Spiritual Grit

To put it simply: there's a hell of a lot going on right now and activism is growing exponentially. There is an urgency in the air that cannot be ignored. And with that urgency, momentum swells and we activists tend to forget that it's necessary to fill our own cup.

We MUST take time to nourish ourselves, to replenish our energy, to rest and restore. This is the long game. And we must remember that we are not doing this alone. When we work in community, we can lean on each other for what we need in order to sustain this movement towards liberation. When you need to rest, know that someone will be there to pick up where you left off and will welcome you back when you are rested. This is what we need to work on remembering. Tune into today's episode for why it's important to pause and take rest –and to learn how!

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• Oracle card: Water your garden

• Poem: “Why Aren't We Screaming Drunks?” by Hafiz

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How many of us stuff down our feelings when it comes to sadness or grief? How many of us try to hide our tears or look away when we are not able to? Our society has taught us to repress the emotions that make people uncomfortable. It has taught us that we are wrong or weak when we experience things like rage or grief. What happens when there's a buildup of these emotional energies that stay trapped in the body? When there's nowhere for them to go, the body starts to break down. Tune into this week's episode where I talk about how to discern between qualities of fear that might be haunting you from expressing yourself. And how you might move through that in order to open a valve to release tension and creates softness in your body, which leads to overall well-being.

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• Oracle card: The Suit of Swords

• Poem: “Wow” by Hafiz

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There's a lot of talk about one's purpose in life and often, in the West, it is individualistic: what will fulfill one's desires? How can one manifest the car/house/partner that they want?

In this week's episode, I'm talking about what your purpose in life actually is and how you can get closer to figuring it out. Also, if your life's purpose isn't about you, then what is it about? Who is it for? And is anyone paying attention?

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• Oracle card: The Ten of Cups

• Poem: “A Great Need”by Hafiz

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In this week's episode, I'm in conversation with Sophia Ali Khan, activist, public interest lawyer, and Canadian-based author of *A Good Country: My Life in Twelve Town and the Devastating Battle for a White America*.

We talked about a wide range of things, playing with the intersection of activism and spiritualit: from the current genocide (do we take the first flight out to Rafah?) to resonance with our ancestral homeland (what is embedded in our DNA that signals we are home?); from balancing being a mom with activism (how does one guide one’s children through the practices of fasting during Ramadan?) to what true spirituality and faith look like. (Hint: It's not all white flowing robes and kumbaya).

Come along with us on this meandering road of understanding what our role might be in this life as a human during this particular moment in time.

Listen in today!

About Sofia Ali-Khan:

Sofia Ali-Khan is an anti-racist storyteller, author, and public interest lawyer. Her book, A Good Country: My Life in Twelve Towns and the Devastating Battle for a White America was published by Random House in 2022 and won the 2023 Nautilus Gold Book Award for Social Justice. Writing at the intersection of politics, race, history, and Muslim America, her essays have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, TIME Magazine, the Chicago Tribune, and other publications, earning her a Pushcart Prize nomination in 2022. She has appeared as a featured storyteller on The Moth's Mainstage in Boston and Philadelphia and at the Manhattan Public Theater. Sofia lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband, kids and cat, and is presently at work on her first novel with the generous support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• Oracle card: The Queen of Swords

• Poem: “Please Stop” by Sophia Ali Khan

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In this week's episode, I'm talking about how important it is to have nervous system resilience when speaking your truth. It's okay if your voice shakes. What's key is being able to bounce back after feeling so vulnerable. Listen in to learn the four stages to help strengthen resilience so that you can speak your truth.

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Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Tarot Card: Justice

• Poem: “Cucumbers and Prayers” by Hafiz

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Uh, say what? What the heck is duality and non-duality? It’s a spiritual philosophy and teaching, one of which I’m still trying to unpack (and will likely be doing for the rest of my life!). But I wanted to pose this question of duality vs non-duality in activism: how do we understand these concepts and how do we apply them to real world situations like gen0-side? Is it useful to do so? Or is it akin to spiritual bypassing? Depends on who you are and how you use it.

I’m going to tell you now: this is like pre-school level, super-basic knowledge I have of these concepts, so I don’t know what I’m doing or what I’m talking about, BUT I am curious enough to ask the questions and explore. Listen in to find out possibilities to this question of duality and non-duality in activism. (I mean, that’s the point of this show, right? The intersection of spirituality and activism. That’s what I say in the intro, right? So let’s dive in!)

