ZLORD podcast

With Carter busy elsewhere, teZa continues with Part 3 of narrating/describing her visionary artbook "We Are One." Previous episodes present the introduction (Part 1) and beginning images (Part 2). Artist reads, and writer interprets the vibrant visual images in a calming bedtime-story fashion, both roles played by the book's author, teZa Lord. This special ZLORD audio book presentation of We Are One will conclude with Part 4.

Next up on ZLORD will be an audio book of a nonfiction narrative, "Zen Love," a 3-generational love story written and illustrated by teZa.

Hello from teZa! Here, I continue narrating my own visionary artbook that was published several years ago. In the previous podcast I read "We Are One"'s short introduction to this linen-bound, 83-pages of vision n' verse, documenting my true experiences of feeling the interconnectedness with all that is. I thought, since our podcast fans seem to love our quirky offerings, this to be an interesting way to interpret art: having a visual artist interpret their own creative work using ... only words. For many artists, this would be a feat comparable to climbing Mount Everest! But I am both a writer and artist, so this is fun!

Many fans of "We Are One" (available on Amazon along with my three other books) tell me they use each of the book's colorful 2-page spreads as a focus for their daily meditation. The book is 10 inches square, and can be propped up for viewing since its hardcover. Each page-spread, with its short text to help viewers "dive more deeply" into its deeply spiritual meaning, brings about unforeseen, unexpected reactions. I hope you enjoy this special presentation which will take one or two more episodes to complete.

For those wondering, my cohost Carter is unable to join us because he's currently preoccupied with his new venture of making video shorts. You'll hear more about those when he joins us next.

This episode begins something new here on ZLORD podcast. In between our usual conversations, either with cohosts teZa and Carter Lord, or with a special guest, teZa will be reading and "interpreting" visual images of books she has published. This is something that has been asked for by many of our listeners. It's very soothing to be read to, and we hope you enjoy this special way of receiving an audio-book. Look for each book's title with the next consecutive number, to hear the next installment.

This first book is an 83-page artbook. "We Are One" is a handsome, 10-inch square, linen-bound volume, with exuberantly colorful images and silver-text printed on entirely black, heavy paper.

Start off listening to "We Are One"'s introduction, .. Pause ... Take a Breath. The information you hear is pertinent to understanding Oneness. teZa offers an intimate glimpse of Oneness she experienced first-hand.

The next segment of this audio-book on ZLORD podcast will offer teZa's describing with words, the images that she herself created. Each vivid image (that you will "see" in your mind's eye) has a short text, a poetic insight as a means of better "diving into" each unique vision. Many fans of "We Are One" use each page-spread, with its unique visionary image and short poem, as a daily focus on meditation. The images are very inspiring and calming.

Be sure to check back for our next episode! After "We Are One" is completed, will be the audio-book of teZa's nonfiction narrative "Zen Love." This is a multi-generational saga illustrating how our world is truly one blended family, each of our separate groups. True to her writer/artist nature, teZa illustrates all her nonfiction works, and she will describe each of the black-and-white illustrations interspersed throughout her books.

For those who are interested, "In the I," the first nonfiction narrative published by teZa, is offered as an audible book on Amazon, as well as paperback. For this reason, it will be the last of her audio-books offered here on ZLOR podcast. The book after "Zen Love" read for you will be "Hybrid Vigor," an interconnected series of essays about the evolutionary trajectory of humankind that we're all on.

All teZa's books are available on Amazon.

Carter will return for another exciting conversation with teZa very soon! He's involved with video and writing projects presently and can't commit to ZLORD podcast except at spontaneous times. We hope to catch him real soon! He sends his love to every one of the podcast's listeners. Be well and stay safe during this dangerous Covid pandemic.

In this insightful episode, Dr. Deeh (Dorothy) Israel starts us off remembering that this day of our recording, August 28, happens to be the 57th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King's giving his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln memorial during the March on Washington, attended by hundreds of thousands! On this day, 57 years ago, a sea of people of all colors and cultures came together in celebration of Human Rights. It was a completely nonviolent protest which Deeh remembers as "lovely ... and utterly peaceful." Serendipitously, this one here happens to be the 57th episode of ZLORD podcast, and -- by the time Deeh, Carter and I, the cohosts, have said all we've needed to say -- our taping was (unedited!) a remarkably coincidental 57 minutes! Do you think the Universe is trying to tell us something, in numbers, folks?

