Mother Tree Network

💫 Today, I want to share an incredibly powerful and transformative experience that I had recently. It involved mushrooms, vulnerability, and an unexpected connection that reminded me of the profound relationship between grief and laughter. Prepare to be moved! 🌿🎭

🎻 It all started as I sat on my screened-in porch, surrounded by nature, with my beloved partner by my side. Seeking a deeper connection with myself and the universe, I embarked on a mushroom journey, unsure of what awaited me on the other side. Little did I know, it would change everything. 🍄💕

🎶 As the mushrooms began to take effect, I felt an intense resonance with my husband,  who plays the violin. In that moment, the music seemed to enhance and carry my voice further than I could on my own. The violin became a protector, enveloping my vocal tone and preserving my vibrational energy. 🎻✨

💔 Waves of sadness washed over me, and I found myself crying uncontrollably. In the past, I would try to rationalize my tears or push them away, but this time, I allowed myself to fully feel the pain in my heart. I surrendered to the tears, letting them flow without judgment or resistance. 🌊💧

🌟 And guess what happened? Something truly magical. In the midst of my tears, a shift occurred, and laughter burst forth. Grief and laughter, almost like roommates or twin sisters, intertwined within me. The absurdity of life, the joy and appreciation, flooded my being. 😂✨

🎵 My partner, my beloved, communicated through his violin, extending deep notes and carrying my toning when I needed to breathe. Our collaboration was effortless, as if they could effortlessly find and share the same frequency. It was a symphony of love and connection. 🎼💞

💪 As a mature woman in her late 50s, I've developed coping mechanisms to survive in the world. But in this vulnerable moment, I realized that trying to stop myself from crying only made me cry more. I learned the power of fully surrendering and letting myself be seen in my most raw state. 🌹

💕 This experience reminded me of the importance of broadcasting a frequency from the heart, a frequency that may not always be conveyed through words. I felt supported in my broadcasting efforts, with my partner as a key member of my support team, protecting and cushioning me. 🌿🛡️

📩 I'd love to hear about your own journeys and experiences that you might want to share. If you resonate with my message or have any thoughts, feel free to email me.  You can also join the Mother Tree Community.   Let's connect and learn from each other. 💌 

🍄 Disclaimer: When I mention mushrooms, please note that I'm not endorsing any illegal activity. My focus is on promoting good health and exploring the potential for emotional healing. 🌿🌱

👉 Thank you for joining me on this profound journey. If you resonated with my experience, I invite you to reach out and connect. 💫✨

APPROXIMATE TIME STAMP SUMMARY

00:01:08 During a mushroom journey, the speaker sets a vague intention of being open to unconditional love. As they slow down and lie on the couch, waves of sadness overcome them, leading to uncontrollable crying. Typically, they analyze the cause of their sadness, but this time they simply allow themselves to experience it. After a while, they stop crying and express a sense of empowerment.

00:05:07 The speaker experienced sadness and empathy towards plants being treated as objects, realizing their own empathetic nature and the need to wall off emotions. They appreciated their own empathetic self while witnessing their beloved's care for the plants.

00:08:24 In this passage, the speaker describes a powerful emotional experience where their crying transformed into a musical tone

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Join us for this episode of Mother Tree Network as I embrace the spirit of dandelion, wander in the realm of questioning, and navigate the currents of redirection and transformation.

I include two recordings of me channeling Dandelion Spirit about the Supreme Court reversal of Affirmative Action and the floods in Vermont.

These transmissions encourage a deep exploration of the unknown and emphasize the power of questioning to uncover new perspectives and truths. 

Drawing inspiration from the concept of following the wind, Dandelion Spirit poses important questions regarding affirmative action, its beneficiaries, effectiveness, and possible alternatives. 

In the second transmission, I focus on the recent flooding in Vermont that caused road closures and delayed my journey, I contemplate the river's rising as a force of divine feminine energy. 


I had just eaten dandelion greens and sipped my dandelion tincture before reading Jen Frey's book, "Communicating with Plants," which has a chapter on Dandelion Spirit. 


I reflect on the need for new structures to contain and follow this energy's path while being prepared for possible evacuation.

Exploring the concept of redirection and the flow of energy, Dandelion encourages the emergence of new relationships, articulations, business practices, friendships, and ways of living on the land. 

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So many gems from this conversation.  I can’t wait for you to listen.

My guest is Teri Schmidt who is the founder of Stronger to Serve, a start up that supports women in leadership.

I started the conversation by asking Teri about the Iron Man competition that she completed where she swam two miles, biked 112 miles and then ran a marathon–all in the same day!

She said that seemed impossible to her, but she was able to do it by taking consistent daily action.

But first she had a conversation with God because she did not know how she could do the yearlong training with two small children at home.

