Interdependence, #95

[Unidentified voice]:

program because typically in African cultures what we look at as art are not meant to be art in those communities. They're meant to be medicine or tools used to communicate ideas based on convention of what society that made them. So those psychological contentments embodied in the art are deeply what my passion and interest is.

[Unidentified voice]:

That's the whole foundation of starting the Booth Bay Sea and Science center was to really reach out to a segment of the population in Mid Coast Maine in allowing them the opportunity to be on the water and to learn about the environment. Because that's where the science part comes from, is to really understand our environment and to introduce a concept that oftentimes goes ignored because you are on the water and you don't really think about what's around you.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast show number 95, you Interdependence, airing for the first time on Sunday, July 7, 2013. Today's guests include Oscar Mokeme and Laila Hunt from the African center for the Sacred Arts at the Museum of African Culture and Pauline Dayon, President of the Budhpe Sea and Science Center. In Buddhism there is a concept known as interbeing. This is the relationship of individuals with one another. It is necessary for mutual coexistence. Truly, it is necessary for existence. Period. Rarely, if ever are we able to live successfully without the help of other people. If we can do so, we are still dependent upon the bounty of our environment, the sun, the rains, the plants and the creatures. We are interbeing with others, whether we realize it or not, and as such our actions impact those around us. An unkind word can harm a friendship. A thoughtless act can harm the world in which we live. We cannot always know how our words and actions will change the world around us. The best we can do is to attempt to live with mindfulness and care. If we know we are doing something of harm, we can choose to stop, no matter how difficult it may be. If we realize that we have unwittingly done something of harm, we can strive to make amends so that the same will not be repeated in the future. We are all interdependent and interbeing always. The more independent we believe ourselves to be, the less likely this is the case. Happy Independence Day weekend to my fellow interdependent American beings. Thank you for interbeing with me in this wonderful world. We hope you enjoy our interviews with Oscar Mukeme and Lila Hunt from the African center for the Sacred Arts at the Museum of African Culture, and Pauline Dion, president of the Booth Bay Sea and Science Center. I always enjoy being in the studio with a fellow healer. And today's guest is Oscar Morkeme from the African center for the Sacred Arts at the Museum of African Culture. He's the co founder and executive director, but he's also so much more. He is a healer and in fact has been introduced to me as such somebody that suggested that he be on the show. And this is what they said. They said you need to have this person in for that reason. And we also have with us Lila Hunt, who is the marketing director at the museum. So thank you for coming in today and talking with us.

[Unidentified voice]:

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Thank you, Oscar. The museum has had several different names and has been in at least a couple different places, but it's had some staying power here in Portland. You've had a lot of support from what I understand. You told me yesterday that it felt as though Portland needed this and needed the museum and needed you to be here. It called to you.

[Unidentified voice]:

Yes.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Tell me how that all began.

[Unidentified voice]:

Well, it was a long time ago when I was in college and it was 1982, I think. I was on spring break coming back from UK and somehow I lost my train ticket traveling from London to New York, New York to Boston. So in between New York and Boston, I couldn't find my train ticket and the man offered to pay for my ticket. And he happens to be a guy who owns the Mexicali Blues, Mexicali Blue, and his name is Pete. So Pete paid for my tickets and we became friends. And then after my divorce, he asked me to come to some old Paul festival in Portland, Maine. I never heard about Portland, Maine ever in my life. So I took a trip and said, you know, I'll come up and. And then I felt this synergy in Portland and Maine that there's a pool. Like, I had to be here. There's something here. And what Pete shared was he collects Mexican art, and I shared my passion and love for African art. And we sort of talk about collecting art and what they represented. And he kind of cited that Portland, Maine, is an art and cultural city that would love it. So when I came, I knew that I had an incredible collection of African art. I thought that could add to the cosmopolitan nature of what is here already. So I stayed. So I felt the state or the spirit of man invited me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

The African art that you have is from where you lived before you came here?

[Unidentified voice]:

Well, yes. I started collecting from Igbo culture, and then I spun to Nigerian culture. Then I began to travel throughout West Africa, exploring old families and old artists. I'm mostly interested in ritual and ceremonial implements and objects. And then from there extend to Central Africa, Southern Africa. My collection covers sub Saharan Africa. I didn't really work a lot in Northern Africa because the north seems more Arabic in style and culture and traditions. So most of the sub Saharan Africa. My quest was to visit every community, every village, and find something from every town and cultures within sub Saharan Africa. So the collection started to grow. But originally the idea was, you know, when I was 16, I had this essay I did for the World Health Organization about preserving a culture. And that earned me a fellowship to travel Europe and visit centers and museums. And while I was at the museum in London, I ran into African art. And I felt those were not properly displayed or informed. And I was a 16 year old. But I'm going to build a museum someday. And so that madness is what led to my addiction in collecting African art. I'm hoping that someday I want to build a museum.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So the madness of being a 16 year old, this addiction to African art, has now brought you to Portland, Maine, and are you continuing to collect African art?

