i want what SHE has

On this month's installment of Politics and Spirituality with Marielena Ferrer we go deep into birth and the many facets of this conversation including; immaculate conception, unwanted pregnancies, and rebirths. Here's the NPR article we referenced, and here's Tanaaz's Full Moon Lunar Eclipse report. Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda of  Radio Kingston . Our show music is from  Shana Falana...

Today I celebrate the life of Kia Abilay. She was a guest on the show September 21, 2021 when she talked about her book, The Gift of Listening: Cultivating Your Connection to Spirit . The part of her story we didn't get into in her interview was how she had been diagnosed with esophageal cancer and what she was doing to heal from it. Kia passed on November 22, 2021 and so today, on her birthday an...

The content of today's show won't be uplifting, at least not most of it, but it's real and necessary information not to be ignored or forgotten. We will be talking about intimate partner violence or domestic violence and abuse so sensitive ears may want to avoid listening. My colleague Mariel Fiori shared this first story with me and covered it on her radio show which is in Spanish, but I'll link...

Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Kaity Altu , Grant Manager, Child Care Connections at Family of Woodstock about the importance of investing in children. The NYS Office of Children and Family Services is offering a new grant opportunity to help open new child care programs in our region!  The INVEST IN NEW YORK CHILD CARE DESERTS GRANT hopes to address child care deserts across our state...

Back at it for another round of deep thoughts and wild talks with Mariaelena Ferrer. The second Monday of the month is inspired by the book,  Espiritualidad y Politica, which was published 11 years ago, of which Mariaelena was a contributor. She is also the Executive Director of Humanamente — a diversity and inclusion consulting organization, Chair of the Athena Network New York — a psychosocial s...

Today's show is dedicated to Sexual Assault Awareness Month and an exploration of toxic masculinity. Inspired by the anger displayed at the Oscars and the Grammy awarded to Louis CK, I dig into some questions I have about the source of this behavior and the ways we can work together to prevent it. I share the following talks and words from others who've spoken on these subjects including lots of m...

Today, I approach the subject of abortion with a (somewhat) open mind. I appreciate the fact that this is a divisive topic, and my hope is to relieve some of the pressure on the subject so that we can address the practical issues that are related to reproductive care. As someone who believes that it should a person's choice whether or not they have a child, I am committed to taking action to maint...

Happy SPRING! Today it's me, some music, and talk of Spring vibes and Spring Cleaning. Here are the links to the Forever Conscious Spring Equinox and Aries Season readings. This episode was inspired by and based off of the spring cleaning tips and inspiration from NPR and The New Yorker . For those of you near Ulster County, you can take your electronics to the Ulster County Resource Recovery Cent...

Back at it for another round of deep thoughts and wild talks with Mariaelena. The second Monday of the month is inspired by the book,  Espiritualidad y Politica,  which was published 10 years ago, of which Mariaelena was a contributor. She is also the Executive Director of Humanamente — a diversity and inclusion consulting organization, Chair of the Athena Network New York — a psychosocial support...

Tara Sanders  is currently the Director of Community Outreach and Public Relations at YWCA Ulster County . Long before that, she came to her yoga mat to explore and heal. Having a strong commitment to serving the community and advocating for underserved populations, she has taught students at a mental health advocacy agency, homeless youth, and developed a therapeutic yoga & mindfulness program fo...

Caron Grossman is a Registered Nurse and Certified Transitional Life Coach. She has worked extensively with families, patients and health care providers in organ donation, critical care, health coaching and addiction. She has spent a great deal of time working with people in grief, end of life and other complex life transitions and living losses. Caron is an inspirational speaker who offers differ...

Today I welcome Suz Slezak , mother and musician, to the show. For Suz harmonizing with another human being is a sacred act of sharing breath. This lifelong love of harmony is how she, as if by accident, fell into music as a career. Suz grew up TV-free on her family’s Virginia homestead, in an endless loop of fiddle-playing and singing led by her father, a Catholic seminary dropout, as she, her br...

