Every birthday comes complete with a birthday wish. My wish this year is actually an invitation.
I invite you to enter into a relationship which I have termed Frientronship. It is a combination of friendship and patronage.
From my many recent dreams of living in a tree house in New Guinea (see Human Planet episode "Jungles") to moving to a legitimized squatter settlement in Chile to cultivate a biodynamic farm (of which I know almost nothing about), I have limited my preferences to 1 goal: to attend 3 of the Enneagram Trainings offered in 2012, all in Stone Ridge, New York. http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/
This is where frientronship comes in. In order to fund these advanced trainings I will offer services in exchange for income solely directed towards program costs. I've taken to the kickstarter model to promote reciprocity and creativity...
For $15 or less I will write a personalized poem about your splendor
For $20 or more you will get unlimited affirmative responses to any prompt you send me by phone, e-mail, snail mail or pigeon carrier. If you need encouragement, acknowledgement, peace, laughter, or just want to be heard, send me a message and I will provide the perfect antidote to any ailment or anxiety.
For $50 and above I will make you a plaque* of affirmations to placate any situation when the going gets tough or for a moment of spontaneous celebration.
*Water colors, crayons or pastels on construction paper. May or may not involve glitter.
I call this a win-win-win, or Win Cubed, arrangement. I get the financial assistance for the trainings, you get sound, compassionate responses to your woes (or goals), and I get to apply what I love to do best: offer loving support and affirmations. You will also get to say you are a patron of personal and metaphysical enlightenment. So really it's Win to the 4th power.
If accepted, I hope this invitation reverberates deeper and farther than perhaps initially expected. Take heed! Open your heart with courage and you will find a strength that sets you free. Weee! Sounds great!
Oh yeah,
For $100 or more I will set a wild tropical bird free in the wilderness after having been harbored in a nature conservatory for re-population efforts. This is a very costly and delicate process requiring the proper training, which I so happen to have. If you actually donate this sum of money (or more), we will work out an appropriate exchange.
On a final note, because I am not a savvy business woman, I want to remind you that these services are always available to you free of charge. However, if you do want to make my birthday wish come true, please see the "Donate" button below OR snail mail a check/cash -> 4228 Wiedenmann Place, Kansas City, MO 64111.
With Love and Gratitude,
Kayleigh
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Tree In Me
Standing, I breathe
in the pain, sorrow
fear that I am alone
that I am nothing
I hold these dark cravings
in me they dissolve
illusions I transform into light
I am here
strong, tall, perfect
I am witness
the chaos, the beauty, the stillness
it is all the same:
infinite expression of boundless expansion
I commune gracefully with all
Rooted in the Earth, I cannot stand alone
always connected, always held, always in Unity
Forever reaching towards the sky
a humble reminder of our glory
I am always here
Holding you in my branches
Grounding you in my roots
Bathing you in my love
in the pain, sorrow
fear that I am alone
that I am nothing
I hold these dark cravings
in me they dissolve
illusions I transform into light
I am here
strong, tall, perfect
I am witness
the chaos, the beauty, the stillness
it is all the same:
infinite expression of boundless expansion
I commune gracefully with all
Rooted in the Earth, I cannot stand alone
always connected, always held, always in Unity
Forever reaching towards the sky
a humble reminder of our glory
I am always here
Holding you in my branches
Grounding you in my roots
Bathing you in my love
Saturday, September 3, 2011
For Kenneth Mountain
A psychic recently alerted my mom to a guest we have in our antique living room (not to be confused with the modern version, wherein you may be consumed alive by the entertainment system if you are not careful). My mom deduced that it must be her grandmother, who according to the psychic sits proudly on the long sofa that used to be hers. This is a profound curiosity and is strikingly indicative of the dichotomous partition we suffer from as a humanity. The duality is definitely meant to be emphasized.
