Nearly every child in America can tell you the story of Cinderella. Some of them have watched the Disney version of the movie so often they can recite the dialogue. By the time they are old enough for the story of Cinderella to be of real emotional help to them, they have heard it so …Read More
Category: Ancient Wisdom
Winter Solstice ~ Season of Yule
December 21st marks the Winter Solstice. This is the darkest of days — the day with the shortest daylight hours. From here on out, the days get longer. Even in the depth of the winter season, this is the day to celebrate the returning of the light. My friend Janis McCall lives in Scotland where …Read More
Good Timber ~ Douglas Malloch
Today’s inspiration comes from “The Lumberman’s Poet” as he was affectionately known. Douglas Malloch grew up in Michigan among logging camps and lumber yards. He wrote this poem when he was just a boy. As I scale the mountains and descend into the valleys of life, this poem reminds me that trees (and people) grow …Read More
Walking with Your Prayer
“I have walked in the hills and forests with this prayer, whispered it into crystal rocks before casting them into wild flowing water. I say it aloud daily at my altar and silently in meditation at the new and full moon cycles.” ~ Janis McCall When the events of the world seem so big, I …Read More
Storytelling as Medicine ~ Workshop
For many indigenous peoples, “medicine” is anything that heals the body, mind, emotions, or spirit. Beyond the herbs and drugs to heal the physical body, this expanded definition of “medicine” includes the healing power of stories to change our hearts, inspire our spirits, and move our minds past limiting beliefs. When we release our raw …Read More
Heal Your Life in the Dreamtime ~ Robert Moss
We all have the capability — like the Indigenous shaman — to look to our dreams to better our lives, says bestselling author and dream shaman Robert Moss. You stand at the edge of this power when you remember your dreams, wake up to what’s going on in them, and take action to embody their …Read More
The Taoist Multi-Verse, Elon Musk, and The Matrix ~ Gaofei Yan
Zhuangzi Dreams of a Butterfly One day, Zhuangzi is taking a nap and begins to dream. In his dream, he is a butterfly. What is the butterfly doing in the dream? The butterfly is also taking a nap and dreaming. The butterfly dreams that he is Zhuangzi. And what is Zhuangzi doing in that dream? …Read More
World Storytelling Day 2020
“No story lives unless someone wants to listen.” ~ J. K. Rowling World Storytelling Day celebrates the art of oral storytelling. People around the world tell and listen to stories in as many languages and as many places as possible on this one day, the March equinox. This day also marks the beginning of Spring …Read More
Can you Exorcise Depression? ~ Andrew Solomon
“Spirits leave me alone to complete the business of my life and know that I’ll never forget you.” Andrew Solomon’s long battle with depression first brought him to traditional Western medicine with medication and counseling. As a writer, this struggle led him to research treatments in other parts of the world. He tells a colorful …Read More
Take Your Medicine Wheel
“You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle. That is because the power of the world always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. The sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in …Read More