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December 2020 President Monthly Ezine
In this time of challenge, when so many are suffering throughout the world,
we take time today to express our deep gratitude and love.
We are grateful for those who are working to create healing in this world.
We are grateful for those who risk their own lives to save the lives of others: the health care workers, the fire fighters, the first responders, the civil servants.
We are grateful for the light carriers, the intention holders, the peace makers.
We are grateful for the truth speakers.
We are grateful for the ones who work for justice.
We are grateful for the teachers and the families who nurture the young.
We are grateful for all those who place the well being of others in highest regard.
We are grateful for this impossibly beautiful planet and home.
We are grateful for this Earth's creatures and all her life forms.
We are grateful for challenges that are encouraging us to grow.
We are grateful for the love and compassion that this community imparts into the world.
We are grateful for you.
May your heart be filled with gratitude, peace and love.
May you radiate these qualities throughout your corners of the world, creating a blanket of calming, healing light throughout the planet.
Our Deep Gratitude,
Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors and Staff
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"If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you,
it will be enough."
~ Meister Eckhart
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Called for a Better World - Photo by Lisa Anselme
Seeds of Possibility - Photo by Cat Miller
"Lotus, Fire & Light" - Photo by Cat Miller
May 2020 President Monthly Ezine
Image is from Pixabay and used under a Creative Commons license
April 2020 President Monthly Ezine
Image is from Pixabay and used under a Creative Commons license
February 2020 President Monthly Ezine
"Life is a mixed blessing, which we vainly try to unmix." ~Mignon McLaughlin
I find myself in the midst of two strategic visioning processes at the moment. At the university, I am a member of the executive committee steering the strategic visioning plan. Simultaneously, the Board of Directors is fleshing out a plan based on our discussions during our strategic visioning work at the conference last year. In both cases, these groups of volunteers are striving to come up with optimistic, inspirational, and aspirational ideas, goals, and actions to serve the respective organizations over the next several years. And in both cases, I am mindful of the necessity that we be authentic to who we are, warts and all.
Authenticity is at once the hardest and easiest thing to do. It requires honesty, humility, courage, and tenacity. Authenticity is all about the mixed blessings in the quote above. It is something that some shy away from, while others cannot exist any other way than to wear their authenticity on their sleeves. To me, it means acknowledging and embracing your perceived flaws in the journey toward remembering your wholeness.
At the university, we're juxtaposing the current climate around racism, bigotry, and xenophobia, the institution's history (rosy and not-so-rosy), and who we want to be. For Healing Beyond Borders, we're weighing past, present, and future with changing demographics and health care systems. Where do we fit? How do we lead? What is our role? How do we flourish? Those seem to be questions I continually ask myself during life transitions or when existential angst creeps in.
The thing that is making both of these strategic visioning processes less onerous are the people involved. Both at the university and amongst the Board of Directors, I am fortunate to work with passionate, compassionate, and enlightened individuals. In both settings, we're taking this seriously and approaching it with heart. While one wouldn't expect anything less for our Board, it's rewarding to know that I work with such people in all walks of my life. For that I am grateful.
Additional thoughts...
What I'm reading
Mary-Cathrine Campbell introduced me to a book she inherited from Alexandra Jonsson titled Pocketful of Miracles by Joan Borysenko. It's a unique book of daily meditations that incorporates a lot of spiritual traditions. I started incorporating it into my daily routine last fall, but this is the first year that I've started it from the beginning.
What I'm listening to
I seem to have India. Arie on repeat these days, specifically her album titled SongVersation: Medicine and especially the song Soulbird Rise.
What I'm keeping in my awareness
In addition to being mindful, I've discovered for myself a need to be purposeful. I am quite aware of my levels of stress, pain, etc., but often that's as far as it goes-acknowledging the state of what is. For that to change, one way or the other, I must be purposeful in how that might take place and in taking action to do so.
