Send us a textSpecial book launch episode. Reading from my new two-volume book We Birth Freedom at Dawn, which will be released this Thursday, September 26, 2024.BOOK LAUNCH SCHEDULE:*jaiyajohn.com to register.SEPT 24                    VIRTUAL GLOBAL BOOK LAUNCH11AM PACIFIC (REGISTER)SEPT 26                    WASHINGTON, D.C., HOWARD UNIVERSITY INT. BLACK WRITERS FESTIVAL11AM PANEL, 5PM READING (DETAILS)SEPT 26                    WASHINGTON, D.C., SANKOFA BOOKSGLOBAL BOOK LAUNCH WITHDR. THEMA BRYANT (REGISTER)OCT 5                       VIRTUAL GLOBAL BOOK LAUNCH 9:30AM PACIFIC (REGISTER)All of my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, piano music, keynotes, talks, book/poetry readings, worldwide book/poetry reading tour, virtual book/poetry readings, and Birthing Life creative life/writing personal phone sessions are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies and readings of my books, and your creative images and videos with my overlayed verses, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Send us a Text Message.This flavorful, soulfully seasoned Sacred Conversation between two Albuquerque-born New Mexicans, Lalah Delia and myself, was a joyful trip down memory lane, nostalgia, and our longing for open mesas, towering mountains, roasted pinons and chiles, and authentic New Mexican food, culture, and energy. All as a childhood root for our kindred spiritual callings to serve the cause of collective human healing. May you enjoy listening and be well fed as Lalah and I dive deep into a lush pot of conversational pozole and green chile stew.Lalah Delia is a bestselling author, educator, spiritual writer, certified spiritual practitioner, and founder of Vibrate Higher Daily School. She is leading seekers to self-empowerment and a life of more grace and high vibrations.Her bestselling book, Vibrate Higher Daily: Live Your Power, spiritual writings, teaching, speaking, and social media presence are guiding seekers around the globe on a journey back home to their empowered, higher-potential, whole selves. Through her lyrical and organic writing, teaching style, and experiences, Lalah enlivens spiritual seekers looking to live with more intuition, empowerment, higher purpose and vibrations, confidence, grace, and subconscious mind reprogramming.Her work is a response to her journey and to the current vibrational state of the world we live in, navigate, and journey through daily.  Lalah, her work, and her story are featured on film, in documentaries, and in various media, including television, podcasts, and magazine. She has spoken at panels across the country, such as SXSW, In Goop Health, and Girlboss Rally, and has been featured in print and digital editions of VOGUE, Harper's Bazaar, Instyle, Yoga Journal, Glamour, Forbes, goop, New York Magazine, The Cut, mindbodygreen, Essence, Girlboss Radio, Black Girl In Om, Expanded Podcast, i-D, Hollywood Reporter, and more.Lalah has been interviewed and seen on CBS Mornings, Entertainment Tonight, ABC News, PBS, and Good Morning America. Lalah can also be found featured as a guest on an array of popular podcasts.Visit her work and school at vibratehigherdaily.com, where you can work with and be guided by Lalah in her private, thriving, personal energetics and self-development community. Visit her work and school at vibratehigherdaily.com, where you can work with and be guided by Lalah in her private and thriving sacred personal energetics and development community. .Sacred Conversations are periodic episodes of my podcast in which I reach out to people whose work and life inspire me, and we simply have an old fashioned phone conversation. No video. No scripted, transactional, extractive, one-sided interview dynamic. Just two people with a care and curiosity for each other’s journey, asking each other soulful questions, and enjoying the ancient, mutually healing art of listening deeply. Again, not an interview. A spiritual communion. The idea is for us to relax and enjoy an organic conversation, like over tea or breaking bread, and get to know each other along the way. My books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...    Support the Show.

Send us a Text Message.Reading the selection beginning with, your soul floating endless grace...., from my book All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All of my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, piano music, keynote speaking, worldwide poetry reading tour, virtual poetry readings, and Birthing Words creative writing support are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies and readings of my books, and your creative images and videos with my overlayed verses, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com... Support the Show.

My conversation with Palestinian filmmaker, director, and teacher Rolla Selbak was an exchange of sweet and saltwater tides. I cried. Then she cried. Then I cried. And she cried. It was oceanic in its soulfulness, honesty, clarity, and Love offering for humanity. I had been yearning for this conversation since we met at the Los Angeles reading of the Gaza Monologues in January of this year (2024). I can't wait for you to listen to, feel, and be sown by this kinship river. Bless you.Rolla Selbak is an award-winning filmmaker and Sundance alumna, with multiple works optioned for development at 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures Entertainment. She imprints her fresh point of view as a Palestinian American with deep, maternal roots in Jerusalem.Her recent screenplay, CHOKE, was a 2022 Winner of The Black List, and was based on her award-winning short film of the same name, both telling the story of a Syrian refugee who dreams of becoming an MMA champion.Other notable works include co-producing the Sundance 2017 short film AMERICAN PARADISE, which was later adapted into the Sundance-winning film LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO, and helming the internationally acclaimed feature film “Three Veils”, a first of its kind to confront homosexuality within the Muslim-American subculture.She is currently embarking on her second feature film: THE VISITOR. Known as the Palestinian “Get Out”, the film is a psychological horror about a young Palestinian man who discovers that living life under an occupation can be just as sinister as the shapeshifting monsters in his grandmother’s folktales.Selbak is the founder of the SAFINA FILMMAKER PROJECT, an initiative to raise the voices of Palestinian filmmakers through free artistic mentorship.ROLLASELBAK.COM@ROLLASELBAK (IG)Sacred Conversations are periodic episodes of my podcast in which I reach out to people whose work and life inspire me, and we simply have an old fashioned phone conversation. No video. No scripted, transactional, extractive, one-sided interview dynamic. Just two people with a care and curiosity for each other’s journey, asking each other soulful questions, and enjoying the ancient, mutually healing art of listening deeply. Again, not an interview. A spiritual communion. The idea is for us to relax and enjoy an organic conversation, like over tea or breaking bread, and get to know each other along the way. My books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...      Support the Show.