A conscious entity has chosen to direct its existence to a sofa. This is the kind of world I perceive myself to live in when I return to the United States. The material world. The world where we pay money to have someone else paint our toenails and we are a little less than shunned if we wear clothing indicative of any years preceding the current one. A world where the central figure of worship (allowing myself to be a little loose with the term, and drawing from the following elements of its definition "to show profoundreligious devotion and respect to") is Work, i.e. a salary. Why a salary? To buy material goods. The material world.
In Hindu philosophy (among others), it is understood that whatever you lend your consciousness to is what your existence will be associated with. If you're thinking about your house and your cars then when the opportunity for physical life comes around again that's what your lot will be - houses and cars. This seems pretty commonplace for us, since we need material goods to survive our physical existence.
The problem, as it appears in my life, is when the material is the central driving force in existence, as opposed to non-material values and lifeways such as Love.
It doesn't surprise me that my great-grandmother would still be sitting on her sofa. She grew up in a world where all that mattered was material (based on the actual amount of joules the people of her time directed towards the acquisition of wealth and goods). Her Spanish ancestors had bravely subjugated and enslaved the native populations of Mexico and now owned all of the resource offered by the bounteous landscape. Her family became the owner of various haciendas (or maybe just one, I'm no historian - yet) and thus began their history as wealthy landowners. The native populations, as well as the mestizo children born from the rape of their mothers by Spanish conquerors, were generously allowed to work the land to harvest its precious resources, all of which were given to the landowners. My mom assured me they were not slaves. I wouldn't believe such heretics myself either. I don't need to read a history book to know the European landowners were both honest and compassionate and would want their new neighbors to excel and thrive just as much as they desired for themselves. It seems certain that they paid their "workers" ("brothers" and "loved ones" are probably more appropriate terms) fair wages and most likely also gave them opportunities to own and direct haciendas themselves in order to promote equal wealth distribution and egalitarian social advancement. Note: I do have a goal of reducing the amount of sarcasm I utilize in communication, but when it comes to topics of extreme oppression and violence, I still find it hard to avoid. For anyone to even attempt to assert miniscule traces of equality during such times is both historically inaccurate and frankly vain.
I suppose the purpose of all of this is to provide an outlet for my mourning, a practice I frequently lose myself in, especially after returning from trips abroad. There is no doubt that all places are full of love, though at times it may be hard to see or understand. There is great beauty in the western world, both natural and immaterial. What I struggle with is moving on from my addiction to verbal reparations for our gruesome past. I suppose what I really want is that everyone have a time of mourning. I feel highly disturbed when I confront what to me is a constant celebratory orgy for the triumphs and admirable achievements of the western world, particularly the United States. I perceive this as a profoundly offensive denial of what our achievements are built on. The United Nations University's World Institute for Development Economics Research* reported that "the richest 10 percent of adults in the world own 85 percent of global household wealth." How did this come to be? Our economic and political systems are not very old. It does not take much to trace the path of resource and wealth ownership and distribution. I would consider not knowing this history to be a main contributor to current global violence.
The problem is perpetuated because people do not place themselves within the historical and contemporary context of what all of this means. According to data from Credit Suisse, and reported by the blog Zero Hedge** "to be among the wealthiest half of the world, an adult needs only USD 4,000 in assets, once debts have been subtracted. However, each adult requires more than USD 72,000 to belong to the top 10% of global wealth holders and more than USD 588,000 to be a member of the top 1%. The bottom half of the global population together possess less than 2% of global wealth, although wealth is growing fast for some members of this segment. In sharp contrast, the richest 10% own 83% of the world’s wealth, with the top 1% alone accounting for 43% of global assets." Read that quote again, slowly.
How much are your assets worth?
I am a dominating force in the world today because a majority of the world was dominated yesterday. This doesn't mean one has to inherit extreme privileges to eventually excel in today's world, but it absolutely makes it easier. All of this is to say: contextualize yourself. If you really want to live in a world that we often pride ourselves on, one of freedom, equality and respect, then base this in reality. You will likely find extreme disjointedness between what we value and what we live. This is due in part to the ignorance (disjointedness) between our present and our past. And also to our failure to recognize our unity, but that is another topic.
