A Visit to Tepoztlan, Mexico

I recently had the privileged to travel to Tepoztlan, Mexico for the weddings of Eliot Cowan and Victoria Reeves and David Wiley and Sherry Boatright. It was beautiful! Here are a few pictures of the weddings and the beautiful village of Tepoztlan. A wonderful time was had by all.

Victoria and Eliot

David and Sherry

At the reception, Eliot and Victoria. Simply Beautiful and Happy!

My good friend Julie at the reception.

View of the Tepoztlan from up on the hill.

 I can not express what a wonderful trip this was. I am blessed because Blue Deer has given me a very large extended family! It is a fabulous feeling to be apart of this community of loving, caring people.

Kate, Donna, K'Anna- the best friends to travel with.

Thank you to the many people who made my trip very special including these lovely ladies for helping me get there safely and who helped me find my way home. I really did not want to leave!
So many of Blue Deer's community were there celebrating this wonderful event. I can't wait for them to come and visit Blue Deer this year!

Blue Deer staff goes to Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce Dinner.

This past week, members of Blue Deer staff attended the annual Central Catskill Chamber of Commerce (CCCC) Dinner and awards. The awards dinner was held at the Hannah Country Inn and Golf Resort in Margaretville, NY.

Jenn Schuman, CCCC Vice President; Glen Pedersen, CCCC President; Carol O'Beirne, Executive Director of CCCC

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In attendance were Mark Gionfriddo, K'Anna Burton, Liz Warren, Liza Belle, Maggie Freier, Jenn & David Schuman. It was a great night for all who attended. Mark Gionfriddo won the raffle for a Crab Apple tree which was donated to the Village of Margaretville and will be planted in the village park behind the Freshtown building.  Many local area businesses were honored including Executive Director of the Central Catskills Chamber, Carol O'Beirne for her many years of dedicated service to the local area.

Liz, Liza, and K'anna

Blue Deer Center is represented on the board of the Central Catskills Chamber of Commerce by Mark Gionfriddo, board member and Jenn Schuman, Vice President of the Chamber board. Just one of the many ways Blue Deer is reaching out to the local community.

New Steps outside the Kitchen!

Our Handyman Nick has repaired the steps outside the back kitchen door as well as cleared out some brush around the main building. It is so much safer and looks great. All this was repaired by using materials that were found on the land. It looks great!

You are invited to OPEN HOUSE!

Blue Deer Center to host Open House

 May 30^th, 2015

Margaretville, New York, May 30th, 2015 – The Blue Deer Center will be hosting an Open House for visitors of all ages and backgrounds on May 30^th from 10am-5pm. This is an opportunity to visit the Blue Deer Center and find out about our mission, our programs, our sister organizations and enjoy the land. This all-day event will feature the music of “Spirit of Thunderheart” Native American Drummers; book signing with Eliot Cowan, author of Plant Spirit Medicine; indigenous art from the Huichols of Sierra Madres in Mexico will be for sale; tours of the land and facilities, food and more. You will have the opportunity to speak with Shamans around the fire, have one-on-one talks and engage in group discussions with people of ancestral ways. You will be able to participate in a river ceremony. This day of celebration, ceremony and sharing is a perfect time to visit the Blue Deer Center.

The Day will begin at 10 am with coffee and tea social hour followed by opening talk around the fire at 11. 11:30 all present will be invited to join in the river ceremony where you can walk to the river and give thanks. At noon, listen to the ancestral sounds of Thunderheart Drummers and enjoy some lunch. At 1 pm, Eliot Cowan, author of the seminal book, Plant Spirit Medicine, will be featured and lead a participatory demonstration around the fire about the living world. Thunderheart will return for more music in the afternoon and there will be plenty of time to mingle, meet new friends and reconnect with old. We will end our day at 5 pm around the fire with a few words.

 

You can also visit with representatives from the Sacred Fire Foundation, Plant Spirit Medicine Association, Sacred Fire Community Organization and local Fire keepers.

The Sacred Fire Foundation (SFF) is a charitable organization, supporting initiatives that preserve and promote Ancient Wisdom traditions—and their perspectives—to insure their continuance for our children and future generations. The world's Ancient Wisdom traditions are being threatened, and a key focus of our work is in supporting relationships with them and between them. Through events and media, the Foundation seeks to bring a greater awareness and understanding to our modern culture of the irreplaceable benefit that Ancient Wisdom provides the people of the world. Key initiatives include: Ancient Wisdom Rising to be held at Blue Deer Center August 2015, grant making programs, wisdom fellowship ward and the Sacred Fire Press.

Plant Spirit Medicine Association representative & healers will also be available to talk about their organization, medicine and healers. The Mission of the Plant Spirit Medicine Association is to support, preserve and strengthen the practices of Plant Spirit Medicine (PSM) as recognized by the Temple of Sacred Fire Healing (TSFH).

Mark May 30^th on your Calendar for a day of exploration, fun, music, food, art and new friends at Blue Deer, 1155 County Route 6, Margaretville, NY 12455.  For more information about this and other programs at the Blue Deer Center, please contact K’Anna Burton at 845-586-3225 ext 305 or email at Kannaburton@bluedeer.org .

Blue Deer Center

1155 County Route 6

Margaretville, NY 12455

Contact Information

K’Anna Burton

kannaburton@bluedeer.org

Blue Deer Center

http://www.bluedeer.org

845-586-3225 ext. 305

It’s a Family Affair: Plant Spirit Medicine Comes to San Rafael

Back on April third people began to arrive around 7pm. They quickly filled the seats we had arranged in the ornately adorned meeting room at Open Secret Bookstore in San Rafael, California. We set out more chairs and these were filled. Soon no more seats would fit in the space and people watched and listened from the adjoining hallway. I was very happy to see several old friends, all students of Eliot’s, had come. I was also beside myself with feelings of good fortune—My Mom and Dad who had been helping me organize and publicize this event for several days had come. Also my brother, Christopher had taken a bus from Los Angeles and was donating his audio recording expertise for the evening.

As always I enjoyed hearing Eliot’s stories—how he came to rediscover the spirit medicine that plants have shared so generously. When he was finished telling his stories, audience members eagerly offered their excellent questions. One woman, an herbalist asked whether the plants wished for anything in return for their generosity. Eliot’s face showed his gratitude for being given the opportunity to talk about the important roll of exchange in maintaining good relationships of all kinds. My favorite discussion was about how plants, who, unlike humans, do not see themselves as separate from everything else and therefore are eager to see us “join the party.”

 Additional shout outs of gratitude to: Porter who was very helpful at the bookstore; also to Vicky, Linda, Randy and Wendy whose engagement with the audience really deepened everyone’s experience.
 -- Mace Fleeger