I genuinely enjoyed my Sacred Conversation with Dr. Jennifer Mullan, PsyD., creator of Decolonizing Therapy: a psychological evolution that weaves together political, ancestral, therapeutic, and global well-being (@decolonizingtherapy on IG). Dr. Jenn is a major disruptor in the mental health industrial complex. Her work is an urgent call to dive to the root of global and generational trauma to unlock the wisdom of our sacred rage. She is also the author of the recently released book Decolonizing Therapy: Oppression, Historical Trauma, and Politicizing Your Practice, a Love letter and call to action for helpers, healers, therapists, and space-holders struggling inside the mental health industrial complex. As I move through her book, I am awash in the absolutely beautiful and Loving poetry of her language, heart, and calling.Dr. Jenn and I had ourselves just a down-home, mighty good time. This is all I will say about our conversation. I am excited for you to listen and enjoy yourself just as much.Sacred Conversations are periodic episodes of my podcast in which I reach out to people whose work and life inspire me, and we simply have an old fashioned phone conversation. No video. No scripted, transactional, extractive, one-sided interview dynamic. Just two people with a care and curiosity for each other’s journey, asking each other soulful questions, and enjoying the ancient, mutually healing art of listening deeply. Again, not an interview. A spiritual communion. The idea is for us to relax and enjoy an organic conversation, like over tea or breaking bread, and get to know each other along the way. My books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...     Support the show

*LIVE RECORDING. I wrote and delivered this poem, The Beautiful Ones Have Changed to Light, in honor of the martyred poets and writers of Gaza and Falesteen as part of the first ever Los Angeles reading of The Gaza Monologues, on January 19, 2024. Our gathering was organized by the precious Sonali Fiske @sonalifiske (IG) with the blessing of Ashtar Theatre @ashtartheatre (IG) in Ramallah and in response to their global artistic solidarity call. We gathered to pay our respects, bear witness, send collective Love and prayer, and recite the heart-piercing monologues written by young souls in Gaza.To birth this prayer-poem posted here, I soul-studied each of the named martyrs (among so many unnamed here) and, for each of them, wrote passages specifically in their honor. My prayer is that these personalized passages intuitively reflect aspects of their singular lives, work, passions, personalities, prayers, and dreams, including phrases here that are inspired by and evocative of their own written work.On Jan. 28, I posted on IG an unofficial phone recording of me reciting this poem. You may find it on my page. The official video of our overall monologue reading will be shared by Sonali and others in the days to come.For a written copy of this poem, please email [email protected] feel free to share and post this poem with proper crediting far and wide, especially within the diaspora Fal*steeni and Levantine communities. May our Love reach them and be solace, salve, and balm in the human breeze.All of my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, piano music, and details for The Gathering, my poetry reading wold tour, are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies and readings of my books, and your creative images and videos with my overlayed verses, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reciting a poem on Indigenous healing ways for the Presidential Opening Session of the American Psychological Association National Convention, Washington, D.C., August 3, 2023. 10,000 souls rolled deep at this gathering in the spirit of 2023 APA President Dr. Thema Bryant's @dr.thema chosen convention theme: You Belong Here.*My poetry reading world tour, The Gathering, kicks off tomorrow, Friday evening, February 2, 2024 in Echo Park, Los Angeles. Tickets are at jaiyajohn.com and thelunavortex.com. I hope to see you there for a healing moment together. All of my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, piano music, and Birthing Words creative writing support are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies and readings of my books, and your creative images and videos with my overlayed verses, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com... My freedom work is at jaiyajohn.com (bio link).Support the show

Reading (and playing piano accompaniment) Harvest, a ceremony piece that will be newly included in the upcoming revised edition of my book, Father to Son: Ode to Our Black Young. All of my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, piano music, and Birthing Words creative writing support are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies and readings of my books, and your creative images and videos with my overlayed verses, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...Support the show

My heart was deeply moved by this quiet, heartful conversation with Cole Arthur Riley, creator and curator of Black Liturgies (a project of The Center for Dignity and Contemplation), and author of the books This Here Flesh and the upcoming Black Liturgies:  Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human. Cole shares her soulful work daily on Instagram. In our conversation we share about our kindred childhood experiences with silence, solitude, and finding our written and spoken voices. Together, we find commonality in the spiritual nature of our work and the use of language in soul service, and in how self-examination becomes more critical for us as we address systemic violence, oppression, and atrocities in the world. We also discuss the medicinal utility of addressing the root of human suffering, violence, and supremacy, rather than emphasizing surface-level social group categorizations.  Our conversation is at once very personal and very timely as we face and address the continuing reality of human crisis and faith as our way home.Sacred Conversations are periodic episodes of my podcast in which I reach out to people whose work and life inspire me, and we simply have an old fashioned phone conversation. No video. No scripted, transactional, extractive, one-sided interview dynamic. Just two people with a care and curiosity for each other’s journey, asking each other soulful questions, and enjoying the ancient, mutually healing art of listening deeply. Again, not an interview. A spiritual communion. The idea is for us to relax and enjoy an organic conversation, like over tea or breaking bread, and get to know each other along the way. My books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...    Support the show

I am thrilled to share with you my Sacred Conversation with Dr. Thema Bryant. As many of you know from our past conversations, Dr. Thema embodies so many graces. She is a sacred dancer, poet, author, minister, doctor of psychology, therapist, professor, and currently the President of the American Psychological Association. This conversation is full of joy and laughter. We explore the gift of emotional honesty, the importance of physical embodiment, and the power of being true to yourself in a world that may often relate to you in oppressive ways. Dr. Thema and I both share naked stories of our journeying from trauma to truth, and we discuss how creative expression can help us to heal and return home to ourselves, particularly when the world is suffering in particularly intense ways. Our conversation is more than anything a prayer, that we each remain rooted in our divine and holy nature. I hope this one feeds you in the ways you need. @dr.thema on IG. drthema.com.Sacred Conversations are periodic episodes of my podcast in which I reach out to people whose work and life inspire me, and we simply have an old fashioned phone conversation. No video. No scripted, transactional, extractive, one-sided interview dynamic. Just two people with a care and curiosity for each other’s journey, asking each other soulful questions, and enjoying the ancient, mutually healing art of listening deeply. Again, not an interview. A spiritual communion. The idea is for us to relax and enjoy an organic conversation, like over tea or breaking bread, and get to know each other along the way. My new book Dear Artist, and all my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...   Support the show

