I am excited to share with you our first Sacred Conversation, with the artist, painter, poet, birth mother of the Heart Dept, activist, revolutionary, and much more, Shelley (Grace) Bruce. In our conversation, we explore the holiness of names, "Land Back" as a holistic liberation movement, the birth story of the Heart Dept, and our upcoming September 13 Heart Dept gathering which will serve as a fundraiser, medicine circle, and book launch and signing for my new book Dear Artist: A Love Letter. Sacred Conversations are periodic episodes of my podcast in which I reach out to people whose work and life inspire me, and we simply have an old fashioned phone conversation. No video. No scripted, transactional, extractive, one-sided interview dynamic. Just two people with a care and curiosity for each other’s journey, asking each other soulful questions, and enjoying the ancient, mutually healing art of listening deeply. Again, not an interview. A spiritual communion. The idea is for us to relax and enjoy an organic conversation, like over tea or breaking bread, and get to know each other along the way. My new book Dear Artist, and all my books are available at jaiyajohn.com (thank you for purchasing directly from the author) and at booksellers worldwide. Audiobooks, eBooks, book specials, sleep stories, audio talks, apparel, and piano music are exclusively at my website. Thank you for posting your copies of my books on Instagram, tagging #jaiyajohn, encouraging others to purchase, posting readings of your favorite passages, and sharing online book reviews. My whole heart cries Grateful. jaiyajohn.com...   Support the show