Therapeutic Asana Sequences by Maryann Pasda DiEdwardo

Maryann DiEdwardo
Yoga Sequence 3
For more information on Maryann's research visit her wiki at http://maryannpasdadiedwardo.wikispaces.com

Asana 3

Begin in seated pose

Calm breath

Relax face

Stretch to the right by placing right arm on the ground with elbow and wrist resting then use left arm to reach overhead and gaze at left elbow

Stretch to the left with above sequence

Come to standing pose in mountain pose with arms to sides

Mountain with arms above head

Take prayer position and repeat 4 sun salutations: extended prayer, 5 pointed star with arms to sides, forward bend half with hands on thighs, forward bend full, lung with right leg back, lung with left leg back, plank, 8 point heart chakra pose with knees, elbows, hands, feet in repose and heart and chin on floor, cobra, up dog, down dog, lung on opposite leg, forward bend, reach with arms to side to extended prayer and close with prayer

Balance pose such as eagle

Sitting stretch with legs wide

Shavasana

Meditation

Maryann DiEdwardo E-RYT 500 Yoga Therapy Sequence 2

Sequence 2
Maryann DiEdwardo E-RYT 500

1. Easy sitting pose with legs crossed
2. Chin mudra with forefinger and thumb touching
3. Reclining tree
4. Cobra
5. Chair pose
6. Walking meditation
7. Sitting meditation

Diedwardo Pairs Music and Writing

http://www.healingmusic.org/Library/Newsroom/PairingLinguisticAndMusicIntelligences.asp

Therapeutic Yoga Asana Sequences 365 Days by Maryann Pasda DiEdwardo

Therapeutic Yoga Asana Sequences 365 Days by Maryann Pasda DiEdwardo

Sequence 1

1. Begin in a laying position on your back on the matt

2. Stretch your arms above your head and reach up with arms and the other way with your legs

3. Next, come onto feet and reach to the left and right with arms raised about head and palms facing

4. Then, bend forward with arms held gently behind back

5. Relax into a full forward bend

6. Sit down on the Matt and use easy pose with legs lightly crossed

7. Perform a forward bend

8. Twist while lying on the back by taking knees up and them to left then right

9. Rest in meditation on your back

Legacy of Katharine Hepburn, book by DiEdwardo

Legacy of Katharine Hepburn: book by Diedwardo-- http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003VYBHXQ/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Maryann DiEdwardo's The Artist's Journal Art for a Cause

Maryann DiEdwardo's The Artist's Journal Art for a Cause is a compilation of works by 3 artists

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006GXOON4/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Blogger highlights vegetarian diet

http://maryanndiedwardo.blogspot.com/?m=1

Vegetarianism and Good Health by Maryann DiEdwardo

Vegetarianism and Good Health by Maryann DiEdwardo is a blog that offers free information on the benefits on a vegetarian diet.

Hurricane Sandy Preparation, Pennsylvania

Keep your phone charged. Get a battery powered charger for your phone. Possibly 3 days of power outages - high wind. Bridges closing especially near NYC. Evacuating nj beaches. Help your family, friends, neighbors, community.

Healing from Cancer Through Painting and Writing by DiEdwardo, Maryann

The Horse Keeper by Maryann and co-author is a hands on text with beautiful art lessons and journaling directions!
http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-4659-6

New ebook by M.Pasda DiEdwardo about miracles of healing by

Maryann writes about the miracles of healing by Our Lord

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007D3SRYS/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Poetry by Maryann DiEdwardo in The River Keeper

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006GJOMLM/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Ebook
The River Keeper is an autobiographical work with poems by Maryann DiEdwardo

Books by Maryann Pasda DiEdwardo

Books by maryann DiEdwardo

The Fourth r
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003VYBHX6/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/AdvancedSearch/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=The+fourth+r+by+Diedwardo

Music Transforms the College English Classroom; The Legacy of Katharine Hepburn;; Pennsylvania Voices journaling, blog, wiki; Writing Based on History.