Uh, say what? What the heck is duality and non-duality? It’s a spiritual philosophy and teaching, one of which I’m still trying to unpack (and will likely be doing for the rest of my life!). But I wanted to pose this question of duality vs non-duality in activism: how do we understand these concepts and how do we apply them to real world situations like gen0-side? Is it useful to do so? Or is it akin to spiritual bypassing? Depends on who you are and how you use it.

I’m going to tell you now: this is like pre-school level, super-basic knowledge I have of these concepts, so I really don’t know what I’m doing or what I’m talking about, BUT I am curious enough to ask the questions and explore. Listen in to find out possibilities to this question of duality and non-duality in activism. (I mean, that’s the point of this show, right? The intersection of spirituality and activism. That’s what I say in the intro, right? So let’s dive in!)

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• Oracle card: Five of Pentacles

• Poem: “The Fish and I will Chat” by Hafiz

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Many of us compartmentalize our lives, putting things in boxes as if our lives are a bunch of multicolored beads that need to be separated and sorted.. Parenting goes in one box. Job goes in another box. Writer work in yet another. Activist work in another. This isn’t how we’re supposed to live. WIth the continuing gen0-side, compartmentalizing is a survival tactic. “If I can just focus on my job, I can look away from what’s happening in Pal-es-tine.” The thing is, the magnitude of these atr0cities is affecting our daily lives, whether we’re aware of it or not.

In this week’s episode, I talk about how everything is inextricably linked. We cannot compartmentalize. We must stay connected to our humanity. We must continue to bear witness AND to live, to continue the daily activities of our small lives AND do what we can to demand a ce@sefire and fight for a freé Pal-es-tine. How do we do that? How can we act in our daily lives in ways that begin to shift change? Tune in to learn more!

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• Oracle card: Queen of Pentacles

• Poem: “You are Brave in that Holy War” by Hafiz

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Speaking your truth can be daunting, especially during these times of intense division. How can you practice using your voice so that you can express your truth with more confidence? How can you soften those blocks that prevent you from using your voice? In this week's episode, I talk about how love is the key to leading the way to truth and invite you to explore the possibilities of your voice.

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• Oracle card: King of Cups

• Poem: “Turn Left a Thousand Feet from Here” by Hafiz

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Community is so important for us. Human beings. And if the last few years has taught us anything, isolation really sucks. In this week's episode, I invite you to be open to creating communities that you need. Rather than waiting for someone to call you in, why not reach out to others? Tune in to find out how.

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• Oracle card: Page of swords

• Poem: “From the Large Jug, Drink” by Hafiz

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As I continue to speak my truth and advocate for a free Pal3st!ne, more and more folks are telling on themselves, showing who they really are. And the shedding of various levels of relationships –from acquaintances to friends to community members– continues. In this week’s episode, I address the fears that come with this shedding and what to do about it. How do we keep going? Do we even keep going? (Short answer: YES!) How do we stay on the course of our truth if it means that people will leave our lives? Listen in to dig deeper into why speaking our truths are crucial to our collective healing and liberation.

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• Oracle card: All Paths Lead Home

• Poem: “When You Wake” by Hafiz

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This year is about spiritual and material abundance! But if you’ve got limiting beliefs that keep you small, it’s kinda hard to receive that abundance. In this week’s episode, I talk about how the subconscious can hold us back and how you can shift those beliefs. Relatedly, this year is also about rest, about creating more space for dreaming and intuitive guidance. Tune in to find out how rest can help you shift your perspective and release limiting beliefs.

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My first effort at building community for 2024 is offering online yoga nidra classes.

Now, you might be thinking: What's yoga nidra?

Or: That's nice.

Or: Oh, that sounds so amazing and totally what I need right now, but I can't because [insert excuse here].

Let me answer the first question: what is yoga nidra? Without getting too technical or esoteric, it's pretty much you lying down all comfy while listening to me guide you through a meditation journey. What's not to love about that?

As for the other two thoughts, let's consider this: capitalist society doesn't want you to rest. It banks (literally) on you to keep going, to keep working, to keep producing. Capitalism treats us like machines, not humans whose bodies operate in cycles of active states and rest.

So if you're saying “I'd love to rest but I have this giant to-do list to tackle”, then ask yourself what are you prioritizing and why? No judgement. Just an invitation to get curious about the choices you make, the patterns you find yourself in, and why they happen.

