About
Queen Mama Donna
Donna Henes is an internationally renowned urban shaman, award-winning author, popular speaker, and workshop leader whose joyful celebrations of celestial events have introduced ancient traditional rituals and contemporary ceremonies to millions of people in more than 100 cities since 1972. She has published four books, a CD, an acclaimed quarterly journal and writes a column for UPI (United Press International) Religion and Spirituality Forum. Mama Donna, as she is affectionately called, maintains a ceremonial center, spirit shop, ritual practice and consultancy in Exotic Brooklyn, NY where she works with individuals, groups, institutions, municipalities and corporations to create meaningful ceremonies for every imaginable occasion. |
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Some time ago I was asking
myself what I can do in order to nourish and feed me in this difficult
situation. One action was to order your book. Now it has arrived and I can't stop
reading. It helps me a lot to understand what I am going through, how I can
deal with it and what the outcome will be. You are a wonderful person and do a
great work!
- Moira Schmidt,
Germany
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Calling All Queens!
The Queen's Chronicles
Offers
upbeat, practical, and ceremonial inspiration for all women who want to
enjoy the fruits of an influential, passionate, and powerful maturity.
I would appreciate it if you would please forward The Queen's Chronicles to people who might value it.
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I want to thank you for our
Queen counseling session together. It was so incredibly supportive and
enormously healing. It served as a strengthening and as a turning point for my
relationship to my relationships.
- Lorraine, NY
Consult the
Midlife Midwife
The transition from Maiden and Mother to Queen can be a difficult one, fraught with hard lessons and lots of loss. It takes great determination and courage to confront and embrace the changes brought about by the midlife passage.
It can be really helpful during this confusing time to have the inspiration, advice and encouragement of a counselor/coach/mentor - someone who has been there and done that and is ready to help you do the same.
Queen Mama Donna offers upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM THE
QUEEN'S COUNSEL
Ever
since I first introduced The Queen as a helpful archetype for midlife women, I
have received hundreds of requests for detailed instructions on how to become a
Queen.
"Dear
Mama Donna," women would write, "I want to be a Queen, too. How do I access my
power? How can I feel good about myself? How do I change my life? How do I find
magic and spiritual wisdom? How do I know what to do? How do I learn how to
rule?"
The
reality is that I cannot possibly know how anyone else will attain her
Queendom, I only know how I came into mine, and that is largely through
hindsight. The truth, my truth, at least, is that there is no one true truth.
We must each find our own way in this world.
As a
shaman, I teach through example, but not through dictum. I can and do offer
information, exposure, personal experience, encouragement, inspiration,
suggestions and support to my constituents, but I cannot - dare not - pass
judgment or establish rules and laws. It is simply not for me to say.
When you come to me for help and spiritual guidance, I
listen to your concerns and embrace your needs. I pat you on the back, give you
a good, swift kick in the butt, or let you cry on my shoulder, as needed. I can
tell you what I did in such and such situation, how I did it, what I learned
from this or that lesson, but I cannot tell you what you should do. How do I
know what your soul needs?
Only you know what you know. I can, of course, aid you in
reaching into the well of your own deepest wisdom, and help you to hear the
messages from your best inner Selves. And I can offer tools and practices to
help you develop the confidence to follow your own purpose, path, passion and
power.
A woman who I have been working with recently told me that I
had changed her life. "Well, no, of course, I didn't, honey," I assured her.
"You changed your own life." The fact of the matter remains that I could not
give her what was not already hers.
xxQMD
TURN YOUR MIDLIFE CRISIS INTO YOUR CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT!
Further information: www.thequeenofmyself.com
Click on Individual Consultations.
Sessions are available in person and by phone. To make an appointment, call 718-857-1343 or email the Queen at TheQueenOfMySelf@aol.com
Do you really want to look back
on your life and see how wonderful it could have been had you not been afraid
to live it?
-Caroline Myss
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A Queen Event
Near You
 WoomanGathering, QueensPA, June 2009 SEPTEMBER
GLOBAL
SEPTEMBER 1-30
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off reading for September Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
NEW YORK
SEPTEMBER
18, 2009
7:30PM
NEW
HARVEST MOON DRUMMING CIRCLE
Now is the time to weave our gathering baskets.
In order that we might collect and preserve our harvest, we
need a container in which to collect it. What is the harvest that you are
seeking? How will you keep it safe? Join us as we drum up our intentions.
Mama Donna's Tea Garden & Healing Haven
Park Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
For info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
Advance reservation required.
$25.
SEPTEMBER 21 OCTOBER, 5, 19, 26,
NOVEMBER 9, 16
6 Mondays, 7PM
SPIRIT SUPPORT GROUP
with MAMA DONNA HENES
New group forming. Join in an
empowering experience with a small group of other spiritual women who are also
trying to keep their spiritual center in their daily lives. These evenings will
keep you centered as you pursue your path.
Mama Donna's Tea Garden & Healing
Haven
Park Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
Advance reservations required: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
$240.
SEPTEMBER 22
TUESDAY, 5:00 PM
AUTUMN EQUINOX BALANCE CEREMONY
Join Mama Donna and friends for a
ritual to reestablish our precarious balance and align it with the universe.
Pier 16 South Street Seaport.
Fulton Street at the river.