I do not know how to describe my third Sacred Conversation, with Laya F. Saad. We just finished our conversation, so my heart is still so full and crying. Layla lives in Qatar, has done groundbreaking work on the harm of and healing from supremacies, and has been on a beautiful personal journey involving her ongoing discovery of her neurodivergence. She shared so openly with me. I guess you can say that our conversation is about embracing your true nature, including your creative nature, and just how life saving and changing it is to do so. Our conversation felt to me like playful prayer. I hope it does for you, too.Sacred Conversations are periodic episodes of my podcast in which I reach out to people whose work and life inspire me, and we simply have an old fashioned phone conversation. No video. No scripted, transactional, extractive, one-sided interview dynamic. Just two people with a care and curiosity for each other’s journey, asking each other soulful questions, and enjoying the ancient, mutually healing art of listening deeply. Again, not an interview. A spiritual communion. The idea is for us to relax and enjoy an organic conversation, like over tea or breaking bread, and get to know each other along the way. My new book Dear Artist, and all my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my upcoming book, Dear Artist. Dear Artist, and all my books, is available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, piano music, and Birthing Words creative writing support are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies and readings of my books, and your creative images and videos with my overlayed verses, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Wow. I hope you listen to and feel this one. My second Sacred Conversation is with Terence Lester, Ph.D., a soul who does sacred work to restore and celebrate the dignity of those who are unhoused and/or invisible. He is a husband, father, author, and founder of both Love Beyond Walls and Dignity Museum. In our very soulful, vulnerable conversation, we talk about the profound self-harm caused by not seeing the dignity of other souls, the cost of invisibility, our life journeys of spiritual servitude, and the priceless personal and collective value of true listening.Sacred Conversations are periodic episodes of my podcast in which I reach out to people whose work and life inspire me, and we simply have an old fashioned phone conversation. No video. No scripted, transactional, extractive, one-sided interview dynamic. Just two people with a care and curiosity for each other’s journey, asking each other soulful questions, and enjoying the ancient, mutually healing art of listening deeply. Again, not an interview. A spiritual communion. The idea is for us to relax and enjoy an organic conversation, like over tea or breaking bread, and get to know each other along the way. My new book Dear Artist, and all my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com... Support the show

I am excited to share with you our first Sacred Conversation, with the artist, painter, poet, birth mother of the Heart Dept, activist, revolutionary, and much more, Shelley (Grace) Bruce. In our conversation, we explore the holiness of names, "Land Back" as a holistic liberation movement, the birth story of the Heart Dept, and our upcoming September 13 Heart Dept gathering which will serve as a fundraiser, medicine circle, and book launch and signing for my new book Dear Artist: A Love Letter.Sacred Conversations are periodic episodes of my podcast in which I reach out to people whose work and life inspire me, and we simply have an old fashioned phone conversation. No video. No scripted, transactional, extractive, one-sided interview dynamic. Just two people with a care and curiosity for each other’s journey, asking each other soulful questions, and enjoying the ancient, mutually healing art of listening deeply. Again, not an interview. A spiritual communion. The idea is for us to relax and enjoy an organic conversation, like over tea or breaking bread, and get to know each other along the way. My new book Dear Artist, and all my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my upcoming book, Dear Artist. You may preorder Dear Artist exclusively at jaiyajohn.com. All my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com... Support the show

Reading a selection from my upcoming book, Dear Artist. You may preorder Dear Artist exclusively at jaiyajohn.com. All my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...Support the show

Reading a selection from my upcoming book, Dear Artist. You may preorder Dear Artist exclusively at jaiyajohn.com. All my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...   Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com... Support the show

On August 12, 20122, Dr. Thema Bryant, minister, psychologist, professor, author, poet, spoken word artist, sacred dancer, and current President of the American Psychological Association and I sat to discuss her new book Homecoming: Overcome Fear and Trauma to Reclaim Your Whole, Authentic Self. .During our conversation, Dr. Thema reads from her book, and we explore her inspiring personal and professional journey leading her to write this powerfully compassionate, insightful, life-changing, best-selling book..The Homecoming Podcast with Dr. Thema is on YouTube and on all podcast platforms. Her work can also be found on the major social media platforms. HTTPS://DRTHEMA.COM ..My new Daughter Drink This Water audiobook is available exclusively at my website. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  .Jaiya John freedom work, Soul Shop, books, eBooks, audiobooks, sleep stories, and more: https://jaiyajohn.com/ .Sacred Word with Jaiya John. My Substack journal, offering deeper writing and guidance on your freedom work, creative life, writing, and sacred healing. Subscribe at https://jaiyajohn.com/ .Daily medicine words on Instagram: @jaiyajohn.Soul Water Rising Stirring the soul to remember itself. Rehumanizing. Freedom work....Support the show

Dr. Thema Bryant, minister, psychologist, therapist, sacred dancer, poet, spoken word artist, and current president of the American Psychological Association interviews me for her Homecoming podcast. We discuss my new book All These Rivers and You Chose Love. I read from the book, and Dr. Thema and I share a tandem reading. Together, we explore Love, grace, boundaries, ease, and rebirth. I am excited to share this rich soul conversation with you. .My new Daughter Drink This Water audiobook is available exclusively at my website. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com... Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love, which begins, "Last night in my dreams, I ran with my ancestors..." .My new Daughter Drink This Water audiobook is available exclusively at my website. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love, which begins, "Bless you. Bless you with the drapery of this morning's grace..." My new Daughter Drink This Water audiobook is available exclusively at my website. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...   Support the show

Reading a selection from my new book, All These Rivers and You Chose Love, which begins, "This thing you call your life..." My new Daughter Drink This Water audiobook is available exclusively at my website. All my books are available at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Piano composition by Jaiya John. A relaxing, soothing, meditative piano composition. Length: 9:46. Available for purchase and download at my website. Use in your videos with full artist and title credit, especially in audio track labeling. Thank you. My new Daughter Drink This Water audiobook is available exclusively at my website. My new book, the short story No Man Came, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...   Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "Maybe Love is not the problem..." My new Daughter Drink This Water audiobook is available exclusively at my website. My new book, the short story No Man Came, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "Sweet soul. Do not allow yourself..." My new Daughter Drink This Water audiobook is available exclusively at my website. My new book, the short story No Man Came, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com... Support the show

Reading a passage from my upcoming novel, Habibti, which begins, "I have never told you this..." My new Daughter Drink This Water audiobook is available exclusively at my website. My new book, the short story No Man Came, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...Support the show

