Podcasts about threshold choir

Kelli Scarr is an American singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist based in Kingston, NY. She is also the founder of Vera Jean Music, a pioneering record label dedicated to championing the talents of women artists over the age of 40.On May 12, 2025, she unveils Greater Mysteries, an immersive album and performance experience inspired by the ancient myth of Inanna. Born from a 2022 artist residency in Crete, and recorded in Iceland, the album invites listeners to connect with their own cycles of transformation. Transcendent piano and airy woodwinds intertwine with Scarr's otherworldly voice and the earthy pulse of the rhythm section, alongside contributions from an array of surprise musicians—creating a soundscape steeped in myth and mystery.Raised in Northern California, Scarr's musical journey began in church, eventually leading her to Berklee College of Music before settling in New York City. Over the years, she has woven her way through an eclectic range of projects, from fronting the bands Moonraker and Salt & Samovar to a significant collaboration writing, recording, and touring with Moby. Her artistry extends into film scoring, where her emotive and organic approach—favoring live musicians and improvisation—has set her apart. She earned an Emmy nomination for her score to the HBO documentary In A Dream (2008) and has composed music for dozens of films, TV shows, and commercials. Notable projects include the documentaries Advanced Style and Far Western, and the forthcoming After All (2025), for which she composed the score and contributed six original songs.As a solo artist, Scarr has released three albums—Piece (2010), Dangling Teeth (2012), and No Rush (2021)—establishing herself as a singular voice in atmospheric, deeply emotive songwriting. Her forthcoming fourth album, Greater Mysteries, marks a new creative chapter, offering music as an initiatory experience. The project will unfold through intimate preview concerts in the Hudson Valley, culminating in immersive cave performances this fall and beyond.Today we get to dive deep into Kelli's creative process in the making of Greater Mysteries from the seeds of inspiration that came from many sources such as Talk Talk by Spirit of Eden, Maureen Murdock's "The Heroine's Journey," and Dr. Catherine Svehla's mythical wisdom to the whisper from her psychic about Greece in her future. Kelli shares about the magic and mystery of her residency in Crete, how the voices of Odeya Nini and members of the Threshold Choir appeared to lend magic to the album, and we listen to three songs - "Knowing is the Call," "The Yes that Leads," and "Aphrodite" - as we meander through the myth of Inanna and how transformation happens to us..."she's not dying, she's flying free."Hudson Valley audiences will have an exclusive opportunity to preview Greater Mysteries before the rest of the world. On April 16th, Kelli is hosting Lesser Mysteries at Unicorn Bar in Kingston. The special preview event will feature an impressive lineup of local and national talent and offer attendees a unique opportunity to witness the early stages of what will become a larger, Greater Mysteries immersive cave experience scheduled for fall 2025.https://www.viewcy.com/e/lesser_mysteriesHere's Kelli's recommendation to Leah Thau's Podcast, Strangers.Today's show was engineered by Ian Seda from Radiokingston.org.Our show music is from Shana Falana!Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND IThttp://iwantwhatshehas.org/podcastITUNES | SPOTIFYITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-want-what-she-has/id1451648361?mt=2SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/77pmJwS2q9vTywz7Uhiyff?si=G2eYCjLjT3KltgdfA6XXCAFollow:INSTAGRAM * https://www.instagram.com/iwantwhatshehaspodcast/FACEBOOK * https://www.facebook.com/iwantwhatshehaspodcast 

Song: One Foot/Lead with Love Music by: Melanie DeMore Notes: Melanie DeMore both entrances and intimidates people -- she is direct, funny, a fabulous story-teller, and fierce and broad in her love. I have to apologize to listeners for the sound quality of this interview -- we had some microphone glitches on both sides that means despite the best sound studio wizardry I could come up with, there's some distortion, and it's not the usual quality of sound. But the quality of content -- where it counts -- is top-notch. Melanie shares One Foot/Lead with Love, including the story of what sparked its creation. She talks about her family, and how the wisdom and experiences of her parents shaped the way she approaches people who hold different world views. We talk about coyotes, kids, accolades, how she takes care of herself on tour as a "4-star, card-carrying introvert". She sends us out with a charge: “Here's what you need to do, people out there: keep your head up. Keep your heart wide open. Remember to breathe, and keep doing the work. Sing on.”   Songwriter Info: Melanie DeMore is a 3 time Grammy nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. In her presentations, DeMore beautifully brings her participants together through her music and commentary. DeMore facilitates vocal and stick-pounding workshops for professional choirs, and community groups as well as directing numerous choral organizations across the U.S, Canada, and beyond. She is a featured presenter of SpeakOut!-The Institute for Social and Cultural Change, the Master Teaching Artist for Music at UC Berkeley/CalPerformances; works with everyone from Baptists to Buddhists, and was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. She is Music Director for Obeah Opera by Nicole Brooks and will be touring with the company to South Africa. She is a charter member of Threshold Choir founded by Kate Munger, a mentor to the Jerusalem Youth Chorus and conducts song circles with an emphasis on the voice as a vessel for healing. In her own words: "A song can hold you up when there seems to be no ground beneath you."   Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Melanie for recording and/or performing permission.   Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:02:56 Start time of reprise: 01:12:05   Links: Lady of Peace – written by Melanie for her mom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94Clq6DHpNA  Threshold Choir: https://thresholdchoir.org/  Children's Music Network: https://childrensmusic.org/  Bessie Jones: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1BUnRZrkCS0NoTiXefkW6U  Ella Jenkins: https://ellajenkins.com/  Oakland Youth Chorus: https://www.oigc.org/oyc  Obeah Opera (South African/Toronto) – about Tituba: https://obeahopera.com/  All One Tribe collective album: https://open.spotify.com/album/1EEVSonqRIjEB0DapNIRs8  Melanie's GoFundMe for a home in Taos, NM: https://gofund.me/6be198cb  Taos pueblo – Tewa people: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tewa  Bebe & Cece Winans – gospel singers: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3WNUkxJcJeliFx9KXWXMgs  John Lewis: https://civilrightstrail.com/experience/rep-john-lewis/  Margaret Nes - visual artist: https://www.ventanafineart.com/margaret-nes  Something Moving by Mary Watkins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3RTzI4-j64  Whirimako Black: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0dzCFvKwiJQ4w9ViwLzs49  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melanie.demore/  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/butchyg3/  Melanie's email: melaniedemore(at)earthlink.net   Nuts & Bolts: 2:2, major, call & echo, chorus & verse, 3-part harmony on chorus   Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share   Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

Song: Standing Stone Music by: Melanie DeMore   Notes: Melanie DeMore is a powerful community shaper and healer who brings warmth and creative delight to her work with people of all stripes. Standing Stone was my introduction to her songs, and like many people, I have a personal history with it. In 2019, I became a long-term sub in a middle school & high school for a beloved choral teacher who had left to tend to her dying sister. The kids were grieving and suspicious. I brought this song to them so we could make a video to send their teacher to support her. The recognition of their capacity to be a source of strength was a game changer; this song unified us. In next week's episode, Melanie talks about what supports her, what she learned from her family, and more. I hope you can join us.   Songwriter Info: Melanie DeMore is a 3-time Grammy-nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. In her presentations, DeMore beautifully brings her participants together through her music and commentary. DeMore facilitates vocal and stick-pounding workshops for professional choirs, and community groups as well as directing numerous choral organizations across the U.S, Canada, and beyond. She is a featured presenter of SpeakOut!-The Institute for Social and Cultural Change, the Master Teaching Artist for Music at UC Berkeley/CalPerformances; works with everyone from Baptists to Buddhists, and was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. She is Music Director for Obeah Opera by Nicole Brooks and will be touring with the company to South Africa. She is a charter member of Threshold Choir founded by Kate Munger, a mentor to the Jerusalem Youth Chorus and conducts song circles with an emphasis on the voice as a vessel for healing. In her own words: “A song can hold you up when there seems to be no ground beneath you.”   Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Melanie for recording and/or performing permission.   Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:02:49 Start time of reprise: 00:12:30   Links: Help Melanie find a place to call her own in Taos, New Mexico: https://gofund.me/6be198cb A great interview with Melanie about being a vocal activist: https://chorusamerica.org/article/%25E2%2580%259Ci-use-my-voice-weapon-mass-connection%25E2%2580%259D-interview-melanie-demore   Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, major, 3-part   Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share   Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

Song: Gratitude Music by: Kate Munger   Notes: Recording Kate Munger's song for you was SUCH a treat for me!!! 15 members of our extended family gathered in a living room, and sang together about sinking into gratitude.... mmmm-hmmmm!!! You'll hear 5-year-old Claire proclaiming she is right here, and then the beautiful gathered sound of Beth, Peter, Will, Elyse, Edward, Carolyn, Patrick, Ruth, Tom, Rebecca, Forrest, Kathi, Claire, Seth and me. One of the most beautiful things about the whole experience was that the song itself kept reminding me to be present -- to soak into the moment.   Songwriter Info: Kate Munger has been passionate about community singing since she was 8 years old at Girl Scout Camp and has led community singing now for over 45 years. In 2000 she founded the first of now 200 Threshold Choirs around the world. Today at 74 she is retired from running the Threshold Choir and has returned to her passions of writing songs for medicinal use and singing at the bedsides of people who are dying, in coma and with folks who are incarcerated. She is a popular speaker among palliative care, choral singing and prison reform professionals and is a gracious, skillful musical host and choral director whose joy is reminding us that we are singing beings, bringing community singing back to "the community.” Kate knows that this work is deep and serious and she offers a fresh, lively, sometimes irreverent, always relevant perspective.   Sharing Info: Kate encourages the sharing of this song and its message; any donation that is generous, affordable and personally significant would be most welcome.   Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:45 Start time of reprise: 00:12:57   Links: Kate welcomes emails to kateamunger@gmail.com   Nuts & Bolts: 4:4, mixolydian, 3-part harmony   Join this community of people who love to use song to help navigate life? Absolutely: https://dashboard.mailerlite.com/forms/335811/81227018071442567/share   Help us keep going: reviews, comments, encouragement, plus contributions... we float on your support. https://www.abreathofsong.com/gratitude-jar.html

We've had a lot of new listeners join us of the past year, so while we're hard at work on our next season, we thought we'd share some favorites you might have missed from the archives.As a society that fears death, we tend to avoid the subject. But the key to having a positive end-of-life experience might come in doing just the opposite. On this episode, we'll hear from philosopher Simon Critchley, Boston-area chaplains Ruth Delfiner, Sarah Byrne-Martelli, and Maude Quinn, and Threshold Choir singer Leigh Davis about what makes a good death, and the many rituals, spiritual or secular, that ease our transition out of this world.Simon Critchley is the author of many books about death, including The Book of Dead Philosophers and How to Stop Living and Start Worrying. Find out more about his other work, including his most recent book, Bald, on his website.In addition to her work as a chaplain, Sarah Byrne-Martelli is the author of Memory Eternal: Living with Grief as Orthodox Christians, due out this summer.Find out about Leigh Davis's art on her website, where you can also see some of her collaborations with the Threshold Choir. Find out more about the Threshold Choir here. See Threshold Choir song credits here.Episode info and transcript available here.

The Ballina Threshold Choir sings for people at the end of life, for those in pain and for their loved ones and carers. Here is a bit of their story, and a sample of their gentle songs. 

Song: Blessings Whenever You Breathe Music by: Melanie DeMore ​Notes: Melanie DeMore has probably influenced your singing, whether or not you've had the chance to sing with her in person yet! This week is a chance to spend some time with one of her songs that is a breath blessing -- as we sing, you can notice the breath pouring in, and just to be sure we don't miss it, there's a tapping rhythm on the chest to help center attention. Melanie is one of my heroes in the songleading community -- and I was too intimidated to ask to share one of her songs -- but it turns out, (no surprise to those of you who know her already), she's absolutely lovely (although she did give me a talking-to about not viewing myself as a "real singer".) What finally got me over the hoop of reaching out to her? The fact that she has made an ask of the songleading community, and there's a special chance to give back to someone who has given so generously... Songwriter Info: Melanie DeMore is a 3 time Grammy nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. In her presentations, DeMore beautifully brings her participants together through her music and commentary. DeMore facilitates vocal and stick-pounding workshops for professional choirs, and community groups as well as directing numerous choral organizations across the U.S, Canada, and beyond. She is a featured presenter of SpeakOut!-The Institute for Social and Cultural Change, the Master Teaching Artist for Music at UC Berkeley/CalPerformances; works with everyone from Baptists to Buddhists, and was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. She is Music Director for Obeah Opera by Nicole Brooks and will be touring with the company to South Africa. She is a charter member of Threshold Choir founded by Kate Munger, a mentor to the Jerusalem Youth Chorus and conducts song circles with an emphasis on the voice as a vessel for healing. In her own words: "A song can hold you up when there seems to be no ground beneath you." ​ Sharing Info: The song is free to share in oral tradition groups, but please contact Melanie for recording and/or performing permission ​ Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:56 Start time of reprise: 00:15:43 Links: Help Melanie find a place to call her own in Taos, New Mexico: https://gofund.me/6be198cb A great interview with Melanie about being a vocal activist: https://chorusamerica.org/article/%25E2%2580%259Ci-use-my-voice-weapon-mass-connection%25E2%2580%259D-interview-melanie-demore Nuts & Bolts: 3:4, Mixolydian Join the A Breath of Song Mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me. Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar, or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!

Tami Tack & Kim Worrall graduated from the Hoffman Process in 1996. They took the Process a second time after it was rejuvenated from an 8-day Process to 7 days. Tami and Kim have been stewards of this work ever since. For over 15 years, Tami has been a graduate group leader in the Portland, Oregon area. Tami and Kim speak to the power of learning to trust in and live from the Spiritual Self and softening into its care. Kim first realized that his nature had a spiritual aspect during the Process. Tami and Kim share stories from their post-Process past to illuminate how vital this aspect of our Quadrinity has been to leading joyful lives. You'll hear Tami and Kim speak about how the Process work has been vital to their relationship. The Hoffman Process supports not only our internal transformation. It also transforms our relationships. When two partners have completed the Process and followed it up with the Hoffman Couples Retreat, the work can deepen the quality and power of your relationship. We hope you enjoy this conversation with Tami, Kim, and Hoffman host, Sharon Mor. More about Tami Tack & Kim Worrall: Married since 1987, Tami and Kim enjoy traveling and exploring the inner world of relationships and spirituality.  They host a monthly spiritual Living Circle and have participated in Thom Bond's Compassion Course for two years, an outgrowth of Nonviolent Communication (NVC). Tami and Kim sing together in local choirs and volunteer with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) to work with children in foster care. They live in Tami's childhood country home which they have named Harmony Hill. Enjoying an active life, they hike, bike, and kayak. They are deeply grateful for all that Life has brought them and look forward to the next adventure. More about Tami Tack: Tami first experienced the Hoffman Process in 1996, then again in 2015 after the Process was rejuvenated.  Passionate about Hoffman Graduate Groups, she led the Portland group from 2009 to 2023, mentoring other leaders beginning new groups. She is a retired school counselor and therapist and has always loved working with people of all ages. Another passion of hers is music, expressed both through piano and voice.  Classically trained in piano, she discovered in her 40s that she could compose music and recorded three CDs of her original piano solos. Singing with many choirs, she directs the Lower Columbia chapter of Threshold Choir whose mission is to sing at the bedside of the dying. The proud mother of two delightful adult children and grandmother to four, she prioritizes family and heart connections. More about Kim Worrall: Kim discovered the Hoffman Process in 1996. In 2014, he repeated the HQP, remembering that he is not his patterns—imagine that! A major takeaway was that he has a Spiritual Self. He is curious about how things work, from human thinking and behavior to galaxies and microbes.  He is a retired teacher and counselor, a former pilot and mountain climber, and a father and grandfather. Formerly singing in the Portland Opera chorus, he now sings with a local men's ensemble. Having been interested in magic since he was a kid, Kim has produced magic shows and always carries a bit of magic with him. He loves to travel for its broadening view of our world and people. He is learning the value and strength of vulnerability. As mentioned in this episode: Engulfment Bob Hoffman Hoffman Couples Retreat Hoffman tool: Embodied Recycling Graduate Groups Virtual (Zoom) Grad Meetings are held in four time zones - Pacific, Mountain, Central, and Eastern. Hoffman Process Rejuvenation Neural Pathways Threshold Choir Religious Science Ed McClune: Listen to Ed on the Hoffman Podcast Prayer Wheel