In light,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
Photo by Joel Anderson
January 2020 President Monthly Ezine
As I write this ezine, I am sitting in the lobby of the Grand Wailea on Maui. I have been here for the past week to attend the Hawaiian International Conference on Systems Science, which has occurred in Hawaii for the past 53 years. In recent years, the conference has expanded to include health and health care information systems, as well as how society uses digital technologies such as social media. These new tracks overlap nicely with my research to support family caregivers of people with dementia and how these caregivers use technology to manage the caregiving experience.
I first visited the Hawaiian Islands in 2014 when my friend invited me to join her on Kauai at her timeshare. I immediately fell in love with Kauai, feeling a deep spiritual connection to the island. That first trip was magical, and I have been fortunate to return to these islands several times since.
On previous trips to Hawaii, and to this conference, I have traveled with a friend or colleagues. But this trip was just me. This solitude offered the chance to enjoy many moments of reflection and meditation. And while I may not be traveling with my friends this time, I do have the pleasure of meeting up with Sarah Porter for dinner on my way back to the airport this evening.
It is comforting to know that most any place I go, I can connect with our Healing Touch community. This is especially true and poignant given the news of the day, with tensions high in the Middle East, bushfires raging across Australia, and extreme weather popping up around the globe. It is one thing to know that you are part of something bigger than yourself; it is another to have tangible proof of that. That tangibility and connection is one of the many things I cherish about our Healing Touch community.
Sitting here in these lush surroundings, I am full of gratitude for the privileges of my life and the many compassionate, heart-centered people who populate it, many of whom are members of our Healing Touch community.
May we continue to carry the vision and mission of Healing Beyond Borders into this new year, supported by the Attributes of the Heart and a deep-rooted commitment to community.
With aloha,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, CHTP, FGSA
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
Photo by Joel Anderson
December 2019 President Monthly Ezine
I continue to observe something that I've written about before in Perspectives in Healing - folks actively searching for the Attributes of the Heart. This also was how I talked about the movie shown at our conference this year, Won't You Be My Neighbor. I think this movie and the current Renaissance around Fred Rogers is an excellent of example of for what people are starving.
Think it's all in my head? Well, there's a more recent biopic starring Tom Hanks as Mr. Rogers. There are numerous articles about this resurgence. And there's this new podcast called Finding Fred that explores the very idea of why everyone is being drawn to Mr. Rogers in today's world.
As healers, we know the answer to this question. He eloquently demonstrated healing presence, unconditional love, compassion, and innate harmony, which were funneled into his joyful service. These Attributes of the Heart are not foreign to us. We work to incorporate them into our heart-centered approach to life each day. Many of us also work to include gratitude and dignity as well.
As we watched the film before our conference opened and when I listen to the podcast, I remember Mr. Rogers' presence in my life. Growing up in rural Appalachia, educational resources were limited. My elementary school made use of public broadcasting and shows like Sesame Street and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood to fill the gaps. For a kid on a mountaintop on what seemed like the middle of nowhere, public broadcasting showed me the world and all of its wonders. It sparked my imagination and inquisitiveness, traits that serve me well today in my professorial role.
But it fed the fire of compassion just as much. During movie night, I saw the thread of the Attributes of the Heart through my life and how one of the first people really to display those traits to me in such an adept way was Fred Rogers. And for that, I am grateful.
As the solstice nears, the seasons change, and the year comes to a close, I have been thinking about all that has occurred in 2019 and all of the promise of 2020 and a new decade. Being students, practitioners, and instructors of this heart-centered work of ours, we are aware of energetic flows. Our theme this year of "the Art of Compassion and Healing" reflects not only the unwavering ability of our community to hold an energetically vibration high, but to do so with tenderness, strength, and finesse.
Since the founding of our organization, our mission and vision of spreading healing light and restoring wholeness on Earth has been a beacon to those seeking wisdom, healing, and holism. May it ever be so.