[Unidentified voice]:

Absolutely. Absolutely. When I see, I prefer to collect from the villages and from communities in Africa, because when I do that, I get to learn who made those objects, what they were used for, what chants, what language, what form, what families owned them, and what other art that is related to that particular object and how they're used to communicate ideas. Because typically in African cultures, what we look at as art are not meant to be art in those communities. They're meant to be medicine or tools used to communicate ideas based on convention of what society that made them. So those psychological contentments embodied in the art are deeply what my passion and interest is.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I want to talk more about that because I find that Very interesting. But I want to ask Lila, why did you come to be interested in the museum and why did you make this your work?

[Unidentified voice]:

I've always been interested in Africa and I've wanted to travel there for many years. I was introduced to Oscar at a Tanzanian fundraiser and we just shared our love for the African art and called me in and it was great. It was very interesting. And I love the museum and I think it's very powerful with all the pieces and just having Oscar as such a healer also, and that drew me in.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, let's talk about that healing aspect of things. That's how I introduced this whole segment, is that you are a healer. I think somebody called you a medicine man when they got in touch with me. But it's a very different sort of healing than I think we talk about in Western traditions. Your healing and your abilities were something that came to you through your family.

[Unidentified voice]:

Yes. I think we believe that when God made us, he gave us different gifts and abilities. And within my family, there are different gifts that are given to different people. There are people who have the gift of knowledge and gift of understanding and wisdom gifts, gift of prophecy and gift of touching and singing and movement. So I think that the gift that was given to me when I was curated or was formed by God before I became a human being was the gift of visioning and seeing and having that deep understanding as I see certain things. And in most cases, I don't know what I'm seeing, but I can still, when I'm in that state, I can talk about, start talking about things, and it's up to the people to hear what is being said. And so I have that ability to be able to see certain things that people don't ordinarily see and feel people's energy as I feel it in my body, and I can touch certain aspects of the body and I can be guided to see, do this and do that, and I can put that together and put it in those parts of the body and that person gets Well, I think thinking of that aspect is to think from the end, to think from the harvest. And the harvest in that aspect is to is a comprehensive wellness approach.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Is this something that people seek you out for? Do they know that this is work that you do? And if so, how do they know this?

[Unidentified voice]:

Through Dr. Lisa's show.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So they're going to hear this interview and they will know and they will come find it.

[Unidentified voice]:

Yes, they will know more.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

But clearly new people knew about this before because they contacted me to say that you should come in and be a guest.

[Unidentified voice]:

Yes. Well, I don't really have a marketing tool or advertise what I do because I think that the practice is such of sacred and it's not like a hamburger, you buy a McDonald's. And so people who have somehow we get in touch and they experience that experience will tell other people and it's just word of mouth telling different people. And they will come and say, well somebody said I should come and see you. And I've also had different workshops and seminars where people can gather and I will do a presentation and some people may try to test the water to see if this is real. And I've seen often when I do workshop there are physicians, there are researchers in the audience. I've done healing the healers in Iceland, I've done workshops at Harvard, I've done workshops at Columbia, especially after the 9 11. I led like about two week session in New York and so many places, Vanderbilt Medical School and Una working with doctors and physician assistants and sort of. So this gets around and people come to those seminars and to explore ways or gain certain tools they can use in their own practice.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What you're describing goes beyond the more traditional idea of physical healing and it does get into this, the spiritual healing. And in fact it's the African center for the Sacred Arts. So there is this sacredness, this spirituality. How do people respond to that? When you say to them something like in order for you to be healed, you need to work with your spirit.

[Unidentified voice]:

There are people who understand and there are those who don't. And there are those who have tried so many practices and modalities and still are stagnant or stuck in where they are somehow. When they come to one of my presentations, it could be the new moon ceremony or the mask of the month event. And then they can experience how I work with other people. And then it opens up that spiritual aspect of themselves that they have never explored. And it's a wow moment for somebody to realize that we are all spiritual being. And Tylenol can actually stop headache temporary. But when you connect to the source that give you life, which is inside of us, that is where the healing begins. A lot of what we see in medical practices are like bandage where we put a coat over a wound. But if you can actually go to the source of the wound by tracking it, that is what the healers call tracking or journey with the person to get to the beginning of it and begin that to correct the corrosions to the. You know, we start from the beginning to where we are now, that brings about a wholeness in healing, completeness. So people are often challenged when they hear about spiritual healing or transformation. And that is the only way, really, I think we can heal and overcome certain obstacles.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You also work with healing through art. And in fact, you work with Mecca here in Portland, and you have a very strong presence in the art community. How do you blend the art and the healing and to help people to transform through the art that you offer?

