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I honor all of the United States Military men and women, active, retired and deceased. My grandfather was Benjamin H. Corning, Jr., a decorated Navy officer in World War II. His parents were veterans of World War I. That part of my ancestral line has been on this soil since long before the Revolutionary War, when the United States of America was born. When we honor our ancestors, something in our family heals. Something in us heals. It is as simple as that.
I knew Ben affectionally as "Baka", the name my eldest cousin, Etienne, gave him as first born grandchild. Baka died at age 74, and he suffered a lot due to complications of Parkinson's Disease. I was 18 when he passed, and going through intense mental health issues and a series of hospitalizations that prevented me from mourning his and my grandmother's death, which came a few months before. I was on a lot of medication at the time that prevented me from feeling the loss, which is a story for another day.
Baka wore many hats, and I knew him best for being the loving grandfather who loved us all and encouraged creativity and freedom. He was a gardener, a historian, teacher, and had a wonderful sense of humor, not unlike Benny Hill. He was also an accomplished poet. For the past several months, I have been re-reading my grandfather's poetry book that my family put together back in the 1990s, around the time of his passing. The more I read, the more I appreciate him, and what he did for our family, and for this country. I have never served in that capacity. I will never know what it is like, but having a legacy of poems by him helps me empathize with the pain, sacrifice and true strength it takes to be a US Military Veteran. I will continue to share the poetry as well, in an effort to further honor my late grandfather.
In early 2024, we will begin offering a 5 week series for Veteran's and First Responders and others struggling with Post Traumatic Stress at The Current Healing Arts, Inc. in New Bedford, MA. . This series is a Kundalini Yoga Trauma Recovery Trauma Program, which is an integrative approach to treating Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). More information on this program will be shared within the month, and I will update this blog post with the details. This program will be co-facilitated by myself and Tim Mills (Simran Randeep), Kundalini Yoga Teacher and retired US Air Force Officer. This program is accredited through the International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT), and Tim and I are trained via The Guru Ram Das Center for Medicine and Humanology. If there are questions on this program, please direct them to Julie Silvia (Devi Namdass) via email at yoga@thecurrentwithin.org and I will schedule a call with you to discuss.
In every step I thank the land
In every seen Osprey
I thank the wind
For every acorn fallen
I thank the tree.
In every stone, I thank the keepers.
The original Land Keepers of New England and this continent.
The beings that came before us.
That blessed this land that we call ours.
The land of the free.
I thank those who were sacrificed.
I thank those who were robbed of their culture.
When I honor this land.
I honor my own ancestors.
I honor the keepers that came long before them.
I honor those families with Native lineage who are exploited every day.
I face the shadows only when I connect with the Earth Mother.
Earth Mother remembers for us.
Earth Mother protects us.
Earth Mother forgives us.
There is only oneness.
There is only love.
My daily prayer is that everything that is not love be released.
Released to the Earth. Released from the human form.
I thank the water for knowing
I thank the rocks for holding the truth.
i thank the trees for nurturing all of the beings.
the blood
the death
the love
the rebirth
I thank the Earth Keepers of America. The unseen ancients:
you are not forgotten.
I thank my loving heart for having this awareness.
In every breath, I thank my body.
I thank God for the Grace I feel in my heart to be able to walk this path with love and courage. I pray for constant healing for the Earth, and that of the ancient unseen warriors, medicine men and women and for the ancestors and all of our people, regardless of lineage.
(posted by Julie Silvia /Devi NamDass)
#newbedfordma #newengland #massachusetts #pokanoket #niantic #pequot #indigenous #indigenousrights #IndigenousPeoples #indigenouswomen #Wampanoag #Narragansett #Aquinnah #Mohegan #nipmuck #wessagusset #pocumtunk #onelove #ancientlandkeepers #nativeamericanwarrior #earthmedicine #landwisdom #waheguru
I remember what it felt like the day the attacks came on 9/11/01. At the time, I was working at my first job out of college, a high tech company with a big campus in Burlington, MA, Sun Microsystems; now Oracle I was a frontline tech support representative. We had several government contracts for the hardware servers for the US defense department. In the call center, CNN was on all the time. We had field hardware engineers in NJ and NY. My shift had started at 8A.
I know very little first hand about what first responders and military men and women go through to keep this country and our people safe. I will never ever forget the devastation I felt watching helplessly from my cubicle as I had noticed I lost connection to the engineers in NYC. And then casually looking up in disbelief when my colleagues and I saw the first crash into the WTC on television. I will always appreciate the heros who risked everything to help others. And of course, the ones that came after 9/11.
My heart will always have love for soldiers, the first responders and the sacrifices that they & their families make every single day to keep everyone safe.
I felt hope in this devastation by what became a loving rally throughout this country. The subsequent community and support that came after 9/11/2001 was the most hopeful time that I can recall, even being on this planet now for 47 years. How we came together in this crisis for months and even years after as a people gave me great pride to be a citizen of this country.
A few years ago I visited the 9/11 Memorial in NYC. It helped me remember and feel that pain again. This is necessary so that we heal. So that we find healing for our own hearts, and the hearts of all those intimately impacted by the tragic event. So that we rise above the hatred. I will never forget 9/11 and the friends I know who lost family members on the flights and in NYC and DC that day, and even after, whether it have been weeks later or years later.