Reading a selection from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution, which begins, "A naked, diaphanous soul is dancing..." My new book, the short story No Man Came, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com. VERSE:A naked, diaphanous figure is dancing everywhere you look. You can barely bare its beauty, a radiance so impossible that tears spring from your soul spring when you glance at its aura. You fall so in Love you spend your whole life trying to possess this miracle. This nascent light in every corner. You adhere to all the rules passed down to you. You follow all the approved paths, even when it breaks your heart. You achieve all the expected achievements. You acquire all the titles, relationships, and status. Yet the divine candlelight keeps taunting you, dancing closer, then further away. You feel its warmth against your pleading skin, but it draws back and leaves you cold. You spend your life pleasing what humans want from you, losing touch with true pleasure assigned to you by Glory. You become a searcher, a wanderer, a traveling ache. You renounce pleasure and romance, start digging in the hard desert earth for the nakedness of your obsession. Years go by. Decades. You feel you have been cheated. You rebel against all rules. You rebel against your soul. Your gamble is that if you perform anarchy against life, you will finally possess this effervescent creature for yourself. Nothing works. The dancing ecstasy comes into you and out of you in flashes of euphoria and torture. At last, one day, when your yearning has grown exhausted, you collapse into a kind of surrender. You fall into the boiling vat of your own soul water, which has been within you all along. The you of you gets cooked. Old bindings come undone. You are rearranged into particles of light. Your seven senses die into a new sense that makes no sense. You are born into the same body, the same world, but everything now is breeze and movement. The dancing form you always sought is nowhere to be found. But you are dancing. You no longer care about the music or the beat. Your dance is bliss without boundary. Pains come and go. You stay dancing. Your ideas die as soon as they form in you. Great Sky above calls you Friend and joins you dancing. This, dear soul, is freedom.Support the show

Reading a selection from my book, Lyric of Silence, which begins, In the soft nook of  an old tree... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com.VERSE:In the soft nook of an old tree, on a canyon side painted in night, a luminescent beating heart calls out to a known soul on the canyon’s far side:Would you have drawn your arrow and sent its force into my place of origin had you known a spring of wanting would burst forth into a geyser?Known soul answers:Yes. For I am nothing but that which goes where wanting grows. I am that swollen plum gathering my sugar and flesh, preparing to be dearly eaten. I am dying to be devoured in the collective aching heart. I am suffrage on the lip. I am called out of the chasm, to return to the chasm with bits of light and frayed notes from a song. I have come for those who bleed in the dire dust. I am a bee driven mad by the sweet pollen of joy and laughter. I am dew dropped by sky into the tearful buttercup heart of the passionate ones. I am sky pouring out over itself, earth running over its earth. I cannot stop this weeping, which is my own weeping, left in washed out gullies, in villages of despair, to mark faces in salt, so this Love can find them. I have a kite string tied to joy’s updraft. I will not let go. When the fearsome beast roars in the apogee of our primal fear, I will kneel to stroke its  broad sternum and offer my head to its daggered jaws if that be my fate. I am drawn to wanting, that phosphorescent tidal pool from which I first emerged, slick and sniffing air when dawns had yet no light. This stretched skin I shred in every moment is the drumhead handed down by the ones who sing in darkness and hew light from charcoaled walls of cave. They who with sharp bleached bone spill their hearts at the river feeding the valley their red romance of Lovingness. They who see the mist inside the minutiae seen by solemn seers. They who cover their faces in old mud and dance in the cold current until new corn grows. They have given me this skin that taunts me in its echo and leaves from me daily aloft in tattered uprisings. This heart within is a sounding bell. Only the deepest soulful yearning in this world can make it tremble. And when it moves, its only voice is an absolute elation destined for those fields of wanting, brushed by sky beneath sky in their unattended serendipity...Support the show

Reading a selection from my book, Fragrance After Rain, which begins, Jasmine tea... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...   Support the show

An interview with host Sonali Fiske for her Revolutionary Voices radio show, airing on Rukus Avenue Radio, itself hosted on Dash Radio. Our conversation addresses grief in these times of pandemic and social trauma, and how we may exercise our personal and collective sovereignty as a path of healing and humanizing change. This interview aired on May 10, 2022. Rukus Avenue Radio is the #1 South Asian Radio/Podcast Network, serving nearly 7 million monthly global listeners.My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...    Support the show

Reciting I'm Gonna Make You See Me, from my book, Beautiful: A Poetic Celebration of Displaced Children, during my keynote speech to 600 9th graders at Gar-Field Senior High School, Prince William County, Virginia School District. September 30, 2011... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...   Support the show

Reading a selection from my book, Fragrance After Rain, which begins, Today, I will write poetry for you... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection from my book, Fragrance After Rain, which begins, I sit in the garden, in the poetry of blossoms... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...   Support the show

Reading a selection from my book, Fragrance After Rain, which begins, She woke beneath a blanket of moonlight... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide. eBooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Sharing a live keynote clip, reciting my spoken word piece on youth leadership, I Lead Myself, from my book, Beautiful: A Poetic Celebration of Displaced Children. Keynote presented at the California Youth Connection Leadership and Policy Conference. Thousand Oaks, California, Aug. 4, 2012. My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Ebooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...Support the show

Sharing a past live recording, reciting my spoken word piece, This Home I Am, from my book Beautiful: A Poetic Celebration of Displaced Children, as part of my keynote speech for the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY), National Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, November 7, 2011.This poem addresses psychological and spiritual homelessness and their counterpart condition that I call, Homefulness. My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Ebooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...Support the show

Reading a selection from my book, Lyric of Silence, which begins, A million golden blades make plush the meadow within your heart... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Ebooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com... Support the show

In honor of Social Work Appreciation Month, I am honored to share with you this live recording of me reciting my poem I Call You Legendary, from my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. The eBook is available exclusively at jaiyajohn.com. This reading is excerpted from Reclaiming Our Sacred Ways, a live, abridged keynote message by Dr. Jaiya John at the January 24, 2018 Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Conference, hosted by Antelope Valley Partners for Health. Lancaster, California. LENGTH 60:00. Available exclusively in the Audio Library at jaiyajohn.com.In the full recording, Jaiya shares a hopeful message on our need to reclaim ancestral, communal, humanistic ways of nurturing, supporting, and responding to crisis within children, families, and communities. In addition to reciting his classic spoken word piece, I Call You Legendary, from his book Legendary, Jaiya addresses a wide range of issues with soulful truthfulness, including:The cultural origins of our current social systemsOur need to reassess the culture of our systemsOur need to rebalance and heal our social worldReckoning with our cultural supremacies and caste systemsEvolving our definition and understanding of child abuseWhat it means to be a healerHonoring and repairing fatherhood and motherhoodThe harm caused by soulless professionalismThe persistence and endurance of Mother TeresaThe critical relationship between wellness and the work of serving livesThe power of hopefulness and gratitudeA path for ending generational suffering and traumaOur need to soulfully celebrate compassionate servitude The medicine of self care, mutual care, and story gardeningThis full recording is a valuable resource for MSW programs, new staff orientation, professional and leadership development, staff meetings, staff retreats, in-service trainings, and culture change initiatives. It is available exclusively in the Audio Library at jaiyajohn.com...Support the show