For info: 718-857-1343
Free.
SEPTEMBER 22
TUESDAY, 6:30 PM
AUTUMN EQUINOX CRUISE
The ceremony to welcome in Autumn
will continue aboard ship as we sail into the sunset of the dark half of the
year, for a sunset equinox cruise aboard the Pioneer.
Sailing from Pier 16 South Street
Seaport.
Fulton Street at the river.
For info: 212-748-8786
Advance reservation required.
$50/members, $60/non members
(includes ceremony, wine, refreshments and favors)
SEPTEMBER 23
WEDNESDAY, 6:30 PM
AUTUMN EQUINOX CELEBRATION
Join Mama Donna for a sunset
celebration of the first day of Fall.
This is a family friendly event.
Bring kids, dogs, drums, percussions and plenty of spirit.
Grand Army Plaza, Park Slope, Exotic
Brooklyn.
Meet at the Fountain. 2/3 train to
Grand Army Plaza
For info: 718-857-1343
Free
SEPTEMBER
25
FRIDAY, 7:00 - 9:30 PM
TAROT
SALON
Mama
Donna offers 15-minute readings for only $25!
Kris
Waldherr Art and Words
1501
Newkirk Avenue
(entrance
on Marlborough Road, around the corner)
Brooklyn,
NY 11226
For
info: 347-406-5811
Free
wine and refreshments.
SEPTEMBER
26
SATURDAY,
11:00AM - 5:00PM
PAGAN
PRIDE FESTIVAL
MAMA
DONNA'S SPIRIT SHOP
Mama Donna
will conduct a memorial service for Marion Weinstein, beloved spiritual
teacher. Please come and pay your respects.
Mama
Donna's Spirit Shop will be at the park all day with special ceremonial
supplies from around the world for all your ritual needs. Stop by and say
hello!
Battery
Park, Manhattan.
1, 5, W
trains
For info:
718-857-2343
www.nyc-ppp.org
Free with a
can or box of food for the hungry
OCTOBER
GLOBAL
OCTOBER
1-31
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off
reading for October Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
OCTOBER
16, 2009
FRIDAY,
3:30PM EDT
Interview
with Sue Oliver on Passions and Possibilities Radio
OCTOBER
22, 2009
THURSDAY,
8PM EDT
Interview
with Laurie Huston on Intuitive Soul Radio
NEW YORK
OCTOBER
3
SATURDAY, 3:00 - 6:00 PM
TAROT
101
A Spirit Support Skills Workshop
with Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman.
Learn
the basics about the tarot. This beginners workshop will be required for future
tarot classes.
Mama Donna's Tea Garden
& Healing Haven
Park
Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
$40.
If prepaid
$50.
At the door
OCTOBER
24
SATURDAY, 11:00AM - 2:00
PM
TAROT
101
A Spirit Support Skills Workshop
with Mama Donna Henes, Urban Shaman.
Learn
the basics about the tarot. This beginners workshop will be required for future
tarot classes.
Mama Donna's Tea Garden
& Healing Haven
Park
Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
$40.
If prepaid
$50.
At the door
OCTOBER 24
SATURDAY 4:00PM
GREENWICH VILLAGE HALLOWEEN PARADE
PRACTICE
Mama
Donna's Blessing Band orientation meeting and
rehearsal
for the world famous parade.
Contact
Mama Donna to join the Blessing Band.
For info:
718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
$25 to
cover costuming and supplies
OCTOBER 31
SATURDAY 1:00PM
GREENWICH VILLAGE HALLOWEEN PARADE
PRACTICE
Rehearsal
and costume/prop prepration.
Contact
Mama Donna to join the Blessing Band.
For info:
718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
OCTOBER 31
SATURDAY 6:00PM
GREENWICH VILLAGE HALLOWEEN PARADE
Mama Donna
and her glorious Blessing Band
lead the
world famous parade with blessings.
Contact
Mama Donna to join the Blessing Band.
For info:
718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
GLOBAL
OCTOBER
29
THURSDAY,
12PM EDT
Interview
with Aricia La France on Intuitive Soul Radio
NOVEMBER
GLOBAL
NOVEMBER
1-30
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off
reading for November Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
NEW YORK
NOVEMBER
2
Monday,
7:30PM
SITTING
IN THE SHADOWS: DIA DE LOS MUERTOS CEREMONY
Celebrate
the Latin American Day of the Dead on one of the eight power days in the wheel
of the year.
Please
bring death related objects for the altar (which you will take home with you.)
and a candle in a holder.
Mama
Donna's Tea Garden & Healing Haven
Park
Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
Advance
reservation required.
$25.
DECEMBER
GLOBAL
DECEMBER
1-31
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off
reading for December Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
PENNSYLVANIA
DECEMBER 13, 2009
10:00 AM
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST
SUNDAY SERVICE
Mama Donna is the guest
speaker. She will offer a special solstice season ritual. All are welcome.
The Unitarian Universalist
Fellowship of the Poconos
940A Ann Street
Stroudsburg,
PA 18360
For
info: www.uupoconos.org
Free
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Have Crown,
Will Travel!
