Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Twenty Two

Dear Friends,

A content warning, this episode is about death and decay, and there is an image and video in this post that you might prefer not to see by surprise !

However, I invite you to look…

With Love,

Beth

The decomposing body of the deer, covered in a writhing mass of maggots …

Here is the video of the body of the dead deer, teeming with new life

The beautiful poem by Walt Whitman…

“This Compost”

Something startles me where I thought I was safest,

I withdraw from the still woods I loved,

I will not go now on the pastures to walk,

I will not strip the clothes from my body to meet my lover the sea,

I will not touch my flesh to the earth as to other flesh to renew me.

O how can it be that the ground itself does not sicken?

How can you be alive you growths of spring?

How can you furnish health you blood of herbs, roots, orchards, grain?

Are they not continually putting distemper’d corpses within you?

Is not every continent work'd over and over with sour dead?

Where have you disposed of their carcasses?

Those drunkards and gluttons of so many generations?

Where have you drawn off all the foul liquid and meat?

I do not see any of it upon you to-day, or perhaps I am deceiv’d,

I will run a furrow with my plough, I will press my spade through the sod and turn it up underneath,

I am sure I shall expose some of the foul meat.

Behold this compost! behold it well!

Perhaps every mite has once form’d part of a sick person—yet behold!

The grass of spring covers the prairies,

The bean bursts noiselessly through the mould in the garden,

The delicate spear of the onion pierces upward,

The apple-buds cluster together on the apple-branches,

The resurrection of the wheat appears with pale visage out of its graves,

The tinge awakes over the willow-tree and the mulberry-tree,

The he-birds carol mornings and evenings while the she-birds sit on their nests,

The young of poultry break through the hatch’d eggs,

The new-born of animals appear, the calf is dropt from the cow, the colt from the mare,

Out of its little hill faithfully rise the potato’s dark green leaves,

Out of its hill rises the yellow maize-stalk, the lilacs bloom in the dooryards,

The summer growth is innocent and disdainful above all those strata of sour dead.

What chemistry!

That the winds are really not infectious,

That this is no cheat, this transparent green-wash of the sea which is so amorous after me,

That it is safe to allow it to lick my naked body all over with its tongues,

That it will not endanger me with the fevers that have deposited themselves in it,

That all is clean forever and forever,

That the cool drink from the well tastes so good,

That blackberries are so flavorous and juicy,

That the fruits of the apple-orchard and the orange-orchard, that melons, grapes, peaches, plums, will

   none of them poison me,

That when I recline on the grass I do not catch any disease,

Though probably every spear of grass rises out of what was once a catching disease.

Now I am terrified at the Earth, it is that calm and patient,

It grows such sweet things out of such corruptions,

It turns harmless and stainless on its axis, with such endless successions of diseas’d corpses,

It distills such exquisite winds out of such infused fetor,

It renews with such unwitting looks its prodigal, annual, sumptuous crops,

It gives such divine materials to men, and accepts such leavings from them at last.

And lastly here are the Isaiah verses…

I am the Lord, and there is no other.

Fashioning light and creating darkness,

making peace and creating evil.

I am the Lord, making all these.

O, heavens drip down from above,

and skies, stream justice.

Let the earth open that it be fruitful with rescue

and bring forth righteousness with it.

I am the Lord. I created it.

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Twenty One

Here’s where I’m sat in the edge of the woods.

The two images, first separately, and then together, which is how I have them at home right now.

The face painting is made by my dear friend artist Kitty Garland, and the gem studded river is made by extraordinary Hannah.

Thank you both !

Here are how the two images combine… a river of gems as her crown.

Here is Psalm 139 verses 1-18

Lord, You searched me, and You know,

It is You Who know when I sit and I rise,

You fathom my thoughts from afar.

My path and my lair You winnow,

and with all my ways are familiar.

For there is no word on my tongue

but that You, oh Lord, wholly know it.

From behind and in front, You shaped me,

and You set Your palm upon me.

Knowledge is too wondrous for me,

high above - I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from Your spirit,

and where from before You flee?

If I soar to the heavens, You are there,

if I bed down in Sheol - there You are.

If I take wings with the dawn,

if I dwell at the ends of the sea,

there, too, Your hand leads me,

and Your right hands seizes me.

Should I say “Yes, darkness will swathe me,

and the night will be light for me,

Darkness itself will not darken for You,

and the night will light up like the day,

the dark and the light will be one.

For You created my innermost parts,

wove me in my mothers womb.

I acclaim You, for fearsomely I am set apart,

wondrous are your acts,

and my being deeply knows it.

My frame was not hidden from You,

when I was made in a secret place,

knitted in the utmost depths.

My unformed shape Your eyes did see,

and in Your book, all was written down.

The days were fashioned,

not one of them did lack.

As for me, how weighty are Your thoughts, oh God,

how numerous their sum.

Should I count them, they would be more than the sand.

I awake, and am still with You.

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Twenty

Dear friends,

A short episode, recorded in my house, on another Very Hot Day !

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

The picture I’m looking at as I record…

Here is the reading from Bible, from Luke 10:38-42

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Nineteen

Dear friends,

A new episode - about bones, the best kind of cookies, and the hope of real community.

I hope you like it,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

The view from The Buttocks …

The view from where I’m recording in the long grass

Here is the picture I made for this dream - maybe see if it makes you feel any kind of way…

Here is the reading from Bible, from Ezekiel 37

The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry.  He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”

I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”

Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!  This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.  I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Here is the poem I read, by Brigit Anna McNeill

Remember who you are.
Not the shape others have put on
you, not the story they handed you,
not the lies or needs that were
pressed into your psyche.
Not even your own imagined ideas
of what you should be.

But the real you, the wild innate you
that is breathing under all those
should be’s, all those untruths.

Remember the feel of it, the shape of
it. Let it inhabit you, like golden
weeds rewilding the concrete.

