I’ve just started singing lessons again after decade-long intermission. Once again, singing is teaching me more about living than any book ever could. Each breath makes a space in me for my authentic sound to come through. Using the instrument of my body to shape that sound has mostly to do with not doing something. There is a great and subtle work required to perfect that skill. This week’s lesson is to be the glove rather than the fist. And I am, once again, a...
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At our house, one of our favorite holiday films is Love Actually. We watch it every year. It starts and ends at the Arrivals lounge of Heathrow Terminal 5. The opening scene sparkles with smiles, tears of joy and welcoming embraces as the Narrator soothes our souls as he interprets the scene:"Whenever I get gloomy... with the state of the world, l think about the Arrivals gate… at Heathrow airport. General opinion makes that we live in a world of hatred and greed......
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What would it take for you to fully step into your power? What would it change?For the past couple of months, I’ve been reflecting on what it means to be sovereign, especially as a woman, to stand in my power in my relationships, my work and my life. This concept of ‘sovereignty’ has been front of mind for me for a couple of reasons: A Queen’s Passing, of which you are no doubt awareA Queens’ Council, which I’d like to share with you nowPlease read on to reflect...
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Why are we all so angry? Thirty years ago I spent a day in Cook County Jail in Chicago. I was there to shoot a segment for a documentary program I was producing about prisons. That day I met 25 teenage boys (most awaiting trial on murder charges) locked in a classroom with their teacher. I felt privileged to spend the day with them, and to interview a few about their experiences. Through their program with led by their teacher Charles Rankin (based on the work of Les...
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Today is the first day of National Storytelling Week.This annual UK festival runs through February 4th and brings live storytelling to schools, theaters, pubs, town halls and anywhere the public will gather to hear stories told. In the UK, lucky school children will get a chance this week to learn to craft and share their own stories. And it just doesn’t seem fair that we don’t all get that chance. So, in celebration of this inspired event, I’ve put together a...
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Want to change this broken world? Then meet me at Ghost Ranch. We live in a noisy world. We created technology to give us freedom and it has enslaved us. We are more productive than we’ve ever been, but we are no happier. For all our Internet connections, we are isolated. For all our social interaction, we have lost touch. For all our discontent with the world, we feel powerless to change it. Caught in the tightening net of materialism, we struggle to remember our...
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