Have you ever felt the gentle tug of your heart steering you in an unexpected direction? Karla Combres knows that feeling well, and she's here to share her story of leaping from a traditional career in the Canadian Federal Public Service to the deeply fulfilling calling as a legacy guide and life cycle celebrant. Her journey is a testament to the courage it takes to listen to life's whispers and follow your "heart crumbs," even when the path ahead is uncharted.Karla talks about the subtle yet persistent "niggle," that feeling of discontent that often lurks beneath the surface of a secure yet uninspiring job. Her encounters with individuals who challenged and expanded her perspective on life and death played a pivotal role in her career transformation. Volunteers at a hospice, participants at death cafes, and singers in the Threshold Choir all contributed to a profound realization of mortality that ultimately steered her towards a path of deep connection and meaning.Karla's journey illuminates the possibilities when we dare to listen to the heart and embrace our true aspirations.http://getyourgoat.ca/season-three

Feargh and Karen recently visited a Threshold Choir in London as Entheos is in the early stages of setting up its very own Threshold Choir.Want to know what a Threshold Choir is? Well you have come to the right place. In this episode, Karen and Feargh share what a Threshold Choir is, their experience visiting The Heart of London Threshold Choir last weekend and go off on a tangent or two around community, connection and ceremony.If you have the time and space, we would be very grateful if you could rate, review and subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts. We would like Entheos to be as visible in the world as possible in order to share the amazing work all our members and celebrants are doing, and in turn hope to be of service to as many people who resonate with us as possible.@entheos.ie@baldpriestess@fearghc Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Many residents of the Highlands have embraced the "death-positive" movement, which hopes to shape the endings of our stories. When a doctor told Lisette Cheresson's family that their mother was no longer eligible for a liver transplant, they decided to take her home immediately. "The doctor was flabbergasted," says Cheresson, a Beacon resident whose mother died in 2018 in North Carolina. "He said: 'Are you sure? We can keep her alive.' " "We had to honor what we promised her," she recalls. "Mom didn't want to die in a hospital." They hired a private ambulance to take her home that evening. Family members were at her bedside when she died the next morning. "It was one of the most profoundly beautiful moments of my life," says Cheresson. "It is transcendent when people are given an opportunity to experience these sacred intimate moments in ways that are meaningful to them." As part of a growing movement that has been described as "death positive," people in the Highlands and around the country are looking for ways to embrace life's final moments and turn death into something beautiful and meaningful. The movement is driven by death doulas, podcasters, hospices, writers, singers, funeral directors and "death café" facilitators. In part motivated by her experience with her mother, Cheresson joined an army of doulas, also known as death midwives, who help families talk openly about dying and individuals achieve a "good death." Hudson Valley Hospice, which serves Dutchess and Ulster counties, has trained about 80 end-of-life doulas since 2017, said Lisa Wilson, a spokesperson. Wilson said the doulas help plan and manage the final days of patients' lives to ensure they have a good death, including the friends, music and even smells they want present in their final moments. "They talk with them about how they want the end to go," she says. Doulas also help with legacy projects such as farewell videos and letters. She says a doula helped a Fishkill woman in her 90s assemble a board of photographs to be displayed at her wake. Words and music Talking about death is the idea behind the death café that Ryan Biracree began last summer at the Desmond-Fish Public Library in Garrison, where he works as the digital services librarian. "Discuss death, dying and the dead - with tea and cake," read his promotion for a session held Feb. 25. (The next one is March 17.) Since 2011, there have been more than 17,600 such gatherings worldwide, according to deathcafe.com, a site created by Jon Underwood in London after he was inspired by "café mortals" held at bistros in Geneva by a Swiss sociologist, Bernard Crettaz. When Underwood died suddenly in 2017 at age 44, his mother and sister took over. (Underwood also founded a consumer site for people to review funeral directors.) The first death café in the U.S. took place in Columbus, Ohio, in 2012. "Death cafés allow people space to talk about things without getting weird looks from family and friends," says Biracree. The sessions typically draw 20 to 30 people. Rather than talking, singing to the dying is the idea behind the Threshold Choir, co-founded 10 years ago by Cat Guthrie, a Garrison singer-songwriter. The choir visits the bedsides of the sick and dying to perform a repertoire that might include "We Are All Walking Each Other Home," "Rest Easy" and "I Am Giving You Light." The first Threshold Choir sang in California in 2000; today there are more than 200 worldwide. Guthrie's choir sings twice a month at bedsides around the Hudson Valley, including at the Rosary Hill Home for terminal cancer patients in Hawthorne. "Music puts you in a different place," says Guthrie, who, along with other family members, "sang out" to her parents when each died years ago. "We have stepped away from being present for people when they are sick and dying," she says. Ashes to Ashes Cremation has become as common as burial - or you could be composted When Anthony Calabrese of the Clinton Funeral Home in Cold Spring ...

An Introduction to the Death Doula Network International DISHING DOULAS PODCAST - Seriously, Let's Talk! Jo-Anne Haun and Karen Hendrickson are co-founders of the Death Doula Network International and are now bringing a variety of topics, personal stories, and experts to their New DISHING DOULAS PODCAST, to help influence change in our approach to our shared mortality, end of life planning and education, one conversation at a time.   Hear how they both found themselves doing work in the death caring field as death doulas and end-of-life consultants and how their personal experiences with tragic loss have enabled them to do this work with deep compassion and the intention of helping to alleviate fears and create sacred memories for everyone involved. Living in different cities 4 hours apart, learn how COVID became a catalyst to their business partnership and the birth of Death Doula Network BC, now Death Doula Network International, spanning the globe and offering a supportive community that includes all types of death caring professionals, enhancing and strengthening the value of service each of them can offer. About Jo-Anne Haun: Jo-Anne is a professional End of Life Doula, Death Educator, and Consultant. She is co-founder of the Death Doula Network International and also runs her own Death Doula practice called End of Life Alternatives. Jo-Anne has extensive experience in communications, negotiations, and conflict resolution all with a focus on supporting others through difficult times and loss. As a member of the End of Life Doula Association of Canada, and the National End of Life Doula Alliance, Jo-Anne is committed to a regulated and monitored scope of practice and applies the utmost integrity and ethics in her work. Through her continuing work in personal development and volunteer services, Jo-Anne has gained training and experience in emotional intelligence, workshop development, public speaking, and group facilitation. Jo-Anne's volunteer experience includes responsibilities with the Central Okanagan Hospice Association, Westside Health Network Society, Dying with Dignity Canada, MAiD Family Support Services, and Bridge C14. She also volunteers in community support as a Therapy Clown - “Licensed for laughter and clowning”, volunteering with two local groups visiting residents in care facilities and hospitals. Jo-Anne's passion is people, and she has found her gifts are working with people in palliative care and at the end of life. About Karen Hendrickson: Karen Hendrickson is a professional coach in Life, Death, and all the messy in-between. She is co-founder of Death Doula Network International and also runs her own practice, called Take the Journey, Coaching for Success. Karen's professional career in leadership and human resources has provided extensive training and expertise in communications, coaching, relationship management, and conflict resolution. With expertise in emotional intelligence, public speaking, and facilitation of large and small groups, Karen is well-versed in the human dynamic, and what it takes to support others through change, challenges, and difficult times. As a Death Doula and Consultant, Member of the End of Life Doula Association of Canada, the National End of Life Doula Alliance (NEDA), and the International End of Life Doula Association (INELDA), Karen is committed to a regulated and monitored scope of practice. Karen has met the NEDA proficiency requirements and completed training as a Grief & Loss Support Group Facilitator, as well as hospice volunteer training. Her volunteer experiences have included NEDA, Threshold Choir, Dying with Dignity Canada, and Bridge C14.  LEARN ABOUT THE DEATH DOULA NETWORK INTERNATIONAL Contact us at admin@ddnint.com for any feedback or suggestions on podcast guests or topics.  Music provided by Dee Flat and the Benz, used with permission.