And lastly the Sufi prayer, by Hazrat Innayat Kahn

O Thou, Who art the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
The Sovereign of heaven and earth,
open our hearts, that we may hear Thy Voice,
which constantly cometh from within.
Disclose to us Thy Divine Light,
which is hidden in our souls,
that we may know and understand life better.
Most Merciful and Compassionate God,
give us Thy great Goodness,
Teach us Thy loving Forgiveness,
Raise us above the distinctions and differences which divide us,
Send us the Peace of Thy Divine Spirit,
And unite us all in Thy Perfect Being.
Amen.

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Eighteen

Dear friends,

It’s been a long time no hear, but this episode is for YOU!

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

For those of you that like to see ( and because I like to show ! ) this is where I was today to record….

Here is a fairly bad example of the sticky weed I’m talking about - check it out for yourselves, you’ll see it’s way much more clearly - it’s everywhere right now! You can eat it too if you want ...

Some of the child things that I’m discovering are part of my original blessing this week - the bright light toy…

… and some of the swooning glitter !!

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Seventeen

Dear friends,

I seem to be back with another episode - after nearly 9 months!! And if you’re still here, then THANK YOU !! I’m really delighted !!

This episode I’m trying something new, and having another person with me, chatting about all kinds of stuff as it turned out, but linked initially, with a shared dream image.

I hope to do more like this, it felt tricky, but fun. I hope you enjoy the conversation,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Here is where we recorded, in the woods, near where I live.

Here is a drawing of the dream I describe, which felt so close to Pennys waking experience…

…and our knees in the woods making the recording :)

And here is the lovely Eddie Van Halen doing his thing. I invite you to watch it all !!! :)

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Sixteen

Dear friends,

Welcome to the third episode of four that I thought I’d do for Advent…

I have had a very bad week of sleep, so this may be a short one!

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Here is the third candle lit on the Advent sculpture, in the convent chapel. I’ve added more ivy so even more of the bare soil is covered.

Here you can see the large wall crucifix reflected in the water…

The view in the morning at the convent…

And the sculpture in the daylight …

I wanted to include the lights on my Christmas tree - a visual reminder of Emmanuel, God with us, God in us, for when we see lights this Christmas. And a reminder of what we can do with that Love.

I like them blurry :)

Here’s the beautiful version of O Come O Come Emmanuel that I wanted you to hear…

A Greek Orthodox icon of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth in their pregnancies, with Jesus and John the Baptist.

Here is the wonderful candle sconce I was talking about that my friend gifted to me last week.

It has had me mesmerised, and has also visually, completely held this week of Advent for me.

Here is a photo of the collage I mentioned, of the Madonna, the clay and the chestnut tree in the height of summer…

I’ll also add the poems I read out…

Rumi

“The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.

Don’t go back to sleep.

You must ask for what you really want.

Don’t go back to sleep.

People are going back and forth across the doorsill

where the two worlds touch.

The door is round and open.

Don’t go back to sleep”

Rainer Maria Rilke - Let This Darkness Be a Bell Tower

Quiet friend who has come so far,

feel how your breathing makes more space around you.

Let this darkness be a bell tower

and you the bell. As you ring,

what batters you becomes your strength.

Move back and forth into the change.

What is it like, such intensity of pain?

If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.

In this uncontainable night,

be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,

the meaning discovered there.

And if the world has ceased to hear you,

say to the silent earth: I flow.

To the rushing water, speak: I am.

Thich Nhat Hanh

It has been said many times: 

HOME is WITHIN you. 

You are the light of the world. 

Returning Home means remembering 

your own true self: Light!

The path around our home

is also the ground of awakening.

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Fifteen

Dear friends,

Welcome to the second of (hopefully) four episodes for the season of Advent…

I hope you feel in good company, thanks for listening,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

I didn’t get to the convent in the end because of the storms!!! So I’ve had to ask someone very kind to add some greenery to the sculpture for me, and send a photo, which is the one below. Two candles are lit now, and look at the water ! It’s surprising to me how quickly it has changed colour from rust!

Here is my own little advent ring at home, made of ivy form the garden, with its five candles… I left it blurry like this because I like how it looks.

Here is a photo of the clay temple I mention in the recording, before I painted it…:) It is now pink and yellow.

Here is an image I made in the week, which feels like the uniqueness of our prayers.

Here is the link I mentioned to my focusing teacher Peter Gill’s website, where you can find out about his courses, his retreats, his book and his Substack blog… sorry I can’t currently work out how to make the link live !

https://www.livingfocusing.co.uk

I’ll also add the poem I read out by Anne Hillman, and the beautiful and powerful Rumi quote.

We look with uncertainty

Beyond the old choices for

Clear cut answers,

To a softer, more permeable aliveness

Which is in every moment

At the brink of death;

For something new is being born in us

If we but let it.

We stand at a new doorway,

Awaiting that which comes…

Daring to be human creatures,

Vulnerable to the beauty of existance.

Learning to love.

And finally the beautiful Rumi quote

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love”

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Fourteen

Dear friends,

I’m somewhere special recording this episode, and I’m sharing my experience of an Advent sculpture I’m making, and my own journey through the next four weeks of Advent itself.

I hope you’ll join me, and I hope as usual that you’ll feel in company with me!

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Here is the sculpture beginning, in the chapel at the Convent I am friends with.

I’m still needing to do a few things, but here is the simple sculpture nearly ready. It will change each week for Advent, as each candle gets lit - the winter solstice, the return of the Sun, and the birth of Christ.

And one last image of a reflection in the water once I’d filled it fully.

I’ll also add the words of the Gerald Manley Hopkins poem.

As Kingfishers catch fire.

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;

As tumbled over rim in roundy wells

Stones ring; like each tucked string tells,

each hung bell’s

Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;

Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:

Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;

Selves - goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,

Crying What I do is me: for that I came.

