Episodes
Sunday Mar 22, 2020
Magical Mystical Nature
Sunday Mar 22, 2020
Sunday Mar 22, 2020
In this episode, I take a poetic look at messages from our magical mystical nature that can help us to emotionally navigate the challenges of COVID-19. Trees, fireflies, dolphins, bees, the moon, the sun, and bats are guiding us at this uncertain and dangerous time. Bats!? Really!? Wasn’t a bat responsible for the virus? Tune in to find out why bats also have magical and mystical messages for us in the face of COVID-19. May we all be safe and healthy.
You can find my poetry on WordPress at https://extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
I shared my poems “Tree of Life”, “Fireflies” and “Dolphins”.
Music: "Introspection" from Royalty Free music provided by Podbean
Contributors
My featured image, "New Dimensions", is one of my sister Martha Harris' pieces. Her work can be found at Martha's Artistic Flarings, artisticflarings.blog on WordPress.
Sharon Singing Moon, “Sometimes It’s a Song” in A Random Seed (2018). You can find her book at local bookstores, such as Skylark Bookshop and Yellow Dog Bookshop in Columbia, Missouri, at Dunaway Books in St. Louis, Missouri, and Prospero’s Books in Kansas City, Missouri.
Mitch Teemley, “The Lives of Trees”, found on WordPress, https://mitchteemley.com/2020/02/21/the-lives-of-trees/
Joyce Kilmer, “Trees” https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/12744/trees
Yaskhan, “Firefly Gumbo”, https://yassy66.wordpress.com/ From Mumbai, poetry has always been her utmost passion. Her haiku and other poems have been published in several on line journals. She enjoys the challenges of writing in various poetic form and believes this creative discipline helps her to overcome several challenges.
Emily Dickinson, https://discoverpoetry.com/poems/bee-poems/
Mary Oliver, “Honey at the Table” American Primitive (1983) winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Kristiana Reed, “The Meadow” from her book, Between the Trees: Poetry and Prose (2019), which is available on amazon.com and signed copies can be purchased on etsy, https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/760618337/between-the-trees-poetry-and-prose. Her websites, https://myscreamingtwenties.com/ and https://freeverserevolution.wordpress.com/
William Henry Davies, “The Moon”
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/william_henry_davies/poems/3088.html
Phillip Larkin, “Solar”,
http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/philip_larkin/poems/14593
Other Links
“Fireflies”, https://www.sunsigns.org/firefly-animal-totem-symbolism-meanings/
Orion, http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/orion.htm
Pleiades,
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pleiades-Greek-mythology
https://mollylarkin.com/we-come-from-the-stars/
Dolphins,
https://medium.com/@totemlovecom/the-characteristics-of-the-dolphin-as-a-spirit-animal-ba303364bbba; https://www.livescience.com/15150-dolphin-recovery-human-healing.html; https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/wisdom-of-the-wild-dolphin-healing/859/
Royal Jelly, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/royal-jelly
Bees, https://sciencing.com/advantages-disadvantages-honeybees-8592788.html
The Moon, https://www.sunsigns.org/moon-symbol-meanings/
Barbara Harris Leonhard is a writer, poet, and blogger. Her work appears in Phoebe, MD: Medicine and Poetry, Well Versed 2020, Spillwords; FREE VERSE REVOLUTION; Heretics, Lovers and Madmen; Go Dog Go Café; Silver Birch Press; Amethyst Review (pending); Pillbaby.com; and Vita Brevis. She is the author of Discoveries in Academic Writing, which is based on her years of teaching English as a Second Language at the University of Missouri.
Blog: extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
Podcast: meelosmom.podbean.com
© 2020 Barbara Harris Leonhard
Unless otherwise stated, all published works are the original works of the author and are copyrighted. Contents of this podcast may be re-used either for personal or commercial purposes, in part or whole only with permission and the author duly acknowledged with links to the podcast embedded.
Sunday Mar 15, 2020
Water: The Sacral Way
Sunday Mar 15, 2020
Sunday Mar 15, 2020
Enjoy this exploration of the sacral way of water. Our steady and constant companion in various forms throughout the year, water reflects our creativity as well as our turmoil. Our emotional states are revealed in the many faces of water.
You can find my poetry on WordPress at https://extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
I share my poems “Listen to the Prayers of Snow”, “Be as Water”, and “This a River”.
My featured image, "Sacred Waters", is one of my sister Martha Harris' pieces. Her work can be found at Martha's Artistic Flarings, artisticflarings.blog on WordPress.
Enjoy a poem by Walter Bargen: "Why the World Stops”, which is from his volume of poetry The Body of Water: Poetry by Walter Bargen (2003). You can find used copies of this book on Amazon, Better World Books, and other used book sites.
I’m grateful to Sharon Singing Moon for her poem “Autumn Grace” in A Random Seed (2018). You can find her book at local bookstores, such as Skylark Bookshop and Yellow Dog Bookshop in Columbia, Missouri, at Dunaway Books in St. Louis, Missouri, and Prospero’s Books in Kansas City, Missouri.
