Mother Tree Network

I recorded this introduction on Frederick Douglass’s birthday which happens to be Valentine’s Day.  Please check out Frederick Douglass Suite; Black History Month 2023

In this episode, you get to hear Part One of the Chaconne Emancipated, a performance piece that interweaves Bach and African American spirituals with excerpts from Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech and Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

Did you know that Dr. King made that speech on the anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation at the Lincoln Memorial?

After hearing the performance, Michael Jamanis and I have a rich conversation with guest interviewer Rev. Rhetta Morgan about:

✅ Ego and the creation process

✅ How African American spirituals worked on Michael

✅ How I went from hating classical music to loving Bach

✅ How traditional classical music audiences resisted this performance but then we found a home in non-traditional spaces such as rallies, Black History Month programs, etc. 

To continue the work of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement, we need to be able to have authentic, heart-centered conversations with people of good will across the color line. Sometimes this is hard, but if you stay present and don’t over identify with your ego, anything is possible.  

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Get on the Gift of Presence: Spring Equinox Program Waitlist:

  >> Click Here to Join the Wait List <<

You can watch a replay of the conversation and the entire performance by joining the Mother Tree Network.  Go here to make your monthly pledge:  https://dramandakem.samcart.com/products/mother-tree-community-membership-pwyc

Download the Chaconne Emancipated here: https://amandakemp.bandcamp.com/album/chaconne-emancipated

Subscribe to Michael Jamanis at his youtube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@michaeljamanis

Rev. Rhetta Morgan’s Bio

Rev. Rhetta is an interfaith minister, facilitator, artist and healer living and working in the Philadelphia area for the past 20 years.  Her work encompasses the intersections of spirituality, creativity and activism all rooted in an intention to work and live into a more just world.

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

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We are in the time of mid-winter.  Imbolc and the time of the Snow Moon remind us to get ready for spring but spring is not yet here.

 The full moon on Feb. 5th is almost here.  Let me illuminate something for you.

Mid-Winter is time to rest.

Even though the days are getting a little longer, it’s not yet time to put your plants in the ground or start budding.

This  episode reminds you to rest.  

It consists of an introduction and then a fifteen-minute guided meditation with Michael Jamanis’s rich evocative soundtrack to help you slow down your mind and body.

So many of us think that we have to start the new year with a bang, but I don’t agree.

We are still in the deep of winter for many of us; it’s still a time when yin energy dominates.  That is, it’s time to go slow, turn inward, sleep more and allow our energy to be restored.  It’s not the time to “jump” into goals or launch new initiatives.  It’s time to rest and clean or purify.

Unfortunately, the Protestant Work Ethic, extraction thinking, fear and capitalism all work together to make us feel guilty about resting.  We might feel self-indulgent or privileged if we decline invitations to work or serve and instead choose rest.

Think about it.

How do you feel when you rest?

Do you hide that you are resting?

What words do you use to describe rest?

Lazy.

Idle.

Indulgent.

But rest isn’t something to save up for vacation; it’s part of the natural rhythm of each day and of the winter season.

If we ignore winter’s slow energy and keep going, we might find ourselves emotionally tapped out and with lower immunity.  We may not have that energy burst when spring comes on the equinox.

We get depleted when we are out of sync with the seasons.

So,I invite you to listen to your Wise Self and find out if she needs rest.  

Next month, I’ll have a special episode about “springing forward” and going after what you want.

March is a time to articulate your vision and manifest.

Next month, I invite you to gestate your vision and give yourself permission to focus on that which pleases you.  I’ll be hosting a Micro-Retreat that includes creating a vision board and trusting your Wise Self.  If you’d like to get the info, click on the link below to get on the waiting list for “The Gift of Presence Micro-Retreat.” 

https://www.dramandakemp.com/gift-of-presence-sign-up

You can subscribe to the Michael Jamanis youtube channel for more great music to relax, meditate or study with at the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/user/michaeljamanis

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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

A self-declared, self-love activist, Jasmine Bellamy is a corporate Vice President who has made it her business to be a “student of love.” 

In this conversation, Jasmine shares why she lives a “surrendered life” and how you can do it too.

1) No fear because I've nothing to lose. If I am [following God's will}, then I will be where I am meant to be. There is no wrong place to be.

2) If I feel a nudge, e.g., to reach out to someone, I do it. (Even if I don't even know why.)

3)  I was intrigued by her description of being a "student of love" -- five years of reading, searching, observing. 

As the leader of culture transformation at work, she says it’s important to come to the table with our hearts and questions rather than answers.  Instead let’s find answers together.

Instead of making goals and plans, Jasmine says she lives a surrendered life.

She takes at least an hour each morning to be quiet and tune into where her life is leading her.  