Twelve is considered a pretty significant number. Twelve months and zodiac signs. Twelve apostles. Twelve in a dozen. Maybe 12 is about transformation? If anyone knows, please let us know: [email protected]

Dr. Deeh then begins her reminiscence where she left off on Part 2 of her poignant oral history, right up to her World War II experiences in Harlem as young woman running home to the sound of practice air-raid sirens.

Carter fields questions to direct her attention Deeh's attention once in a while. I had the very important job of directing the hand-held mic, keeping the appropriate distance from each speaker, as the three of us sat together, not-quite, but almost, social distanced.

Deeh focuses on her professional life as a social, and then mental health worker in New York City's Harlem, then Brooklyn's Bed-Sty, and finally, after earning her PhD, as professor at Stony Brook University on Long Island. She was enlisted as the first Black faculty in the mental health department. This honored position Deeh held for 23 years, to which she drove herself, hours each day, from her long-time cherished home in Harlem.

Deeh shares about the importance of travel, especially for young Blacks, and how it's necessary to expand one's otherwise limited viewpoint. She's been all over the States, and she's seen a good bit of the world first hand. In this episode she shares about some amusing and some racially painful experiences in England. We'll hear more travel stories from the Caribbean and other spots she's visited for our next installment of Deeh's life story. What a honor, to know this lovely woman who has experienced the horror of discrimination but holds true to being the exemplification of Love itself. She's a true believer of Oneness, a devoted follower of the highest of ideals.

We plan on continuing to share personal experiences from other people on ZLORD, to help promote the diversification of everyone's becoming intimately familiar with other's viewpoints and culture that might not be so readily available, to commemorate this special time in history as we become more united, more One. We envision speaking with people from all walks of life, of all color and origins, ordinary folks just like you and me.

Also, I (teZa) plan on sharing my already published books, for those of you who are fans of audial books. The BOOK episodes will be easily identified (by TITLE) for any who'll want to binge-listen to one of my four books. For those who want to hear one now, "In the I" is available as an audible book on Amazon. These readings on ZLORD will take place in-between other episodes in which Carter and I, with or without a special guest, continue having our loving-kind conversations (even though we sometimes disagree).

Blessings to all! And Stay Well during this difficult time of the Covid pandemic raging through our world.

Love and LIght, teZa

This week's subject might be tough for lots of folks. People who have issues surrounding death might want to skip this episode. Because we, teZa and Carter Lord look compassionately deep inside the really hard letting-go involved with death, both by the person "doing the dying" and the loved ones who are left behind to grieve.

During this time of Covid, death is on everyone's mind more than usual. Today's episode we discuss the recent passing of Carter's dear friend from his early school days, who had cancer. What Peter demonstrated to all who knew him, was the grace of acceptance, especially in the most intensely difficult time of all: facing one's own final days on Earth.

LIfe is hard, there's no easy way through or out of it. But here we offer hope based on our own experiences: that acceptance of a Divine Source of Inspiration -- a Higher Power (whatever name you call it doesn't matter), some form of sacredness -- is essential in order for we mere human mortals to make sense out of the often overwhelming incongruities of life on Earth. Without accepting the Sacred in our everyday mundane existence, life is not only harder, but it's often chaotic, depressing and fraught with fears and confusion. Many people substitute politics for religion for this very reason, to try and make sense out of the incongruous Mystery of Life.

This episode starts with a conversation about physical death, but ends with an odd "right hand turn" into what's defined as the end of civility, the so-called "death" of respect that appears to be very real in today's ultra-divisive atmosphere here in the United States. This podcast suggests that people start talking more about our culture's loss of respect. We offer how we can all participate in helping our culture heal: by recognizing that disrespect is what's really happening, and by this awareness allay and hopefully reverse this horribly destructive trend. We need to have more private conversations about how to end disrespect. We must start being more civil and therefore more compassionate, by recognizing the need for people to accept each other's differences. This trend begins with discussing this tender subject, right here. Civility can become a new national pasttime, right up there with celebrity-watching and waiting for organized sports to fully resume.