To discuss booking Queen Mama Donna for a reading, presentation, workshop, or a keynote address in your area, call her at 718-857-1343 or e-mail her at TheQueenOfMySelf@aol.com
 Mama Donna shared her exciting vision through
presentations and workshops, which were interesting, entertaining and
empowering. She provided a new perspective on what it means to be a menopausal
or postmenopausal woman, actually a woman in the prime of her life, with
skills, energy and vision. Queen Mama Donna perfectly embodies such skill,
energy and vision.
- Kathy Jones, Director
International Goddess Conference
Glastonbury, England.
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The Queen's Emporium
Make sure to visit The Queen's Emporium, which specializes in all manner of elegant, practical, and frivolous goods to fulfill all the royal needs and fantasies of The Queen of Your Self. Therein you will find a choice collection of goods to augment and accessorize your royal prerogative.
Anoint, Adorn, Enjoy!
Back to
school special!
Buy a Queen
T-Shirt and receive a Queen Ruler for free.
There is no
shipping cost in the USA.
Wear Your Sovereignty
A T-shirt fit for a jogging, gardening or yoga Queen.
100% cotton.
A Measure of Power
A wooden ruler inscribed with an impressive list of great women monarchs
and heads of state from around the world.
ORDER YOURS TODAY!
The Queen's Emporium
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advertiser, Valerie Rickel,
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Valerie was the founder of the fabulous website Soulful Living (which has been
publishing my articles for years). Her new venture on the Internet specializes
in Soulful Web Site Design and Creative Marketing Solutions for Soulful
Businesses & Professionals. Thank you for your support and your desire to network with our fabulous
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May you be successful in your endeavors and blessed with spiritual and material abundance.
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Advertising listings in the Queen's Chronicles are available for $50/per issue with significant discounts for ongoing listings.
For more information and to place your order contact: thequeenofmyself@aol.com or call 718-857-1343.
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It is my hope that as more and
more women rise to reign in the fullest potential of our supremacy, we
will harness our purpose, passion, and power and direct it toward
creating a more balanced and peaceful world. This is the legacy of Her
majesty.
- QMD
Turn Your
Midlife Crisis
into Your Crowning Achievement!
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Hail
Queens!
Fall
always feels like New Year to me. It carries so much more significance than
does January 1. The first crisp hint of a chill in September always shakes me
out of my summer lethargy, wakes me, makes me more alert. It focuses and
concentrates my attention. I can smell the possibilities of a fresh start in
the air.
Reinvigorated by the sunny days and
laze of summer, life now begins again in earnest in schools, government
agencies, cultural institutions and businesses across the country. There is an
unmistakable aura of enthusiasm and energy in the air, a palpable sense of
intensified determination. This annually renewed resolve seems so much more
natural than the resolutions we make at the turn of the calendar year.
Fall jump starts everything,
including itself. Labor Day has become the popular indicator of autumn, rather
than the equinox, which occurs three weeks later. In the same way, Memorial
Day, which predates the solstice by three weeks ushers in the civic summer
season. By this reckoning, school starts in the fall.
Most of us have been indelibly
imprinted with the excitement and optimism of the first day of school. There is
nothing quite so inspiring as buying blank notebooks, pencils you have to
sharpen yourself and some brand new white blouses. So clean, so fresh, so
hopeful.
The Jewish New Year falls in the fall. My memories of the
High Holy Days that I celebrated as a child with my family have little to do
with organized religion. Rather, I remember a domestic sense of auspicious new
beginnings: major house cleaning, usually a new outfit to wear to temple and
best of all, we ate off of the good china with the real silverware.
I think of
my birthday as being in the fall, but it is actually three or four days before the
equinox. Our birthday is our own personal New Year. It is an annual reunion
that we have with ourselves, and attendance is required. Our birthday is our
periodic opportunity to take serious personal stock. "How am I doing?" as old
Ed Koch, former mayor of New York City, would always ask. Like any new
beginning, our birthday is an ideal time to sharpen our priorities, realign our
perspective and rededicate ourselves to living the very best life that we
can.
How old! and yet how far I am
from being what I should be... I shall from this
day take the firm resolution to study... to keep
my attention always well
fixed on whatever I am about, and strive everyday to
become less trifling and more fit for what, if
Heaven wils (sic) it, I'm someday to become!
-
Princess ( Queen-to-be) Victoria of Great Britain
In her
diary on her 18th birthday
Every autumn I take time out of time to evaluate my past
experiences and actions and to prepare myself mentally, physically and
spiritually for the coming year. I usually retreat to some extent and fast to
some degree during the two-week period surrounding my birthday. The new and
full Harvest Moon, and the equinox usually coincide.
This
experience is intended to center me and slow me down. It is my birthday gift to
myself. During my fast/retreat I devote myself completely to cleansing and
centering myself: body, mind and spirit in readiness for the future. I rinse my
system with fresh water and teas, I clean my house and altars and I use yoga,
meditation and t'ai chi to flush my mind clear of the mental detritus that I
have accumulated.
Since the
early 1980's, I have kept a birthday book. Therein, I ritually record an
accounting of the past year. I process my impressions and my life lessons. How
have I grown? What have I learned? And what is it that I just can't seem to get
through my thick skull? I plot my progress. I ponder my possibilities. I pour
over my problems. I plan my goals.