Each of you provides compassionate leadership and unconditional love to our planet and all of its beings. During the holy days ahead, on behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of Healing Beyond Borders, I wish you peace, hope, and prosperity.
In light,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, FGSA, CHTP
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
SAVE the DATE 2020 !!!
24th Annual Energy Healing Conference & Instructor Meeting
OMNI Interlocken Resort Hotel * Broomfield, Colorado
Wednesday, September 2, 2020 (Opening) - Saturday, September 5, 2020 (Closing)
We’re very happy to announce our dates and location for Conference 2020!
After reviewing over 20 possible Colorado front range locations and returned bids, at last narrowing down to 4 sites, the Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors has settled on the location and dates for next year’s conference. We will be hosting our event at the OMNI Interlocken Hotel in Broomfield, Colorado. Healing Beyond Borders has negotiated the incredible rate of $128/night (single, double, triple) for this 4-star resort hotel along the front range base of the Rocky Mountains.
OMNI LINK - Click Here to view Hotel
Our conference will be held the week going into Labor Day weekend with several qualifiers: we will be moving our start of conference forward by one day, with pre-conferences adjusted accordingly, so that opening night will be Wednesday evening, September 2 and we will close our conference on Saturday, September 5 by 1:00 pm.
Participants can depart Saturday after closing to be home Sunday and Monday (Labor Day). Or, participants will have the option of extending their stay over Sunday and Monday (Labor Day) at the same incredible rate, realizing an opportunity to have a wonderful, relaxing vacation in a serene setting. We’re investigating offering several excursions into the majestic Rocky Mountains or visiting other celebratory events post conference, as people will have time to adjust to altitude during the prior week.
Matching Grant Opportunity
Participate in Blessings Overflowing!
Last month, I wrote to let you know of a fabulous opportunity to support Healing Beyond Borders. An anonymous donor was so inspired by our conference this year that they offered a matching grant for donations received through December 1, 2019. If we can raise $10,000 by December 1st, they will match that amount!
We're one month into the challenge and to date we've received $400 in donations, or 4% of our goal. Together, we can do this! If each of our members contributed $10, we'd reach our goal. If everyone on this mailing list contributed $1, we'd more than triple our goal!
I recognize that we all get lots of calls to contribute to society in monetary ways. I also know that we're not all in the position to give as much as we would like. It's hard to ask for monetary contributions when you're a non-profit organization. We're not supposed to make money, right? Quite the contrary! The work of our organization requires financial energy and input and having money in the bank is crucial to our ability to manifest our vision and mission.
This year at conference, we held strategic planning sessions with the Board of Directors and group brainstorming during the instructor leadership meeting. We came up with incredible ideas of how to extend our work and support our vision and mission as an organization and community. Some of those ideas are simple and require just a little elbow grease. But a lot of the ideas require a monetary investment in the short term to reap dividends in the long term (fingers crossed).
That's just one reason why this matching grant opportunity is so important right now. It truly will go a long way in helping to support and sustain the vision and mission of Healing Beyond Borders.
I hope you will consider making a contribution toward this important goal! You can do so via check or making a donation or grant via our website store. Please mark for general fund. I thank you in advance for your generous support.
Sincerely,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, FGSA, CHTP
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
Photo by Joel Anderson
October 2019 President Monthly Ezine
It's hard to believe that a few weeks have now passed since the close of our annual conference. While I plan to write more about that experience for the upcoming issue of Perspectives in Healing, I have to say that, as always, I left conference with a great deal of hope, reflecting on the opportunities for growth ahead personally, professionally, and collectively.
Our conference seems to be a time of hope for so many of us. It's expressed in the laughter, tears, smiles, and moments of serenity, emotion, and realization that you see and hear throughout the conference hall. Folks were so inspired this year that I am happy to announce that an anonymous donor has offered a matching grant for donations received through December 1st. If we can raise $10,000 by December 1st, they will match that amount!
