Author: Jamie Dedes

Jamie Dedes is a Lebanese-American poet and free-lance writer. She is the founder and curator of The Poet by Day, info hub for poets and writers, and the founder of The Bardo Group, publishers of The BeZine, of which she was the founding editor and currently a co-manager editor with Michael Dickel. Ms. Dedes is the Poet Laureate of Womawords Press 2020 and U.S associate to that press as well. Her debut collection, "The Damask Garden," is due out fall 2020 from Blue Dolphin Press.
Posted in General Interest, The BeZine, The BeZine Table of Contents

February 2016, Vol.2/Issue 5 ~ Theme: All God’s Creatures

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

15 February 2016

“All God’s Creatures” … and what a menagerie we have, mostly dogs, cats and human beings … okay, a spider, a pig, a frog, a fly and a few birds.

This is a fun issue, though it has its inspirational moments too with the themed lead features by our premier essayists, Michael Watson and Priscilla Galasso; a lesson in detente from our resident Cannoness, Terri Stewart; and with characteristic grace, good criter-loving book recommendations and a call for compassion from Corina Ravenscraft. Judith Westerfield is back for a visit with An Amnesty for Daddy Longlegs, a short piece with a double-edge.

Under humor, Mafia Cats (Roger McGough) and The Pig (Roald Dahl) should put smiles on your faces.

For the poetry lovers, there is quite a collection of poems in both the themed section and under “More Light.” Michael Dickel and John Anstie share themed poems.

Core team member, Joseph Hesch, offers two signature pieces – one poem, one flash fiction – and resident skeptic, James R. Cowels, tickles our brains with Life, Death, and the “Establishment Clause.”

Under art, check out Gretchen Del Rio’s beautiful spirit-animal paintings of my grand-kitty, Gypsy Rose.

Aprilia Zand is back – Hooray! – this time with a poem.

New in this issue with impressive bios and even more impressive work: Roger Allen Baut, Ann Bracken, Christi Moon and Judith Black.

You’ll enjoy a couple of true adventures in the Storytelling section with Judith Black in Turkey. She’s a funny lady.

Under best practices learn how Zena Hagerty and fellow artists turned the James Street area of Hamilton, Ontario from a rough neighborhood into an arts enclave where art crawls are held regularly, pulling the community together.

The featured interviews this month are Sharon Frye, Matt Pasca, Michael Dickel and Charlie Martin. All the interviews offer value added by virtue of vision and wisdom.

Many thanks to Michael Dickel for introducing Ann Bracken and Matt Pasca, to Naomi Baltuck for introducing Judith Black, and to Native American Girl for the music selection.

Enjoy! Let us know what you think in the comments section and with your likes. Thanks for joining with us in the celebration of life, love and art.

In the spirit of peace and community,
Jamie Dedes
Managing Editor

THEME: ALL GOD’S CHILDREN

Lead Features

At the Bird Feeder, Michael Watson
All that Matters, Priscilla Galasso
Reflections on Snowy Owl and Raven, Terri Stewart
Animal Stories, Corina Ravenscraft
Campaigning for Compassion, Corina Ravenscraft
Giving Amnesty to Daddy Longlegs, Judith Westerfield

Humor

Mafia Cats, Roger McGough
The Pig, Roald Dahl
Cat v Comma, Grammerly

Poetry

A Dog’s Life, John Anstie
Snow Dog, John Anstie
Frog, Michael Dickel
Fancy Flight, Michael Dickel
Reading the Signs, Aprilia Zank

Art

The Several Faces of Gypsy Rose, art/Gretchen Del Rio, words/Jamie Dedes

MORE LIGHT

Special Feature/Best Practice

How One City’s Artists Transformed a “Rough’ Neighborhood into an Arts Enclave, Zena Hagerty

Storytelling

Welcome to Istanbul, Not Constantinople, Judith Black
Stray Dogs and Shtreimels: What Does Istanbul and Mea Shearim Have in Common?, Judith Black

Poetry

Ghost Dance, Roger Allen Baut
The Code, Ann Bracken
Transformation, Joseph Hesch
Musicman, Christi Moon
Dandelions, Christi Moon
Nyctalopia, Christi Moon

Flash Fiction

Kansas Pacific, Joseph Hesch

Essay

Life, Death, and the “Establishment Clause”, James R. Cowles

Music

Red Shift Blues, The Sweet Lowdown
Chickens Under the Washtub and Western Country, The Sweet Lowdown

Getting to Know You

Interview with Sharon Gariepy Frye, a.k.a. Sharon Frye
Interview with Matt Pasca
Educating the Teacher: Poet to Poet, Ann Bracken and Michael Dickel
Charles W. Martin and the Ever-loveable Aunt Bea

Connect with us …

Beguine Again, Spirtual Community and Practice

Facebook, The Bardo Group Beguines

Twitter, The Bardo Group Beguines

 

Posted in General Interest

HEADS-UP TODAY: BLUE SKY HIGHWAY “VALENTINES, HEARTS AND EPIPHANIES” ON BLOG-TALK RADIO AND SOUND CLOUD

Posted on by Jamie Dedes
(c) Frank Webster http://fwebster.com
(c) Frank Webster

The Creative Nexus™ is pleased to announce that Season Two, [episode 004] of the Blue Sky Highway [BSH], entitled Valentines, Hearts & Epiphanies, will première at 2:00 p.m. ET, on BlogTalkRadio [BTR] and at 2:15 p.m. ET, on Sunday, February 14, 2016, on SoundCloud [SC] HERE .”

