Welcome to The Seeds Storyteller Series: Difference-Making During the Corona Crisis. We’ll be talking with Dr. J  Kyle Gregory who is comin’ to us from ITALY about his passion to inspire, open up life, and build community through the arts around the world. Get ready to discover your next steps (or leaps!) of inspired ACTion to make a tangible difference amidst these challenging days of the Coronavirus pandemic.

In case you missed the livestream, check out the replay right here or head to your favorite social media platform: YouTube | IGTV | Facebook. While you’re there, subscribe to join the fun with us at Seeds of Exchange. Keep the convo goin’ in the comments below.

Really, don’t miss this! Make sure you join us … you will see just how amazing this brother is! Kyle is a jazz musician and educator – playing and teaching jazz around the world (concerts cancelled in France, England, Italy, Thailand, and China over the last 2 months), involved in helping people create social spaces, where they live, where they can open up and live their lives with others through the arts – which imaginatively present us with the deep questions about meaning that really matter. He hosts arts encounters all over the world that explore our key words for life: journey, space, story, beauty, and listening. (Wow, right? … Wait ’til you hear more about all of this from him!)

WHAT you can look forward to in this conversation:

– ARMCHAIR TRAVEL to a few of the many places Kyle has lived and worked. Hear what is happening in Italy (where he now lives) amidst the Coronavirus pandemic today.

– LEARN MORE about Kyle’s lifelong passion and calling as an artist and cultural advocate ‘round the world and what fueled him and a few friends to create a global movement called Nexus (nexusonline.org).

About ten years ago, a small group of friends recognized the need in their own lives to slow down and process life experiences. Like many people, we often felt overwhelmed by urgent demands and found little space for reflection. We read books and watched films together, discovering that the arts can be an inspiring tool to help us reflect on our own stories. As things grew we began hosting events, built around shared encounters with the arts. A key feature was simply bringing people together, so we decided to call this endeavor Nexus. We design dynamic interactive arts encounters that turn tired individuals into an inspired community. -Kyle 

– TANGIBLE IDEAS of how to intentionally CONNECT with and LISTEN to each other in these days of physical distancing.

Be intentional about connecting to your own inner life and to sharing your inner life’s journey with others. -Kyle

– BASK IN THE BEAUTY of a song or two by Sing without Words, a masterful group of jazz musicians of which Kyle is a part.

– POETRY SHARE – Hear why this is one of Kyle’s favorite poems (and explore if there’s a connection for you in your life). Poetry resources on Nexus website.

Now I become myself. It’s taken
Time, many years and places;
I have been dissolved and shaken,
Worn other people’s faces…
-a portion of “Now I become myself”, by May Sarton

– A GUIDED MOMENT to be still and take a “PoP” (Place of Pause) together with a specific idea or two for you to take into your everyday life.

NUDGES for inspired ACTion:

1 – READ A GREAT STORY OUT LOUD with whomever you are locked down with (or do it virtually!) and then have a conversation about how this story connects with your own life story. Kyle spoke about: A Soldier of the Great War, by Mark Helprin / Book resources on the Nexus website.

2 – ENGAGE WITH KYLE’S MUSIC at jkylegregory.bandcamp.com. His international jazz quartet, Sing Without Words, is releasing a new album called “Be Still and Know.” / Music resources on the Nexus website.

3 – CHOOSE 1 WAY TO INTENTIONALLY CONNECT this week – to your own inner life and with others. / Living resources (staying connected & more – maybe through watching and then talking about one of these films) on the Nexus website.

There are no life “experts” – we are all here to learn about living from one another. -Kyle

4 – COMMIT TO YOUR OWN PLACES OF PAUSE. Choose 1 thing to weave into your life from our storyteller’s practice that will create plentyFULL peace within you.

I love to listen to music without words, like our song Green Pastures on our new album Be Still and Know. -Kyle

5 – CONNECT WITH, follow, and friend our team:

• Kyle: www.Nexus.org | Facebook and Insta | Music on Bandcamp | Email
• Sarah: www.seedsofexchange.org | Facebook and Insta | 7 ways to join the fun so you can be inspired and ignited to make a difference locally and globally, together: 

ABOUT the Seeds Storyteller Series:

Difference-Making During the Corona Crisis | Stories of community, compassion, and creativity in the midst of everyday life, today. We share these stories about everyday difference-makers with you in the midst of the Corona pandemic so you can be informed, inspired, and ignited to care for yourself and others in the midst of these disrupted and challenging days. Get ready to find a bit more of your story as you listen to the stories of ARTivists (artist-activists), students, parents, elders, entrepreneurs, and activists!