Times of grieving can be so difficult to face and unpredictable in how they present. A question that's also been on our minds for a while is 'have you ever felt the expectation to finish grieving once the funeral is over?' On this episode of Sunday Sanctuary, we look into the rituals and rites of passage that can be held to mark the passing of a loved one. What we hope is that you will see how much freedom there is to decide what you do to remember those you have lost, all in your own time. Join Petra as she talks to her friend (and boss) Phil Guyan, who beautifully shares all the ways in which he remembered, and continues to remember his dad, Neil. Producer Sam drops past Auckland's Threshold Choir, the Cadence Singers, to learn about their work. Lastly, Petra speaks with former hospital chaplain Heike Pomare, from Ōtepoti/Dunedin, about the role of being a 'grief holder'. If you enjoyed this episode, we'd love it if you left us a 5 star rating. Feel free to write a short review if you feel so inclined! As always though, the most helpful thing you can do is spread the word among friends and whānau! If you'd like to join us on Instagram, our handle is @sundaysanctuarynz. Awe The awe piece in this episode was written by Sam who took inspiration from the video by Listening In, titled The Music that links Dumbledore's death to Bach and Radiohead. Watch it here. Sacred texts Grey Areas with Petra Bagust, Season 1 Episode 9: Inevitable Grief Excerpt from My Inner Sky by Mari Andrew (pg. 144-146) The Crab/Waterbaby by Tiny Ruins See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Notes: Kate wrote "Can I Stand Here For You" after watching an Oprah show about two injured women Iraq veterans. Juanita Wilson (who had lost her hand) saw Tammy Duckworth come in (she had lost one hand and both feet). Juanita had committed herself to “standing for” any injured female veteran. She asked Tammy "Can I stand here for you?" Then she washed Tammy's hair which still contained dust from Iraq. She used her one hand and asked an orderly to help her with his two hands. Tammy was comatose, in terrible pain and Juanita stood beside her bed for 5 days. Now Tammy is a tri-athlete and was Undersecretary of Veterans Affairs for President Barack Obama, the U.S. Representative for Illinois's 8th congressional district. And was then elected to the Senate from the State of Illinois. Knowing the backstory behind some songs makes the songs even richer. As I'm thinking about how we can work toward easing loneliness, this example of two women connecting, then Kate allowing herself to be touched by the story, gives an example... and gives me a way to remember how to make the offering of standing by someone. Don't miss the chance to sing with Melanie DeMore once you've learned the song -- she sings lower, which may give you a chance to experiment with the high harmony if you found it too high in this podcast -- or maybe the melody will feel super comfortable in Melanie's range? Keep finding what feels good in your voice! Songwriter Info: From Inverness CA, Kate Munger has devoted herself for over 40 years to creating non-hierarchical, collaborative models for spirited group singing, joyful community building, and deep fellowship through rounds and parts singing. Kate has written hundreds of singable, swinging, deep songs that remind us of our best inclinations and intentions, and are sung accompaniment to and medicine for our lives. She has loved returning home to Inverness after 9 singing trips to Bali, 6 to Thailand (and the Elephant Sanctuary where singing to and with Elephants was the highlight), and one each to Russia and Spain in the past three decades. Just as the Pandemic arrived, Kate returned from a month in New Zealand with 13 singers where they offered their sung prayers to the community of Christchurch as they remembered the devastating earthquake of 2011 and healed from the horrific shooting at the Muslim Mosque in March 2019. She deeply believes that singers are the best ambassadors of peace on our planet; we show our neighbors our best selves when we travel in their land and appreciate their people, their culture, and their tragedies and show that appreciation through our singing. In 2000 she founded the first of now 220 Threshold Choirs worldwide for choral singers who are called to sing at the bedsides of people who are dying, in a coma, newborns, children in hospital, and with folks who are grieving and who are incarcerated. In honoring its innovative mission, the Threshold Choir has re-imagined what true service can look like; healing the giver as it offers comfort, presence, and ease for the receiver. Now retired from running the business of the Threshold Choir, Kate lives, swims, works, and sings along the shores of Tomales Bay, for 16 years at the Lama Foundation in New Mexico and wherever she can. ​ Sharing Info: Please sing this with loved ones freely -- when sharing in a money-making venture, like a workshop, class, or performance, please contact Kate for permission and rates. Links: A beautiful recording by Melanie DeMore, highly recommended by Kate: https://youtu.be/iDMFt9d5NaM Threshold Choir: https://thresholdchoir.org/ Song Learning Time Stamps: Start time of teaching: 00:03:28 Start time of reprise: 00:15:52 ​ Nuts & Bolts: 4:4 major 3-part harmony ​Join the A Breath of Song mailing list to receive a heads up as a new episode is released, plus a large version of the artwork, brief thoughts from my slightly peculiar brain... and occasional extras when they seem vitally important! No junk -- I will never sell your address. I read out all your names into my living room when I send new mailings... I appreciate the connection to you who are listening and singing these songs with me. Exchange energy with A Breath of Song with dollars at the Gratitude Jar (whoo-hoo!!!!), or by making comments, leaving reviews, suggesting songs or songwriters (including yourself) ..... your participation matters!​

Death is inevitable, but as with many things in life, music can change how people experience the journey. That's the idea behind Threshold Choirs — an international movement in which a trio sings healing and comforting songs for people who are nearing the end of life. In this episode, Jan Stanley, a long-time Threshold Choir member, explains how sharing songs at this uncertain time not only brings comfort to the dying and their family members, but can be transformational for the singers as well. In this episode, you'll learn: What a Threshold Choir is and how they began. How music provides such comfort to those who are ill and dying. How being part of a Threshold Choir can impact members. 

