Offerings — with Taylar Shirley
By Taylar Shirley
Offerings — with Taylar ShirleyApr 16, 2023
Episode Two — Becoming an Ancestor in Training and Spiritual Discernment in the Digital Age with Veronica Agard
Episode Overview:
Today's episode marks a shift in the Offerings Podcast. After a few months of hibernation, Offerings returns with our very first interview, a new look, and is now officially brought to you by Heritage.
I first began following Veronica Agard and her educational project Ancestors in Training back in 2019, possibly even before that. Her work as an organizer and spiritual practitioner was foundational for me during the early days of my own journey with ancestral veneration and has remained a great influence and inspiration for me ever since. During our conversation we explore some of the intricacies of what it means and looks like to live as an ancestor in training, practices in tending grief, and the importance of spiritual discernment and navigating authenticity in our digital age.
Veronica's Bio:
Veronica Agard (Ifáṣadùn Fásanmí) (she/her) is a poet, writer, abọ̀rìṣà, community educator, and connector at the intersections of Black identity, wellness, representation, and culture. She curated the Who Heals the Healer series and the conference of the same name and facilitates the Ancestors in Training educational project. Her initiatives are housed in her freelance platform, Vera Icon, LLC.
Through archival research at the Centro de Investigaciones Regionales de Mesoamerica (CIRMA), she completed her undergraduate thesis on the complex histories of sexual assault and violence against women in post-conflict Guatemala. In 2014, she graduated from CUNY City College of New York with a BA in international studies and history and continued her community work as a co-founder of Sister Circle Collective, a role she held for five years.
She is invested in cultures of healing, experiments with creative healing modalities, and puts theories learned into practice. This came to life during the first generation of the Reparations: Black Wellness Clinic, a free healing clinic for and by Black people that was housed at Earth Arts Center and continues with metaDEN. Building on her community work, she served as a college advisor for three generations of Black and Brown youth in Brooklyn and taught at the Summer Institute of the Sadie Nash Leadership Project. In addition, she was a contributing editor at Your Magic, a podcast and digital community, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for the Development of Human Arts. No matter the role, Veronica offers her expressions and time to amplify the voices of those that walk with her.
As a creative, Veronica’s words have been featured in The Grio, Let Your Voice Be Heard, Mic, For Harriet, Black Girl Magik, Life as Ceremony, Black + Well, Redefining Our, and Heritage Journal. Her work has been profiled at Loca Vibes Radio, Black Abundance BK, eres.you, The Glam Femme, NFLUX Magazine, Self Ceremony, Black Joy by Reckon, and podcasts such as the Bushwick Podcast, Take Nothing When I Die, This Restorative Justice Life, and DEPTH work. She is a recipient of the Spring 2022 Reclamation Ventures Grant award for Healing Practices for Grief. With every opportunity, she names the power of storytelling and being believed in.
Described as living in the future - Veronica is guided by the past and carries out her dreams in the present.
Where to Find Us:
Ancestors in Training: Instagram | Website | Support the Project
Veronica Agard: Website | Instagram | Care Beyond a Crisis (piece for the Heritage Library)
Heritage: Instagram | Website | Support the Project | Submit to Our Upcoming Print Publication The Heritage Journal (Paid Opportunity)
Taylar Shirley: Instagram | Website
Episode One — On Grief, Death, and Dying: In Memory of My Father
In this first official installment of the Offerings Podcast, I spend time reflecting on the recent one year anniversary of my father's death after his short battle with bladder cancer in late 2021.
I share what the past year has taught me about the significance of grief, dying, and death in our lives as well as details about my experience witnessing my father die and the significance of why I feel it is important to share this experience and knowledge.
This episode is admittedly intimate and quite heavy and while I was recording it I thought "perhaps this would more accurately be called 'the podcast where we have tough conversations'."
I discuss grieving and death as not only normal but necessary parts of our lives that we must learn to embrace, or at least accept.
I also reference the work of Stephen Jenkinson, an author who writes in depth about grief and death literacy after two decades of experience in palliative care and much wisdom accompanying those experiences.
The podcast episode that I mention, Love and Liberation with Olivia Clementine and Stephen Jenkinson is linked here.
If you choose to listen to this episode, thank you. Thank you for holding space for these thoughts and experiences. Thank you for witnessing in spite of discomfort, pain, shame, or anything else that may be arising.
If needed, I recommend dropping into some somatic movement afterwards or at least taking a few deep breaths.
As always, until next time, I wish you well.
Where to Find Me:
@taylarshirley - social media, especially instagram)
The Introduction — with Taylar Shirley
In this short introduction, I share the origin story of the podcast name Offerings.
I talk about the impact that spirituality has had on my life through the years, and more recently, how deeply I've been impacted by African spirituality.
Toward the end, I share more details about my vision for the podcast and what topics I hope to cover before giving a brief overview of episode one - where I'll commemorate the first anniversary of my father's passing.
Links to Stay Connected:
My Website (newly updated and including some sneak peaks for my new 2023 holistic health offerings and services)
Episode One will be out January 2nd. I can't wait for you all to hear it.
Thank you for being here.