John Calvi Notes: 2023

The 39^th Beethoven Letter

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your kind and generous support over the years. This keeps me going in all ways. Your good care via these pragmatic gifts are the bread and butter of my life and a delight to receive. Thank you for years of including me in your generosity.

Writing this winter was a good hard work of getting down the stories of my life. It was more than difficult to write about early hurt, echoes reverberated through my whole body. I trust these stories in my third book will be a help to others seeking more than survival, thriving with less pain. The remaining task will be writing the stories of my four decades of work as a Quaker healer studying trauma in many settings. My editors request your help by sending a short blurb as to how my work may have helped you to go in the front of the book.

Seeing all my doctors this month. So far, so good. I’ve more energy a year after the heart attack and activities increase. It’s unclear if I can return to the full health I had, but there’s lots of living just as I am, thank goodness. I’ve been cruising in the breakdown lane, but now I’ve picked up a little speed.

I apologize to those contacting me for help and teaching. I’m in a time of rebuilding. I’m not ill, but I am still recovering energy and strength. There are encouraging signs of returning physical health bringing bits of my gifts back. There are three signs in particular-

- My hands have begun to heat up again, though the amount of energy coming through is less than half of what it was.

- I’ve begun to receive messages again about the nature of others’ pain, though I do not engage with each message or person.

- When I was overcome with illness, I had an ache in my chest whenever I had an empathetic response to someone in trouble. That ache is now gone. I don’t have stamina to engage, but I often see the nature of our human knots.

I still publish stories on behalf of The Quaker Initiative to End Torture- QUIT! on our FaceBook page. I am the founding convener of QUIT! beginning in May of 2005. There is progress and there is much work to do, especially in Uganda.

Thank you for all your care and support. I will continue writing this memoir and seek better health. I am writing my best stories of moving from wounded to healing. Thank you for making my work possible over the years. Please help with your gifts, supporting what I can do.

In the Light,

John Calvi May 2023 PO Box 301 Putney VT 05346 PayPal @ johncalvi

Virtuosity - Celebrated Media Works of John Calvi –

On the homepage of my website – www.johncalvi.com – is a talk called “Laying Down the Weapons ‘Round Our Hearts” (right near a donation button). My friend, Bill Kreidler, said this was my best work. This website will be super refreshed soon.

Here is a talk given to New England Quakers -https://neym.org/2021-sessions

The Q & A has me laughing a lot and for good reason.

Both these meditations are or will soon be on my website –

- Solar Flame – created by Jean Schweitzer, with my additions, useful for clearing out other people’s stuff from your interior.

- Sugar & Snow – my meditation to rest the hurting body.

I composed and performed songs as a teen into my 50’s. Here are some recordings of my songs by me and others. Search “John Calvi” on YouTube. Here are 9 songs I performed for Rob Meehan’s Gay Spirit radio show on WWUH in February 1982.

- The Ones Who Aren’t Here

- Secret

- Illegal Sleeping

- Celibacy Blues

- Better Blatant Than Latent

- Shall We Run

- Your Share of the Story

- One May Morning

- We’re OK

Other YouTube singers of my songs –

Suede – The Ones Who Aren’t Here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJYSLLqLSJM