Connecting To Gratitude

This is the time of year when we start seeing more people going to the gym, lots of new years resolutions being made and many new beginnings taking place. It is also a time of year when we reflect back on the year that has just past and begin to take stock on what we have gained and what we have lost. As 2015 comes to an end I am filled with gratitude for the incredible gift of this life. I feel extremely blessed to be here and conscious of this life taking place within me and around me. I look around and realize that there is so much to celebrate. I want to celebrate the life of Dr. Wayne Dyer and the profound impact he had on our planet. I want to celebrate my family and friends who continue to grow and inspire me everyday. I want to celebrate the new connections I made this year including my new Naturopathic doctor, Dr. Lisa Graham. I also want to celebrate the new I AM festival that my friends, Maurice and Tracy and I have started dreaming up for August 19-21, 2016 on the property in Tuelon, Manitoba featuring some of the most amazing yogis, inspirational speakers and musicians that have crossed my path. 

As you reflect back on the year you have had, no matter whether it was a good one or a challenging one, it is a great time to move into a state of gratitude. I believe we are spiritual beings having a temporary human experience on this planet and our true essence is spirit. As spiritual beings we are eternal. From this place of spirit we are creative, expansive, full of love and grace. There is no separation when we identify with our spiritual nature. The spiritual source which birthed our being into this temporary human body has always been, is now and ever shall be. There is a great wellspring of joy that bubbles up inside of me when I connect to this energetic spirit. When connected to this place of eternal spirit it becomes clear that we are all connected and joined by this source. It becomes easier to forgive those that have harmed us and to truly see everyone and everything as an extension of who we are: The Great Spirit. Whether you decide to name this source “Spirit”, “God”, “Buddah”, “Allah” “Energy” or another name, the important part is to experience it’s presence in your life. From what I have experienced, this spiritual aspect of who we truly are makes all things possible and ensures that our journey through consciousness is unfolding perfectly on time. As this year comes to an end and a new one begins, I invite you to connect to your source of spirit. 

You might be reading this asking how do I do this? It can be a bit daunting to consider connecting to an aspect of yourself that you can’t see with your eyes. This is where faith comes in. Faith is the eyes that see beyond what our human senses can comprehend. In this consciousness, the spirit that you truly are can be best felt by experiencing it’s loving presence and expansion in your life. So with this in mind, I would like to invite you to attempt to connect with it. One of the simplest ways to experience the spirit that you are is to move into a state of gratitude, no matter what. I would like to invite you to make a list of the top ten things that you are most grateful for in your life and feel into the beautiful feelings that fill up your body when you start thinking and feeling into them. One of the easiest ways to connect with your spiritual essence is to feel gratitude. I will share my current top ten list with you here and would love for you to make up your own list and share it with me! Feel free to borrow anything from my list that moves you too! Happy connecting to spirit! I wish you a very happy new year ahead filled with gratitude and deeper connection to your true spiritual self. 

Love, Keith

My Gratitude List:

1. My Family.

2. Hot Baths

3. My Breath and Expanding Yoga Practice. 

4. The ability to write and express.

5. My upcoming trip to Hawaii. 

6. The life of Wayne Dyer. 

7. My work with Manitoba Teacher’s Society and The Balance Program.  

8. Abundance flowing in and out of my life. 

9. Streaming agapelive.com

10. Daily smoothies and healthy food.

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A Rural Manitoba Tour

We are so excited to announce that we will be touring for a week at the beginning of January! Looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and meeting some new ones. 

Ashlee xoxo

January 5 - The Exchange in Altona @ 7pm
January 6 - Yellow Brick Stage in Morden @ 8 pm
January 7 - Merle & Marilyn's in Boissevain @ 7:30pm
January 8 - Carman Collegiate Theatre in Carman @ 7:30pm

Barta Tour will feature:
Ashlee Bart - Vocals/Guitar
Ariel Posen -Vocals/ Guitar
Allison de Groot - Banjo
Quintin Bart - Upright Bass

Ticket Information:

Altona-Tickets will be available at the door

Boissevain - email or call Merle & Marilyn
                     204.534.3282
                     204-534-7220
                     mneusen@xplornet.com

Morden - Online @ http://ift.tt/1NZUkLT

Carman - Golden Prairie Arts Council, Sears Carman, Louise's Hairstyling, Benefits RX, Carman Active Living Centre

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The I AM Festival

I just wanted to take a moment and let you know about this exciting project that I have been working on with a few of my friends over the past couple of months...

Imagine a hot, summer weekend festival in the middle of nature surrounded by incredible musicians, yogis, inspirational speakers and a community of love and synergy. This dream is about to happen! This summer August 20-21, 2016 will be the first year of the I AM Festival, bringing together an incredible group of like-minded individuals to grow, heal and re-energize. Included in the presenter line up is Sheena Grobb, Heather Bishop, Lisa Scrivens and Leslee Watt among many others. 

Tickets are on sale now at: http://ift.tt/1PRDtQv . I hope you will consider joining me and this incredible group of people out in Manitoba's playground this summer!

Feel free to email me with any questions and I'd also love to hear your ideas and thoughts on what you would like to see in addition to what we have already planned!