It's time to rest, friends. And not just the “I'm gonna take a nap" kind of rest. This is a “reset, a restoration, a softening and a letting go kind” of rest. It's an effective way to release all of the old energy of last week and get a clean slate for this coming week. Plus you'll feel ready for bed! Doesn't that sound heavenly?

Here's the 411:

Sundays, January 14, 21, 28, 2024

8-8:45pm ET on zoom

$20 / class

And here's where you can sign up:

https://suryagian.com/yoga-nidra

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Today’s poems/ Books mentioned:

• Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey

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The other day, a woman in an FB group accused me of ant!-s3m!tism because I had used the word “g3n0cide”. She was clearly speaking from a deeply wounded place, from generational trauma as a Jewish woman. And while I have compassion for her woundedness, I was not going to stop speaking the truth of what is happening in P@l-es-t!ne. But this raises the question that a lot of folks are asking: what do we do when our truth hurts others? In this week’s episode, I talk about the need for discernment and a deep connection with your intuition. If our truths are rooted deep in our heart and soul, they will not exclude others. Our truths show us that there is room for everyone.

Register for my 4-week somatic writing workshop series, Speak Your Truth, which kicks off tomorrow –the winter solstice, Dec 21st! https://suryagian.com/speak-your-truth or email for more info and to register: love@suryagian.com

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Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Tarot Card: Lifting the Veil

• Poem: “My Body a Tree” by Hafiz

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In this episode, I pull back the curtain on what it's like to speak your truth. It may look easy, like no big deal. But it's not. Especially when there is a lot on the line. On the outside, folks might look like they have it together. But on the inside, it might be a different story. Tune in to find out what it's like to speak your truth (while I also drop a few big truth b*mb$) and questions to consider when you want to step forward and speak out.

To find the folks I mentioned, you can connect with them on Instagram here: @sarahofmagdalene @kimsaira

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Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Tarot Card: Seven of Wands

• Poem: “Trying To Wear Pants” by Hafiz

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In this week's episode, I'm talking about how important it is to have nervous system resilience when speaking your truth. It's okay if your voice shakes. What's key is being able to bounce back after feeling so vulnerable. Listen in to learn the four stages to help strengthen resilience so that you can speak your truth.

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Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Tarot Card: Justice

• Poem: “Cucumbers and Prayers” by Hafiz

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 Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

Why is it important to speak your truth? Does it really matter? The short answer: absolutely! What can you do to assure your body that it's safe to speak the truth? How can you support your nervous system? Listen in to find out!

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Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Tarot Card: King of Swords

• Poem: “A Cushion For Your Head” by Hafiz

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This episode's oracle card is The Great Severing. Feels forboding. How do we stay open to love when we are wounded? In a time when things start to feel hopeless or pointless, it's even more important to keep going. But how? How do we stay the course? What does self-worth have to do with it? How can ritual help us?

Tune in to find out!

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Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Tarot Card: The Great Severing 

• Poem: "What do White Birds Say?” By Hafiz

  
  

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In this episode, I'm in conversation with JS Park, a Korean American hospital chaplain based in Florida whose compassion has made an incredible impression on so many people, including myself. 

J.S. Park is a hospital chaplain, former atheist/agnostic, sixth degree black belt, suicide survivor, Korean-American, and follows Christ. He. is author of The Voices We Carry: Finding Your One True Voice in a World of Clamor and Noise. Published by Northfield/Moody. He is currently serving at a 1000+ bed hospital, one of the top-ranked in the nation, and was also a chaplain for three years at one of the largest nonprofit charities for the homeless on the east coast.

We talk about compassion and grief, which do not have clear definitions or prescriptions for embodying them. Both grief and compassion look  different for each individual person. It's not a one-size-fits-all. We also talk about how we might hold compassion for those whose beliefs are rooted in our oppression. And how we might identify this collective grief we are currently feeling but can't quite name. Listen in as we dive into how we can human better together.

Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Oracle Card: Trust the Timing

• Poem: "Torso of Air" by Ocean Vuong

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In this week's episode, I am speaking with poet, extraordinaire, Diamond Forde.

Our conversation centers around how poetry saves us. And that is not hyperbole. How poetry brings us back to our humanness. We also talk about this now moment as we bear witness to the atrocities against P@lestin!ans. How we are being pulled to publicly grieve, something that is unfamiliar to us. How do we remember to be human to each other again? How can we provide care?