Reading a selection from my book, Lyric of Silence, which begins, Shatter the glass pitcher hoarding your sweet soul... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Ebooks are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...Support the show

From Dr. Thema Bryant's Instagram account: MOVING FROM FEAR TO FREEDOM with psychologist, poet, and freedom worker Dr. Jaiya John. Join us for this enlightening conversation about his powerful book "Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution." He reads key passages for us and reflects on supremacy, inferiority, racism, internalized racism, rest, love, and freedom. ____The Homecoming Podcast with Dr.Thema is available on all podcast platforms. Her new book, Homecoming, is to be released on March 15. Preorders are available now at booksellers.https://drthema.com/https://jaiyajohn.com/***Support the show

Reading a selection from my book, Habanero Love: A Poem of Sacred Passion, which begins, Usurp my throne... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...      Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, One glance from your soul... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books, are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...     Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, This morning I hold the gourd of my heart... My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books, are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...    Support the show

Reading a selection which begins, Bless the hearts of those... from my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books, are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...   Support the show

Reading a selection which begins, A morning mantra for remembering... from my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books, are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com... Support the show

Reading a selection which begins, Sacred is this moment... from my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books, are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading a selection which begins, One of the first steps toward peace... from my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books, are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...   Support the show

Reading a selection titled, Dear Caring One, from my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books, are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...  Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece from 2012 which begins, "Here's the thing about fear..." My new book, Fragrance After Rain, and all my books, are available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. Thank you for posting your copies on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com... Support the show

Reading from my new book, Fragrance After Rain. A passage that begins, "May you open up your heart and soul to Creation..." Fragrance After Rain is available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. You can be a precious part of our book launch by posting your copy on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and by sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "Dear One. When you speak a boundary..." My new book, Fragrance After Rain, is available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. You can be a precious part of our book launch by posting your copy on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and by sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Episode text:Dear One. When you speak a boundary and do not uphold it, you have not actually set a boundary. You see? A boundary is not a word. A boundary is an act. An act of integrity between you and you. A promise not to betray yourself. A follow through on your sacred word. A consistency between word and behavior. A boundary is also a practice of being true to yourself.Maybe you are so afraid of being abandoned that you abandon yourself. You abandon making space and spirit for what you desire and need. You prevent the people and things that could be your blessing from having a place in your life. Who are you holding space for and why? It is good to ask this question daily. And to answer bravely.Trauma can cause us to act against our own interest by filling our life with people who violate our boundaries, and impeding the presence of those who would honor our boundaries. Gentle now. No need for guilt or shame. These words are Love's clarity. People pleasing is not just an inconvenience to yourself. It is a theft of your life space, energy, and fertility. Gentle now.  If you were violated when you were young, you may very well associate being violated with Love. If your habit muscles for pleasing others are stronger than your habit muscles for healthy Love relations, sacred Love will be elusive. The answer is to strengthen your discernment muscles for healthful, mutually honoring relationship. Yes? When you speak a boundary and then accommodate a person's violation of that boundary by remaining available to them in the same way as before, you are inviting them to interpret your accommodation in ways that serve them, not you. They can with good reason tell themselves that you must not have meant what you said. That you must want them to be with you how they have always been with you. You signal this by betraying your boundary. And if you yearn for more space for yourself in your life, but keep flooding your life with the presence, energy, spirit, and motives of others who violate your stated boundaries, you are creating your own drought of space for yourself. You see?When you uphold a boundary, you are nullifying an agreement with another person written in the ink and ether of your joint history together that says, "I assent to how you are with me." You are presenting new, non-negotiable contract language backed by your willingness to release the prior relationship.A boundary is a personal habit. A form of hygiene. You keep yourself and your life clean and free for what you want by honoring what you say through what you do. You exude this habit energetically. You do not control how others respond to your boundaries. This is not the point of a boundary. Your boundaries are for your wellness, peace, and fulfillment of the life your soul desires. You can learn to be gentle with yourself, within yourself, in the way you nurture your boundaries. You do not have to destroy your soul with rage. Each day, pay Loving attention to how you exist in this world. Learn to discern what heals and helps you from what numbs, distracts, harms, or uses you. Speak your boundary and you plant a seed. Honor your boundary and you bring your seed all the way to its fullest, most beautiful life...Support the show

Reading from my new book, Fragrance After Rain. A passage that begins, "Your boundary need not always be an angry electric fence..." Fragrance After Rain is available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. You can be a precious part of our book launch by posting your copy on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and by sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading from my new book, Fragrance After Rain. A passage that begins, "Human kind or human cruel..." Fragrance After Rain is available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. You can be a precious part of our book launch by posting your copy on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and by sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading from my new book, Fragrance After Rain. A passage that begins, "All your life..." Fragrance After Rain is available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. You can be a precious part of our book launch by posting your copy on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and by sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading from my new book, Fragrance After Rain. A  passage that begins, "Today I will write poetry for you..." Fragrance After Rain is available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. You can be a precious part of our book launch by posting your copy on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, and by sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... TEXT OF BOOK EXCERPT READ IN THIS EPISODE:TODAY I WILL WRITE poetry for you. You will be my poetry, writing me. Today is writing all of this poetry. Sun is rising again and again inside this day. Light has learned a new Love song. Now, beneath the shade tree with blossoms of purple fountains, I usher this river through. Now, with a tender breeze patting my face with the same Love your brown hands pat into the white belly of tortilla dough, now this joy moves through. Life is a song soaked in beauty. Life is a dance with no rules. No hours. No curfew. Just callouses building and breaking open again. Just the mist in your eyes. Eyes of a forest fawn. Eyes of dew. Plunging eyes, swimming great lakes of soul. And your brown hands, supple and survived, your brown hands kneading dough, pleading Love into bread, bread into Love, Love into hunger, into bodies browned by Love, into lives leaning against kind moments of Love. And I taste the bread your Love has made. Sky sings inside my bones, inside my breath, in the streams streaming my blood. You wake my ancestors. Everything is drumming now. Drum song is a vibration melting away what is not life from my life. Come, place your brown hand in my brown hand. Today, we walk the Red Road, earth like blushing coffee. We walk the hills, green and billowing. We walk beneath oaks and eucalyptus, redwoods whispering wild languages. We walk along creeks and lips of lakes. We walk a million sunrises. Watering all living things with tears of Grace. We walk Creation, kneeling to smell and stroke the smallest grain. The bread you make is the rising of Love in every soul it feeds. Earth Loves you, sainted one. Your brown hands are how this life holds itself. In Love...Support the show