[Unidentified voice]:

Well, like I said, growing up with what we see as African art and not art, they're tools used in healing. They're the syringes, they're the laboratory where you go to get a blood test. So when you look at the art, art the way that you know the art has a power. There's an intention behind composing the art. When I teach at Men College of Art, I want the students to define who they are, who are you? And it's from that aspect that you can then create what you think it is that you are. And you have to understand who you are completely and then explore those elements and whatever feelings and emotions that we have in us. And from that place, you can begin to see a way to communicate that process with Mecca students and Mecca community. We have a parade we call Ebone, which is coming up on May 5, and it's a procession of the ram. This is probably about the 10th year that has been around. And what I do with that is to create a theme of healing. It could be clarity as a process. And people who are not clear about their journey, they can come to the workshops during the invocation of the ram and making masks. I want them to focus on what is it that you're not clear about. If you have one thing that you need to clear in your life, what is it? So that becomes a release aspect of making something. When we talk about rituals, rituals are sort of prayers. But you have to. The key to the healing is to be able to recognize. And when you recognize what it is, and you'll be able to name that thing, and then you can then remove yourself from whatever obstacle those things are. And that thing become not essential part of us, then you are healed from it. So that ritual of making something and naming that thing and removing that thing from us becomes a process of healing. So when you look at a mask that is yellow in the face, it talks about that mask brings about healing. And then you begin to process what aspect of you needs to be healed through looking at that contact. And you make a contact to a particular spot in our body that needs to be healed. If we lack strength or vitality, we're not motivated. So we look at a mask with horns. So those horns becomes a contact point that activate and charges that strength and inner power of us. So I want them to connect to that strength in them. Some people don't really know that they have this inner strength or inner abilities to manifest what they desire. They want somebody else to do it for them. So when you use those symbols such as horn and the color yellow to bring about their focus into themselves, it. A lot of things do happen. And people that when you look at the mask with the teeth, the teeth represent the rule of law, which is the greatest law, is love. And you can ask them, but who do you love? And they say, my husband. So I would say, okay, do you love your husband more than you love yourself? And I go, oh, yeah, give him everything. I said, so you love yourself less than you love your husband? Oh, so instead of confusion, you know, filters in. So do I love this guy more and I love myself less? So a shift begins to happen in them. No, I need to love myself more. So if you love somebody less than you love yourself, you're actually on the right path because you're going to love yourself more. And when you have much love for self, then you have plenty to give to your husband, your children. But if you feel you love, love somebody more than you love yourself, then you don't really have love. You're just patronizing those people to care for you. You're being dependent on somebody else thinking that is love. So these are how these arts are used to kind of change the way people look at things, and what they're looking at will change.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We'll return to our program in a Moment on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast. We've long understood the important link between health and wealth. Here to speak more on the subject is Tom Shepard of Shepherd Financial. Last week, I received a call from somebody's client.

[Unidentified voice]:

For many people, the first financial advisor was a friend.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You helped them get started, and they helped you. Unfortunately, for many, the friend moved on and you became somebody's client. You've since experienced a lot, been through a lot, changed a lot, and you

[Unidentified voice]:

still want a lot.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

But your friend is no longer there. Now it's time once again to find

[Unidentified voice]:

a friend to help you get reconnected to your money. If you feel like a number instead of a person, go to www.shepherdfinancialmain.com.

[Unidentified voice]:

we think you'll discover a friendlier approach.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

One of the terms that you. That you brought up during my conversation with you yesterday was spiritual bankruptcy. That you feel that perhaps in this country, and maybe not specific to Maine, but perhaps in the United States, that we do have a spiritual bankruptcy, a disconnection with the spirit. Why do you think that this has happened?

