The Blizzzard missed us but the Clipper system hit us with 12 inches.

 It's a beautiful morning after the storm. 10-12 inches of snow fell yesterday.

 I took a walk around the Blue Deer and the new snow looks wonderful against the clear blue skies.

 More snow is expected later this week with two small storms with a dusting to 3 inches expect. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Thanks to Maria for all the shoveling. Feeling blessed today by Mother Natures bounty.

The Blizzard.....that missed us!

Here are some pictures taken around 2 pm today. We were lucky to only get 2 inches of snow from this big winter storm. It seems that the snow was deeper east and south of us. We did have some snow squalls this afternoon but it did not amount to much snow. Most of the roads were clear and drivable all day. Liz, Maria and I were working as normal. Close to NYC and Boston they received a lot more snow.

 It sure was beautiful the covering of white around the Blue Deer. The white covering took away the dreary gray that has been hanging around for a few weeks.

Dear Friend of the Blue Deer

Dear Friend of the Blue Deer,

As 2014 comes to a close and we get ready to welcome in a new year, I want to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for your generous support of Blue Deer Center and it’s mission in the world. This work would not be possible with out each and every one of you.

We have been able to further the mission as the home for ancestral wisdom by being stewards and caretakers of the sacred land and river that is Blue Deer Center, by launching the Home Project.

Blue Deer Center is a special place the supports and sustains us in so many ways through our connection with Sacred Fire, the beautiful land and the sacred river that runs through it. The Elders that provide teachings at Blue Deer have referred to the natural world as the “wisest elder”.

It is not to late to give in 2014. Please help us continue to support traditional wisdom, the wisest elder and the home of ancestral wisdom, by giving today before midnight.



With Gratitude, wishing you a Happy New Year,
Mark A. Gionfriddo
Executive Director

Our New President

It is with great joy and admiration that the Blue Deer Center announces Amanda Kerner as our new PRESIDENT!  Amanda has served on our Board of Directors since 2012.  Prior to her leadership on the board, she served as a co-Executive Director for our Blue Deer Center for many years. Amanda has been steadfast in her service to helping the Blue Deer Center sing its song!!!  Now, she moves into the role that has been previously filled by our beloved founder, Eliot Cowan.

Now, the first question tends to be “What about Eliot?” A wonderful question. Eliot formally stepped off of the Board last year as he moved his home residence to the Center. Eliot’s role as our first Elder of the “Home Project” created a ‘conflict of interest’ with the decision-making aspects of being a voting member on the Blue Deer Center’s Board of Directors.  Thus,  in 2013 Eliot moved into the new role as an Emeritus Board Member and does not participate in financial decision-making. In addition, it was necessary for him to  step down as President of the Blue Deer Center and focus on his role as Elder, teacher, healer.  We are grateful and very BLESSED to have Amanda Kerner step up to this role.

The second question is often, “What is the difference between the Board Chair and the President?” Board Chair oversees Board meetings, works with Board members and works on the overall strategic view of the organization. President of the Blue Deer Center is involved in oversight of the operational aspects of the Center – working closely with our Executive Director. The President may or may not be a member of the Board. In this case, we have the added benefit of our new President also being a member of our Board of Directors.

Amanda has been integral in the success of the Blue Deer Center.  Not only is she deeply devoted to the Center.  Amanda embraces and experiences the value and purpose of the Center and inspires others to experience the incredible medicine of this place.  With Amanda’s experience in business, family, and community and with her passion and wisdom, we have an inspired and experienced leader to help the Blue Deer Center thrive. Please join me in welcoming Amanda in her new role as the President of the Blue Deer Center.

With Joy and Thanks!

Patrick Hanaway
Board Chair
Blue Deer Center

Don't try to solve the mystery; LIVE it!

Our last program of 2014 was the Winter Healing Retreat with Eliot Cowan. It was a wonderful time to slow down and feel myself turn inward. Deep dreaming and rest; which allowed things to move and shift profoundly as the healing sessions built on one another.

There was a Teaching Fire with Eliot one night. We ate homegrown popcorn while he answered our questions around the Fire. Eliot spoke to us about how to keep and nourish the gifts that we each received in the healing retreat. He shared the importance of continuing to support ourselves by slowing down in our everyday lives, by finding ways to connect with community, by letting go of our expectations and connecting with practices that support each of us in quieting the voice of our mind and listening deeply to our hearts.

The title of this blog post is a quotation from Eliot, that really resonated for me:

"Don't try to solve the mystery, LIVE it!"

A perfect message as we approach the mystery of this darkest time of the year, the Winter Solstice.

My Thanksgiving thoughts just for you!