Discussing the October 18 release of my new book, Fragrance After Rain, and reading a passage from the book that begins, "I sat on the mountaintop..." Fragrance After Rain is available online at booksellers worldwide, in both hardcover and softcover. You can be a precious part of our October book launch by posting your copy on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, and by sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...BOOK DESCRIPTION Jaiya John follows up his books Daughter Drink This Water, and, Freedom, with this aromatic delight for your soul. Fragrance After Rain is a sensitive, hopeful, intimate movement through your many seasons of tenderness, and the beautiful meaning and grace that grow from that fertile ground. If you love Rumi, Hafez, Gibran, and other classic mystic poets, here is your honey jar. This book is pregnant with balm and salve so personal and intuitively attuned, you will be certain the words were birthed just for you. Sustenance as you live through your personal moments, and through the collective moods of the world.Fragrance is a free flowing melody of petite stories and mystic whispers, a wildflower meadow you may enjoy wherever you lay yourself within it for a moment and breathe beautifully. These inspirational pieces are entirely liberated from chapters and sections, freely roaming, drifting on spirit breeze as they wish. Each word-bouquet is gathered and growing according to the sunlight, soil, and water of Love’s orchestral conducting. Open this book, turn to a page, let your eyes arrive to any brief orchard of words, and allow your heart to taste the fruit and meet its craving. Whatever words you meet are the words you need in the moment. In this Fragrance story, the one who speaks, is spoken to, and is spoken about is you, BeLoved. All of this is you.This is a book of bright clouds in the sky of your life. Bringing you beauty, meaning, the downy reflection of sunlight, life-replenishing rain, and a sweet fragrance thereafter. Walk, dance, sing, and repose yourself through this aromatic pasture, and feel a peace that is both medicine and music for your soul. Be careful, dear Lover. If you sip these words slowly and savor their essence, you may become a mystic. 5.5 x 8.5. Hardcover and Softcover. First Edition. 306 pages. Inspiration / Personal growth and healing / Spiritual growth. ISBN: 978-0-9987802-6-9 Support the show

Reading a short, short children's story I wrote at age 18 when I first started writing. The story begins, "A young boy walking in the fields..." I also update you on the status of my upcoming book, Fragrance After Rain, when you can expect your exclusive website preorders to ship to you, and when the book will be available on the open market. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading a selection which begins, "All my life, living in the palace of my body..." from my upcoming book, Fragrance After Rain. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading a selection which begins, "Feel your deep desire for peace..." from my upcoming book, Fragrance After Rain. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading a selection which begins, "If you dare to walk the dark alley..." from my upcoming book, Fragrance After Rain. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "I want to behold you grow old and more beautiful in my eyes..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "She was not only tired. She was uninspired..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "Joy lives. It is not a rare artifact..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "Her nervous system had been through so much..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "You will fall..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the piece which begins, "Pain is a mystic kindness..." from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the piece which begins, "When your heart is so tender..." from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the piece which begins, "May your wondrous heart and spirit imitate sky today..." from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the piece which begins, "After fleeing yourself..." from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the piece which begins, "Your history is not your master..." from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the piece which begins, "You have lived long enough..." from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the piece which begins, "Kindness is a kind of sun for the soul..." from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "Some great poetry waits for a thousand years..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading a passage which begins, "Daughter, press your face against this sky of blue..."  from the section titled, Inner Peace, from my book, Daughter Drink This Water: A Book of Sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "Out here in the desert..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece which begins, "One moment you are laughing..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece which begins, "I pray for you." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece which begins, "You are a crane flying over the emerald mountain..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece which begins, "If you could see, you delightful spirit..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece, "Sheba."  This piece will be included in the new revised printing of my spoken word book, Father to Son: Ode to Our Black Young, available online in the second week of May, 2021. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the unpublished friendship piece, "Sister Stew."  This piece will be included in the new revised printing of my spoken word book, Father to Son: Ode to Our Black Young, available online in the second week of May, 2021. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading two pieces. The first, "She Was Born This Way,"  and the second, "Brilliant Daylight," both from my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the piece that begins, "Today, be the most beautiful thing..." from my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece, "Oshun," written for my daughter who came to me and spoke to me in spirit several months before she was conceived. This piece will be included in the new revised printing of my spoken word book, Father to Son: Ode to Black Boys, available online in the second week of May, 2021. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "May your wondrous heart and spirit imitate sky today..." from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece that begins, "May you open your heart and soul..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Who among us will tend the plains of Grace..." from my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "The siblings walked into the lush, peaceful woods..." from my unillustrated children's book, The Day Jumoke Found His Name. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading the unpublished passage that begins, "There is an opening in your soul..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Hope is the light bursting out..." from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Spring is trying to tell us something..." from my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "I have wandered, a Love monk..." from my book, Habanero Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece that begins, "This is my Love letter..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece that begins, "I am not this moment..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece, "Don't." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "I met a goatherd once...," from my book, Habanero Love: A Poem of Sacred Passion. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Blessed Morning, Dear Flower...," from my book, Habanero Love: A Poem of Sacred Passion. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "The world is not suddenly changing...," from the section titled, Heal Your Revolutionary Soul, from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "The first revolution is to rest...," from the section titled, Heal Your Revolutionary Soul, from my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece which begins, "I Love you...," jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece which begins, "Your soul will never complain...," jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece which begins, "I see you. I feel you...," jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece which begins, "Hay milagros en tus ojos...," jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

In honor of the return of students and educators to in-person learning, reading the unpublished Love letter which begins, "In honor of educators...," jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Your life is a river...," from my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

In honor of Social Work Month and the return of students and educators to in-person learning, reading the passage titled, "I Wade Deeply," from my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

In honor of Social Work Month and the return of students and educators to in-person learning, reading the passage titled, "Infinite Heart," from my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

In honor of Social Work Month and the return of students and educators to in-person learning, reading the passage titled, "Choose Good Waterfalls," from my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