[Unidentified voice]:

I think because we focus more on material desires. There's a lot of passion for materialism. If you see me driving a Rolls Royce, oh, people will like you more if they think you live in. In a very nice community, a village such as Cape Elizabeth or Falmouth or Forsyth. Then there's a classification of how you are looked at and perceived. Your zip code talks a lot about who you are, the kind of car you drive. But then. And then we forget the inner being, the boh. The being in us. We don't look at people who. Who they are, what gifts and qualities, what is their connection to the source? What is their connection to the spirit? A thief can have a Rolls Royce. A thief, a person with nothing in them but evil intentions, can live in a very nice neighborhood and still revere by people. But a very kind person who's very generous, who's devoted to this service and bringing glory to God's name name can live in a very different neighborhood and people wouldn't even recognize them. So that is a bankrupt way of being, connecting to the spirit. So when I look at this society in the not just America, the world is becoming that spiritual bankrupt in the sense that we are all being driven by our material desires and not connecting to the spirit. That thirst and hunger for our connection and especially connecting with each other. We're not connected with one another. We probably think that certain people are better than other people. But we don't recognize that all people have something to offer in the world society.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What about the connection with nature? Is that Something that you think has become less important over time to people who live in this country?

[Unidentified voice]:

It has absolutely become much, much less important. But it's coming back with programs like this and a lot of publication. There's a lot of people who are connecting. It's like we are reaching back to nature. Perhaps it might be guilt or fear out of the global warming, so to speak, that people talk about global warming and everybody panic. So there are people who are truly connected to nature and the source of creation. And there are people who want to connect because they are afraid of what may happen. I've been to churches, I do services in church and different places. And sometimes you see a lot of people who come to church. And these are people who may come to my workshop and say, well, you think that this Jesus guy actually came here to save you? And they were like, no, I don't think so. So what are you doing in the church? I'm just there to meet friends. So you are using church to make friends for your own self interest? I guess so. So you see, people can sit in a church and thinking they can make a change, or in a mosque or synagogue, it doesn't matter how long you sit in a garage, it can never be a car. And in the same way, it doesn't matter how long you sit in the church, that spiritual essence cannot manifest unless you are actually truly sincere and honest that you want to transform that spiritual aspect of us. And you don't need to be in a church to manifest that it can be in nature. And I've talked to kids in high school and said, have you ever touched a grass or a tree and it's, oh, tree hugger. So these are really struggle with again, technology, influence of technology into our children's lives and into our homes distracts our kids and people from connecting with nature. And it's essential that we send our children and not just our children. We go to the ocean, we go to the mountain, we spend time in the woods. We be in silence and reconnect with that essence and listen. We don't listen enough to really hear what the universe may say to us. We're always talking. If you hear people praying, they're always talking. God, give me this, give me that, give me that. They never listen to hear what is God actually saying to you? So we're busy vomiting the things we think we want, but we're not listening to hear what the feedback may be. So these are all spiritual bankruptcy, in my view.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Some of the work that I know you do through the Museum has to do with food?

[Unidentified voice]:

Yes.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And I'm wondering what the relationship between food and culture and spirituality might be. Why has this become an important part of what you offer?

[Unidentified voice]:

It's all connected. You know, we. Some people say we're vegetarians. Some people say we're not vegetarian. At times, I would take students to a farm or to Nigeria, and I say, okay, who's a vegetarian? And they would show who's not. What do you want to eat? They say they want to eat chicken. And I said, okay, you see that chicken over there? Catch it. No, it's such a little bird. But, you know, chicken we buy at Hannaford supermarket is a bird. And if you eat veget, if you're vegetarian, the vegetables you eat are plants. These plants have life in them, and you approach them with love and respect and let the grace they carry feed you. When you kill an animal violently because you want to eat them, that animal that you ate, the energy goes into us and actually evokes certain trigger, certain violent aspect of our being in us. When you are making medicine, you approach a plant, you speak to the plant, tell the plant what you want to do, then you pluck it at a certain time of the morning. That essence gives you the complete medicine that you need to work with, to help somebody. But if you go to our garden and just pluck a plant, you actually provoke the plant. That plant is not giving you love. So this is the essence of planting your vegetables, gently plucking and communicating with your plants, and then cooking it in your kitchen. Our kitchen is mostly one of the most sacred spaces in our homes. That is where you prepare the meal to feed your body and your mind and your children. Can you imagine husband and wife or partners who sit in their kitchen arguing while they're cooking? That energy goes into the meal. This meal contains water. Water is powerful. Whatever emotions you're expressing, water captures them. So you take this water that you've poisoned and cook a meal in argument. You put the meal on the table. You are actually feeding on a poison, and there's no love in it. So with the sort of education we want to do, what we call it participatory edible exhibition, people have to participate in that meal. The way it's exhibited is. Is cooked with love, with prayer that this. May this meal, whoever planted this vegetable, may the hand they use be blessed. May the plant crop itself, the seed that germinated those plants, we give thanks for them. And this meal is prepared serenely and very, very special and is served. And often the. The Meal is blessed. It's like having a holy communion in a church. And that is what we try to offer. When you prepare meal with love and the conversation around it is discussed with love, it brings family together. There's a synergy of healing that takes place during those things. And my hope is that when people experience this participatory edible exhibition, they practice it at home. How to be mindful of the kind of food they buy and what store that you have to patronize to buy a food or crop that are carefully grown. If you eat meat, what farm do you buy your meat? The chickens you buy in package wrapped in plastic, where did they come from? How long has they been around? Even though you bite them, do you bless the that animal? Do you offer prayers over? Just rip it up and put it in the stove. So these are. Being mindful of what we feed our body, like our thoughts, is very essential in healing. Just the words we say to ourselves are food. The words you say are prophecies. These are thoughts. Thoughts are energy. Remember they said that God created the universe with words. Let there be light. He said that and there came light. If you say to somebody I love you, they can hear you and they can feel it. If you say to somebody I hate you, they move away from you. So these are words that have energy. And if you say to your partner or if you don't say to your partner, I love you, I care for you, they'll be wondering if you really do, even though you feel this in your heart. But if you don't say it, the other person, the energy doesn't come out. So what sort of words do you speak around your kitchen? What sort of words do you feed your mind? What sort of words do you feed your children? So these are very important meal to feed our whole being. And that is why we do these culinary edible exhibitions. And we want more people to come to it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Lila, what types of events do you have going on within the African center for the Sacred Arts at the Museum of African Culture?

