Podcast Episode 16

Theme(s): Grief, Loss and Transformation
Related Links:
Elizabeth Rose website for podcasts & interview applications:
https://RoseBlossomTLC.com

Poetry, Authors & Books:
Paul David Walker
https://www.geniusstone.com

Deena Metzger
https://deenametzger.net

David R. Hawkins ~ on Grief
Power vs. Force: The Hidden Determinants of Human Behavior
https://www.veritaspub.com

Music:
Laurianne Fiorentino
https://lauriannefiorentino.com/
Michael Kott – cello

Martha Reich
https://marthareich.com
Michael Kott – cello

Chinmaya Dunster
https://newearthrecords.com/artists/music-by-chinmaya-dunster/

Chris Chickering
https://chrischickeringmusic.com/

All Musicians are present on soundcloud.com

Elizabeth Rose, thanks for joining me. Whole Brain Podcast. Designed to assist you in your daily creations.

Episode Sixteen. Welcome.

Stop and Smell the Roses
Theme: Grief, Loss, Transformation. Go figure, why that theme just before Valentines Day, which celebrates Love ~ I don’t know, that is what Spirit said to speak about.
February 12 would be the 40th Anniversary of Alan Hutner’s show and my show, Transitions Radio Magazine and then we (Alan & I) got married on Valentine’s Day ~ just like my grandparents did ~ thought that would be cool. In Santa Fe style, we did have our Astrologer look at the best time for us to get married; late morning ~ was one of the best days of my life, that and giving birth to my daughter, and the very sad death of my mother and I’ve had many in-between ~ very grateful for.

Poetry of Paul David Walker and Deena Metzger. Music of Laurianne Fiorentino, Martha Reich, Michael Kott, Chinmaya Dunster and Chris Chickering.

First, going to read the prologue from Paul David Walker’s book Storms and Clearings. He is a poet, a philosopher and a Leadership coach for CEO’s and Fortune 500 companies. Had the great pleasure of meeting Paul back in the day. He was a lovely man. Felt like his Prologue was important to give voice to and to recite his poem called Hard Winter. Going to go to the music of Chinmaya Dunster from his 2009 album, Land of the Buddhas, this song is called Elephant Spawn. Learn more about Chinmaya Dunster as an artist and you can purchase his music at newearthrecords.com. Chinmaya is going to provide the sound bed…also for the poem The First of Us.

“It is my experience, that a poet’s job is to explore the unknown and come back and make a report. These are my reports. Meant to be read out loud, even if you’re alone, give voice to them. They are songs as much as poems. Please do not look for hidden messages or meaning. Just let them take you on a journey. Be open to whatever you discover for yourself. Inspired by the muses, both living and dead, Reason for writing these poems is to be part of creating a world that looks like the following; we are a world that:

Celebrates, nurtures and protects the human spirit in all its diversity.
Is committed to freedom, equality, and personal accountability
Teaches children to express and share love unconditionally
Protects the minority, while being an expression of consensus
Uses the status quo as a platform to explore the unknown
Compels its people to be involved in the discovery of the unknown
Provides opportunity to be a part of change or a pillar of history
Loves and understands first and is slow to judge

Here’s his poem called Hard Winter:

Winter came in dark and cold this year. Leaning against the raging wind tired me, and forced me to hold on and protect my frightened heart from being torn out by the sudden and thoughtless freezing gales. My flowers suddenly withered and died. Growing slowed and I fell to earth. My juices and rhythms hid deep within. And reaching out was painful and constrained. My winter was so close to death this year. I thought spring would never come again. I saved each breath to build walls and will to hide the failing light and dimming dreams. But just this morning I heard a song about the world dying to believe in freedom. I saw my roses opening up to the movement and warmth of the certain spring. The sun is stronger now, as it pierces my clouds and maybe it’s just a desperate hope, but gentle birds are singing and drawing. My heart to glide across golden waters. My mind paints pictures of lovely dreams instead of dark fears and sorrowful wars. My ears hear symphonies opening with light. Instead of lonely songs of dark closing death. I am more easily drawn to tears and dreams and there is a yearning to come home again. My heart is climbing out of the dead soil, though it still fears the killing frost.

