Freedom House LIVE Author Summit with Mary Pat Mengato

I just want to welcome everyone. Mary Pat, you say hello to everyone. We'll let a few more minutes for people to come on in.

Okay.

Hi, Ellen.

Hi, Linda. Thanks for being here. It's nice to see you.

Yeah.

I was happy to get your invitation because I had forgotten about it. So that's all good.

I mean, not.

Not on purpose, but.

No, life is.

Yeah.

Sent out a bunch again this morning, I think here comes my Elise. But yeah, it's. There will be a replay, so that's good. I can send that out to people that miss it because a number of people had said they would get on, but I suspect they may have forgotten or couldn't arrange their schedules or whatever.

But I'm glad.

I'm really glad you're here.

It's great.

So it'll be fun.

Well, beautiful ladies, let me introduce myself. My name is Kira Poulson. I am the founder of C and CEO of Freedom House publishing Company. So this is a publishing house where we publish books that change the world. And Mary Pat is one of our amazing authors. And part of being a Freedom House author is that we do these beautiful live summits. So what this is, is this is like an author signing, but so much better because we're going to talk to Mary Pat. I'm going to ask her questions about the book, and then we're going to open it up to you guys. If you have questions about it or if you've read her book and you've had experiences and you want to share about it, this is. This is what we get to do here. It's going to be really fun, and I'm just so grateful that you're all here. So before we jump in, we're actually all just going to take some deep breaths in. And the reason is, is we're going to get into our bodies, which is one of the most powerful things we can do to hold space. This isn't just some zoom call like, I hold these summits so that these change the whole day for you. That this moment in time actually activates something inside of you. And listening to Mary Pat and all that she shares, that it will bring you more light. And so we're going to just all take a nice, deep breath in together. So if you want to put your palms up, if you can lift your shoulders, I want you to take a nice, deep breath in, all the way to your lower belly and breathe out and breathe all the way in. And I want you to just honor yourself. Whatever your day has looked like, whatever your day is. Going to look like that you created the space and time to be here, honoring who you are, your heart, your gifts, and just really creating this beautiful space as we celebrate this new author and her book. One more breath in and out. There we go. All right, so I'm going to invite everyone to keep their microphones on mute until you talk. That just helps us have the recording be really clean and clear. This will be a replay that Mary Pat's going to share to all the people who couldn't come live. So we just want the recording to be really on point for them. Now I'm going to invite Mary Patience. Why don't you take the stage and just talk a little bit about why you wrote this book and what you hope this book will bring to the world. Okay.

Well, I think that it really. It had been probably gestating for a long time, and I wasn't aware of.

It.

Because I've been studying and also teaching unity in motion for many, many years and always was struggling a little bit for a long time, trying to describe what it was and what the experience of it was and just so playing with language sometimes and how to talk about it. And so I had. When about three years ago in 2019, I was in a somatic session with a friend who we exchange regularly, and she had a vision just pop up all of a sudden that I should write this book. That I was going to write a book about unity in motion and nature, connection with nature, and that the there would be photos in the book by my husband, Larry. So I just felt this instant, yes, you know, so I think it was really in me, and I didn't even know it. And so. And I mentioned it to Larry, and he was like, oh, yeah, this is great. So we just decided to, okay, we're going to do this. We have no idea what we're doing. We're going to give it a go. And then immediately the universe responded. It was really interesting. There were just synchronicities that showed up, and we had an opportunity that we didn't expect, like a month or two later to travel to a writing workshop out in Arizona. And so that's where we really started just exploring. We didn't really go to many sessions of the workshop itself. We were out on the. On the land, just finding places for photos. And I was beginning to meditate while practicing on the land and just begin to get a sense of what it was I was going to actually be writing about. So that was wonderful. And then came back and began writing. I mean, I had never had really a writing practice before. And so I began a writing practice of trying to set up a beautiful writing space and write every morning or at some point in the day. And I was just playing around and what I first wrote were sort of essay like pieces. And I worked with that for quite a good long time. And then at some point I just was getting really frustrated. It just. They were fine, but they weren't really saying somehow they didn't feel like what I wanted to say or what the book really was. And I had sent the essays to Chris Dion, the founder of Unity in Motion, and he thought they were fine, they were great, and they were accurate to the work. So I was really pleased about that, but they just didn't feel like the book I was trying to do. So at that point, suddenly I was out under my tree in the back and doing some movements and I just felt this sense of poetry coming through and. And the tree, this tree is my friend. I talk to it all the time. It talks to me. And I just love being with the presence of this tree. And it basically said, well, I want to help. And so then I just felt like a poem came through in that moment. And so I was like, oh, this feels right. So I started playing with poetry and. And it was quite a journey because I hadn't really written poetry or even read all that much poetry really. I mean, I love poetry. So it was just very rich. And that was about the time that you showed up in my life, Kira, that I happened to jump on some webinar that you were doing. And I was like, oh yeah, I think she could be really helpful. And I just. I got a gut sense that oh yeah, I should sign up for your program. And so it was the write your book in two months or something like that. Well, it didn't happen that fast, but it happened pretty quickly. And so Larry and I continued doing a couple of trips here and there over the span of the couple years. And so we sort of started to accumulate some photos and ideas that way to. And so I just was playing with poetry and at some point the most wonderful thing happened. I was thinking about who would I dedicate this book to. And I was so surprised. That instantly popped into my head. The spirit, I guess, of Sister Mary Lewis, who was my sixth grade teacher. I hadn't thought about her in years and she was a wonderful teacher. And we had done. The first time I ever experienced poetry. We did a unit on poetry. I guess I don't remember that well, but we had to Memorize a couple.