[Unidentified voice]:

Well, we have a bunch of monthly events coming up and our first one is a coffee ceremony on April 30th at 9:30 in the morning at the museum, we will explore some Tanzanian art and then every month it will change to a different exhibition. We also will have children's museum activities as another monthly event and a mask discussion like Oscar had said, based on the theme or the exposure expedition that we have in the museum May 7, we also have a new moon ceremony. Do you want to expand on that?

[Unidentified voice]:

Well, the Activity is coming. There's a Tanzanian exhibit coming at the Portland Museum of Art. So we hope to partner with Children Museum and the Portland Museum of Art to create different experiences. The exhibition will be at the Portland Museum of Art and at the spot. We want to share Tanzanian culture and spirituality at our center and at the Children's Museum. We want to have activities where the children can make masks and get involved in learning about these cultures and mask making to express themselves and who they are. And it will be on the museum's website and Children Museum and theatre website. Every month we went to this new idea of Mask of the month. Mask of the Month is where we pick a particular mask at the museum. It could be dealing with letting go and people we gather who may have issues they want to let go. And then we'll explore that idea of letting go. It could be idea of a theme about limitations and restrictions. So we look at issues where people are stagnant at this limitation, self image impose. Are these restrictions self imposed or is there something they inherited or is there something they married into and how ways and rituals to get themselves out of it. The new moon ceremony comes every month when there's a crescent moon. We have this program and the idea is that we use the Christian moon to create an idea, an intention that you want to realize by the full moon. And if it's a healing, we start discussing the issue when there's a Christian moon using the lunar cycle to manifest a particular issue that must be completed by the full moon. If it's a release, when the moon begins to go away, we begin to release and let go those things that doesn't work for us. And then of course the culinary dinner once a month will come to explore the idea of sharing meal and preparing this meal and having a communion and connecting with the spirit of the food that we eat as we nurture ourselves. And of course first Friday monthly artwork will be open to show people what we do. There will be constantly different exhibitions coming up and we have three main galleries. The Contemporary gallery, the Heritage hall is where we try to showcase art from different African communities that have made Maine their home. And then our permanent collection is a world class collection of masks which has no equal match as far as I know. So these are the set of programs we'll be doing and more programs will continue to emerge. We continue to have educational outreach program where we're going to schools or schools coming to to us. And we encourage a lot of schools or people who are associated with schools to reach out and bring our program to their school. We have London Library of Resources. These are touch kits that schools can check out from our center like you check out books in library and bring them into classrooms. So there's a lot going on. We also have travel Exhibit, a collection of particular themed objects that can travel travel to other university galleries or other museums. And I will continue to collaborate with a lot of other nonprofits and communities to enrich our world.

[Unidentified voice]:

And you can find out about all of our events on our website as well as our Facebook page.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yes, well, I appreciate your coming in and speaking with us today. We've been talking with Oscar Markeme, who is the co founder and Executive Director of the African center for the Sacred Arts at the Museum of African Culture, and also Lila Hunt who is the Marketing Director at the museum. And the museum is right here in Portland. I encourage our listeners to find out more about the museum, to engage in some of the events that you've described, and to go visit. I think that this is an amazing cultural resource for the city of Portland where very fortunate to have you here.

