Communication Archives - ...metaphorically speaking

‘The Earth is our Master Teacher’ with Bernard Kelly-Edwards

May 9, 2018

by metaphor with No Comment Aboriginal world views Art and Culture Bush therapy Communication Counselling Cultural Knowledge Healing from Injury and Chronic Pain Healing from Trauma Healing the planet Healing with nature Health and wellbeing Indigenous Voices Speaking Up Listening Mental health Mindfulness Mother Earth Podcast Racism Shame Social and emotional wellbeing Spiritual practices Storytelling Talk the Walk podcast Traditional Healing Practices Trauma-informed practice

This week on ‘Talk the Walk’ I sit down with Bernard Kelly-Edwards in the middle of his tiny art shop in the thriving alternative community of Bellingen. Bernard is surrounded by paintings, expressions of who he is, a local Gumbayngirr man, and symbols of the deep spiritual connection to country that he shares with others.

Bernard began his own journey of self-discovery attending a cultural program called Red Dust Healing and now reaches out to other individuals and groups to support Closing the Gap in cultural understanding. It is his passion for promoting mental health amongst Indigenous young people using the healing capacity of Miimga (Mother Earth) that is the focus of our conversation today.

His business, BKE Consultancy is a unique mix of multi-media platforms of art, photography, short film, poetry and storytelling. Bernard brings all these talents, along with skills of deep listening and knowledge of Aboriginal Lore, recognising sight and the feeling of cultural sites, passed down to him.

A few times in this conversation, Bernard speaks of the spirit being, the one with no mouth. He is describing the image in the painting, he is seen holding here.

This is what we explore in Episode 22 of ‘Talk the Walk’:

Bernard’s approach to ‘counselling’ using the tools he has found most effective from his own experience and gifts from Mother Earth
What deep listening really looks and feels like, for our own and others’ health and wellbeing
Easy practices you can try at home to develop your spiritual connection with Mother Earth and your self
The elements of life such as water, animals and wind that make communication and connection possible
Lessons for how we are living our lives, from the Earth’s perspective
Awareness – Balance – and Integration; Bernard’s 3 step strategy for healing of the planet beginning at home
How Bernard uses the concept of perceptual positions to assist individuals to take responsibility in their own healing process
Making deadly choices and being in the present moment, using the model of awareness, balance and integration
How Bernard works with the triggering emotions of individual’s past traumatic experiences to change belief systems and move people forward
Bernard’s sparkling moment – a good news story of healing
Bernard’s painting and it’s interpretation of his own spiritual form

Image: Bernard K Edwards

To listen to this episode simply click on the Play button below or listen via the Stitcher App for iOS, Android, Nook and iPad.

You can also subscribe to podcast and blog updates via email from the Menu on the Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

We apologise for some of the human-made background noise at the beginning of this interview. That’s what happens when you are talking with real people on the job in the heart of their community. Sometimes you just have to go with it. Enjoy!

Things to follow up after the episode:

Connect with Bernard K Edwards on Facebook

Connect with BKE Consultancy on Facebook

Contact Bernard by email at bkeconsultancy79(at)hotmail(dot)com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

‘Life is relationship: Relationship is life’ with Lyn Whitford

August 30, 2017

by metaphor with No Comment Challenges and struggles Communication Culturally Fit Social Workers Domestic and family violence Government; social work in Hospital social work Kinship system Multicultural social work Podcast Remote social work Social Work with Indigenous communities Talk the Walk podcast Violence and Abuse

[subscribe2]

In Episode 8 of ‘Talk the Walk’ I speak with Lyn Whitford.

Lyn is a Cree-Metis woman from Canada who has spent her life’s work between her native homeland and Australia. After arriving in Oz in the early 70’s, Lyn’s travels brought her to the Northern Territory and she fell in love with place and people, reminding her so much of her own native home. For the last 9 years, Lyn has been working as a social worker at the Gove District Hospital in Nhulunbuy.

This conversation is a delightful journey from Lyn’s early memories of growing up on land set aside for native Canadians, being supported by Elders to pursue university education, discovering her Aboriginal identity in adulthood, and a lifelong love affair working in remote Arnhemland heartlands.

