That's No Longer My Ministry
By Nadia Imafidon
That's No Longer My MinistryNov 23, 2021
An Immigration Story: Being Filipino and Becoming American w/ Kim Castillo
Host Nadia Imafidon speaks with Kim Castillo (they/she/siya), a queer person who was born, raised, and educated in Davao city, Philippines. We chat about her journey to the U.S. and navigating the process of becoming an American citizen, what it's like to be in fellowship with Filipino-Americans, people who take up too much space and her advocacy for marginalized communities in the virtual landscape of remote work.
At age 23, Kim immigrated to the United States where they experienced culture shock, and the most drastic shift to their lived experience and identity via the process of assimilation. Over the course of the next decade living in the US, Kim managed to build a career combining their love for facilitation, technology, and organizational development.
Kim has worked numerous odd jobs from the age of 16 (researcher, writer, DJ, call center agent, producer, web developer, video editor) and studied psychology. While at university, they contributed to research on extrajudicial killings, peace-building, disaster resilience, and collective suffering, displacement, and sojourns of indigenous people. They currently live in Los Angeles, California.
A Black Woman with Body Dysmorphia Gets a Personal Trainer
Host Nadia Imafidon speaks to her current mental health state and first experience with personal training after 2 decades of being disconnected with her body. As a Black woman with body dysmorphia, this is what it's like to face the fear of seeing yourself head on.
On the Front Lines of Suicide Prevention | Ashley Ellerson
In this episode, Nadia Imafidon speaks with Ashley Ellerson, a Black mental health professional who works in community healthcare in Seattle, WA. We chat about misconceptions about suicide, the levels of suicidal thoughts, what it's like to struggle with your own mental illnesses while taking care of others' mental health, how to set boundaries for emotional availability (aka how to keep your peace), and the systemic factors that contribute to suicidality.
Looking for resources?
https://therapyfundfoundation.org/
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
https://www.multiculturalcounselors.org/
https://openpathcollective.org/
National Alliance on Mental Illness
https://www.crisistextline.org/ (text 741741)
988 national crisis line
https://www.peerwa.org/ (for Washington residents)
Coping with Suicide: I'm Fighting for Me | Subrina Singh
Content Warning: Suicide. In today's episode, Subrina Singh chats with host Nadia Imafidon about her life with bipolar disorder in honor of September's Suicide Prevention Month. We chat about the lifelong battle against suicide and how to best prepare for it, her experience being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in her teens, and how Subrina has dedicated most of her life to surviving each and every day.
Subrina shares her mental health journey as a way to support, advocate and create awareness for mental health. She is a contributing author in an anthology of Sikh love stories, Her Name is Kaur and Brown Girl Magazine’s first ever printed anthology, Untold. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Asian and Asian American Studies from Stony Brook University and a Master’s Degree in South Asian Religion & Philosophy from Columbia University. She has been featured on TV Asia’s Shades of Shakti and has collaborated with organizations such as National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and NYS Department of Mental Health & Hygiene “Today, I Thrive.” She is committed to using her experience with mental illness to eradicate the stigma surrounding mental health, especially in the South Asian community.
What Happens to Skin-folk who are Sold the American Dream | Mike Valdez
And what the heck is acculturation? In this episode, Nadia Imafidon speaks to Mike Valdez, a first-generation Dominican who recently left a 15-year career in tech to pursue counseling psychology because of the freedom therapy has brought into his own life. We chat about resilience as the new kale, how the process of "acculturation" led Mike to shed his Latinx identity in favor of American ideals, and what it feels like to struggle with finding a balance between the values and beliefs of his country of origin and of the United States.
Mike hopes to work with underrepresented communities that need mental health support but struggle due to the many systems that make life more difficult for them. Mike believes that we can all use mental health support to not only rewire our past, but to also know how to better empower ourselves against the oppression that we may face day in and day out. He knows that therapy tends to be stigmatized, that access to it privileged, and sees this as part of his duties to improve for all, in becoming a culturally aware and attuned therapist.
For those interested in the reading, see Yung Pueblo's, Clarity & Connection.
My Half Marathon Unplugged
Listen as Host Nadia Imafidon shares her recent experience hitting a major personal milestone of completing her first half marathon and how that's shifted her relationship to her mind and body, but more importantly, her relationship to her depression.
