Lisa Iversen

It’s been ten days since Osama Bin Laden was killed by an American team of CIA officers and Navy SEALs.  A few days after this historic event, a friend sent me a blog post from Psychology Today, “The Psychology of Revenge: Why We Should Stop Celebrating Osama Bin Laden’s Death,” written by Pamela Gerloff, Ed.D. While the article itself was an interesting read, equally so were the range of comments.  Gerloff’s questioning of Americans exuberantly celebrating Bin Laden’s death struck…

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“I’m feeling it more and more — that it’s more important to be authentic than it is to be perfect,” said Ade Anifowose.  These are the kind of soulful comments I’m blessed to hear from Ade when we are preparing for our monthly radio show “Life Conversations presents Ancestral Blueprints” on the last Wednesday of the month at 11am PST. To be authentic in American culture can be no small task, where image is often valued over real.  The trance…

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This week is the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War in the United States.  Yesterday’s article on CNN’s Opinion Page, “Civil War”s Dirty Secret about Slavery,” reminds us of how deeply the North’s economy depended on slave-picked cotton.  “The reality is that both North and South were profoundly complicit in slavery,” writes James DeWolf Perry and Katrina Browne from The Tracing Center on Histories and Legacies of Slavery. In my Ancestral Blueprints workshops, I often work with…

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I’m a fan of anyone who blends truth with humor — for example, Sarah Vowell. Sarah is an American author, journalist, essayist and social commentator and has written five nonfiction books on American history and culture. Her recent interview with Jon Stewart reminded me of how I felt while writing Ancestral Blueprints: Revealing Invisible Truths in America’s Soul .  While writing I found myself repeatedly feeling embarrassed about all that I didn’t know about U.S. history.  Then I got it:  amnesia…

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Like so many of us, I’ve been discerning since last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan how to digest the enormity of this disaster.  While in prayerful conversation with my ancestors, I have felt strengthened by the following image: I open my heart to many of my ancestors standing behind me, looking with me in the same direction, at the Japanese people.  With the support of my own ancestors who have experienced the losses and traumas of their lives standing…

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The following story is a recent example of the power of feminine wisdom to bring forth images of healing for all our relations — in honor of National Women’s History Month. A few months ago I was invited by Sonya Lea and Carole Harmon (and Harmon Photography, the website for Carole’s grandfather’s and father’s photography) to lead an ancestral circle with Systemic Family Constellations at Sonya’s home.  These gifted artists and mothers co-hosted this circle, sending the following invitation written by…

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In honor of Black History Month, I dedicate this post to two young African American women I met at the Philadelphia airport. Me:  Our plane is stranded for at least the next 24 hours. Is this enough time to take my daughter to see sights in the city? Tour Guide (TG):  Yes, you can go to Liberty Bell, Independence Hall….It was apparent that she had recited this list hundreds of times. As she was talking, I was aware that I…

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Many years ago while en route to facilitate and teach in Atlanta, Georgia, our plane was stranded in Philadelphia in a snowstorm.  I say “our” because I had our then seven year old daughter traveling with me. While waiting for the weather to clear, we went to the African American Museum in Philadelphia .  It was here that I was first introduced to Ma’at, the Egyptian goddess and personification of truth, order, balance and justice.  Visit Caroline Seawright’s website to learn…

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