Healing our bodies, ancestries, and the earth, with Lakshmi Venugopal

Coming home to my shamanic roots with artist and researcher Alyen Foning

Artist, designer, storyteller and independent researcher Alyen Foning resides in her ancestral home, the Lepcha community at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, with its sacred mountains and rivers.. Creating with fabrics, colours, music and design, Alyen’s work serves as a bridge between both the fields of art and research, and ancestral pasts and future generations. In this We As Nature episode, Alyen shares her journey from growing up in the city, disconnected from her Lepcha roots, to the psychotic breakdown she experienced in 2014 that changed her life forever. From this place of darkness arrived guidance from an unlikely source, and an invitation back to her lineage, community and shamanic traditions. In Alyen’s We As Nature story, she shares: * How art has been a source of remembering her interconnection with the natural world since childhood. * The breakdown she experienced whilst living in Goa that led her to discover her role as a shaman in her ancestral community. * How her experiences as a Shaman have impacted her lifestyle, her art and her relationships. * Guidance and a prayer, which came through after sharing her personal story. After Alyen’s story, in a twist to our usual format, we share some of the questions and answers from the live event. Links: * Remembering our sacred Himalayan river Teesta and the Water Dragon— You Tube [https://youtu.be/1Y-Ki7yT0wo] and Story with Artwork [http://journals.ed.ac.uk/himalaya/article/view/7040/9311]. * The Story of the Muun, Female Shamans of the Lepcha tribe: A Video story session [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hirfcsCxVE0] hosted by White Otter Academy. * Alyen’s Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/alyenfoning/] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/alyenfoningkalimpong] profiles Credits Creative Producer & Host: Nathalie Joel-Smith [https://www.nathaliejoelsmith.co.uk/] on behalf of Flourishing Diversity Music Composer and Sound Producer: Dom Martin [https://www.dommartinmusic.com/] Live Event Production: Katy Molloy [https://www.katymolloy.com/] &  Laura Tyley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tyley-13121a88/]Illustrations: Rohama Malik [https://www.rohamamalik.com/] About Flourishing Diversity We As Nature was recorded during an online gathering hosted by Flourishing Diversity [https://flourishingdiversity.com/]. Flourishing Diversity nurtures the human capacity to respect and uphold vibrant cultures and flourishing ecosystems. The events we produce, the narratives we amplify and the relationships we nurture seek to strengthen existing and emerging restorative cultures by supporting people to protect and deeply connect with the land on which they dwell and the multi-species communities they share these spaces with. You can register to receive updates and inspiration from us here [https://flourishingdiversity.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=08fccbdeaf984113800bd788e&id=e4d23d3dbc] and follow us on Twitter [https://twitter.com/FlourishDiverse], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/flourishingdiversity], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FlourishingDiversitySeries/], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNZY7BKSd8qk0tPxfV1Jlqw] and Linked In. [https://www.linkedin.com/company/flourishing-diversity]

Cultivating collective power through tending to individual healing with Susan Raffo

Bodyworker, cultural worker and author of “Liberated to the Bone”, Susan Raffo, shares her personal story of discovering the intrinsic connection between individual healing and our collective power to shape the systems we live in. In this episode, Susan highlights the impact of the histories held in our bodies, and with passionate and hopeful energy, offers the possibility of leaning into our aliveness as an act of social and ecological repair. In Susan’s We As Nature story, she shares: * The impact of being raised in a political family and her childhood awareness of the energetic relations between people. * How her direct experience of political activism at the UK Greenham Common occupation site has shaped her. * How the hidden histories held in our bodies create fractures in our relationships and collective power.  * The potent effect cranial sacral therapy had on her baby daughter and how this led her to become a bodyworker. * How she came to recognise individual healing and collective organising as fundamentally the same body of work, and how her vocation has evolved to embrace and champion this. Find out more about Susan’s work at The Healing Histories Project [https://healinghistoriesproject.com/about-us/], REP [https://www.repformn.org/about/], and on her website [http://www.susanraffo.com], where you’ll also find details of her books, ‘Liberated to the Bone’, ‘Queerly Classed’ and ‘Restricted Access’. Credits Creative Producer & Host: Nathalie Joel-Smith [https://www.nathaliejoelsmith.co.uk/] on behalf of Flourishing Diversity Music Composer and Sound Producer: Dom Martin [https://www.dommartinmusic.com/] Live Event Production: Katy Molloy [https://www.katymolloy.com/],  Laura Tyley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tyley-13121a88/]& Andrea Langlois [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-langlois/] https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tyley-13121a88/Illustrations: Rohama Malik [https://www.rohamamalik.com/] About Flourishing Diversity We As Nature was recorded during an online gathering hosted by Flourishing Diversity [https://flourishingdiversity.com/]. Flourishing Diversity nurtures the human capacity to respect and uphold vibrant cultures and flourishing ecosystems. The events we produce, the narratives we amplify and the relationships we nurture seek to strengthen existing and emerging restorative cultures by supporting people to protect and deeply connect with the land on which they dwell and the multi-species communities they share these spaces with. You can register to receive updates and inspiration from us here [https://flourishingdiversity.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=08fccbdeaf984113800bd788e&id=e4d23d3dbc] and follow us on Twitter [https://twitter.com/FlourishDiverse], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/flourishingdiversity], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FlourishingDiversitySeries/], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNZY7BKSd8qk0tPxfV1Jlqw] and Linked In. [https://www.linkedin.com/company/flourishing-diversity]