The Magic of Shadow Work | Nellie Coffy
"Every time you unpack a shadow, every time you confront a pain, every time you have compassion for your fear, you're liberating someone else, too. And I think that's really magic." In this episode, Nadia Imafidon chats with Nellie Coffy, an entrepreneur, writer and artist working at the intersection of tech, creative liberation and wellness. We chat about building your own ladder as a Black entrepreneur (with tips on raising capital), feelings of worthiness and the healing work of crying, allowing yourself to be mad and confronting your own shadows.
She is the co-founder and CEO of Sun Chaser, a next generation beverage brand on a mission to reimagine drinking. With her latest project, lightbeams, she shares personal stories on all things personal liberation, spiritual development and inner transformation. Some of her spiritual teachers include James Baldwin, Eckhart Tolle, and Gary Zukav.
Sometimes Adults Don't Know What They're Talking About | Rosie Lopez
You'll notice this week's guest is a bit younger than you might have expected. In this episode, Nadia Imafidon chats with long-time friend Rosie Lopez, a 9-year-old West Coast girl whose dad says, "she is most def a Latina fml." We chat about the pressures of perfectionism, how young people have important voices, and her love for music and quality time with family (including hanging with the host in-person for this interview!).
Rosie is a Mexican-American who loves riding horses, reading, doing crosswords, playing soccer, painting abstract art and helping people. She has many talents, but most notably plays the bass and ukulele, and enjoys singing music by Olivia Rodrigo.
Let's Talk Dirty | Mayookh Barua
"How clean does my gut need to be in order to trust it?" In this inaugural episode of season 2 of That's No Longer My Ministry, Nadia Imafidon chats with Mayookh Barua, a North Carolina-based prose writer from India who identifies as a proud queer man. We talk about the how the colonial enterprise, as well as the caste system, have provided a framework for people to exercise othering by alluding to BIPOC folks as "dirty", what it means to rebuild trust with yourself and others, and the roles skincare, gossiping and laughter play in our healing journeys.
Mayookh is always working on stories that reflect on art, queerness, and the politics of a family within the South Asian context. He has previously published at Crooked Fagazine, Mezosfera Magazine, MAP-Bangalore, and with upcoming features in kal-FICTIONS anthology, The Third Eye and The Audacity by Roxanne Gay. Follow Mayookh on IG to keep up with his work: @maymayuki20
That's No Longer OUR Ministry : Season 1 Recap
Tis the season to express gratitude and continue healing, fam. Join Nadia Imafidon as she recaps season 1 of That's No Longer My Ministry, the podcast. Featuring (in order of appearance): Nikia Washington, Olka Baldeh, Frantz Berthaud, Mohana Chakrabarti, Derek Hall, Isaac Sanders, Justin Preddie, Alicia Caillier, Jodi-Ann Burey, Aryn Tuazon, Charlesia McKinney, Alejandro Jon Sabillon, and Foram Mehta.
Interested in joining as a guest, or hearing us answer your question, or address an area of thought that you think is important for our community, drop us a line at nolongermyministry@gmail.com.
This podcast is a labor of love. Wanna love us back? venmo: @nadia-imafidon
The Miseducation of Black Philanthropy
Public servant, scholar of Black philanthropy, and organizer Nikia Washington joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on misconceptions of philanthropy, how the Black community contributes the largest portions of their salary to charity, and how the philanthropy industry needs to change to have the greatest impact for communities it aims to serve. She also speaks about releasing the toxic standard of "time = money" and how operating from this capitalist-driven concept of time is no longer her ministry.
In this episode, she shares a philanthropic effort close to her heart: her friend Princess is battling cervical cancer and embarking on a fertility journey so she can have her own children one day. Contribute $$ here.
Nikia views philanthropy as a gateway to reparations. Her passion for this work is rooted in her deep love for humankind and keen ability to connect things—people, ideas, places, resources, etc.—to create greater impact together. Kia knows she’s fortunate that as her career grows, she’s given a platform to deepen her relationship with her own culture, heritage and stolen history. Through a focus on community organizing and redistribution of resources, she’s been positioned to ask herself and own community critical questions like “What resources do I need more of?” “What resources do I expend too much of?” and “What resources do I hoard?”
Having spent years as a professional fundraiser, Kia is not afraid to make an ask - for herself, but mostly for her community and those far from the table of decision making and power.