With co-author: http://www.filedby.com/author/maryann_pasda_diedwardo/782928/works/

The Healing Gifts of Painting and Writing about Horses; The Art of Trees; Book I The Horse Prophet; Book II Appaloosa Visions; Pennsylvania Voices Book III Appaloosa Dreams;The River Keeper; The Legacy of Allison; Collection of Fiction and Non-Fiction; The Artist'sSketch Book; The Marvelous Nature Alphabet Book; Horses about Hope ; Nature Journaling for a Peaceful Spirit; The Mythic Appaloosa; The Passing Light. American Book Publishing.
Link to The Passing Light by Maryann and Patti
http://openlibrary.org/subjects/time:poverty

Reference-how to maintain vegetarianism

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vegetarian-diet/HQ01596

DiEdwardo Books

http://www.filedby.com/author/maryann_pasda_diedwardo/782928/

Vegetarian Saturday

B
Egg whites with mushrooms, spinach, onions
Strawberries

L
Soy milk
Fruit

yoga therapy is a healing modality

Maryann Diedwardo, Homeschool Evaluator

Maryann evaluates for PHAA

http://www.phaa.org/evaluators/MaryAnnDiEdwardo.htm

Horse Therapy book entitled The Horse Keeper by Maryann and Co-author

The Horse Keeper by Maryann and co -author


Horse Therapy
http://reader.mac.com/mobile/v1/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Frss%2Ftag%2Fhorse%2520therapy%2Fnew

The HorseKeeper by Maryann DiEdwardo and co-author is listed as a reference on horse therapy

http://reader.mac.com/mobile/v1/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2Frss%2Ftag%2Fhorse%2520therapy%2Fnew

Artist's Sketch Book by Maryann and Sister

Available on kindle!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B006GXOON4/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Maryann DiEdwardo YouTube Lecture on Zora Neale Hurston, the Beatles, and Film

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=EXz80HFaSmg

Maryann DiEdwardo's EBook on Health

http://maryannpasdadiedwardo.wikispaces.com/E-Book

Prayer

Prayer of St.Jude

Say prayer for 9 days for desperate cause from your deepest loving prayerful hope. Promise to publish.

May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be adored, glorified, loved and preserved now and forever. Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on us, Saint Jude worker of Miracles, pray for us, Saint Jude helper and keeper of the hopeless, pray for us,
Thank you Saint Jude



Read more: http://www.prayers-for-special-help.com/st-jude-prayer.html#ixzz23zTAA98s

The Horse Keeper

The Horse Keeper -workbook for artist, writers http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product.aspx?ISBN=0-7414-4659-6

Diedwardo book in library exhibit in PA

http://m.yahoo.com/w/legobpengine/news/mythic-appaloosa-grace-pennsylvania-library-association-book-exhibit-000036275.html?orig_host_hdr=news.yahoo.com&.intl=US&.lang=en-US

The Mythic Appaloosa by Maryann Diedwardo, Patricia Pasda - New, Rare & Used Books Online at Alibris Marketplace

The Mythic Appaloosa by Maryann Diedwardo, Patricia Pasda - New, Rare & Used Books Online at Alibris Marketplace

Vegetarian Menu Day 7

Breakfast. Hummus. Peaches. Tea.
Lunch. Veggie Burger. Soy Milk.
Dinner. Eggplant. Basil. Garlic.

Book Review by Maryann DiEdwardo published in The Educational Forum

Maryann DiEdwardo's book review entitled "Student Voices" has been published by Taylor and Francis in The Educational Forum 27 June 2012 Volume 76, Issue 3, July 2012, pages 398-399.

Vegetarian Menu day 16

Breakfast. Eggs. Spinach. Acai juice.
Lunch. Pineapple. Whey protein and soy milk.
Dinner. Beets. Broccoli and Kale.

Vegetarian Menu Day 15

Breakfast. Eggs.Celery.
Lunch. Fiber bar. Fennel.
Dinner. Tofu. Salad. Cooked vegetables.

Vegetarian Menu Day 14

Breakfast. Berry Muffin.
Lunch. Salad.
Dinner. Baked potato.

Vegetarian Menu Day 13

Breakfast. Bagel.
Lunch. Miso Soup. Apple.
Dinner. Zucchini flowers and lima beans.

Vegetarian Menu Day 12

Breakfast. Toast and eggs.
Lunch. Energy protein bar.
Dinner. Tofu. Potatoes. Salad.

Vegetarian Sunday Menu 11

Breakfast. Egg whites.
Lunch.Cabbage.
Dinner. Peanut butter sandwich.

Vegetarian Menu Day 10

Breakfast. Beet juice.
Lunch. Fiber bar.
Dinner. Salad with avocado.

Maryann on Twitter

Follow Maryann DiEdwardo on Twitter @MaryannpasdaD

Vegetarian Menu day 9

Breakfast. Soy protein shake.
Lunch. Sandwich with tomato and mozzarella.
Dinner. Lentil Soup.

