If you’re looking for a break from the harsh headlines of anger and aggression across the land, order a copy of The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tendernessby Gregory Boyle. “Father G” or “G Dawg,” as he is often called by gang members of the streets of Los Angeles, is the local Catholic priest and founder of Homeboy Industries. My introduction to Father Boyle’s work was his bestseller Tattoos on the Heart, which I reviewed back in 2011 (see review here.) Father Boyle offers employment, encouragement, and “extravagant tenderness” to the homies and homegirls of LA.
“What began in 1988 as a way of improving the lives of former gang members in East Los Angeles has today become a blueprint for over 250 organizations and social enterprises around the world, from Alabama and Idaho, to Guatemala and Scotland.” Homeboy Industries website
To get a good feel for the style and language of the book, watch this short video of Father Boyle speaking to a group.
In The Whole Language, Father Boyle weaves his philosophy of boundless compassion with poignant glimpses of the colorful men and women of Homeboy Industries, complete with salty language. Saints and sinners are quoted in a beautiful flow of prose that touches the heart and spirit. And despite best efforts and encouragement, the adversity of poverty, addiction, and mental illness still takes a high toll of death and destruction in Homeboy territory.
Yet, it is clear that Father Boyle has made a positive difference for thousands of people across LA and the world. His legacy has just begun. I recommend reading The Whole Language like a daily devotional, a few paragraphs a day to set your mind and spirit on a good course for the hours ahead. You just may find the Grace of God through the Power of Extravagant Tenderness for yourself.
The Whole Language: The Power of Extravagant Tenderness is available at Amazon.
Here’s a meditation to turn on in the first moments of morning consciousness, still huddled under warm blankets as the last wisps of dreams drift away. This meditation offers an alternative to scrolling through anxiety-inducing early morning news. Breathe away stale energy, connect with higher energies, and set good intentions for the coming day. Open your chakras with a light frequency shower. Rise and shine into the new day!
Bright blessings,
Dana
The Rise and Shine Meditation will also be available on the Opening Chakras Meditation page.
For decades a very specific group of people have been claiming that telepathy is happening in their homes and in their classrooms. And nobody has believed them. Nobody has listened to them. But in this podcast, we do. Ky Dickens, documentarian and host of The Telepathy Tapes podcast
Since its premiere in September of 2024, The Telepathy Tapes podcast has garnered surprising popularity, even surpassing Joe Rogan for a time in January of 2025 as word-of-mouth spread about its content. It turns our ideas upside down about autism, consciousness, and reality. Non-verbal neurodivergent people who have been considered mentally impaired with limited intelligence, may be some of the most gifted persons on the planet. Despite tremendous physical challenges, they may have abilities to mentally connect locally, non-locally, through dimensions and even into spiritual realms.
Ky Dickens uses her documentarian skills in each episode to introduce us to parents and their children who have been journeying through the uncharted waters of autism. The Telepathy Tapes are propelled by the work of Dr. Diane Hennessy Powell, a John Hopkins-trained neuropsychiatrist. In episode one we are taken to Los Angeles to meet a non-verbal girl named Mia whose mother, Iliana, realized during the isolation of the pandemic and communication through an I-Pad that Mia could read her mind. Dr. Powell conducts a series of tests revealing the incredible mind connection between Mia and her mother. Mia answers unspoken questions and seems to literally see through her mother’s eyes.
In another episode, we get to know Houston, who was nearly 20 years old before he was given the communication tools needed to reveal his brilliant mind and abilities. Houston’s best friend is John Paul, a six-foot-eight gentle giant who loves non-verbal, Lilly. Through these three seemingly “handicapped” people, we learn they can communicate mentally long distance. We hear about The Hill, a non-physical realm where they meet and communicate with other autistics from around the world.
Further episodes offer teachers who have developed telepathic relationships with students. Beyond human-to-human interactions, autistics report communication with animals, angels, spiritual beings, and people who have died.
Critical Challenges
The Telepathy Tapes is not without detractors and critics, accused of using pseudoscience and discredited methodology. Facilitated Communication (FC) where facilitators support an autistic person’s arm or wrist to maneuver a spelling board came under attack in the 1990’s, when some were proven fraudulent. That dark shadow over spelling is still cast today, despite changes in techniques and technology. Beyond that is the world view of Materialism. Episode 6 is devoted to explaining the clash between the accepted scientific paradigm of Materialism, where all that exists can be experienced through our five senses to a shifting definition of “reality” into non-physical realms.