Reclaiming My Ugly is an Active Fight Against White Supremacy
Content warning for descriptions of police brutality and acts of violence against the Black community.
Environmental justice advocate and anti-police brutality activist Olka Baldeh joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on the Essie Justice Group, Black women with incarcerated loved ones taking on the rampant injustices created by mass incarceration, what defunding the police really means, and where those resources could go to keep our communities safe that have nothing to do with the police (see her article on Essence.com). She also speaks to her struggle with body dysmorphia and recent learnings of weight retention linked to chronic stress and its impact on marginalized communities who have to endure a world that continually attacks us.
Olka is a storyteller, poet, yoga teacher, and nomad in the lineage of the Fulani griots. She has been an activist for nearly a decade, and currently serves as the Communications Manager for Essie Justice Group, a California-based nonprofit that serves women with incarcerated loved ones.
Olka is the founder of the Black Moon Podcast, where she explores and interrogates the topic of Black death and holds space for collective healing that remediates the harm being done to our psyches from watching Black people die.
Through It All, I'm a Hustler of Hope
Frantz Berthaud joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on individualism in the face of a global pandemic, a new way to approach to convincing unvaccinated folks to vax that thang up, and how white leaders obstruct diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by centering their own comfort and whiteness . Frantz lost his elder sister to breast cancer 4 years ago and shares her story as a cautionary tale of how the healthcare industry is failing Black women and other marginalized folks in a system lacking racial/cultural representation.
Frantz has dedicated his life to cancer care. As the Administrative Director of Disease Operations at Dana-Farber Institute, he is accountable for the personnel, finance, and clinical operations for the hospital's lung cancer and phase 1 centers. He serves in several boards and committees aimed at elevating health equity.
Frantz loves hip hop, New York pizza, and words. He, his wife, and soon-to-be 4 year old daughter live in Boston, MA.
Losing Myself in Tending to Others is No Longer My Ministry
Hi fam! That's No Longer My Ministry Host Nadia Imafidon shares a bit on the state of her depression/anxiety and takes the week off from launching a new episode. She also shares that she is soon wrapping up Season 1 to take some time to rest, reflect and put in the work to come back with an even stronger season 2. Stay tuned for a new episode next week!
Take some time to catch up on any of the 10 episodes and get your weekly community release. Then, head to Apple Podcasts to rate and review the pod.
Interested in joining as a guest, or hearing us answer your question, or address an area of thought that you think is important for our community, drop us a line at nolongermyministry@gmail.com.
This podcast is a labor of love. Wanna love us back? venmo: @nadia-imafidon
My Appearance is My Wild Card
First-generation Indian-American Mohana Chakrabarti joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on being an empath as a social worker, the dangers of beauty clichés including their ableist tendencies, her journey with the autoimmune hair loss condition called alopecia, and how the internet breeds harmful memes and problematic influencers like YouTube star James Charles who make a mockery of the bald/alopecian community.
A daughter of immigrants from West Bengal, India, Mohana is an alternative school social worker from Manhattan, Kansas who is currently residing and working in the Kansas City metro area. At 8 years old, she developed alopecia, which progressed into total body hair loss (known as alopecia universalis) by the time she reached middle school. Throughout her life, Mohana has dealt with issues surrounding traditional standards of body image, and social belonging and understanding due to her hair loss, and is on a continual journey towards what she calls “cerebral peace,” or the ability to sit in contentment with one’s self.
These identities and experiences have carved Mohana’s passion for social work and social justice, especially in the pursuit of societal equity and compassion for marginalized youth and their families. Mohana has a special place in her heart for urban-core alternative public education, an environment teeming with opportunities for trauma-informed care, advocacy and activism for marginalized youth, and building meaningful relationships with students and colleagues. In her free time, you can find Mohana playing or cuddling with her two dogs, watching teen drama TV shows, or spending quality time with loved ones.
Black Queer Fatherhood: Raising a Proud Black Leo Child
Racial equity consultant and coach, Derek Hall joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on parenting in predominantly white spaces, unpacking the myth of the absent Black father, rejecting productivity as the highest purpose, and embracing queerness as his superpower.
