Overview

"The story of Belvie Rooks and Dedan Gills, their journey and their transformation, is ""as old as eternity and as new as now."" As individuals, Dedan and Belvie were already activists, mentors and voices for justice, but in their union, they became an even greater force for compassion and love. Dedan Gills (1945-2015) was a lifelong social justice and human rights activist who viewed himself as a ""soulutionary."" His favorite mantra - ""Music is My Medicine! Kindness is My Song!"" - was not only the hallmark of his work, but the quality of his presence. Barbara Holmes writes ""His laughter, wisdom, and attentive presence set the example of how to soar while on this human journey."" Belvie and Dedan's journey took them to Accra, where they were married; across the United States and Canada to plant trees and build community as a part of their organization, Growing a Global Heart; into dialogue with people of all ages; and through Dedan's diagnosis with cancer and passing at Zen Hospice in San Francisco in 2015. This book, born of this journey, speaks to love that is at once personal, collective and cosmic. Each page holds an invitation to seek beauty amidst heartbreak, and to raise the level of our humanity. Belvie's wisdom and listening for how this book wanted to be written, and the reflections of many who knew Dedan well, allow it to resonate with remembrance, but also with a future born of each of us."

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9781732318526

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Reviews

"""This beautiful and engaging love story by two friends and lifelong human rights and social justice activists models what love can be in these times. Dedan's poetic vision, ranging from the personal to the cosmic, enriches us all."" --Danny Glover, humanitarian and actor ""Read this and read it again, to yourself, to your friends, to anyone who wants to explore the sensibilities of a gracious, soulful, keen-eyed, warmhearted wordsmith. From the first page, he shares an honesty and a sense of beauty that will grace all of his readers."" --Peter Booth Wiley, writer and publisher ""A cosmic celebration of Being, as well as a clear-eyed affirmation of love in a time of great crisis. Dedan Gills is a national treasure."" --Brian Thomas Swimme, cosmologist; coauthor of The Universe Story ""Belvie and Dedan embodied and embody love in its truest, most beautiful sense. Now, more than ever, love truly lived is a most revolutionary act."" --Julia ""Butterfly"" Hill, environmental activist; author of The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods ""One of the most beautiful poetic expressions of the present time; Dedan has masterfully woven metaphors and melodies together to offer a Springtime from his heart to the hearts of his readers. Thank you for such a masterpiece."" --Dr. Nahid Angha, co-director, International Association of Sufism; Executive Editor of Sufism: An Inquiry ""Dedan is, very simply, the embodiment of love, peace, and respect for all life. He had an aura around him that few humans carry, and that aura provided a sense of being the presence of infinite love."" --Kahontakwas Diane Longboat, educator, traditional healer, teacher, and founder of Soul of the Mother ""These writings persist as a compound paean, not only to his beloved, Belvie, but to the transpersonal realm where we collectively participate as souls via the spontaneous grace of nature that invokes us."" --Will Alexander, award-winning poet and author of Sunrise in Armageddon ""Dedan Gills reminds us that a poet combusts meaning into passionate songs of wholeness, and that poetry comes out of actually living the miracle of so many interfaces of truth and experience that they explode with grace in the heart and stun us with fresh insight and original beauty."" --James O'Dea, former president, Institute of Noetic Sciences; author, activist, and mystic ""I am so glad that the world is going to have this book. The love between Belvie and Dedan was deep and moving to behold. It created an atmosphere that spread among all of us lucky enough to be anywhere near, like wildflowers sprouting in spring, awakening, inspiring, delivering a thoughtful joy. This poetic correspondence between two great souls, with each other and all of existence, is a precious gift to us all."" --Susan Griffin, author of Woman and Nature and A Chorus of Stones ""A poetic celebration of life. We owe a debt of gratitude to Belvie and Dedan for this moving testament to the eternal power of love, both personal and cosmic."" --Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and the Blade, Sacred Pleasure, and The Real Wealth of Nations"