Creating theatre through embodying the essence of animals with Gabrielle Moleta

Movement artist, director & theatre-maker Gabrielle Moleta invites listeners into a creative process that dissolves the perceived boundaries between humans and the natural world.  In this episode, Gabrielle shares her journey into Transformation and Imaginative Improvisation, and how this unique creative process helped her recognise the depths of her interconnectivity with the living world. Now the Founder of the Company Gabrielle Moleta, her work trains artists to fully absorb the essence of an animal and, through theatre, share the stories that emerge. In Gabrielle’s We As Nature story, she shares: * Her unexpected journey from being a dance-obsessed child, uninterested in animals, to discovering her life’s work as a theatre-maker who spends years observing a single animal.  * The actor training that led her to Catherine Clouzot and the Transformation and Imaginative Improvisation approach and how this lineage was passed down to her. * A window into the process of observing and absorbing the essence of animals and how this unlocks theatre characters and stories. * How this work has changed the way she perceives and senses the world around her. * The qualities that emerge in both actor and audience from coming into contact with this approach Find out more about Gabrielle’s work at Company Gabrielle Moleta [https://www.companygabriellemoleta.co.uk/] and watch the Hawk Documentary here [https://www.companygabriellemoleta.co.uk/documentary-1]. Connect with Gabrielle on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/gabriellemoleta/], Twitter [https://twitter.com/gabriellemoleta] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/companygabriellemoleta]. Credits Creative Producer & Host: Nathalie Joel-Smith [https://www.nathaliejoelsmith.co.uk/] on behalf of Flourishing Diversity Music Composer and Sound Producer: Dom Martin [https://www.dommartinmusic.com/] Live Event Production: Katy Molloy [https://www.katymolloy.com/],  Laura Tyley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tyley-13121a88/]& Andrea Langlois [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-langlois/] https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tyley-13121a88/Illustrations: Rohama Malik [https://www.rohamamalik.com/] About Flourishing Diversity We As Nature was recorded during an online gathering hosted by Flourishing Diversity [https://flourishingdiversity.com/]. Flourishing Diversity nurtures the human capacity to respect and uphold vibrant cultures and flourishing ecosystems. The events we produce, the narratives we amplify and the relationships we nurture seek to strengthen existing and emerging restorative cultures by supporting people to protect and deeply connect with the land on which they dwell and the multi-species communities they share these spaces with. You can register to receive updates and inspiration from us here [https://flourishingdiversity.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=08fccbdeaf984113800bd788e&id=e4d23d3dbc] and follow us on Twitter [https://twitter.com/FlourishDiverse], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/flourishingdiversity], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FlourishingDiversitySeries/], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNZY7BKSd8qk0tPxfV1Jlqw] and Linked In. [https://www.linkedin.com/company/flourishing-diversity]

Nurturing mental health through the healing properties of flowers and trees with Elsie Harp