The Passing Light, a novel about transforming poverty, by Maryann and co-author (excerpt)

Excerpt from The Passing Light by Maryann and her sister
http://www.pdbookstore.com/comfiles/pages/Pasda.shtml 

Dedication by the Authors MaryAnn and Patti

Dedicated to those who believe that poverty can be and shall be crushed by the Glory of God and those who love. The Passing Light is Book One of our Pennsylvania Voices Transforming Poverty Series.  Multigenerational, multicultural, our book is themed with a myriad of characters who represent poverty in her dimensional weave of sorrow that spans four centuries.
The Irish, Jonathan and his sister Joan who flee Ireland during the Potato Famine build a new life in American with the aid of Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, Latinas, and other immigrants. Set in the twenty first century and told by a Polish Jewish Archeologist who finds a diary, The Passing Light tells the story of the 18^th 19^th and 20^th century resilience, courage and faith. When Jonathan becomes blind, he learns to live again with the help of his companion dog, with the miracle of the first service dog as the guide to the human master. Eventually, Jonathan marries but his sister Joan dies in childbirth. As the baby grows, Lily as the adopted daughter of Jonathan will marry a former slave. Harshly bruised by the loss of his real family, through marriage to a white woman, an African American former slave heals a community and the immigrants who dwell with fear of poverty by his generosity and community spirit.  We balance the message with the action and develop the semi-autobiographical story teller character Margaret through her creation of secondary characters to represent other immigrants.
Social justice as a paradigm for the novel resounds with tension and resolution dependent upon the silent resilience of the individual. Equally, hopes and dreams of those who came to American save her from corruption and disruption by evil forces of humans who only seek materialism.  But with the understanding of the pain of poverty and the building of community sharing and compassion, the face of poverty is finally crushed by the love of members of communities who believe that life is life, love is all that truly exists, and service to others is the answer to life on earth. Love is the center of existence.
Experience the beautiful Pennsylvania landscape, the wonder of spiritual growth and the peaceful touch of animals while you learn about the quest for God through the stories of immigrants who love family and life itself. A love story, an historical memoir, and a inspirational spiritual tale, a journey that reveals in the simple essence of the human condition, our work transcends time to reach our audience through a unique blend of nature and human kindnesses based on remembrances memories, reference for the natural world and spiritual peace. 
Ultimately, The Passing Light, our reaching to the reader for compassionate healing, offers grief therapy as we journey with Jonathan through his life goal of saving his sister Joan then losing her as she dies in childbirth, to raising Joan’s child Lily with newfound renewed hope and peace as he progresses through the grief stages with guidance from the Holy Spirit.  In selected areas of chapter entitled with character names and dates of birth and death, we move away from the use of plot and structure to employ stream-of-consciousness to emphasize the psychological aspects of our characters.       

                                                       Message from the Authors

     Our Pennsylvania Voices Transforming Poverty Series forms a set of books dedicated to feeding the hungry and ending poverty. Thank you, God, for food, shelter, and Patti Pasda with the gift of survival from cancer to aid others through prayer, painting and writing. Patti continues to guide through her many books paintings and lectures for children as well as adults.

    During the early months of 2009, contemplation and prayer on the land where I live promoted me to write a diary, a paradigm for The Passing Light.  I visited special places that inspired me to retain hope as I experienced life changes such as job shifts, illness, and the death of my parents. The land between rivers emerged as a template and voice to tell a story that carries hope. I came to know poverty during the twentieth century. My father experienced her during the Black March in Eastern Europe and my mother found her in the confines of a childhood in the coal regions of Pennsylvania with her.

     To end world hunger, we banish selfishness and engender hope through sharing. Share your plenty with others so you engage in peaceful acts to bridge poverty through contentedness. Be happy with less. Care for ourselves with enough to live, eat, breathe, and give away as much to those in need. Care for brothers and sister of the world community.  To banish poverty we banish fear.

