Blog (News)

One Heart hosted two new events this past month, Clearing Family Agreements facilitated by Debra Morrill and Celebrating Imbolc facilitated by Marita Kelter and Lisa Hartman.  I had the privilege of attending both.

I will begin with Debra's workshop held on January 21st.

We (my fellow participants and I) were invited to bring our awareness to a family agreement that is no longer serving our highest good and we wrote an intention to release the agreement. Debra very skillfully led us through a series of breath practices, visualizations, meditations, and ritual to release our agreement and unplug.  Debra's loving and gentle guidance combined with the healing energy of the Yum Yum Hill farmhouse made it a transformative experience, indeed. She also provided us with some actions to take should that old agreement come up again. 

Learn more about Debra and her shamanic healing practice at http://debramorrill.posterous.com.  She will be offering a Basic Shamanic workshop on June 9th and 10th through One Heart.

Imbolc was new to me, and interestingly, I received several references to it in e-mails on that day, February 2nd. Imbolc or St. Brigid's Day is a celtic festival marking the beginning of Spring and it is most commonly celebrated on the 1st or 2nd of February.  It falls halfway between Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox.  We celebrated Imbolc with some chanting, a guided visualization, and silent pauses.  Lisa and Marita, both talented musicians, offered an evening of reflection, celebration, and laughter.  When I left... my body was vibrating.

Lisa Hartman and Marita Kelter are Pearls of Polymnia. The hold a monthly chanting circle at Marita's home along the banks of the Wisconsin River.  For more information contact Lisa or Marita. 

Stay tuned for more from these facilitators. I am so pleased that are part of the One Heart Facilitator's Network and I look forward to future offerings.

In closing... I offer a few verses from Bridget's Song by Celia

"Goddess Bridget
Peace Weaver, Healer, Poet, Queen
Melt the snow and bring the Spring.

Saint Bridget
Gold Bender, Keeper of the Flame
Blessed Imbolc
We sing your name..."

Song - Copyright 2012 Red Granite Goddess Publishing/ASCAP
Image - Brigid by tattereddreams on deviantART

May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.

May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.

May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.

May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours.

Dear One Heart.
I spent time with
 my daughter Tierney and
had one on one time
 with at least
 25 people that
I worked and
lived with in NY.
Tierney took on the job of
creating and
organizing a symposium
for her masters at Antioch
in NH.
She chose the subject.
It was Fare Trade and
the sustainability of the planet
we can achieve.
She got 10 speakers from
all over the USA and Mexico.
She got 10 vendors sharing their
fare trade goods.
It was her first time and
it felt like she,with volunteers,
achieved this as if
she had done it
for years.
Bravo.
The whole trip was
 filled with love in
ALL directions!!!
As ALL Ways,
In Love and
Service,
Carl

I came across this article (almost a prayer) and wanted to share it, so I am posting it for all One Heart readers. It is written by James O'Dea.

I Am a Peace Ambassador by James O'Dea

I am moving from being locked into anger and outrage at war and violence, or being defined as a protest movement, to creating a culture of peace from the ground up, and from the inside out.

I am moving from reactive finger-pointing condemnation and judgment of others, arising out of my presumed superior moral positions, to engaging in dialogue, listening and non-violent communication strategies.

I am moving from making those who disagree with us as the enemy to recognizing the inherent flaw in creating hostility or enmity as a peace stategy. In this way my work attempts to dissolve polarizing approaches and behaviors.

I am moving from consciousness that is problem-sourced to one which is solution-centered. This has a radical impact on how I organize. I am informed by vision, and my tactics are not always defined by the opposite side of the problem.

I am moving from piecemeal, feel-good, band-aid approaches and interventions to whole-system maps and whole-scale systemic transformation.

I am moving from relying on ideological frameworks and intellectual theories to integral approaches that are embodied manifestations of peace at individual and collective levels.

I am moving from activism which leads to burn-out and relationship breakdown to one in which working for the cause of peace requires self-care and time for quality relationships.

I am moving from the battleground of proving who is right and who is wrong to understanding worldviews and how they are transformed - and exploring who is wounded and how they can find healing.

I am moving from an obsession with punishment to the search for truth, reconciliation and restorative justice.

I am moving from demanding rights to assuming our responsibility to create environments which promote rights and emphasize individual and collective responsibility for an ecologically sustainable, socially just, democratically vibrant and healthy world.

I am moving from merely critiquing the absence of humanity in others to honing our collective capacities for compassionate action, deep empathy and authentic forgiveness.

I am a Peace Ambassador and I am moving towards planetary peace.

WWW.peaceambassadortraining.com

 

 

Dear One Heart,
I would like to express my deepest appreciation for ALL the people who are involved with oneheartinc.org on ALL levels of connection.
As ALL Ways,
In Love and Service,
Carl

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in). The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31 they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

Continue reading:  http://www.history.com/topics/halloween

It is the time of the autumn equinox, and the harvest is winding down. The fields are nearly empty, because the crops have been plucked and stored for the coming winter. Mabon is the mid-harvest festival, and it is when we take a few moments to honor the changing seasons, and celebrate the second harvest. On or around September 21, for many Pagan and Wiccan traditions it is a time of giving thanks for the things we have, whether it is abundant crops or other blessings.

Depending on your individual spiritual path, there are many different ways you can celebrate Mabon, but typically the focus is on either the second harvest aspect, or the balance between light and dark. This, after all, is the time when there is an equal amount of day and night. While we celebrate the gifts of the earth, we also accept that the soil is dying. We have food to eat, but the crops are brown and going dormant. Warmth is behind us, cold lies ahead. Here are a few rituals you may want to think about trying -- and remember, any of them can be adapted for either a solitary practitioner or a small group, with just a little planning ahead.

Taken from About.com

Thanks to the efforts of David Roberts and Carl Rosenstock, the Yum Yum Hill farmhouse has an accessible ramp, making it easier for persons with limited mobility to participate in classes and workshops.  This ramp also offers greater ease of access for facilitator's to transport their materials into the house.


It was very important to the our Board members that the classes and workshops held at the Yum Yum Hill farmhouse be as inclusive as possible.  David spent many hours designing and building the ramp.  Thank you, David, for once again offering your talents to help One Heart meet its mission.

While this ramp does not meet ADA guidelines, it comes pretty close.  Participants who are unable to step across a threshold or are restricted to a wheelchair for mobility will have difficulty entering the farmhouse or using the toilet due to the narrow doorways. (The farmhouse is over 100 years old).