HOLY BUFFALO

During the LetLoveRulePeace Tree Festival I enjoyed in Amsterdam August 2025, I attended a spiritual Indigenous ceremony hosted by an Elder named Grandmother Ejna Jean Fleury.

Ejna is an elder member of the Crow Creek Sioux tribe and Oceti Sacowin (Sioux Nation), and hails from the American State of South Dakota. She is renowned as a spiritual activist, healer, counsellor, meditation facilitator, visionary and ceremonialist. She is very proud of her heritage, and shares her knowledge and wisdom with individuals and groups around the world. 

Her pedigree is far ranging with credentials in nursing, Wisdom Studies, psychology, and counselling. Her overriding message in her presentations is generated from understanding the power of love, spirituality and harmony between humanity and Nature. She strongly advocates that love, respect and honour for oneself, for others and for our planet are the cornerstones of our responsibilities as human beings during our time on Earth.

Ejna is calm, peaceful, and soft spoken. When she speaks, everyone is drawn to her, her message, and her stories.

Her presentation began with all of us sitting in a circle and introducing ourselves to the group by name only. My analytic side kicked in by noticing some people sit up tall and straight and proudly say their name audibly and clearly, and others are shy, soft spoken and just want to get that part over with. We are all different but that day we were gathered with purpose, a shared purpose — as we looked to the ground before us and wondered about the gigantic buffalo hide that would be the focus of Ejna's Indigenous pride, power and purpose that morning.

She asked us to pick up a leaf from the ground before us. We gave the leaf purpose. It was to hold a wish for us. A wish to help us heal from something or to help us solve a personal challenge. We held the leaf against our hearts and allowed it to connect the wish with our spiritual side. 

My wish focused on a personal challenge that had recently been deadlocked, and any amount of help would be graciously embraced. This exercise was harmless and intriguing, and I looked forward to its success.

As is true within all Indigenous cultures, respect for the Earth, Sun and Moon is as prevalent as respect for the flora and fauna that share our planet with all of us. The animals are respected and honoured, but they are also here to provide food for people. They are hunted when needed and every part of the carcass is used with purpose. The pelt of an adult buffalo was lain before us and its purpose was powerful … absolutely  powerful.

The power came from the soft spoken and credible sound of Ejna’s loving, caring, confident voice explaining the next steps of our healing ceremony. We were to each in turn, hold on to our leaf and wish, lay in whatever position was comfortable to us, and feel the warmth and comfort of the buffalo fur peacefully caressing our body. 

The onlookers of the circle came forward on their knees and slowly folded the sides, front and back of the hide, around our body, wrapping us as a special gift, blocking out the external world and allowing us to be alone with ourselves and our wish. 

Taking that metaphor one step deeper, the wrapping was also tantamount to returning to the comfort and love of when we were in our mother’s womb, safe and protected, where no harm could or would interfere with our being. 

The hands of the people were then placed on the hide to reinforce assurance that they were with the wrapped, secure embryo — holding it in place, protecting it. The person was indeed not alone in the world, and the silent prayers, humming and the warmth of the people’s hands, and telepathic messaging, would help the wish come true.

Slowly the people would unwrap the gift,  rise and return to their seats, as the person  rose on their hands and knees, holding the leaf to their heart in a brief silent prayer, ending with a nod of gratitude for the powerful experience. 

It truly was one of those incredible lifetime opportunities that one should not knock until they’ve tried it. Yes, sure it would not work for a pessimist or constant critic of anything they deemed to be unusual or weird. This type of ceremony is not for skeptical people; it is for honourable, respectful people with open minds and hearts.  

I do get that some people are set or stuck  in their ways, and afraid to try something new. They cannot see that airing out the house and letting in fresh air is really a great idea, refreshing and energizing — a harmless, healing exercise from which only good will come. I was definitely in the right company.

The whole buffalo-hide wrapping experience was both peaceful and powerful. I accepted it as a viable jumpstart to making my wish a reality. 

As I opened my eyes, I could already feel my confidence level rise.  I am holding on to that feeling, and that leaf, as every day it seems my wish is showing potential to be realized. It’s been planted and one day it will bloom!

Whether it’s Indigenous ceremonies, a developed homily, sermon or religious service, yoga, meditation, Pilates, QiGong, TaiChi, Reiki, and the like, all of it sets indoctrination, mainstream thinking, stubbornness and apathy aside. In turn, we get new air, new light, new energy to move forward feeling refreshed. 