Listen in as Diamond reminds us: You don't have to hold grief on your own. Listen to be in community with us. Let us steep ourselves in poetry and hold each other in grief.

I'm inviting you to join me in Create Against Destruction, a 6-week container for women / femmes / nonbinary writers of color to come together in community and process and integrate and move through the complexities of our human experience.

In those 6 weeks we'll sit with fear, anxiety, grief, joy, hope, and empowerment. Sometimes separately, sometimes together, sometimes all at once. This is an invitation to gather together in support and in witness. This is a place for co-creating, co-writing, and care for each other. To build something in the face of destruction. To insist that we are here, that we exist, that we matter, and what we have to say matters. To witness and to be seen. To be held.

We start next Thursday, Nov 9th because time is of the essence. It might not feel like we're doing anything to make change when we are writing or caring for ourselves, but I contest this belief. Our individual actions, our individual energy adds and influences the collective, even if we can't see it. HOW you are BE-ing matters. It always has.

Link in bio.

About Diamond Forde:

Diamond Forde is a Black poet and the author of Mother Body (Saturnalia Books, 2021), winner of the 2019 Saturnalia Poetry Prize. The recipient of awards and fellowships from the Furious Flower Poetry Center, the College Language Association, Great River Review, Callaloo, and Tin House, she lives in Asheville, North Carolina.

To help celebrate Filipino American History month, I've got special guest, author, Tamiko Nimura on the show! Yay!

It's easy to forget that we are spirit souls having a human experience. We get wrapped up in what our eyes see and the crazy scrawl our minds make in our heads. In this week's episode, I want to shine a light on things we don't often see or pay attention to. Today I sit down with author Tamiko Nimura to talk about the (invisible) writing process (often, readers think that we poop out perfect books! Haha), how yoga can be the bridge between the physical and emotional/spiritual experience of being a human, and what it means to be an activist (hint: it's not just marching in rallies).

Listen in on this conversation that highlights how times of intense distress can foster the creation of new, surprising things (like a spontaneous course on civil rights!) and how we can reconnect with our inner selves (hint: it's yoga - haha!).

About Tamiko Nimura:

Tamiko Nimura is an Asian American creative nonfiction writer living in Tacoma, Washington. She has degrees in English from UC Berkeley (BA) and the University of Washington, Seattle (MA, PhD). Her poems, essays and interviews have appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Off Assignment, Narratively, The Rumpus, Full Grown People, Heron Tree, HYPHEN, Kartika Review, and Blue Cactus Press. She has essays in the anthologies Ghosts of Seattle Past (2018) and New California Writing (Heyday 2012). At UC Berkeley, she studied creative writing with Ishmael Reed and Gary Soto. She has read at the Looseleaf Reading series (Seattle), King’s Books and Blue Cactus Press (Tacoma), and the San Francisco Public Library. She is a 2016 Artists Up grant recipient and a 2019 GAP Award recipient.

She has been awarded a Tacoma Arts Commission Tacoma Artists Initiative Project grant (2021-22) for her memoir-in-progress, A PLACE FOR WHAT WE LOSE. She was also awarded an AMOCAT Community Engagement Award for her artistic and community work in 2022.

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Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Oracle Card: Earthed

• Poem: “A Litany First Revival” by Audrey Allard

Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

It’s Filipino-American History month, y’all ! And I’ve got a treat for you! This week, I’m talking with Dr. Allan Punzalan Issac, professor of Asian-American Studies at Rutgers University, where we discuss all things Filipino. From trying to answer our life’s calling (despite the protestations of family… well, at least mine) to thinking about nuance in the conversation around the Broadway show “Here Lies Love”. We’re asking questions about spectacle and visibility and what that means for the Filipino community, a people colonized by Spain and the US. We also talk a bit about his latest research on death and dying in the diaspora (how’s that for alliteration??) and play with the idea of writing a Broadway musical that includes singing aswangs!

Listen in on what it’s like to be Filipino, what it sounds like to be Filipino (you decide what I mean by that! ha!), and why visibility and representation are so essential to how we can BE in this world.

Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Oracle Card: Baby Steps

• Poem: “Have you prayed?” by Li Young Lee

Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

Control is an illusion. We only have control over how we take action, the decisions we make, and in how we respond to external circumstances. So what the heck are we supposed to do? Just sit back and watch the world unfold? Um, yeah. Pretty much.