I say more: the just man justices;

Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;

Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is - Christ - for Christ plays in ten thousand places,

Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his

To the Father through the features of men’s faces.

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Thirteen

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

It’s been a real while since I recorded a podcast - but I did today! And here it is. I hope you enjoy it :) If you do, let your dream loving friends and family know, it will get my podcast out in the world a bit more ! Thanks for listening,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Here is where I am today, in the damp wooly woods behind my friends field.

Here is the psychedelic orange Lords and Ladies I mention…

Here is one of the small dismembered bronze bird I talk about … I found it, buried under a pile of brambles in the garden.

And here is the image I made to evoke and remind me of the FEELING of expressing exactly as I needed to.

Finally, I’ll add the words from the Rilke Poem, which I’ve added to my home page.

“What mystery breaks over me now?

In it’s shadow I come into life..

For the first time I am alone with you,

You, my power to feel”

Rainer Maria Rilke

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Twelve

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

It’s well into January now, and it’s been a while since I’ve made an episode… So thank you for being here !

This episode is a little bit different as you’ll see - I’m taking some time today to explain, from my point of view, why someone would do dreamwork at all - I hope its helpful. I’ve also created a guided prayer, which uses the body as it’s focus, and despite the fact that I announce in the recording that I’m going to try to add music, I dont! It feels too complicated in the end. So, this time at least ( I may try again next time!) you just have my crackling fire as music, and I think you’ll like it.

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Here is where I am today, for this recording… In my house, in front of the fire.

Here is a visual reminder of the phase of the Moon, tonight we are Full !

Here is the gift I made for a friend, illustrating the Latifa prayer. Each coloured spot marks a place in the journey of the prayer in the body. You can use the picture as a reminder.

“If you have done everything except this prayer, you did not do anything. If you have done nothing but this prayer, you have done everything” Rumi

Below are the words of the prayer with the corresponding body parts. Hold your right hand with your left, and let the left hand guide.

Latifa Prayer

I exist - left lower belly

I desire - right lower belly

I hope - left lung

I trust - right lung

I let go - throat

I love - middle of chest

I am prepared - solar plexus

Optional donations

I offer this work free of charge to to everybody, so there is absolutely no need for you to donate anything at all! You are already taking part by listening, and sharing with your friends.

However, if you’ve got something particularly helpful from this podcast, and have the financial means, I invite you to donate some money to support me and this work.

If you click the Donate button below, you can give any amount that feels right to you. Donations which comes to me in this way, by choice, and from the heart, have such a special quality about them. THANK you !

You can also choose to donate directly through the website, on my Home Page.

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Eleven

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

Todays episode of the podcast comes from a very soggy, boggy piece of ground beside a fast flowing river. I hope you enjoy the effort I made today for the beautiful, melodic, voice of the river as accompaniment to my own human voice :)

Theres a small fragment of a Dream today, but it potentially holds a lot of feeling, I hope there’s something to feel into for you.

Until next time, thank you for listening,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Here is where I am today, for this recording…

Here is a close up of the wonderful and giant Horsetail plants surrounding the river, one of my favourites, and one of the oldest plants on earth…

For those who might not be able to see the Moon, but like to know what she’s doing, here’s an image for your pleasure, she’s JUST past a Waxing Half. Full Moon is on the 27th, which is Monday, if you want to look out for it.

And for those of you who’d like to share or make use of it, here is the transcript for our Waking Dream for this episode.

The Path of Desire. 

You’re following a group of adults along a path through a grassy meadow. 

You see a faint path in the long grass to your left, and you see a young smiling boy in front of you, beckoning you to come with him. 

You look at the path you are on, and feel a desire to go with the boy. 

You run after him through the long soft waving grass, towards a large tree.

The tree is lit all around it from the low sun, in the sky behind. There is a soft bright glow all around. 

You and the boy reach the tree, and you go underneath its broad branches. 

You see the tree offering tiny sweet white buds, and you pick some and taste them - they taste so good ! Of honey and nectar. You and the boy eat your fill of the tiny white honey pearls. 

You, the Tree, and the boy, look at each other, you feel your heart in your body, it is big and open. You feel so happy that you went down this path of desire. 

Optional donations

I offer this work free of charge to to everybody, so please be assured that there is absolutely no need for you to donate anything at all! You are already taking part by listening, and sharing with your friends.

However, if you’ve got something particularly helpful from my work, and have the financial means, I invite you to donate some money to support me and this work.

If you click the Donate button below, you can give any amount that feels right to you. Donations which comes to me in this way, by choice, and from the heart, have such a special quality about them. THANK you !

You can also choose to donate directly through the website, on my Home Page.

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Ten

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

Before todays recording, I took the Dream outside in a different way. My intention was to invite the more than human life to co create and take part - the Dream, my body, and everything alive in the landscape.

I want you to feel and experience the outside world as part of your own Dream field, and I really hope this episode gives you a taste of what I mean. I hope you enjoy the episode as much as I did!

Until next time,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Here is the location of todays recording…

For those who like to follow the Moon, here’s where we are with her at the time of the recording… Full Moon on Saturday!

Followed by an actual picture I took later in the night, it was so strange and beautiful that I came back to add this!!

Here is an image of the kind of Egyptian God that is in the Dream - now I’ve done some body work I’ll indulge in a bit of Thoth research…

And here is a littleTotem I made evoking the beautiful Kite, who not only speaks to the Egyptian Deity in the Dream, but who has followed me closely for many years, and is so often right there when I need affirmation of my path ! Thank you Kite !

And for those of you who’d like to share or make use of it, here is the transcript for our Waking Dream for this episode.

Rise up and Belong.

Imagine yourself lying down, motionless. It’s gloomy, dry and dusty. 

Your head is the head of a powerful bird, but your body is wrapped like a mummy, you feel bound and tied down. Your beak and throat is parched and dry. 