On this episode I talk with Margaret Henderson and Robin Cottrell in Ukiah, California. The two serve as death midwives and home funeral guides in their community.  They are also singers and members of a Threshold Choir who bring songs to the bedside of terminally ill people. For more information on Threshold Choir see here: https://thresholdchoir.org/Margy mentions Redwing Keyssar's book called Last Acts of Kindness. Find it here: https://redwingkeyssar.com/book/Support the show

Dean Sluyter (pronounced "slighter") has led meditation workshops and retreats throughout the U.S. since 1970, at venues ranging from Ivy League colleges to maximum-security prisons. For thirty-three years he taught English and developed the Literature of Enlightenment program at The Pingry School in New Jersey. Sluyter has trained with sages in several traditions, including Vajrayana Buddhism, Advaita, Bhakti Yoga, and Umbanda. His previous books include Natural Meditation, Cinema Nirvana, and The Zen Commandments. He lives in Santa Monica, California, where he sings with the Threshold Choir, cohosts the Filmosophers podcast, plays ukulele, and happily zips about on his Vespa. Look for Dean's Books and Audio on Amazon: The Dharma Bum's Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics Fear Less: Living Beyond Fear, Anxiety, Anger, and Addiction Natural Meditation: A Guide to Effortless Meditative Practice The Zen Commandments: Ten Suggestions for a Life of Inner Freedom Why the Chicken Crossed the Road: & Other Hidden Enlightenment Teachings from the Buddha to Bebop to Mother Goose Dean's Website: https://deansluyter.com ------------------------------- As of this moment, we have over 80 hours of premium videos available at path11tv.com, with new videos added regularly. Watch Path 11 TV wherever you want, on the iPhone, AppleTV, Android, Amazon Fire, and Roku Apps.

As a society that fears death, we tend to avoid the subject. But the key to having a positive end-of-life experience might come in doing just the opposite. On this episode, we'll hear from philosopher Simon Critchley, Boston-area chaplains Ruth Delfiner, Sarah Byrne-Martelli, and Maude Quinn, and Threshold Choir singer Leigh Davis about what makes a good death, and the many rituals, spiritual or secular, that ease our transition out of this world. Simon Critchley is the author of many books about death, including The Book of Dead Philosophers and How to Stop Living and Start Worrying. Find out more about his other work, including his most recent book, Bald, on his website. In addition to her work as a chaplain, Sarah Byrne-Martelli is the author of Memory Eternal: Living with Grief as Orthodox Christians, due out this summer. Find out about Leigh Davis's art on her website, where you can also see some of her collaborations with the Threshold Choir. Find out more about the Threshold Choir here. Threshold Choir Song Credits: Beyond Weeping Rest in each breath Words and Music by Annie Garretson for Threshold Choir Sung by Dorothy Calvani, Leigh Davis, Winnie Lee & Marcia Picciotto Calming, Resting, Breathing Words and Music by Patricia Hallam for Threshold Choir Sung by Leigh Davis, Mckendree Key & Georgia Elrod Ocean Breath Rest Easy Words and Music by Helen Greenspan for Threshold Choir Sung by Pittsburgh Threshold Choir

Podcast: This week on the show we feature a pre-recorded conversation with Dean Sluyter, author of The Dharma Bum's Guide to Western Literature, published this year by New World Library. Some of us were lucky enough to have one passionate, funny, inspiring English teacher who helped us fall in love with books. Add a lifetime of teaching Dharma — authentic, traditional approaches to meditation and awakening — and you get award-winning author Dean Sluyter. With droll humor and irreverent wisdom, he unpacks the Dharma of more than twenty major writers, from William Blake to Dr. Seuss, inspiring readers to deepen their own spiritual life and see literature in a fresh, new way: as a path of awakening. Dean Sluyter (pronounced “slighter”) has led meditation workshops and retreats throughout the US since 1970, at venues ranging from Ivy League colleges to maximum-security prisons. For thirty-three years he taught English and Literature of Enlightenment at the Pingry School. He lives in Santa Monica, California, where he sings with the Threshold Choir, plays old songs on the ukulele, and happily zips about on his Vespa. More information about Dean Sluyter's work can be found at:   Dean Sluyter's website: deansluyter.com,   The Dharma Bum's Guide at New World Library: www.newworldlibrary.com.

¡Feliz Día de las Madres! Me adelanto unos pocos días para publicar este episodio en honor a las primeras maestras del Amor.  En el episodio #10, explloramos la Alegría y el Dolor. Comienzo por contarte sobre el Coro Para Cruzar el Umbral, Threshold Choir en inglés, una organización que le ofrece canciones de acompañamiento a quienes están agonizando, y te presento una amiga mía, quien dirige el capítulo local del Coro en San Antonio. Ella organizó, recientemente, un evento coral para honrar a los muchos seres amados que hemos perdido a raíz de la pandemia del Covid 19 y el coro de voces nos invita a volver a encender nuestra alegría.  También te cuento un poco acerca de mi hermana. Ella personifica la alegría y le dedica su vida al servicio de los perros abandonados y desamparados en Medellín, Colombia.  ¡Celebremos la vida, en su totalidad! Inhala una pena, Exhala una alegría,  Entre las olas,  se esconde la orilla. 

May the Fourth be With You!  In this episode, we expllore Joy and Sorrow. I introduce you to the Threshold Choir, an organization that brings songs of comfort to the dying, and I introduce you to a friend of mine, who directs the San Antonio chapter and recently organized a choral event to honor the losses of the Covid Pandemic and the chorus of voices invited us to rekindle joy.  I also share my sister's story, she embodies joy and dedicates her life to the service of neglected and abandoned dogs in Medellín, Colombia.  May we revel in life, all of it! Breathe in a sorrow, Breathe out Joy Between those waves, hides the Shore!    

Face to Face with Dean SluyterLive on OMTimes Radio Thursday, March24, 2022 at 10:30 PST / 1:30 PM ESTWatch the Livestream on the No BS Spiritual Book Club on Facebook, OMTimes Radio & TV Facebook, or OMTimesTV YoutubeSharing his 10 Best Spiritual Books this week on the No BS Spiritual Book Club's Face to Face With… Video interview series is award-winning author and meditation teacher, Dean Sluyter.DEAN SLUYTER (pronounced “slighter”) has taught natural approaches to meditation and awakening since 1970 and has been featured on NPR, Coast to Coast AM, the Dr. Oz Show, and in The Oprah Magazine and The New York Times. A grateful student of Eastern and Western sages in several traditions, Dean has completed numerous pilgrimages and retreats in India, Tibet, Nepal, and the West and gives talks, workshops, and retreats throughout the United States and beyond, from Ivy League colleges to maximum-security prisons.In addition to writing and teaching, Dean narrates audiobooks, co-hosts The Filmosophers movie podcast, sings with the Threshold Choir, and happily zips through the streets of Santa Monica on his Vespa. Check out Dean Sluyter's 10 Best List HERE. https://www.facebook.com/sandiesedgbeer | https://www.facebook.com/groups/nobsspiritualbookclubhttps://www.thenobsspiritualbookclub.comVisit the NO BS Spiritual Book Club Page https://omtimes.com/iom/shows/the-no-bs-spiritual-book-club/Join the No BS Spiritual Book Club mailing list https://forms.aweber.com/form/93/758545393.htmConnect with Sandie Sedgbeer at https://www.sedgbeer.com#DeanSluyter #SandieSedgbeer #NoBSSpiritualBookClubSubscribe to our Newsletter https://omtimes.com/subscribe-omtimes-magazine/Connect with OMTimes on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Omtimes.Magazine/ and OMTimes Radio https://www.facebook.com/ConsciousRadiowebtv.OMTimes/Twitter: https://twitter.com/OmTimes/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/omtimes/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/2798417/Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/omtimes/