With love and in mourning,
Kayleigh
*http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/newsletter/articles/en_GB/10-03-2008-feature-article/
** For the full article: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/detailed-look-global-wealth-distribution
A conscious entity has chosen to direct its existence to a sofa. This is the kind of world I perceive myself to live in when I return to the United States. The material world. The world where we pay money to have someone else paint our toenails and we are a little less than shunned if we wear clothing indicative of any years preceding the current one. A world where the central figure of worship (allowing myself to be a little loose with the term, and drawing from the following elements of its definition "to show profound
In Hindu philosophy (among others), it is understood that whatever you lend your consciousness to is what your existence will be associated with. If you're thinking about your house and your cars then when the opportunity for physical life comes around again that's what your lot will be - houses and cars. This seems pretty commonplace for us, since we need material goods to survive our physical existence.
The problem, as it appears in my life, is when the material is the central driving force in existence, as opposed to non-material values and lifeways such as Love.
It doesn't surprise me that my great-grandmother would still be sitting on her sofa. She grew up in a world where all that mattered was material (based on the actual amount of joules the people of her time directed towards the acquisition of wealth and goods). Her Spanish ancestors had bravely subjugated and enslaved the native populations of Mexico and now owned all of the resource offered by the bounteous landscape. Her family became the owner of various haciendas (or maybe just one, I'm no historian - yet) and thus began their history as wealthy landowners. The native populations, as well as the mestizo children born from the rape of their mothers by Spanish conquerors, were generously allowed to work the land to harvest its precious resources, all of which were given to the landowners. My mom assured me they were not slaves. I wouldn't believe such heretics myself either. I don't need to read a history book to know the European landowners were both honest and compassionate and would want their new neighbors to excel and thrive just as much as they desired for themselves. It seems certain that they paid their "workers" ("brothers" and "loved ones" are probably more appropriate terms) fair wages and most likely also gave them opportunities to own and direct haciendas themselves in order to promote equal wealth distribution and egalitarian social advancement. Note: I do have a goal of reducing the amount of sarcasm I utilize in communication, but when it comes to topics of extreme oppression and violence, I still find it hard to avoid. For anyone to even attempt to assert miniscule traces of equality during such times is both historically inaccurate and frankly vain.
I suppose the purpose of all of this is to provide an outlet for my mourning, a practice I frequently lose myself in, especially after returning from trips abroad. There is no doubt that all places are full of love, though at times it may be hard to see or understand. There is great beauty in the western world, both natural and immaterial. What I struggle with is moving on from my addiction to verbal reparations for our gruesome past. I suppose what I really want is that everyone have a time of mourning. I feel highly disturbed when I confront what to me is a constant celebratory orgy for the triumphs and admirable achievements of the western world, particularly the United States. I perceive this as a profoundly offensive denial of what our achievements are built on. The United Nations University's World Institute for Development Economics Research* reported that "the richest 10 percent of adults in the world own 85 percent of global household wealth." How did this come to be? Our economic and political systems are not very old. It does not take much to trace the path of resource and wealth ownership and distribution. I would consider not knowing this history to be a main contributor to current global violence.
The problem is perpetuated because people do not place themselves within the historical and contemporary context of what all of this means. According to data from Credit Suisse, and reported by the blog Zero Hedge** "to be among the wealthiest half of the world, an adult needs only USD 4,000 in assets, once debts have been subtracted. However, each adult requires more than USD 72,000 to belong to the top 10% of global wealth holders and more than USD 588,000 to be a member of the top 1%. The bottom half of the global population together possess less than 2% of global wealth, although wealth is growing fast for some members of this segment. In sharp contrast, the richest 10% own 83% of the world’s wealth, with the top 1% alone accounting for 43% of global assets." Read that quote again, slowly.
How much are your assets worth?
I am a dominating force in the world today because a majority of the world was dominated yesterday. This doesn't mean one has to inherit extreme privileges to eventually excel in today's world, but it absolutely makes it easier. All of this is to say: contextualize yourself. If you really want to live in a world that we often pride ourselves on, one of freedom, equality and respect, then base this in reality. You will likely find extreme disjointedness between what we value and what we live. This is due in part to the ignorance (disjointedness) between our present and our past. And also to our failure to recognize our unity, but that is another topic.
