In-Versing Your Life: Recent Episodes
Cynthia Blomquist Gustavson
Cynthia Blomquist Gustavson is a prize-winning poet and a pioneer in the world of poetry therapy. This podcast takes one poem and relates it to the current day, then challenging the listener to write.
๐ณ๏ธ Elections are close and people find it harder to talk to one another. 0:43
๐ง Looking through different lenses showed me something different. 1:34
๐ 'Sound principles' a poem from 'Please Use This for Children and Not for War and Guns' book. 2:46
๐ง What kind of lenses had people who made fun of smart girls? 5:06
๐งจ Why are we so divided and have so different lenses to look at the world? 6:27
๐ถ๏ธ All the lenses we need to get rid of. 7:55
๐ Poem 'Number Three' from a book 'Between Tahlequah and Tulsa' 9:16
โฉ๏ธ When you live in different places. you have to remove lenses to understand a different culture and people. 13:09
๐Poetry assignment: think about the lenses you wear and if those are stopping you understand people around you and vice versa. 13:53
๐ฃ๏ธ Try using awareness of lenses in and try to talk with someone that you couldn't talk to before.15:29
๐๏ธ 00:15 There is always somebody to help you in Tulsa.
๐ฆ 01:06 Canada geese's community spirit is strong.
๐ช 01:53 Poem: "Migration"
๐ 04:15 The poem is based on a true story - wild geese sacrifice for the one who is not as strong.
โฟ 04:55 Mr. Gustavson, who is in a wheelchair, is often helped by others, too.
๐จโ๐ฉโ๐งโ๐ฆ 05:36 "And that's what I wish for you, that you have a community."
โ๏ธ 05:59 "We need one another. We need to care for one another."
๐ง 06:20 Visit Cynthia at http://cynthiagustavson.comย and find out more about her book, Please Use This for Children and Not for War and Guns, at https://cynthiagustavson.com/2020/08/15/please-use-this-for-children-not-for-war-and-guns/
โ๏ธ 00:15 There are funerals where nobody shows up and funerals where there are many friends and relatives.
โช 01:23 Not all the relatives could get to the funeral of Cynthia's Dad because the church was full.
๐ฅ 01:54 "Loss has so many ramifications to it."
๐ 01:58 Cynthia introduces a poem from her therapy book "In-Versing Your Life", which can also be found in her e-book, "I Don't Write Love Poems"
๐ง๏ธ๏ธ02:25 Poem: "Loss"
๐ฉน 04:07 We have to learn to live through the loss, it's inevitable.
๐งถ 04:54 Small losses help us deal with major losses.
๐ 05:37 Visit Cynthia and find out more about her books, at https://cynthiagustavson.com/books-music/
๐ฅ 00:15 Both Cynthia's mother and sister are breast cancer survivors. She wrote a poem about that.
๐ 01:06 The poem can be found in the book "Re-Versing Your Pain"
๐ฉโโ๏ธ 01:27 Poem: "Double Helix Twisting"
๐ 07:56 Remember to check yourself regularly!
๐ฑ 08:15 Visit Cynthia at http://cynthiagustavson.comย and find out more about her books, at https://www.bloomingtwig.com/Authors/Cynthia-Gustavson.
๐ 00:15 It's a privilege to live out at the lake house. It is so quiet and the fall is beautiful.
โฐ๏ธ 00:38 Cynthia talks about what inspired her book, "Between Tahlequah and Tulsa."
๐ง 01:14 Poem: "Number Two"
๐ 03:10 Do you think that you are approaching things from upside down?
๐ฏ 03:39 Are you direct when you want something?
๐๏ธ 04:01 What are you hungry for?
๐ค 04:25 Think about the time when what you had was enough in your life.
๐ 05:10 Watch for Cynthia's new book and, in the meantime, visit her at http://cynthiagustavson.comย and find out more about her other books, at https://www.bloomingtwig.com/Authors/Cynthia-Gustavson.
๐ฅถ 00:15 Cynthia muses about how it finally got cold in Oklahoma.
๐งญ 00:51 Today's poem is a new one, exploring the symbolism of the sides of the world using the "grid".
๐ 01:38 The "grid" exists everywhere - you always know the sides of the world.
๏ธ๐๏ธ 02:00 Poem: "The Grid"
๐งฉ 03:10 This week's question: how do you see the entire world through the grid of your first home?ย
โ ๐ซ 04:17ย "...as we get older, the only way that we learn something new..."