Take a big golden spoon in your right hand, and scoop sweet honey water into your wide open beak. Feel the honey water sooth your throat and dissolve down through your whole body and reviving you. It’s sweet nutrients are bringing you to life. 

Feel yourself extend upwards, bursting out of your bindings and out through the roof, into the bright clear air. Feel your huge wings unfold, and feel the strength and warmth in your feathered body as you take flight 

Fly up and up in the warm sunlit blue sky, feel the wind in your wings as you swoop and play. Suddenly you are surrounded by so many birds, all calling and playing, riding and falling in the sunshine. 

Look down on the fresh greenery far below and see all your shadows moving across the landscape. Extend your energy field to include ALL the birds. You are all the birds! And you are the ground, you are the sky, you are the wind. Feel all of this. 

Come back into your body and see yourself on the grass looking up at the circling birds. Feel your human body, your face, arms legs and trunk. Know you are all living things, and that you belong here. 

And lastly, here is the beautiful poem by my good friend, who shall remain nameless ! THANK YOU !

The wind on the skin

The wind on the skin told me

It was time to go

To go to that place

Black crack in the red ground

And listen

Lower the ear deep

To the whale song of the Earth

The hum of the unborn world

This lullaby of dreaming time.

Optional donations

I offer this work free of charge to to everybody, so please be assured that there is absolutely no need for you to donate anything at all! You are already taking part by listening, and sharing with your friends.

However, if you’ve got something particularly helpful from my work, and have the financial means, I invite you to donate some money to support me and this work.

If you click the Donate button below, you can give any amount that feels right to you. Donations which comes to me in this way, by choice, and from the heart, have such a special quality about them. THANK you !

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Nine

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

In todays recording, we encounter the animate world as a very real part of our Dreamfield, something we can call on to experience our Dreams within!

We not only go through the Dream and the more difficult painful feelings in it, but we end with integrating the part of ourselves with the BIG heart and the BIG hopes… And a Waking Dream to finish, which helps us embody that. I hope you love this episode as much as I do,

Until next time,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

For those of you who’ve never met or worked with me, here I am, just after doing the recording, at the base of a giant Beech Tree, both of us ( and you!) the Dreams of the Earth.

For those who like to follow the Moon, here’s where we are with her at the time of the recording…

Here is my Waking Life Hedge, that appears, or should I say disappears, in the Dream, and is actually a stone wall covered in thick Ivy.

Here is a little video of some of the Bees - although their busyness and number is quite hard to capture, they’re still really active even now it’s getting colder…

And for those of you who’d like to share or make use of it, here is the transcript for our Waking Dream for this episode.

My Body Is Nature

Feel your body on the ground. Feel how the ground holds you, feel into your feet, your ankles, your legs, pelvis, stomach and chest. Notice your hands, arms, shoulders and neck, and up into your head. Feel your breath come in, and go out.

Feel your body, living and breathing on the ground.

See the length of you body as a stone wall, being built piece by piece, feel the composition and the weight of your stone.

See and feel Ivy sprout from the ground, all around your wall self, see green tendrils climb up and over you, filling the gaps in you, thicker and thicker, until the Ivy is part of you.

See and feel your flowers bloom towards the sky, and now see hundreds of bees, come to drink your nectar. You are the bees too! Feel all the movement, the joining, the hum, the flowers, feel the mass of green and vigour, the interwoven density and life, feel the texture and strength of the stones, and the weight of the wall, and feel the ground beneath supporting all parts of you.

Arrive back in your human body, see yourself lying on the ground, in your home, wherever you are.

Open your eyes and know that your body is the body of the earth.

And lastly, here is the beautiful poem I read by Valerie Hope Cherrin.

Earthdreambody

You Are a Dream of the Earth

Remember, Earth has Dreamed you into Being.

Given you this EarthDreamBody.

Her longing to roam around on two feet, conscious of herself,

is fulfilled in your very aliveness.

Feel her rivers your veins,

her air your lungs,

her rocks and stones your bones,

her animal nature your flesh and muscle.

Deep firey volcanic stirrings your gut.

She has dreamed you into being and you are bound to her by the force of love.

Your sweet life given to you by eons of creation and your only job here is remembering who you really are; a product of love more powerful than you can imagine.

Honor your mother, Earth. Remember and hold her love for you in the very core of your being for these few short breaths of aliveness.

When your time is done, your body will return to give more life.

Remember, Earth is dreaming you.

Filled and sourced by love.

Created to witness the beauty of creation.

Stand in this each day.

This is your task, to reawaken to the love that is patiently waiting for you in your EarthDreamBody.

Optional donations

I offer this work to everybody, completely free of charge, so please be assured that there is absolutely no need for you to donate anything at all.

However, if you’ve enjoyed the material in the podcast, and have the financial means, you can choose to donate some money to support me and this work.

If you click the Donate button below, you can give any amount at all that feels right to you. Donations which comes to me in this way, by choice, and from the heart, have such a special quality about them. THANK you !

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Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Eight

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

We’ve just experienced a MAD big Full Moon, the second one in August, and here, just past the height of that Full Moon, is episode 8, which you can listen to on the usual platforms, or here on my website.

I hope you enjoy the episode, I hope there is something that stands out for you, that you can actually USE, and I hope you feed back to me when you have listened !

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

I was moving about for this recording, but this is the beautiful, sunny view where I was sat for the end of this recording…

Here is a bright pink vase on my table at home, which I noticed when I got in, shedding it’s beautiful pink light, just like our pink bowl in the Dream.

And for those of you who’d like to share or make use of it, here is the transcript for our Waking Dream for this episode.

The Pink Glass Bowl and the Bull.

See yourself in a sunlit grassy field. Floating above the grass is a big, beautiful, deep pink, glass bowl.

Walk towards the bowl and as you get nearer, notice its generous shape, full bellied, clear and radiant, wide open to the  blue sky. Feel the beauty and wonder of the clear pink bowl.

