Whether or not you believe that our thoughts create our reality, I think we can all acknowledge that our attitudes and habitual thoughts can affect our quality of life.

I have had a lifelong fascination with the ways that our everyday thoughts, especially the ones we think over and over again, can affect the outcomes of our relationships, career, and creativity. In this episode, I share some ideas about small ways that we can shift our thinking to enjoy more peace, self-acceptance, and even prosperity.

I also discuss how I currently have goals for what I'd like to FEEL in my life, and not just what I'd like to achieve--and how this actually positively affects my achievements.

And I finish up with why I believe it is ESPECIALLY important to hold ourselves in a loving vibration with loving thoughts during times of conflict and turmoil, even though it can be hard to do.

Join me if you'd like to focus your mind on something positive, and be more intentional about the thoughts you are entertaining today.

Episode Links:
Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive as sung by Paul McCartney
Blowin' In The Wind as sung by Zoe Speaks

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This was a hard episode to record, because there are SO MANY songs I love.
And, full disclosure, this list might vary on any given day--just as yours likely would!

Some of these you will likely have heard, and I hope that others will be a delightful discovery.
I tried not to include too many by the huge pop stars and bands that everyone has heard, although I couldn't resist a couple of my British Invasion faves.

And a few others I had to leave off since I made an accompanying playlist, and the songs I was thinking of were not on Spotify.

Give it a listen, and let me know a few of your favorite songs! Bonus points if it's one I've never heard before!

Spotify Playlist: 10 Songs I Really Love

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I love a good love story, so I decided to share the improbable story of how I met my true companion a bit later in life. (Even though we'd met as kids when my search for baklava in a town we'd both just moved to landed me in his dad's bakery!)
I get candid about my own struggles to find harmony in the realm of romance, in spite of most things in my life going pretty well.
I also talk about the dance of how  how I made what I thought was an impossible list of characteristics I was looking for in a companion and vowed not to date anyone who didn't meet them ALL, how my partner and I got to know each other when we were both a bit "gun-shy", and  a mystical moment when I first started to believe we could have something truly special together!

I also share three of the qualities that I believe comprise a great relationship, and what makes this one so different (and fulfilling) for me.

Thanks for listening to my stories, and please feel free to share yours with me---I'd love to hear what you're dreaming of in love or a tale of how you met YOUR sweetie! Contact me at [email protected] or over on the 'gram @kentuckycarla

Links Mentioned
Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

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So many dances in my childhood began with the caller shouting, "All join hands and circle to the left...!"
The community of loving hearts and lively music that I grew up in anchored my love of the art forms, and I enjoyed sharing with you some of the elements of how I became an improvisatory flatfooter and clogger who makes music with my feet!

A few things I talk about include: how most of our "square dances" in Eastern Kentucky are done in circles, how I learned old-timey and more contemporary styles, and how I went from learning steps and choreography from other people to learning how to put the steps together to "dance the fiddle tune."

You'll also hear a little tune from Marion Sumner, who along with banjoist Lee Sexton, provided an important part of the soundtrack to my early dancing life.

And finally, I'll talk a bit more about what inspired me to create the Appalachian Flatfooting & Clogging Academy!

Links
Marion Sumner plays Sally Goodin
Appalachian Flatfooting & Clogging Academy

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In this episode, I interview longtime friend and accomplished Appalachian Clinical Herbalist Andrew Bentley of Lee County, Kentucky.

This is part two of two, where he shares more about what it's like to visit his clinic or have a tele-health appointment, opens up about projects on the horizon, and tells us more about his new online school of herbalism, called The Hedge School.

He also talks about the ways that he promotes his services, by sharing his sense of wonder about the magic of the healing plants around us.

Links From Show
Andrew Bentley's Facebook Page
Andrew Bentley's Instagram Page
Andrew Bentley's Website
Andrew Bentley's YouTube Channel

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In this episode, I interview longtime friend an accomplished Appalachian Clinical Herbalist Andrew Bentley of Lee County, Kentucky.
This is part one of two, where he shares his earliest experiences learning about herbs from his Irish-American family, and talks about his childhood in Appalachia.