God’s answer:  Make it About More than You; Make it about being your best as a family.

So, Terri created a training program that included her husband and children.  And, she was able to do the competition and elevate her family at the same time.

When I asked Terri what’s her “impossible” today, she said creating workplaces that are compassionate and just where each person discovers and reaches their potential.

Sounds kind of impossible right?

So I asked Terri how she goes about taking consistent daily, small actions in this regard.

She says for her it starts with one leader in the workplace at a time.

She also recommends that each leader (and you are one if you’re reading these show notes), start by noticing your strengths and values and then building teams with folks who have different strengths so they can fill in where you don’t excel.

Every leader needs communities of support where they are not strong especially if you can’t afford to expand your team.  That could include a skills community, friends, a coach, etc.

Most importantly, make your “impossible” about more than you.

We also discuss Teri’s decision to lay down the non-profit she started and how she is moving through the grieving process.  At first she felt like a failure, but she’s coming to see that her non-profit was like a piece of art.  When it’s complete, you can still appreciate it but you don’t have to keep working on it.

Building her own business, Stronger to Serve, is allowing her to focus on women leaders at work, and to bring into reality her impossible:  “Compassion and Justice in the workplace.”

You can get more info from Teri by going to Strongertoserve.com.

You can download Teri’s Values & Strengths Workbook for free by going to  https://www.strongertoserve.com/leadershipvoiceworkbook.

Teri Schmidt is passionate about human connection and the leadership potential within each of us. 

Her career has weaved through the educational, corporate, and nonprofit sectors but has had a consistent thread throughout: In each role, her focus has been either on developing the potential in others or working to remove barriers toward people expressing their potential. Using her 20+ years of coaching, leadership, and performance improvement experience in the corporate and nonprofit sectors, she transforms overwhelm into impact.

Teri's Bio

​Teri is the CEO of Stronger to Serve Coaching & Teambuilding where new and mid-level leaders hire her to gain the clarity and confidence they need to unleash potential, drive team performance, and become changemakers in their organizations and communities.

​She also hosts the Strong Leaders Serve podcast inspiring leaders to make their workplaces more compassionate and just through their leadership, without burning out.

​Teri is an Ironman triathlete and loves to be in nature backpacking, camping, and doing some occasional rock climbing.  She currently lives outside of Dallas with her three favorite people, her husband Jeff and her two teenage kids, Tyler and Megan.

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Mother tree Network Podcast--Where  Earth Wisdom Meets Racial Justice and Women's Leadership.

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“Every single one of those obstacles, every single one of those challenges, every single one of those humans...were just literally helping me point back to myself. They were helping me point back to my highest self. And allowing me to grow and expand."--Aurora Archer

On this episode of Mother Tree Network, I interview Aurora Archer, a former corporate marketing executive and founder of The Opt-in, podcast and beneficial corporation.  Aurora shares her belief that corporate America is at a moment of transformation and discusses how her diverse background and marketing career helped break the generational legacy of debt and poverty in her family.

A native Texan with a Mexican immigrant mother, Aurora grew up with a strong sense of identity and pride. She shares how her mother's teachings about the beauty of her culture, her connection to nature, and the belief that everything we need is provided by Mother Earth shaped her perspective. 

Aurora shares her personal journey of growth, the importance of representation in leadership roles for people of color, and the challenges she faced fitting into binary categories. She also discusses her successful corporate career, the challenges of entrepreneurship, and The Opt-In’s focus on developing  racial literacy and cultural competency in Corporate America. 

Aurora's company, The Opt-in, offers workshops, coaching, and product development sprints. She highlights the importance of diversity in product design to avoid oversights and accidents, and how addressing simple issues like Zoom backgrounds reflects the ability to tackle complex innovations. 

The episode ends with Aurora sharing her gratitude for supportive educators who believed in her potential and the power of Black women’s sisterhood, as well as her father's emphasis on the importance of one's heart and mind. 

Tune in to gain valuable insights and inspiration from Aurora Archer's experiences and advocacy for diversity and inclusion in corporate America.

For more on Aurora visit her on LInkedIn at Aurora Archer or go to https://theopt-in.com/

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Mother tree Network Podcast--Where  Earth Wisdom Meets Racial Justice and Women's Leadership.

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This episode is my initial perspective on the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Affirmative Action.

I've been wrestling with this!

Yes, affirmative action was helpful.

Yes, I am grateful for my life and every opportunity that affirmative action subtly nudged open for me.

Yes, it is a loss.

But I'm wrestling because that's not all I want to say here.

I also want to say:

There's an underside to affirmative action.

Namely, the belief that "good" or "liberal" white people were "giving" me something that I had not earned or that my community was too bereft to give me.