The latest episode continues in its ‘contemplative’ theme with alternative, ambient, contemporary, experimental, indie forms of music, mashups and more, as well as spoken word, vocals, and soundscapes.

Each episode of the BSH is designed to be without an excessive amount of talking, and/or comments, so the listener will ‘not’ be distracted from the various tracks and artists, that compose the show. The focus of the BSH continues to be placed upon the music, the artist, and their creative endeavors, and to encourage creative folk, everywhere, to work together and promote each others endeavors for the mutual benefit of all humanity, and the planet. If we are going to survive, advance, and succeed as a species we need to start working together as soon as possible.

– The Creative Nexus

c Frank Webster
c Frank Webster

Thanks to Roger Allen Baut (Chasing Tao) of Creative Nexus™ and Blue Sky Highway for sharing this announcement with us and for the fine work he does to bring a great diversity of artists together in support of one another.  J.D.

Posted in General Interest

little bear

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

Another lovely spirit animal from our dear artist, Gretchen Del Rio.

Gretchen Del Rio's avatarGretchen Del Rio's Art Blog

watercolor aceo 2/2016 watercolor aceo 2/2016

‘Teach me how to trust my heart, my mind, my intuition, my inner knowing, the senses of my body, the blessings of my spirit. Teach me to trust these things so that I may enter my sacred space and love beyond my fear and thus walk in balance with the passing of each glorious sun.’ ……lakota prayer

purchase this painting

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Posted in General Interest, justice

Help for Compromised Citizens of the World

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

I thought it would be nice if we all had a list of charitable organizations that assist refugees and others living in compromised situations to easily share on our Facebook Pages and our blogs and so forth. I took some time to gather the info. Nonetheless, I’m sure I’ve left some worthy organizations out. If anyone knows of an organization that should be included, please leave it in the comments section and I’ll keep track for an update sometime in the future. Meanwhile, you can also check on a charity’s performance record at: Charity Navigator. So if inclined please do download this and feel free to share anywhere you feel it’s warranted, maybe even on employee, union and/or church affiliated sites. J.D.

IMG_7406 (2)

 

Posted in 100,000 Poets, Musicians, Artists and Activists for Change, General Interest, Peace & Justice, Poets/Writers

In Conversation: Poet/Musician Graffiti Bleu & Michael Rothenberg, co-founder of the global initiative, 100,000 Poets for Change

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

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You can listen to the two-hour podcast HERE. Recommended! This post is meant as an alert and also to share my two cents.

As I write, it’s just a few hours after listening to Just My Thoughts with Graffiti Bleu on BlogTalk Radio. The show started with an exploration of What does the revolution look like? with Graffiti Blue, Michael Rothenberg, and the show’s panel and callers comprised of poets involved in 100,000 Poets for Change (100TPC).

Harkening back to Gil Scott-Heron and his poem, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,  part of the discussion was on technology and social networking and their roles in fostering peace, social justice and sustainability. When Heron wrote his poem in 1971, the means to formulate and distribute information and opinion were dominated by mainstream media and corporate interest, which were not in sympathy with the revolution Heron envisioned. Those interests are still dominant and still lack sympathy, but there’s something of a balance occurring – however imperfect – now that we plain folk have access to the tools of technology and social networking. Without social networking, we wouldn’t have 100TPC, which can happily be said to have gone viral since Michael Rothenberg put out a call on Facebook for poets to join in a global peace effort back in 2010. While each of us in the “100,000” has a relatively small “audience” together we touch many, many minds and hearts. We do have an agenda, but it doesn’t foment strife. We’re not in anyone’s pocket. That’s clean power. It’s power to …

On a personal level, one benefit of technology is that people who are homebound – as I sometimes am – can take part in change-making initiatives more actively than simply writing letters-to-the-editor or to our legislators, which is not to say we should give that up. I started a virtual 100TPC via The BeZine and with The Bardo Group Beguines so that disabled people and people who do not live near a 100TPC event would have the opportunity to have their say, to lend their support. Our 2015 commemorative page is HERE.

We need to do more than “talk.”  Agreed. And I think that one of things 100TPC gives us is hope … huge hope from seeing that there are people in every nook-and-cranny of the world who share our values and priorities. This helps us to keep on keeping on with our local grassroots initiatives as well as our broader advocacy. This serves to sustain our faith and commitment.

Ultimately for me, 100TPC is about breaking down barriers, crossing boarders. It leads the way in our evolutionary journey toward a sustainable peace. In the documentary film Ten Questions for the Dalai Lama, the Dalai Lama says “we need more festivals.”  In other words, if we get to know people, if we break bread with them or share a bowl of rice, we are less likely to think of them as “other.”  It will be more difficult to turn around the next day and do harm.  100TPC is our festival. Once we’ve shared hearts, souls and stories through poetry, how can we marginalize anyone? How can we abandon or abuse?