We end with remarking how ZLORD podcast's first guest (she's appearing for the third time in the next episode), Dr. Dorothy Israel, is the "very picture of civility." We hope by bringing this remarkable person's oral history to listeners that more people have an inside view of how almost 100 years of living as a Black woman (she's 94!) resulted in such a loving and kind person as Deeh is, even after having faced a lifetime of racial challenges just as any other Black person living in America today has.

We hope you'll share with your friends the in-depth and profoundly important subjects we approach here on ZLORD. And please do send us a note if you have any comments or suggestions. [email protected]

Going solo teZa focuses on gratitude in as many ways as colors shimmer in an expansive rainbow. Offering hope and love as the positive "charges" our world needs in order to spiritually transform, she reveals some pretty remarkable analogies from her own life experiences. Things Pretty Freaking Incredible, actually! Witnessing Death, Witnessing Space Ships, for teasers. Without her more reserved co-host teZa lets it rip this time! Let us know if you like her solo sharing or prefer the yin/yang of the ZLORD duet, with Carter, who'll be back next podcast. Topics covered in this episode include techniques for focusing on protecting and healing (from fear, uncomfortable feelings, diseases such as Covid, etc.); being happy to be alive even when challenged; knowing we are NOT ALONE ... either with whatever we're going through or ... in the most vastly general respect. We are ALL ONE, not alone. Hope and laughter and LOVE is the cure for all, the best mind-body-soul medicine. Spread the JOY!

Feisty and energized, the two Lords of ZLORD, teZa and Carter are at it again, on their own. In between back-to-back sessions with their special guest of two previous podcasts -- in which she offers the world her unique worldview, Dr. Dorothy Israel will return to continue offering us a unique oral history of her life as, first, a Black girl in Harlem, then as a Black mental health and social worker in Manhattan -- the Lords' conversation here centers on how every single person's life story, no matter how "ordinary" is important.

"What is success?" they ask and define. Not by celebrity status, peer acknowledgment or financial sums, but the feeling of worthiness each of us has about our own special place in the world.

They recount the story of one friend, who as she was preparing to leave this world from terminal cancer, went to Cracker Barrel, an odd thing for a staunch vegetarian to do. There, everyone Shushila saw, was aglow with "the spark of the Divine" or "God Within."

The two Lords banter about how society forces us to question our levels of success, especially when dealing with the public, like artists and filmmakers, as our hosts are, have to do. Everything a creative person puts out is scrutinized by the public. But each artist, shared so honestly here, has to find success for themself in their own assessment of their creative achievements. Success comes from within, not from without.

Also discussed is the need to address racism more here on the podcast, in this particular time in human history. Now is the time of the "opened" door through which many are allowed access to know and understand how others of color truly feel about their own special lives.

Each life is special. And each person's life story is important. We'd love to know about yours. Write us at [email protected] so we can share your story with the world.

Dr. Dorothy (Deeh) Israel has returned to ZLORD podcast! We welcome her reflections, memories, insights and just good old-fashioned darn good stories about a side of life we rarely hear firsthand:

What it's like growing up as a self-proclaimed "colored girl" in an achingly prejudiced America of the 40s, 50s, and 60s.

Deeh's experiences are worthy turning over our mic (hand-held by teZa for this and every podcast) for as many times as we can convince her to return and share with us and our listeners. This woman bravely shares her stalwart optimism and loving acceptance with us. She doesn't hold any truths back, especially when she had to face the terrible hardships and insults of hate and ignorance, the systemic racism we hear about in the News but Deeh so graphically describes here, with her two trustworthy and respected friends. Carter and I know Deeh from our sweet little Episcopal Church, St. Cyprian's, in St. Augustine, Florida.

Beginning in her childhood in the Great Depression and then as a teenager during the curfews of World War II, always living in Harlem after her parents met and married after immigrating from the Caribbean, Deeh poignantly describes her amazing life's highs and lows, sorrows and joys. This is an unedited oral history of a truly remarkable Black woman.

This episode is focused on her girlhood and young woman's memories. With prodding, she even tells us about the time she refused a dinner date from John Lewis, a much younger man than Deeh at that time. "He was a treasure," Deeh reminisces along with the entire nation; Lewis' funeral took place just the day before this recording.

