Yael Nehama

Cold night. Cold, endless night. Filled with anticipation I venture out. Anticipation that fills my heart with the hope of things to come. Snow crackling 'neath my feet. Bright Moon blessing my way. Cold night. Cold, endless night. The path not clear and yet I am walking. Anticipation that fills my heart with the hope of things to come. Wind placing sharp kisses on my cheek. Wise Owl calls the way. Cold night. Cold, endless night. Growing, faintly I begin to see. Anticipation that fills my heart with the hope of things to come. The sun reborn, growing ever brighter. The Light guides my way. Night cannot endure forever. ~Village Wise Woman

I am in pain, much like most of the United States is in pain. It is of a surety that every parent hugged their dear children tighter yesterday. My heart exploded from the heart ache and tears flowed this morning for the parents who lost children and all the families and friends affected. Life will simply never be the same for them. Never. And there are no answers. None to satisfy at least. And then I see this. An offering of, I imagine, a very well meaning person trying to make a statement. I have to be honest and tell you how much I dislike this saying every time I have seen it. I dislike it with a passion and anger that makes me feel like I want to scream at the person quoting it and shake my fists at the  heavens. There are many levels of absurdity to me in this statement  but I am going to simply rant about what I see. Regardless of whether G-d is 'allowed' in schools or not,  to have Him saying violence occurs because He is not allowed in, strikes me as a ...

There are times when the darkness surrounding me seems all too much. When I dare to watch or read the news I become more than convinced that we are going to hell in a hand basket complete with rocket boosters. As far as the media and, it appears, the majority opinion is concerned, it is completely hopeless. Couple that with all the apocalyptic movies, the sensationalism of Mayan 2012 and of course let us not forget the zombie apocalypse, I am not sure why we all aren't  curled up in a fetal position in the corner rocking frantically waiting for the end to finish us. I think of darkness. Dark moonless nights. Late nights in Maine where there is no ambient light and the copious stars in the sky give me a feeling of being swallowed up completely. Even there, when the porch light is out, it is not utterly dark. I think of myself. When the dark cloud of despair covers me like a heavy, uncomfortable blanket threatening to suffocate me between my sobs. Even then, w...

You ever have one of those days? No, not one of  those days, one of those perfect I-am-in-my-element-and-know-who-I-am days. For some time I have been a bit sad about the fact that, although I love my job as a preschool teacher, I felt it prevented me from doing all the other cool stuff I am supposed to be doing. You know, all that Village Wise Woman-y stuff. And since I need an income, having not yet invested in my vardo so I can take it on the road, I need a job that generates said income. It reminded me of when I was a young mother and I could not so all those 'things' I wanted to do because I was raising my children, you know things like reading books, going to the bathroom by myself and the like. Always missing out. Not that I would have changed it for the world, but why couldn't I have my cake and eat it too. And why can't I now? Well, the obvious answer is I can. And the fact is, I do. This past Sunday reminded me of this truth. It was that kind of a...

I. love. coffee. Mind you, it's not just a mere get myself into wake-up mode and move kinda love. No, it's more of a "I worship at your altar, oh goddess caffeina" kinda love. I enjoying the ritual of preparing the coffee and I eagerly await the first glub-glubs of the brewing process. When I begin to hear the gentle trickle of the coffee entering the urn, my excitement increases knowing soon I shall be partaking of the holy elixir. Eagerly I pour a cup adding just a pinch of sugar and cream so as not to disturb the wonderful bitterness of my first morning mug. Breathing it all in I drink...and I drink...and I drank until the coffee seemed to no longer be my friendly goddess but more of a annoying lover who certainly tasted lovely and dark at first but then began to slowly grow more and more bitter and eventually became an upset in my stomach. Oh, the joys of a sensitive stomach. So, what's a girl to do? I really and truly enjoy coffee. I tried tea, chai a...

You could chalk it up to the stars I was born under. Cancerian/Moonchildren are known to love their homes dearly, though some could call it a simlple, albeit minor case of agoraphobia. I myself just relish the warm and snug feeling of my home. One would imagine that as much as I love my home, homemaking would be my easiest and finest joy. Well, it is...now. When I was younger it was not, not by a long shot. In my early days of motherhood I lacked the skills and the balance to raise children and keep a tidy home. Since I could not do both, I focused on raising my children because as the poem goes: "The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow, for children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep. I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep." That was my story then. And it made sense, but there were many times thankfully where I could get my house in order, especially as my children grew older. But truth be told, I nev...

