Jan Krause Greene's Blog, page 2
May 30, 2014
Jumping off the cliff on wings of words
After Maya Angelou’s death a few days ago, I heard the replay of radio interview from 1986. She talked about how she became mute after she was raped as an eight-year-old child. She did not need to say anything else about how the rape traumatized her. To know that she chose to cloak herself in silence for years after the rape tells us how much the rape wounded her spirit. She revealed that as an adult, when something had upset her deeply, she was still drawn to protect herself again with that same silence. In other words, she wanted to hide her vulnerability by silencing her very voice.
Maya Angelou as a young child Photo from thesource.com
After hearing this, I wondered how choosing not to speak helped her. I think that she must have silenced her physical voice as a way to strengthen her inner voice; that as a child she knew instinctively that giving physical voice to the voice within means letting people know you. Your inner voice, after all, is what makes you who you are. When so much had been taken from her already, she was not willing to share that part of herself with anyone. The only way to keep it safe was silence. If one is going to survive in a world where a man will rape an eight-year-old, then one must make sure the inner voice is strong and sure and can not be taken away no matter what.
Angelou explained that she strengthened her inner voice by listening. She took in all the sounds in the world around her – sounds of work and sounds of play, speaking voices and voices raised in prayer, voices making music, instruments making music, sounds of joy and sounds of grief.
She did not just hear these sounds. She absorbed them into her being, resulting in her amazing speaking voice. But she also “listened” to words another way – through reading. She loved poetry. She copied it out of books. She read it as a form of companionship during her long self-imposed silence and she memorized it. But she never spoke it aloud until a beloved teacher convinced her to try when she was about 11 years old. The beauty of the poetry coming from her own lips broke the silence. She began to speak again.
She was strong enough to share her inner voice too, because she had been given access to the innermost thoughts of others through poetry. She had felt the deep connection one can feel to others’ hearts and souls simply by reading the words they wrote. She realized that just as she had been moved to tears of sorrow, and of joy, by other people’s words, they also could grieve and rejoice with her if she shared her words with them. When she freed her voice it grew powerful enough to move and inspire millions.
As a writer, this strikes a chord with me because most writers want to affect readers in the meaningful way that Angelou did. And, of course, writers are often known for their voice. Editors and publishers, we are told, want writers with a distinctive voice. We are advised that to be successful, we must have a strong voice. What does this really mean?
I think that in writing, as in life, the voice within wells up from the subconscious. We can try to develop a certain voice in our writing as if it is the same thing as tone or style. But it is neither of those.
A writer’s voice, I believe, is that same private voice that Angelou protected with her silence. Just as she strengthened hers by listening and reading, writers can strengthen theirs in a variety of ways. But, here’s the tricky part, a lot of that work happens without our really knowing it. In order to write with an authentic voice, writers need to spend some time really getting to really know themselves.
A writer of fiction will not write about herself, but her selfness will always be in the story. It is what makes fiction authentic even though it is not a true story. A poet may write about himself, or about a bird, or a car, but the poet’s selfness is always there in the poem. Your voice as a writer is the part of you that is reflected in the writing even though you are not in the poem, short story, or novel. It is your essence giving heart and soul to whatever you are writing.
Sometime writers work so hard on the craft of writing that they lose their voices. They judge, criticize, refine and revise too soon. Their authentic voices are lost before they have a chance to emerge. Many would-be writers give up because of this.
My advice is to take Ray Bradbury’s advice when it comes to writing: “Jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down.”
Instead of searching for your voice, trust that it is there. Because it is. It is the ineffable thing that is filling you up inside as your heart beats madly and you hope against hope that your fragile, new found wings wing will keep you from falling.
As you learn to take flight, look around. You might just see me flapping my wings wildy trying to stay air bound yet again. See you in the sky!
I offer writing workshops online and in person. Please click on this link for more information.
http://whataheartcanhold.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/finding-your-voice-writing-workshops/
Filed under: Author, Fiction, Maya Angelou, Voice, writing Tagged: I Call Myself Earth Girl, inner voice, Maya Angelou, rape, Ray Bradbury, reading, sharing writing, writer's voice, writing process
May 29, 2014
Finding Your Voice writing workshops
I am accepting applications for my summer online and in-person writing workshops. Expressing myself through writing has been such a gratifying part of my life and has provided me with many opportunities. I would like to help others find joy and fulfillment in writing. Sometimes writing can be lonely and isolating, but it can also be a way to connect with people all over the world. It really is up to the writer!
Please share this information with anyone you think may be interested. Feel free to reblog this as a way of spreading the word.
FINDING YOUR VOICE Writing Workshops:
Finding Your Voice by Telling Your Story and Female Heroes as a Catalyst for Change -making a difference by finding your voice
Both workshops are offered online and in-person. In-person workshops are designed for groups. Online workshops can be for groups or individuals.
Finding Your Voice by Telling Your Story The focus of this workshop is discovering your authentic voice and exploring various ways of expressing that voice, such as journaling, writing, blogging, and story-telling.
This workshop will combine personal reflection with writing prompts and warm-up exercises. When offered to a group, it will be interactive. Participants will be encouraged to share with the group at whatever individual comfort levels allow.
Topics will include:
What is voice? Why does it matter?
Voice and personality
Voice and life experience
Voice and message
How to reclaim your voice when it has been stifled, quieted, or stolen.
Tweeting your voice
Using your voice in daily life and in writing/performing.
Female Heroes as a Catalyst for Change -making a difference by finding your voice In this workshop we examine the different types of female heroes in I Call Myself Earth Girl.
What happens when you are chosen to bring a message to the world and you don’t even understand it yourself? This is Gloria’s dilemma. She exemplifies the reluctant hero who is thrust into her role against her will. Her daughter, Ella, exemplifies the outsider hero who accepts her role and its isolation. Earth Girl, the spirit who speaks to both Gloria and Ella, is a metaphor for the inner strength that allows them each to access their power to influence change. Participants will receive signed copies of I Call Myself Earth Girl.
Using brief passages from the novel and writing prompts, participants will explore their inner gifts and their capacity to spark change through the power of story. When in a group setting, this workshop will be interactive and will, perhaps, lead to the formation of an on-going group that supports writing for social justice and environmental stewardship.
Summer scheduling is underway now. I can come to your venue in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and parts of New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine and CT. Online workshop available throughout the summer for groups or individuals. For more info, please contact me using Contact form on website : http://whataheartcanhold.wordpress.com/contact/
Filed under: Author, blogging, Fiction, publishing, writer's isolation, writing Tagged: authentic voice, blogging, I Call Myself Earth Girl, publishing, sharing writing, writer's isolation, writer's voice, writing, writing as catalyst for change, writing process, writing to discover, writing workshop
May 23, 2014
A few words about my writing
Look on the Books page of this website for news about my already published book and my books in progress. Every so often I will be giving free books to people who come to this page, so check in now and then!
I CALL MYSELF EARTH GIRL (released August, 2013)
What if you discovered you were pregnant and you believed you conceived this child in a dream? What if you tried to end the pregnancy and failed?
Gloria’s world is turned completely upside down when she discovers she is pregnant and she knows her husband can not be the baby’s father. Her recurring dreams about a young girl who calls herself Earth Girl initiate a quest for understanding that leads her to question the nature of time and the possibility of reincarnation.
As she is exposed to mystic wisdom through the voice in her dreams, she learns not only about herself, but also the many facets of family love and acceptance. Her journey of self-discovery ultimately connects her to the future in a way that she could never have imagined.
I am currently working on two more novels and one true story.
Both novels have tentative titles – In Earth Girl’s Time is the sequel to I Call Myself Earth Girl, and The Valley of the Free People, a historical novel about St. Lucia.
The true story is about Michael Bardellini, a young man from Milford, MA who was the victim of a hit and run driver while riding his bike. His incredible determination to overcome his debilitating injuries and to live a life of meaning and purpose inspires me every day. I feel honored that he has chosen me to share his story.
I Call Myself Earth Girl has received some great reviews!
http://amzn.to/19uhw1p
Check them out on my Amazon. com page using the tiny url above.
Here’s an excerpt from one of my recent reviews on Amazon.com:
“From the moment I picked this book up I could hardly put it down (but with three young kids, I had to – quite often). It is rare to find a combination of witty writing and gripping plot in a first novel, and it is not easy to turn spiritual themes into a fun and inspiring read. I call Myself Earth Girl does just that, and takes readers on a journey of discovery that keeps them on their toes until the very end. Highly recommended as a summer read, something to take on your vacation and to savour as you have time to reflect on life and what might be awaiting beyond it. Inspiring, entertaining and thought provoking.” Daniela Norris
Filed under: Author, book promotion, Books, Fiction, publishing, writing Tagged: Amazon Kindle, author, books, books in progress, I Call Myself Earth Girl, Nook, publishing, reading, reviews, self-promotion, sequel, spiritual themes, writing 
May 21, 2014
More easy ways to use less plastic
Plastic – part 3
In a recent post, I asked people to send me suggestions on easy way to use less plastic in the kitchen.