This civic fall also marks the eight-year anniversary of
September 11. Let us mark this propitious time by reflecting honestly upon our
vulnerability in today's terrifying political/economic climate, our culpability
in the deadly repercussions that arise from our own chauvinistic attitudes and
deeds, as well as our impressive individual and communal capacity for
extraordinary acts of courage and devotion.
May this new season signal the
beginning of a new era of planetary peace and plenty.
We
will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put
words on them ourselves.
The book is called
Opportunity and its first
chapter is New Year's
Day.
- Edith Lovejoy
Pierce
With best
blessings for a new beginning,
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EduQueen
 Dr. Maria
Montessori was born in the
provincial town of Ancona, Italy in
1870, the same
year that it became a
unified, free nation. The energy of that
confluence
permeated her personality,
resulting in a free and unified person
who defied
the traditionally dictated
roles and relationships between male
and female,
teacher and student. From a very early age she operated her life as though she
could and would effect it.
The
greatness of the human personality begins at the hour of birth. From this
almost mystic affirmation there comes what may seem a strange conclusion: that
education must start from birth.
When she
was five, Maria's family moved to the more cosmopolitan and sophisticated Rome
so that she could be exposed to culture and enjoy a better education. At 13 she
entered a technical school to study engineering, only to discover that she did
not wish to continue on this path. Her family was relieved that she rejected
such a masculine study.
Instead,
she pursued the study of medicine and became the first woman doctor in Italy.
She graduated in 1896 with a score of 100 out of a possible 105. Her diploma
had to be altered to note her gender.
Immediately
after her graduation, her life took off like a meteor. She was immediately chosen
to represent Italy in a Women's international Congress in Berlin. Upon her return she
was appointed to be the surgical assistant at Santo Spirito. She was also
working at the Children's hospital and had a private practice.
In 1897
Montessori had a revelation. "I felt that mental deficiency presented
chiefly a pedagogical, rather than mainly a medical, problem." The
children she was working with could not be treated in the hospitals. They
needed to be trained in schools. Given her new insight she began to transfer
her time towards perfecting education in order to meet the real needs of
children.
She
developed an educational theory, which combined ideas from medicine, education
and anthropology. In 1900 she began to direct a small school in Rome for
'challenged' youth. There she employed methods that were both experimental and
miraculous. "We should really find the way to teach the child now, before making him (sic) execute a task."
By 1907
Montessori began to assert the theories and methods of pedagogy that she had
been developing. She began by directing a system of daycare centers for working
class children in one of Rome's worst neighborhoods.
The
children entered her program as "wild and unruly." Much to her
surprise they began to respond to her teaching methods. She always held them in
the highest regard and taught her teachers to do likewise. From the beginning,
amazing things happened. Children younger than three and four years old began
to read, write and initiate self-respect.
The
Montessori method encouraged what Maria saw as the children's innate ability to "absorb" culture. In her book, The Absorbent Mind. she wrote, "And then we saw them
'absorb' far more than reading and writhing...it was botany, zoology,
mathematics, geography, and all with the same ease, spontaneously, and with out
getting tired."
Although
her methods were criticized for being too detached, rigorous, and even harsh
for children, they did seem to facilitate a more genuine, natural experience.
She was often heard saying, "I studied my children, and they taught me how
to teach them." This may seem common for us to do today, but Montessori
was the first to view education in this manner.
Montessori
pioneered other modern educational practices including a system of math
learning materials for very young children that allowed four and five year-olds
to explore their interests where heretofore they had been considered to be too
young. "To deny them (the children) the right to learn because we, as
adults think that they shouldn't is illogical and typical of the way schools
have been run," she said at the time.
She was
also the first in education to have child-sized tables and chairs made for the
students. And she created the Game of Silence, somewhat like meditation, where
each child was able to start the day with a sense of peace and focus. She
believed that the learning environment was just as important as the learning
itself.
Her
methods completely contradicted the educational theories and practice popular
during her day, when it was not common to treat children with such a high level
of respect. Back then, society felt that children should be seen and not heard.
But she saw her children as they really were and heard their cries for true
education. One day one of her teachers was late and the students actually
crawled through the window and got right to work. According to her, "The greatest sign of success for a
teacher. is to be able to say, 'The children are now working as if I did not
exist."
Word of
the success of her methods spread and won her international recognition as an
educational reformer, Dr. Montessori devoted all of her time and energy for the
next 40 years to traveling all over the world, lecturing, writing and
establishing training programs. She developed schools throughout Europe and
North America and then spent nearly two decades living in India and Sri
Lanka where she trained thousands of teachers in the Montessori curriculum and
methodology. In her later years, Educate for Peace became a guiding principle,
which underpinned her work.
Establishing
lasting peace is the work of education; all politics can do is keep us out of
war.
Queen
Maria Montessori died in the Netherlands in 1952, after a lifetime devoted to
the study of child development. Her early work centered on women's rights and
social reform and evolved to encompass a totally innovative approach to
education. Hers was a vision, proven in practice, where truly no child was left
behind.
If an
educational act is to be efficacious, it will be only that one which tends to
help toward the complete unfolding of life. To be thus helpful it is necessary
rigorously to avoid the arrest of spontaneous movements and the imposition of
arbitrary tasks.
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Superior Queen
 I went to
Superior Elementary School in
East Cleveland, Ohio. Named ostensibly
after
Superior Road, the street where it
was located at the foot of Superior Hill,
Superior School was, indeed, a superior
school.