Of poems and we had to write.

A couple of poems. And I remember so distinctly sitting at my desk. And that was the only homework. Well, one other time I had homework, but that was the only homework that I ever really wanted to do in my whole time of school. I was so excited and into it and it felt real and connected. And I wasn't just doing it to be a good student, which I was, but I really wanted to do it. And I just, you know, they were. I came in and had to, you know, share the poems in class. And Sister Mary Lewis, for years afterwards, if I ran into her somewhere, she would recite poor part of the one poem to me. She remembered it and it was just so sweet. And I never realized what an effect it must have had on me. And I felt like she was sort of over lighting this whole process after that. Once she popped in and was kind of encouraging me and you know, telling me to persevere when I was getting frustrated and nodding her head. Okay, you did well today. It was really just a sweet connection all the way through and such a big surprise. So that's why that's the dedication in the book. It was an amazing connection. I never would have imagined.

This is so beautiful. I didn't know that story of why you dedicated to her. And that just makes it even more heartwarming of this journey that you've been on with poetry for a really long time and now it's gets to itself. And you are so gifted at writing poems. One of the things that I loved watching you progress through writing this book was the. The absolute detail that you gave to every word. I don't think you've ever met another author. And I work with authors all the time who you had like a. Like each word had a holiness to it. Like you didn't put a word in unless you were given it, unless you felt it. And that's why I think these poems are so powerful is because the intentionality behind every word was really placed there. So I'm just. I love hearing your story. I love that you brought this. If you can show us your book, tell us the name of it, that would be amazing.

It's called Remembering Light.

So beautiful.

It's the COVID We're really happy with the COVID how it turned out. Yeah.

That'S the book. So this book is live on Amazon. So anyone who hasn't gotten it go over, I would highly suggest getting the hardback version. It's so. It's just like meant to be hardback. It's meant to be. Like something that's on a coffee table. It's meant to be. It's just. It's so beautiful. The pictures are so beautiful combined with the poetry. So what we're going to do today is I want you to just read a few poems with us, and then we'll open up and we'll let anyone who's here on this call share or ask questions. So why don't you pick some of your favorite poems?

Okay? I have a bunch of them listed here, so we'll see how many we get through.

Okay.

So the first one I like to start with this one sometimes is called New.

And there's a.

There's a photo that accompanies this one.

They don't all have photos. Sunpulse Gift of light emergent Hologram of radiance Filling space Geometry of stars Encountering the solar heart Filaments reaching the core Essence of illumination. The eyes of my heart receive the gift, Sharing it with Earth's beat. Join the rhythm of ground, Expanding into cells, remembering their origin. Direct line returning Ancient dance the ecstasy of life's connection Raising vision beyond horizon Unseeable wave now carries light encoded Story of a new beginning.