โ 05:10 Is that working for you?
๐ฒ 06:02 Visit Cynthia atย
http://cynthiagustavson.comย and find out more about her book, Bully! The Big Book About Bullies and the Bullied, at https://www.bloomingtwig.com/Authors/Cynthia-Gustavson.
๐ What makes us change from day to day?ย 0:57
๐ฎ The whole concept of change is about nurture. 1:44
๐๏ธ Cynthia reads a poem 2:43
๐ช Music has always been a big part of Cynthia's life. 6:02
๐ถ Music her Dad played opened a door to a whole another world to Cynthia. 7:18
๐ค What heritage did you own that made you different from other people? 9:41
๐ค Who or what shaped you as a teenager? 11:10
๐ณ Each decade brings fresh changesโpositive and negative. 12:53
๐ฆ 'I used to be, but now I am' exercise. 16:00
๐ท 'I used to be a flower but now I'm a broken stem.' 17:15
๐ย I am now, but I will be. 19:03
https://cynthiagustavson.com/books-music/
๐งฉ Poetry is a puzzle, and I make up my rules. 01:14
๐ A poem from the book "Conversing with God, poetry for pastoral counseling and spiritual direction." 2:05
๐ฆ About the poemย Catbird 1609 C 2:24
๐ Cynthia reads a poem. 3:54
๐ค Birds are so programmed. 5:40
๐ฑ Exercise: What is growing on my soil? 7:20
๐จโ๐ฉโ๐งโ๐ฆ Are our siblings growing in the same soil as we are? 10:04
๐คฉ Exercise: using your name as an acrostic poem to describe yourself. 14:29
๐ฅCynthia's first poem was published in a national publication in 1984. 0:14
๐Dialysis is a poem of hope. 0:59
๐๏ธCyntia reads the poem Dialysis. 2:54
๐Enjoy the colors of autumn. 3:48
https://cynthiagustavson.com/books-music/ย
๐ "Perfect and terrible" categories of body image you push yourself in. 0:17
๐ Cynthia reads her poemย Image 1:11
โ๏ธ Thin is in but also is sexy. And being your own woman. 2:34
๐ Life seems easy for models on the TV. 3:41
๐ง Take care of yourself. 5:02
๐ฅ Body image: think health, don't think model. 6:09
๐ Workbook for Eating Disorders:ย https://amzn.to/3iea2d3
https://cynthiagustavson.com/
๐ด Using a riding on a bicycle as an extended metaphor. 0:20
๐ Poem: "How I move forward?" 1:01
๐How do you move forward? And do you think about your spirituality? 2:52
๐ I try to lessen my footprint on the earth. 3:11
๐ซ Using poetry with sexual abuse victims. 5:12
๐ Bully: https://amzn.to/2F4vmnV
๐ In-Versing: Self Discovery and Healing: https://amzn.to/2F4IPMt
๐ https://amzn.to/3hlKZ7y
๐ง๏ธRain is so wonderful, it extends green colors in nature. 0:18
๐งJust like yoga stretches, poetry stretches you inside towards unreachable places. 0:50
๐Reading: Poem about Yoga. 1:25
๐คThinking about what we have hidden inside that's still giving you a trouble.2:55
๐Poetry cuts like a knife to find what is hurting inside. 3:24
โ๏ธWrite poems to heal yourself. 3:42
๐https://cynthiagustavson.com/books-music/
๐Book: https://cynthiagustavson.com/2020/08/15/between-tahlequah-and-tulsa/
๐กWorking out in September and using onomatopoeia in writing. 0:19
๐ฅA story for children; "I Want to Play Drums" 1:41
๐Thinking about sounds in your world. 6:54
๐งUsing poetry as therapy for children who've been bullied, but also for bullies: ย
๐https://cynthiagustavson.com/2020/08/15/bully-the-big-book-about-bullies-and-the-bullied/
๐๏ธ Hope you have been to the beach this summer, haven't you? 00:15
โฏ๏ธ Two kinds of people in the world, according to various dichotomies. 00:45
โ [poem: "Walking on Sand"] 01:41
๐ค Have we ever considered that we are the "top dogs"? 06:18
๐ Visit Cynthia at http://cynthiagustavson.comย and find out more about her books at https://www.bloomingtwig.com/Authors/Cynthia-Gustavson.