Here's the thing: our perception of the physical world is only a microscopic view of what's possible. How many times have things --like job opportunities, invitations, and the like-- "come out of nowhere"? That's because we don't see all of the intricate web of the universe, working to get you to where you need to be.

When Rumi said that the universe was rigged in our favor, he didn't mean that it would be smooth sailing. That there wouldn't be hardships and challenges. But that everything is an experience for our expansion and spiritual evolution. So can we release control and trust that even the hardships are teaching us how to grow?

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Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Tarot Card: Two of Swords | The Hanged Man

• Poem: “Easter Sunday” by Sin Yu Pai

There are too many messages out there talking about quick fixes and shortcuts. Whether it's about raking in big bucks with creating online courses or healing deep trauma in one session, it's all a ruse! It's an illusion. What they don't tell you is what actually has happened behind the scenes and for how long. There's a saying: slow and steady wins the race. And that couldn't be truer for each of us.

The point of living in these human bodies is to grow and expand like the universe. We're here to experiment and learn from lived experiences. There are no shortcuts. There's no race either (I just want to make that clear.) We all move according to our own timeline. BUT we also must interact with the people around us who are doing the same thing, but in their own unique way. And sometimes their ways bump up against ours.

So how do we do this? How do we evolve as individuals while honoring the evolution of others? How can we participate in the collective while holding true to who we are? Listen in to find out!

Tarot Card: Eight of Pentacles

Poem: "Have You Prayed" by Li-Young Lee

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Courses / Exclusive Content / Book Mentioned:

In a world that moves more quickly than we can perceive, it’s easy to lose connection with our intuition. There’s so much noise, so much that other people are telling you what to do, how to act, what to dream. In this episode, I talk about relationships and somatics. Somatic practices can help us become more in tune with our own bodies, which helps foster self-awareness and emotional intelligence. How can our bodies help guide us when it comes to relationships? How can we know what’s good for us and what’s not? (Relatedly, how can we break the habit of people pleasing?)

Remember, you're not alone in your journey, and there's strength in sharing and learning from one another. So if any of this resonates with you, please send me a DM on Instagram (@leslieannhobayan), email me,  or leave a review! I’d love to hear from you!

Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Tarot Card: Three of Cups (Reversed) and Page of Swords (Reversed)

• Poem: The Ambience of Love by Hafiz

You ever wonder how to choose which battles to fight and which wants to let be? When you're an activist, sometimes it's hard to choose. We want to fight them all!

In this episode, I'm talking about using the body to help discern between what's worth our time investment and what isn't. How to reframe unwanted experiences into invitations rather than "why is this happening *to* me?". How to stop assuming you know how it will all unfold (are you a predictor of the future? Do you know tomorrow's lotto numbers? 😂). And how to decide which battles are worth fighting for.

Oh, and you'll love the card that came forward for this week! (Hint: there's so much abundance!)

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August is my month of selfless service. I'm offering complimentary 1:1 coaching packages for two people who identify as women/femmes/nonbinary folks of color for the month of August. Application is available at my Instagram bio @leslieannhobayan

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Today’s poems/ Books / Oracle / Tarot Cards mentioned:

• Poem: "(Dear Fu'una)" by Craig Santos Perez

  
  

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🎙️ Prepare for an unforgettable auditory experience and full of learnings! 🎧

Join us in the latest episode of our podcast as I share about being your authentic self in a world full of fakes.

Can you be your most authentic self? What does that even mean? Who is your authentic self? What does that look like? And how do you do it?These are some questions on exploring and this week's episode. In a world where more people are talking about being authentic, how many of us are actually doing it? How many of us actually know what our authentic selves look like and feel like? And do we feel safe enough to be our most authentic selves 100% of the time? If we don't, how can we create a sense of safety for ourselves? Also: who cares what other people think?Tune in to find out! And if you'd like support and guidance for this endeavor, I'd love to help! Just reach out - send an email to: leslieann @ suryagian (dot) com.

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And this week's episode, I'm talking about the balance of give and take, of giving and receiving. I'm inviting folks to consider shifting away from the closed-off-ness of individualism ("I'm going to do my own thing and I don't care what anyone else does.") and stepping into collective care. How can we be mindful of how our actions affect others? How can we pay attention to our role in the collective while?

Which then shifts the conversation to representation. For folks who are from marginalized communities, we are used to seeing the varied stories of white folks while only a single story of us is portrayed in the culture. When that changes, when we see ourselves represented in mainstream spotlights, it is profound. It feels like a confirmation that yes, we exist. We are visible and we are seen.