This beautiful and engaging love story by two friends and lifelong human rights and social justice activists models what love can be in these times. Dedan's poetic vision, ranging from the personal to the cosmic, enriches us all. --Danny Glover, humanitarian and actor Read this and read it again, to yourself, to your friends, to anyone who wants to explore the sensibilities of a gracious, soulful, keen-eyed, warmhearted wordsmith. From the first page, he shares an honesty and a sense of beauty that will grace all of his readers. --Peter Booth Wiley, writer and publisher A cosmic celebration of Being, as well as a clear-eyed affirmation of love in a time of great crisis. Dedan Gills is a national treasure. --Brian Thomas Swimme, cosmologist; coauthor of The Universe Story Belvie and Dedan embodied and embody love in its truest, most beautiful sense. Now, more than ever, love truly lived is a most revolutionary act. --Julia Butterfly Hill, environmental activist; author of The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, a Woman and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods One of the most beautiful poetic expressions of the present time; Dedan has masterfully woven metaphors and melodies together to offer a Springtime from his heart to the hearts of his readers. Thank you for such a masterpiece. --Dr. Nahid Angha, co-director, International Association of Sufism; Executive Editor of Sufism: An Inquiry Dedan is, very simply, the embodiment of love, peace, and respect for all life. He had an aura around him that few humans carry, and that aura provided a sense of being the presence of infinite love. --Kahontakwas Diane Longboat, educator, traditional healer, teacher, and founder of Soul of the Mother These writings persist as a compound paean, not only to his beloved, Belvie, but to the transpersonal realm where we collectively participate as souls via the spontaneous grace of nature that invokes us. --Will Alexander, award-winning poet and author of Sunrise in Armageddon Dedan Gills reminds us that a poet combusts meaning into passionate songs of wholeness, and that poetry comes out of actually living the miracle of so many interfaces of truth and experience that they explode with grace in the heart and stun us with fresh insight and original beauty. --James O'Dea, former president, Institute of Noetic Sciences; author, activist, and mystic I am so glad that the world is going to have this book. The love between Belvie and Dedan was deep and moving to behold. It created an atmosphere that spread among all of us lucky enough to be anywhere near, like wildflowers sprouting in spring, awakening, inspiring, delivering a thoughtful joy. This poetic correspondence between two great souls, with each other and all of existence, is a precious gift to us all. --Susan Griffin, author of Woman and Nature and A Chorus of Stones A poetic celebration of life. We owe a debt of gratitude to Belvie and Dedan for this moving testament to the eternal power of love, both personal and cosmic. --Riane Eisler, author of The Chalice and the Blade, Sacred Pleasure, and The Real Wealth of Nations

Author Information

Dedan Gills (1945-2015) was a poet and active member in one of the first urban intentional environmental communities in the country, the L.A. Eco-Village. Certified in Permaculture, he was a founding member of the L.A. Permaculture Guild. His poems have appeared in the International Sufi Association Journal. Born in Watts, California, Dedan was instrumental in the formation of the Black Student Alliance movement in Southern California and for a time was a member of the Black Panther Party. The demise of the Black Liberation movement was followed by years of despair while trying to find his activist footing on a different ground. He became an unrelenting advocate for human rights and Mother Earth. Dedan worked to integrate principles of permaculture design, sustainability, environmental awareness, and the greening of the inner spirit for healing and recovery. He gave tirelessly to groups of people abandoned by mainstream culture-the homeless and those suffering from addiction and incarceration. With Belvie Rooks, he co-founded Growing a Global Heart, a vision to inspire the ceremonial planting of trees to honor the forgotten souls of our past-from the transatlantic slave trade in West Africa to urban violence in the United States. Dedan touched many souls while actively addressing the physical, material, and emotional wounds. As he was known to say, Things come and go, but the soul is eternal. When souls embrace, it is like a kiss that lasts forever! Belvie Rooks, who currently lives in northern California, is a writer, educator, and human rights activist whose work weaves together the worlds of spirituality, feminism, ecology and social justice. With her late husband, Dedan Gills, she is co-founder of Growing a Global Heart, a vision to inspire the planting of millions of memorial trees to honor the forgotten souls of our past. They have engaged in memorial tree-planting projects along the Trans-Atlantic Slave Route in West Africa, the Underground Railroad in the US and Canada and also for victims of urban violence. As an educator she was a member of the founding faculty of the College of Social Justice at the State University of New York (SUNY) Old Westbury. She has been a board member of the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS), Bioneers, and the Ella Baker Center.

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