Can the revolution be bloodless? The question is really “will it be?” I don’t think so. I don’t think revolutions are by their very nature “bloodless.” The psychopaths will always be with us and until we stop marginalizing people and leaving them desperate and vulnerable to tyrants, we’ll never have bloodless reform. We’ll never achieve a sustainable peace. Peace is a state that takes awareness and awareness takes growth, which is an evolutionary process.  That doesn’t mean we should give up. It means that as poets we should continue to bear witness, to touch hearts, to raise consciousness and to nurture the process of growth. As poet Michael Dickel said in an interview on this site HERE: “. . . it may not be ours to see the work completed, but that does not free us from the responsibility to do the work.”

– Jamie Dedes

© 2016, words, Jamie Dedes (The Poet by Day), All rights reserved; photograph courtesy of Graffiti Bleu and Michael Rothenberg.

Posted in General Interest, justice, Peace & Justice

MLK’s Legacy … in his footsteps

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

2016015699419aee083by Rev. Ben Meyers, Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo (UUSM), CA

This past Saturday (January 16), in the North Central Neighborhood of San Mateo, the children in the county school system gathered at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Center to listen and support the poets, essayists, and artists who participated in this year’s (the 31st annual) event. Afterward, everyone was invited to gather at UUSM, to celebrate the children and to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. and his legacy with activities, music and buffet.

In most communities across the country, the practice of inviting school-age children to ponder King’s legacy and its impact on the American culture and society is fast becoming a standard practice and tradition. This year’s MLK contest topic encourages an exploration of other leaders who were influenced by King’s message of hope, unity, enfranchisement, and peace. It is right that the “next” generation engage in the continuance of King’s impact because we live in a time when those ideas are daily challenged by continued despair, disparity, and violence. We can yet ask, “Where do we go from here?”

FullSizeRender-1As we celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birth today, let this be a time when, along with paying our respects to the memory of King’s life and his historic legacy, we raise our consciences from our “moments of comfort and convenience” and ask ourselves in ways never before, “Where are we standing among the current challenges and controversies that yet plague our communities, thwarting our dreams of equality and shredding the network of mutuality of which Dr. King spoke so eloquently?” It is time to know where, or even if, we stand for justice and equity and peace.

If we do not like the answer to our inquiry, let us have the courage and the audacity to move ourselves from our comfort and complacency to a place more inconveniently situated, and stand tall.

© Rev. Ben Meyers, all rights reserved

Posted in General Interest, The BeZine Table of Contents

The BeZine, 15 Jan. 2016, Vol.2, Issue 4 (Parents and Parenting), Table of Contents with Links

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

Published by Second Light Network of Women Poets, Parents, an anthology of poems by women writers (Enitharmon/Second Light, 2000) was the inspiration for this month’s theme. What a wonderful idea. Parents are after all universal, even when the one who parents is a surrogate. This month The Bardo Group Beguines and friends have taken on parenting as well as parents and  present an interesting blend of insights and experience.

BUDDHA AS PARENT

Young Prince Rāhula prompted by his mother to ask for his inheritance, left behind by the Buddha after His renunciation. Instead, the Buddha told Venerable Sariputta (Sariputra) to ordain Prince Rāhula, giving him a spiritual inheritance better than the one he asked for.
Young Prince Rāhula prompted by his mother to ask for his inheritance, left behind by the Buddha after His renunciation. Instead, the Buddha told Venerable Sariputta (Sariputra) to ordain Prince Rāhula, giving him a spiritual inheritance better than the one he asked for.

The lead feature, Buddha as Parent, is by Gil Fronsdal.  Gil was ordained as a Soto Zen priest at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1982. In 1995 he received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. Gil currently serves on the SF Zen Center Elders’ Council. He is the primary teacher at the Redwood City Insight Meditation Center in California and he teaches at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in Woodacre, California where he is part of the Teacher’s Council. His books include the ever popular Issue at Hand: Essays on Buddhist Mindfulness and A Monastery Within: Tales from the Buddhist Path.

If you have read the life story of Buddha, you may have been disconcerted to find as I was that the Buddha was an absentee father. Gil says however:

“…that after his awakening, the Buddha became his son’s primary parent for most of the boy’s childhood. From the time Rāhula was seven, he was under the care of his father, who proved to be a remarkably effective parent: Rāhula had reached full awakening by the time he reached adulthood. So we can ask, what kind of parent was the Buddha?”

In exploring the Buddha as a parent, we get some insight into how we too might bequeath a spiritual inheritance.

c Corina Ravenscraft
c Corina Ravenscraft

We move on to read Corina Ravenscraft’s touching feature Art Lessons about the support and inspiration her artist mother provided and Priscilla Galasso’s The Nature of Nurture, about her experience of parenting.

“Parenting is a living thing, a responsive dance with biology, and although we humans are biologically social creatures, heavy-handed social structure can strangle our relationships and bind us into damaging patterns.”

Resident storyteller Naomi Baltuck – whose family wins the award for most original family photos and best costume parties – generously offers two of her wise photo stories on theme.

We have a rich collection of poems under both “Parents and Parenting” and the “More Light” section. These include works by three poets proudly added to our pages: award-winning New York poet, Matt Pasca along with Lance Sheridan and Ampat Varghese Koshy.  Incuded among the poets are Myra Schneider and Dilys Wood, who share their poems from the anthology, Parents.

