Happy New Year! December 31, 2020 |
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How Has Kindred Has Served You In 2020? |
Dear Kindred Supporters,
Before 2020, Cultural Creatives like us may have been considered utopian, woo-woo, or impractical. But it turns out, taking time to build our inner skills to create a sustainable, peaceful world is the most valuable use of our precious time together. Kindred's editorial team is honored to serve your need for courageous questioning, exploring and imagining this year and every year.
Take a look below at our top stories of 2020, and notice how we're ready to answer the challenging questions of our time and work together to find a way forward. This year we've brought you stories of hope and healing, from the ROBE activists who are changing the experience of black mothers by empowering an often overlooked resource: black fathers.
What questions do you have for us in 2021? What issues do you want to see us explore? What resources would you like for us to create? We are here for you and are ready to help.
For a quarter century, Kindred has shared our human family's new story, championed counter-culture thought leaders, created resources, and found inspiration to help us author our new story. Please support our nonprofit work, or volunteer with our initiatives. We look forward to serving you and your family in the coming year.
Envisioning our new year together,
Lisa Reagan
Editor, Kindred
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How A Grassroots Vision Is Driving Scotland To Become An ACES Aware Nation |
If Scotland Can Do It, Can America?
An Interview with Suzanne Zeedyk, PhD
Explore Interview Topics
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By Charles Eisenstein
For years, normality has been stretched nearly to its breaking point, a rope pulled tighter and tighter, waiting for a nip of the black swan’s beak to snap it in two. Now that the rope has snapped, do we tie its ends back together, or shall we undo its dangling braids still further, to see what we might weave from them?
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Trapped – The Spiritual Awakening Of Confinement |
By Kelly Wendorf
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene describes an alchemical nexus between limitation and limitlessness, between being human and being divine. She uses the term anthropos which translates as ‘someone who is fully human AND fully divine’. “He has prepared us so that we might become fully human,” she says. To become fully human is a modern translation of the words “to become an anthropos,” a completed human being, meaning someone who is fully awakened into their divine nature.
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The Men Of ROBE: Standing At The Intersection Of Fatherhood, Infant Mortality, Breastfeeding And Social Justice |
By Dave Metler, Reshma Grewal, and Lisa Reagan
In this series, Kindred supporters are invited to our virtual campfire to hear the Wisdom Council members of Reaching Our Brothers Everywhere, ROBE, share their inspired personal stories and vision for their national nonprofit work.
While ROBE’s Wisdom Council members seek to “educate, equip and empower” new fathers, they, and the fathers they serve, face racial and gender inequality, structural racism, and a persistent cultural myth of black fathers as absent fathers. A damaging and racist narrative rarely questioned, contradictory CDC data shows:
- Most black fathers live with their children. There are about 2.5 million who live with their children, and 1.7 million who don’t, according to the CDC.
- Black dads who live with their children are actually the most involved fathers of all, on average, a CDC study found.
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Why Every Day Must Be Indigenous Peoples’ Day For Life To Continue On Earth |
By Darcia Narvaez and Four Arrows
Western science does not promote ecological attachment, though some come to the sciences from an enchantment with nature. Instead, Western science and scholarship encourage detachment and “objectivity” (relational disconnection) with what is studied. In either case, the ecological crisis cannot be solved by continuing intellectual discussions. Even Western scientists are coming to realize that to act responsibly toward the natural world, one must care about it in a relational manner, as Indigenous science and worldviewpromotes. One must feel and act connected to the Earth. Efforts to restore nature connection and “rewild” human nature are spreading. Awareness of and respect for the intelligence of animals, plants and insects are increasing.
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If Machines Replace Teachers |
By Michael Mendizza
The first step in bringing education into the present and therefore the future, and simultaneously negate the suicidal implications of machine learning systems replacing nature and human beings and as role models, is to devote a significant portion of one’s education to discovering the limitations of thought and knowledge, including when thought works correctly and when it does not. This study will lead to a fundamentally new perception of one’s self-world-view and our relationship to the living world and all of nature, and bring new meaning to what we consider to be education.
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Building A Bridge Between Prenatal Psychology And Climate Change |
An Interview with Stephanie Mines, PhD
We can still make a difference. The difference is in connection. The difference is in being a voice for our living earth and the difference is in stewarding for the children of the future. The difference is in consciousness. It is actually an inner climate, and that’s what I want to speak to. That’s what this bridge consists of. It consists of consciousness. It consists of our capacity as adults to fulfill our responsibility as stewards for young children now, for young people and for the children of the future. To steward without awareness of the existential and physiological and literal crisis that we’re in, I feel, is in error.
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The Psychology Of Domestic Terrorists: Eliminationism |
By Darcia Narvaez, PhD
In Neiwert’s account, the two key characteristics that distinguish eliminationist rhetoric from other political discourse is the focus on an enemy within the society, which targets whole groups of people as “vermin,” “animals, “monsters,” and the advocacy of eliminating those people through civil or violent means. In the USA, eliminationists hate the idea of an inclusive America.
