Enlighten: Uplift & Inspire

A couple of days ago, Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away. What a tragic loss for our country, for our democracy and the soul of our nation! I am heartbroken and join millions of Americans in honoring her impressive legacy; she was a true American hero, relentlessly fighting for equal justice under the law. RBG championed women's rights as well as protecting the constitutional r...

My guest today is Sharon Charde. Sharon is a poet, teacher and author, who recently published a heartfelt, beautifully written book "I Am Not A Juvenile Delinquent: How Poetry Changed a Group of At Risk Young Women". For over a decade Sharon volunteered as a poetry teacher at a residential treatment facility for delinquent girls. Her initial intention was to reach out to these young women and have...

Oh what an emotional week this has been! How my heart aches for Jacob Blake, the black man who was brutally shot 7 times in the back by police officers, with his young children witnessing such racial violence as they sat in their car. The outpouring outcry in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, pleading for justice. The appalling, intentional hatred by a 17 year old white supremacist who illegally...

My guest today is Vonetta Taylor. Vonetta is a mystic, spiritual guide, entrepreneur, and Emmy award winning designer. Initially excelling in math and physics, Vonetta went to Cornell University, majoring in engineering, but then switched to Cultural Anthropology, which spoke more to her heart. Post-graduate research of magic, myth and education, brought Vonetta to Africa, but it was the people in...

I am happy to announce that my recent guided chakra meditation is now available on my website. Listen here . As we continue to delve into important layers of racial oppression, white supremacy, racial justice and what it truly means to dismantle racism, I am grateful to have this platform to share some of what I have been processing. Black people have acknowledged how difficult it is to give hones...

This past week, the strong winds and heavy rains of Hurricane Isaias moved up through the east coast, uprooting thousands of trees. Mother Nature is reflecting what many of us are experiencing personally and collectively, the aftermath of not just the physical storm, but of the pandemic and racial injustices that continue to challenge and shake us. The force of the storm captured in the verbs: upr...

I lead a 20-30 minute meditation with a small group of friends every Friday morning and this past week, one of my friends asked if I could record the meditation. I was moved that she would like to hear my meditation again, that she found my free-form guidance helpful in giving her a centering peace. So here it is for my friends and all my podcast listeners: a 20 minute spontaneous, organic guided...

My guest today is Kitty Hatcher. Kitty is a gifted astrologist and tarot reader, who reads astrological charts and teaches beginning, intermediate and advanced classes on astrology. I first met Kitty in 1993 and every reading from her since has helped me distinguish and live more confidently into, what Kitty describes as, who I truly am, as opposed to who I am programmed to be. With what has been...

Instead of a guest today, I'd like to humbly do my part in honoring the life and legacy of John Lewis. Representative John Lewis died on Friday July 17 at the age of 80 from pancreatic cancer. You will find beautiful tributes to Mr. Lewis, in the recent New York Times article, on a NPR special and throughout social media platforms. Please take the time to learn more about this courageous, devoted...

My guest today is Horace Turnbull. Horace has spent his life devoted to positively shaping kids lives and uplifting community, through the value and power of the arts. Horace grew up in segregated Greenville, MS, in high school he helped farm families find housing, formed recreational activity program for young people, majored in sociology and psychology at Tougaloo College, before moving to New Y...

My guest today is Frances Pratt. In my Nyack, NY community, Frances, at age 86, is a beloved, living legend. Frances is a registered nurse, who had a 53 year career at Nyack Hospital, which included being head nurse of ER and later a health administrator. The hospital named a waiting room after Frances, a scholarship in her name, as well as a positive-image rose garden. Frances is also a "licensed...

My guest today is Julia Adamy Pederson. Although Julia is an outstanding professional bass player, today's conversation is not about what a marvelous bass player she is, or her vibrant music career. Julia, my wholehearted, yet humble daughter, is uncomfortable talking about herself. True to the instrument she plays, her personality matches the function of the bass player: to be a supportive role,...