Look to your left and see a huge bull, stood some way across the sunny field in the long, dry grass. He is quite still, and bathed in golden sunlight, which surrounds him in a huge bright halo. You hear his breath, and marvel at the sensual texture of his skin, the huge weight of him. He is magnificent, truly and powerfully alive. See that he is rooted - strong and stable on the still, warm earth. His strength feels protective, he is here for you, and you are quite safe.

Take the beautiful, pink, glass bowl in your arms, holding it close to your body, and pick up a large silver spoon out of the air on your right. Scoop big silver spoonfuls of golden sunlight, down from the sky, and into your pink bowl. Do this again and again, filling the bowl and stirring the light with the big silver spoon. Watch as the sunlight radiates crystal clear through the pink glass, turning everything around it pink, the skin on your arms, your clothes, your legs, your feet, down onto the grass all around you, and out in every direction.

Look up to the sunlit bull, rooted, alive and strong on the earth beneath him. Feel your own rootedness, your own aliveness, stood in the field with the bull, and your beautiful translucent pink sunlit bowl. Know that it is all for you.

Now open your eyes and see yourself, the bowl, and the bull bathe in light, for a few seconds with your eyes open.

Optional donations

I offer this work to everybody, open handedly and completely free of charge, so please be assured that there is absolutely no need for you to donate anything at all.

However, if you’ve found my work helpful, would like to support me and my work, and do have the financial means, you can choose to donate some money.

If you click the Donate button below, you can give an amount that feels right to you, however large or small. Any donation which comes to me and my work in this way, by choice, and from the heart, is such a blessing to me. THANK you !

Donate

Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Seven

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

It’s the Dark New Moon, and here is this weeks episode, which you can listen to on the platforms, or here on my website.

Today there’s a shake up in the structure, directly from, and directed by a Dream, which is totally how this stuff works ! There’s a Waking Dream as usual, at the end of the recording. I hope you enjoy …

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

There’s a change in structure to the podcast this week, and we’ll have to see how that all pans out, but the images on the website version will be changing too. But for now, here is where the recording took place today…

And for those of you who’d like to share or make use of it, here is the transcript for our Waking Dream today.

Waking Dream - The movement of the Moon.

So close your eyes, and on the out breaths I want you to visualise first a 3, now a 2, and finally a 1, tall straight and bright.

You are standing in a field at dusk, it’s foggy and in distinct. It is a warm night, and you are quite safe.

Look at your hands, they’re holding a small cardboard puzzle. A few pieces of card are held together by a small round plastic rivet. The rivet means that none of the different pieces can move, all except one piece, that is shaped like a crescent moon.

As you look at the crescent moon, you see its curve hugging against the round plastic rivet. Watch it as it moves around the rivet, it tries to find a place for itself, but it can’t get comfortable. As you watch, you see it is becoming crumpled and misshapen against the hard piece of plastic. The puzzle feels tired and constricted as you hold it in your hands. You feel tired and constricted too.

With one hand take the plastic rivet and pull it out. Throw the rivet into the air to your left, and watch as it flies out of sight.

Now take your hands off the puzzle entirely, and watch as the pieces start to separate and levitate up and out into the beautiful night air. The pieces have become alive, watch with amazement

as a dark brown piece becomes huge, and heavy, and takes its place as the earth. See another piece, a rich navy blue colour, as it opens up overhead and becomes the deep, dark, clear night sky. Tiny silver pieces scatter themselves across the blue, and appear as twinkling stars. And finally see the crumpled moon piece become its full open mysterious self, a luminous cool humming crescent, finding its perfect place among the stars.

Suddenly your senses flood you, your hear owls hooting, you feel the warm night breeze on your skin, and the scent of the grasses, flowers and trees.

Feel yourself surround by the clarity generosity and beauty of this landscape, and know your part and your place in its mysterious structure.

Open your eyes, breathe out one more time, and feel the awe of belonging.

And lastly, for any of you who want to re read it - the excerpt from Panarchy, via my friend Simon. Huge credit to Simon Handy and his knowledge in this area, which is completely lacking in my own !!

“The environment is not constant. Environmental change is not continual or gradual, it is episodic…[The] critical processes that structure ecosystems take place at radically different rates covering several orders of magnitude, and these rates cluster around a few dominant frequencies.

The spatial organisation of natural systems is not uniform either. Nor is it the same at different scales. Ecological systems are “patchy” at all scales - from the leaf, to the landscape, to the planet. … Therefore scaling up from small to large cannot be a process of simple aggregation: nonlinear processes organise s shift from one range of scale to another.

Ecosystems do not have a single equilibrium. Rather, multiple equilibria define functionally different states, and movement between these states is a natural part of maintaining structure and diversity. On one hand, destabilising forces are important in maintaining diversity, resilience and opportunity. On the other hand, stabilising forces are important in maintaining productivity and biogeochemical cycles.”

Optional donations

I offer this work to everybody, open handedly and completely free of charge, so please be assured that there is absolutely no need for you to donate anything at all.

However, if you’ve found my work helpful, would like to support me and my work, and do have the financial means, you can choose to donate some money.

If you click the Donate button below, you can give an amount that feels right to you, however large or small. Any donation which comes to me and my work in this way, by choice, and from the heart, is such a blessing to me. THANK you !

Donate

Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Six

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

It’s the Full Moon, and welcome to the new episode, which you can listen to on the platforms, or here on my website, with my accompanying images.

Today we Dream with a beautiful big Beech tree, who lives very nearby to my home, and as usual, there’s a Waking Dream from me. I hope you’ll join me and feel like you belong here,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Firstly a picture of an old plate, I just love this… and it’s full, pale, round shape, and wonderful message is a reminder of our beautiful Full Moon - I hope you get a glimpse of her tonight.