Here’s another poem by Paul David Walker from Storms & Clearings: First of Us

This windy spring afternoon, just before the flying sand drove us off the beach, I heard the voices of old friends mixed with the laughter of children. Tell me that you died. All my senses suddenly snapped to attention, and life seemed more fragile. I walked twice as far today, and held my heart all night to know that you, the most gentle among us, are the first of us to die. The first in our circle committed to “make a difference in the lives of people,” to leave this hard world. You were always the first to love, to see the other side, to defend the fallen. And now the first to die. I hope that you will stay with us a while in spirit. To touch our hearts from death as you did in life, because I need your assurance once again.

So beautiful! That reminds me of the Constellation Way – that work definitely helped me to strengthen my connection with the unseen dimensions and those that do cross over. Helped me so much.

Laurianne Fiorentino / Teardrop Song / When I’m An Angel
2017 / beautiful song about the heart; needing to cry; movement is very essential in loss, death, grief ~ helps to transform that energy. Movement: whether it’s tears or walking, dancing; move very important.

David R. Hawkins – Power versus Force: The levels of human consciousness: Grief 4th of 15 level. “This is the level of sadness, loss and dependency. Most of us have experienced it for periods of time, but those who remain at this level, live a life of constant regret and depression. This is the level of mourning, bereavement and remorse about the past. Habitual losers, chronic gamblers who accept failure as part of their lifestyle, resulting in loss of jobs, friends, family, opportunity, health and money. Major losses early in life make one vulnerable to passive acceptance of grief later on, as though sorrow were the price of life. In grief, one sees sadness everywhere – in little children, in life itself. This level colors one’s entire vision of existence. Part of the syndrome of grief is the notion of irreplaceability of what’s been lost or that which it symbolized. A generalization from the particular; so that loss of a loved one is equated with the loss of love; at this level, such emotional losses, may trigger a serious depression or death. Although grief is the cemetery of life, has more energy than apathy; when a traumatized, apathetic patients begins to cry, we know they are getting better. Once they start to cry, they will eat again.

Do not wallow in your grief, my friend. It’s normal to have one or two years grieving the loss of someone or something, but after that it’s time to move on, otherwise you subject yourself
to the possibility of being stuck in that energy and behavior for a very long time. So please, use your tears, use your walking and please move the energy and move out of it.

Martha Reich / Little Wings / Into Trees
Go to her website: marthareich.com

Michael Kott, plays on both of these songs…a cellist that we’re so lucky to have here in Santa Fe and accompanies many musicians during their music performances.

Music of Laurianne Fiorentino & Martha Reich, Chinmaya Dunster and Chris Chickering all on soundcloud.com
Enjoy!

Seg. 2

Wake Up & Smell the Coffee!
Take it up a notch, Smooth cup of coffee
Going from winter to spring ~ thank goodness

Feature the poetry of Deena Metzger and the music of Chris Chickering to honor this Whole Brain Podcast ~ stimulating the left (brain) by much of the talk and stimulating your right (brain) by the music.

Poetry of Deena Metzger – Deena is an essayist, novelist, storyteller, teacher, healer, medicine woman. Counseled others for over 50 years from her book of poetry Ruin and Beauty: new and selected poems.

The Mystery of the Birds:
(Spring is coming. The thawing is coming.) In the morning, we were seated in the garden, l learning the way. The mystery in ecstatic feathers, crimson lapis, amber, vermilion, is enamored with the dusky gray bird, The male desires the invisible, while she must be satisfied with splendor. The sap is running evenly up and down the World Tree. In a universe without direction, the center is everywhere. Last night, after a season, of a single tone, an owl answered another lonely owl and then, unable to keep their calls separate, they mated in separate octaves of song before ten women in a room on the eve of a wedding. This is the secret: great striped and speckled creatures feel rapture in the presence of the plain. Here is the practice: Behold! Be aware. Touch. Bow down in awe.

A Lake in the Mind:
What’s essential is a lake in the mind, and then this wind freshening, blowing through the windows, insistent with the assurance of morning, but now the shimmer of the first moon on the waters, and the blue glimmer of the night sky alive with invisible stars and such a long draught of silence – the water clear and coming from the source which is either at the very core of the earth or somewhere far beyond earth in the heavens – that we speak of it in the only language we know, the early morning or midnight of the lake, the first streak of birdsong across the waters, the way the moonlight breaks, this language, being the only language for what it is we wish to speak about without saying a word, the early morning or midnight of the lake and the first streak of birdsong and the wind blowing across the surface and the mind like a bell.