Derek Hall is a dynamic anti-racist inter-group dialogue facilitator, public speaker, and activist from Hartford, Connecticut committed to challenging beliefs and institutional culture rooted in systemic racism and other forms of oppression. Derek has worked in the diversity, equity, and inclusion field for over 10 years, partnering with public and private school systems, for profit and non-profit organizations both locally and nationally.
Derek believes that “changed people, change systems.” He uses his gifts of facilitation, storytelling and community building to increase the racial and social consciousness of individuals and organizations. Find more information about his consulting work at ramizhallconsulting.com.
Innovation is a Black and Brown Thing
Community organizer, creator and facilitator for 9 years, Isaac Sanders joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on becoming best friends with their depression and anxiety, not letting fear limit your choices, how whiteness will convince you there's no other way, and how 27-year-old Isaac built a magic fairy wall to nurture their 5-year-old self.
Isaac (they/them) is a conversation with themselves and every other space that they occupy. A constant work in progress, they are committed to healing with restorative justice at their center. Sitting at the intersections of indigeneity, blackness, queerness and being a military brat, experience drives their practice.
Isaac is in a chrysalis phase after surviving a global pandemic. At the end of the day, Isaac’s just trying to keep themselves and their house plants alive.
Resources from this episode:
I Refuse to be a Magical, Exceptional Negro. Let Me Be Messy and Whole.
Proud Trinidadian and bisexual baddie Justin Preddie joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on researching stereotypes, the black woman excellence that is the album Heaux Tales by Jazmine Sullivan, mediocrity, and how whiteness refuses to allow Black people and people of color our full humanity.
Justin (he/him) also shares his guiding tenants for how he dampens the noise of whiteness, so he can hear his own voice and purpose. He shares a few questions he asked himself to help craft his own narrative of success, including: What kind of impact do you want to have? What do you want to impart? What do you need to do to be the best version of yourself so you can be the best version of yourself to your community?
Justin is a Black queer social psychologist studying how race, gender and sexual orientation interact to affect the judgments we make about other people.
Mastering Manifesting: Crafting a Ritual Practice
Black woman in tech, Alicia Caillier joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on the latest mercury retrograde period that tried to take us out, manifesting, crystals and how to shift your mindset and language to affirm the kind of life you've always believed you should be living.
In this episode, Alicia speaks to her calling to help others, whether it's hosting virtual dance parities and raising $53,000 for COVID-19 relief, or crafting ritual practices to support other people's healing journeys. Self-identifying as "a spiritual person having a human experience," Alicia started her own spiritual coaching practice called Coach Caillier, focused on helping people unblock themselves from whatever is holding them back from achieving their goals. She is currently studying to become a master manifester. Find her on Instragram: @CoachCaillier
Based in the Bay Area, by way of Louisiana, Alicia is currently a product manager at Facebook on the Creation Team.
Resources discussed in the episode:
- The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
- Shakira Maria on IG: @law.of.attraction1111
- The Hood Witch
- HausWitch (shop the store based in Salem)
You Don't Know What a Free Black Woman Looks Like
Jamaican-born writer, speaker and disruptor Jodi-Ann Burey joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on the homogeny of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) workplace statements, surviving cancer, and releasing emotional martydom as a Black woman healing from toxic workplace environments. In working fully for herself now, she is healing through speaking to, creating for, and centering Black women in everything she does.
Jodi-Ann (she/her) has a mission to disrupt “business as usual” to achieve social change. She is a sought-after speaker and writer who works at the intersections of race, culture, and health equity. Her TED talk, “The Myth of Bringing Your Full Authentic Self to Work,” embodies her disruption of traditional narratives about racism at work. Jodi-Ann is also the creator and host of Black Cancer, a podcast about the lives of people of color through their cancer journeys.
She holds a Masters in Public Health from the University of Michigan. She prides herself on being a cool auntie, a twist-out queen, health advocate, adventurer and reluctant dog owner. Jodi-Ann is currently working on her first book.
Undoing Colonial Trauma and Finding Liberation in the In-Between Spaces
Descendant of Filipino immigrants, yoga instructor, and movement artist, Aryn Tuazon joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on perfectionism, survival mindset and breaking the cycle of toxicity by healing from ancestral trauma in community with other Asian femmes.