Love,
Keith

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Coming Together As One

I am always moved by the incredible spirit of people who commit their lives to the good service of helping those around them in need. A few years ago I met a woman name, Julie Epp and was immediately inspired by her creative spirit and generous heart. Since 2010, Julie has been involved with supporting the Kimisagara Orphanage in Rwanda. First bringing donations of shoes and then raising $18,000 to support various projects at the orphanage in 2013. She and her friend spent a couple months with the kids, and during that time, Julie connected deeply with one young man from the orphanage, Claude, who has become like a son. She is now trying to sponsor him to study and live with her in Winnipeg. He has his passport and has been accepted into school in January 2016. His Canada Study Visa application is in process now. 

Claude is an orphan. He lost both of his parents and his little brother by the time he was only four years old. He left his village on foot with some other children  and began living on the street from that time; eating from garbages, and trying to find a way to stay alive. He has never returned to his village since. Eventually he was taken into an orphanage, but then ended up on the streets again. About ten years ago, he was taken into the Kimisagara Orphanage (where Julie met him) and given a place to stay and access to schooling. Not only did that act likely save his life, it also helped Claude become the young man that he is. He has a huge heart and a desire to do good in the world. He wants to help other children the way he has been helped. And even though he has almost nothing, he has found a way to support the education of a young boy who lives near his home and who’s own mother is poor. He pays this young boys primary school fees and feeds him when he can. 

Claude and Julie first met in 2010. But, due to language barriers, they didn’t actually speak. When she returned in March 2013, Claude remembered her right away. In Julie’s words, “I cannot say exactly how or why Claude and I adopted each other on that trip, but we did. It almost didn’t feel like a choice.. rather, it just was. We have talked about it.. the bond we formed so instantly. Neither of us really certain what inspired that connection. Claude would say that he trusted me.. something about me allowed him to trust in a way he had never experienced before. And when he asks me why I picked him, I tell him that I recognized his loving heart. That we were the same. It didn’t feel like I chose him to be my son.. but that he already was. It was destined to be long before we ever met. 13,000km might separate us.. our skin might be different colours.. our worlds vastly different. But at the core, we are the same, and I could sense it instantly. Every moment of our connection over the past few years has affirmed what I always knew. We are family. I am his mother. He is my son. And, like any mother would, I long for the best for my son. I want to support him to achieve his dreams. I want to give him opportunities to be the best he can be." 

Julie is now trying to bring Claude to study and live with her in Winnipeg. She wants to offer him an education and opportunities that he wouldn’t have in Rwanda. She would love to help him achieve his dreams. To help Julie make her vision come into reality and to assist in bringing Claude to Canada to study, a group of us here in Winnipeg have decided to perform a concert to help raise some funds. I would like to extend an invitation for you to join Sheena Grobb, Elessar Thiessen, Host Refuse and myself on Monday November 16, 2015 at The West End Cultural Centre. I will be playing a few new songs from my upcoming solo album release that night too! I hope you will consider coming out to support Julie’s incredible vision and to enjoy some great local music! In the meantime, here is a song I recently covered by my good friend, Mark Reeves called Leon’s Lounge. 
Also…
Here is a little video of Claude.

Tickets to the concert are available at Music Trader, the WECC, an online at eventbrite. Charitable donations can be made for Claude online at  Green Kids Inc. or by cash or cheque on the night of the event. 

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My Friend Fred: A Childhood Dream Fulfilled

When I was a kid one of my favourite things to do was pretend I was Fred Penner. For those of you that are unfamiliar, Fred Penner is a legendary Family and Children’s Entertainer who may be best known for his album, The Cat Came Back. At the age of five I would stand on the living room couch with a plunger stick as my microphone and a Fisher Price guitar and pretend I was Fred in concert. I remember going to watch Fred perform at my parent’s company Christmas party and then would go and see him at The Children’s Festival. This man has a magic about him and at the time I couldn’t really name it but I sure could feel it. Years later in grade seven, once again, Fred had a major impact on my life. I was asked to perform a song in front of my school in the gymnasium and decided to perform “The Cat Came Back”. I remember looking out at all the students singing along and thinking, ‘this is what I want to do for the rest of my life”. I didn’t realize it at the time but looking back now, I would have to say that Fred Penner played a major role in my decision to become a professional musician.  

A few years later, Fred showed up at the church where I was playing every Sunday for the children’s service and I remember being SO nervous! In the middle of one of the songs I broke a guitar string (I guess my guitar was nervous too) and I switched over to finish the song on the piano. After the service, Fred came up to me and introduced himself and told me how impressed he was with my flexibility to switch gears on the fly. It was an incredible moment!

Yet again in 2006, Fred was a mentor for me when I was a finalist on the popular Canadian television show, Canadian Idol. On a segment where they flew me back to my hometown of Winnipeg to meet my family, I decided to go over to Fred’s place and jam. Unfortunately the footage never went to air though, because it was shot the week in advance and I was cut from the show before the footage was able to be seen. (side note- if anyone at CTV has a copy of this footage- man would I love to see it!).

Over the years Fred has become a real dear friend of mine and someone that I truly admire. There are those certain people in life that have a magical impact on you and for me, Fred is one of those people. I know I am not the only one who feels this way about Fred Penner. This man has had an incredible impact on an entire generation and beyond. His ability to connect, love and make you feel seen is beyond incredible. Through his music, words and actions, Fred is truly a role model for all of us. It was an honour to share a few minutes with him in this interview/conversation to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his TV Show, Fred Penner’s Place and to fulfill one of my dreams of literally jamming with the man! Our world is a better place because Fred Penner is a part of it. Thank you Fred for being such a beautiful light in the world and inspiring us all to love deeper and take good care of each other. You are literally a star! 
Check out my interview with Fred Penner at http://bit.ly/1Ozcidt

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