        Poverty causes a myriad of health issues including blindness which we address in our novel. Jonathan’s blindness is representational of all disabilities which do not lessen human dignity, but instead act as a gift to build the human need for dependency and faith.                                                                                                  

         We use our imaginations to design an historical background of poverty as she finds a voice in the fictional tale of Jonathan who survives a tumultuous time in Ireland but seeks new life in America. Cultural Legacy of Poverty befits culture, a global culture that resounds with those of all nations, overcoming poverty through educational transformation; conclusions in our story vary from the gift of faith and hope to the action of purpose in serving others.   
Italics represent the inner consciousness of the creator of The Passing Light, Margaret, who is a semi-autobiographical representation of the authors.
                                                                                                        MaryAnn Pasda DiEdwardo


This book was first conceived as a voice for those in poverty inspired by the late Charles Dickens.
                                                                                                         Patricia J. Pasda.
                                                        Acknowledgements by MaryAnn and Patti

The Passing Light is set in years directly after the Irish Potato Famine.

     We graciously thank all our mentors, friends, and students who have journeyed with us to find the dream of healing. We also thank our publisher who presents this work to humanity and helps us share our voices.                                                                                                                                                            
     We are fiction writers who see beyond the ordinary to make the extraordinary and invite our readers to experience the short fiction novella in a different light: as a healing endeavor and a lesson in love. Rooted in our love for prayer, the novella exists as a short writing effort rooted in our love for books coupled with the common story telling troupe which invites invention and structure. We create a novel for all ages but particularly for the youth of a global society where the search for love is the greatest quest of all.  A work of fiction, and a testimonial to the goodness and healing of God, we find forgiveness in the rivers of the state of Pennsylvania and memories that fill us with gentleness. Through a fiction story, we show the love of God through characters who exemplify strengths.
     In 2000, when our Father’s illness forced relocation to a nursing home, Patti and Maryann turned to prayer. Then, Patti was diagnosed with cancer.  “I survive the cancer treatments through prayer, painting and writing. We are Christian Authors who praise God for the gifts of writing and painting.” Patti Pasda

We affirm that our story is the creation of God’s wisdom.

In response to society’s need for art and knowledge, we present a book on healing from the poverty of hunger. We invite our readers to spur to action for their wellness at whatever state they find themselves in today: write, paint, or share friendship as we have to brighten days and heal. We share our voices with the young, the professional, or the elderly. Our voices reach out to all humanity.

We care for the hungry, homeless or the lonely and suggest that our work may be for all humanity.

We suggest that all our readers own joyous days within the situations today while reading and hope our readers will seek out gifts of healing inherent in the myth we present.  How did we begin our journeys for life through the creative process to heal daily, weekly, yearly, and to continue to be well? Our first writing experiences were in a kitchen in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, our hometown. We remember using pen and paper to create stories. Well, those days, at the age of two and nine, we recall the beginning of artistic journeys that led us to awakenings that we could hardly imagine.  Now we write and cherish friendships with the great gifts of God, faith, hope, charity, love, peace, joy, humility, the traits embodied in Jonathan and Daighre, translating the wonder of story into a meaning that bridges human suffering into compassion by sharing share food with those who hunger and those who also thirst for love.                                                                                                                                                      

                                         Prologue
To show varied styles of thought in writing, italics represent the inner consciousness of the creator of The Passing Light, Margaret, who is a semi-autobiographical representation of the authors.
Epic poetry, the framework of our novel, remains the only true form of language that can accurately explain the bombardment that we experienced in the 21^st century with illness, changes and loss of loved ones as well as economic strife that often scared us into the inability to cope. We faced many challenges, including our father’s illness and Patti’s diagnosis of cancer.  Blessed by faith to continue life, Patti turned to writing to approach treatments and setbacks as well as triumphs with the creative process. It is now December 2009. Five years have passed since we started to write our series called Pennsylvania Voices.
The Passing Light is the book of hope. Readers experience a story, a journey, a way to heal through storytelling techniques of literary thought that take us away from the reality of suffering into the light of God’s grace and love as we noticed in our love of history that God saved others just like us but in different times but in our very home town. When we join to write, the magic process of sisterhood, love and cherishing each others’ gifts and the need to write to continue to develop positive visions of hope arise. Writing, an art, is a necessary endeavor natural for the growth of human intelligence. Our book is based on a series of years of tragedy and hope. Two sisters, writers, artists and master teachers, as the 21^st century dawned and 9/11 occurred, we experienced circumstances that challenged and tested our faith and inner strength. Maryann was diagnosed with lupus; Patti learned that she had cancer; Dad and Mom died.  As the economic stature of America changed our futures seemed dim. Our seashore house was sold; our business closed. Patti became poor. Maryann served in a local soup kitchen.
Our family of four disintegrated in what seemed like a flash of light that forever took away what we knew, the house, the traditions, the love? No. Not the love. That remains in our hearts as we write a novel that depicts our 21^st century struggles through the eyes of a ghost who inhabits our Bethlehem apartment. We speak through our narrator who is a 21^st century woman named Margaret.  We also tell a tale of human strife and persistence based on our visions of history. Writing gives us courage and builds back brain neurons as well. When tragedy strikes, the human mind suffers but with faith in God and the gift of writing, we live on. We gained hope through those tragic years as we saw possibilities in loss and lack of funds to feed our family of pets. Patti created a small personal service dog organization to help her with her cancer related symptoms. Dogs can help those who are cancer survivors with weakened brain function due to chemotherapy, memory loss and slower moving bodies.  We wanted to share our story of hope with global readers of all nations.