Affirmative action did not shift the power dynamics.

Affirmative action was not reparations.

Affirmative action did not free us..

James Baldwin said:

'Freedom is not something that anybody can be given. Freedom is something people take, and people are as free as they want to be.'

We are only as free as our consciousness allows us to want to be.

Consciousness refers to the mindset and heartset that we bring to every situation–even how we see ourselves.

I agree with Bob Marley who said, "Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds."

So, how do I free myself?

I practice "slowing down" to listen to nature and my ancestors rather than CNN.

I notice that we walk in spirals.

I ask myself questions: 

How do I meet this current version of the challenge to be free?

What deeper understanding about freedom, interdependence, and decolonization can I bring to this moment?

On this episode I share what Dandelion Spirit guided me to do about the overturning of affirmative action.

Here's just a snippet of what I received from Dandelion Spirit:

Allow the unknown to emerge...

Ask Questions

Wake up

Follow the scent

It's on the wind

We are dandelion; we follow the wind

What questions does it make you or let you ask?

I encourage you to slow down to catch the scent of the deeper implications and possibilities.

Don't let influencers do your thinking for you.

There may be a drive to go fast; to act fast; decide fast.

When I go fast it's usually because my core abandonment wound has been activated:

Fear of losing love and protection-and enduring hunger and neglect.

Slow down.

Be independent.

Pay attention to what you are feeding your consciousness.

"None but ourselves can free our minds."

If this resonates with you--join me for more on Friday, July 7.

"5 Signs It's Time to Slow Down your Racial Justice and Regenerate"

Slow down, ask questions and catch the scent with me!

Please share this with friends who

• Have been doing social justice for more than a minute.
• Are tired or losing energy for what you do or how you used to do your social justice.
• Want to decolonize their consciousness.
• Are ready to awaken to nature and/or ancestors for deep guidance.
• Open to folks of all races. 9am pacific/12pm eastern

There's no charge to participate.

I don't know if there will be a replay.

I don't know if I'll do it again.

I'm listening for guidance--on my own slowing down!

May you be grounded in love,

Amanda Aminata Sol

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are a few more ways to journey with me.
 LISTEN and review my podcast Mother Tree Network

 READ: Read Along with Amanda Aminata Sol--A short list of what I'm current

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Mother tree Network Podcast--Where  Earth Wisdom Meets Racial Justice and Women's Leadership.

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Kirsten and I have a magical conversation about how to get in the flow of magic and joy.

A pre-school teacher, Kirsten leads fairy walks to help adults and children reconnect with our senses so that we can perceive and receive life energy from the more-than-human world.

We talk about Kirsten’s first mystical experience which happened while working at a college prep farm school in the midwest.

There she had a vision of herself living and being sustained by three regions, the Midwest -her roots; the Bay Area for wizarding; and North Carolina for jigging and living in her heart.

It was fascinating to watch Kirsten stop in mid sentence and consult her inner wisdom, which she also calls her Inner Child. 

Kirsten says any part of us can lead but to choose consciously which part we want to lead.  For example, the mind can lead the chi (your life force energy), but the body can lead the mind.  

Since both of us have a lot of virgo energy and naturally lean toward quick mind, Kirsten says she turns toward the body, outdoors, and trees to slow down and ground.

Kirsten pointed out that many women emerge in mid-life with new interests and talents, and we drop the “should” and allow ourselves to listen to our “Highest guidance” and trust the instinct to play.

If you would like to tap into your inner child magical joy, Kirsten recommends you start with the following:

Play with children

Watch loving mother child interactions (could be a youtube animal kingdom video)

Focus on your feet, especially wiggling your toes

Get outside!

You can find out more about Kirsten’s fairy walks and multidimensional healing services at https://innerchildoutside.com/

TRANSCRIPT

Amanda Aminata [00:00:02]:

Hey, everybody. It's Dominique. Hey, everybody. Welcome to the mother tree network podcast. It's army not to soul plant Walker Fire woman, and I'm so excited to be here with my special guest today, my friend. Kirsten Bull. And you'll see her full bio in the show notes, but just so that you know, Kirsten for me is an sturtinary human being. She is so open and porous and and willing to engage with scene and unseen and to really honor her inner authority and and and just be herself, just be authentic with people. So which I think is such a form of leadership. You know, it just, like, gives people around you permission to be who they are. So Kirsten Bull. Thank you, and welcome to the Mother Tree Network.

Kirsten Bohl [00:00:57]:

Thank you. I'm happy to be here.

Amanda Aminata [00:00:59]:

Yeah. So we started the show by asking the same question. And so to you, I asked, what's good?