With love and in mourning,
Kayleigh
*http://www.wider.unu.edu/publications/newsletter/articles/en_GB/10-03-2008-feature-article/
** For the full article: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/detailed-look-global-wealth-distribution
Monday, August 15, 2011
Va Pues
I must begin by saying that I feel sad for not having updated you throughout the summer. It was indeed magical, phenomenal, ripe for growth and it tasted like the glow from the moon.
I'm not entirely sure why I am writing at this very moment. Everything I've learned and reflected on is currently stored away in my mental cache and I am afraid if I open the door it will all dump out and make a big mess all over the internet.
This will be all for now: go hug a tree.
mucho amor,
Kayleigh
I'm not entirely sure why I am writing at this very moment. Everything I've learned and reflected on is currently stored away in my mental cache and I am afraid if I open the door it will all dump out and make a big mess all over the internet.
This will be all for now: go hug a tree.
mucho amor,
Kayleigh
Monday, July 11, 2011
Nicaraguan Adventures
Buenos Dias! Welcome to my blog. I am delighted to have you join me. Would you like a spot of tea? Sugar cube? Organic milk?
Enough with the formalities. As it has become custom to pack up my life and jet-set out of the country with only a few days notice, I decided it was relevant to share some of my journeys (both physical and mental) with you once again.
The Backstory:
I had been living in Kansas City for almost exactly one year (having returned from my 8-month stint in India on June 22nd, 2010 I do believe). Over the past year I worked as the General Managing Office Associate Supervising Administrative Assistant Correspondence Representative for a small business in alternative health and healing called Energy Medicine USA (www.energymedicineusa.com for more details). While the office setting was breathtaking (this is not sarcasm), my co-workers (the owner) were extremely supportive and I was learning a great deal of interesting tidbits concerning the body's energy systems, I came to the conclusion that the full scope of my gifts and interests were not being employed. I re-trained another lovely Office Assistant (the shorthand title for my job) and bed adieu to the wonderful office sanctuary that was the Wedman's home.
Since January of this year I also started nannying part-time. It was a dual purpose job that allowed me to pay my rent and gave me the opportunity to spend time with the magical wonders of a 14-month old child. Needless to say, this job was delightful and allowed me to improve my improvisational, lyrical compositions on themes as diverse as pants, trees, various berries, pet stores, mother earth, butt paste and farm animals. The hours for this job were being cut as of July, so I would have had quite a bit more time in my schedule for new employment.
Nearly simultaneously as the above two conditions unfolded, the wonderful organization, Amigos de las Americas, was looking for a last-minute supervisor to join their project in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Generally, Supervisors apply for the position in October, go to a training in the Spring and then set-up the project about two weeks before volunteers arrive. The supervisor who went through this process had to leave just before the volunteers' arrival, so I decided to pick up where she left off. I had two and a half days to prepare for the trip and at 5:30AM on July 2nd I was on my way to Nicaragua.
So now I am here in the mountainous and lovely Matagalpa, Nicaragua on my second project as an Amigos supervisor. I was first a volunteer with the organization in 2003 in Intibuca, Honduras, then again in 2004 in Michoacan, Mexico and in 2006 I was a Supervisor in Valle, Honduras. Having done this job before, I got to jump right in and the staff that had already been working on the project was glad to re-distribute the responsibilities that would have made it a very challenging summer.