My guest today is Kimberly Latrice Jones. Kimberly is an activist, writer, and director. It was Kimberly's recent impassioned video that powerfully moved me and inspired me to reach out to her. Both Trevor Noah and John Oliver highlighted Kim's video, where she provides a poignant history lesson (all too often left out of our formal education), outlines the broken social contracts between whites a...

I want to acknowledge and address the traumatic, heartbreaking reality of our country's anti-black socialization, systemic racism and the internalized racist worldview that is ingrained in being white. I am reaching out, retreating, asking others, asking myself, learning, unlearning, doing, undoing, reflecting, listening, making mistakes, and striving for growth. I truly want to be as present to t...

My guest today is Jamie Surya. Jamie is a yoga instructor, owner of her own yoga studio and a revered community builder. Jamie was drawn to yoga at a very vulnerable time in her life, when she was struggling with anxiety and depression. Yoga shifted and profoundly transformed Jamie's life so she is devoted to sharing the practice with others. Rooted in a reverence for the ancient philosophy and pr...

I didn't plan for, nor expect the flood of tears that came over me, and in between my sobs, I realized it took a pandemic for me to feel the raw emotions of our country's intensified racism. It took a pandemic for me to weep in a new way for all the people of color who have been terrorized by police brutality and white supremacy. It took a pandemic for me to feel simultaneously outraged and helple...

My guest today is Suzanne. Suzanne had been a TV Producer, Videographer and Film Director, before her near fatal injury 3 1/2 years ago that created an opportunity for Suzanne to reset everything in her life. Suzanne has slowed down tremendously and is now living a more natural life, more in touch with the earth, animals, and people. She even says that her long road to recovery served as a warm up...

My guest today is Jason Tomlinson. Jason is a career skills advocate, community builder, and master barber. Jason's official title at Rockland Community College (RCC) is "Confidential Assistant to the President", which entails (other than being able to keep a good secret), coordinating scheduling and logistics for the president; representing the college in the community by building/collaborating/m...

In the past 2 months, during our shelter-at-home precautions for the coronavirus, I've done three separate 1,000 piece puzzles. So it won't come as a surprise that I've been reflecting on puzzles, the metaphors they hold, and what it means to me to be puzzling through this pandemic. So instead of a guest today, I want to share with you some of my puzzle thoughts and the insights they have provided...

My guest today is Dr. Lauren Dulberg. Lauren is a doctor of Chinese Medicine, an acupuncturist and devotee of ancient traditions. Having studied anthropology and ethno-botany, Lauren developed a reverence for southwest plant medicine. She then studied and personally experienced the ancient wisdom and effectiveness of Chinese medicine, with its healing powers in herbal formulas. She became motivate...

Even though the precautions we need to take as we do whatever we can to flatten the curve of Covid-19, prevent us from meeting in person, I am grateful that Zoom allows me to record conversations with guests near and far.  My guest today is Elizabeth Van Meter. Elizabeth is an actor, filmmaker and devoted humanitarian and one of the most authentic, inspiring humans I know! From her one-woman show,...

I truly hope this finds you healthy and safe, taking the necessary precautions we all need to be taking during this Covid-19 pandemic. And if you or anyone you love is ill or on the front line, please know that there is a circle of compassionate light beings holding you and those you care about in their loving embrace. I personally hold each of you in my daily meditations and want you to remember...

Instead of a guest today, I would like to share some of my own reflections in the midst of this pandemic and only hope that it may resonate and provide a heart connection for you. I know we are at a loss, so much of our lives, as we've known it have shifted, if not fully turned upside down. We will, if we haven't already, experience heart-breaking loss: loss of job stability, loss of reliable inco...

My guest today is Mother Suzanne Toro, one who embodies a compassionate and peaceful heart. In keeping with the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we recorded my conversation with Suzanne via Zoom. Suzanne is an Episcopal Priest, rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Cornwall, NY and although life has slowed down for many people, Suzanne admits that she has never worked ha...

Instead of a guest today, I would like to share some spiritual wisdom for these difficult times. Addressing and responding to COVID-19 marks an unprecedented moment in our history. Not just for some of us, but for all of us. Because this virus does not discriminate based on geography, culture, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic level, we are all impacted! Again not just in our neighborhood, our t...