Joan Gauscheman Ceremonialist
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Inspire your children to develop their own altar & ritual!

With sweet rhyming couplets and charming illustrations, this book inspires young readers to create a sacred space that is meaningful to them. The narrator is a young girl who shares her family's traditions of clearing, reflecting and cultivating gratitude. She joyfully describes the different practices that she and her brother use to keep them grounded and connected by releasing the old. How I Lay Me Down to Sleep encourages playfully following one's inner guidance through creating one's own unique bedtime ritual.
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Joan Marie Gauscheman

Author
Joan is a mother of three, yoga instructor, teacher, adventurer, lover of life and ceremonialist who endeavours to stay present and inspired by the Mystery. She has worked in both public and Montessori schools. She writes in order to relect on her life experiences, praise and honor creation and to share her unfolding understandings. She credits her experience in ceremony and in service to the children with her deepest learning. She lives with her children south of Santa Fe.
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Tyrell Osborn

Illustrator
Tyrell Osborn is a Colorado-based artist who specializes in watercolor and acrylic painting, residential and public murals, custom wood burning and portraits, but also works in mixed media and photography. She seeks and receives inspiration from sacred geometry, Art Nouveau, patterns of nature, cycles of the moon, plant medicine, and the belief that all living organisms (human, animals, plants, etc) are interconnected. We are all one. You can learn more about Tyrell and view some of her work at www.seekercreative.net
Ten-year-old Zinnia read the book and responded: "I'm going to make a special table!"

Praise for How I Lay Me Down to Sleep

"This precious and playfully didactic book is the perfect companion piece to The Way to Start a Day by Byrd Baylor. We are delighted to add it to our collection of favorite children's books!" - Christine Hill
  • This precious book is my new favorite gift for children as its magic instills truths that last a lifetime. It encourages contemplation while nurturing a child’s innate wisdom. Also, the adorable illustrations inspire youth to create an altar or sacred space to celebrate the beauty of their day while simultaneously surrendering/transmuting any frustrations or sadness. My favorite lines:
    In the night as I dream,
    my Spirit flies free…
    cradled by love in the Great Mystery.
    Highly recommend!
    Allenda Dorrough
Signing copies at Indigo Baby in Santa Fe
My son who is non-verbal and has Down syndrome taught me quite early in his life that if sleep was important to me, there would need to be meaningful bedtime rituals every night before dosing off. I wish I had read this book a couple of decades ago, not just for a children’s enjoyment and spiritual health, but for my own as well."-D Riggs
    • "... So many of today's children's books have nonsensical anthropomorphic characters and gimmicks. There's nothing wrong with that, but How I Lay Me Down To Sleep doesn't rely on cheap trickery. Nor does it have an overt preachy message like, "Be good or monsters from the closet will eat your family!" This book relies on more fundamental values like living with the Earth, not bending it to your will. Thinking about how you lived your day . . . The illustrations are fantastic and timeless. In thirty years, they will still look good. Why? Because they capture the spirit of things from our collective unconsciousness... Bird feathers, candles, cave paintings, sage! It's all there! This book will not disappoint and it will set itself apart from anything else in your child's collection." - Adam McKay
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