This represents an excellent opportunity to support the work of our organization. I've just put my check in the mail. I hope you will consider helping us to meet this goal! You can do so via check or making a donation or grant via our website store. Please mark for general fund. Thank you!
Member Spotlight
Got a story to share? Let me know! If you'd like to share what you're doing in a member spotlight, please use this form to let me know what you're up to! I'll incorporate these stories into Perspectives in Healingand future ezines to share with our global community.
Quarterly Group Read
I've chosen two reads for the fourth quarter of 2019. The first is Waking Up White by Debby Irving. I read this book while at our conference in 2015 in Naples, Florida. I was reminded of it during our instructor leadership meeting at this year's conference. During our open discussion, David Rabinowitsch raised the important topic of the lack of diversity among our instructors and, indeed, our membership. The instructors talked about what diversity and inclusion means for our organization and community. It wasn't an easy conversation and it's far from over. But it was a much-needed beginning. The second book I thought of during this conversation wasThick by Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom, which I read this time last year. It is a powerful collection of essays that explore the sociology of race and inclusion. Hopefully these books will offer some insight as we continue this conversation.
Meditation for October
When looking for a meditation to share this month, this one from Meditative Mind immediately caught by eye because of its title: The Butterfly Effect. What a lovely way to remember the symbolism behind one of the images in our conference logo from this year.
Become an Evergreen Supporter
Join me in becoming an Evergreen Supporter of Healing Beyond Borders. I've pledged to support the mission and vision of Healing Beyond Borders through an automatic credit card deduction each month. For more information, including giving levels, visit the store on our website and click on the Evergreen Support tab.
Online Store
And speaking of our store, have you seen all of the new products in our online store? There are quite a few new resources, supplies, and gifts that can support your learning, practice, and teaching. Profits from the sale of products from our online store directly support the mission of Healing Beyond Borders.
In light,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, FGSA, CHTP
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
Dear Healing Touch Community,
June 21 marks the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the day of greatest light and the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, the day of greatest darkness. During this period of greatest light in the North, there is the opportunity to appreciate and receive both the physical light and spiritual light that is infusing into the planet. During this period of greatest darkness in the South, there is the opportunity to travel within and discover the quiet, wisdom, clarity and purity of our hearts. As both light and dark, action and stillness, reside within our world, both reside within each of us. When both are gently respected and honored, they afford an opportunity to become clear, to act with wisdom, and radiate light and compassion.
Global upheaval, chaos, destabilization and suffering....it is sometimes more than the heart can bear. Even as we may struggle with understanding such tragedy and change, we are constantly reminded of the interconnection and oneness of all beings within this universe.
So, we truly need to focus upon what is working and place our attention upon healing, wholeness, stability and beneficial action for this precious world.
Through INTENTION, our world community can be a positive support and light for all suffering throughout our planet.
We are all aware of the strength and power of INTENTION and the capacity for HEALING that is available through our Healing Touch work. Please join us in creating a HUGE blanket of calming, healing light, peace and love throughout the world. Center and anchor the blanket through our column of light in our Lakewood, Colorado office, so that from our organizational center, our healing light can build to a high intensity and blanket the world. May it be an instrument of healing conflict and strife, calming chaos and confusion, soothing loss and grief, including our beloved Earth and all beings whose lives have been touched by challenge.
Being Peace and Radiating Peace and Healing Through the World
Be the peace and healing you wish to see in the world.