[Unidentified voice]:

Thank you. Thank you very much.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We on the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast hope that our listeners enjoy their own work lives to the same extent we do and fully embrace every day. As a physician and small business owner, I rely on Marcy Booth from Booth Main to help me with my own business and to help me live my own life fully. Here are a few thoughts from Marcy

[Unidentified voice]:

no matter what we do for work, there's always a busy season and it's very easy to become overwhelmed by all that needs doing. This is when one word needs to come to mind. Perspective. When we need to remember that no matter what, we all work hard to do our best and get things done efficiently and in a timely manner. At the end of the day, we need to look at what we've accomplished for the day and not obsess with what we didn't get done. Our to do list or our inbox will never be empty. If it ever was. That would be kind of disappointing, don't you think? The nature of your in basket is that it's meant to have things in it. In fact, it could be argued that a full basket is essential for success. It means your time is in demand. A favorite line from a John Lennon song I sing to my girls is Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans. It rings so true when it gets hectic. We need to acknowledge the fact that nothing is more important than our own sense of happiness and inner peace very little in our lives. It truly falls into the emergency category, albeit some fall into urgency. But there is a significant difference. If we stay focused and prioritize, it will all get done. It always does. So when it gets a bit crazy in work or in life, remind yourself of what you've accomplished accomplish during that day. You'll be amazed and feel good about what's coming down the pike. For tomorrow, I'm Marci Booth. Let's talk about the changes you need. Boothmain.com

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

One of my favorite things to do as the Host of the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour is to find the interesting things that are happening within the state of Maine that have to do with wellness and wellness from sort of a different vantage point. So today I'm going to be speaking with Pauline Dion, who is on the Board of Directors with the Booth Bay Region Land Trust and is also the president of the Booth Bay Sea and Science Center. And she's going to talk to me about some sort of Earth Wellness related things that she and her organizations have been doing. Thanks for coming in and talking to us today.

[Unidentified voice]:

Thank you Dr. Lisa, for having me. It's an honor and a privilege to be here.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Now, Pauline, you've been doing work for many different organizations and you're on the boards of some pretty impressive things. The First Radio Parish Church of America is one that I know. I know Peter Panagar, so I know that that's one that's really important and reaches a lot of people. Kickstart the Booth Bay Harbor Memorial Library Main Preservation. You've been really involved in the community for quite a while. Why is this sort of work important to you?

[Unidentified voice]:

Volunteering has been a big part of my adult life. I feel very strongly that there comes a point in time that we have to give back to the community and all of These, if you really look at them closely, really relate to each other. I enjoy doing things for children. It is a focus of my attention in most of the fundraising that I do. The ymca, the Land Trust, they all have a component of children's programming. And I really enjoy getting involved with my community and getting to know my community and all the stratas of my community. And so I feel very privileged and to have been very, very welcomed and enjoy the challenge and the opportunities.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So one of the things that you are involved in is sailing. Why sailing? What is it about sailing that particularly appeals to you?

[Unidentified voice]:

Well, I grew up in Maine, inland Maine, in a large family. And so I was not near the water, and we used to take trips to the ocean, and I used to see sailboats out on the water. And remember remarking to my dad that one day I was going to be on one of those sailboats. And I went to college in Newport, Rhode island, where I had the opportunity to be close to the water and had the opportunity of getting on a boat. And I was hooked the minute I got on a sailboat. And after that, I'm graduating from college. I had the good fortune of meeting people who own sailboats, and eventually I was able to be an owner of a sailboat and move to Booth Bay Harbor. And since then, it's just been a passion. And I think having the opportunity to introduce children to sailing, because I would have loved to have done it when I was a child, really has been the driving force behind why I'm so involved in children sailing programs and why I feel so strongly about the Booth Bay Sea and Science Center.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I can't go any further without asking how many people you had, how many children were in your family? Because I come from a family of ten. I'm the oldest. And so when people say they come from large families, I immediately feel a kinship.

[Unidentified voice]:

I come from a family of eight, and I'm number five out of eight. And the way I describe my position in the family is that the top of the bottom. And I have four brothers and three sisters, all of whom live here, except for my one sister. I have one sister who lives in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And where in Maine did you grow up?

[Unidentified voice]:

I grew up in Minot, Maine, actually was born in Lewiston, moved to Minot, and grew up on a produce farm. So had the opportunity to really appreciate hard work and teamwork and what it's like to help your family. And I have the good fortune now, hopefully, of helping other families, and that gives me a great amount of pleasure.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So you've talked to us about sailing and the sort of pull that it had for you even as a child living in Minot. And you've talked to me about the importance of children. Are these the reasons that you decided to develop the Booth Bay Sea and Science Center?