Dickens presents moving stories of families struggling to discover the depths of their children’s abilities and enable them to live happy, fulfilling lives. Ultimately, we come to see autistic people having great potential, who just might just be an upgrade in the human experience. In fact, the neurodivergent population may be our best hope for the future of the planet.
I encourage you to listen to season one of The Telepathy Tapes and decide for yourself.
It’s been nearly twenty years since my first Reiki healing session which revealed a past-life connection that had darkly influenced much of my life. When Helen Nibs stood over me and said, “I think you were sacrificed in another life,” the truth of that resonated in my soul. It took about two years to fully comprehend all the implications of that past life and ultimately find a path to forgiveness that liberated and healed me.
My explorations into other expressions of myself through the Akashic Records have led to greater understanding of my relationships, interests, talents, and tendencies. The person I am now is only a fraction of my whole soul, my personal I AM.
It’s only been in recent decades that people of Western culture have had the freedom to explore the possibilities of reincarnation. Even Eastern cultures that have embraced reincarnation have perhaps been given a distorted version through their culture and religions. But now a person can research and explore the possibilities of past lives that have profound influences on the current existence. Whether it be through connecting with the Akashic Records, booking a Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT) session, or some other past life regressionist, the door to self-exploration is open.
Personally, I’ve found my guides and Higher Self continually lead me to spiritual growth. This fall on a retreat in Missouri I experienced a series of visions in the meditation sessions showing me connections to an indigenous life from another time period. I understood then why that region feels so much like “home” and my deep connection to nature.
I hope that this meditation can serve as a tool to help you explore past lives and see the connections of the many expressions of your soul. Unravel your personal mysteries and open the way to healing and happiness.*
*If you have a personal experience from listening to this meditation that you would like to share with me, please send me an email at supernalfriends@yahoo.com. Bright Blessings ~ Dana
Despite patriarchal push back, it’s exciting to see the rise of feminine influences. In my neck of the woods of Northern California we have emerging priestesses, earth mothers, clergy, and yes, political leaders. Female artists abound in all disciplines. To which I say, “hooray!” One of my favorite poets is Chelan Harkin of Washington, whose book, Susceptible to Light, I reviewed in 2021 (Delight in the Divine with Chelan Harkin). When I was asked to create a meditation for the Curious Soulwebinar sponsored by Helen Nibs of Ripples of Light, I included a fun poem from Chelan’s latest collection, Wild Grace.
The verses of Wild Grace veer between passionate, playful, and painful. Harkin takes iconoclastic swings at male dominated images of Deity. She shakes her fists at patriarchal authority, encourages women to release their pent-up Divinity, and kicks chauvinists to the curb. Here’s an intriguing example ~
THE HOLY WORD “SHE”
I don’t think God has a vagina or has ever had a penis.
But to use that holy word, “She” to describe the divine is the sweetest shorthand to overturn everything.
She is gloriously subversive She is radical— Meaning essential, of the roots.
Rather than up and out, She brings us down and in.
She brings us into the fertile lands of our bodies, into the intersection of ancient wounds and wisdoms.
She is what motivates our untold stories into their telling.
She is what germinates truth.
She speaks of a God that understands Mothers.
She undoes a power-over paradigm and describes power that comes from a cracked open heart.
She knows feeling is essential to reverence.
She restores tears to worship.
She honors pain as much as purity, the sullied as much as the sanctified.
She is the vastness of the oceans, She is the soft fire of the moon.
She is the revolution birthing in our hearts.
My meditation, Beautifully Bold, is offered here for your enjoyment. It begins with opening the Chakras and then unfolds with imagery to inspire the listener to become their best Beautifully Bold self. Included is a playful selection from Chelan Harkin’s Wild Grace. Listen and enjoy!
It’s 3 o’clock in the morning and now you’re wide awake, thoughts bouncing around in your mind. Tomorrow’s to-do list is nagging you. Worries spring up like weeds in the soggy field of your brain. Sound familiar?
My latest meditation was created for those wee hours of the morning when the dawn’s early light brings a sense of dread. Relax your body, mind, and spirit with this trip to a tropical island where the sea and stars lull you back to restful sleep.