The Moon was oh so full and low in the sky when I noticed her last night. Appropriately enough,I saw here through stretching limbs of confused winter trees. Confused because many here are beginning to bud because of our very mild winter. Trees and plants beginning to wake up before their time could prove to be problematic since there is still at least 6-8 weeks of winter left and the possibilities of a harsh snowstorm are still likely. How sad it would be to lose those first buds, flowers or fruits. I began to consider today's holiday of Tu b'shvat, the New Year of Trees, and what this early awakening metaphor could mean. People are often compared to trees and it was this comparison that caused me to think on this further. There are those of us, many of us, who may be trying to bud and bloom before we are quite ready. Or perhaps we are putting pressure on another to bud and bloom before his or her time. Every tree has their fruit according to their kind and according to thei...

We've only had one layering of snow this winter. The holly bushes looked so lovely blanketed in white. Winter Dreams of peace. Photos taken at Moving Arts Institute where I teach dance .

I love an empowering birth story and I particularly love it when I know the mother. A dear friend of mine and fellow child birth advocate recently birthed her third hypno-baby. Yep, three successful hypnobirths! Obviously this is not fluke of nature, Hypnobirth simply works! After the second one she became a Hypnobirth Educator. What a gift she is giving to the community women! Reading her baby's birth story thrilled me and reminded me once again how important it is for all of us to tell and share our stories. Inspiration, wisdom and empowerment are what it is to be gained. We no longer gather at the well to share our stories but at least we have email, right? After reading her story and mulling it over and decided to ask if I could share it here. She said yes, because she too wants to encourage and empower you with her story. So consider this our well, the well of this particular village and read on to hear this empowered woman's story. Drink deeply and let it empower your hea...

Each New Moon for the past 10 months I have helped to erect a Red Tent Temple in the Philadelphia area. It is a traveling Red Tent, visiting the home of any sister who would like to make that space for the Temple. We have red fabric draped everywhere to give a physical manifestation to the Red Tent. There is often music softly playing in the background and a low hum of conversation. Often you will see a sisters sharing hearts in the kitchen, enjoying soup or other nosh that someone has brought to share. Other times you may notice another sister quietly coloring a mandala or reading a book. And other times you may just see her sitting on the floor with her head thrown back and her eyes closed simply feeling the peace the permeates the Tent. The Red Tent is a drop in which helps to maintain the relaxed feeling and openness of the Temple. Women are free to come and go during the time the Red Tent is open. Later the women are called to an informal circle and Ritual begins. That ritual too ...

“There is a vitality, a life-force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time this expression is unique and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and be lost. The world will not have it! It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open." ~ Martha Graham graphistolage.com Martha Graham spoke these words from her Dancer’s heart. You are a unique expression of the Divine. A facet, if you will, of the Diamond of Divinity’s love for the world. You were born as a gift to the planet and the human race and it is your responsibility to express that gift. By being you, a free and wild human being, you gift the world with that Love. Your work is not to figure it out, or to encumber yourself with a label or persona, your work is to simply be you. You in all of you...

As a believer and a contributor to The (peaceful) Revolution, I was looking for preschool songs of peace to share with my children. I discovered this lovely gem written by two teachers form Scotland, Jan and Randy Prichard.

Beats Antique pays tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, " Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better."

Today's Musical Monday post contains tribal belly dance, or what I like to think of as my sanity maintainer. Truly, it matters not what kind of week I've had, or if I'm not feeling quite so dancey before I get there, the moment I walk into class and see my sisters I am well. The music starts and life just got a heck of a lot better. If I am not dancing, another sure fire way to put a smile on my face is seeing these lovely ladies. Along with my own troupe Tribal Spirit , they are one of my top ten favorite troupes. Wild Card Belly Dance! I go absolutely fan-girl crazy over them! Their smiles, their skills, their transitions, the absolute joy of their dance and fun they are so obviously having assures a smile on my face and sets my heart aright every time! Have a peak yourself and see what I am talking about!

Walking down 4th street on a break and I discover glints of light on an otherwise gloomy alley Closer I venture to the building that turns into a stationary disco ball of sorts. Beauty is hidden everywhere in Philly Even masterpieces lurk in dark alleys and side streets.

(Caveat: this is a stream of consciousness kind of post. In other words, I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in and stops my mind from wandering where it will go. You have been forewarned.) I want to write and yet I find myself staring blankly at the keyboard. Oh, I occasionally reach for the mouse and then before I know it, here a click there a click and I have found myself in distraction-land. Being a metaphor lady I am currently searching for the lesson in this. It is too simple to say I am easily distracted. It is too easy to blame it on lack of inspiration or the absence of old fashioned stick-to-it-tive-ness. Well, my friends it may be simple and easy, but facts are facts , I am too easily distracted, particularly when there is a task that I deeply desire to do. One would think that if you want to do something you would simply do it. Not so, not so at all. It seems to me that simply wanting to do something is not enough. Deep desire does not seem to be enough. There mus...