Ruin & Beauty
Ruin and beauty:
Despair not, there will be a future;
There will be a future before or after we die.
There are those who are trying to set fire to the world.
We are in danger. There is time only to work slowly.
There is no time not to love.

Music of Chris Chickering in just a minute, but I do want to mention a little more about grief. Elisabeth Kubler Ross wrote a book on Death & Dying in 1969. Describes stages of grief does have a pattern to it: death of a loved one: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. I have noticed with my own grief which I had a cascade of it, starting in 2015 going til 2020 – in a four year period, I can’t tell you how much I lost, but I lost a lot. There were experiences in which I very distinctly went through these stages of loss and experiences in which I came to know my loss as a deeply human experience. Also one which helped me to grow and have more compassion for others. In this letting go, there was a passive sort of acceptance – I understand that is not ideal, but that is how I felt. I accepted the loss more easily than I would have prior to this.

Chris Chickering / Shadow of Doubt / The Resurrection of Me

Definitely has that good male energy of “don’t give up, hold on, another day is coming.” That’s good to know when you are in grief, loss and transformation. That there is another day coming. I really do feel that, even though we are in this time of great transition folks, that another day is coming. Be patient. Pray. Be the Light that you are and of the Light You Shall Remain. Lots of love to you this coming week. Happy Valentines Day. Here’s Chris.

Lyrics to Teardrop Song by Laurianne Fiorentino 2017

All the tears you never cry,
Sit it the dark and wonder why
They’re just dying to fall,
For the thrill of it all
From a heavy heart

Every tear that you deny,
Becomes a tiny little lie
Why not let the truth fall,
For the thrill of it all
From a heavy heart

Y’know a teardrop has no shame
Every sunbeam feels the same
A heavy heart is like a sun
Who won’t shine for anyone

You never see a heavy sun
Rain or shine it’s all for fun
Why not let the tears fall
For the thrill of it all
Making light a heavy heart

And It’s a perfect day
When a teardrop gets its way
And like a sunbeam gets to fall
For the thrill of it all
Making light a heavy heart
So let the teardrops fall
For the thrill of it all
Making light a heavy heart

Lyrics to Little Wings by Martha Reich 2011

It’s just an empty page
there’s no need to be afraid
but sometimes we feel a little lost
when everyone has flown away.
you are not alone
and where you stand is not your only home
there is someone watching over you
though you can not see them
this is what they are telling you.

Chorus:
Don’t look down, don’t look down
look up to the sky
soon your little wings will be strong enough to fly
just look up, just look up and all around
it’s in the clouds that you’ll be found

there’s no need to be ashamed
just because you don’t want to go
out in the rain
we all grow at our own speed
soon you’ll be singing to me from that willow tree.

Bridge:
where did you go, where did you go
when I wasn’t looking
What did you say, what did you say
when I couldn’t hear
now that your gone my heart is broken
oh how I wish, you were still near.

Lyrics to Shadow of Doubt words and music by Chris Chickering & Greg Barnhill 2014

Don’t think it’s over
when over is only a ghost
Just open a window
when you feel the doors have all closed

And just hold on
Another day’s coming along if you let it so
Hold out
There’s a lining of silver that traces the shadow of doubt

Don’t say ya can’t
when ya know damn well deep that ya can
Don’t turn away
oh now don’t let the fear steal your chance

And just hold on
Another day’s comin’ along if you let it, so
Hold out
There’s a lining of silver that traces the shadow of doubt

There’s another way
Always another road
So it’s steady on
And be good to yourself as you go

There will be rain
and the wind it may blow you off course
But don’t be denied
of the destiny waiting that’s yours

And just hold on
Another day’s comin’ along if you let it, so
Hold out
There’s a lining of silver that traces the shadow

Hold on
Another day’s comin’ along if you let it, so
Hold out
There’s a lining of silver that traces the shadow of doubt

John TaylEnd Seg I & 2

All songs are available at soundcloud.com

Chinmaya Dunster / Elephant Spawn / Land of Buddhas
Martha Reich / Little Wings / In To Trees
Lauria / Teardrop / When I’m an Angel
Chris Chickering / Shadow of Doubt / The Resurrection of Me