Turtle Island Publications

The Great Bell Chant (The end of suffering) from Thich Nhat Hahn

orendahealing — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 19:54:46 +0000

http://player.vimeo.com/video/6518109?autoplay=1

This beautiful visual poem will soothe your mind, calm your heart, and restore your soul.

Poems by Sharon Thom

orendahealing — Sat, 28 May 2011 20:37:47 +0000

The Gift

What you gave me, angels cry for,

loudly, as if their wings

were on fire.

I did not ask for this,

walled off like a balled-up peony

in a dry glass vase,

could not have called to you

in language you’d understand.

In that lifetime I learned

all there is to know

about waiting

without learning

if there is anything to wait for.

In my pristine closure,

I bartered quietude for light,

self-containment for water.

Long before I saw you,

I sensed your coming,

your gentle way of coaxing,

your voice the given sign.

Like the peony, I opened slowly –

then all at once, the sudden

white light flurry of petals

sweetly revealing

what is known to the bee

as it circles the tree of peony buds,

where in its time, and in its taking,

it leaves behind a weightless

sating of nothing less

than life’s own wish

for life.

Sharon Thom

Since When Did The Girl Count

It happened to most of us girls in puberty:

we all turned stupid for love of boys

who liked our skirts short and swinging.

They gathered around

the first girl to sprout nipples or the one

with the cutest smile, so adorable

that even when she pouted

boys wanted to kiss her,

and they did, for a while.

I was moved to new math

from long division and no boy

would kiss me until I learned

to fail the tests, learned

how to drift in class,

drift from boy to boy on carnival rides,

fall into spook house love.

Did I count then,

count the kisses lost to faces,

lost to names that didn’t matter,

lost in the ephemeral cotton candy world,

coming home lost

to adult demands and drifting miseries.

I prayed they would die, prayed I would die,

prayed some boy would kiss me.

What do numbers and smarts and teachers’ praise

have to do with love, when the boys

worth knowing sent the whole gang running

dark into the night, dumping detergent

on the neighbors’ lawns. Since when

did the girl count, if she had a curfew,

if she chose neither truth nor dare,

if she didn’t want to take a drink.

Faked love, blind love, love smashed

over a counter — a house, a baby, a husband

rising from the wreckage;

cocktail parties and they all turn to him,

calling me Karen or Susan or Shirley

as I drift away smiling, alone

on my carnival boat ride.

I would smile and smile and drift away,

tear out my bones to build a throne

where a man could sit, loosen my fat

to soften the seat for spook house love

and on Fridays fail the math quiz,

fooling each of them, fooling them all,

as I sprinted toward what really counted.

Sharon Thom

The Letting

What would you take from me

that I did not richly give?

My blood,

drawn to flush the skin

and brighten its luster,

finds its way into your mouth.

I have seen the look,

the drunken flutter

of your eyelid’s lash

moments before the letting.

I have wondered of your passion,

erratic and bold yet not of the soul,

engendered for me so I might know

ecstasy in your presence.

It heightens your thirst.

And as I fall, you rise;

as you drink, you long

to spill back into me your gift:

rather than dying I might live,

like you, at the waste of others.

But since I do not choose, I die

in your sight and you lose

your taste for me.

Poetry wooed and deluded me:

the romance of red locked lips;

the will bent like a siphon

as one is drawn into the other.

Only since the letting

do I know this of love:

the sheltering and golden grate

of flesh abandons its hold,

life gushes darkly

in a wealth of abundance

until at last

a single lover remains,

embracing himself.

Sharon Thom

The River Goddess is here!

orendahealing — Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:06:58 +0000

Here at last– The River Goddess & Other Stories is now available!

Email the author: wholebeing@orenda-arts.org (best prices)

Collected Works Bookstore & Cafe (www.cwbookstore.com) (good prices)

www.amazon.com

www.AuthorHouse.com

You won’t want to miss the first exciting series of adventures in The Alyssa Chronicles! Every young girl in your life– and the young girl in your heart– will love this Hero’s Journey from a feminine point of view. Contact us for prices on hard cover and trade paperback copies: Email wholebeing@orenda-arts.org or call 510-684-4272 .

The Eleventh Hour

orendahealing — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 21:59:25 +0000

You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour.

Now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour.
And there are things to be considered.
Where are you living? What are you doing?
What are your relationships? Are you in right relation?
Where is your water? Know your garden.

It is time to speak your Truth.

Create your community. Be good to each other.
And do not look outside yourself for the leader.

This could be a good time!

There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold onto the shore. They will feel they are being torn apart and they will suffer greatly.

Know the river has a destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open and our heads above water. See who is in there with you and celebrate.

At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.

The time of the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word “struggle” from your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.

We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.

Hopi Prophecy

Photos from Santa Fe

orendahealing — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:19:29 +0000

Hawk on Canyon Road

Door on Garcia Street

Canyon Road Alley

Lew & Our Lady of Guadalupe at the Santuario

Snow Day at Calle Quedo

ITP Artists’ Salon

orendahealing — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:00:35 +0000

Ah-- chocolate!!!

Enjoy the pleasures of life!

Berkeley: The more things change…

orendahealing — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 13:00:33 +0000

November Sunset

Bette's Diner

Photo Exhibit

Santa & Elf

Carp & Sky

Vine St. Restaurant Window

Masse's Pastries

On Fourth Street

Holistic Hound

Berkeley: The more things change…

Recent Photos by Lew Riddell & Valentine McKay

Welcome!

orendahealing — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:30:29 +0000

Welcome to Turtle Island Publications, the publishing site for Orenda Healing International (www.orenda-arts.org).

We’ve designed this site to host art, writing, and music by and for young and previously unknown artists, musicians, and writers. Just for a start, our wonderful turtle logo is by Crystal, a high school student and artist from the San Francisco Bay Area.

As the site expands, we’ll host exhibits of original paintings, drawings, photography, and sculptures in our Gallery. There’ll be slide shows and movie shorts in the Theatre; poetry, essays, and short stories in the Bookstore; and music in the Cafe.

If you are interested in being published by Turtle Island Publications, please send a brief sample of your work as an email attachment to the Site Adminstrator at wholebeing@orenda-arts.org.

We hope you enjoy this site!