Well, today is Tuesday before Thanksgiving and I am sitting here at the Blue Deer in complete silence. There is no one about and there is a stillness that is quite calming. These are the times, I often find most reflective. I sat down today to write some interesting and inspiring message for you but I am finding myself at loss for words.  Thanksgiving to me has always meant Family. A big family dinner, big family football rivalry, big family gathering… This year will be the same. I will travel to spend time with my family and, of course, everyone will be coming together for the Thanksgiving Day meal. I am so thankful for the time we get to spend together and celebrate our family.

This year seems some how different.  My own children are young adults now with most of them in their twenties.  I feel I am growing so much this year.  I feel everyday, I discover something new and meaningful in my life. Much of that I can attribute to my relationship with the Blue Deer Center and the people who I have met here.  Everyone I meet here and in my travels for the Blue Deer seems to touch me in some way. Each day my heart grows bigger.

So I thought I would share what I am thankful for with you.

I am thankful for the openness that everyone expresses each time I meet them and  the open arms that give the most amazing hugs. In times of stress, a hug can mean so much.

I am thankful for the relationships with people who over the past three years have become my dearest of friends.

I am thankful for the support from our board of directors. Each and everyone of them reaches out to me on regular basis and their friendship holds me in a way I  could never explain.

I am thankful for Eliot and his timeless wisdom and support. I am truly blessed to get to know him here at the center.

I am thankful for Mark Gionfriddo, our executive Director. Mark has gone out of his way to make me feel like family. I was able to spend more than a week with Mark and his family in Mexico during the Fiesta. I truly felt apart of something bigger then myself but yet felt supported and comforted by it all.

I am thankful for all the wonderful people I have met along the way. The conversations that have joined us; The moments that we will never forget; The laughter that we experienced; The tender moments that have touched me beyond my imagination.

I am thankful for the Blue Deer Center because it has opened my eyes to a better future, one that I never saw coming and one that I know I will cherish forever.

The Land, the river, the mountains will never be the same again and that is so very special.

I look forward to many more special times and relationships at the Blue Deer.

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and I hope to see you at the Blue Deer Center very soon. Sincerely, Jenn

You too, can be part of it, The Home Project

You may have heard talk about the Blue Deer Center's Home Project, and perhaps caught a peek of one aspect or another of this important initiative.  Now, The Home Project is moving to the forefront of Blue Deer's efforts, and we would like you to participate in the big picture of this critical endeavor.

Providing a Genuine Home
The Home Project's vision is to provide Elders- from different traditions world-wide- a genuine home where they are supported in preserving their activities of guidance and understanding, allowing them to share their wisdom with the 21st century world.  The support this provides to humanity is immense, especially at such a critical time in human history.

Losing any ancestral culture of tradition on our planet is a deep loss to ourselves-- and the soul of this planet. by fostering this home for the Elders, Blue Deer's intention is to establish a repository of heart where you and I , with guidance from the Elders, can practice, learn, and heal.

The Home Project is at the core of the Blue Deer's mission and provides benefits to you, the center, the elders and the world:

Benefits to You- Creating opportunities for you to receive teachings and healing from the Elders, participate in rituals and ceremony, and experience their individual traditions on this centuries-old land used for group resolution and personal healing.

Benefits to the Elders- providing the Elders a viable way of prospering wile continuing their traditional ways, and platform to make their teachings and healing abilities available to today's world.

Benefits to Future Generations- Ensuring the precious wisdom held by the Elders is not lost to this world, but remains available for our children and future generations.

Benefits to Blue Deer- Forming the basis of future prosperity for Blue Deer by making it a repository of ancestral wisdom so we can open our land to people from around the world.

Welcoming our First Elder
Through your support, the Home Project is able to welcome its first tradition holder. This is the fruit of a project guided by the Divine, and envisioned by Don Eliot Cowan.  It is because of your support that we are able to open the doors to the new Elder resident building at Blue Deer Center. This new property includes living space, healing space, and meeting space as well as new office for our expanding staff surrounding the Home Project.

The Home Project needs your care and support to ensure a home is available for tradition holders for many years to come so their teachings-- and what the worlds gleans from those teachings-- are not lost.

It's many individual donations coming together that have enabled us to make our first step. 

For more information, please contact Jennifer Schuman at 845-586-3225 or jennschuman@bluedeer.org. Last year, your generous gifts helped to raise $295,562. Our goal for 2014 is $598,800. Although the 2014 goal may sound ambitious, you have already donated 50% of that total, and with your help, you can achieve this goal.  Many times in our individual lives, we feel like one person or one gift won't make a differences in the world. But you couldn't be more wrong. Together we are stronger.


Look for your free CD with Eliot Cowan coming to a mail box near you!