This was
due entirely to the singular
visionary efforts of the extraordinary
principal,
Wilma Bayes, my childhood
shero.
The top picture at the left is not Wilma
Bayes. She was not famous enough to
warrent a Google image. But it is a
reasonable
likeness stylistically - another
school principal who has the same general
look, but a much more severe visage than did Miss Bayes. The bottom picture, another school principal,
captures her gaze and warm, strong demeanor, at least in my affectionate memory
of her.
She was the
last of her breed of dedicated spinster schoolteachers. When she started her
career in the early years of the 20th century, it was illegal for teachers to
marry. So she chose to devote her life to educating and expanding the horizons
of the students she loved. Wilma Bayes had been principal of Superior School
for probably 40 years by the time I knew her. She was principal there when my
mother was in the same elementary school in the late 1920s.
Miss Bayes
was a spinster, all right. She spun devotion, passion and compassion;
knowledge, understanding and practice; creative individuality and community
spirit; art and science, and most seminal for me - ritual. (By the way, seminal
does not refer to semen, but to Semele, an ancient Moon Goddess. But I
digress.)
It has always seemed strange to me that in our endless discussions about
education so little stress is laid on the pleasure of becoming an educated
person, the enormous interest it adds to life. To be able to be caught up into
the world of thought - that is to be educated.
-
Edith Hamilton, Anthropologist
I have a
Master's degree in education and have read my share of educational theories,
philosophies and programs. I have been in and out of many hundreds of public,
private, parochial and charter schools as a teacher, teacher trainer and
special guest presenter, and I have never seen one anywhere that was nearly as innovative
as the one I attended 50-some years ago.
Though I do
not know for sure whether she was influenced by John Dewey or Maria Montessori, Miss Bayes was,
like them, an innovative proponent and practitioner of hands-on learning or experiential
education. We did, indeed, learn by doing and creative thinking was
encouraged. No, demanded. I never took a multiple choice or true/false test
until junior high school and did very poorly on standardized tests when I first
was exposed to them. All of our testing was though essay writing. The one thing
I learned for sure in Superior School was non-standardized thinking.
Our
curriculum and class schedule was also revolutionary. We only had regular
classroom studies on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Tuesday was devoted to
community and citizenship. In the morning there would be an educational
assembly where we would watch nature films, hear special lectures, listen to
stories of the old world from foreign born parents, and frequently see slide
shows of Miss Bayes's exotic travels.
The
afternoon was devoted to community service. All of the students in the school
were assigned to special clubs, each of which was conducted by one of the
teachers, not necessarily our own. Each club performed a duty for the school or
for the general community or taught a useful practical skill. As I recall, the
choices included crossing guards, tutoring of deaf students, gardening, touch
up painting, Red Cross first aid, lip reading and sign language interpretation, and old age
home visitations.
Education
is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world
better than you found it.
-
Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and
Director,
Children's
Defense Fund (see May 2008 issue of The Queen's Chronicles)
Every class
in the school had a year-long service project to benefit the school. One year my
class got to repaint the gigantic world globe, 12 feet in diameter, that took
up an entire alcove in the second floor hallway. It actually took us the entire
year complete the detailed painting and stenciling, but you can bet my grasp of
geography is very good!
Fridays
were given over completely to the arts. Every Friday morning featured an
assembly of music, drama, or dancing presented by a different class each week.
These were fairly elaborate productions, and since there were only two classes
in each grade K-6, every class had to put together about three programs a year.
In the
afternoon we divided into clubs again, this time to pursue our chosen art,
craft or musical instrument. Over the years I learned to draw; paint; weave
baskets; make, glaze and fire pottery; knit; quilt; cook; play the flutophone
and the autoharp; and folk dance.
The sciences received equal emphasis. Every spring, the 5th and 6th grade students were sent to a week-long science camp.Our studies were intensive and all inclusive. We learned how to make strict hospital corners on our cots, studied flora and fauna, learned to use microscopes, collected and prepared wild food and used telescopes at night to learn to identify the constellations and the myths about them.
Superior
School was in a very diverse working class area with a large immigrant
community, some of whom like the Cubans and Hungarians, were war refugees. Miss
Bayes was my first tour guide into the delicious realm of multiculturalism. She
was a fantastic community builder and produced wonderful family programs. The
PTA sponsored frequent community potluck suppers where the entire student body
along with their families would come together to eat dinner and chat. I have
very fond memories of Mrs. Papadopoulos' moussaka, Mrs. Russo's pasta with red
sauce, and my mom's mandelbroit.
You must learn
day by day, year by year, to broaden your horizon. The more things you love,
the more you are interested in, the more you enjoy, the more you are indignant
about, the more you have left when anything happens.
- Ethel Barrymore, Actor
Around
Halloween the entire school worked to produce a fair in the cafeteria. Classes
were put to work making signs, constructing game booths, decorating, making
programs, signs and tickets. Everyone came to the Halloween fair in costume and
spent the night playing games and eating sweet treats from around the world. In
the springtime there was an evening Cake Walk with the cakes donated by all the
mothers and many of the teachers.