With gratitude, love, peace and light,
Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors, Staff and Volunteers
Joel Anderson, President
Victoria Cornelius, Vice President
Lisa Crouch, Treasurer
Annis Parker, Director
Maureen Kowba, Director
Deborah Goldberg, Director
Carol Schoenecker, Director
Lisa C. Anselme, Executive Director
Mary-Cathrine Campbell, Past President
Kassi Anderson, Certification Administrator
Carrie Niewenhous, Education Administrator
Cathy Nunemaker, Membership Administrator
"Norway" Photo by Joel Anderson
June 2019 President Monthly Ezine
I was quite fortunate and grateful to spend twelve days in May presenting my research in dementia family caregiving in the Centre for Medicine and Aging (SESAM) at the Stavanger University Hospital in Stavanger, Norway; meeting with existing and new collaborators from the SESAM, the University of Exeter, and King's College London; and consulting with SESAM staff regarding media strategy and engaged scholarship. But as with everything in life, it's been the people and the stories that have made it all memorable and have helped to create the good moments, or gode øyeblikk. So whether it has been laughing over a good dinner at Skagen on the harbor, appreciating the opportunities to connect with international colleagues from across Europe in meaningful conversations, walking through Gamle Stavanger, cruising up the fjords, dipping my toes in the North Sea, having my first sip of aquavit, having impromptu conversations about Healing Touch and energy with my Norwegian friends, or wandering through fantastically colored rhododendrons in peak bloom, this trip has been filled with good moments for me that I've been sharing on Twitter. And I'm very grateful to my friends and colleagues in Stavanger for helping me to collect a skattekiste or treasure chest of good moments.
Member Spotlight
Got a story to share? Let me know! If you'd like to share what you're doing in a member spotlight, please use this form to let me know what you're up to! I'll incorporate these stories into Perspectives in Healing and future ezines to share with our global community.
Quarterly Group Read
The read chosen for the second quarter of 2019 is Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky. Though not always explicitly stated, cellular memory and energetics are woven all through this book, and Dr. Sapolsky deftly explains the biological consequences our environment have on our bodies and behavior.
Online Discussion Groups
I am hosting online Zoom sessions every other month to provide a space for support, connection, and dialogue with me in a small group setting. Use this link to submit your interest in the sessions scheduled for 2019. Dates and more information about the sessions can be found on the online form.
Meditation for June
This video and soundscape remind me of the beauty and feeling of Norway. I think it is a perfect backdrop for reflection as we approach the upcoming solstice.
Become an Evergreen Supporter
Join me in becoming an Evergreen Supporter of Healing Beyond Borders. I've pledged to support the mission and vision of Healing Beyond Borders through an automatic credit card deduction each month. For more information, including giving levels, visit the store on our website and click on the Evergreen Support tab.
Online Store
And speaking of our store, have you seen all of the new products in our online store? There are quite a few new resources, supplies, and gifts that can support your learning, practice, and teaching. Profits from the sale of products from our online store directly support the mission of Healing Beyond Borders.
In light,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, FGSA, CHTP
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
Photo Collage by Joel Anderson
April 2019 President Monthly Ezine
If you don't know about Greta Thunberg, I think you should. Described as a force of nature, Greta was recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her unflappable and unapologetic championing of our planet and necessary action to combat climate change.
Earth Day has been around for almost 50 years. Yet over the past several decades, the impact of humanity on our planet seems only to have grown the point of tangible effects in each of our communities. As healers, we are keenly aware of all of this and the impact it is having on our heath and wellbeing, and what might be ahead of us.
But, as Greta says, where there's action, there is hope. We know the things that we can do to make a difference. And we can use our skills and our voices to motivate and encourage the large-scale change that we need.
Healing Beyond Borders has taken actions to improve our organizational level of sustainability. As Earth Day draws near, I am making a pledge as the current president of our organization to work with our office staff, Executive Director, and Board of Directors on tangible ways we can do even better in terms of our sustainability in an effort to make our organization as green as possible. Hopefully by the time I pass the baton to the next individual to take on this role, we can be as close to a carbon-neutral organization as possible.
Member Spotlight
Got a story to share? Let me know! If you'd like to share what you're doing in a member spotlight, please use this form to let me know what you're up to! I'll then incorporate these stories into Perspectives in Healing and future ezines to share with our global community.