[Unidentified voice]:

There are some of the reasons really. I had. I've been chairing a junior sailing program at the Booth Bay Hariyad Club and I the population of children are 8 year olds and older. I wanted to introduce a new aspect of sailing to the community and I wanted it to be community based. I wanted it to be affordable. I to wanted. I wanted to reach interests that weren't being quite filled. For instance, the eight year olds oftentimes have brothers and sisters who would come with them to the program and they would ask to stay and they were the five, six and seven year olds. And then I had sailors who were older who really didn't want to be on a 420 sailing sailboat. It's a keelboat. Really didn't want to be on that because typically it's learn how to race but would have loved to have been on a fixed keelboat. So I thought that by starting the Booth Bay Sea and Science Center I would be able to introduce the younger children early on to the sport of sailing, make it affordable and accessible. Waterfront is not as affordable and accessible as possible. People think probably not as affordable, but it's not as accessible as you think it can be. So introducing a community program that allowed for accessibility not only for children and families and adults, but also for disabled sailors. There's a move afoot to retrofit boats which I intend to do being on the board of Kickstart that's developing into a therapeutic writing stable. And we are going to collaborate on producing programs together for people who children and adults who have disabilities. So that's the whole foundation of starting the Booth Bay Sea and Science center was to really reach out to a segment of the population in mid coast Maine in allowing them the opportunity to be on the water and to learn about the environment. Because that's where the science part comes from, is to really understand our environment and to introduce a concept that oftentimes goes ignored because you are on the water and you don't really think about what's around you. So it's an exciting. And Bigelow Labs I'm very fortunate to have as one of my collaborators. So

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

the goal of the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour is to help make connections between the health of the individual and the health of the community. The goal of Ted Carter Inspired Landscapes is to deepen our appreciation for the natural world. Here to speak with us today is Ted Carter.

[Unidentified voice]:

In working with clients, I ask them to select the three windows in their house that they most often look through. In doing so, it starts to make them acutely aware of the fact that they spend so much of their lives inside their houses looking out and not the other way around. They're actually when in reflecting, they actually are surprised to think how little they do actually go outside. So I think that we need to really be cognizant of the fact that this is the way a good design is implemented. We see it from a multitude of directions. There's also an unfolding of space that takes place as we enter the property and move through the space. These static pieces, these pieces of architecture that I install in the landscape, which are actually the plants and the trees and the semi dwarf trees, they start to move as you move through the landscape and they start to address certain things in your landscape. These are all subtle things that can make a huge difference in the way your landscape is designed and the way that it speaks to you. I'm Ted Carter and if you'd like to contact me, I can be reached@tedcarterdesign.com

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

At the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast we believe we are helping to build a better world with the help of many. We we like to bring to you people who are examples of those building a better world in the areas of wellness, health and fitness. To talk to you today about one of these fitness is Jim Greaterix, the president of Premier Sports Health, a division of Black Bear Medical. Here's Jim.

[Unidentified voice]:

Black Bear Medical is Maine's premier medical equipment provider for over 25 years. We have a great selection of seat, lift, chairs, power and manual mobility devices, walking aids, home accessibility solutions such as stair glides and ramps and products to make your bathroom safer. If you or a loved one have needs to remain independent at home, come in and meet with our experienced staff at Black Bear medical down on 275 Marginal Way in Portland and see why we are mains number one choice for home medical equipment. I'm Jim Greatorex, president of Black Bear Medical. Come on in and see our trained staff down at 275 Marginal Way and at www.blackbearmedical.com.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

going from the Booth Bay Sea and Science center to the Booth Bay Land Trust. I know that you the Booth Bay Region Land Trust, I know that you have an event called A Taste for Place and Maine magazine is a media sponsor. This is August 15th. This is kind of an interesting thing that you've been working on and a lot of work going from sea to land. You're managing to juggle both. Tell me about this event that's coming up.