Under music you’ll find Walkin’ Home, so beautifully written and sung by Iris DeMent.

James Cowels and John Anstie offer thought-provoking essays under “More Light” and Marlyn Suarez-Exconde – also new to our pages – combines words and art into a pleasant nugget of wisdom.

Getting to Know You, a new section, features charming interviews of team members, Cornia Ravenscraft and Priscilla Galasso.

Read. Learn. Laugh. Cry … share your thoughs in the comment sections and show your appreciation of contributors with “likes.”  Join us next month for “All God’s Creatures.”

Special thanks to Moshe Dickel for letting us use his painting for this month’s header, to team member, Michael Dickel, for introducing Matt Pesca, and to award-winning British poet Anne Stewart for her kind and constant assistance in getting permissions for me from writers and publishers in the UK.

Don’t forget to visit The BeZine sister site, the spiritual community, Beguine Again, where you can enjoy Terri Stewart’s inspirational posts for daily spiritual practice. These have been well-received and are beginning to go viral.  Bravo!

On behalf of The Bardo Group Beguines and in the spirit of peace and community,
Jamie Dedes
Managing Editor

PARENTS and PARENTING

Lead Feature:

Budda as Parent, Gil Fronsdale

Parent:

Art Lessons, Corina Ravenscraft

Parenting:

The Nature of Nurture, Priscilla Galasso

Memoir

Remembering Mom, Jamie Dedes

Photostories

Magnum Opus, Naomi Baltuck
Back Down to Earth, Naomi Baltic

Poetry:

Squeezing a Penny, Jamie Dedes
Nursery Rhymed, Michael Dickel
Hearts and Glowers, Joseph Hesch
Three Poems by Ampat Koshy, Ampat Varghese Koshy
Jigsaw Puzzle, Charles Martin
Walking Around Monaco, Matt Pasca
Soup and Slavery, Myra Schneider
Christmas Fare, Dilys Wood

Music:

Walkin’ Home, Iris DeMent

GETTING TO KNOW YOU

An Interview of Corina Ravenscraft
An Interview of Priscilla Galasso

MORE LIGHT

Art:

When the Heart Speaks, Marlyn Suarez-Exconde

Essay:

Individual Responsibility … Whose job is this?, John Anstie
Sailing with the Ancient Mariner, James R. Cowles

Poems:

Bullied Into Insanity, Brian Crandal
Compassion, Michael Dickel
Grace, Matt Pasca
Into the Darkness … A Mugging, Lance Sheridan

Further Connections

Beguine Again, Spiitual Community and Practice

Brief Biographies of Core Team and Contributors

For updates and inspiration “Like” us on Facebook, The Bardo Group Beguines

Track our Tweets at The Bardo Group Beguines

MISSION STATEMENT

Back Issues Archive
October/November 2014, First Issue
December 2014, Preparation
January 2015, The Divine Feminine
February 2015, Abundance/Lack of Abundance
March 2015, Renewal
April 2015, interNational Poetry Month
May 2015, Storytelling
June 2015, Diversity
July 2015, Imagination and the Critical Spirit
August 2015, Music
September 2015, Poverty (100TPC)
100,000 Poets for Change, 2015 Event
October 2015, Visual Arts (First Anniversary Issue)
The BeZine, Volume 2, Issue 1, Nov. 2015 (At-risk Youth)
The BeZine, Volume 2, Dec. 2015 (Waging Peace, An Interfaith Exploration & The Hero’s Journey)

Posted in General Interest, religious practice, Spiritual Practice

Happy New Year 2016, Part III – Gratitudes not Resolutions

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

O LORD my God, I will give thanks to thee forever.
— Psalm 30:12b

card-with-new-year

It used to be that every year I would make out a list of New Year’s resolutions just like everyone else. The reality of those resolutions was I put the list in safe place and promptly forgot all about them, just like everyone else I know. A couple of years back I changed practice for New Year’s, instead of resolutions I started listing what I was grateful for from the Old Year.

I no longer feel guilty about not keeping promises to myself and speaking gratitude helps me to see the past year in a positive perspective. So here are my top 10 gratitude’s for New Years day 2016:

First of all I am grateful for John my beloved husband, best friend, and all around good company.

I am grateful for the presence of my furry and feathered friends. They have helped me to laugh when I least wanted to and they are a calming presence each day of the year.

I am grateful for my family; John’s 3 sons; our beautiful grandchildren Shannon and Amelia, Alex and Liam; my cousins who have made me laugh and so grateful that we have reconnected. Each and every one of you has brought joy into my life in so many ways.

I am also grateful for the Skype calls from Mark, Laura, Liam, and Amelia, who live in Boston. Amelia and Liam I love all of your antics and learning what you are up as you are growing up. Liam practice hard on those drums so that when we come the next time you can show us your progress. Amelia send me some of your dress designs, I would love to see what you are thinking of. Each of you are talented and amazing.

I am especially grateful for the Laura’s presence in my life. You my dear daughter-in-law are a treasure.

I am grateful for the kindness of strangers from all over the world. Their help when I needed it on our South Pacific adventure last year made the trip just that much more enjoyable.

I am grateful for caring and skillful medical professionals: Dr. Alberts who operated on my back, the Nursing staff at Stevens Hospital who made a difficult time easier, Physical therapists who encouraged me to work harder so that I would successfully recover from surgery.

