Peace Journey Book Launch February 15 through Mother's Day 2015

No Time Like The Present

Staying Focused on What Matters!

Ok, so I have taken writing marketing classes, communicated with successful authors & publicists as well as social media gurus and have a pretty good handle on next steps for my book launch.  Having a small budget makes the whole process daunting, but with the help of people at Amazon,  I have decided to self-publish and get this show on the road.

I wanted to get my book out late last year, but due to a series of health issues and events, I felt the universe was telling me to wait.  And so I did.  And now, it makes sense since Peace Journey; Seven Paths to a Charmed Life is all about love and the heart, so bookending the launch starting on Valentines Day promoting through Mother's Day clearly has helped me to commit.

My life has been filled with creating PeaceJourney.com trips from scratch, no excel spreadsheet action, all trips sponsored and most importantly, listening to my intuition and trusting my instincts.  You might think this no different!  But I have found, that it is different and the reason why?  It's because it is so personal to write a book and share a piece of yourself, your story and your views.  

Soon, I will be launching a CrowdFunding Campaign so that everyone who cares about our success can participate in it!  

I look forward to an amazing campaign, with your help and the help of your heart! 

Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz (Facebook)

Supported by PeaceSpaProducts.org (Facebook & Website)

PEACE JOURNEY Seven Paths Venue Search for Songwriting Camp 2015 Underway

PEACE JOURNEY Venue Search Taking Us Down More than Seven-Paths!

www.peacejourney.com

Saturday was a day-trip for us to look at a farm music event venue for our upcoming songwriting/concert camp, on a very cold and blustery early fall Illinois day. 

Stonehouse Farm is only 1 hour and a half from downtown Chicago, but working 2-GPS systems simultaneously gave us two different directions to go in.  We decided to chose the road less traveled, adding another 45 glorious country road minutes to our drive.

Cornfields were abundant.  After a few years working at sponsorKIDS to promote healthy food in our local schools, I learned about all the corn that is being grown for sucrose in Illinois, eliminating many other crops that could be grown for food.  All I can tell you is growing up in Ohio with it's abundant cornfields, I have never seen as many cornfields as on the back roads trip to Stonehouse Farm near Sandwich, Illinois. 

We passed a small sign announcing Stonehouse Farm and immediately pulled in.  We first noticed that the farm's wood fences on the property needed repair and a coat of creosote or paint.  Following the driveway to the front porch of a mid-size barn-like structure,  we walked inside, where we found  a chef preparing food for that nights sweat lodge.  We sat down to enjoy coffee and meet the primary owner.  The building was rustic and cozy.

I had read about Yurts, the temporary tent structures around the farm that sleep 2 to 8 people each, depending on the size.  These are the only accommodations currently available outside acres of campsites on the premises. Rachel, the assistant in charge of events (oh and by the way, also an anthropologist and gourmet French Chef),  drove us around the property in a bright yellow one-seater golf cart as we viewed the campgrounds, garden and compost area, overnight parking for 500 cars, newly constructed showers, the pond, a sweat lodge, a large area where a stage can be erected, a grassy field large enough to accommodate up to 2,500 music concert goers on the lawn and barns, where yoga and other performances could be held.

The actual Stonehouse Farm four-bedroom house is to be rehabbed, but it doesn't sound like that will be completed in time for our event in 2015

Our songwriting camp needs to house about 30 to 40 people plus our production crew, and Stonehouse Farm would be a rustic choice with a lot of hidden costs. 

But I keep thinking that the best creativity happens when we are close to nature. And I also remember Woodstock, although this would be a much smaller and less celebrity driven undertaking.  So, I am getting out the spreadsheet and seeing how viable this venue might be for 2015.   

I do know this: the spirit of the land is amazing and it just felt good to meet people so grounded in what matters for the use of the land. On the way back, we drove past Aurora University.  It's beautiful and I understand they have a fine music school there that could be an asset to our project.  

So the search for the perfect home for Peace Journey Seven Paths songwriting camp and concert continues. Please leave a message if you know another location like Stonehouse Farm, a spiritual retreat,  or a venue that collectively cares about community and nature, in and around the Midwest and within 3 to 5 hours from Chicago that might work for us in 2015.  

I have no choice but to run down parallel paths looking for just the right home. And it's fun to explore all the options as this important decision will lead us to find what we hope will become a permanent and annual home for us to live, create and breath for peace.  

We are charting our next Peace Journey Adventure Trip 2016 to Peru where we will explore with high school students the amazing rain forest and indigenous people as we work on a deeper connection with the earth.  Stay tuned. 

