The Poisoned Antelope and Cultural Change
Last year, we dealt with many changes. I had the good fortune of joining a project dedicated to saving the second largest rainforest on our planet, the Congo Basin. The genius minds behind that project had made a compilation of Congolese folklore and mythology. The Congolese have passed these stories from one generation to another for over three thousand years. The book, Congo Tales, is filled with stunning photographs taken by Pieter Henket and stories that easily remind the reader of The Brothers Grimm fairy tales. This selection captures Congolese culture and wisdom in a most breathtaking way. As an advocate of cultural change, one story...
3 Signs of a Healthy Culture – facing change with know-how
There is a lot of turmoil around the world. This reflects in our culture and our health. Without a plan, it may seem natural to resign to pessimism and hopelessness. Many of my clients and friends ask me: How do you stay so motivated? I have my gray days, but I can share something that helps me. I regularly envision a healthy culture. It feels good to at least know what that looks like. That gives me a lot of strength. So, to help others envision it and stay motivated as we tackle change, I would like to highlight three signs of a healthy culture! Here...
Singing Competitions: Junk food for Connection Cravers
Recently I was asked by a highly talented, international yoga teacher to create a cultural workshop for singing. She is a global citizen, where she was born, grew up, and finally now lives are three very different places. She is raising her child multilingual (including sign language) because she and her husband speak different languages. Her heart has roots in several places on this globe. When asked what her dream course would look like, she said that she missed the type of connection that singing with other people had brought her in her country of birth and wanted to have the opportunity to sing because...
The Challenge of Connecting
The Challenge of Connecting As a teacher and performer, it is my job to create a connection with the people around me. Theoretically it isn’t that hard because we all have things in common. Practically on the other hand, it can be tricky to see what it is that we share in any given moment. It takes practice. Sometimes it is super easy to make that connection; a shared joke over a mutually loved TV show or song, a smile that lets everyone know that it’s time for fun. Other times it’s hard; feelings surface which block the moment (insecurities, entitlement or dominance) and make people...