It's the second Mo(o)nday of the month which means Marielena Ferrer returns for another talk about Spirituality and Politics, the Valentine's Day edition. We stumble through the messy history of the day and talk about how we feel about it, debate a bit about how to handle the day if you don't have/want a romantic partner which brings us back to ways of celebrating the day, self-love, Galentine's,...

Inspired by an article written by today's guest, Aileen Weintraub, I begin the show reading " When Doctor's Downplay Women's Health Concerns " from the NY Times, and then on the live show we listen to Jennifer Brea's Ted Talk . You podcast folks can check out the

Happy New Moon, Lunar New Year, Imbolc and Black History Month! Today I am honored to welcome The Poet Gold , Artivist, Poet, Author, Teaching Artist and Radio Host, and Suprina , Sculpturist and Artivist. They are collaborators and the Executive Producers of the video " Say Their Names ," premiering February 1st at 7pm eastern. (Poet Gold and Suprina's interview starts around minute 36) Like so m...

WELCOME TO SEASON 5!!!!! Today I have the privilege of speaking with Inno Powell, Founder of Abundance Farms. “Their mission is to get fresh organic produce into the homes of BIPOC families in and out of Ulster County, NY. There are so many people living in places where food apartheid plays a big part in our communities and we aren't even aware of it. We started growing out of public and private s...

It's a Full Moon and so we're doing a little Full Moon Release and Ritual on today's show. I share from the  Forever Conscious Full Moon report and a little from Cory Nakasue's show, The Cosmic Dispatch . Then you can move your body for some physical release with a little (mostly) 80's dance party. Here's a link to the Playlist for today's show, or feel free to use your own inspiring music! This i...

It's the return of our monthly conversation about Spirituality and Politics with Marielena Ferrer. Today we take inspiration from an episode of the Dan Harris Podcast 10% Happier about How You Help End Polarization and Inequality and Get Happier Too. It features Robert Putnam and Shaylan Romney Garrett who wrote the book, The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Ag...

Nancy Graham serves on the board of Mohonk Consultations and the arts council of The Lace Mill, where they live in Midtown Kingston. They have worked or volunteered for numerous nonprofits related to social justice, alternative media, theatre, film, and writing. Poet/writer/visual artist under the name Nancy O. Graham; actor under the name Noa Graham. Her most recent theatre project was  Orchid Re...

It's the return of Sari Botton and Carolita Johnson who were last guests on the same show back in April 2018 ! Sari Botton is a writer, editor and teacher living in Kingston, NY. She is the editor of the award-winning anthology  Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving NY  and its New York Times-Bestselling follow-up,  Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for NY.  Sari...

Today I start out the show talking about Fair Pay for Home Care and the work of the Caring Majority Rising . They do such important work to raise awareness of the unfair labor practices for home care workers and also the impact the shortage of these workers has on those who need the care. There's a big push here in NY State to increase their wages amongst other initiatives, and I am asking you to...

It’s the return of  Marielena Ferrer  and our monthly conversation inspired by  Espiritualidad y Politica , which ponders ideas related to society’s relationship with money, cultural integration, sustainable development, and participation in public life. The overarching message is that it is possible and necessary to marry the art of living (spirituality) with the art of coexisting (politics) to a...

On today's show I share my very real conversation with Isis Benitez, a 22 year old woman who is struggling with loving her body for how it looks. She has struggled time and time again with thinking that she is “fat” (a term she uses). Benitez’s biggest struggle is when she tries to love herself so much but thinks her stomach is the problem. She sees herself as being a big girl, and therefore she m...

Today the show begins with a conversation with Annette Simmons ,  a keynote speaker, consultant, and author of four books, including The Story Factor , which is listed in The 100 Best Business Books of All Time . She received a business degree from Louisiana State University, went on to spend ten years in Australia in international business, then received an M.Ed. from North Carolina State Univers...

Francine Glasser is a Clinical Social Worker and Therapist who recently published a memoir, " Shards of Glass: A Kaleidoscopic Life's Memoir ," about her experiences as a child and how she took a path to healing from her difficult experiences. A bit about her book: Because her family constantly had to flee the repercussions of her father's gambling addiction, Francine Glasser was consigned to a ch...