There's no time Kate Munger can remember that her mother wasn't singing. Every night, Kate and her four siblings would be graced with lullabies at their bedsides. The physical proximity of the vibrations of her mother’s body would activate the cells in Kate. Now, Kate brings that gift of voice and vibration in service to those at the threshold of the other end of life – singing songs as lullabies at bedside to those near death. In 2000, she founded Threshold Choir, a decentralized, distributed community of more than 1300 volunteer singers now comprising more than 180 locally-formed Threshold Choirs around the world. The organization’s vision is to spark a movement for “a world where all at life’s thresholds may be honored with compassion shared through song.” The organization furthers this vision by supporting local voices who come together to offer gentle a capella singing to people in their communities who are dying in hospitals and hospices. For Kate, the voice, as the original human instrument, is a true and gracious vehicle for compassion and comfort. She speaks of a “tribal inheritance” of singing together and a “lineage and legacy of women singing for millennia”. She describes singing at the bedside as “more a prayer than a performance” -- soothing and calming to the dying as well as their family and caregivers. As The Washington Post recently wrote, Threshold Choirs “seems to have tapped into something both primal and much-needed: a growing desire not to recoil from death or abandon the dying but to face that ultimate truth and figure out how to help ease the isolation of those near the end.” The seed for the Threshold Choir was planted in June of 1990 when Kate sang for her friend Larry as he lay in a coma, dying of HIV/AIDS. She did housework all morning and was terrified when the time came to sit by his bedside. He was agitated, thrashing under the sheets. So Kate did what she always did when she felt afraid—she began to sing: “There’s a moon / There’s a star in the sky / There’s a cloud / There’s a tear in my eye / There’s a light / There’s a night that is long / There’s a friend / There’s a pain that is gone.” Kate repeated the lyrics over and over, singing for two and a half hours. “I felt as if I had given generously of my essence to my dear friend while I sang to him. I also found that I felt deeply comforted myself, which in turn was comforting to him.” Several years later, while driving home from Montana, she committed herself to sing for any animals she encountered that had been killed on the road. “It felt good, and I continued long after that trip was over. It is still my practice. I stop whatever I am doing (except driving), turn off the radio, and sing a small song I wrote that begins ‘May your spirit rise safely...’" From these seeds, Threshold Choir was born. Each Threshold Choir chapter is firmly rooted in its local community while also being an important part of a shared community as an international organization. The various chapters sing from the same repertoire of about 300 songs, many written by Kate and other choir members specifically to convey presence, peace, and comfort. “We sing very softly and quite close,” says Kate. “We’re trying to re-create the distance between a mother’s mouth and a baby’s ear.” Kate is a gifted songwriter whose songs are simple and repetitive with gentle harmonies and an open feeling. These songs can be integrated by those approaching death as well as those in deep grieving. “A song is a bridge between what we know, what we can feel, and the big mystery,” she says. “We consider our songs this weightless evanescent, shimmering, ephemeral, yet substantive bridge. So how we choose the songs and how we sing, the words we use and whether we use words at all, all of those things are decisions we make in the moment.” Threshold Choirs mostly use a repertoire with pieces limited to just a few words, and sung without accompaniment in three-part harmony. The idea is to keep things simple and not tied to any spiritual tradition. Complicated verses could intrude on the process of dying, Kate says. All song choices are made with deep listening to and observation of the person facing death: “It's about offering them attentive silence. Because what we find is that … it's between the songs that they can actually integrate and use our singing. [Their response] can be teeny tiny, a flicker of an eyelash. So we're watching really carefully.” Kate has recently retired from directing the larger Threshold Choir and has returned to her passion of singing for people who are dying or in coma. She also loves to bring singing community to the incarcerated and to persons released from prison. Please join Aryae Coopersmith and Sally Mahe in conversation with this extraordinary musician and compassionate visionary.

There's no time Kate Munger can remember that her mother wasn't singing. Every night, Kate and her four siblings would be graced with lullabies at their bedsides. The physical proximity of the vibrations of her mother’s body would activate the cells in Kate. Now, Kate brings that gift of voice and vibration in service to those at the threshold of the other end of life – singing songs as lullabies at bedside to those near death. In 2000, she founded Threshold Choir, a decentralized, distributed community of more than 1300 volunteer singers now comprising more than 180 locally-formed Threshold Choirs around the world. The organization’s vision is to spark a movement for “a world where all at life’s thresholds may be honored with compassion shared through song.” The organization furthers this vision by supporting local voices who come together to offer gentle a capella singing to people in their communities who are dying in hospitals and hospices. For Kate, the voice, as the original human instrument, is a true and gracious vehicle for compassion and comfort. She speaks of a “tribal inheritance” of singing together and a “lineage and legacy of women singing for millennia”. She describes singing at the bedside as “more a prayer than a performance” -- soothing and calming to the dying as well as their family and caregivers. As The Washington Post recently wrote, Threshold Choirs “seems to have tapped into something both primal and much-needed: a growing desire not to recoil from death or abandon the dying but to face that ultimate truth and figure out how to help ease the isolation of those near the end.” The seed for the Threshold Choir was planted in June of 1990 when Kate sang for her friend Larry as he lay in a coma, dying of HIV/AIDS. She did housework all morning and was terrified when the time came to sit by his bedside. He was agitated, thrashing under the sheets. So Kate did what she always did when she felt afraid—she began to sing: “There’s a moon / There’s a star in the sky / There’s a cloud / There’s a tear in my eye / There’s a light / There’s a night that is long / There’s a friend / There’s a pain that is gone.” Kate repeated the lyrics over and over, singing for two and a half hours. “I felt as if I had given generously of my essence to my dear friend while I sang to him. I also found that I felt deeply comforted myself, which in turn was comforting to him.” Several years later, while driving home from Montana, she committed herself to sing for any animals she encountered that had been killed on the road. “It felt good, and I continued long after that trip was over. It is still my practice. I stop whatever I am doing (except driving), turn off the radio, and sing a small song I wrote that begins ‘May your spirit rise safely...’" From these seeds, Threshold Choir was born. Each Threshold Choir chapter is firmly rooted in its local community while also being an important part of a shared community as an international organization. The various chapters sing from the same repertoire of about 300 songs, many written by Kate and other choir members specifically to convey presence, peace, and comfort. “We sing very softly and quite close,” says Kate. “We’re trying to re-create the distance between a mother’s mouth and a baby’s ear.” Kate is a gifted songwriter whose songs are simple and repetitive with gentle harmonies and an open feeling. These songs can be integrated by those approaching death as well as those in deep grieving. “A song is a bridge between what we know, what we can feel, and the big mystery,” she says. “We consider our songs this weightless evanescent, shimmering, ephemeral, yet substantive bridge. So how we choose the songs and how we sing, the words we use and whether we use words at all, all of those things are decisions we make in the moment.” Threshold Choirs mostly use a repertoire with pieces limited to just a few words, and sung without accompaniment in three-part harmony. The idea is to keep things simple and not tied to any spiritual tradition. Complicated verses could intrude on the process of dying, Kate says. All song choices are made with deep listening to and observation of the person facing death: “It's about offering them attentive silence. Because what we find is that … it's between the songs that they can actually integrate and use our singing. [Their response] can be teeny tiny, a flicker of an eyelash. So we're watching really carefully.” Kate has recently retired from directing the larger Threshold Choir and has returned to her passion of singing for people who are dying or in coma. She also loves to bring singing community to the incarcerated and to persons released from prison. Please join Aryae Coopersmith and Sally Mahe in conversation with this extraordinary musician and compassionate visionary.

We are celebrating the impact that singing can have on your life both in good times and in bad. We are speaking with Danielle Cozart Steele, Artistic Director of Cincinnati's Young Professionals Choral Collective and Melissa Haas, singer with Threshold Choir.

Today’s poem is "Threshold Choir" by David Sloan. He’s a graduate of the University of Southern Maine’s Stonecoast MFA Poetry Program and teaches at Maine Coast Waldorf High School in Freeport. His poetry has appeared in numerous journals and he received Maine Literary awards in 2012 and 2016. He’s the author of two books of poems, The Irresistible In-Between and A Rising , both from Deerbrook Editions.

Julie Lythcott-Haims, a former corporate lawyer and Stanford dean, roots for humans. Humans need agency in order to make their way forward and Julie is deeply interested in what impedes us. She is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Raise an Adult, an anti-helicopter parenting manifesto which gave rise to one of the top TED Talks of 2016.   Julie’s work has appeared throughout the media including the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, The Atlantic, Parents, the PBS News Hour, National Public Radio and its affiliates and C-SPAN.  She serves on several boards including, Common Sense Media, in San Francisco, and the advisory board of Lean In in Menlo Park, CA. She also sings with the Peninsula chapter of Threshold Choir and volunteers with the hospital program No One Dies Alone.