The Passing Light is the voice for poverty in the 21^st century. We represent the poor as we are children of the parents who struggled with 20^th century failures and 19^th century political turmoil that lead to the famine.  We particularly reflect and echo the poor who experienced potato and bread famines. Our hope is that our readers envision a new future with equal food and dignity for all humans.
Margaret Cummins, a semi-autobiographical representation of the authors, archaeologist, of the 21^st century,  finds a diary by Daighre of the 20^th century. He speaks as the voice of the authors when she describes her inner pain and triumph representative of the human speaking talent. Her character acts as a bridge from the past to the future.  Her imagination is in her own language pattern, so she thinks in English but please translate the language into that of whom ever is speaking by listening to the soft quiet touch of human kindness evident in Margaret’s writing. We are of course creating a fiction work that is a part of our own healing. 
Margaret is the voice of the dual authors’ consciousness, as both authors experienced poverty, abuse and illness in the 20^th century of materialism post World War II Industrial Era, but found healing through faith of human compassion non-religious yet like all religions of the world with a very spiritual tone and theme, a reaching to the Almighty, in the 21^st Century.
A testimonial, a fictional novel about social justice and a self help book about healing, The Passing Light employs plot, characterization, historical memoir about fictional places that are visions of imagination, plus stream-of-consciousness of inner voices based on truth which can heal. Read the book to remember that your own experiences may be hard.  You may know tribulations, but you can ask for forgiveness and peace through God. In what ever way you pray, reach out to the God you know in the silence of the night or the light of the day or the Goodness you see in others. We especially acknowledge the volunteers of soup kitchen’s of the world who provide food and shelter for those who are in need. In you we see God. Thank you.

With my friend and sister Patti Pasda, I am writing a new book called The Passing Light about becoming and serving the poor. The story is based on a vision of a ghost that lives in my sister's apartment. We placed the story in the time of the potato famine and write characters who survive despite abuse and loss. We also write about our own sadness to combine memory and memoir with fiction. The result is a healing type of writing that binds us together!

Prologue and Interior Monologues before each chapter by Margaret Cummins, fictional archeologist and creation of the authors, a character who finds a diary on an island during a dig in Pennsylvania in the Susquehanna River near Harrisburg, and subsequently wrote The Passing Light based on her experience in the craft of writing and creating  Jonathan  as passages of light, based on remembrances of Margaret’s unique interpretations

overcoming poverty by Maryann DiEdwardo 

poverty 

can be and shall be crushed 

by the Glory of God and those who love. 

Framed by an epic poem, our novel 

The Passing Light is based 

on our struggles as Judeo-Christian 

Women who survived 

the brutal violence akin 

to domestic strife of the twentieth 

century, a heritage of Judiasm 

that was hidden for many years, 

and a life in Christ that they 

accept and lead as attending 

members of 

Trinity Episcopal Church 

in Bethlehem 

where they help feed the poor.

Writers Maryann and Patti 

are authors who create a

 main character based 

on a spirit they know 

dwells in their old art studio. 

Battling the natural world 

of early America as an

 immigrant from Ireland, 

a crusader for Christ, a 

Christian man who lives 

every day for God, 

on a quest to live as a 

free man in a different 

land, Jonathan 

endures the loss of his 

parents due to the 

potato famine in Ireland 

during his early years, 

the immigration to 

America with an abusive uncle,

escaping to freedom 

while protecting his only living relative, 

his sister Joan, 

her ultimate death in childbirth, 

his blindness and old age 

with his dog, his lovely wife 

Daighre and adopted African 

American son Elon by his side

The purpose of the poem 

is to reveal the narrative 

events of The Passing Light, 

a novel about faith 

and hope during despair 

based on the survival for 

life by authors as 

they find ways to 

fight abuse in the 

20th century and Maryann’s 

chronic illness called lupus 

and Patti’s cancer in the 21st century.