Here's what the Amigos website has to say about the program: "Amigos de las Américas (AMIGOS) is a summer abroad, service learning program for high school and college students. The program empowers young adults to grow as leaders and increase their multi-cultural understanding through training and community service projects in Latin America." This description does not do the organization justice and just barely scratches the surface of the intensity and breadth of experience an Amigos project encompasses. I will attempt to condense the entirety of the Amigos volunteer experience now: "Welcome to Amigos, you will spend approximately 7 months training, during which you will learn about being a stranger in a strange land. In June we will hand you over to a group of strangers who will be responsible for your health, safety and project progress (Project Staff). This group of strangers will then drop you and a partner off in small community where you don't know anyone and will only understand 10-65% of what anyone ever tells you. You will live in a house with a family you have never met before, use their outhouse, play with their children and try not to get diarrhea. You will also facilitate activities with as many children and youth as possible to discuss clean watersheds and soil management (among other things). You will help the community execute a project(s) that they identified would benefit its members and give a minimum of 20 children colorful friendship bracelets. Include local youth in the planning and implementation of all of your projects (only 15% of you will do this successfully) and tell everyone that their rice and beans are delicious. Do not smoke, drink, ride a motorcycle, leave your community, or use a firearm during this time. Remember to purify your water, use your mosquito net and try not to vomit inside the house at any time during the project. In six weeks we will send you back home. You will be happy not to have fleas anymore and to have access to delicious pizza and chocolate, but your heart will ache for the openness, generosity and loving care and affection that no one else can give but a Latin American." This is not entirely comprehensive and is somewhat specific to the project here, the volunteers I am responsible for (7 total) as well as my own experiences as a volunteer way back when. But it will do.
My role as a Supervisor is entirely different than that of a volunteer, but I presume I have already saturated you with information. The idea is to share these tidbits with you as I move through the summer, but I'm gonna give some basics now anyway:
The Project Staff includes:
-Senior Staff (3 people): they keep watch of the home-front in Matagalpa and do most of the coordinating and relationship building with the Nicaraguan organization we work with here who directs the work that we do. It's all the behind the scenes, nitty-gritty of the project.
-Project Supervisors (6 people): We are each responsible for 3-4 communities. This means we make sure the communities understand the volunteers' role over the summer and their part in the process. We help plan for the Community Based Project, set up the meal plan for volunteers, figure out housing, etc etc. We visit each community for one day/night every week to check in on the volunteers and basically fix anything that has gone awry (from irritable bowels, dire homesickness, and utter confusion to halted project implementation and disinterest of local youth-counterparts). Over the weekend we all return to Staff House in Matagalpa to report back to Senior Staff and plan for the next week's events on Route. Yay!
Now you are caught up on the goings-on of Keily (my Spanish name). I will attempt to make future post less logistical and more reflective and philosophically convoluted. I'm thinking next week I will discuss the relativity of time.
Thanks for coming. Just leave your cup, I will wash it.
Love to you Earth traveler,
Kayleigh
P.S. Here is the link to information about the project, if you are curious to learn more: http://www.amigoslink.org/project/matagalpa-nicaragua
Enough with the formalities. As it has become custom to pack up my life and jet-set out of the country with only a few days notice, I decided it was relevant to share some of my journeys (both physical and mental) with you once again.
The Backstory:
I had been living in Kansas City for almost exactly one year (having returned from my 8-month stint in India on June 22nd, 2010 I do believe). Over the past year I worked as the General Managing Office Associate Supervising Administrative Assistant Correspondence Representative for a small business in alternative health and healing called Energy Medicine USA (www.energymedicineusa.com for more details). While the office setting was breathtaking (this is not sarcasm), my co-workers (the owner) were extremely supportive and I was learning a great deal of interesting tidbits concerning the body's energy systems, I came to the conclusion that the full scope of my gifts and interests were not being employed. I re-trained another lovely Office Assistant (the shorthand title for my job) and bed adieu to the wonderful office sanctuary that was the Wedman's home.
Since January of this year I also started nannying part-time. It was a dual purpose job that allowed me to pay my rent and gave me the opportunity to spend time with the magical wonders of a 14-month old child. Needless to say, this job was delightful and allowed me to improve my improvisational, lyrical compositions on themes as diverse as pants, trees, various berries, pet stores, mother earth, butt paste and farm animals. The hours for this job were being cut as of July, so I would have had quite a bit more time in my schedule for new employment.