Following Grandmother Ejna’s presentation, I had a chance to talk with her one to one. She is a very calm, perceptive woman, filled with love and concern for others, future generations and planet Earth. She embraces a genuine passion for living in peace and living in a peaceful, harmonious world. 

Meeting her was truly a bonus of the Peace Tree Festival. Her life is a wonderful collection of stories and experiences, all interesting and inspiring, powerful and pertinent— much like the woman herself.

New-found-land

 

  

  

Newly « found » Land

It was a long haul from Western Canada to Western Newfoundland, Canada’s easternmost province. It’s mostly an Island with a small section of the mainland of Canada designated as its assurance of a connection to the rest of the country —that piece of land is called Labrador.

When you add on to the travel time the five time zones, the change in time is somewhat substantial. It was especially difficult to adjust a few days after a long haul return from Europe! I felt like the definition of weary.

Soon after arriving, I plunged onto a fine firm mattress and conked out almost immediately around 9 pm. I  slept through the night until 7:30. 

Feeling sprite and rested, I was energized and ready to explore the immediate surroundings of my temporary domicile. I gobbled down a couple pieces of toasted locally made bread smeared with peanut butter, and drank steamed milk with regular coffee.

My host prepared a comprehensive plan for the day to show me her village and surrounding areas.  We mostly followed the shoreline of Bonne Bay within the Strait of Belle Isle which is a tributary of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence flowing north alongside Labrador, reconnecting to the Atlantic Ocean and on to the Arctic Ocean. 

Catherine showed me the local bakery, Inns, restaurants, churches, museum, craft shops, ice cream parlour, a garage sale, and a fabulous Fish and Chips restaurant where we enjoyed fresh cod and golden brown fries, with gravy! We stopped at an inland hardware store, a gas station, and an auto repair shop to check a leaking tire. 

On another day, after a church service, she took me to the Cat Stop Waterfront Pub for lunch outside, along side the harbour taxi service, and the boat and kayak launch area. It is a popular happening place. The fresh cod tacos and Nova Scotia cider were fantastic.

Every subsequent day I embarked on a three kilometer walk towards the town section of Norris Point. Waving at every driver and person you see is a “thing” I particularly enjoyed. 

There is a local hangout there called The Old Store Café. It became my daily destination. It serves a variety of specialty coffees, locally roasted coffee, fresh baking and freshly made wraps, bagels and sandwiches. This café can seat up to twenty people, and the front patio can sit two sets of pairs. There I enjoyed my first Gull’s Shit muffin (marble cake with white and brown chocolate chips) and fabulous cappuccino. The other days I picked something different from the fresh baking section and, ultimately, bought their roasted coffee beans as a wonderful souvenir. Oh yes, this café has free WiFi. The cozy chair by the bookshelf became known as “my” chair.

Each place we or I went to gave me a sense of the Newfoundland accents or dialect — some very different or difficult to figure out, but it doesn’t take long to catch on. I engaged with everyone, showing genuine interest in their upbringing, their work and their family history. I learned a lot from my host and each person I met.

The bottom line seems to be most younger generation Newfoundlanders yearn to leave the Rock asap, and they do. But apparently 75% of them return, get married, raise a family, develop business interests in a diversity of fields, and stay put for the rest of their lives. Some return home after a lifetime on the main part of Canada, and return home for a happy, healthy, peaceful retirement. Others, like Clyde and Helen, are sure to return for family visits or vacation time.

Another example would be the guy behind the counter at the gas bar confectionary. Rodney is a talker. A fast talker. Often I’d stare at him without a reply. I clearly looked perplexed and he figured out I wasn’t a local. He graciously slowed down his speech and switched to a better version of English. He was born and raised right there in Norris Point. One of six kids. He left after Grade 11 to join a travelling circus. He did that for a few years and realised he missed being home. He returned, married, raised a family and became a local landowner and businessman with his hands in a variety of income generating ventures. Stories like his are plentiful.

The whole Norris Point area is beautiful, calm and quiet. The pride of the people who live there is evident in their brightly coloured homes, clean yards, freshly cut lawns, beautiful gardens, swept driveways, and sturdy, colourful garbage bins are displayed as personalized monuments at the front corners of properties.

Some afternoons I ventured out in the opposite direction to a dead-end called Neddies Harbour — named after local pioneer Neddy Norris. There is a large Inn and restaurant called the Black Spruce. 

Out front, facing the Strait of Belle Isle, are five colourful Adirondack chairs.  I sat there on the green one, with my notebook in hand, and started writing this story. 