Elsie Harp, Founder of Divina Botanica, is a florist, folk herbalist, and mental health practitioner based in the South-West of England, where she grows seasonal, regenerative flowers in deep relationship with the earth and its rhythms. In this episode, Elsie shares her journey with anxiety and intergenerational trauma, and how the nurturance of the living world has become her greatest source of strength and support. In Elsie’s We As Nature story, she shares: * Her childhood relationship with the aliveness of everything in the natural world, and how this sense of belonging to nature gave way to struggles with identity and belonging in her teenage and young adult years  * How debilitating anxiety led her to a transformative encounter with birch wood trees and a return to the nurturance of the living world * How her journey of becoming a mother and working in NHS mental health services connected her with her own mother’s journey—raised in the townships in South Africa during the height of the apartheid—and the intergenerational imprint of this lineage * How her research into epigenetics intertwined with her connection to the natural world to become a passionate source of strength, and evolved into the offerings and practices she shares today  * The nuance and power of working with flower essences, describing the specific healing properties of the dandelion as an example Find out more about Elsie’s work at Divina Botanica [https://www.divinabotanica.com/], discover her upcoming workshops [https://www.divinabotanica.com/workshops2], and connect with her on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/divinabotanica/] and Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/divinabotanica].  Credits Creative Producer & Host: Nathalie Joel-Smith [https://www.nathaliejoelsmith.co.uk/] on behalf of Flourishing Diversity Music Composer and Sound Producer: Dom Martin [https://www.dommartinmusic.com/] Live Event Production: Katy Molloy [https://www.katymolloy.com/],  Laura Tyley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tyley-13121a88/]& Andrea Langlois [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-langlois/] https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tyley-13121a88/Illustrations: Rohama Malik [https://www.rohamamalik.com/] About Flourishing Diversity We As Nature was recorded during an online gathering hosted by Flourishing Diversity [https://flourishingdiversity.com/]. Flourishing Diversity nurtures the human capacity to respect and uphold vibrant cultures and flourishing ecosystems. The events we produce, the narratives we amplify and the relationships we nurture seek to strengthen existing and emerging restorative cultures by supporting people to protect and deeply connect with the land on which they dwell and the multi-species communities they share these spaces with. You can register to receive updates and inspiration from us here [https://flourishingdiversity.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=08fccbdeaf984113800bd788e&id=e4d23d3dbc] and follow us on Twitter [https://twitter.com/FlourishDiverse], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/flourishingdiversity], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FlourishingDiversitySeries/], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNZY7BKSd8qk0tPxfV1Jlqw] and Linked In. [https://www.linkedin.com/company/flourishing-diversity]

Healing our bodies, ancestries, and the earth, with Lakshmi Venugopal

Lakshmi Venugopal is the founder of Inner Climate Academy and an experienced facilitator of Deep Ecology and the Work That Reconnects. Through chronic illness and the discovery of her ancestral past, Lakshmi’s story illuminates how individual health and ancestral healing are deeply intertwined with the health and healing of the Earth. Taking us on a profound journey from India to Australia and back again, Lakshmi shares how embodied remembering ignited deeper relations with the living world. In Lakshmi’s We As Nature story, she shares: * Her adventures growing up in Kerala, South India, and how local ecological destruction gave rise to anger that dominated her teenage years * The chance encounter that led her to the work of Joanna Macy, enabling her to find the grief and love buried within her anger * The story of a quest through Kerala listening to women’s prayers and stories, which ignited an embodied understanding of apology’s power to restore relations * How her struggle with endometriosis led her to understand the interconnections between chronic pain, ancestry, and the living world—a journey that eventually inspired her menstruation work with rural women in India, and paved the way for her founding of the Inner Climate Academy * Her experience living in the international township of Auroville, East India, recognised as the first and only internationally endorsed ongoing experiment in human unity and transformation of consciousness You can find out more about Lakshmi’s work at the Inner Climate Academy here [https://innerclimateacademy.org/]. Credits Creative Producer & Host: Nathalie Joel-Smith [https://www.nathaliejoelsmith.co.uk/] on behalf of Flourishing Diversity Music Composer and Sound Producer: Dom Martin [https://www.dommartinmusic.com/] Live Event Production: Katy Molloy [https://www.katymolloy.com/],  Laura Tyley [https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tyley-13121a88/]& Andrea Langlois [https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-langlois/] https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-tyley-13121a88/Illustrations: Rohama Malik [https://www.rohamamalik.com/] About Flourishing Diversity We As Nature was recorded during an online gathering hosted by Flourishing Diversity [https://flourishingdiversity.com/]. Flourishing Diversity nurtures the human capacity to respect and uphold vibrant cultures and flourishing ecosystems. The events we produce, the narratives we amplify and the relationships we nurture seek to strengthen existing and emerging restorative cultures by supporting people to protect and deeply connect with the land on which they dwell and the multi-species communities they share these spaces with. You can register to receive updates and inspiration from us here [https://flourishingdiversity.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=08fccbdeaf984113800bd788e&id=e4d23d3dbc] and follow us on Twitter [https://twitter.com/FlourishDiverse], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/flourishingdiversity], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FlourishingDiversitySeries/], YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNZY7BKSd8qk0tPxfV1Jlqw] and Linked In. [https://www.linkedin.com/company/flourishing-diversity]