There were
several other all-school social events, my favorite of which were the
sing-a-longs. We would gather on a crisp autumn evening, a school night no less, children, parents,
siblings and teachers and their families, around a huge bonfire in the park
across the street. Miss Bayes herself handed out song sheets and we would all
sing American folk songs and spirituals and roast s'mores under the stars. How
fabulous was that?
Every
winter the two 6th grade classes painted the huge two-story-high
windows in the stairwells, one with scenes and symbols of Christmas and the
other with Chanukah themes. This was really special since the only two Jewish
children in the school were my brother and me. This was before the 1960s
creation of Kwanzaa, but trust me, had there been more windows there would have
been a Kwanzaa mural for it, and for Divali and Soyal, as well.
Miss Bayes
was a Queen Mistress of Ceremony. The ritual she designed for 6th
grade graduation was called "Clapping Out." All of the students in the school
lined up along the walls on either side of the long central corridor on the
main floor. The graduating students walked the length of the hallway in a
stately single file. As they passed, the entire school applauded, and kept
applauding as one by one they walked right out of the front door, leaving the
school behind. It was so simple. So moving. So perfectly transformational. I
can still feel the thrill of my own Clapping Out. How sweet it was to pass my
brother's second grade class and see him grinning toothlessly and waving at me,
proud of his big sister. How can I ever describe the profound sense of change
when I walked out of my beloved school and into my terrible teens.
Of all my
fabulous memories of Queen Wilma, the best was when she defended me to my own
mother. When I was in the third or fourth grade, my mom dragged me into Miss
Bayes' office to bemoan my terrible handwriting and to complain that I was not
being taught Gregg penmanship properly. Miss Bayes' turned to her former
student and replied mildly, "So, she will type." Oh, ecstasy!
Beatrix Potter said, "Thank
goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the
originality." And I say, "Thank Goddess I went to school. It steeped me in
originality." I am ever indebted to Miss Bayes.
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Teacher of Courage
 Benazir Hotaki's life-long work began
when she was appointed as a teacher
at
the Malalai School in Afghanistan. She
later served as the headmistress and
principle of several schools in Kabul.
During her career as an educator, she
was awarded numerous medals of
honor, certificates and commendations.
She was
named Teacher of the Year four times and once Mother of the Year. She has
frequently represented Afghanistan as a cultural and political emissary.
She was a pioneer of the Afghani women's movement and has published
extensively in defense of girl's education in innumerable academic journals.
She struggled to advocate for peace and reconciliation between warring factions
during the brutal Taliban regime. But when women were banned from education and
employment, Hotaki was forced to seek refuge in Pakistan, where she continued
her activities in exile.
Today Queen Hotaki serves as a head of the Council of Media at the
Ministry of Information and Culture in Afghanistan, while at the same time railing
against the systematic abuse of women and girls.
We're caged. All doors are closed to us. All we can do is cook. We're
not human beings any longer. We only eat, drink, and sleep, like animals.
 A very vocal proponent of equal rights for women in both social and
political spheres, her main aim is to encourage women to take part in the peace
efforts and reconstruction process in Afghanistan.
Our feisty Queen has a powerful ally in German Chancellor Angela Merke who has
directed the German Army in Afghanistan that their main priority is to build
and protect schools for girls. Queen Benazir needs
all the help she can get, as the prognosis for the education for girls has been
grim as of late.
Resuming
the schooling of Afghanistan's girls became a much-celebrated post-Taliban
achievement for the international community, but that success is now at risk.
Six schools in the northern region of Kunduz have closed following Taliban
threats in recent months. It has gotten so dangerous that the German army says
it can't protect them any longer.
Afghan
girls were forbidden to attend school under the  Taliban's rule and many
conservative extremist groups continue to oppose the idea. Militants in
southern Afghanistan assaulted schoolgirls this past fall - driving up on
motorcycles yelling obscenities and spraying acid in their faces. Several
schools have been burnt down to the ground.
In May a girls' school
in northeastern Afghanistan was hit with an apparent poison gas attack,
requiring the hospitalization of 84 students and 11 teachers who collapsed with
headaches and nausea. The case marked the region's third alleged poisoning at a
girls' school within roughly two weeks.
Benazir Hotaki's biggest supporters
are the schoolgirls, themselves, who keep coming back to school. Threats, beatings,
burnings, acid, nothing stops them from their dogged pursuit of education.
Nothing! These are the future Queens of their country. You know they are going to change things!
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The Queen's Correspondence
 Thanks so much for taking
the time to respond to The
Queen's Chronicles. Please
keep your comments coming.
And do feel free to make
suggestions about content
you would like to see. Or
anything else, for that
matter. It is a joy to connect
with you.
Letters In Response To
The Summer 2009 Issue:
You sure have a way of honoring
our sister Queens that makes us all feel our royalty. Thank you for that. I
commend you on your work, good and true. Hopefully it will continue out in ripples
that touch many more women everywhere.
- Sarah, FL
How inspiring. I live in a city
and don't have a garden, but this issue made me more appreciative of our
farmer's market. And like all of the issues of The Queen's Chronicles, it made me so proud to be a woman in my prime.
- Beth, IL
Thank you for this beautiful
reminder of some of the wonders of summer and our awesome MOTHER!!! Just lovely! Blessings,
- Cat, NY
Thank you for The Queen's
Chronicles. They are inspiring!