In honor of Social Work Month and the return of students and educators to in-person learning, reading the passage titled, "One Teacher," from my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the selection that begins, "A monarch butterfly is drawn...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the selection that begins, "The life of your soul...," from the passage titled, Your Revolution is Sacred and Holy, from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the selection that begins, "Being calm doesn't just feel good," from the passage titled, Calmness, from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the selection that begins, "Be willing not to be available," from the passage titled, Solitude, from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Your desire for belonging...," from the section titled, Belonging, from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Learning to have an inner life...," from the section titled, Your Inner Life, from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Silence was your first language," from the section titled, Quietude, from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Moon is our Mecca," from the softcover edition of my book, Habanero Love: A Poem of Sacred Passion. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Your feelings know the way home...," from the section titled, Heal Your Revolutionary Soul, from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "True beauty lives in this world...," from the section titled, True Beauty, from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection that begins, "Don't circle the well, licking your lips...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the selection titled, "Prayer of Choice," from the softcover edition of my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection beginning with, "You have not yet arrived at the final frontier of Loving yourself...," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the selection beginning with, "Just as water flows downhill...," from the softcover edition of my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the selection beginning with, "Shatter the glass pitcher...," from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...        Support the show

Reading the selection beginning with, "Many moons have passed, but not Love...," from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading the selection beginning with, "A willowy silent servant...," from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the selection beginning with, "Peddler meets sojourner...," from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...         Support the show

Reading the selection beginning with, "Decibels wave in desert silence...," from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...        Support the show

Reading the selection beginning with, "Love's personality is not closed," from the softcover edition of my book, Habanero Love: A Poem of Sacred Passion. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading the passage beginning with, "Go naked into the sweat lodge under moonlight and weep...," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the piece called, "Pouring Purpose," from the softcover edition of my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading the piece called, "Choose Good Waterfalls," from the softcover edition of my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "What is prayer..," from the section titled, "Spiritual Life," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love.jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection, "An apple on a tree does more in stillness..," from the section titled, "Inner Stillness," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love.jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece that begins, "She wakes feeling wild..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the selection that begins, "I am a bear...," from the softcover edition of my book, Habanero Love: A Poem of Sacred Passion. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece, "We need more translators of soul..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading the selection that begins, "What does it mean to Love yourself...," from the section titled, "Loving Yourself," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the selection that begins, "Some souls express their beauty by painting...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection, "Here in this newborn day...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading an unpublished meditative piece, "Jasmine tea..."jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading an unpublished meditative piece, "Your deep desire for peace..."jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection, "Grateful...," from the softcover edition of my book, Sincerity of Sunlight. A book of inspiration. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading an unpublished meditative piece, "Your soul floating endless grace..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the short story, "Once, in ancient times, there lived an old king...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the passage, "companionship of your own soul...," from the section titled, "Heal Your Revolutionary Soul," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the selection, "Sacred is this moment...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece, "When sunrise sweeps her hopeful robes..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading the selection, "Be the wine who jumps back into a grape...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the selection, "A bright sparrow brings you seeds of joy..." from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the selection, "One of life's best moments..." from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

 Reading the selection, "Wake and Be Warriors," from the softcover edition of my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the selection, "Softness is a ceremony..." from the passage titled, "Tenderness," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece, "...beginning of sunlight..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection, "If you must smoke...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the passage, "Run to water...," from the section titled, "Care for Your Sacred Stories," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the selection, "You are a miracle...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading the selection, "Fragrance After Rain...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading an unpublished story, "She Woke Beneath Moonlight." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading an unpublished writing that begins, "On earth we suffer..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading an unpublished writing that begins, "Use your nocturnal eyes..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading an unpublished writing that begins, "A peace lives in your soul..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "You are a soft thing..." from the passage titled, "Your Power," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection, "Awe and wonder..." from the passage titled, "Living Miraculously," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the selection ending with, "...fulfillment of my soul," from the softcover edition of my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. aiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the selection, "A particular moment finds you lonesome...," from the softcover edition of my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. aiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading the selection, "A shepherd left his home...," from the softcover edition of my book, Sincerity of Sunlight. A book of inspiration. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the selection, "Every soul is a perfume shop...," from the softcover edition of my book, Sincerity of Sunlight. A book of inspiration. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

 Reading the selection, "What is Love...," from the softcover edition of my book, Sincerity of Sunlight. A book of inspiration. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the selection, "Bliss and infinity...," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection, "Whisper me in moonlight...," from the passage titled, "Your Voice," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece, "Gentle."jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece, "When Love blooms in you..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "May your eyes see only beauty..," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "A Storyteller of caramel skin..," from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading the passage, "Self Love is a garden you grow..," from the section titled, "Heal Your Revolutionary Soul," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the passage, "Peace is in you..," from the section titled, "Wellness and Freedom," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading the passage, "When your soul is ready..," from the section titled, "Wellness and Freedom," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the passage, "Wash your spirit clean..," from the section titled, "Wellness and Freedom," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the passage, "Does this set my soul free..," from the section titled, "Wellness and Freedom," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the passage, "The life of your soul...," from the section titled, "Your Revolution is Sacred and Holy," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the passage, "Your ancestors outnumber your fears...," from the section titled, "Your Ancestors and You," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the passage, "Appraise your soul as worthy...," from the section titled, "Heal Your Revolutionary Soul," from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the passage, "How to be an oasis for others...," from the section titled, "A Life of Healing," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the passage beginning, "Sky speaks..." from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the passage titled, "Feast Day," from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the passage that begins, "Peace is a prophet...," from the section titled, "Inner Peace," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the passage, "She taught her sisters how to weave...," from the section titled, "Help Your People Heal," of the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the selection, "Your body is the architecture of your every ancestor...," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "You are your soul's perfect medicine...," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading an unpublished poem which begins, "A rose blows across the desert..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "Should you choose to be moon...," from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "Sometimes she finds a moment...," from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the unpublished bedtime piece, "Sleep." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "Opportunity lies unseen in the dark...," and ending, "But first you have to pour," from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "Disrobe your Love..." from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "Choose Love..." from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "Follow my voice, Old Friend..." from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...         Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "Today, be the most beautiful thing..." from the softcover edition of my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...        Support the show

Reading an unpublished spoken word piece that begins, "Sipping Sweet Tea..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading an unpublished spoken word piece titled, "Comfort of a Rhythm." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...         Support the show

