachel worked as a personal chef in upstate New York. She later went on to receive her master’s in anthropology at Harvard University. Rachel has been working for the Mohegan Cultural Department since 2013. Since then, she has also been researching Native American foods. She has presented her work throughout the country at conferences and classrooms, and has begun food sovereignty initiatives at the Mohegan Tribe; partnering with the health department on gardening events, cooking and storytelling workshops for Mohegan youth, and a native cooking show. Her most recent project is the Native Food Discussion Group, created in order to share knowledge about seasonal eating, harvesting, growing, and fishing practices.
Transcript: #38 Rachel Sayet #2
For more information and to read the complete prayer go to:
01_02_Thanksgiving_Address: found at:
https://americanindian.si.edu/environment/pdf/01_02_Thanksgiving_Address.pdf
Judith Dreyer, MS, BSN, Writer, Speaker, and Workshop Presenter, Master Gardener.