Next is the Beech tree we Dream with, and a video of her movement and her shapes. You can see where her huge limb fell from in the winter…We can thank her for her voice through this episode.

Here is a picture, as promised, from outside my old home beside the Yukon, in midsummer, in the middle of the night. This colour is the colour of longing in the letter from Firefly….

And a picture of a Firefly, to honour all that this astonishing creature brought to the episode today!

I DID hear voices behind me today, in all that blowy wind, it was a man trying to fix the road - this man ! I had a nice chat with him as I walked back, I told him I’d put him on my podcast, so here he is.

And for those of you who’d like to share or make use of it, here is the transcript for our Waking Dream today.

Waking Dream

So close your eyes, and on the out breaths I want you to visualise first a 3, now a 2, and finally a 1, tall straight and bright.

See yourself in a grassy place on the outskirts of a town. There is gentle sunlight, and you can see, and hear people going about their day a little way off. Above you is blue sky, with white clouds moving across it. 

As you look across the grass, you notice a tall, green weed. 

You go towards the plant - you are drawn by the colour and texture of its body. It’s so green ! It is nearly as tall as you, with supple, flexible leaves, bluey green in colour, and covered in tiny beads of dew. It is incredibly vivid, and it moves in this beautiful, fluid way. It is pulsing with energy and life. You are entranced by how it moves. 

The plant is juicy and lush, and larger than life, you want to stay here, but you feel yourself in a detached, flat, monochrome way, as you try to connect with it. 

Feel the layer of static monochrome all over your body, from head to toe, it feels dull and dry, complicated, like newspaper print with too many words. 

You feel a strong desire to know the luscious, dewey, aliveness of the plant in front of you, and as you allow this desire, see and feel this same life force rise in your heart, pulsing with energy and bright light, and begin to shed the monochrome layer like a suit, peel it away from your head, down your back, away from your arms and legs, and finally, step your feet out of the old grey suit, letting it dissolve into the ground behind you. 

Feel how the wind touches your body now - t’s electric - power and light comes from your heart, flooding your limbs with luscious textures - look at your belly and legs, your hands and arms, turn them over in front of you and marvel as you see and feel this incredible energy flowing, and moving through you. You are the same as the vivid plant. 

Feel the new, fresh connection between you and the plant friend, your colours harmonising and singing together. Notice the supple, fluid motion of the plants limbs and leaves, and feel this quality in your own body. Let your body move with this shared energy, animated by the same source, as you share the space together in a completely new way. As you stand together in this energy, feel the joy and relief from the tall green weed, as you recognise it with your body. Let this joy and relief flood through every cell. This is the conversation you both wanted… 

Thank your new plant friend from your heart, and as you look back towards the town, know that you are changed, you are alive in a powerful new way now. 

Open your eyes and feel this powerful new way.

And lastly for any of you who were interested in the Sufi newsletter I mentioned today, its called “Sufi Way - Notes from the Open Path”

Optional donations

I offer this work to everybody, open handedly and completely free of charge, so please be assured that there is absolutely no need for you to donate anything at all.

However, if you’ve found my work helpful, would like to support me and my work, and do have the financial means, you can choose to donate some money.

If you click the Donate button below, you can give an amount that feels right to you, however large or small. Any donation which comes to me and my work in this way, by choice, and from the heart, is such a blessing to me. THANK you !

Donate

Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Five

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

It’s the Dark New Moon, and welcome to the new episode, which you can listen to on the platforms, or here on my website, with my accompanying images.

Today we Dream with mixed Grasses, the inhabitants of a field very close to my home, and as usual, there’s a Waking Dream from me. I hope you feel included,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Firstly an image for the Dark New Moon, it’s all dark up there tonight, but She’s up there !

Next is the field of Grasses, and a video of me walking through them. We can thank them for their voice through this episode. It is impossible to properly capture their colour and diversity, but I will try!

Grasses identification…

“Sedges have edges, rushes are round, grasses are hollow, so what have you found?”

Here is Iris from the position we are recording. You can see the field I videoed yesterday, before the Dream, in the distance. She is such beautiful present company, that it’s lovely to include her. She is a very, VERY special creature!

And for those of you who’d like to share or make use of it, here is the transcript for our Waking Dream today.

Waking Dream

So close your eyes, and on the out breaths I want you to visualise first a 3, now a 2, and finally a 1, tall straight and bright.

See yourself in a castle, you are a happy smiling woman, cosy and content in a darkened room, kneeling by a huge hearth. You love being here, you are in charge of this place, and this fire. You know all its ways, what it needs, and how to look after it, and keep it burning brightly. It is quiet and warm in the darkened room, the fire glows red, orange, pink and yellow, it’s light flickers on the ancient stone walls, and you can feel it’s warmth on your cheeks. You pick up an iron poker, and stoke the ashes, and you see shadows move, and sparks fly. Feel the immense power of the fire. 

You hear the wooden door open to your left, and a man comes in with an armful of firewood. He brings with him a bright ray of sunshine from outside, which shines its light through the open door, and across the stone floor. He is strong, rooted and calm, and he stands up straight. He is friendly and he is smiling at you. He places the logs by the fire and you wait while he puts two pieces in. You see clearly the grain of the wood as the fire takes it into its heart. You smile at each other, and you both feel the power of the fire. 

Now zoom out and look down on the castle. See the fields immediately around the castle, the children playing, the gardens of vegetables, fruit and healing herbs, the men and women working together. And beyond that the land is covered in diverse plants and trees, animals walk amongst woodland and open ground, there is a generous river full of fishes and plants. Every type of person you can imagine is welcome here. There is somewhere for everyone, and every living thing to thrive. 

Open your eyes and feel again the man and the woman beside the power of the fire. 

Here is the beautiful video I mentioned in the recording, I hope you can embody what this could mean, in all areas of life. It COULD make sense to you in relation to a romantic same sex relationship, but it is MUCH more broadly reaching than that. I encourage you to watch and understand this movement as an inner dynamic, and see just how it is working and why it is special, unique and whole.