Kirsten Bohl [00:01:08]:

Oh my gosh. Though what comes to my mind is the sky is blue today where I am. I'm in I'm in North Carolina in Central North Carolina. We're we're at the the center of spring, and it's it's beautiful. The green has filled in and the sky is a clear blue today.

Amanda Aminata [00:01:31]:

It's beautiful. And you said North Carolina.

Kirsten Bohl [00:01:34]:

Yes.

Amanda Aminata [00:01:35]:

Yeah. Yeah. So and in the center of Spring. So for you, What does that feel like in your body? You know, when you are in the center of spring and the green has filled in, around you?

Kirsten Bohl [00:01:50]:

Yes. A lot of joyful energy coming up and out and also of the sense of being held and cocooned at the same time. For example, going for a walk in the woods at the creek near where I live. There's that sense of the archway, the canopy, and just the enjoyment of that.

Amanda Aminata [00:02:17]:

Before we started this call, you had said something about trees and how you Adjusted yourself. You, like, gave yourself a chiropractic adjustment in working with some trees. Can you tell us that story?

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Mother tree Network Podcast--Where  Earth Wisdom Meets Racial Justice and Women's Leadership.

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This solo episode features a reading of the poem THE ANCESTORS which I wrote around 2008.

The poem was the response to a prayer that I sent up requesting guidance on how to revise Show Me the Franklins, a play about Benjamin Franklin and slavery.

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Mother tree Network Podcast--Where  Earth Wisdom Meets Racial Justice and Women's Leadership.

Want to become your unlimited self and evolve the planet?

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According to our guest Jen Frey, “Plants want to communicate with us. They love us. They know their part in the great web of Life, and they want to help us remember ours.”

What a fun conversation about co-creating with Nature spirits, plants, robins, bunnies and more.

Jen Frey is a land apprentice who has been living on a 20-acre property with her husband for the past eight years. She has been on an intense journey of discovery, trying to communicate with the land and plants and understand what they are telling her. Although she does not hear words from the land and plants, she gets strong feelings and images that guide her. 

In this episode Jen who is the founder and owner of BrigidsWay, tells us how she is working with nature’s intelligence to restore the land she cares for, Heart Sanctuary.

We discuss some of the principles of regeneration and restoration that apply to social justice and human evolution.  

Jen just published a new book– Communicating with Plants: Heart-Based Practices for Connecting with Plant Spirits.  It is now available at all bookstores, including Amazon.  Use my affiliate link to purchase on amazon:  Communicating with Plants:  Heart-Based Practices....  Contact me if you’d like to be part of our book discussion group later this summer. [email protected]

In Communicating with Plants, Jen writes, “Plants can help us to discover solutions to any problem or question, including big collective issues such as climate change, social injustice, energy alternatives, poverty, agriculture, housing, diseases, and anything else that keeps us from thriving...Plants meet us where we are, sharing the wisdom and gifts that we need the most at that time.”

Additionally, the podcast features Amy Kietzman, a short story writer and forest caretaker, who shares her experiences with communication with plants, offering a unique perspective. Don't miss this chance to explore an innovative way of communication that will help you connect with nature.

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Mother tree Network Podcast--Where  Earth Wisdom Meets Racial Justice and Women's Leadership.

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Metta is an important tool to help you Regenerate your Justice and Joy .  
I hope you will use it to cultivate PRESENCE in your life. 
This type of meditation has been shown to reduce implicit racial bias when it's practiced regularly over an eight week period.

It also increases your sense of well being and belonging.

Do this meditation before or after a difficult conversation; encounter or experience.

Learn more about the 5Rs to Regenerate your Racial Justice by listening to episode #29.

Enjoy!

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Mother tree Network Podcast--Where  Earth Wisdom Meets Racial Justice and Women's Leadership.

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Thank you for joining me for this solo episode where I am going to be talking about how to regenerate your racial justice. 

This was originally a talk that I gave to some members of my racial justice from the Heart community.  I decided to edit it and make it a podcast because it reflects my latest thinking and feeling about how to do racial justice or any social justice work in a way that is healthy, regenerative, and life giving.  Something I think has been missing too often from the work we do is delight! 

In this episode, I'm going to share with you what I call the 5R's to Regenerative Racial Justice:  Rest, Release, Restore, Root and Roar.

These 5R's are going to be the focus of our upcoming Soul Journey to the Summer Solstice  on June 17 through the 21st.   Each day we're going to focus on one of the R's with the intention that we regenerate and roar by the completion of our time together. 

You can get the details from that on my website, drAmandakemp.com. DrAmandakemp.com. 

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Mother tree Network Podcast--Where  Earth Wisdom Meets Racial Justice and Women's Leadership.

Want to become your unlimited self and evolve the planet?

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https://www.dramandakemp.com/podcast