In this episode we explore:

Lyn’s own reflections on Aboriginal identity, rights, historical conflict and treaties in Canada
Joys and challenges of working with your own mob
Establishing connection in a counselling relationship or community work
Similiarities and differences in cultural customs between Aboriginal Australians and Canadians
The ‘woman to woman’ conversation and talking with men
Common issues for Yolngu people that a social worker gets involved with that most of us take for granted
A typical day on the wards in Gove Hospital
Life in Nhulunbuy, surrounding communities and homelands of NE Arnhemland
What interactions look like between non-English speaking patients and the hospital social worker
The implications of miscommunication and cultural differences for patient’s treatment
Lyn’s reflections on the Aboriginal kinship system and how beneficial that is for a healthy life
Lyn’s multicultural view of the world and the challenges this poses in her work
The challenges of talking about and working with Aboriginal women experiencing domestic violence from remote communities
Nhulunbuy in NE Arnhemland

The importance and difficulties of employing Aboriginal people in the health care system
Resources to assist newcomers to Arnhemland and why it’s important to understand the culture and kinship system
Lyn’s fondness for the beauty and simplicity of living in Nhulunbuy community

To listen to this episode simply click on the Play button below.
Subscribe to episodes of ‘Talk the Walk’ by email via our Home Page. We hope to have ‘Talk the Walk’ listed on popular podcatchers like iTunes very soon.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.

Things to follow up after the show:

The Northern Territory Family Safety Framework

ARDS (Aboriginal Resource Development Services)

‘Nona and me’ by Clare Atkins

‘The break’ by Katarina Vermette

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

‘Just Start with the Little Things’ with Tony Kelly

August 9, 2017

by metaphor with No Comment Communication Community Development Community Work Cross Cultural practice Culturally Fit Social Workers Culturally sensitive therapeutic tools Listening Podcast Racism Social Work Graduates Social Work with Indigenous communities Talk the Walk podcast

Do you remember the first time when you heard your favourite song?

Anthony Kelly, co-author of ‘With Head, Heart and Hand: Dimensions of Community Building’

I remember very clearly the first time I was introduced to Paul Kelly’s ‘From little things big things grow’. I was sitting in a lecture on ‘Working with Indigenous communities’ with Tony Kelly. I was moved, confronted and teary. It was the moment that a small flame was sparked in me. I remember it so clearly. Unexpectedly, the voice in my head piped up and said ‘this is the work you will do’. So I latched onto Tony as an idol and from there a little spark grew.

It was an absolute privilege (and entirely nerve-wracking) for me to reconnect with Tony Kelly recently and bring you this conversation. That same gentle and invitational demeanour of Tony’s took me back to where my heart for this work began. To revisit, the ‘head, heart and hand’ dialogical community development approach which Tony espoused, reconnected me with the principles that I fell in love with, all those years ago and which has shaped more than any other modality, the practitioner I have become today.

Tony brings over 40 years of experience in community development work both in Australia’s indigenous communities and globally. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Episode 5 of ‘Talk the Walk’ explores:

How Tony came to be working in the Northern Territory after the acknowledgement of Indigenous Land Rights
Learnings from entering Aboriginal communities for the first time
The foundation, principles and technicalities behind the dialogical approach to community development
The skill of really listening
The delight of big things that grow from little things
How participatory development programs differ from service delivery; and why governments rarely get it right
Small first steps for social workers in getting started in a dialogical approach to your work
How Tony’s ‘head, heart and hand’ approach differs from other community development approaches
Tony’s struggles of witnessing ‘white on black’ racism, ‘black on white’ racism and ‘black on black’ racism, and how these experiences shaped his international work
Tony’s biggest learnings from the Northern Territory and its influence in global community development
A funny story about a pet kangaroo!
Essential tools for your communication toolbox
The mentors that helped Tony develop an international perspective to his work
Making sense of the text of people’s complicated lives

Just click on the Play Button below and enjoy! We hope to have ‘Talk the Walk’ listed on popular podcatchers like iTunes very soon. Or subscribe by email via our Home Page.

Don’t forget, if you or someone you know would make a great interview on ‘Talk the Walk’, send us an email from the Contact Page.