Oh, that is so beautiful. That's so beautiful. I actually want to open up. I would love for anyone to share. How did that make you feel? What were the thoughts that you experienced or the feelings that you experienced as you heard that poem? Or do you want her to read it one more time? I would love for anyone to. Okay, they want you to read it one more time. So I want everyone to just kind of open up and feel into. How does this make you feel? And I would love for just one of you even to just share your experience. So you want to read it one more time. Mary Patches or.

New sun pulse Gift of light emergent Hologram of radiance Filling space Geometry of stars Encountering the solar heart Filaments reaching the core Essence of illumination. The eyes of my heart receive the gift, Sharing it with Earth's beat. Join the rhythm of ground Expanding into cells remembering their origin. Direct line returning Ancient dance the ecstasy of life's connection Raising vision beyond horizon. Unseeable wave now carries light encoded Story of a new beginning.

So beautiful. I'll share first. That way, maybe kick it off a little bit. When I. When you read, I go through this whole, like, dance, you know, as soon as. Like, I love the sun. So as soon as you start talking, I have this beautiful statue out back of the Divine Mother and I, the Sun Always pours and graces like her face every morning. And so I, like, immediately I was, like, taken there, and then it was like, taken up into the stars. And it was like this beautiful, like, ancient, like, dance that you were taking me through of then coming back into almost like the center of the earth, the heat of the earth, the rhythm of the earth. And I mean, I feel like you just took me through this powerful healing process in just a few minutes with the words that you chose. So for me, that's my experience. I would love. And I know it's like, kind of nerve wracking to share, but, like, this is a safe space, so if anyone wants to share what your experience was, I think that'd be really beautiful. Just unmute. It's always a little, little scary on the summit.

Ellen?

Yes, I would go.

In my experience of unity in motion. And I. I also am a practitioner. It is just the perfect. Definition of the movement and the inner and the outer and connecting with the earth, connecting with the energy all around and the sun being that motion of the rise and the fall and the breath together with everything. And yeah, it's just a perfect, perfect definition of how it feels and the expansion out into the cosmos. And everything was just. Is beautiful. It's just absolutely beautiful.

Thank you, Mary Pat. Thank you, Mary Pat. You know what? I want you. I want you to create a visual art piece like, Like, I think I want, like, those words on a canvas so that we can hang that in our room. Like, I feel like that's what maybe even like the. The pictures, the background that we mute. Let's play around with this. This idea just came to me. Like, those words, they're healing words. And how powerful would be to have that on a wall in a room where you could read it more often than when you opened the book. So that idea just came to me. All right, anyone else want to share? If not, we'll jump into the next poem. Yes.

I just wanted to say that the words core essence of illumination struck me and that was what I wanted you to repeat, because I didn't. I wanted to make sure I got it perfectly. And so core essence of illumination. I just loved that. Thank you. It was gorgeous.

Really.

I been going back to the core essence and just trying to find joy in that.

So.

And I find that. And you try to go back. Back to what it was like to feel like when you were a kid. Sorry, my dog just started eating as I unmuted.

If you could hear that in the background.

But I really loved that and that really shined through. Illuminated.

Thank you for sharing. Okay. I'd love to hear Mary Pat to read us another poem.

Okay.

First, I just want to say that.

Part of the intention of this book.

Was to really give the experience of unity in motion. And so sometimes I'm playing with. Well, in all the poems, really, I'm playing with the principles and the consciousness of unity in motion and imbuing that. So some of the words are particular words that we use in unity in motion, but it's not like, directly like teaching the sequence of the movement or anything like that. And the whole consciousness is about being really present and in connection with everything. So we're all in the whole universe. We're moving with it all the time, all of us together. And. And also, everything is vibration and everything is essence and everything is light. And so the study is about remembering that as a real physical experience to erase any kind of disconnect between what we think, what we know, what we feel, and what we actually experience as real, as physical. So the whole universe is a physical.

Universe.