You will hear “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost (http://poetryfoundation.org); “Very Early Spring” by Katherine Mansfield (http://famouspoetsandpoems.com); “Tempest”, by Emily Dickinson (http://yourdailypoem.com)
I found an interesting article on the symbolism of water in literature. https://eduzaurus.com/blog/water-symbolism-in-literature
For more information on chakras, see Anatomy of the Spirit (1996) and Sacred Contracts (2003) by Caroline Myss, PhD. Also, A Handbook of Chakra Healing: Spiritual Practice for Health, Harmony, and Healing (2004) by Kalashatra Govinda.
Wikipedia has a good summary of the Great Flood of 1993. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Flood_of_1993
Music: "Relaxing Afternoon" From Royalty Free Music offered by Podbean
Please like, follow, and share this podcast. Thank you for listening!
Barbara Harris Leonhard is a writer, poet, and blogger. Her work appears in Phoebe, MD: Medicine and Poetry, Well Versed 2020, Spillwords; FREE VERSE REVOLUTION; Heretics, Lovers and Madmen; Go Dog Go Café; Silver Birch Press; Amethyst Review; Pillbaby.com; and Vita Brevis. She is the author of Discoveries in Academic Writing, which is based on her years of teaching English as a Second Language at the University of Missouri.
Blog: extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
Podcast: meelosmom.podbean.com
© 2020 Barbara Harris Leonhard
Unless otherwise stated, all published works are the original works of the author and are copyrighted. Contents of this podcast may be re-used either for personal or commercial purposes, in part or whole only with permission and the author duly acknowledged with links to the podcast embedded.
Saturday Mar 07, 2020
Measles Encephalitis: Hope Was Not a Loss
Saturday Mar 07, 2020
Saturday Mar 07, 2020
This memoir describes my recovery from measles encephalitis at the age of seven in 1957. This condition is usually fatal. I taught myself how to walk again even though everyone said I would never leave the wheelchair. I read my poem “Hope Was Not a Loss”.
This topic is important now due to the lack of a vaccine for coronavirus COVID-19 and the fear of the MMR vaccine. Because many people are not vaccinating their children against measles, the disease is virulent again. Believe me, it is no fun fighting for your life because of brain inflammation from measles. I was unable to walk, talk, or move my arms. I almost died in a coma. I hope my story inspires you to see that you can heal yourself. You can change your thinking and defy a prognosis. Listen to my story. Then save a life.❤️
You can find more research and science on measles and measles encephalitis at The Encephalitis Society online.
https://www.encephalitis.info/measles-infection-and-encephalitis
For more information on the faulty research connecting autism with measles, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield. Also, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/
You can find information on COVID-19 on the World Health Organization (www.who.int) website and the CDC. CDC (https://cdc.gov).
Music: "Relaxing Afternoon" Royalty Free Music provided by Podbean
My work can be found on WordPress at www.extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog.
Please like, share, and follow this podcast. Thank you for listening!
© 2020 Barbara Harris Leonhard
Unless otherwise stated, all published works are the original works of the author and are copyrighted. Contents of this podcast may be re-used either for personal or commercial purposes, in part or whole only with permission and the author duly acknowledged with links to the podcast embedded.
Sunday Mar 01, 2020
The Art of War: Enter the Dragon
Sunday Mar 01, 2020
Sunday Mar 01, 2020
This memoir is dedicated to victims of sexual abuse, domestic violence, rape, incest, and sex trafficking, and murdered and missing indigenous women.
I apply the teachings of Sun Tzu in the ancient Chinese text, The Art of War (1910, edited by Lionel Giles and Dallas Galvin) to show how I have called on my inner dragon to ward off jackals, perpetrators of violence against women.
May this episode go out in honor of all women to commemorate International Women’s Day, which is on March 8, 2020.
I read my poems "The Art of War: Enter the Dragon" and "Life Finds a Way".
My gratitude to Latesha, who wrote "I Just Write". Poetry has helped her heal after years of trauma and abuse at the hands of loved ones.
Music: "That Man" Royalty Free music provided by Podbean
Barbara Harris Leonhard is a writer, poet, and blogger. Her work appears in Phoebe, MD: Medicine and Poetry, Well Versed 2020, Spillwords; FREE VERSE REVOLUTION; Heretics, Lovers and Madmen; Go Dog Go Café; Silver Birch Press; Amethyst Review (pending); Pillbaby.com; and Vita Brevis. She is the author of Discoveries in Academic Writing, which is based on her years of teaching English as a Second Language at the University of Missouri.
Blog: extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
Podcast: meelosmom.podbean.com
Please like, follow, and share this podcast. Thank you for listening!
© 2020 Barbara Harris Leonhard
Unless otherwise stated, all published works are the original works of the author and are copyrighted. Contents of this podcast may be re-used either for personal or commercial purposes, in part or whole only with permission and the author duly acknowledged with links to the podcast embedded.