Thank you. 
Jeannette Barcelos Kravitz
jkravitz@peacejourney.com

www.peacejourney.com

www.peacejourney.com/blogFull Blog

WHAT ARTISTS WORK WELL FOR PEACE JOURNEY MUSIC CAMP 2015?

Music Genres of Folk, Beatbox, Blues, Country, Motown, Rock and Roll, Hip Hop and Spoken Word.

My entire life, I have loved music.  From my early youth singing in the church choir through high school, listening to my dad play the guitar and sing old country tunes, I knew it was the art form that touched me more than any other.  And this feeling is even more intense today.

I don't play an instrument, but I love to sing.  The art of music composition fascinates me and the way people react to music's now, scientifically proven powers,  is something I have known in my heart since I was a child.

In 2015 we will be producing another amazing songwriting camp and performance arts show to help heal the world.  The more I learn about the positive aspects of music on the brain and how music affects our emotional outlook on life,  the more I am convinced that this art form can bring peace to our lives, to the world and inspire change.  

Our next "camp" will feature professionals from the music industry from folk, blues, country, Beatbox, Motown, rock and roll, hip hop and spoken word.  We are reaching out to musicians, songwriters, composers and more who want to help promote social change in small or big ways in their art form, in the way they lead their lives and how they treat the world.  It can be fun, uplifting, poetic, and or confrontational.  It's all good if it's good and moves the spirit.

Who are some of the artists you know and love that you could recommend for us 

to reach out to, or visa versa? They can be known or unknown, 

but we need a short bio and links sent via email.

Please share this post with artists you admire or know on 

Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and more!  

Together we can build an amazing roster for the 

Peace Journey 2015 writing and performance camp.

Send recommendations to: jkravitz@peacejourney.com

Our team is looking at a variety of unique concert venues in the USA to host the event, and are in discussions with partners, media and camp professionals! 

Stay tuned and we look forward to your ideas! 
JBK

Respect to Mother Earth

I love the earth...

Today, as I looked outside my office window, onto the vast sea of beautiful architecture in Chicago's landscape and breathe in the cool, crisp fall air, I was drawn outside, for there was a big surprise, yet another cluster of green beans in a pot I planted earlier this year.  And several variety of mint for my favorite drink Mojitos, flourishing and growing all summer long, and looking as fresh as the day they were planted.


In my sweatshirt and yoga pants, I took it all in and was overwhelmed by a sense of gratefulness to be here at this time and place, enjoying the pace of the city outside my door while basking in the chill with plants that may not be around in month when the planet brings in it's fall chill and renewal winter.

So for this moment, I wanted to reach out to each of you and ask; "Do you love the earth, our home?"  Do you treasure as often as possible, the gifts of food and flowers, of sunrises and senses of sea, forests, mountains and deserts, and sunsets of vibrant color, put on each day and night as a gift from our planet and for our pleasure?  

I can only think at this moment how care for our earth just cannot simply be a political issue.    What matters is that we show love for Mother Earth in the way we care for her and nourish her existence, while not destroying the very important and essential elements that help her thrive and survive for herself, for all the animals and insects, the plants and fish and for each of us.

Climate change arguments have been raging for so long.  I am not a scientist.  But I know intuitively that without caring for something you love, it will not flourish and it will struggle to survive.  

Please, just give some thought to Mother Earth tonight, as you watch the sunset and again in the morning, as she graces us with her morning light.  And think about what we each can do to treat her with the love and respect she so deserves.   

Love and light   J. Barcelos

I AM Moral Courage TV....Amazing Stories Inspiring People

 

Margaret Mead said it best: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. 

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

https://www.youtube.com/user/MoralCourageChannel?feature=watch

It is Monday evening and I ran across this story and website for Moral Courage TV.  This story is of Ali, an mazing nurse who took on the system and won against Georgia Pacific after winning support from her community.  This story should have been enough to make me proud of everyday people who won't stop until they get the answers and changes we so desperately need in this country.

But I followed the website and found stories of so many people with Moral Courage featured on Moral Courage TV. It made me think, maybe these are the little known heroes for our PeaceJourney.com 2014 documentary and to interview for our Peace Journey book publication.  I am excited to uncover more stories of these heroes and give them additional media exposure so we can inspire leadership in our small towns and big cities across America to do good and stick to what is  morally right.

Do you know any moral-heroes?  Please send their stories our way.  

And watch these videos to be inspired for your communities and the world!