And it's all coming from the light of love. So that's what I'm trying to, you know, describe in different ways with the poetry and also how that connects with the. The Earth principle, you know, the mother Earth principle of us being physical beings.

Yeah, it's beautiful. So one thing I want, say, Mary Pat, is that I really love that someone doesn't even have to know what unity, emotion is, but you're giving them the experience of the feeling by the poem. So it's reaching people who would probably never get into a practice, but they're experiencing it just by going through your poems. And that's something really powerful is that you're giving people. This is not. This isn't heady work that they're getting through your poems. This is cellular work. I just really honor you for that magnitude that you've brought through.

That was my intention.

Thank you.

This one's called Physical Light. Just a little bit, what we've been talking about. Physical light. Ice of disconnect Points of light sharp.

Frozen in space Eggshell delicate and strong to crack would only make more shards hold the pattern in confusion no touch gently and immerse it Water turns and.

Bends the light washes through the open.

Spaces Finds the flow to reconnect Line to line becomes a circle Frames the whole and moves the center in to out in all directions Now a sphere gives form to life Zero point a cosmic moment Space of stillness becomes real form to form, to form the Moment joins the points as every path appears and I appear Eternal, timeless, present in the point of flow all is equal Weightless motion Life in fullness Always here Turning into what is now the circle lives within me and expands into the. All edges gone, One movement only Simultaneous connection New earth rising to embrace light.

Moving in the joy of living Loving every moment here.

Oh, it's so beautiful. I feel like I need to hear them like, eight times, you know, like, it's almost like it's too. It's like too much for my mind. My mind can't grasp it, but my body grasps it. Do you guys feel that? You're like. Your body hears it, but the mind, it's, like, kind of leaves a little bit. So I think I would love. There's. I want to open up the space for people to share maybe your experience with that poem or if you've gotten this book or if you have questions for Mary Pat, questions about what it's been like to write her book, to publish her book, like how. Whatever you've got. I'd love to open this space right now for any sharing. And, Mary Patrick, anything that you feel like you want to share that we haven't asked you yet. So, Elise, are you unmuted?

I am. So for me, I have read the book. I have the book. I am following along, reading the words, because that's sort of how I need to listen and read at the same time for me to take things in. And I am getting so much out of Mary Pat reading them. It's a whole different experience. You might have to just read the whole book. Mare.

An audiobook would be a good thing.

Yes. Yes.

Yeah. We need to get an audible for sure.

It's just. Just your inflection and the way you break up the sentence or where you put the emphasis on is very different than my own reading, which is okay. Everybody takes stuff in different, but it's just sort of brings it a little more to life in a way, that's all.

I think it's okay to play with it, too. I mean, I like to play with emphasis in different places, and it sort of does change the feeling or the meaning sometimes to play around with it that way.

And.

I think that's something that's so neat about poetry. Yeah, yeah.

One thing that. Oh, yeah, keep going.

Lise, I was just gonna make a comment, because in your previous comment, you mentioned the word dance, and that's how I felt about this whole book. I used that word from the very time I first looked at it. And I described it to myself and to my other sister. Mary Pat is my sister, by the way. I have a little insight on some of this, but not all. It's sort of neat to see a whole side of your sibling you didn't know, but it. I feel like the whole book is a dance. So that's kind of how I think about it when I read it. A dance through words and movement. And I had my favorites too, but I have to go back and relook at them all because I'll probably feel different today.

You should read your favorite.

Oh, I'm not going to read it now.

I don't think I could do that. Which one is your favorite? The title?

Well, I really liked Morning, which is a short one. And then here I really liked Here because I struggle with being in the moment. I'm always distracted.

Well, let's have to read both those today before we complete. And I want to just thank you, Elise, because you sharing really, it's like all these ideas are coming like Mary Pat, we need to just record every poem and just put it to some music so that these can be like little miniature meditations, right? And we can. This is an offering that you can give people that just helps them feel it. Because it's true when you read it, Mary Pat. Like, it does something. It does something in the cells, you know, So I love that you brought that up, Elise. Thank you. That brought up a really good point. Anyone else want to ask for questions or share what your experience has been like with this book?