With Deeh, laugh at her infallible achievements, cringe at how horribly she was treated by racists who were even her college professors in the 50s, as we celebrate our friend's eventful life. Her professional life was dedicated to helping others in the field of mental health and social work.

A natural storyteller, we know our listeners will want to share this special treat of Deeh's intimate retelling of personal revelations with all, to help spread the message, the same as John Lewis's, that she emulates: Love is the healing balm of all of humankind's ills. We hope Deeh will return as many times as she's able to continue her valuable life's story. In between, she walks two miles on our beautiful beach everyday, "the cure who what ails anybody," she laughs. Wouldn't the be nice if Covid-19 went away with everybody taking nice long walks. God Bless the world during this hard time we're all going through!

This week we take a look, Carter and I, teZa Lord, at a golden opportunity made more available, during the disruption of "normal life" due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Many folks know their inner Self. But some keep their minds too busy, and their bodies too, to explore the spiritual side of everyone's human nature. The so-called sacred Inner Voice is only heard when a person decides they want to know that part of themself. Wanting is the first step. The next part is ... learning to get quiet, and to listen.

Sillness, listening, then perhaps asking -- this is how we Open the Door to our profoundly satisfying inner lives. This is how we can "hear" or "feel" the still small voice within.

Whether spiritual or emotional or physical, all our needs become integrated when we make the effort to tap our inner connection to Divine Intelligence, which some call God. Our inner voice is often "felt" as a "gut instinct." Paying attention to this part of ourselves is our choice.

And what better time than right NOW, during the pandemic, when so many of us are restricted in outside activities. The "inner world" within us is vast in scope and endlessly entertaining in subtle, fulfilling, yet happiness-producing ways.

We urge everyone to try listening to the stillness within. We offer a short exercise here as to "how to" tap this inner experience.

Carter and I plan to welcome back Dr. Dorothy Israel to our next podcast (see the previous ZLORD episode #51 for Deeh's first visit), when we'll hear the continuation of this wonderful opportunity of personal experiences shared so honestly, as only this beautiful 95-year-old (sharp as a lovable tack) Black woman like Deeh, our dear pal, does.

Dr. Dorthy Israel, our good friend "Deeh" agreed to share with Carter and me the real inside truth she's experienced throughout her long life, regarding the often misrepresented, or fragmented history of what it's like "Being Black in Modern America." Her story spans almost an entire century! Deeh met Eleanor Roosevelt when she was a young woman when the First Lady came to visit her Harlem school, a remarkable event that Deeh likens to "unbelievable" for the times. Deeh lived in the same neighborhood as the jazz great, Duke Ellington. Selected for her regal bearing and eloquence, she represented the United States as an ambassador to the governments of Caribbean nations. In the U.S. she crossed paths with influential Blacks as well as Whites: Harlem Renaissance writers, national and state politicians like Nelson Rockefeller, and rubbed shoulders with entertainers such as Billy Holiday. Always looking for ways to help her fellow human, Deeh's life was, and is still, about serving others no matter what color their skin, creed, or culture.

Deeh is retired here in St. Augustine, but spent her entire professional career in New York City after getting her formal education. Born and raised and working mostly as a social worker in Harlem, she also was a counselor and then manager of an innovative mental health clinic in Bed-Sty, both predominantly Black communities that face every challenge imaginable to humanity. Deeh knew that knowing "others" was important to know herself better, so she traveled extensively throughout America, Europe, Africa, and the West Indies, and many other places.

Currently Carter works with Deeh (both as volunteers) on a project to commemorate the first all-Black community in the New World, named Fort Mose. Today, a modern, high-tech museum stands on the site of the former wooden Fort, which is now in ruins. A campaign is underway to rebuild the original Fort that was given entirely to Blacks in 1738 by the Spanish, who owned Florida at the time. During those hard slave-years, any Black who could make it through the almost impenetrable terrain were granted freedom and given a safe place to live at Fort Mose. Deeh and Carter and I, teZa, agree this historical site could be the most important symbol of Freedom and Hope in the U.S. today.

Deeh will return to share with ZLORD as many times as she wishes, so we can document her incredible story for all the world to hear. Besides being a published author, she's a wonderful speaker. This feisty woman is a force to be reckoned with, and, as Carter says, "She's pretty cute, too!"