The action of the poem 

symbolizes human struggles 

spanning three centuries to 

communicate the 

hopes of the past that

 inspire those of us who are 

today living during economic hardships. 

The Muse of Calliope 

illustrates the pain and 

sorrow of Jonathan 

as he lost Joan to an early 

death but bears the pain 

only to become blind due 

to starvation when 

he was a child in 

Ireland during the 

Potato Famine of the 19th century.

Eighteen Forty-five, cries of fear of death

Real loss of life and loved ones as we lost 

our potato crop and kin, starvation 

came by day and night. Ireland lost one 

million of us. Famine did not care who we were. 

The fire held her hand tightly;

Guardian angels brought her light,

And made her future days bright ‘til

Her body failed to breathe during 

The childbirth that she prayed for but 

Such woes grieve Jonathan; his sword

Died with Joan on a blissful day 

yet the trees sway and the wind blows

She dies while the wind blows softly

Her death brings the ancestors

Who cry as well

We cry for all our loved ones

Death brings life again as renewed 

spirits walk the earth

Jonathan’s eyes stop working

His strife will end with death as well

But animals prevail on the earth as friends 

of humans who care

Deeply and who take care for the world

poverty 

can be and shall be crushed 

by the Glory of God and those who love. 

The Irish, Jonathan and his sister Joan 

who flee Ireland during the Potato Famine 

build a new life in America 

with the aid of Native Americans, 

African Americans, Latinos, Latinas, 

and other immigrants. 

Set in the twenty first century 

and told by a Polish Jewish Archeologist 

who finds a diary, 

The Passing Light tells the story of the 18th 19th and 20th 

century resilience, courage and faith. 

When Jonathan becomes blind, 

he learns to live again with the help of his companion dog, 

with the miracle of the first service dog as the 

guide to the human master. 

Eventually, Jonathan marries but his sister 

Joan dies in childbirth. As the baby grows, 

Lily as the adopted daughter of Jonathan will marry a former slave. 

Harshly bruised by the loss of his real family, 

through marriage to a white woman, 

an African American former slave heals a community 

and the immigrants who dwell with fear of poverty 

by his generosity and community spirit.  

poverty 

can be and shall be crushed 

by the Glory of God and those who love. 

Hear the sound of the whistle 

as the train passes by with

Social justice as a paradigm 

for the novel resounds 

with tension and resolution dependent 

upon the silent resilience of the individual. 

Equally, hopes and dreams of those 

who came to American save her from 

corruption and disruption 

by evil forces of humans 

who only seek materialism.  

But with the understanding of the pain 

of poverty and the building of 

community sharing and compassion, 

the face of poverty is finally crushed

by the love of members of communities 

who believe that life is life, 

love is all that truly exists, 

and service to others is the answer to life on earth. 

Love is the center of existence. 

Experience the beautiful Pennsylvania landscape, 

the wonder of spiritual growth 

and the peaceful touch of animals 

while you learn about the quest for God 

through the stories of immigrants 

who love family and life itself. 

A love story, an historical memoir, 

and a inspirational spiritual tale, 

a journey that reveals in the simple 

essence of the human condition, 

our work transcends time to reach 

our audience through 

a unique blend of nature and 

human kindnesses based on

 remembrances memories, 

reference for the natural world 

and spiritual peace.  

poverty 

can be and shall be crushed 

by the Glory of God and those who love. 

Ultimately, The Passing Light, 

our reaching to the reader 

for compassionate healing, 

offers grief therapy as we 

journey with Jonathan 

through his life goal of 

saving his sister Joan 

then losing her as she 

dies in childbirth, 

to raising Joan’s child Lily 

with newfound 

renewed hope 

and peace as 

he progresses 

through the grief stages 

with guidance from the Holy Spirit. 

 In selected areas of chapter 

entitled with character 

names and dates of birth and death, 

we move away from the 

use of plot and structure to employ 

stream-of-consciousness 

to emphasize the psychological 

aspects of our characters.       

 
 Prologue by Margaret Cummins
The Passing Light, based upon a diary written in the mountains and by the rivers of Pennsylvania in the mid eighteenth century. My memories span three centuries, the eighteenth when my ancestors arrived in America, the 20^th century with two world wars, human suffering and triumph, and the 21^st century of conflict with other nations as America became the attacked on September 11, 2001. My voice is female in origin, but I have experienced the events of time as no other. My characters are revelations of God through the art of writing.