I just wanted to quickly say that the feeling that I get when I'm reading the poetry is the sense of it's not just something I'm hearing in my head, but it's something that I'm experiencing with all of my beingness. And that's the power for me of the experience of the poems. So it's not, you know, with the beautiful pictures and the way it's framed in the book. It's not just that you're reading, but you're having an experience. And so that kind of three dimensional connection that you get is what's prompting the, oh, I want to see more, I want to hear more, I want to, you know, all of that. So it's.

It.

You've really captured that experience. Mary Patton.

Bravo. How great does that feel, Mary Pat? Because that was your whole intention, right?

Yeah.

It's really wonderful to hear everyone's feedback. Yeah.

So great. This is like, this is what I feel when we were working together was your deepest desire was like that this becomes a full body experience for people. And so to just hear that feedback, it's like, you did it, Mary Pat. That is what you wanted. It's very exciting. I'm real happy. So let's have. As we kind of wrap up a little bit here, I want you to drop in and read to us those two poems that Elise shared, because I would love to hear hear them as well.

Okay.

So the first one was morning, just. Radiance walking across the room, Meeting the sun, awakening the sphere, the circumference of the earth in this space. Moving my arms into the vastness. This moment of connection, unraveling my heart.

Oh, that's so good. I love that. I love that. I love that. Now I want to hear. What was it called here? Is that the poem that you said? Yeah.

H E R E Here.

This has a photo, too. This is actually the COVID photo in a slightly different format.

Here. All I am is here now ticking through each moment, molded, carved to the center of space, becoming anew here and here and here Arcing the path, awaking again the here, the here, the here Are you here, empty and full. Be here, be here, be here. Eyes open, spine moving, releasing the lower, the middle, the upper A wave, a wave, a wave.

I gather my mind.

I'm here, I'm here, I'm here. Heart open, arms spiral and circle the centers meeting the moment it's gone. Arrive to now to here, to here to hear.

I think that's my favorite one. What do you guys think? That was so amazing.

Wow.

I think hearing you read it is so different. And what it was so powerful for me is like, I've got a bit of an add brain. I've got five kids. I run like six companies. So, yes, my brain is like. Right. And you being like, be here, be here, be here was like, so remedy for that for me, like, oh, yeah, come back, come back. And then bringing the attention to the spine is like getting into the body. Getting into the body. Wow, that one is so powerful. What do you guys think? Who wants to share about that? This is exciting.

I think Elise made a good choice.

I.

I didn't land on this one when I was going, you know, my initial reading. But hearing it, and I hear it calling to me.

I'm glad I could bring it up for everyone. I really. It's probably my abs. Well, I say that, but every day it's different. But I really. That one, to me, had movement in it and, like, it grabbed me because I have trouble being in the moment. Like, I drift all the time, and it just pulls me in, you know, to slow down. Just like the repetition of that. Just the here, the here. And then, of course, the movements are some of the UIM motions. So that helps me because I'm just, like, total novice to all that. But it made me think of doing those movements when I read it, so that's all.

I love that, the way Mary Pat reads it.

So.

So much strength in there, you know, in that. In that simple. It's not simple, but in. In those words that seem to be simple, there's just so much power and strength and connection. And that's beautiful.

Thank you.

Yeah, I like to practice that way sometimes in doing the movement. Practice, I just, you know, it's kind of. And it really does help to be very present, which, you know, we're supposed to be present every. In every moment in the practice. But that can be challenging, you know, minds. So sometimes I just really say out.

Loud to myself, here, here, here, here, here.

Brings you back. Brings you right back.

Yeah, yeah. And. And it's a rhythmic practice, too. So we do it at a. It's a totally even rhythm all the way through. There's no dynamics or anything.

So it's just here, here, here.

It's the progression of every moment being a new moment. And the next one's, you know, the last one's gone, then you're here and.

You'Re the next one.

You're at the next one. So it's a wonderful practice.

This one is in contrast. I experience it very differently than what I like about some of the other ones. The other ones, I like the connection across time and space, and I feel very drawn, like a thread through. Or light, you know, through those dimensions. But this one feels flatter, but it. It's just very compact and compelling. Totally different than the other ones in my.