Born in the Bay Area, Aryn cultivates diverse dreamlands to access a sense of play, reimagine freedom, and feel alive through artistic movement, breath, and meditation. After feeling imposter syndrome and the weight of colonial trauma, she found herself in therapy, got a mindset coach, and recommitted to her dharma.
Through her deeply personal spiritual practice and exploring indigenous Filipino roots in community, she’s found strength in wielding her sensitive nature to serve others. Now, she's gaining clarity of toxic patterns and embracing her most authentic and chaotic gemini self. She is passionate about uplifting others to tap into divine intuition and share their stories.
Pleasure Practice: Be the Baddest Bitch in the Grocery Store
"Deeply midwestern" Charlesia McKinney joins Nadia Imafidon for a discussion about understanding your pleasure wants and needs, her needs as a fat, Black, queer woman, and how we can all get in mind/body alignment with our pleasure practices. A first-generation PhD candidate whose dissertation investigates Black women's relationship to pleasure through the lens of literacy, Charlesia (shar-LEE-see-uh) advocates for listening to cues from your body to learn how to honor both your sexual and non-sexual pleasures.
Charlesia is a PhD candidate in English at a University of Kansas and a dissertation fellow at Middle Tennessee State for 2021-2022. Her research and teaching interests regard rhetoric and writing, Black feminist theories and literacies, pleasure politics, fat studies, Disney, and queer theory. She is a devoted nap enthusiast, tv watcher, and karaoke lover. Taurus Sun, Virgo Rising, and Cancer Moon.
These Thoughts Don’t Run You: Make Them Your Soundtrack (with Alejandro Jon Sabillón)
Entrepreneur and artist from San Pedro Sula, Honduras, Alejandro Jon Sabillón joins Nadia Imafidon for an energetic discussion on managing intrusive thoughts, releasing those harmful thoughts/feelings through breathwork and meditation, and pursuing the magic in your wildest dreams. And when we say wild, we mean, this man is on his way to creating the world’s first record label for robots.
Jon is the founder of Aigg, an artificial intelligence company focused on creating mystical, musical machines and the world’s first record label for robots. He is an award-winning DJ and producer having performed at clubs and festivals in the UK, Spain, Japan, the UAE, and the USA. He holds a masters degree in Global Entertainment & Music Business from Berklee College of Music and is currently in a post-graduate professional program for Artificial Intelligence through Harvard University. He has 14 years of meditation experience with extensive study in Vipassana and Dzogchen practices and participation in retreats overseen by the Kwan Um School of Zen. In 2018 he became a United Nations Senior Ambassador for Sustainability for his work in equity and education. He enjoys cooking, animals, and astronomy. See his website here.
Books mentioned in this episode:
Recommended meditation resources:
Jon’s breathwork guide: Josh Solar
Have you tried this new restaurant called Therapy?
First-generation Indian-American Foram Mehta joins Nadia Imafidon for a conversation on what to expect as a Brown girl when you go to therapy for the first time, not feeling responsible for other people's feelings, and how she's challenging Black and White thinking, among other thought traps.
As a child of immigrant parents, Foram shares some of the expectations and behaviors that were unintentionally modeled for her and how she is shedding some behaviors passed down in her lineage. She also praises and respects her upbringing for the spirituality instilled in her healing journey and the never-give-up work ethic of her parents who are small business owners.
Foram is a journalist and content developer with 7+ years of experience in creating content and managing programs for startups, nonprofits, and online media. Find some of her pieces in the New York Times, Marie Claire, The Independent, The Bold Italic, Huff Post, Brown Girl Magazine, New York Magazine and more. My personal favorite? "Being Indian Wasn't Cool For Me. Now White People Are Profiting From It." Find all her work on fmehta.com
Here's a few things Foram mentioned in the episode:
"Broken English" by poet Rupi Kaur
@BrownGirlTherapy (follow on IG)
Resources for free or low cost therapy
Trailer: Sleeping on My Creative Dreams is No Longer My Ministry
Welcome to the pilot episode of That's No Longer My Ministry! Created, produced and hosted by Nadia Imafidon, this podcast that tells a different story about healing. Through one-on-one conversations, Nadia creates a space that honors the stories of marginalized folk actively purging years of programming and the consequence of never being centered. A place for acknowledging and moving through trauma. A place where radical self-liberation is sought, and no is a complete sentence. We don't have to hold onto the the things that no longer serve us. That's no longer our ministry.