The glistening calm water in front of me moved gently with the feel of the wind — much like the gel ink pen writing on my paper. A couple of kayakers were paddling themselves out into the open water. The sun was shining. Sky was blue. Air was warm and the words just kept flowing. 

As I glanced over to my left, I saw the oddest thing. I got up for a closer look. Someone had sliced a large sheet of metamorphic rock and placed it on a solid foundation, creating a table. Around it were various types of individual seats and a bench, made from the same rock. 

I placed my notebook on the black tabletop, sat on the bench and drafted some secondary notes, as gusts of wind suddenly flipped the pages every which way. I had to wait for it to pass. It was a very wild wind storm.  I’m not sure what happened to those kayakers but, the pause made me contemplative and that was exactly what I needed to move the story forward.

Newfoundland and Labrador were built on the backs of a determined people. There is no doubt they struggled but fought through every challenge to create a workable foundation. Out of desperation, when their ties to Great Britain faded, they officially joined Canada in 1949, with tails between legs. This was long after the Canadian Confederation was formed. Going forward alone, despite foreign support, was just not feasible. Times in Great Britain were tough and they simply could not continue to provide guidence, support or assistance as previously promised. Joining with Canada was the best option.

Regardless, to this day, they remain a determined, proud people who work hard, valuing life. land and living. You can hear it in their voices, see it in their hands and feel it in their lifestyles. Theirs is truly a geographic love story of staying true to their roots and working together through the toughest of times — a Canadian love story like no other.

Peace is what my short visit to Norris Point has given me. Feelings of Serenity, Beauty, and Pride are everywhere. My trip was not filled with hustle and bustle nor a whole lot of comings and goings. My time was rooted in one place, a small place with pleasant people, proud people, and a story of what hard work and determination can do to keep a community alive. 

I truly enjoyed a plethora pleasantries: fresh sea air, exercise, good food, heartfelt conversations, a warm welcome, plus sunshine, wind and a bit of sprinkle on a newly found land (location), within the country I love most 🇨🇦 . 

Oh yes, and a lot of waves! 👋 ♥️ 🌊 

The Power of Cacao

 

THE PURE HEART OF CACAO

This morning, about a week after returning from a mesmerizing, fantastic Peace Tree LetLoveRule festival in Amsterdam, I find myself sitting at my outdoor desk, staring into a grove of tall, peaceful, coniferous trees.This is my favourite setting for creativity. It relaxes me, energizes me and helps me expose a story blended with fabulous flavours. This is a story with indigenous roots that have survived civilian atrocities, and will potentially evolve into a socio-economic success mission. The mastermind behind it is an incredible woman named Yacqueline Mijnssen aka Tjocklatluve.

Tjocklatluve [pronounced: tchoc-lat-love] was born in Colombia, the country with the highest quality and quantity of cacao in the world. She loves chocolate —hence, her pen name, nickname or handle for her special mission was born.

As a Embera Chami toddler in Colombia, Tjocklatluve was adopted by a couple in the Netherlands. Like most adoptees she remained curious about her Indigenous roots and her history. She held on to the hope of one day becoming a good steward of humanity and do something for struggling people in Colombia. Now, as a mature adult, she has found her niche, her passion, and has turned it into a viable humanitarian mission.

The Indigenous story in Colombia is much the same as most places in the world. Atrocious and disgusting. Back in the days before the Conquistadors and Spaniards invaded, cacao was a sacred commodity for Indigenous peoples. When the invaders took over, respect towards the original inhabitants faded and I think we can all realise the consequences. Cacao became exploited for greed, avarice and economic benefit. Indigenous people were almost eradicated, minimized and cast aside; but, the sacred value of cacao remained in their identity and their ceremonies, giving them hope and faith, and something to hold on to.

Fast forward to Yacqueline and her mission. She loves chocolate, quality chocolate. It energizes and inspires her but, most importantly, it connects her to her ancestors, her roots. She has now rooted herself into a determination to connect her Indigenous past, the circumstances of her past, the sanctity and viability of cacao, and its links to Indigenous history, to the reality of everyday life of single mothers in Colombia.

As is becoming true in many parts of the world, there is a movement in Colombia to foster reconciliation between Indigenous and less fortunate people, and the dominant population. They are warming up to the notion of training people to create and/or work in self-sufficient agro-forests. Cacao plantations, for example, are opening up to training locals to develop viable skills that will in turn help them move forward in life, become self-sufficient, with a sense of pride and confidence.