I talk about the new all Filipino Broadway show, "Here Lies Love" and the new Asian-American "girlfriends road trip" movie, "Joy Ride" and what it feels like to be seen in a BIG way.

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In today's episode, I'm talking about Trisha Hersey's Rest is Resistance and how important it is for us to rest, for us to resist the capitalist structures that tell us to Go!Go!Go! How can we remember that we are divinity itself? That what we "do" does not determine our worth? We are worthy simply because we BE.

But it's not easy to step into this practice of resting after being indoctrinated--since birth-- by the ideas of continual labor as worthiness. A community of care can make all the difference in breaking out of systems of oppression. Being in community can help us heal and, as a result, thrive. Community encourages us to keep going when it gets hard. I invite you to join me in community so we can reimagine a world that honors our true nature.

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What lights you up? 

In this episode, I talk about the word “creativity”, how it sometimes carries so much weight that people deny they are the least bit creative. What if we defined it? What if it wasn’t about painting a masterpiece? Or writing the great American novel (whatever the *heck* that is!)? What doors would open up for people? What magic might unfold?

I believe that we can create whatever we want and view it as magic. Magic is real. Magic is energy. When we step intentionally into a space of wonder, delightful surprises unfold! What do you want to create? It can be anything, big or small, fun and light or serious and powerful. You are being called to express your soul in the physical realm. What does that look like for you? And when will you take action? When you’re on your deathbed, what will you remember most? Will you smile at the magic you’ve created? Or will you frown in regret?

Let’s create some magic, shall we?

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With the speed of life today, it is so easy for us to forget. To forget what we were doing in the middle of doing it. To forget why we do the things that we do. To forget that we have physical bodies because we are so immersed in what's happening on a screen.

The biggest forgetting is that our bodies hold so much wisdom. Our bodies never lie to us. Our bodies guide us to what's right, to what's aligned with our souls, to the path of our dharma (aka our life's purpose).

The trouble is, because we keep running at the speed of technology, we have forgotten.

In this week's episode, I invite you to practice remembering.

To tune in to the wisdom carried in your cells, in your very DNA.What is possible when you remember?

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What's getting in your way? What patterns or behaviors are keeping you stuck? Where is your focus? Is that focus preventing you from seeing beyond?

Sometimes we look for things we want in the wrong places. Sometimes they're right in front of our faces.

I've been talking about community and what it is (or can be) and how we can create & build one.

So what is community really? And how do you know that you're in one? What presumptions do you have that prevent you from seeing the community in front of your face?

These are questions I explore in today's episode. Sometimes things are easier than we make them out to be.

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We live in a world that moves so fast that we miss a lot of things, including nuance. We are eager to do-do-do (I can't help but hear BlackPink here. Haha!) and achieve things and solve problems as quickly as possible. This is not sustainable. And while that might be an obvious statement, it needs to be said out loud. Everyone is exhausted and burnt out and overloaded. As a result, we might inadvertently harm other people in the process. Our fuses are short. Our attention spans even shorter.

Which is why it's more crucial now than ever to have communities of care. In this episode, I talk about what that is and how it's different from just being in community. And what exactly is community? I talk about what care looks like and how we can be better humans towards each other.

In this episode, I'm exploring ways in which spiritual teachings and manifestation practices can intersect with activism. I'm interrogating spiritual teachings as delivered by white folks and how they leave out the part about having to exist in this three-dimensional world that includes systemic racism, an inextricable part of my own human existence. Folks of color can't just think positive thoughts to get out of oppression. At the same time, I don't want to discount how our thoughts and beliefs do create our experience of the reality we live in. So how do we bring both seemingly separate worlds together to create a way of being that actively brings about deep meaningful change toward a more just society? After all, this is where we are now, in this moment, as humans having our three-dimensional  human experience. This is our collective purpose.

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Humans are a communal species. I have said this before, yes. In this episode, I first invite you to take some time to rest and restore, to create mini vacations for yourself in your daily life. But know that there is a difference between a restorative retreat and tipping over into isolation. Balance is key.

I also talk about being intentional with whom we connect. Who drains us? Who nourishes us? Do we spend time with people in meaningful conversations? Or is it just small talk? And what about connections in the digital spaces (in particular, social media)? How are they affecting our energetic fields?

Listen in as I share about being deliberate with the communities that we create.

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