James B. Beard aka Noodin

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

To be one with self is the goal !

There are no new beginnings!

When we know, then we understand that we know little. When we move we are only traveling in the next of a series of circles that some call the natural order. To be where we are is only because we have come to that place from another place. The present is the reality that we seek though we often look in every place but the present. To be one with self is the goal and the reward is to be at one with all that is.

Noodin

To read more about Noodin electronically (click) >>> Ebook, Ibook, Nook Book, Kindle Fire

To read more about Noodin click on this link ~ http://www.northeastcultural.com/white_mocs_on_the_red_road.html

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Are you making a difference?

It is not who you were! It is who you are!

Who remembers a star football player thirty years after his game? Do you remember Rolland Lawrence? I didn't, until I met him. Mr. Bay, as he is called affectionately by the kids at VisionQuest Big Lodge Camp, was a 1975 NFC ALL-PRO for the Atlanta Falcons. Rolland was NFC's 2nd leading interceptor in 1975. A deadly tackler, he gained over 4,000 yards at Tabor.

But this is not about a retired football player. I want to tell you about an extraordinary human being.

One day recently I was doing a project with VisionQuest Academies in Pennsylvania. They were short on Child Care Workers and asked Ed, my partner, and myself to help out. Since we are cleared for Child Care Work with VisionQuest, we were happy to help. We were asked to monitor classes as we have done many times.

Walking down the hall to the classroom, I noticed a board on the wall with pictures of all the young men that had achieved graduation while at VisionQuest over the past years. In the middle was a picture of one teacher. It was Rolland "Bay" Lawrence.

VisionQuest has thirty years of refined experience helping troubled youth to change the course of their lives. The program succeeds by implementing things such as; extraordinary experiences, equine programs, outward bound programs, wagon train and the native fabric. With all that VisionQuest offers, it would not be nearly as successful without a highly skilled and professional staff.

As I walked into the history classroom I was greeted by the youth in a friendly enough manner. Some were acting out a little but no more than one might expect. I took my place by the door to keep the class in and other youth out while waiting for the teacher. He was detained and it would be five minutes before he entered.

Mr. Bay entered the room. Everyone sat down and the class of fifteen youth was quiet.

"Good morning young men." Mr. Bay started in a strong enthusiastic voice. "We are continuing on Black History and we have a lot to cover. There will be a test on Friday so you need to pay close attention."

I listened with intense interest to every word. As he described Malcolm-X, I could almost see him in prison reading the Muslim Teachings. I could remember the city of Buffalo, where I lived, burning in the riots of the late 60’s while Mr. Bay described the Watts Riot in San Francisco.

"Mr. Jim. Where were you when Martin Luther King was killed?"

"In the Navy sir. On destroyer duty in the Atlantic."

"Everyone knows where they were when Martin Luther King was assassinated", he went on. He had the attention of every youth. Many kids who had not been able to sit still for five minutes in their lives were sitting there completely entranced by this teacher.

At the end of the class he hollered to the youth as they were leaving the room. "Don't forget basketball practice tonight. I want all of you there and we WILL be a winning team."

Mr. Bay is not just an extraordinary athlete. This man has dedicated his life; past, present and ongoing to helping youth of all generations. In our travels we meet some fantastic people. Mr. Bay stands tall among my heroes because of what he is and the way he helps to enrich the lives of others around him. That men like Mr. Bay dedicate themselves to helping troubled youth leaves a glimmer of hope for the future of all of us.

Thank you Mr. Bay, for teaching me!

Jim Beard a. k. a. Noodin AHOE!

To read more about Noodin electronically (click) >>> Ebook, Ibook, Nook Book, Kindle Fire

To read more about Noodin click on this link ~ http://www.northeastcultural.com/white_mocs_on_the_red_road.html

Sunday, February 10, 2013

Alone with spirit in the now

Alone with spirit in the now

Tonight I took a walk on the mountain. No one else here. Just me and the wind. 10 degrees and the wind blowing at twenty to thirty miles per hour. Carefully stepping from rock to rock on an icy trail. Beautiful to hear the music wind plays as it comes down the mountain. Alone with spirit in the now. I feel the warmth of my friends and family knowing that you are in the now too.

To read more about Noodin electronically (click) >>> Ebook, Ibook, Nook Book, Kindle Fire

To read more about Noodin click on this link ~ http://www.northeastcultural.com/James_B_Beard_aka_Noodin_Author.html

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Must be time to get up.!

Winter in New Hampshire

A flash of bright light and I am awake. Another flash and the forest is like day. I walk out of my cabin and feel the gentle moist rain in the fog that is drifting through. Another bright light yet no sound. All is silent in the night except the brook as it sings it’s never ending song of life to mother earth nearby.

Must be heat lightning I think, and then it comes. A great flash lights up the fogged in forest and shows every tree with the clarity of a drawing outlining every branch. A crash of thunder so close that the ground shakes. I go back into the cabin. It is three thirty in the morning and the rain is now pounding the ground.

Must be time to get up!

To read more about Noodin electronically (click) >>> Ebook, Ibook, Nook Book, Kindle Fire

To read more about Noodin click on this link ~ http://www.northeastcultural.com/white_mocs_on_the_red_road.html

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Business Mentoring

In this time employers are recognizing the importance of employee attitude and transition. We offer services to establish strong mentoring programs for employees and senior management utilizing traditional Native American Elder methods.

Concepts are offered to reinforce ethical business practices. Guest speakers are available to address varied topics relating to ethical values, social economical issues, native spirit, what prophesy tells us and other topics of interest.

Time is spent with senior management to aid in the improvement of ongoing leadership techniques. Preparation of the next generation of leadership is key to the long term success of any business. The greatest tribute to a leader is the continuing success of his work.

Cultural story telling is applied to demonstrate techniques to pass on business knowledge. Programs to build community and individual balance.

We welcome you to visit the newly designed and updated website for Northeast American Cultural Resource @ www.northeastcultural.com.

Team Members: James Beard aka Noodin, Donna Packard

Corn Soup was good

Three Fires Home Coming

By Peter Schuler

Corn soup was good
Singing and dancing better

When I got my second bowl I stood by the booth eating.
The little girl who took my money said
"you have to go now there is a line'
Everyone laughed

Then she said, "You have lots of ghosts around you"
There was silence
I smiled at her and said that was okay
I walked to a tree taking the silence with me

Corn soup was good
Singing and dancing better

The ghosts have been with me all these many years
since I was a boy
First time anybody mentioned them to me
The very young speak with a clear mind
They have not been taught to be afraid to speak of what they see.
It's too bad that the old no longer see the spirits of their ancestors
Nor do they hear them as they point the way to a return of the quiet ways
Corn soup was good