On studentship, using your art to heal, and becoming heavy enough to hold it all.
Kiese Laymon is the author of three books, most recently the NY Times bestselling memoir, Heavy: An American Memoir. He is a Professor of English born and raised in Jackson Mississippi.
- The places we stay [3:26]
- What inspired Kiese to write Heavy to his mother [5:05]
- The consequences of masking pain [7:18]
- How learning requires failure [11:31]
- Parenting and secrets [14:25]
- The importance of tender touch [18:25]
- What does it mean to repair damage done? [21:43]
- The overlapping problems with police [25:19]
- Gambling addiction and recovery [29:50]
- Kiese's Grandmother. Embodying love. Heavy enough [36:03]
Resources
Heavy by Kiese Laymon
Kiese Laymon on Dani Shapiro's podcast Family Secrets
On choosing conscious shocks, conscious suffering and crystallizing your commitment to daily bliss.
- The Fourth Way [1:30]
- The law of divided attention [8:28]
- The law of aim [12:20]
- The law of identification [15:12]
- The law of shocks [20:54]
- The law of three [27:05]
- The law of self-remembering [30:55]
- Unnecessary vs necessary suffering [33:06]
- Buffers. How much joy can you stand? [36:45]
- The law of death [41:39]
- The law of crystallization [46:50]
Biet is the world-renowned meditation leader dubbed the "Lady Gaga of Meditation." As a musician, Biet weaves the world of pop culture and spirituality, teaching practical applications of ancient spiritual wisdom. The teachings are featured in Biet’s best selling book, ‘Don’t Just Sit There!’ published by Simon & Schuster.
RESOURCES
Biet Simkin website
Guided by Biet on Instagram
Don't just sit there, Biet Simkin
Biet Simkin music https://open.spotify.com/track/5WUQMoFM0zGfTmFfs3AoIL?si=4GaEP7muT_64_D7wUbAnLQ
Views from the Real World - Gurdjieff
Self Remembering - Red Hawk h
The Overstory - Richard Powers
Self-Remembering - Robert Earl Burton
Hildegard non Bingen music
The Lunar
On belonging, dreamwork, and welcoming aging as a privilege.
Toko-pa Turner is an award-winning Canadian writer, teacher, and dreamworker who blends the mystical tradition of Sufism with a Jungian approach to dreams. In 2001 she founded the Dream School, from which hundreds of students have graduated, and she speaks internationally on the subject of dreams and belonging. Sometimes called a "midwife of the psyche," Toko-pa’s work focuses on restoring the feminine, reciprocity with nature, honouring grief, ritual, and beauty-making. Her book, "Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home" is the winner of multiple awards including the 2017 Gold Nautilus Award, the 2018 Readers' Favorite Gold Award, named Finalist in the 2018 Whistler Independent Book Awards, and Finalist for the 2019 Montaigne Medal in the Eric Hoffer Book Awards. She lives on a small island in the Salish Sea of British Columbia.
- Our longing to belong [2:09]
- Toko-pa's early years [6:06]
- Honoring grief [10:12]
- Witnessing others in difficult times [12:11]
- Toko-pa's healing journey [19:25]
- Finding a place where our grief is welcomed [23:30]
- Dreams and the language of metaphors [26:35]
- Aging and our relationship to Elders [31:55]
- Prayer [35:34]
- Relocating Magic [37:07]
RESOURCES
https://toko-pa.com/
Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home
Belonging - Toko-pa Turner
Toko-pa Turner on Instagram
Rushing the redemption - Toko-pa Turner
Birdwings - Rumi
The Smell of Rain on Dust- Martin Prechtel
A Room of One's Own - Virginia Woolf