๐ Following is a new children's story, where many homonyms are used. 00:15
๐ข ["Merry Mary at the Fair and the Unfair Merry-Go-Round Fair - A Story in Homonyms"] 02:08
๐๏ธ "Being a poet, I love the sound of language." 05:47
๐ฅ๏ธ Visit Cynthia at http://cynthiagustavson.comย and look up Cynthia's books at https://www.bloomingtwig.com/Authors/Cynthia-Gustavson 06:35 ย
๐ The most beautiful August ever! 00:15
๐ Introducing the poem. 00:35
๐โโ๏ธ [poem: "Split Ends"] 01:16
โ Split ends as a metaphor and what it means. What are the remaining hairs? 02:24
3๏ธโฃThree things that make up your braid, and what escaped the braids. 03:14
๐ Visit Cynthia at http://cynthiagustavson.comย and find out more about her books at https://www.bloomingtwig.com/Authors/Cynthia-Gustavson. 04:06
๐ We all have our own special connections to log cabins, don't we? 00:15
๐ [poem: Knotty Pine and Cozy Dark] 01:39
๐ฑ Find your unwinding time and place, so you can find yourself, again. 04:45
๐ Visit Cynthia at http://cynthiagustavson.comย and find out more about her books at https://www.bloomingtwig.com/Authors/Cynthia-Gustavson.ย
๐ค Who am I? There are so many ways to answer this question. 00:32
๐ด [Cynthia introduces and reads a poem about her grandfather, Mr. Knoblauch] 02:56
๐ถ Children are born with their temperament, their personality. 05:57
โคด๏ธ We are often compared to certain family members. 06:24
๐ฉโ๐ผ On mothers' and babies' temperaments, and an experiment. 07:03
๐งถ [Cynthia introduces and reads a poem titled "Four Generations of Women"] 11:39
๐ช Think of something in your life and relate it to somebody who raised you. 14:31
๐งฌย How do genetics and environment relate to this week's question of how we are 15:19
๐ Two tomatoes-related poems from the book "Con-Versing with God". 00:15
๐
Cynthia receives the "August Tomatoes" 00:57
๐ช Cynthia reads the second poem, "Tomatoes in Cages" 01:42
๐ก๏ธ Tomatoes as a metaphor and the weather in Oklahoma 02:45
๐ Visit Cynthia at http://cynthiagustavson.comย and find out more about "Con-Versing with God: Poetry Workbook for Pastoral Counseling" at https://www.bloomingtwig.com/book/Con-Versing-with-God 03:25ย
๐ Kent explains the origin of his publishing company name and its tagline 01:16
๐ช Soldiers getting used to reading through comic books and how that resonates with writing books that people want to read. 03:17
๐ All of the publishing is driven by money. Don't let that stop you from creating something beautiful. 05:33
๐ The sense of smell. 06:41
๐๏ธ Talking about the illustrations from "Bully! The Big Book About Bullies and the Bullied" from the previous episode of the podcast. 08:48
๐ Kent talks about bullying and Cynthia talks about how it was like for her as a parent. 11:05
๐ช Kent talks about his pets and biggest passion, music. 14:20
โช Composing music for the church. Simple chords, singable, playable, not made for performance. 16:57
๐ [Cynthia reads a poem from her most recent poetry book Between Tahlequah and Tulsa.] 20:24
๐ This weekend, write about your passions. 22:24ย
โ๏ธ How do we judge what matters and what does not? 01:21
๐๏ธ The system and its influence on what we think matters. 01:50
๐คผ ย "Bully! The Big Book About Bullies and the Bullied" ย was written for both the bullies and the bullied. 02:11
๐ช [Cynthia introduces and recites her poem "Moles"] 03:12
๐พ Being judged because of your age, gender, ability and the family you came from. 05:31
๐คทโโ๏ธ Think of what is it about you that someone could judge you about and that you have absolutely no control over! Put yourself into one of those boxes. 10:06
๐ค "What happens if you're a thinking person, and someone tells you you can't think, well, how, how would that set you apart?" 11:19
๐ฆ At some point in their life, the people in the arts were on the outside, looking in. 11:41ย
๐ Cynthia introduces the podcast as a workshop for listeners to discover who they are. 00:15
๐ Inversing your life for the better 00:49
๐ช Poetry as therapy 1:43
โ๏ธ Poem introduction and structure 2:52
๐๏ธ "Addiction"ย poem 3:23
๐คน The assignment: describe your "circle" 4:40
https://www.facebook.com/cynthia.gustavsonย