Episode 108 - Julie Lythcott-Haims Dan Sterenchuk and Tommy Estlund are honored to have as our guest, Julie Lythcott-Haims. Julie's bio: "We humans need agency in order to make our way forward; I am deeply interested in what impedes us. My first book, the 2015 New York Times bestseller How to Raise an Adult, details how a parent can rob a child from developing agency by over-parenting. It emerged from my decade as Stanford University's Dean of Freshmen, where I was known for my fierce advocacy for young adults and my fierce critique of the growing trend of parental involvement in the day-to-day lives of college students which was becoming a nationwide trend. I received the university's Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Award for creating “the” atmosphere that defines the undergraduate experience, and toward the end of my tenure as dean I began speaking and writing widely on the harm of helicopter parenting. How to Raise an Adult has been published in over two dozen countries and gave rise to a TED talk that became one of the top TED Talks of 2016 with over 4 million views, as well as a forthcoming sequel on how to be an adult, for young adults. Two years later I published Real American: A Memoir, a critically-acclaimed and award-winning memoir which examines racism through my experience as a Black and biracial person. In it, I detail my personal battle with the low self-esteem that American racism routinely inflicts on people of color, and depict how microaggressions in addition to blunt-force insults can puncture a person's inner life with a thousand sharp cuts. Real American expresses also, through my path to self-acceptance, the healing power of community in overcoming the hurtful isolation of being incessantly considered “the other.” In addition to publishing two non-fiction books, my work has appeared throughout the media including in the New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement of London, the Chicago Tribune, The Atlantic, Parents, AsUs, the PBS News Hour, CBS This Morning, Good Morning America, The Today Show, National Public Radio and its affiliates, C-SPAN, the TD Jakes Show, and numerous podcasts and radio shows. I serve on the boards of Foundation for a College Education in East Palo Alto, CA, Global Citizen Year, in Oakland, CA, Common Sense Media, in San Francisco, and on the advisory board of Lean In in Menlo Park, CA. I am a member of the Peninsula chapter of Threshold Choir and I volunteer with the hospital program No One Dies Alone. I am a former corporate lawyer and Stanford dean, and I hold a BA from Stanford, a JD from Harvard, and an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area with my partner of over thirty years, our two teenagers, and my mother." Click here to visit her website: www.julielythcott-haims.com Note: Guests create their own bio description for each episode. The Curiosity Hour Podcast is hosted and produced by Dan Sterenchuk and Tommy Estlund. Please visit our website for more information: thecuriosityhourpodcast.com The Curiosity Hour Podcast is listener supported! To donate, click here: thecuriosityhourpodcast.com/donate/ Please visit this page for information where you can listen to our podcast: thecuriosityhourpodcast.com/listen/ Disclaimers: The Curiosity Hour Podcast may contain content not suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion advised. The views and opinions expressed by the guests on this podcast are solely those of the guest(s). These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of The Curiosity Hour Podcast. This podcast may contain explicit language.

This is a special two-part episode, in which Kryssanne Adams describes the many times where she’s seen death or inflicted it upon animals. Content Note: Animal slaughter and other descriptions of deathKryssanne is a writer in Bellingham, Washington, where she also helps run the Bellingham Alternative Library, sings in a Threshold Choir, and works at a museum.We turned these episodes into a book, which is available for purchase in our store. Producer: Jeff EmtmanEditor: Jeff EmtmanMusic: The Black Spot, Serocell

This is a special two-part episode, in which Kryssanne Adams describes the many times where she's seen death or inflicted it upon animals. Content Note: Animal slaughter and other descriptions of deathKryssanne is a writer in Bellingham, Washington, where she also helps run the Bellingham Alternative Library, sings in a Threshold Choir, and works at a museum.We turned these episodes into a book, which is available for purchase in our store. Producer: Jeff EmtmanEditor: Jeff EmtmanMusic: The Black Spot, Serocell

Personal stories of animal death and the bodies they leave behind, as told by writer Kryssanne Adams. Part 1 of 2.

Before Kryssanne Adams was old enough to understand death, she found a dead mouse and carried it around with her in a plastic Easter egg shell.  She talked to it and gave it water. Content Note:Descriptions of death/dismemberment, language.This is a special two-part episode, in which Kryssanne describes the many times where she’s seen death or inflicted it upon animals.  Soon, this will turn into a book, which will be available to purchase in our store. Kryssanne is a writer in Bellingham, Washington, where she also helps run the Bellingham Alternative Library, sings in a Threshold Choir, and works at a museum.Producer: Jeff EmtmanEditor: Jeff EmtmanMusic: The Black Spot👉 Listen to Part 2 👈

Before Kryssanne Adams was old enough to understand death, she found a dead mouse and carried it around with her in a plastic Easter egg shell. She talked to it and gave it water. Content Note:Descriptions of death/dismemberment, language.This is a special two-part episode, in which Kryssanne describes the many times where she's seen death or inflicted it upon animals. Soon, this will turn into a book, which will be available to purchase in our store. Kryssanne is a writer in Bellingham, Washington, where she also helps run the Bellingham Alternative Library, sings in a Threshold Choir, and works at a museum.Producer: Jeff EmtmanEditor: Jeff EmtmanMusic: The Black Spot

"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast," wrote William Congreve back in 1697. The Agate Pass Threshold Choir honors that sentiment, singing their gentle music to help ease people in difficult transitions. To learn more and hear their songs, listen here. Part of a larger international organization, the local group, which currently numbers 12 members who rehearse together every Monday evening, sends singers out in pods of two or four to the bedsides of transitioning souls, all free of charge. And in bringing healing to their listeners, their families, and their caregivers, the singers find a peace and joy for themselves as well. To learn more about the Threshold Choir, visit their website at thresholdchoir.org. And if you think you might be interested, either in singing with the Threshold Choir or in having them sing for someone you know, you can contact them via the website or by emailing Judy Friesem at jfriesem@gmail.com Credits: BCB host: Diane Walker;  BCB audio tech: Chris Walker; publisher: Diane Walker; social media Jen St. Louis.

"Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast," wrote William Congreve back in 1697. The Agate Pass Threshold Choir honors that sentiment, singing their gentle music to help ease people in difficult transitions. To learn more and hear their songs, listen here. Part of a larger international organization, the local group, which currently numbers 12 members who rehearse together every Monday evening, sends singers out in pods of two or four to the bedsides of transitioning souls, all free of charge. And in bringing healing to their listeners, their families, and their caregivers, the singers find a peace and joy for themselves as well. To learn more about the Threshold Choir, visit their website at thresholdchoir.org. And if you think you might be interested, either in singing with the Threshold Choir or in having them sing for someone you know, you can contact them via the website or by emailing Judy Friesem at jfriesem@gmail.com Credits: BCB host: Diane Walker;  BCB audio tech: Chris Walker; publisher: Diane Walker; social media Jen St. Louis.

Life is like a song. It has crescendos and rhythm and a defined beginning, middle and end. The Threshold Choir takes this song metaphor literally and uses it to comfort terminally ill individuals with music and harmony. While singing at bedsides, people have told the singers they feel less pain, anxiety and loneliness. Today, the group has expanded from its origin in San Francisco to 150 choirs around the world. https://thresholdchoir.org

Laugh, learn and listen to Nurse Talk Radio on Progressive Voices Tune In. You can download the PV APP @www.progressivevoices.com. On the show, this week we talk to members of the Threshold Choir. With over 150 Choirs around the world, the mission is to offer those transitioning beautiful songs at the bedside. Healthcare in America's Donna Smith talks about California Single Payer, cuts to the CHIP Program and Novartis! And we honor a mother and daughter who inspire all around them.