@absentfiguree Yoann Bourgeois is a French dancer, choreographer, and artist. #yoannbourgeois #fyp #art #viral #newyork #targetaudience ♬ original sound - absent.figure

And lastly, the wonderful and evocative passage from Song of Solomon, or Song of Songs, from the Bible. I’ll add an image I found by William Russell Flint, titled Song of Solomon, and I invite you to be curious around how it makes you feel…. Do you have a reaction? Can you see these two figures, and this scene, as parts of an inner whole?

Song of Solomon, Chapter 3

Oh the splendours of King Solomon. 

The bravest of Israel surround his bed,

threescore warriors,

each of them skilled in battle,

each with his sword on his thigh,

against the terror of the night. 

King Solomon built a pavilion 

from the cedars of Lebanon.

It’s pillars he made of silver,

cushions of gold,

couches of purple linen, 

and the Daughters of Jerusalem 

paved it with love. 

Come out O Daughters of Zion,

and gaze at Solomon the King!

See the crown his Mother set on his head

on the day of his wedding,

the day of his hearts great joy. 

How beautiful you are, my love,

my friend! The doves of your eyes 

looking out 

from the thicket of your hair. 

Your hair, 

like a flock of goats 

bounding down mount Gilead. 

Your teeth white ewes,

all alike,

that come up fresh from the pond. 

A crimson ribbon your lips - 

how I listen for your voice!

The curve of your cheek

a pomegranate

in the thicket of your hair. 

Your neck is a tower of David 

raised in splendour,

a thousand bucklers hand upon it, 

all the shields of the warriors. 

Your breasts are two fawns,

twins of a gazelle,

grazing in a field of lilies

You are all beautiful, my love, 

my perfect one 

Oh come with me my bride, 

come down with me from Lebanon. 

Look down from the peak of Amana,

look down from Senir and Hermon,

from the mountains of the leopards,

the lions dens. 

Your lips are honey, honey and milk 

are under your tongue,

your clothes hold the scent of Lebanon. 

An enclosed garden is my sister, my bride,

a hidden well, a sealed spring. 

Your branches are an orchard, 

of pomegranate trees heavy with fruit,

flowering henna and spikenard,

spikenard and saffron,

cane and cinnamon, 

with every tree of frankincense,

myrrh and aloes,

all the rare spices. 

You are a fountain in the garden,

a well of living waters

that stream from Lebanon. 

Optional donations

I offer this work to everybody, open handedly and completely free of charge, so please be assured that there is absolutely no need for you to donate anything at all.

However, if you’ve found my work helpful, would like to support me and my work, and do have the financial means, you can choose to donate some money.

If you click the Donate button below, you can give an amount that feels right to you, however large or small. Any donation which comes to me and my work in this way, by choice, and from the heart, is such a blessing to me. THANK you !

Donate

Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Four

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

It’s the Waning Half Moon, and you can listen to this episode on the usual platforms, or here on my website, with my accompanying images.

Today we Dream with Fireweed, or Rosebay Willow-herb, and there’s a Waking Dream from me. I hope you can listen along,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Firstly an image for the Waning Half Moon, so that you can imagine how she is if you can’t get outside, or the night sky is thick with cloud. She’s up there, and she’s looking like this !

Next is a swathe of magenta pink Fireweed, or Rosebay Willow herb, and a video of them moving gracefully in the wind. We can thank them for their voice through this episode. These photos were taken yesterday before the RAIN came…

Here are some photos of my Ivan Chai making process, first the fresh flowers and leaves as I picked them, and then the dried flowers and fermenting leaves at the start of the process.

Here is the beautiful Lords and Ladies stalk, with his early bright green berries, who sat opposite me as I recorded this episode.

And finally here is the transcript for our Waking Dream today, for those of you who might want to do it again or share it.

Waking Dream

So close your eyes, and on the out breaths I want you to visualise first a 3, now a 2, and finally a 1, tall straight and bright.

See yourself on a pavement, in a busy town. The air is dusty, dry and still. Everything is in black and white. People are walking to and fro - traffic goes past, the world moves around you. See your feet walking on the tarmac. You are walking back and forth, up and down, first in one direction, then in the other. Feel the tiredness of this movement in your body and the weariness in your heart. 

Now notice that there is another road, that you hadn’t noticed before. It doesn’t lead left or right, but goes in a new direction, straight ahead. 

As you look at the new road, see it appear in full colour. It is a beautifully coloured space, there is only colour, slowly changing and shifting. Coral pink, sky blue, saffron yellow, emerald green. It feels cool, fresh and lush. You see this road has great depth and width, it is different. 

See yourself step off the busy grey street and into the new road. As you step you realise you are in another medium, it’s completely new. It feels infinite. Your arms and legs move softly through the spacious colour, and your body feels charged with a new energy. 

There is warm golden light high above the horizon, which shines towards you through the different colours. As it touches your face, feel it soak through you, let it shine directly into your eyes, nose and mouth, down your throat, through to your arms, hand and fingers, down through your heart, lighting it up as it goes, and into your belly, legs and feet. 

As you move forward, a new landscape opens up on front of you, you feel curious and strong, and you feel a sense of possibility. 

Open your eyes and with them open, feel what is possible here. 

Ivan Chai Recipe

So to make this tea, all you need is a quantity of Fireweed leaves ( make sure your identification is good, it’s not difficult, but this is your responsibility! ) some of the bright pink flowers, which aren’t essential but make the tea pretty, and some time and patience to prepare and ferment the leaves.

Pick the leaves on a dry day, when the sun has been on them a bit, and when the flowers are open nearly up to the top of the spikes. The best way to do this is to hold just beneath the flower with one hand, and with the other hand around the stem, pull downwards, gathering the leaves and clearing the stem completely. Or pick them any way you like. Do this until you can pretty much fill a mixing bowl at home. Pinch off the whole flower heads to process at home. I use two bags while I do this, leaves in one, flower heads in another.

