Start Exploring Now
Welcome to "NOW!" I am dedicated to exploring the "now" in all of its dimensions. We live in an important time - a time of change, a time of growth, a time when some people want to go forward - and others want to "get back to normal" - effectively resisting change and even going in reverse! "NOW" presents us with opportunities to listen imaginatively, express artistically, gain a new appreciation for boundaries and identity and become empathetic humans for each other. We can decide "where" we are now, so that we can proceed from here! These lessons and more are suggested in my 6 children's books - the sixth one, inspired by my daughter's amazing dream and her ARTWORK, was just published (9/21). CLICK here or the book cover to see Twinkle Twinkle Little Moon on Amazon.
INTRODUCING! -
Twinkle Twinkle Little Moon - with my daughter Bayleigh!!
Before "Twinkle" there was a BUCKET, and then he went to meet some aliens in DEEP SPACE. Then Zombies R A Problem, THE LITTLE CATERPILLAR and a lesson on love in LOVE YOUR ELF got my attention. Each of these inspiring titles is available on Amazon. See below.
Help Your Students
Invite The LITTLE BUCKET to be heard in your classroom - in person or virtually in 2021-2022 School Year.
Engaging the imagination and critical thinking skills since 2014!
Besides being an author, storyteller and poet, I am also a songwriter and musician. I have two songs under my belt and love to play the old "Cover" songs from the past...I play and sing, and also host parties with Jeffreyoke (named by a friend of mine in St. Louis) where I play and YOU sing. It's KARAOKE on Steroids. It's quite fun - look up my schedule and book me for your event! Birthdays, Holidays, Retirements, Backyard Neighborhood, Frontyard Neighborhood! I play currently up and down on Cocoa Beach with my friends and with Steve Hodak (The Open Mic Guy - OMG!). I am looking for gigs to help supplement my income. My fees are reasonable. Book Me Soon for now and in the future!
Be The Change
In HYDE PARK, St. Louis, MO
THE MUSAEUM LIBRARY
PROJECT
MUSIC VIDEO w ORIGINAL MUSIC
COMING SOON
TAKE TWO!!
How about KARAOKE with LIVE MUSIC? Click for details!
STORYTELLING
One of the great joys for me in the last several years has been in the memorization of several of the Grimm's Fairy Tales. While out on Mission 2020 I practiced telling these stories with various small groups. Invariably, there was a sense of feeling together and caught up in the mystery of what our ancestors must have experienced and felt...before "screenification" we had imagination... I practice random acts of storytelling - my fees are reasonable - and this is appropriate for any size group. This can be done in person and virtually. Kick start the energy in your corporation by creating a space for something unique and different. Give your people a gift they could not have expected. Appropriate for birthdays, retirements, anniversaries, festivals and celebrations of any kind. CLICK HERE
WHAT PEOPLE SAY
- Anne Marie, Melbourne, FL
“This was, for me, a truly magical experience! Jeff’s voices brought the story to life for me. It is so refreshing, in the age of the screen, to allow my mind to show me the story and wander, as it will, to new feelings and places.”
While on MISSION 2020 telling The Little Bucket story in a Tallahassee, Florida School - please click to read the Media Specialist's comments...
I am an author, poet, storyteller. I have a passion
for creating awareness environments through the portal of storytelling!
I have published 5 children's books since 2014
which address emotional intelligence and
the unseen "world."
I have the experience of a young student coming up to me and asking, "How do you know what it feels like to be me?"
When those "lights" come on, I know that something is happening.
How would you answer a child who asked
you that question? What would you say?
Please email me your answer!
My Books -
Click To Buy on Amazon.com
SECOND EDITION!
The Sequel!
MIDDLE SCHOOL MYTH
THE LITTLE BUCKET - From Amazon - "As a beginning place for self-awareness, children learn to set healthy boundaries, identify their feelings (mad, sad, glad, afraid) and learn to safely express all of their feelings appropriately, and even be a good listener in the process. We also learn in the Full-Fillment series that there is a pernicious "hole" in our bucket that seeks to get other children and other people to fill us up."
THE LITTLE BUCKET - DEEP SPACE MEETING
...tells the story of what happened after TLB found his missing ingredient! A dream takes him to the distant galaxy to explore a strange world inhabited by "dry, dusty, and dirty mop heads!" Hm...what could happen!? CLICK the COVER to find it on Amazon! Teaches kids to trust, imagine and dream!
ZOMBIES R A PROBLEM
A poetic "wonderment" ...what if the world was populated by zombies? What if it was hard to tell what they were just by how they looked, but only in how they acted? The zombie keeps swallowing and swallowing and never gets enough. Must read this book for an antidote to the apocalyptic illness of "AFFLUENTza" before it's too late! GULP!
"The Little Caterpillar" is the fourth book in a collection of books aimed at heightening awareness in children and adolescents. This book follows TLC (The Little Caterpillar) on a day like he could not have anticipated. We get to witness the happenings of his day as if we were TLC himself. The illustrations lure your mind into the space where "transformation" seems plausible, even necessary, in the messed up world of bugs who are only and always competing with each other on a branch.
About Jeff
Jeffrey Bates (BA, MDIV, CLC), is an expert at creating listening and story telling environments. Small business and large business can benefit hugely from creating these "kinds of spaces." Jeff says. If story telling is to mean anything to us, we must, "start learning to listen again. Telling a story is only half the equation." Jeff says. Most of post-modern Westerners have only learned to listen to what we hear outside of ourselves. Jeff thinks we need to learn to listen to the "inside of ourselves." He recently received his certification as a
life coach (UDEMY, AUG 2019) and is building his "FULL-FILLMENT LIFE COACHING" business along with his story telling ventures. He is a poet, author, social visionary, musician, member of The Mankind Project. He has two adult children. He daughter is in high school and his son recently joined the US Military. He lives in Florida at Cape Canaveral where he enjoys the beach, playing in Steve Hodak's Open Mics and riding his bike to Starbucks.
What people have said about The Little Bucket
As a therapeutic adoptive parent, having tools to illustrate what internal resources are available to a child in the long process of healing trauma is essential. The Little Bucket is such a resource."
Boysen Hodgson,
The Mankind Project USA - Foster Parent, Amazon Review
I think it is really an inspiring book that will help children learn to think for themselves, think better of themselves, interact in a healthy way with others, and learn how to trust themselves in a confusing world."
Hope Wood,
Amazon Review
The Little Bucket presents such a profound lesson in a way that children can understand and begin to utilize themselves.
The author visited the school where I teach 4-5yr old preschoolers, and their ability to understand and comprehend the book's meaning was amazing. A great learning tool for both home and school!"
Sara Gilkerson
Pre-School Teacher
Amazon Review
FUTURE BLOG POST Reflection on Creating
communities of non-reactivity
My reflections on the challenge of creating an Adult community based on NON-REACTIVITY. To become conscious of our internal reactions is to become curious about our depths. To "know one's self" and to hold our reactions initiates a transformative, albeit painful, change. Whatever this phrase - "gnothi seauton" (know thyself) - meant to the Greeks - it was the foundation of their culture and civilization. It was a civilization based on character development. To know ourselves today means to become conscious of our depths, though dark, and learn to not blame the artifacts we find there on the outside world or ON history...if and when we learn this, we transform and become agents of change.
Contact
For any inquiries please contact nowimagine2020@gmail.com
Google Voice Number: 321-345-8327
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