I am grateful for the Faith community at Queen Anne Christian Church who have show me and John so much love and friendship.

I am grateful for my In-Care-Committee who encouraged me to search deep within myself and who helped me to see myself as I am instead of how everyone see me.

I am grateful for the friendship of so many people that if I were to name them I would certainly forget someone, so from the bottom of my heart I love you all.

So those are my top 10 gratitude, of course I have many more. The listing of them will take all day on New Year’s Day but these are the most important ones. If you were to list your gratitude’s for 2015 what would they be? How would remembering them change your how you view the past year and how you anticipate the next?

My prayer for each of you is a year full of grace so that next New Year’s day it takes you 2 days to recite them. Have a Happy, Grace Filled New Year!

© 2015, words, Ruth Jewel, All rights reserved; illustration courtesy of Larisa Koshkina, Public Domain Pictures.net

Editor’s note: Ruth is a member of The Bardo Group Beguines core team.  Her personal blog is A Quiet Walk.  She also posts once a week on spiritual practice at our sister site, Beguine Again.

Posted in General Interest, Peace & Justice, Spiritual, Video

Happy New Year, Part II – Assembling now, The Conscious Army . . .

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

Peace will prevail because of people just like you. Maybe not this year or the next but ultimately. Amen!

Posted in Bardo News, Beguine Again, General Interest, justice, The BeZine, The BeZine Table of Contents

The BeZine, 15 Dec. 2015, Vol. 2, Issue 2-3 (Waging Peace and The Hero’s Journey)

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

15 December 2015

When we planned this issue we planned to focus on “The Hero’s Journey.” We have done that, but events this past month also led to a spontaneous eleventh-hour addition,  a special section, Waging Peace. Thank you to Rabbi Gershon Steinberg-Caudill, Rev. Ben Meyers, Father Daniel Sormani, C.S. Sp., Sophia Ali-Khan, the Unitarian Universalists of the San Francisco Bay/Peninsula, Michael Dickel, the Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi and to Carla Prater, the assistant director of Buddhist Global Relief for her help.

Rabbi SteinBerg-Caudill is a Jewish teacher who espouses a Jewish Spirituality and Universalist teaching for the future brotherhood of all people. When I wrote to him about this effort he reminded me of what surely should be foremost in our minds and hearts:

“The Hebrew word for PEACE – שלום – does not imply a lack of strife. It implies instead WHOLENESS, COMPLETION. If one is in a state of peace, he can still be whole in a time of chaos.”

Rev. Meyers of the Unitarian Universalists of San Mateo also counsels inner peace with his You are the promise … the one … the hope. Rev. Meyers says:

“I understand and often share the ‘urge of urgency’ over the peacefulness of peace. But this I also know: We live at the intersection of action and reflection.”

Father Sormani, a Spiritan priest (a Catholic) who has lived and worked in Algeria and Dubai and is now teaching theology at Ateneo de Manila University in the Philipines, asks What Have We Done that People Can Pick-up Weapons and Kill. Father Dan says:

“We have become our own worst enemy. Whenever we separate the world into ‘them’ and ‘us’, whenever we accept blind generalizations and cease to see a unique individual before us, whenever we forget we are all victims of carefully orchestrated deceit and deception for wealth and power, the force of darkness wins. Bullets will never win this struggle, only the heart and mind will.”

The Unitarian Universalist clerics of the San Francisco Bay/Peninsula share their open letter  – With Faith in Love Beyond All Beliefs – encouraging the support of Muslims in our communities.

Lest you’ve missed Sofia Ali-Khan‘s letter, Dear Non-Muslim Allies, which has been making the rounds on Facebook and was also recently picked up by some mainstream media, we’ve included it here.

We’ve also included a video recitation of Tunisian poet Anis Chouchéne‘s profoundly moving poem against racism and fanaticism. Chouchène speaks directly to radical Islam  … but I think you’ll agree that ultimately he speaks to all of us in our fear and ignorance.

“Peace we keep an eye on/while it packs its bags/to abandon our lands, little by little …”

Chouchène concludes as Father Dan does, that we must be able to see the individual.

Michael Dickel‘s poem Mosquitoes (excerpt from his chapbook, War Surrounds Us) is included. The poem starts out with Israelis and Palestinians crossing the artificial lines that divide to offer one another condolences on the deaths of their children.  This is a favored poem of mine, especially so because The Bardo Group Bequines was formed to – in effect – cross boarders. Our mission statement is HERE. Michael spins the poem on to show how we are manipulated by the propaganda machine. Michael Dickel, Father Dan and Bkikkhu Bodhi are of a mind on this.

We’ve included a short video presentation on the seven steps to peace developed by peace activist, Rabbi Marc Gopin. Director of the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution (CRDC) and co-owner of MEJDI, “a peace tourism business that embraces the multiple narratives of indigenous peoples.”

The Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi is Buddhist monk in the Theravada tradition, an author and teacher. He is the founder of Buddhist Global Relief.  With permission, we offer his 2015 talk given at the New Year’s Interfaith Prayer Service, Chuang Yen Monastery. In the same spirit as Rabbi SteinBerg Cadhill and Rev. Ben Meyer, Bhikkhu Bodhi says:

“Real peace is not simply the absence of violent conflict but a state of harmony: harmony between people; harmony between humanity and nature; and harmony within ourselves. Without harmony, the seeds of conflict and violence will always be ready to sprout.“

Bhikku Bodhi goes on to analyze the obstacles to achieving world peace, the prerequisites of peace, and the means to realizing these goals.

So here we are attempting to untie the ropes that bind us …  certainly a hero’s journey … unchosen as hero’s journeys often are. Under our themed section, we explore the journey in its many manifestations – in its parts and in it’s whole – with features, fiction, memoir, and poems by John Anstie, James Cawles, Michael Dickel, Priscilla Galasso, Joseph Hesch, Charlie Martin, Corina Ravenscraft and Terri Stewart. Under “more light” – we can always use that, eh? – we have photo-stories from Naomi Baltuck, a poem from Brain Crandall and an essay from Michael Watson.

Special Announcement

Last week we unveiled our new community website thanks to long and hard work by Terri Stewart and generous funding by the Pacific Northwest United Methodist Church.  You can read all about it HERE. You can visit it HERE.  Please enjoy but also be patient, the tech gremlins are still at work. This site is set-up (both design and intention) to facilitate more participation with and among readers.

On behalf of The Bardo Group Beguines and in the spirit of love and community, Jamie Dedes, Managing Editor

Thanks to poet and artist K.A. Brice (Mirror Obscura) for our fabulous December header.

Table of Contents with Links

Waging Peace
An Interfaith Exploration

You are the promise . . . the one . . . the hope, Rev. Ben Meyers, Unitarian Universalist cleric

What Have We Done That People Can Pick Up Weapons and Kill?, Fr. Daniel Sormani, C.S.Sp., Catholic Priest

With Faith In Love Beyond All Beliefs, an open letter, Unitarian Universalist clerics

Dear Non-Muslim Allies,  Sofia Ali-Khan, Muslim activist for understanding

Peace Be Upon You, شوشان – سلام عليكم, Tunisian poet, Anis Chouchène, Muslim

Mosquitoes, American-Israeli poet, Michael Dickel, Jewish

Peace Steps: One Man’s Journey Into the Heart of His Enemies, Rabbi Mark Gopin, Jewish

Waging Peace, Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, Buddhist

December’s Theme
The Hero’s Journey

When a Hero Needs a Hero

I think I need a hero, Colin Stewart

Lead Pieces

Mankind: The Modern Mystery and Myth, Priscilla Galasso
The Hero’s Journey and the Void Within: Poetics for Change, Michael Dickel
Hero Worship, a poem, Michael Dickel
Sailing with Ulysses, James R. Cowles

Fiction

Who Cries for Icarus?, Joseph Hesch

Poetry

Courage, Joseph Hesch
local heroes, Charles W. Martin
~ Lifted ~, Corina Ravenscraft
~ Epic Everyday ~, Corina Ravenscraft
Heroes Seldom Wear Capes, Terri Stewart

Memoir/Family History

The Major, a poem, John Anstie
Real Heroes, Part 1, John Anstie
Real Heroes, Part 2, John Anstie

More Light

Photostories

Pondering, Naomi Baltuck
The Same Boat, Naomi Baltuck

Poetry

Let the Children Come, Brian Crandall
A Dream Walker Hands You The Door, Michael Dickel

Essay

We’re Still Here, Michael Watson

Further Connections

Our Community Site: Beguine Again

Brief Biographies of Core Team and Contributors

For updates and inspiration “Like” us on Facebook, The Bardo Group Beguines

Track our Tweets at The Bardo Group Beguines

MISSION STATEMENT

Back Issues Archive
October/November 2014, First Issue
December 2014, Preparation
January 2015, The Divine Feminine
February 2015, Abundance/Lack of Abundance
March 2015, Renewal
April 2015, interNational Poetry Month
May 2015, Storytelling
June 2015, Diversity
July 2015, Imagination and the Critical Spirit
August 2015, Music
September 2015, Poverty (100TPC)
100,000 Poets for Change, 2015 Event
October 2015, Visual Arts (First Anniversary Issue)
The BeZine, Volume 2, Issue 1, Nov. 2015 (At-risk Youth)

Posted in General Interest, Naomi Baltuck, Story Telling

Holiday Storytelling … Heads-up Seattle

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

naomiphoto1-300ppiJOIN THE SEATTLE STORYTELLING GUILD FOR AN EVENING WITH THREE GREAT TELLERS, including The Bardo Group Beguines’ steller story teller, Naomi Baltuck

FOLLOWED BY FREE SNACKS AND AN OPEN MIC

Sharon Creedon was a trial attorney when she discovered the Seattle Storytellers Guild. She began collecting and telling stories, many of which are included in her books, In Full Bloom: Tales of Women In Their Prime and Fair Is Fair: World Folktales Of Justice, which received the National Aesop Award for folklore.

Naomi Baltuck and Beatrice Baltuck Garrard are an intrepid mother-daughter duo. When Naomi is not writing novels and Beatrice is not studying history at Stanford, they travel the world together, telling stories and fighting crime!

Pat Peterson tells her holiday stories with a twinkle and a smile – that’s not to say that a memory revealed might bring a tear to the eye or a tug at the heart. Pay will share some old favorties and something new…

FURTHER DETAILS: TIME, PLACE et al HERE

Posted in General Interest, Religon

One for each night! They shed a sweet light …

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

HAPPY HANUKKAH!

FROM

THE BARDO GROUP BEQUINES

 

A Hanukah Project, a collection from the Jewish Museum of New York
A Hanukkah Project, a collection from the Jewish Museum of New York under CC SA 3.0 license
Posted in Beguine Again, General Interest, TheBeZine

a story of faith, hope and love

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

IMG_1955I feel almost inclined to start this story with “once upon a time” since it feels that we began our adventure so long ago.  I started The Bardo Group (though it wasn’t titled that way to begin with) in 2011 as a way to encourage a sort of world without borders by having people from different cultures and religions come together to show what’s in their hearts and in doing so to demonstrate that with all our differences we have much in common: our dreams and hopes, our plans for children and grandchildren, our love of family, friends and the spiritual traditions we’ve chosen or into which we were born  . . . not to mention our love of sacred space as it is expressed in the arts and our concerns for peace, social justice and sustainability.

At one point I decided that it would be nice to have a sort of virtual Sunday service and invited Terri Stewart, a Methodist Minister, to be our “Sunday Chaplain.”  In 2008 she founded Beguine Again, an interfaith platform for clerics and spiritual teachers to offer daily solace and inspiration. I felt comfortable inviting Terri in because she didn’t want to convert anyone and seemed to appreciate the beauty and wisdom of traditions other than her own. She even incorporated the wisdom of other traditions in her rituals and writings. Terri supported our mission. She didn’t appear threatened by different opinions or beliefs.

A little over a year ago, I suggested we might throw our two efforts together, Beguine Again and The Bardo Group. I hoped that would ensure the continuation of the The Bardo Group and the wise, beautiful and valued work and ideals of our core team and guests, a group of earnest and talented poets, writers, story-tellers, essayists, artists, photographers and musicians.  Each is a strong advocate for a better – fair, peaceful and sustainable – world. Together they are a powerhouse.

Okay, yes!  I’m a bit biased.  I’ve only met one of our group in person and only talked by phone with Terri,  but I’ve read everyone’s work – their emails, messages, books, blogs and FB posts for years now.  We’ve been through deaths in families, births and birthdays, graduations, illness and recovery, major relocations, wars and gunfire, triumphs and failures. Two of our original contributors have died. I feel that our core team and our guests might be my next-door neighbors instead of residing in  Romania, England, Algeria, the Philippines, Israel, India, Greece, Bulgaria, the United States and other countries I’ve probably forgotten. We’ve featured work by people ranging in age – as near as I can guess – from 19 to nearly 90. They’ve been Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists and agnostics. The growth of our readership is slow but steady, loyal and just as diverse as our core team and guests.

So what did we do to facilitate this merger: At Beguine Again daily posts continued. That team joined The Bardo Group. We stopped posting daily on The Bardo Group site and started The BeZine, a monthly online publication with a fresh theme for each issue. Terri got a grant to establish a community website from the Pacific Northwest United Methodist Church. The website has been over a year in the works. Today, we unveil it.

footer-logo

The site is designed to be a spiritual networking community.  Though it is an extended ministry of the Lake Washington United Methodist Church, this effort remains both interfaith and a labor of love.

The site is supported by donations, membership (paid membership is optional) and a generous grant from Pacific Northwest United Methodist Church, which funded the design and development of the site. The grant from the church ends on December 31, 2015. Donations and membership fees will support the cost of technical assistance, web hosting and so forth. Should there be any excess funds they will go to the Youth Chaplaincy Coalition, a Seattle nonprofit (also interfaith) founded by Terri under the aegis of the church. Coalition members provide assistance to incarcerated youth. No income is earned by anyone associated with Beguine Again, The Bardo Group, The BeZine or the Youth Chaplaincy Coalition.  All are labors of love.

The BeZine can still be easily and conviently accessed directly either here at this site or through Beguine Again if you choose to become a member of the community.

Please check out the site. Any questions? Let us know … and do let us know what you think. Please be patient too.  The tech gremlins are still working behind the scenes.

A note on the name: Beguine Again.  The original Beguine community was a Christian lay order in Europe that was active between the 13th and 16th century.  Terri chose the name “Because they worked outside the religious structure and were a safe place for vulnerable people.”

© 2015, article and photograph, Jamie Dedes; Beguine Again logo, copyright Beguine Again

Posted in General Interest

snow walker

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

Words of wisdom from American artist, Gretchen Del Rio.

Gretchen Del Rio's avatarGretchen Del Rio's Art Blog

watercolor aceo 11/2015 watercolor aceo 11/2015

‘At some point you just have to let go of what you thought should happen and live in what is happening.’