[Unidentified voice]:

It's a very special event. We've not had an event like this. We were inspired somewhat by the Kennebunk festival that's coming up next week for you and we decided to try it. The land Trust owns a lot of conservation property. It has property on islands and we thought we would call it island Dining but decided that it would lock us in if we wanted to do something in the future because we don't have that many islands. One of the islands that the land Trust has property on is Indiantowne island. And it also has connections to Hunting Island. So we decided that we had two of three places that we could do these dinners. That it is the only major fundraiser for the Booth Bay Region Land Trust for the summer. We have an onshore location. Maine Home and Design has some familiarity with each of these residences. And in fact, the ocean cliff that's on Spruce Point was on the COVID of the August issue of Maine Home and Design. So we decided to try it and what it is, it's an evening and actually has two events that evening. There's the dining event and then there's a cocktail party. We had the idea of getting all the diners together at the Booth Bay harbor shipyard to meet because two of the places they have to go by boat, both islands and one place they can go by land. And then we thought about the ticket price was high and it was a little bit exclusive and we decided that we needed to open it up to the community again. Another community based event. So we decided to expand into a cocktail party. So the cocktail party is from 5 to 7 at the booth Bay Harbor Shipyard. Dinner guests, everyone will meet there, including cocktail guests. And then the dinner guests will go on their boat at 6 o', clock, 5 to 6. They'll enjoy the cocktail party, leave, go on the boat to their islands or their dining Locations. And then the cocktail party goers will be there from five to seven. We have a jazz band, we'll have beverages and hors d'.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Oeuvres.

[Unidentified voice]:

We decided to end the event at seven, being very mindful and respectful of the other things that go on in town. As you know, Booth Bay harbor is a very busy destination resort. And so we decided to really be mindful of that. And being at the Booth Bay Harbor Shipyard. We're right downtown, Booth Booth Bay Harbor. So we're going to encourage everyone once they leave the party to go and go to the local restaurants and patronize the local events that are going on in the area.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What does the Booth Bay Region Land Trust do with the money that it earns in these events?

[Unidentified voice]:

The Booth Bay Region Land Trust uses the money to support their education programs and just overall preservation of their properties. They have a lot of acreage and it requires a lot of maintenance. Access to the properties is free. And maintaining trails, kiosks, and also doing education programs up at the school. Bringing the land trust to the schools and teaching children how to be sensitive to their environment and how to preserve the environment. Again, a great fit with the Booth Bay Sea and Science Center. How do we all take care of our water and our land and making the connection? You probably can see where the connection comes from in terms of what I'm doing and what groups I join. So it's been worthwhile. And this is the third event that I chair for them, third summer event. And it's been a challenge, but it'll be fabulous and we're really looking forward to it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And there are also fundraising events that take place annually to benefit the Booth Bay Sea and Science center as well.

[Unidentified voice]:

Yes, we have our fifth annual nautical auction coming up this summer. It will be at the Booth Bay Harbor Shipyard, which is down on Commercial street in Boothbay Harbor. It will go. All proceeds will go to benefit the Booth Bay and Science Center. It will be on Friday, July 19, beginning at 4:00', clock from 4 to 5:30. There are several aspects of this nautical auction. 4 to 5:30 will be a preview of the live auction, a cash and carry and a silent auction. And then beginning at 5:30 to 7 will be a live auction. And we always look for donations. So. But it's. You can go on our website for Booth Basie and Science center for more information in terms of a way of getting involved if you want or please come. And it's great fun. We have an auctioneer. And again, all the proceeds go to benefit the Boothbay C and Science center and that website again is www.boothbaycandsciencecenter.com.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

and how can people find out about the Booth Bay Region Land Trust?

[Unidentified voice]:

They can go to the it's bbrlt.org

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

www well Pauline, you are a very busy woman. Sounds like you've really put a lot of yourself into Maine. The waters, the land. And based on your growing up time with your large family on the produce farm in Minot, it sounds like you've gone from great beginnings to an even greater presence. So thank you so much for all that you're doing for science, children, land, water and thank you for coming and talking to us today. We've been speaking with Pauline Dayan who is on the board of the Booth Bay Region Land Trust and also as the President of the Booth Bay Sea and Science center.

[Unidentified voice]:

And I thank you very much for having me and for giving the Booth Bay Sea and Science center and the Booth Bay Region Land Trusts an opportunity to reach your audience. So thank you.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You have been listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast show number 95, Interdependence. Our guests have included Oscar Mokeme, Lila Hunt and Pauline Dion. For more information on our guests, visit drlisabelisle.com the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and Podcast is downloadable for free on itunes. For a preview of each week's show, sign up for our E newsletter and like our Dr. Lisa Facebook page. You can also follow me on Twitter and Pinterest Dr. Lisa and read my take on health and well being on the Bountiful Blog. We love to hear from you, so please let us know what you think of the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour. We welcome your suggestions for future shows. Also let our sponsors know that you have heard about them here.

[Unidentified voice]:

Here.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We are privileged that they enable us to bring the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour to you each week. This is Dr. Lisa Belisle hoping that you have enjoyed our interdependence show. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day. May you have a bountiful life.