- Catherine, NJ
As women we plant the seeds of
the future. Babies, careers, books, art, food. We have roots in our foremothers
and we continue to blossom and fill the world with our glory. As you always
say, "Hail Queens!"
- Sharlene, AZ
I so love your newsletter. I
just want you to know how much it means to me to read your words of comfort and
wisdom.
- Leslie, MA
The garden issue was wonderful.
It made me think about where my food comes from and what it takes to get it on
the table. In the busyness of life, I take so much for granted. I do not have
the space for a garden, but I will be more conscious of supporting my local
farmer's market. Thanks for the reminder of the importance of clean, fresh
food.
- Suzanne, MI
Thank you for continuing to
send out such wonderful information. I always learn something from The
Chronicles and I always feel so enriched and inspired.
- Margo, NH
These gardens are awesome. In
beauty always,
- Monique, NY
I am going to buy a tomato
plant and name it Queenie!
- Darlene, ME
Letters in Response to
Queen
Mama Donna's Writings Elsewhere:
In Remembrance of 9/11
Wow, what a gorgeous poignant
picture you paint with your words.
- Jeanmarie, Canada
I write with tears streaming
and gratitude that you shared this story. Many blessings,
- Rose, NY
Thanks so much for sharing this
beautiful piece of Peace work. Such a good reminder of how to empower ourselves
even at the darkest of times when we seem the most helpless. These times often serve me extremely well to remember
my magic. Sometimes as the days move along rather gently, the need is less, and
we can forget. Reminds me I had best go out and get to work in my Sanctuary.
- Flash, FL
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing
this heart piece with me. You are always loved and appreciated.
- Nancy, NC
Thank you so much for this,
it's just beautiful. I happened to
look up at the clock at about 9:15 this morning and then paused: to take stock,
say a prayer for the living and the dead; and to realize how much my life has
changed in the past eight years, all for the better. I hope this is true for you,
too.
- Cat, NY
Thanks for this lovely
remembrance, Donna, and thanks for sharing what you did right at the time. I am
glad that at least you were remembering and chanting in a lovely environment. Walk in beauty on your path.
- Beverly, NY
Your piece about 911 is moving
beyond words. My heart ached for you to learn about the attacks so far from
your hometown and so unable to return. The panic, fear and grief surely was
overwhelming. Your response to that situation was profoundly moving and
healing...and so in keeping with your deep reverence for the Divine
Mystery. Thank you for sending it
along. I have shared it with others who I know will be equally moved. Blessings
and Peace to you on this day of remembrance. Love,
- Queen Mary Immaculate, CO
Thank you for this. It is
helping me to unlock my feelings that I must hide away in order to manage my
days. I am grateful for this peek in, and for the helpful tools to deal. Thank
you for sharing from your heart. In light, much love,
- Alicia, NY
Thank you so very much for this
beautiful sharing. I lit candles and sang for everyone touched by 9/11. I work
with amazing Oshun as well, so I really connected to your experience.
Interesting how you were protected from being in the physical energy of it but
holding space for your beloved home and altar from a very sacred place! Thanks
for your generosity. Blessings,
- Gail, CT
Your story is touching - thanks
for writing and sharing who you are in the world. Love,
- Jacqueline, CA
Please send your responses to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.
Your letters will be printed in the next Queen's Chronicles.
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The Queen's Court
 The Queen's Court is a gathering of
sovereign women of a certain age -
our dear peers - who graciously offer
information, guidance, inspiration and
encouragement to each other.
We Queens know what we know. And
we know a great deal. Our experience
has made us wise. So, feel free to
consult with our cyber council/
counsel when you are need of sage
advice or wish to explore a particular topic of interest.
Who knows what can come out of these sister alliances we are building?
-QMD
Fall is certainly the time when
we are gearing up for a busy new season full of work and responsibility. But
it is also crucial for us to take seriously our responsibility for our own care
and well-being. For most of us who are over-committed, over-worked and
over-extended, this means being especially mindful of our need for rest and
relaxation, and dare I say, fun! (Do you hear me, Queen Mama Donna? I am
speaking to you!)
I just received these two letters
from sister Queens telling me how they take space for themselves for centering
and pleasure. The timing was perfect, since I have been trying desperately to
carve out a much needed retreat for myself this fall. Now, after having read
these, I am more motivated than ever. Thank you Jenny and Rebecca.
So what do you do? To soothe, to pamper, to
nurture, to center, to calm, to heal, to inspire, to excite your Self? How do
you do it? When do you do it? And most importantly, do you do it?!
Do all older ladies dance? I
feel kind of silly at times, but I've added dancing to my morning
yoga/stretching because it's great for balance. It does a really good job of
working out my back, and it's also fun. I refer to it as "aerobics."
I'm wondering if lots of middle-aged woman out there do it and don't tell
anybody. Do you dance by yourself? Do
you do it every morning when you step out of the shower? Do your teenage children look at you
askance? Or is it something you
reserve for magical spaces? I'd
love to know. Every year I get older, I want
to reclaim more of what feels good. I feel like the aging of women is uncharted
territory. Almost everything we've learned about it is wrong. How do we replace
that with an accurate picture of who we are and who we are becoming?