She says, “I trust myself.”

Jasmine’s Bio

Jasmine Bellamy is a love practitioner who is a catalyst for business and culture transformation. She is a visionary strategist and joyful disruptor at the intersection of faith, culture, and business. The scholar practitioner transforming workplace culture from the inside out was recently named Sports Illustrated’s Top 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.

Jasmine earned a BS in Marketing Management from Syracuse University,  Master of Business Administration from Fordham University, and Master of Arts in Theology from Fuller Seminary Her journey continues as she pursues a Doctorate in Global Leadership, Redemptive Imagination of the Marketplace, at Fuller Seminary in Fall 2023.

Jasmine is the founder of Love 101 Ministries which is dedicated to the theology and practice of love and is the host of The Call to Love Experience. She is also the Vice President of Merchandising, Planning, & Allocation at Reebok, the head of Reebok Culture, and the creator and co-facilitator of Courageous Conversations, a platform that engages issues of Diversity, Equity, and inclusion and inspires transformation in community.

Find out more at www.love101ministries.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

Imagine this.

I'm crying in a bathroom at work.

I barely made it out of the room where an almost all white creative team had just made racist assumptions about Black art and Black people.

Every time I think I can pull it together, I start crying again.

I'm trying to be silent but the sobs won't stop.

Finally, my Chinese American friend, Grace, comes in and refuses to leave without me.

We are going to walk through those doors together.

Grace and I do it.

We spend hours talking.

Eventually, I leave the company.

I was twenty-two years old.

Has this ever happened to you?

Have you ever been flooded by feelings and embarrassed or ashamed?

Have you ever wished that you could hold on to your words and your temper?

Over the three decades since that experience, I've developed a 5-step process that has transformed my conversations.

I share the 5 Steps during the episode.

If you’d like to delve deeper, check out my digital course Transform your Conversations about Racism. 

To continue the work of Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement, we need to be able to to have authentic heart centered conversations with people of good will.

Support the show

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

Want to become your unlimited self and evolve the planet?

Go here to get the Mother Tree podcast + Show Notes sent to your inbox

https://www.dramandakemp.com/podcast

Kwanzaa is an African American sacred week created by Maulana Karenga in 1966.  Its purpose is to have African Americans focus on seven principles which are foundations of a holistic and free life. In this final episode of 2022 Makeda and I focus on the fifth principle which is Nia or purpose.

We have a passionate conversation about waking up from delusions and living our life purpose with joy and courage.

We talk about:

• My favorite part of Kwanzaa celebrations

• How and why we celebrate Kwanzaa in our family 

• Why I am obsessed with life purpose and why you should be too

• Can your life purpose vary as you enter different stages of life

• What happens when raising kids feels at odds with your life purpose

• The dangers of falling into delusion –any thoughts or narratives that take you away from your life purpose.

• How it feels to live my life as a Queen and use that energy to drive my life purpose

Resources:

Makeda and I both highly recommend Malidoma Some’s book  the Healing Wisdom of African because it shows how to use ritual, nature and community to help you remember your life purpose.

Makeda suggests the ickigai method as a way to gain awareness of your vocation, mission, and career.

I suggest that you take a mini-retreat regularly to confirm your life purpose and to make sure that your life is aligned with fulfilling on it.  If you'd like to hear what I'm planning, email me at [email protected]

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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?

Go here to get the Mother Tree podcast + Show Notes sent to your inbox

https://www.dramandakemp.com/podcast

How to Create Planet Paradise on Earth; A Love and Light Meditation Led by Gabriel Anthony-Kemp

This episode features a replay of a live guided meditation led by my son Gabriel during a moment of high fear. 

Do you remember where you were or how you felt when you learned about the police killing of George Floyd?  

Almost one year after Floyd’s death, the officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty.

On the day of the verdict, my son Gabriel agreed to offer a live meditation for the Racial Justice from the Heart Community.  I asked him to help us transmute fear.

He stunned us all by inviting us to hold a consciousness of Planet Paradise.

In a very skillful gentle weaving, Gabriel created stability and reminded us we are response-able.

You may notice that my voice sounds young and tired.

As I mentioned in Episode 007 Do Less; Do Differently; Heal the World, there was a point in my work where I was spent and to my amazement and gratitude my children stepped forward to lead.  This was that moment!

At the end, you will hear the conversation from participants about the meditation, their feelings about the Derek Chauvin conviction, and more.  In particular Deacon Eric Jackson, a Black leader from Harrisburg, PA offers insight and a rich voice.

This guided meditation goes very well with walking.  I listened to it while I was exploring a park with redwoods and other beautiful plant friends in Berkeley, CA.  Sitting amidst trees, pulling my fingers through the soil, I felt their lovingkindness towards me in my body.