Nearly simultaneously as the above two conditions unfolded, the wonderful organization, Amigos de las Americas, was looking for a last-minute supervisor to join their project in Matagalpa, Nicaragua. Generally, Supervisors apply for the position in October, go to a training in the Spring and then set-up the project about two weeks before volunteers arrive. The supervisor who went through this process had to leave just before the volunteers' arrival, so I decided to pick up where she left off. I had two and a half days to prepare for the trip and at 5:30AM on July 2nd I was on my way to Nicaragua.
So now I am here in the mountainous and lovely Matagalpa, Nicaragua on my second project as an Amigos supervisor. I was first a volunteer with the organization in 2003 in Intibuca, Honduras, then again in 2004 in Michoacan, Mexico and in 2006 I was a Supervisor in Valle, Honduras. Having done this job before, I got to jump right in and the staff that had already been working on the project was glad to re-distribute the responsibilities that would have made it a very challenging summer.
Here's what the Amigos website has to say about the program: "Amigos de las Américas (AMIGOS) is a summer abroad, service learning program for high school and college students. The program empowers young adults to grow as leaders and increase their multi-cultural understanding through training and community service projects in Latin America." This description does not do the organization justice and just barely scratches the surface of the intensity and breadth of experience an Amigos project encompasses. I will attempt to condense the entirety of the Amigos volunteer experience now: "Welcome to Amigos, you will spend approximately 7 months training, during which you will learn about being a stranger in a strange land. In June we will hand you over to a group of strangers who will be responsible for your health, safety and project progress (Project Staff). This group of strangers will then drop you and a partner off in small community where you don't know anyone and will only understand 10-65% of what anyone ever tells you. You will live in a house with a family you have never met before, use their outhouse, play with their children and try not to get diarrhea. You will also facilitate activities with as many children and youth as possible to discuss clean watersheds and soil management (among other things). You will help the community execute a project(s) that they identified would benefit its members and give a minimum of 20 children colorful friendship bracelets. Include local youth in the planning and implementation of all of your projects (only 15% of you will do this successfully) and tell everyone that their rice and beans are delicious. Do not smoke, drink, ride a motorcycle, leave your community, or use a firearm during this time. Remember to purify your water, use your mosquito net and try not to vomit inside the house at any time during the project. In six weeks we will send you back home. You will be happy not to have fleas anymore and to have access to delicious pizza and chocolate, but your heart will ache for the openness, generosity and loving care and affection that no one else can give but a Latin American." This is not entirely comprehensive and is somewhat specific to the project here, the volunteers I am responsible for (7 total) as well as my own experiences as a volunteer way back when. But it will do.
My role as a Supervisor is entirely different than that of a volunteer, but I presume I have already saturated you with information. The idea is to share these tidbits with you as I move through the summer, but I'm gonna give some basics now anyway:
The Project Staff includes:
-Senior Staff (3 people): they keep watch of the home-front in Matagalpa and do most of the coordinating and relationship building with the Nicaraguan organization we work with here who directs the work that we do. It's all the behind the scenes, nitty-gritty of the project.
-Project Supervisors (6 people): We are each responsible for 3-4 communities. This means we make sure the communities understand the volunteers' role over the summer and their part in the process. We help plan for the Community Based Project, set up the meal plan for volunteers, figure out housing, etc etc. We visit each community for one day/night every week to check in on the volunteers and basically fix anything that has gone awry (from irritable bowels, dire homesickness, and utter confusion to halted project implementation and disinterest of local youth-counterparts). Over the weekend we all return to Staff House in Matagalpa to report back to Senior Staff and plan for the next week's events on Route. Yay!
Now you are caught up on the goings-on of Keily (my Spanish name). I will attempt to make future post less logistical and more reflective and philosophically convoluted. I'm thinking next week I will discuss the relativity of time.
Thanks for coming. Just leave your cup, I will wash it.
Love to you Earth traveler,
Kayleigh
P.S. Here is the link to information about the project, if you are curious to learn more: http://www.amigoslink.org/project/matagalpa-nicaragua
Friday, May 27, 2011
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