When you get them home, you’ll have to take each little flower off its stem one by one. This is fiddly, but satisfying, and it’s a time you can spend really enjoying contact with the plant. Leave these flowers spread out thinly on a piece of paper, or on a clean, empty patch on the table, until they’re completely dry. Turn them over occasionally if you think they need it.

Chop the leaves (with a large pair of scissors is easiest) into smaller pieces, maybe three or four pieces per leaf. You can do this in big handfuls, quite roughly - this part is not critical - but keep the pieces sort of equal ish in size. They’ll shrink when they ferment, but the pieces will be what you end up with in your teapot, so it’s nice if they’re somewhat uniform!

Now is the time consuming bit - you want to get another bowl, and pinch by pinch, take some leaves and rub them vigorously between your palm. You are aiming to break them down slightly, to bring the moisture out, and to help the fermentation get started. Do this with every pinch of leaves in the best way you can, until they’ve all been handled.

Then you want to cover the bowl - I use a plastic shower cap - and put it somewhere warm. If the day is hot, you can leave it on the side in the kitchen, but if it’s cool, use a heated fermentation mat if you have one, or put it in the airing cupboard, or anywhere warm. You want to ferment this for about 5 days ( give or take - this isn’t an exact science, and there are MANY variables to fermenting) and turn it and mix it regularly with your hands ( I do this four or five times a day ). It will start to change colour, get darker, and a bit browner, and it will take on a different smell - richer and more fruity. This is all good, and really only experience will make you feel certain, but after you’ve done this for a few days, you can take the covering off the bowl, and dry the tea, much like you did the flowers. I put the fermented tea in a large baking tray so it’s easy to turn and mix as it dries. You want to do this every couple of hours, or every time you walk past, to ensure the tea doesn’t go mouldy, and it dries evenly.

When it’s BONE dry, put it in a tin or a lidded jar and there ya go! I hope you try making this, because it’s a beautiful plant and a wonderful tea. Thank You Fireweed !

Optional donations

I offer this work to everybody, open handedly and completely free of charge, so please be assured that there is absolutely no need for you to donate anything at all.

However, if you’ve found my work helpful, would like to support me and my work, and do have the financial means, you can choose to donate some money.

If you click the Donate button below, you can give an amount that feels right to you, however large or small. Any donation which comes to me and my work in this way, by choice, and from the heart, is such a blessing to me. THANK you !

Donate

Dreaming Earth Podcast - Episode Three

Dear friends and fellow Dreamers,

Here on the Full Moon is the third episode of my new podcast, and you can listen to it on the usual platforms, or here on my website, with some accompanying images.

Today we have a dream from the Ash Tree, and a Waking Dream from me called the “Understand your Ancestors” I hope you can receive what’s here,

With Courage, Imagination and Love,

Beth

Firstly for the Full Moon, my Full Moon stone, sat on some of the drying Mugwort I picked last week. ( She’s the Dreamers plant, folks!!.. )

Next is an image, and a little film of the dead Ash tree, who we can thank for their voice through this episode.

Here is the red phone cable from the Dream, “plugged into” the Ash tree :)…

…and finally some pictures from the church as promised.

Also as I walked back I was so thankful to have got this episode out of my mouth in some form lol!! It felt like a lot to try and carry today, it’s such a work in progress, and I’m so grateful to find some flow through it, and so I thanked my own Gods for this as I walked. Then I looked up, and as so often happens, the Kite was right there above me. The Kite and I have a history with each other over the last few years, her frequent arrival when I need her being a sign that I’m holding the right thread :) So I add this detail, and the little clip I got of her, to encourage you around your own synchronicities.

And finally here is the transcript for our Waking Dream today, for those of you who might want to do it again or share it.

Understand Your Ancestors.

So close your eyes, and on the out breaths I want you to visualise first a 3, now a 2, and finally a 1, tall straight and bright.

See yourself in a field. The sky is blue, with white clouds moving across it in the wind. You see a large dead tree stump, you are drawn towards it.

As you walk nearer, you begin to feel the presence of the old tree in your body. Feel how the presence of the tree affects your body, feel it on your skin, across your face, through your arms, your hands, your belly and your heart as you come closer. Climb over the large bumpy roots until you find a hollowed place to sit. Rest your body against the hollowed bark. Feel the safe, strong hold of the tree around you. See beneath the ground the roots stretching deep and wide into the earth. Let yourself fully receive how it feels to be held by the tree, let its warmth soak through all the layers of you.

Become yourself as a child, feel how safe your smallness is, within the hold of the old tree. You are safe and welcome. You belong here, and you are treasured.

See and feel this tree in its prime, in full height, feel upwards through its big strong branches with your arms, feel into the fresh, green leaves with your fingers, and feel yourself as the whole leafy tree, shaking and moving in the sun and wind. Look across the landscape from the top of the tree, and see what else is there, the other plants, trees and flowers, the rivers and rocks, and all that were once there.

See yourself as a human child again, with your back against the old tree stump. Know that this being is your great, great grandfather, feel how deeply you are related. Feel all your plant ancestors.

You are ready to leave the holding of this tree, stand and turn to the tree and thank it. Walk away into your life, knowing you can come back.

Open your eyes, and with them open, know the breadth of your ancestry.

Optional donations

I offer this work to everybody, open handedly and completely free of charge, so please be assured that there is absolutely no need for you to donate anything at all.

However, if you’ve found my work helpful, would like to support me and my work, and do have the financial means, you can choose to donate some money.

If you click the Donate button below, you can give an amount that feels right to you, however large or small. Any donation which comes to me and my work in this way, by choice, and from the heart, is such a blessing to me. THANK you !

Donate