For example, Hattie Peraino shared that the Healing Touch Center in Farmington Hills, Michigan, celebrated its 20th anniversary on March 30, 2019! You can read more about the Center in Hattie's recent post on the Crazy Wisdom Community Journal.
Judy Stoddard shared the following: "When I first started learning HT and was inexperienced, I would ask for the work to be done even if my hand positions were not placed correctly, realizing that energy goes where it is needed. As I work, I ask to be led and regularly say mental blessings, particularly when over the heart or crown chakras. I frequently use a Celtic peace blessing, the Buddhist Metta, (loving kindness blessing) or other appropriate blessings. When I silently ask, "may my hands be Your hands", I am opening myself to Spirit working through me as a conduit. When grounding at the end of a session, I silently give thanks for the session and for learning the modality."
Quarterly Group Read
The read chosen for the second quarter of 2019 is Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst by Robert Sapolsky. Dr. Sapolsky came to the University of Tennessee last spring and lectured as part of Brain Awareness Week. His presentation was based on this book and I immediately went out and purchased because I found it all so fascinating from both a scientific standpoint and through the lens of a healer. Though not always explicitly stated, cellular memory and energetics are woven all through this book, and Dr. Sapolsky deftly explains the biological consequences our environment have on our bodies and behavior. I also think it is very useful as one thinks about the causes and consequences of energetic patterns.
Online Discussion Groups
I will again be hosting online Zoom sessions to provide a space for support, connection, and dialogue with me in a small group setting. Use this link to submit your interest in the sessions scheduled for 2019. Dates and more information about the sessions can be found on the online form.
Meditation for April
As we think about and send love to our planetary home, this video from Meditative Mind provides Solfeggio tones to clear the chakras and deepen our connection to the Earth.
Become an Evergreen Supporter
Join me in becoming an Evergreen Supporter of Healing Beyond Borders. I've pledged to support the mission and vision of Healing Beyond Borders through an automatic credit card deduction each month. For more information, including giving levels, visit the store on our website and click on the Evergreen Support tab.
Online Store
And speaking of our store, have you seen all of the new products in our online store? There are quite a few new resources, supplies, and gifts that can support your learning, practice, and teaching. Profits from the sale of products from our online store directly support the mission of Healing Beyond Borders.
In light,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, FGSA, CHTP
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia
Photo by Joel Anderson
March 2019 President Monthly Ezine
Happy Healing Touch Day!
Since 1996, March 6 has been an anniversary of our organization. Twenty-three years later, Healing Touch continues to provide healing to individuals across the planet in pursuit of the vision to spread healing, light, and love, creating wholeness on Earth.
This anniversary has me thinking about the 'butterfly effect' - the idea that our actions and words ripple out into the world in unseen and unknown ways. There is no way that we could enumerate the lives touched by this heart-centered work over past 23 years by all of those involved. Indeed, it is impossible for any one of us to determine all of the individuals for whom our healing presence has made a significant, positive impact, to say nothing of our healing influence on the animals, plants, and ecosystems of the planet. But I know that we have, and continue to, make a meaningful difference in the world.
"What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make." ~ Jane Goodall
As students, practitioners, and instructors of Healing Touch, we have consciously and consistently chosen to embody the Attributes of the Heart - to "spread healing, light and love worldwide" in pursuit of the highest good for all of the life that inhabits this world. My hope is that today we each take a moment to reflect on our place within this community of light-working butterflies and the power, sacredness, and exquisiteness of our healing presence.
Member Spotlight
Got a story to share? Let me know! If you'd like to share what you're doing in a member spotlight, please use this form to let me know what you're up to! I'll then incorporate these stories into Perspectives in Healing and future ezines to share with our global community.
Quarterly Group Read
The read chosen for the first quarter of 2019 is How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery. It is a small but mighty book that shares the simple wisdom of animals and how we can learn so much more from them than they might ever learn from us.