Reading the selection titled, "Your Sacred Calling," from the softcover edition of my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...        Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "Calm is your divine state..." from the softcover edition of my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "A woman spent her whole life looking..." from the softcover edition of my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "What the sky wishes to be..." from the softcover edition of my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "There is a chalice... called joy..." from the softcover edition of my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the unpublished piece, "I am going to tell you now that I Love you..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "Write a poem today..." from the softcover edition of my book, Calm: Inspiration for a Possible Life. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the selection beginning, "Some people find that in the early morning..." from the softcover edition of my book, Sincerity of Sunlight. A book of inspiration. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the selection, "Ask a hummingbird..." from the softcover edition of my book, Sincerity of Sunlight. A book of inspiration. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the passage, "Grace is a paradise..." from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. A book of inspiration. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading the passage, "You are not here to imitate..." from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading the passage, "Ocean in a Jar," from the softcover edition of my book, Your Caring Heart: Renewal for Healing Professionals and Systems. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading "a fine cup of jasmine tea..." from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. A book of inspiration. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading an unpublished 2009 contemplative essay, Love is Life. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading "She spreads out a soft blanket..." from the softcover edition of my book, Sincerity of Sunlight. A book of inspiration. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading "This cup of friendship spirit..." from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. A book of inspirations. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...         Support the show

Reading "May your heart take to the trees..." from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. A book of inspirations. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...        Support the show

Reading a story, "Feast Day..." from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. A book of inspirations. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading two unpublished pieces: "Fill my soul with sweet water...," and, "My tongue is on fire with a new Love language..." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading a story that begins, "A useful man..." from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. A book of inspirations. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading from the beginning of the passage entitled, "Your Revolution is Sacred and Holy," from the softcover edition of my new book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading a piece that begins, "One of life's best moments..." from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. A book of inspirations. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading from the passage beginning, "Breathe Deeply, Dear Soul..." from the softcover edition of my new book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading three pieces from the softcover edition of my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. A book of inspirations. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading the passage beginning, "Daughter, I am going to tell you a secret..." from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...        Support the show

Reading the passage beginning, "You have the sacred right..." from the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...        Support the show

Reading the passage beginning, "A soul walked into a vase shop..." from the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading the passage beginning, "It was always you," from the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading the Love poem "Usurp My Throne," from the softcover edition of my book, Habanero Love: A Poem of Sacred Passion. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading my unpublished short story, "Pouring Into Clay." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading the passage entitled, "Rest Feeds Your Revolution," from the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading my unpublished children's story, "Akamu: Legend of a Sea Turtle." jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading "If I have said this poem before...," and, "In the soft nook of an old tree..." from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...       Support the show

Reading "Love is your true planet..." from the softcover edition of my book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...      Support the show

Reading "Love's flower is always in bloom," from the softcover edition of my book, Daughter Drink This Water. A book of sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...     Support the show

Reading "Care for Your Sacred Stories, part four" from the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com. Books online everywhere...    Support the show

Reading "A million golden blades..." from the softcover edition of my book, Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading "Care for Your Sacred Stories, part three" from the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading "Your Soul is Rowing Across a Great Lake," a poetic meditation from my book of inspiration, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading "Care for Your Sacred Stories, part two" from the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...   Support the show

Reading "Love Like Love Loves," a poetic meditation on the nature of Sacred Love. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading "Care for Your Sacred Stories, part 1" from the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...  Support the show

Reading "Removing a splinter (what it means to be a revolutionary)... from pages 210 and 211 of the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere... Support the show

On this date in 1851, African American abolitionist and women's rights activist Sojourner Truth attended the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio, where she delivered an impromptu speech that became known as Ain't I a Woman? Given the current visible violence on human beings who are Black, which is but a highlighted fraction of centuries of ongoing genocidal illness, my soul urges me to share this small book with you now. Father to Son: Ode to Black Boys was born, like Sojourner's speech, as an impromptu keynote speech as a last minute replacement for our precious poet, Nikki Giovanni, at a 2001 statewide conference on the African American male, organized and hosted by the African American Advisory Council, of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. The Spirit that filled me, the room, and the entire audience of nearly a thousand souls, remains the most powerful collective Spirit I have experienced as a speaking vessel in this work. I am also making this audio book freely available on my YouTube channel, on Audible, and on my Instagram TV. I am forever grateful for you receiving this offering in the spirit of Love in which it was born and lives. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading an unpublished spoken word piece titled, Becoming Peace. I wrote this piece for a speaking engagement last Fall at a Boys & Girls Club, as a message of self determination and healing for young people. Surely the words apply for us all. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading a piece titled, I Find My Sacred Lake, from my book, Legendary: A Tribute to Those Who Honorably Serve Devalued Children. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading from pages 102 and 103 of the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading from pages 206 and 207 of the softcover edition of my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading a passage from my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading the short story, Sunshine and Rain, from my book, Beautiful: A Poetic Celebration of Displaced Children. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading an excerpt from my newborn book, Freedom: Medicine Words for Your Brave Revolution. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading an unpublished piece on the journey to feeling worthy and living a worthy life. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

 Reading two untitled pieces from my book Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere... Support the show

Reading a short story, the first piece in my book Lyric of Silence: A Poetic Telling of the Human Soul Journey. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading my short story, Nile River Woman. jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

Reading a passage called, Inner Peace, from my book Daughter Drink This Water......jaiyajohn.com/books. Books online everywhere...Support the show

It was on my heart to share an offering of hope with you today. This is simply titled, Hope. These are the words that came through moments ago...Support the show

Reading three pieces from my book Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. Intro and ending song: Before Melissa, by Martin Klem...Support the show

Sharing a piece that came through me this morning. An ode to all you feel, the way you feel, your choice to feel, and how you care for your feeling...Support the show

I share two previously recorded pieces: Little Brown Girl Who Wants to Write, and Your Name Is Not Exhaustion. Both are set to music. The first piece is set to a song titled Infinite Sustain, by Amaranth Cove. The second piece is backed by one of my own piano recordings, Glowing Embers Drifting...Support the show

In this episode I share a previous recording of maybe the most popular piece from my book Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. This piece is called, She Wanted Peace. This recording is set to the background sound of a stream I was blessed by one day. I hope you enjoy. Big Love...Support the show

In this episode I share a previously recorded piece, Here's the Thing About Fear. thank you for receiving this offering. Enjoy, and thank you for encouraging others to follow the podcast. See you here again soon. I am sending you Love...Support the show

The inaugural episode of the I Will Read for You podcast. I share my purpose for this space: to offer you comfort, peace, centering, calm, good breathing, inspiration, illumination, strength, and nourishment for your healing and living. I read, I Have Decided to Become a Tree, from my book, Fresh Peace: Daily Blossoming of the Soul. I end by encouraging you to invite others to come drink peace and be fed in the soul...Support the show