I feel like I want you to read it one more time. And what I love is like, oh, to be human, right? We're like, I hear, be here. Oh, be here. Oh, yeah, I'll be here. And it's like the repetition brings me more and more in. Oh, am I muted? Can you guys hear me? Okay, okay, okay. And then also, I loved how when you brought us to the spine, you brought us to the different sections of the spine, which really landed me more in my body than I've ever experienced. Like, oh, oh, these different sections. And then you brought up the energy of the wave. So I want you to read it again because I think it's so potent. And then and we'll just see what happens from there. Okay, that feels good. Okay.

Here. All I am is here now. Ticking through each moment, molded, carved to the center of space, becoming anew here and here and here. Arcing the path, awaking again. The here, the here, the here. Are you here, empty and full? Be here, be here, be here. Eyes open, spine moving, releasing the lower, the middle, the upper. A wave, a wave, a wave. I gather my mind. I'm here, I'm here, I'm here. Heart open, arms spiral encircle the centers, meeting the moment. It's gone. Arrive to now to hear to here, to here.

Is so good. It's so good. So now we all know these are going to be meditations. This is happening. We really need you to read these out loud and be things that we can put in our ears. Because that is such a quick thing, right when someone is spinning and life is really crazy, to throw that in for one minute, you are going to help them ground into their body. Ground into their body. So we'll talk later. That's going to happen. We need to get those in to some meditations.

I kept hearing the here, but the here, the here, the here. I don't have it in front of me, so I didn't see the words exactly, but those are what I heard. The changing of those two words.

I love that. That's beautiful. Well, Mary Pat, as we're closing up this beautiful summit, I want you to drop in your heart. What is the message that you. That's burning in your heart? Something that you would want to say? What do you want to leave all these beautiful people who are here live and then everyone who's going to watch the replay?

Well, I think the message is a. Is about.

A new Earth reality that.

We can all be part of. It's in my experience, it's already here. Even though things look like they're a mess outside in the world in many.

Ways.

But we're actually. Each of us have the opportunity in every moment to be in a reality that is perfection of awareness, perfection of beauty, perfection of love, you know, perfection of intent, perfection of the form of everything and a real understanding that we do in. We do actually create as individual, but.

Also as a human collective.

We create everything together with, you know, divine source, with Earth. And we were in this changing times right now that are challenging. And yet if we can find ways.

To.

Be clear about what the actual truth is, that everything comes out of love and that everything is light of.

One form or another, that things can.

Change much more rapidly than we think and we can catch up with. In a way, we're, like, lagging behind the universe. The universe is moving along, and we're lagging behind. But if we can catch up with the actual moment of creation and be present in it, everything gets created over and over and over again very quickly. You know, it's like the spark of creation is just there. It's. It's never the same. I mean, quantum physics is proving all that stuff now.

It's just.

You know, so if we.

Can make that a real experience for.

Ourselves, then the world can change. We are. Our response to the world can change. First our feeling of ourself in the world, and then, you know, over probably a shorter time than we might think, the whole world can change. We can all affect it because we're all. We're all really quantumly entangled. And what any. Any thought or feeling that any of.

Us have affects the whole universe. So.

To be the light that we are and the love that we are, that's all we really need to do, is let that guide us.

Remembering Light. That's the name of your book, because that is it, right? So beautiful. Mary Pat, I just honor you for being such an extraordinary human in the world. Congratulations on becoming a published author. And if everyone wants to even go deeper, we did a podcast. I think it went live last Friday. I'll send this replay out. You'll be able to get access to that podcast as well, if you want to listen to us some more. And stay tuned, because it sure feels like we got some meditations coming out and maybe some wall art. That's what it feels like. Mary Pat, with that, I just want to thank you all for taking time with us this morning. Thanks for carving out a space and time. I hope that this was a little pocket of light in your day, and. And if any of you have the heart to write a book, just reach out to me, because this is my mission, is how do I change the world with books that bring more light, that expand consciousness, and that change humanity. And that is why it was such an honor to publish Mary Pat, because that is what she's doing, and that is who she is, and just so much love. So thank you, Mary Pat, for all you've done. Thank you all for being here. Hope you have a magical time Tuesday. See ya, everybody.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Bye bye.