Online Discussion Groups
Want to join an online Zoom session and a space for support, connection, and dialogue with me in a small group setting? Use this link to submit your interest in the sessions scheduled for 2019. Dates and more information about the sessions can be found on the online form.
Meditation for March
The meditation this month is our Healing Touch Day meditation for worldwide healing, light, love, and peace.
Become an Evergreen Supporter
Join me in becoming an Evergreen Supporter of Healing Beyond Borders. I've pledged to support the mission and vision of Healing Beyond Borders through an automatic credit card deduction each month. For more information, including giving levels, visit the store on our website and click on the Evergreen Support tab.
Online Store
And speaking of our store, have you seen all of the new products in our online store? There are quite a few new resources, supplies, and gifts that can support your learning, practice, and teaching. Profits from the sale of products from our online store directly support the mission of Healing Beyond Borders.
In light,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, FGSA, CHTP
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors
"A Swirl of Terns" Commissioned Sculpture by Stefan SaVides
Sky Lakes Medical Center, Klamath Falls, OR
Photo by Lisa Anselme
I discovered the writings and work of Maya Angelou during high school, first with her memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Throughout my late teens and twenties, I read and reread her books, poetry, and essays, hearing in her voice an understanding and knowledge of some of the aspects of life with which I struggled. I dazzled at her turn of phrase and ability to imbue simple words with such meaning and wisdom.
In 1995, Dr. Angelou wrote her poem A Brave and Startling Truth to mark the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. That fall, she spoke at my university and I was thrilled to see and hear her in person for the first time. I still have the poster from the event. You can imagine my excitement just a few years later when I found myself living in the same city as Dr. Angelou and shopping with her at Whole Foods!
Her words and writing seem to be one of the first places my mind goes when it tries to make sense of life and world events. Over the past few days, I've been thinking about her poetry as I watch the news and think about my place in the world as a healer.
We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines
In her book Mom & Me & Mom, she writes,
"Love heals. Heals and liberates. I use the word love, not meaning sentimentality, but a condition so strong that it may be that which holds the stars in their heavenly positions and that which causes the blood to flow orderly in our veins."
As I think about all of the ways in which I do and can learn to embody the Attributes of the Heart, including unconditional love, I think about those wisdom keepers whose words seem to pierce through any number of paradigms, ideas, and philosophies, taking one to the heart of the matter. That's what I find in Maya Angelou's words-the Attributes of the Heart. During a month in which many of us are bombarded with the sentimentality of Valentine's Day, may we all find within ourselves, and those we hold dear, love that heals and liberates.
Member Spotlight
Got a story to share? Let me know! If you'd like to share what you're doing in a member spotlight, please use this form to let me know what you're up to! I'll then incorporate these stories into Perspectives in Healing and future ezines to share with our global community.
Quarterly Group Read
The read chosen for the first quarter of 2019 is How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery. It is a small but mighty book that shares the simple wisdom of animals and how we can learn so much more from them than they might ever learn from us.
Online Discussion Groups
I will again be hosting online Zoom sessions to provide a space for support, connection, and dialogue with me in a small group setting. Use this link to submit your interest in the sessions scheduled for 2019. Dates and more information about the sessions can be found on the online form.
Meditation for February
Continuing with the theme of healing and love, this video from Meditative Mind provides a sound bath for the heart chakra and a backdrop for heart-focused meditation.
Become an Evergreen Supporter
Join me in becoming an Evergreen Supporter of Healing Beyond Borders. I've pledged to support the mission and vision of Healing Beyond Borders through an automatic credit card deduction each month. For more information, including giving levels, visit the store on our website and click on the Evergreen Support tab.
Online Store
And speaking of our store, have you seen all of the new products in our online store? There are quite a few new resources, supplies, and gifts that can support your learning, practice, and teaching. Profits from the sale of products from our online store directly support the mission of Healing Beyond Borders.
In light,
Joel G. Anderson, PhD, FGSA, CHTP
President, Healing Beyond Borders Board of Directors