I found a small journal, of worn leather, during an archeological dig in Pennsylvania on a tiny island in the Susquehanna River in the early 21^st century. As my past was cruel to me, I intend to live my life as an adult in the service of other beings to share my suffering and to bring joy to others through story telling. My name is Margaret Cummins,  a resident of 21^st century Philadelphia, I live near a national monument that commemorates the tragic Irish potato famine and the resilience of the Irish people who chose to immigrate to the United States (and Philadelphia specifically) in search of a more prosperous life.

Through a series of chapters, use of my imagination based on my experiences on earth, I want to tell the truth about how my understanding of those who kept the diary were able to withstand famine, cold, homelessness, drought, and fear through faith in the love God provides.   While I hope to concentrate on the historical features of my imaginings based on true accounts of the time, I create the story as a fiction work based on my truth, not that of any other human. 

I am the story teller of this chaptered novel. But my tale is also about my twenty-first century struggles with a life laden with miseries and joys as well. My voice is within each character, but I feel most akin to Daighre, the woman who wrote the journal from long ago. I was born in Pennsylvania, in a small town some miles beyond Philadelphia. I am of Judeo Christian birth, the child who experienced the second world war as a memory that my father held in his troubled mind due to his prisoner of war experience and his marriage to a mentally ill woman.
My mother sheltered me from life as much as she could to hide her illness as an only child, I came to love her illness as my illness, and I will always treasure the years I tried to save her as she had fits of anger that almost killed her. But during her eighty years on the earth, she had a good life because I gave up any joys that others desired for me such as marriage and children and family to care for her 
Dream of love. I cannot change the upbringing I experience or the pain from loss of the mother I loved no matter what. I cherished her.  She lay in a bed most of her life and I surrounded her with my life, a treasure to me.  Now, she has passed away, I look for light everywhere to share her peace that I feel she has gained through death to a new life with Goodness.

Margaret, she would call! I ran to her side form the day I could walk until the day she died. I never married but embraced archeology as a profession later in life to surround myself with understanding the human condition. We as a species imagine that we pass through a portal or a way to a different space when we die. I know we do as my characters are based on ghosts that light our way. We are not alone. Spirit guides us as we transfer the energy of love that exists when we live one life into another. So I offer my reader the knowledge that I humbly gained through the dimension of faith, hope and live that have beckoned me to write. My first book, I join you in the quest for a peaceful existence with insight and comprehension of the past to prepare for the future.

Writing is a leaf on a tree that falls then withers. While the leaf lives, the writing speaks of human experience that may help readers to cope and to learn how to survive. Upon the time of death, the leaf becomes a part of the earth to be reborn in the next resplendent foliage. My hope is exactly that wish: may my readers learn to accept the situations you have and to prosper with the help of the Almighty. My book that tells my unique pain and survival follows.

I enter a short passage from the diary by a woman named Daighre, before each chapter which reveals the details I imagine from the diary entry.  Please imagine with me and ponder our ancestors.

Rivers. Here is Philadelphia, the city where I believe the thought of writing life, the essence of the ability to tell an epic, originates, with Delaware river, a majesty. To the east and north the Lehigh and Susquehanna rivers that powerfully command the land and flood or dry as the earth desires.  But rivers hold truths that show breath and calm and air as the truths of being, of God, of simply life. Thrust between his remembrances of his beloved sister and his lover, Jonathan strives to make his way in a small Pennsylvania town during the mid 20^th century during the industrial boom. A light in my apartment, the image of the character, reveals the story I tell. His ghost appears as a dim light. 

Nature passes by us through portals of love that diminish if we are angry or scared. Death is not an end but life starts anew by the heart memory. As you read, imagine your own life as a passing of light daily. There is no yesterday or tomorrow.  Just today exists. Time does not exist. See hope: light surrounds us. Trees contain memories; nature is the passage. Rivers speak; angels exist. Recall stories daily to relieve and recreate. Writing is about nature, observe your surroundings, see light, see angels, who guide us. Your relatives are images of light that carry you through life. In conversations, notice how others remember stories told by relatives that have either confused or inspired. We carry ALL the memories of our ancestors.  Form the shape of your memory by thinking differently about a sad experience.  There is joy in all of life, even the saddest part. You form the results of the content of your life story. I select to recall my Mother as an angel who was ill to keep me from the hurtful imaginings of the darker side of life.  If she had been perfect, I would not be able to sense the truths of life that I create within Jonathan, Daighre, Joan and Quin. See those who surround you as dreams of hope. Nature shows us light.  Look between clouds, rivers, and leaves to seek possibilities that your life is just as it should be. Your struggle is the way.
Stay home to learn about yourself. Visions set in prayer of any type heal you as you journal or think of your life as a collage of representations or metaphors just like I portray my imaginary world in The Passing Light.

