Dear Friends,
I am preparing for my last work trips of 2015 as I write this. It’s been a busy and wonderful year as my calendar shows- a dozen trips to work in 8 states and provinces to work with Congolese torture survivors, people with AIDS, abuse survivors, among other life- wounded people. Plus I’ve worked with many people doing good works in the world in need of rest and restoration to continue and avoid burnout.
The reviews of my first book, The Dance Between Hope & Fear, continue to receive high marks for teaching about healing from trauma. My second book, How Far Have You Traveled, will go to press this Spring. This book is about having a sense of your own goodness. Knowing your goodness is key to healing and living a life where your best precedes all. This is the culmination of teaching I’ve done for the last 40+ years in trauma work and as an educator in classrooms and summer camps.
I am about to begin a new adventure. I’ve outlined a third book. This will be the story of my own healing and how I came to my work as a Quaker healer. So many of these stories have not been shared before. Some few of them have only been heard while I’m teaching. I am setting off in November for an extended writing retreat and will return in February. I will need your support for all of this- the retreat and beginning a new year of travel work.
Living mainly on gifts means many things. It means that I am not always paid for the work that I do. It means that I can work with this person or group that cannot pay because these people over here have sent a gift. It means trusting that enough people have seen my work and feel it’s important that I continue. It can mean suspense and scarcity at times- this economy can be tough on trust. I first sent this letter out in 1984 and have been living on gifts ever since. I need your help to continue. I need your help to say yes to more invitations to work. I need your support to teach through my writing and reach many more people. Please send a gift.
In the Light,
John Calvi