Song leader Liz Rog of Decorah, Iowa believes that everyone can sing and loves to twine voices of all generations. Liz uses group singing as a tool for building community and for restoring our sense of belonging and connection in the world. Her song circles offer a safe, fun, and supported space where all voices are welcome. When we sing together in simple harmony, we build bridges of acceptance, compassion, and joy. To learn more about Holden Village, visit: www.holdenvillage.org To learn more about Community Singing, visit: Threshold Choir: https://thresholdchoir.org/ Ubuntu Choir Network: www.ubuntuchoirs.net/ Music that Makes Community: https://www.musicthatmakescommunity.org/

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2016/12/16/

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2016/12/16/the-threshold-choir/33736/feed/ 0 00:06:33 “When we sing to a patient, we are sending them love, we are wishing them well on their journey, we are saying we’re all in this together...We are learning from them how to do this thing call

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2016/12/16/m

https://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2016/12/16/the-threshold-choir/33736/feed/ 0 00:06:33 “When we sing to a patient, we are sending them love, we are wishing them well on their journey, we are saying we’re all in this together...We are learning from them how to do this thing

When Annie Garretson and Sally Rothstein met, they never imagined their friendship and love of music would find them at the bedside of those at life s precipice. The Pikes Peak Threshold Singers aren t just any choir. They are a group who share the final moments of strangers, community members, and, even their loved ones lives, with soft, gentle messages of peace and grace. Listen in as Arian explores with Sally and Annie the gift exchange of song to the living and dying. To find out more about Threshold Choir, visit https thresholdchoir.org Photos provided by both Venus Maher and Pikes Peak Hospice and Palliative Care.

This is a 40-minute keepsake of high points from the unforgettable Dec 15th nighttime community vigil in the 40-degree weather at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. It starts with a short interview about the meaning of the event with Clarence Moriwaki, one of the leaders of the Japanese American community, immediately prior to the ceremony. We meet one of the grass roots organizers of the event, Marsha Cutting. She created a Facebook group a few days earlier, which went viral among Islanders, calling for a vigil to protest the appalling and divisive remarks of fear-mongering politicians. The ceremony opens with Clarence Moriwaki reading a passionate humanitarian statement written by the vigil committee. Listen to subsequent remarks by two state government leaders from Bainbridge Island - Senator Christine Rolfes, and Representative Drew Hansen. Resident Althea Paulsen read remarks from Sen. Patty Murray, and Ingrid Outland read a message from our Congressman Derek Kilmer. City Councilman Val Tollefson delivered a personal message. Mary Woodward spoke as the daughter of the principled editor of the Bainbridge Review who opposed the Japanese exclusion from our Island. Clarence Moriwaki praised the humanitarian remarks of WA Governor Jay Inslee who hails from our Island. Also hear three speakers from the audience, concluding with Rector Tommy Dillon of Grace Church, who recited a favorite passage of scripture, from the Holy Koran. We also hear excerpts of music from representatives of the High School Band, singer Rick Barrenger, and a cappella singers from the Threshold Choir. Credits: BCB volunteers: Chris Walker, Reed Price and Barry Peters.

This is a 40-minute keepsake of high points from the unforgettable Dec 15th nighttime community vigil in the 40-degree weather at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. It starts with a short interview about the meaning of the event with Clarence Moriwaki, one of the leaders of the Japanese American community, immediately prior to the ceremony. We meet one of the grass roots organizers of the event, Marsha Cutting. She created a Facebook group a few days earlier, which went viral among Islanders, calling for a vigil to protest the appalling and divisive remarks of fear-mongering politicians. The ceremony opens with Clarence Moriwaki reading a passionate humanitarian statement written by the vigil committee. Listen to subsequent remarks by two state government leaders from Bainbridge Island - Senator Christine Rolfes, and Representative Drew Hansen. Resident Althea Paulsen read remarks from Sen. Patty Murray, and Ingrid Outland read a message from our Congressman Derek Kilmer. City Councilman Val Tollefson delivered a personal message. Mary Woodward spoke as the daughter of the principled editor of the Bainbridge Review who opposed the Japanese exclusion from our Island. Clarence Moriwaki praised the humanitarian remarks of WA Governor Jay Inslee who hails from our Island. Also hear three speakers from the audience, concluding with Rector Tommy Dillon of Grace Church, who recited a favorite passage of scripture, from the Holy Koran. We also hear excerpts of music from representatives of the High School Band, singer Rick Barrenger, and a cappella singers from the Threshold Choir. Credits: BCB volunteers: Chris Walker, Reed Price and Barry Peters.

In the late 1800's, American Philosopher, Josiah Royce, coined the term Beloved Community, a phrase adopted by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. To build the beloved community, according to Royce, requires love, loyalty, and cooperation, among other things. It also requires engagement and risk. And it takes practice - lots and lots of practice. Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Alison Rittger, Testimonial Dr. Mark Sumner, choir director Ted Arnold, soloist Threshold Choir Galen Workman, Welcome Jonathan Silk, Sound, Order of Service & Worship Archives/Podcast

In the late 1800's, American Philosopher, Josiah Royce, coined the term Beloved Community, a phrase adopted by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. To build the beloved community, according to Royce, requires love, loyalty, and cooperation, among other things. It also requires engagement and risk. And it takes practice - lots and lots of practice. Rev. Alyson Jacks, Associate Minister Alison Rittger, Testimonial Dr. Mark Sumner, choir director Ted Arnold, soloist Threshold Choir Galen Workman, Welcome Jonathan Silk, Sound, Order of Service & Worship Archives/Podcast

What inspires a person to offer song to people at the end of their lives? Kate Munger, as a lover of choral music, felt a profound calling to offer people who were dying, incarcerated, newborn or in comas to receive the precious gift of music. She formed groups to offer song free to those who could benefit from it. What does she have to share having been with so many people at the threshold between the every day and something beyond? We'll talk about music, listen to some of songs Kate offers, and explore together what music touches when we stand at the threshold between this life and the beyond.

What inspires a person to offer song to people at the end of their lives? Kate Munger, as a lover of choral music, felt a profound calling to offer people who were dying, incarcerated, newborn or in comas to receive the precious gift of music. She formed groups to offer song free to those who could benefit from it. What does she have to share having been with so many people at the threshold between the every day and something beyond? We'll talk about music, listen to some of songs Kate offers, and explore together what music touches when we stand at the threshold between this life and the beyond.

Kate Munger and the Threshold Choir Making Kindness Audible through the Gift of Song Threshold Choir is a network of a cappella choirs of primarily women’s voices: a community whose mission is to sing for and with those at the thresholds of living and dying. Founded in 2000 by Inverness resident Kate Munger, beauty and strength now bloom in the more than 100 choirs worldwide who provide singers at no cost when invited to the the bedsides of folks who are struggling. During this event, Kate talks with Commonweal Executive Director Susan Braun about Threshold Choir—the practice, the history, and the future. There will be opportunities for the audience to join with choir members to become a spontaneous Threshold Choir: coming together to sing a few of the many songs in their repertoire. Kate Munger Kate has devoted herself for over 35 years to creating non-hierarchical, collaborative models for spirited and contemplative group singing, joyful community building, creative problem solving, and deep fellowship through rounds and parts singing. In 2000 she founded the first of now more than 100 Threshold Choirs worldwide. This singing ministry has re-imagined what true service can look like: healing the giver as it offers comfort, presence and ease for the receiver. Kate lives, swims, works, and sings along the shores of Tomales Bay in CA where she lives with her husband, son, and daughter-in-law and her precious grandsons Dillon and Rory. Find out more about The New School at tns.commonweal.org.