Here are the suggestions I received:
1. Buy only fresh produce that is not packaged at all.
2. Use wax paper.
3.If you have to use plastic, use the smallest size bag or segment that you can.
4. Never buy bottled water.
The one about bottled water was submitted multiple times.
So, how about you? How have you cut down on the use of plastic in your kitchen?
Filed under: climate change, earth, environment Tagged: climate change, conservation, Earth, environment, Global warming, I Call Myself Earth Girl, plastic, plastic waste
May 19, 2014
Here I am world.
I’m Jan Krause Greene – writer, peace activist and lover of the earth. My first novel, I Call Myself Earth Girl, was published in August of 2013 so I decided to make my blog into an author website as well as a blog.
I would be honored if you join me on this site and share your thoughts and ideas with me and my followers. I hope to make this an interactive site that builds a community of people who share ideas and insights. As the name of the site suggests, I blog about things that affect the human heart, which, I guess, is almost anything. I focus a lot on the environment, spirituality and writing. For me, writing is a way to examine the link between love of the earth and spirituality. It is also a way to plumb the depths of the amazing human heart.
This is how the site is organized. I hope it is “user friendly” and I welcome suggestions.
The About page is the static front page. It also serves as the Home page. Other pages are:
Books - order signed copies and keep up to date on works in progress
Contact - contact info for workshops, events, interviews, speaking engagements, etc
Loving, protecting and living on earth – all things environmental
The great big universe within us and all around us - all things spiritual, cosmic, mystical and awe-inspiring
The writing life - the vicissitudes of being a writer, including the good, the bad, the ugly and even the beautiful
Workshops, book clubs, and interesting opportunities - Info about Finding Your Voice writing workshops, book club special deals, and other cool stuff
Each page on the menu is static when you go to it, but I will post the blogs related to each page on the specific page. Those blogs will always show up in the Recent Posts list, but they will also show up on the page to which the topic belongs. For instance, if I blog about something relating to the environment it will show up on the “Loving, protecting and living on the earth” page, as well as in the general list on the right under Recent Posts. Since this front page is static, please go to the menu on the right to find my most recent blogs listed under Recent Posts.
I have met (albeit in cyberspace) many truly great people through blogging and I have formed some real emotional connections to some of my blogging friends. I hope to continue to expand my circle of blogging friends and readers. I believe that blogging provides a revolutionary way for people to connect, to reflect and to act together. I really think that blogging can bring about understanding between nations, cultures and individuals. I think that together we can create a more loving, more just and more sustainable future. I am one of the many
As for who I am - I formed my opinions about life at an early age and they haven’t really changed much since then – I believe war does not create lasting solutions, love will be the real revolution, and the human heart can expand until it holds love for the whole world. I have been a teacher, a newspaper columnist, a bank teller, a house cleaner, an executive director of a non-profit dedicated to education advocacy, a diversity trainer, an education consultant, an AIDS activist, a group facilitator, and a waitress. Whatever it took to raise 5 kids and remain true to my values. My kids are grown now and I have 5 grandkids, a wonderful husband and a mother who lives with us and is 98 years old. I can’t carry a tune, but I love to sing and don’t know any steps, but I love to dance!
Namaste! 
Filed under: blogging, book promotion, earth, Fiction, Interconnectedness, Love, peace, self-promotion, Wisdom, writing Tagged: Be4Peace, bloggers for peace, blogging, Compassion, Earth, environment, heart, hope, Human, I Call Myself Earth Girl, life, love, publishing, self-promotion, universe, what a heart can hold, writing
The Plastic Bank…..social plastic, an idea whose time has come!
Loving, protecting and living on the earth
Another post about plastic, but this one is good news! This will be very short.
Please, check out the Plastic Bank – Harvesting Plastic Waste to Reduce Poverty. The website is plasticbank.org
What a brilliant idea they have! I don’t know these people, but I am pretty sure I love them:
David Katz is the founder and President of The Plastic Bank. According to the website, David’s dream was to bring hope to and liberate the minds of the world’s most disadvantaged and to rid the world of ocean plastic. His inspiration came from his travels, seeing beaches with more plastic than sand and people living in extreme poverty without hope. David realized that, not only do the people of the world need hope, but also that the world itself is also struggling. I realize this too.
image courtesy of http://www.dailygalaxy.com
Shaun Frankson is a social entrepreneur. He wants to change the world. So do I.
