The Forest Children Program (FCP) has been celebrating a big accomplishment. The students published a book entitled Princess Gilanee, about how Princess Gilanee and her horse, Pal, united the elements of Earth, Water, Air, and Fire to bring peace to their community.

The book was one of the focal points of last year’s curriculum for this integrative homeschool resource and enrichment program, now in its fifth year at Earthaven. The program includes Earthaven members’ children and children from local families as well. It currently involves less than a dozen children, ages 6 through 12, and meets three days a week, weaving together individual homeschooling and a supplemental experiential program that provides each child with personal attention and focus.

When Kiesa Kay became coordinator of the FCP in 2006, she came with a project. Her author friend, Robin Carrington, dying from melanoma. asked her friend Kiesa to finish a book Robin had begun but would not be able to finish. She feared her children and grandchildren wouldn’t be able to hear her stories about Princess Gilanee.

Kiesa brought the two chapters Robin had completed to the Forest Children, and they immediately offered to help. After reviewing the mind map for the book, their creative work began. Dylan, Cory, Noah, Nimuae, Soleil, Malachi, and Yeshua worked together through the school year to bring the book to life.

Princess Gilanee tells the story of how one girl and her horse succeeded in uniting feuding tribes  by helping them realize they were all one tribe and must work together. Along the journey, Gilanee makes important discoveries about herself, as well.

The children visualized the homes, clothes, and conversations of the various Earth, Water, Air and Fire element people. They acted out scenes that hadn’t been written yet, working with the ideas they’d added to Robin’s original vision. The completed version says a lot about being one with nature and living joyfully. The coordinator typed up their stories, blending them with Robin’s work, and arranged for the book to be published through Sheridan Books and Bremner Press. The story of Princess Gilanee and the element people appeals to adults and children, with its timeless message of one tribe, love, and resilience.

Princess Gilanee is available for a $10 donation to the Forest Children Program.

Donations account for about 40% of the FCP’s income (tuition accounts for the rest). Your contribution helps keep the Forest Children Program open and thriving. Your donation can also help support the funding of a playground by designating the purpose of your gift on your check.

The Forest Children Program Vision

We envision a world of people living sustainably, thinking independently, making decisions cooperatively, nurturing healthy children, families and communities, and allowing the flow of divine spirit through everything.

We take advantage of our natural setting in the Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina to encourage each child to develop a deeper understanding of the cycles of nature and sustainable stewardship of the earth.

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“This may be the most propitious moment in history to join an intentional community,” advises Peak Oil author Richard Heinberg in his Foreword to the new book,

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“American feet are atrophied; they don’t develop, they are inarticulate,” says Warren Grossman, energy healer and author of the book, To Be Healed By The Earth, pointing out that in cultures where people don’t wear shoes, the toes spread and the feet move quite differently while walking. “In our culture, we pretend we don’t live on the Earth.” So, the first thing he had us do in the 2-day workshop I recently experienced with him at Earthaven, was to take off our shoes. After massaging one foot, we marveled at the different sense of contact with the floor in that foot compared to the other one.

Besides massaging and stretching out our feet and toes, we learned to open the chakras in the soles and send our energy and attention down into the Earth, grounding ourselves. As our attention went into the ground, we became aware of the subtle sensation of energy rising up from the Earth into our bodies. “All anxiety comes from ungroundedness,” Grossman said. The cure? Connecting to Mother Earth.

“Love without energy is merely sentiment,” he said, “and all healing requires love.” The healer is a mediator, a conduit of Earth energy. So, despite the sleety weather, we went outdoors and experienced connecting with trees. We practiced grounding ourselves and then feeling the depth and width of the heart. To heal others, we ground ourselves, open our hearts, love ourselves first, then send loving energy to the other person through the hands; it is not necessary to actually touch the person. “The more highly organized energy field will dominate the less organized energy field,” noted Grossman.

–from Cathy’s online newsletter, EARTH & US

Editor’s note: Twenty-some participants in Warren’s workshop, mostly Earthaven residents and some friends from town, spent two days in mindful relationship with their own bodies, Earth, and each other. It was awesome! For days afterward, the increased energy in the community was palpable. Many are continuing to use and remind others about the simple, adaptable techniques gathered over the weekend. A third day focused on individual healings and some work as a group was generously given to a smaller group of community members free of charge. Stay tuned for news of Warren’s return.

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