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By Dave Metler
Relational activism captures the behind-the-scenes, private sphere, community-building work performed primarily by women that makes any real social change possible. It highlights the importance of community, networks, and communication in contributing to long-term social change (O’Shaugnessy, 2010). Relational activism supports the idea that “relationships have greater agency than individual actors,” and values public and private sphere actions equally. Relational activism honors social change that happens within the daily routine and in daily relations with others.
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Creating a Post-Pandemic Caring Economy |
An Interview with Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and the Blade, and the new Nurturing Our Humanity
Interview Topics
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Once Upon A Terrible, Terrible Time... |
By Pam Leo
Recently, when I heard Rabbi Steve Leder on the Today Show, telling us, “Don’t come out of hell empty handed” his words stopped me in my tracks. I thought, “He is so right! We must make this tragedy count for something.” If we spend the time we have with our children this summer focusing on creating connections with them and teaching them to have empathy and compassion for others, the lessons our children learn can change their lives and the world, for the better, forever.
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The "What Happened To Mothering?" Series |
By Darcia Narvaez, PhD
The “What Happened To Mothering?” Series
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A Worldview Poster for You |
Old Story or New Story?
Left Brain or Right Brain?
Industrial or Holistic?
Dominator or Indigenous?
Disconnected or Connected?
Keep this chart handy over the coming months, as Kindred's editors and contributors are going deep into the territory of reclaiming our humanity as indigenous Earthbeings.. As a preview, you can read excepts of Kelly Wendorf's new book, Flying Lead Change, on Kindred that speaks to this integration process – with guidance from the horses she lives with and Kelly's moving stories of self-healing through indigenous wisdom. The chart was created by our new contributor and advisory board member, Four Arrows.
Download the worldview chart as a PDF or JPEG.
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Join the Eco-Attachment Dance! 28 Days of Nature Connection |
You, your children, your family are invited to discover ways to connect with nature, renew your ecological attachment, and restore your living connection to the Earth.
Take up the Eco Attachment Dance to expand your own ecological attachment through an Instagram challenge. Each day for 28 days an activity will be posted for you to practice that day. Each activity takes about 5 minutes (though you can go longer).
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Join the Eco-Attachment Dance! 28 Days of Nature Connection |
There is a lot of misinformation about babies and their needs, and parents are often encouraged to ignore baby’s signals. Bad idea. Babies are “half-baked” at birth and have much to learn with the help of physical and emotional support from caregivers. Taking care of baby’s needs is an investment that pays off with a happier, healthier child and adult. Here are 28 days of reminders about babies and their needs.
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28 Days of Self Calming for You |
Why is it important to be calm and learning self-calming away from fear, panic, anxiety or anger? Fear, panic, anxiety and anger are survival-oriented emotions that we are born with but can take over our personality, making it hard to get along with others or even feel well. They are distressing emotions and can put us in mindsets that leave us vulnerable to harmful attitudes and behaviors toward ourselves or others. They are also not good for physical health as they promote inflammation, an underlying cause of many diseases.
These daily practices are intended to give you ways to calm yourself down. You may find that some work better than others. These are ones that you should continue to do.
Enjoy the 28 Days of Self-Calming prompts on all of the Evolved Nest's social media outlets, or at the Evolved Nest's website. The Evolved Nest is a sister initiative of Kindred Media through Kindred World.
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Early Partnership Childhood Care: What Should Centers Provide? |
We are excited to unveil Evolved Nest’s Child Care Center Checklist. The Checklist has been created to help parents and guardians determine how well a child care center matches up with the components of the Evolved Nest. The checklist is intended to be supplemental to the other protocols a center has (e.g., infection prevention, abuse prevention, diaper change frequency).
This version has been updated to include music and art!
Please share widely.
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The human species seems to suffer from a collective amnesia at times, one that disallows us to remember our connection to life and our love for living: our unbrokenness. Do you remember the first time you walked on the earth, said hello to the sun, played with greatness, believed? How will we restore and nourish our connections to ourselves, family, community, nature and spirit in the coming year? Help us bring forward stories of connection this year with your donation today. Let's remember we've always been Kindred.
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We Won Great Nonprofit's Top-Rated Award, Again! |
Thank you to everyone who has supported Kindred's work over these many years. Read 74 five-star reviews from parents, professionals, and fans at our Great Nonprofits' website here. Kindred is an educational initiative and alternative media outlet of Kindred World.
"Kindred World is a unique voice in the arena of child and family advocacy. Their work brings a much needed perspective to the public. They invite needed exploration and discourse. This organization promotes a peaceful world that values child safety and families that thrive."
– Sarah MacLaughlin, October 6, 2020
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Kindred | www.KindredMedia.org |
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