Andrew Almack believes in the power of social entrepreneurship to change human behavior. I believe in the power of ideas to change human behavior.
Sarah Ross is dedicated to making the world a better place for her children and her children’s children. So am I.
Please go to their website and read about this revolutionary idea. If it makes sense to you, the way it does to me, please sign their petition asking companies to use social plastic in order to improve lives while reducing plastic waste.
If you know of any other innovative businesses that are trying to solve environmental problems and improve lives, please leave a comment.
I want to introduce my readers to all of them, because I know that if we all work together we can protect the environment and improve the lives of those living in dire circumstances.
With open minds and optimistic hearts we can make a difference. That is why WE are here NOW.
Filed under: Choices, climate change, compassion, earth, environment, Interconnectedness, ocean, Social Plastic Tagged: 350.0rg, Compassion, conservation, Earth, environment, Ocean, Plastic Bank, plastic waste, poverty, problem-solver, social entreprenuer
May 18, 2014
Loving, protecting and living on the earth!
Here’s a question to start us off. Plastic is so much a part of our lives. It seems to be a part of almost everything we buy – on the packaging, if not in the product itself. So much of what we use in our homes is plastic, and to make matters worse, so much of it is one use plastic- cellophane wraps, plastic bags, plastic sandwich and freezer bags.
Question: What are the ways you reduce the use of plastic in your life? Let’s see how many ideas we can get.
Here is one thing I do. It doesn’t sound like much, but after years of using plastic without even thinking about it, it was a big change for me. Now I hardly ever wrap anything in any kind of plastic for storage. Instead, I use glass containers for leftovers.
A simple easy change at the grocery store – I don’t put my produce in plastic bags when I buy it. Why put apples, lettuce, tomatoes, etc in a plastic bag in your grocery cart just to put it in another bag to carry it home? My produce always arrives home just fine even though it is packed loose in my reusable grocery bags. (I have quite a variety of bags that I use for toting groceries. I think I got them all free and I just keep accumulating them. )
I realize that for much of the world using reusable bags is the most common practice imaginable, but for many of us here in the U.S., it is something we actually had to “learn” to do. The same goes for not wrapping things in plastic…a learning curve for us here in the U.S.
Please add some suggestions for reducing or eliminating your use of plastic in your home. The more ideas we share, no matter how simple, the more we help people like ourselves make simple changes, and if enough us make simple changes it adds up to a big change. Even it you think it is something everyone already does, put it in a comment anyway. You never know what an impact your one idea may have.
Thanks in advance for your suggestions!
Filed under: climate change, earth, environment Tagged: 350.0rg, climate change, conservation, Earth, environment, Global warming, grocery shopping, plastic, resusable bags, reusable containers, storing leftovers
May 17, 2014
The great big universe within us and all around us
Some call it spirit. Some call it love. Some call it the universe. Some call it God. Some call it interconnectedness. To me, it is what fills the heart and soul, amazes the mind and makes us feel awe. It is that un-nameable, un-definable spark inside each of us that binds us to each other, to the past and to the future. It is what makes us appreciate beauty, grieve over loss and separation, seek love and knowledge. It is what makes us yearn and strive and reach out to those in need. It is what makes us weep when we hear stories of heroism or great compassion. It is the part in us from whence compassion emanates. It is what allows us to have hope in the most difficult of times. It can never be adequately defined, and yet, it is the very thing that we strive to illuminate and describe through literature, poetry, music, dance, sport, the arts – all of which heighten our feelings of connection to each other, and often to the world around us.
What do you call it?
Please feel free to add a picture, a story, an idea, a hope or dream for humanity, or for your self. Let’s open this page up to the vast capacity of the human heart; to the individual and collective spirit that makes us so truly amazing. Namaste.
Filed under: Beauty, compassion, humanity, Interconnectedness, Joy, Life, life force, Love Tagged: art, awe, Compassion, cosmos, dance, hope, interconnectedness, joy, life, life force, literature, love, music, poetry, sorrow. beauty, spirit, Sport, universe
My new and improved website!
I spent this afternoon turning my blog into a website. I hope that all of you will go to it at http://whataheartcanhold.wordpress.com/
Since I made the first page static, I don’t think any of it will be posted the way a blog is. Actually, I’m not quite sure how a lot of it will work, so it may be a work in progress for awhile. I would really appreciate any and all comments, suggestions, questions. Tell me what you like and what you don’t like.
Here is a run down of the pages. The home page is my ABOUT page and it is static. You need to click on the other pages to see the rest of the content, including any new blogs that I post.