Margaret’s inner voice or consciousness speaks:

My writing helps me remember with fondness.  Yet, I am troubled as I have nightmares about my mother, and the dreams do to stop. But through the inner peace that I believe comes from God, I can watch myself float, grieve and despair. I am convinced that these events are important as they make me who I am.  My memories form me and my reactions to the pains I recall are a part of me.  Some days I shake when I think that my life that may have been altered by the fact that I lived with a person who was mentally ill. Although I am fine, I have scars that have formed in my inner mind. Through God, I learn to accept my horrible memories and to fight the deterioration of my spirit that they cause. If I pray to God for guidance all day, I can discontinue my frightful memories and be at a peaceful spot to breathe and to live as myself. I cannot rest when I live in the past. Writing about others who also have suffered and who have to deal with the death of loved ones or the death of aspects of the personal self due to control or mental illness or strife such as poverty, I cope, I survive and I realize that life is life and I am still me.  All the parts of me represent who I am today.  I can love myself as a survivor of a difficult childhood, an abusive childhood, yet I can rise above the memories into a newness and a view that my pain and knowledge through God can heal.  Without God I am nothing.                                                                The Passing Light                                                                      

Vegetarian Menu. Day 8.

Breakfast. Eggs. Watermelon.
Lunch. Salad. Egg rolls.
Dinner. Tofu and vegetables.

Music transforms writing through inspiration

My book, Music Transforms the College English Classroom, also inspires writers! http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1434314294/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Vegetarian Menu. Day 7.

Breakfast. Oatmeal. Tea.
Lunch. Vegetable Burger. Onions. Tomatoes. Pear.
Dinner. Protein Shake.

Vetegetarian Menu. Day 6

Breakfast. Prunes. Bran. Rice Milk.
Lunch. Mango Smoothies.
Dinner. Wheat Bagel. Blueberries.

Vegetarian Menu. Day 5.

Breakfast. Eggs. Half wheat bagel.
Lunch. Protein bar.
Dinner. Quinoa. Hummus.

Vegetarian Menu. Saturday. Day 4

Breakfast. Whole wheat pancakes with cherries.
Lunch. Tofu.
Dinner. Cooked broccoli. Baked Ziti

Vegetarian Diet Day 3

Breakfast. Eggs with almond milk and arugula.
Lunch. Juice.
Dinner. Vegetable Burger. Oranges.

Vegetarian Diet suggested Menu Contents

Fruit and veggie
Organic lean protein tofu or veggie burgers
Omega 3 fatty acids by tablet
Water

Vegetarian menu. Day 2.

B Green juice with spirulina and slice whole grain bread
L protein (tofu) and cooked veggies without oil
D liquid meal - juice made of strawberries, carrots and veggie protein and popcorn

Maryann's latest research on writing -new book!

Check out Maryann's book on writing based on history: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1438921322/ref=redir_mdp_mobile

Vegetarian Menu. day 1

Breakfast. Soy smoothie.
Lunch. Coconut milk soup with carrots and turnips.
Dinner. Rice.

Blog and Wiki Journals

Students of the 21st century benefit from educational models that mimic the design of Twitter and Facebook. Blogs that can be programmed to be private or public within digital open access classrooms such as Moodle are similar to the twitter or facebook interface with quick posting. Wiki or web page can be edited in digital classroom platform to act as a model to motivate. Create assignments that use life story journaling about immediate or recent experiences to help students learn to create their own voices with immediate and lively feedback from peers.

Book Review by Maryann

Maryann DiEdwardo's book review entitled "Student Voices" has been published by Taylor and Francis in The Educational Forum 27 June 2012 Volume 76, Issue 3, July 2012, pages 398-399.

Pairing Music and Linguistic Intelligences

Maryann wrote and published an article about how music enhances learning in writing classrooms.

http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ773903&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ773903