- Jenny, Germany
I
read your article "Wisdom of the Queen" in Aspire Magazine
and thought this is so true how we never give time to ourselves cause we think
we are not worth it! Well, I was tired of putting myself last. I started lashing
out at my kids in frustration. I thought "I need to do something!" So I decided
to spend some time with myself and go to the beach at night, which is right up
the street, and just sit and listen to the waves and meditate or read a good
book! I have to say that I have a little more patience now!
-
Rebecca, MA
Please send your questions or responses to thequeenofmyself@aol.com. Your letters will be printed in the next Queen's Chronicles.
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Kudos to the Queens!
 We deceive
ourselves when we fancy
that only weakness needs support.
Strength
needs it far more."
- Anne Sophie Swetchine
Lynn
Book, NC; Janet Goldner, NY;
Ilona Granet, NY; Donna Henes, NY;
Christine de Lignieres, NY; Linda Montano, NY;
Beverly Naidus,
WA; Reynolds, NY; Miriam Sharon, Israel; Annie Sprinkle, CA; Linda Stein, NY; Robin Tewes,
NY; Diane Torr, Scotland; Regina Vater, TX; Martha Wilson, NY
on the exhibitions of their
artwork.
Annie Sprinkle and Elizabeth
Stephens, CA, on their
Eco-Sexual Blue Wedding To The Sea, their 7th
wedding ceremony/performance extravaganza.
Marie
Friend, OR, Star;
Deena Metzger, CA, Ruin and Beauty: New and Selected Poems; Weslea
Sidon, et al, ME, Still
on the Island: A Collection of Poems inspired by Mount Desert Island;
Patricia Sheehy, CT, Dancing Under the Full Moon:
101 Ways to Attracting Money into Your Life; Laura Stamps, SC, Call of the Witches: Book Three of the Witchery
Series; Terese Svoboda, NY, Weapon Grade; Terry Wolverton, CA,Labrys
Reunion; on their new books.
Smoky
Trudeau, CA on her marriage to Scott Zeidel.
Marcy
Gordon, NY on her new home; and Sherli Evans, CA, on her cross country
move.
Send
your good news, achievements, accomplishments, successes and
celebrations so that our international circle of sovereign sisters can
send you blessings and accolades.
And we are glad to so. It is
a joy and a privilege to share in the fortune of another woman. I
recently heard Oprah say the saddest thing ever - "The hardest thing
about being successful is having someone to be glad for you."
It
takes a centered and confident Queen to break that pattern. There are
60 million thrones out there. One for each of us. There is plenty of
purpose, passion and power for us all. May we use it well!
It
is important that you recognize your progress and take pride in your
accomplishments. Share your achievements with others. Brag a little.
The recognition and support of those around you is nurturing.
- Rosemarie Rossetti
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Circle of Concern
Please
Offer Your Purest
Thoughts, Your Heart-Felt
Prayers, Your Great Good
Feelings, And Your Very Best
Blessings For Healing and
Peace of Mind to:
Art: Garden Lady
Amalya, CA;
Arianna, NY; Carol, NY; Chrissie, NY; Devidam NY; Edie, PA; Ellen, NY; Gail,
OH; Geraldine, ID; Glenys, Australia; Jill, PA; Jo, AZ; Kimi, NJ; Letitia, VA;
Lucia, TX; Lynne, NY; Reid, DE; Shirley, IN; Susan, NY; Terry, NY; and Yvette, NY.
May Their Spirits Rest in Peace:
Shelley
Lynn Aboud, HI
Mary
"Mandy"Doolittle, DC
Audrey Flynn,
FL
Martha
Lindsey, AK
Carrie
Robertson, MI
Ana Sisnet,
TX
Mary
Travers, CT
Marion
Weinstein, NY
Mary Wilbon, NJ
Please
send your requests for physical and spiritual healing and positive
energy so that the powerful women of The Queen's Court might send their
prayers and blessings to you in your time of need.
It is not good for all our
wishes to be filled; through sickness we recognize the value of health; through
evil, the value of good; through hunger, the value of food; through exertion,
the value of rest.
- Dorothy Canfield
Fisher
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Where the Queens Are
MICHIGAN
I read your book - every
insightful page - and my vision was deepened forever through your words. I'm not
going to bore you with the details - and there are many details - but let us
just say that where I was weak I am now strong and where I was blind I can now
see. It even affected my paintings. I made a painting of a Kurdish Gypsy Queen, Rosmari
Kalderas who lives in Sweden.
I'm one of those people who
walks around amazed - so amazed I can barely speak - or I'm unamazed, feeling
like a dusty suburb of foreclosed homes. So, when I came across photos of
Rosmari squeezing her friend's boobs (gypsy women tweak the tits of their
friends as a gesture of affection) and twirling her skirt - this real Gypsy
woman momma grandmother who calls herself Granny Rose - I flipped. I fell in
love with her energy.
I wanted more from the painting
- but I am still learning how to paint, so nothing is ever turning out how I
wish it would - how I feel it in my mind. That said, I just love Queen Rosmari.
And I love you and your book.
- Alison Mackie, MI
Please Submit Your Royal Reports
· Tell us about your Queen Group: who, what, where,
when, why?
· What Queenly topics do you explore?
· What projects do you engage in?
· Describe some golden moments.
· Send pictures!
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