But you could also listen to this while you drive, fix dinner, or simply sit.

Support the show

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

Want to become your unlimited self and evolve the planet?

Go here to get the Mother Tree podcast + Show Notes sent to your inbox

https://www.dramandakemp.com/podcast

This episode begins with a beautiful telling of the Deer Mother story by Amy Kietzman.  This is a myth that appears in many Eurasian cultures and is a wonderful way to enter the solstice Season.

Michael Jamanis composed original music to accompany the story.  Subscribe to his youtube channel for beautiful meditations like this one.

After the Deer Mother story, I share the vibration and intent of the Mother Tree Network  Winter Solstice Micro-retreat.  Even though registration is closed, I wanted you to give you a taste of what you can focus on for this solstice season.

I recorded the video after a deep meditation where I experienced myself inside the dark, safe, moist, living earth.

I got to this place by sending a cord from my root chakra which for women is at the cervix (who knew?) down into the earth to be with all the trees around me.

The themes of this winter solstice are:

Rest.  Especially the mind.

Release.  Any ideas, ideologies, beliefs, energies, relationships, etc that do not serve you

Root.  Drop down into the mycorrhizal plane for knowledge, peace, and guidance through the winter season.  

You can do this with only 15-20 minutes per day.

https://www.dramandakemp.com/winter-solstice-micro-retreat

Support the show

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

Want to become your unlimited self and evolve the planet?

Go here to get the Mother Tree podcast + Show Notes sent to your inbox

https://www.dramandakemp.com/podcast

Freddy and I have a hilarious discussion about sexual energy, cultivating a high vibration, and world peace.

Freddy Zental Weaver says we can experience sexual enlightenment and liberation by controlling your own energy.  

We talk about:

• Co-founding Tantra Nova with his wife Dr. Elsbeth Muth
• Sexual Enlightenment, his one-man show that has toured the world 
• Using Tantra distinctions and energy practices to create a life you want outside the bedroom
• How Freddy cultivates an energetic of peace and connection each 

Freddy leads us in a belly breath meditation as a way to reset the nervous system.

We also discuss National Loving Day, growing up with a white stepmother, and the freedom to be in interracial marriages.  

Freddy’s website: https://www.tantranova.com/

Support the show

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

Want to become your unlimited self and evolve the planet?

Go here to get the Mother Tree podcast + Show Notes sent to your inbox

https://www.dramandakemp.com/podcast

Hey, Beautiful One.
In honor of this December new moon, I'm publishing this interview with Dr. Isha Vela. 
Isha is a psychologist who works with the physical body to release trauma and find your powerful unique self.  We first met at Beyond Diversity 101 and subsequently co-facilitated a self-care boot camp for women of color.

In this episode we talk about

• Noticing the abundance we live with all the time
• Respecting your own boundaries first 
• Knowing your nervous system's capacity day to day or moment to moment
• What to do when people withdraw or get mad at you for setting boundaries
• Intimacy wounds and guilt or shame that we are not doing enough
• How this applies to racial justice activism and advocacy for people of color and for white folx
• Mercury in retrograde as a great time for emotional release

Dr. Isha says "emotional fluencies are our capacity to be able to name what's happening in our bodies and also give ourselves permission to feel through it all the way… because when we hold [on to anger or grief], it becomes toxic to us."

You can find out more by going to:  www.ishavela.com

Support the show

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

[Trauma Alert: Short mention of childhood sexual abuse and incest]

In honor of the November new moon, please enjoy this episode and use the new moon to set an intention.  

I hope you will celebrate Native American Heritage and peoples during November.  One great way is to spend time on Thanksgiving listening to Native voices and extending reciprocity to Native peoples and earth mama.

In this joyful conversation Jennifer and I discuss:

Celebrating the passing of Indigenous People's Day in Baltimore and Philly

How she makes land and peoples acknowledgements personal 

Reconnecting and staying in the body allows for synchronicities to find you

How giving a keynote as an ambassador of Turtle Island in South Africa with artists committed to social transformation stretched her 

Jennifer’s secret to accomplishing a big thing is:

Aligning your emotions with your intentions; holding your intention with lightness; and keep swimming–taking action.

Jennifer tells the Turtle Island origin story, a version of which is held by many Native groups in North America as an example of someone small fulfilling on a huge task.

Finally, Jennifer shares how you can have generational trauma and still be light and joyful.  We are all perfect.

You can find out more about Jennifer Folayan by going to:

Website:  https://www.jenniferfolayan.com/

YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5qI7-wD8DgO6xQYXYbozQQ

Support the show

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

Want to become your unlimited self and evolve the planet?

Go here to get the Mother Tree podcast + Show Notes sent to your inbox

https://www.dramandakemp.com/podcast