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Posted in General Interest, justice

Giving Thanks: An Invitation to Awareness

Posted on by Jamie Dedes
A Vegan Gratitude Day Dinner, Leek and Bean Cassoulet
A Vegan Gratitude Day Dinner, Leek and Bean Cassoulet, keeping it kind
For Gratitude Day in 2010, Awyn (Jottings) wrote the piece posted below. It has remained with me since then and I asked Awyn for permission to publish it here. Awyn and I met thanks to Sam Hamill’s Poets Against War initiative to which we both contributed. She included two of my anti-war poems in “Salamander Cove,”  her poetry magazine, where I was honored to keep company with such lights as Sherman Alexie and Robert Peake. Wow! The magazine was paused in 2012 but is expected back this December. Awyn (Annie Wyndham) is a former human rights worker and an accomplished poet and writer of conscience. Her poems have appeared in Burlington Poetry Review and Spoonful (Cambridge’s Stone Soup poetry venue). You can sample her poetry on her blog. J.D.

♥

Here’s Awyn:

Happy Thanksgiving! — to all those who celebrate this special holiday.

Last year on Thanksgiving, I itemized all the things for which I was thankful. Here it is that time again, one year later and that still all holds true but no special dinner has been planned. Canada celebrated its Thanksgiving Day in October and it’s nowhere near as big a holiday here as it is in the U.S.

In the U.S., for many Thanksgiving means not only a big family dinner but watching the annual parade or football game on TV, big sales on Black Friday the day after, and the horrendous traffic back for those who came in from out of town. All part of the tradition.

We have plenty of big, sit-down dinners here with my mate’s family, but my fondly remembered American Thanksgivings are now a thing of the past. I don’t know any Americans here, my mate’s not that crazy about pumpkin pie, and I’m a vegetarian, so there’d be no turkey. Turkey is traditional but I’ve had many an untraditional version, with calamari or tofu or soup.  It was still a thanks-giving.  My kids are hundreds of miles away and none of us can afford to visit at this time. Hence no big family Thanksgiving get-together celebration this year. We will share our good wishes over the telephone. As for spectator parade-watching or sports broadcasts or Black Friday shopping, none of that interests me. In that, I guess you could say I’m untraditional. Pumpkin pie, however, is non-negotiable. You absolutely cannot have Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. It just doesn’t compute.

The most interesting Thanksgiving I ever heard about was from the wife of a former colleague who volunteered at a local soup kitchen. She told me that one Thanksgiving, to raise awareness of all the people who were starving in the world, some organization whose name I can no longer remember invited people to attend a big sit-down Thanksgiving dinner, for $15 per person, proceeds to go towards world hunger.

When you arrived, you were asked to pick your entry ticket out of a box. There were three kinds of tickets.

If you got a green ticket, you would be served the full dinner, with all the trimmings–and be allowed seconds on desert.

If you got a yellow ticket, you would be served what starving people in third-world countries sometimes get to eat–a child-sized helping of rice or thin, watery soup–and nothing else.

And if you got a white ticket–you’d get nothing at all.

So imagine you’re at this banquet and you get the full meal, with all the trimmings, and you’re sitting next to someone who got nothing. Would you turn and give half of what you have to that person? What if you’re one of the unlucky ones who got the thin, watery soup? Or worse, the empty plate. Would you quietly sip your water and listen to your stomach growl, hoping the people next to you might offer to give you some of theirs?

I’m sure a lot of sharing went around, probably immediately, after the initial surprise (and perhaps discomfort) wore off. Giving money to a charity, for which you get a sit-down dinner, is one thing; being invited to dinner and served an empty plate and having it suddenly sink in what real deprivation is like, is quite another. (Well, the invitation did say the theme was Awareness.)  But how uncomfortable to have to sit in front of an empty plate all evening long while others are eating. That glass of water can only go so far.

I went without  lunch yesterday–not by choice.  I simply forgot.  I was working on something and the hours flew and I suddenly realized it was getting dark outside and all I’d had to eat the whole day long was a cup of coffee at 6 a.m.  My stomach began reminding me it hadn’t been fed.  Loudly.  No problem.  I could open my refrigerator or reach for something in the cupboard and solve the problem, instantly.

But what if I couldn’t?  What if, for whatever reason,there was none to be had and no more food would be forthcoming for another day. Another two days. Maybe even a whole week. How would I deal with that?  Certainly, after a day or two, lack of food would make me woozy, lightheaded … lethargic, even.   I’d probably lose weight.  Temporarily fasting is one thing. Starvation, however, is quite another.

73577339_078c9d9d1b

I think that’s what the organizers of that unusual Thanksgiving dinner wanted to convey–that life is not fair.  Some of us get to sit down every evening to a good meal, Every Single Night.  Some can only afford to buy food meant for animals.  Some get somebody else‘s leftovers, fished out of a trash can.  And some get nothing at all.

So many things to be thankful for this holiday.   Awareness–however received–is one of them.

© 2010, essay, Annie Wyndham, All rights reserved; cassoulet photograph courtesy of SarahJane Veganheathen via Flickr under CC A – SA 2.0 generic license; little girl courtesy of Filipe Moreira via Flickr under CC A-SA 2.0 generic license; the sketch that says it all is Awyn’s

Posted in General Interest

Bloggers Unite for Peace

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

“Uncle Spike” has started an initiative: Bloggers Unite for Peace. Check it out whether you are hobbyist or pro. Thanks to Spike for his efforts and to the participating bloggers for their spirit. J.D.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil
is for good men to do nothing.”
Edmund Burke

 

Posted in General Interest

Pray For the World

Posted on by Jamie Dedes

I don’t know who to credit for this, but it says what needs to be said.