I now have a Books page http://whataheartcanhold.wordpress.com/books/ where I talk about I Call Myself Earth Girl and the three other that are in progress. Plus, I have added a Paypal button so that you can order autographed copies directly from me. This is a good page to check now and then because some times I will be giving books away for free.
I have a Contact page http://whataheartcanhold.wordpress.com/contact/ and right now my contact info is in the boxes that you would fill in. I can’t figure out how to change this, but I am pretty sure that you can delete my info and add yours. If you give this a try, it would be a great help to me. I am rather technically challenged (to put it mildly). When you look at this site, you probably will not see anything that looks like it should have taken as much blood, sweat and tears as revamping this site took. Well, okay, I am exaggerating a bit…there was no blood, no sweat and no tears, but a lot of frustration, a little swearing, and a good deal of “how the #@%*&@ did that just happen?”
Of course, I still have a Blog http://whataheartcanhold.wordpress.com/blog/page and I hope to be able to post it without posting the entire website each time!
I now have a Loving, protecting and living on the earth page http://whataheartcanhold.wordpress.com/loving-protecting-and-living-on-the-earth/ Please check it out and add your thoughts and ideas. Today I am asking for suggestions about how to reduce plastic from our daily lives. Please add a suggestion.
My favorite new page is The great big universe within us and all around us page. http://whataheartcanhold.wordpress.com/the-great-big-universe-within-us-and-all-around-us/
I have an information page Workshops, book clubs, and interesting opportunities. http://whataheartcanhold.wordpress.com/workshops-book-clubs-and-interesting-opportunities/
Coming soon: News and events page
So please, check it out and leave comments with advice, criticism, whatever strikes your fancy. I hope to use this as my author website, but more than that, to engage my readers and followers in conversations about all that the heart can hold.
Just to get started, I think I will use one of the new pages as a blog post.
See you again…soon!
Filed under: blogging, book promotion, Uncategorized, writing Tagged: Arts, Be4Peace, bloggers for peace, blogging, book promotion, Earth, heart, I Call Myself Earth Girl, life, peace, publishing, self-promotion, universe, website, within us and without us, writing
April 15, 2014
Earth Day 2014
Please join me in a Thunderclap in honor of Earth Day. If everyone of my readers, friends on Facebook, and Twitter followers joins my campaign and shares it with their friends, we can reach 1000s of people by April 29. We need to keep the momentum from Earth Day, April 22, alive and growing!
The message is simple – the time is now for us to unite our hands and hearts to slow climate change.
Yesterday the United Nations issued a report warning that governments are not doing enough to prevent profound environmental risks in coming decades…not centuries, decades! http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/14/science/earth/un-climate-panel-warns-speedier-action-is-needed-to-avert-disaster.html?_r=0
This is exactly the message in my novel, I Call Myself Earth Girl.
The silver lining in all this is that there is still time to do something about it if we have an intensive effort over the next 15 years.
The most encouraging aspect of all this is that for the first time ever the political will to take serious, committed action on the environment is rising across the globe.
I believe this will is the direct result of the grass roots efforts by people like you and me to raise awareness and to keep environmental issues front and center in our conversations, emails, and letters to our governmental leaders.
So, here it is… a call to action now! We have 15 years to save the future for our children, grandchildren and all those who follow.
We have been chosen to transition humanity to a new way of living, that will allow all to have a decent standard of living, achieved by living in harmony with nature and with each other.
The scientific evidence is clear. We can not wait. We must not wait.
It is our privilege and our responsibility because we are the humans who live on this planet right now. We can not let our differences divide us and keep us from solving the greatest problem of our time.
When it comes to climate change we can not be Democrats or Republicans. We can not let religious beliefs, national boundaries, political and economic philosophies divide us.
We must do all we can to learn how to reduce our own carbon footprints now. We must continue to protest, petition and speak out against policies that harm the environment. We can not wait for someone else to do it for us.
This is our problem because this is our planet, our lives, our future.
We are the leaders we have been waiting for!
Please join me with optimism and faith in your fellow human beings.
I believe making the necessary changes within 15 years is the biggest challenge the worldwide community has ever faced. I believe we can do it. But not without YOU!
In coming blog posts I will be sharing resources and asking readers to do so too. If you blog, please reblog this post, or do a blog of your own about this topic. Blogging gives us a free opportunity to reach people across the globe.
Let’s get this movement moving full speed ahead!
Available at all online bookstores as a paperback and available in all ebook formats. Support your local book seller by asking them to order it. ISBN – 978 1 78279 049 5