Yacqueline’s focus is the single mother demographic. In order for the plantation-reconciliation program to be effective for them, the mothers need to be able to get to and from the plantation or newly developed agro-forests. Specifically they need nearby housing. 

This is a massive undertaking, but Yacqueline’s spirit is strong and determined. She feels connected with her Indigenous grandmothers’ spirits and the ancestral love and respect they hold for the innate power, wisdom and teachings of the cacao plant. She is currently working on a website and creating a GoFundMe account. She is developing connections with learned people who can help guide her. 

Tjocklatluve strongly believes the spiritual and economic power of cacao will be the saving grace and salvation for marginalized mothers in Colombia. It will enable them to hold on to their children, provide for them and themselves, and hopefully stop the heartbreak and stresses that come with struggles, challenges and loss.

I commend Yacqueline and support her Tjocklatluve dream, efforts and determination to respect and honour her place of birth and her heritage, as well as the circumstances of her adoption and that of so many others. 

Change, social change, is always hard; but it takes one strong, determined, compassionate humanitarian, with a heart as pure as cacao, to make a wheel turn — with Yacqueline in the driver’s seat, and her ever-growing support group helping her with the hills and valleys ahead, there is no better leader.

One Love

 

No Conditions, Just Love

One of the many messages that came out of the wonderful Peace Tree Festival in Amsterdam in August 2025, was references to love. 

Ultimately when you think about it, love is powerful, energetic, sincere, and pure. It’s an internal energy source fueled by an inner self that respects, honours, appreciates, supports, cares for, embraces, encourages, challenges, and celebrates one’s whole being. 

Love works wonders for people and it works wonders for causes. When we get together and work in unison, with cooperation, collaboration, concentration, and connection, humanity has accomplished a great deal since the beginning of time. 

Unfortunately, perhaps due to greed, jealousy, envy, stubbornness, indoctrination, selfishness, and many other synonyms, our planet has deteriorated, humanity and the animal kingdom are progressively suffering, and love remains lost in the dust.

In this case, the case of moving the peace movement forward, it sounds like love would be  a viable energy source to establish a peaceful life for all of humanity, Nature, and our privileged planet, for generations to come. 

I know this idea sounds far fetched to a certain demographic, but “don’t knock it until you’ve tried it”! It is a harmless exercise, using human hands, human arms, human minds, hearts and spirit. Start small, and get the wave moving.

So, this movement to promote meaningful fresh starts such as using the newly planted  tree, literally and figuratively as a full metaphor of the goals and objectives of the founders and followers of the LetLoveRulePeace concept, is an initiative to get humanity to start small and get tuned into the reality of our deteriorating world. Sitting back does nothing.

We need humanity to open their eyes, mind and heart, and get involved in problem solving. Bitching and complaining does not work. Pointing fingers does not work. Being confrontational, arrogant and unwilling to see a bigger picture outside of a tiny pill box, does not work. Plant a seed, covet it, water it, help it grow. Or see a seed has been planted, covet it, water it, help it grow. Connect with it and protect it. Help move the wave forward.

Life moves forward best in fertile soil. Life moves forward best when well rooted and well nurtured. Life moves forward best when love is the dominate source of energy that moves things forward for the greater good of all.

On Facebook I receive a lot of cutesy sayings to inspire and help people going through tough times. They are seeds and free for all to nurture and sow. They are good food for thought and energize the readers to look in the mirror and see what is there. I applaud the movement behind those sayings because it is a great way to get people to think and to give the sayings legs. The hope is that those legs keep moving forward beyond “self” and extend to the bigger picture of the troubled (unpeaceful) lives and situations in our homes, communities, and entire world.

The answer, in the end of all the dogma, cute sayings and therapies, is LOVE. I was going to preface that strong word with “unconditional” but to me that would be an oxymoron. Actual love and actually loving someone or something can only be unconditional…there is only one actual LOVE and that is LOVE. First step to getting there is loving oneself, truly loving oneself; only then can you understand and feel love ; once you are there in heart, mind and spirit, you will feel calm, collected, respected, self confident and ready to love others — and apply love to all tasks, trials and tribulations.

It all starts with one, number one — YOU. One seed, one implanted root,  joining other seeds and other roots, and keeping the focus on love of self, of people, of Nature and of our planet Earth…yes it sounds impossible, but who would have thought a light bulb could ever be invented and universally accepted? It took one person, one seed, one root and now the entire world is connected. Let it also be so for peace.