You'll learn about all the components of his education which went into his eventual decision to pursue herbalism as a full-time career, including his family traditions, his studies of chemistry and molecular biology and his later forays into linguistics and anthropology, his travels throughout Central Asia and his work with indigenous healers there, and the ways he learned to assess the illnesses of his patients to help determine which herbs might best support each person's equilibrium.

We also talk about his fascinating family history stretching back to Ireland, with ancestors who were Bards and Travellers, and who have long shared medicine, history, stories, and music with their communities.

We finish up this episode discussing how he forages and crafts his medicines, his philosophical approach to the healing arts, and how he blends science and traditional wisdom to provide holistic care for his community.

Links From Show
Andrew Bentley's Facebook Page
Andrew Bentley's Instagram Page
Andrew Bentley's Website
Andrew Bentley's YouTube Channel
Starvation on Hell Creek played by Charley Fraley of Lee County, KY

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As an artist who performs traditional Appalachian music and dance, I get lots of questions about the styles of music and dance that I play.
"You play banjo--does that mean you play bluegrass?"
"What's the difference between flatfooting and clogging?"
And, quite often, "Will you play Dueling Banjos?"

In this episode, I sketch out the major differences (and similarities) between all those things, and share how I came to understand them in spite of a background where we tended to just call it all "music and dance."

And I discuss the fluid nature of folk music, along with the phenomenon of "prescriptive culture" and the tendencies of traditions to evolve over time, even as there are some groups and individuals who would wish for it to be static or to fit neatly into boxes or rules.

Links Mentioned:
Cowan Creek Mountain Music School
Appalachian Flatfooting & Clogging Academy

Listening Links:
Lee Sexton
Paul David Smith
John Harrod
Marion Sumner
Art Stamper

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In this episode, I take you on a little trip through time and the backroads of Kentucky, across swinging bridges and up dirt roads to the tiny dwelling of my mother's mother, Ollie Gilbert Hudson. 

I wanted folks to feel what a visit there was like for me as a child, and I also share a special story about a moment I shared with her as a child, and how I had an experience years later that let me know she was still with me and looking out for me. 

If you enjoy stories of magical realism, you'll like hearing about how my Granny sent me a sign when I needed it the most .

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In this episode, I take on a potentially sensitive subject: cultural insensitivity toward Appalachian people, as manifested in the musical community. This episode deals with what I see as respectful vs. insensitive ways to approach performing and participating in cultures of groups and places that are different from your culture of origin.

To lay the foundation, I discuss how I believe the music and dance of Appalachia should be performed and celebrated by all who love them, how our heritage and history have been whitewashed historically, and how it's important to acknowledge the privilege I have in being a white, able-bodied, and cis-gendered heterosexual woman.

I also discuss some of the problematic examples of "performative culture" I've seen,  including:

• artists from elsewhere using fake accents onstage
• stereotypical songwriting tropes with 'southern gothic' and 'poverty porn' themes
•  writers, academics, and performers who attempt to paint Appalachia with too broad a brush or explain our culture and its problems without addressing the bigger picture and the nuances of our lived experiences. 

I also share some personal experiences about how those behaviors can sometimes feel mocking or belittling to those of us who have had to process stigma and stereotypes and/or been made to feel less than due to where we're from.  

Finally, I address the importance of having these conversations with each other, among various cultural, ethnic, and racial categories, as we all work together to dismantle the systemic oppression inherent in our society. 

Links Mentioned
Me & The Redbird River Song

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I was blessed with a mother and grandmother who were both incredibly generous. The older I get, the more I appreciate the sweet spirits they had and the way they lived their values via their actions---they TOTALLY walked their talk!
In this episode, I tell a quick story about the way their generosity affected the children in their communities.
And I also share information about how the generosity of a whole bunch of Kentucky artists is helping the tornado victims in Western Kentucky via our new "Happy Hollerdays" recording project!

Links Mentioned in Show:
Happy Hollerdays Album
"Unawares" Poem by Emma Lent

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