084: Finding Enlightenment in Prison with David Hopper
Explicit content warning
10/25/23 • 60 min
In this episode, David shares his experience of getting into the street life of selling drugs at 14 and the anger and arrogance that ultimately landed him in prison. We discuss how he found understanding with his father, the enlightenment he found during incarceration, and the brilliant work he’s doing now with children and young adults in New York City as he helps them deal with their trauma and trust issues through creativity and guides them back to their own greatness.
We dive into:
- David’s pivotal childhood moment with his mom and the shifts that came from it
- The realization that he hated his father and his healing around this
- Selling drugs on the street at 14 years old
- Dealing with the anger & arrogance that sent him to prison
- His experience as a black man dealing with the stigma of men expressing emotion
- The biggest lessons from prison that led to his expansion
- David’s organization, “Nana’s Living Room” and how he’s using creativity to guide at-risk youth and others to healing
- And more
David Hopper, Co-Founder of Nana’s Living Room Inc. David is a FilmMaker, Spoken Word artist, Credible Messenger, Mentor, and Author. His organization helps at-risk youth, young adults and formerly incarcerated individuals heal and navigate traumas, pain & trust issues. David uses his book "Moments, Writings, Thoughts and Letters of a 2x Felon" (*on Amazon) to create dialogue on solutions of mass incarceration, conflict resolution, and the school-to-prison pipeline. His mission is to use art, film, and experiential learning to combat violence. David is currently working on his second book “Moments 2 Motivation” slated to be out November 4th.
Connect with David:
BronxNet TV Interview: https://youtu.be/GxV4g0DyMwA
Personal Website: www.iamdavidhopper.com
Organization Website: www.nanaslivingroom.org
Organization Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanaslivingroominc/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamdavid_unstoppable/
Connect with me and let’s go deeper:
Website: https://www.pohongyu.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/pohong.yu/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pohong.yu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pohongyu/
In this episode, David shares his experience of getting into the street life of selling drugs at 14 and the anger and arrogance that ultimately landed him in prison. We discuss how he found understanding with his father, the enlightenment he found during incarceration, and the brilliant work he’s doing now with children and young adults in New York City as he helps them deal with their trauma and trust issues through creativity and guides them back to their own greatness.
We dive into:
- David’s pivotal childhood moment with his mom and the shifts that came from it
- The realization that he hated his father and his healing around this
- Selling drugs on the street at 14 years old
- Dealing with the anger & arrogance that sent him to prison
- His experience as a black man dealing with the stigma of men expressing emotion
- The biggest lessons from prison that led to his expansion
- David’s organization, “Nana’s Living Room” and how he’s using creativity to guide at-risk youth and others to healing
- And more
David Hopper, Co-Founder of Nana’s Living Room Inc. David is a FilmMaker, Spoken Word artist, Credible Messenger, Mentor, and Author. His organization helps at-risk youth, young adults and formerly incarcerated individuals heal and navigate traumas, pain & trust issues. David uses his book "Moments, Writings, Thoughts and Letters of a 2x Felon" (*on Amazon) to create dialogue on solutions of mass incarceration, conflict resolution, and the school-to-prison pipeline. His mission is to use art, film, and experiential learning to combat violence. David is currently working on his second book “Moments 2 Motivation” slated to be out November 4th.
Connect with David:
BronxNet TV Interview: https://youtu.be/GxV4g0DyMwA
Personal Website: www.iamdavidhopper.com
Organization Website: www.nanaslivingroom.org
Organization Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nanaslivingroominc/
Personal Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamdavid_unstoppable/
Connect with me and let’s go deeper:
Website: https://www.pohongyu.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/pohong.yu/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pohong.yu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pohongyu/
Previous Episode
083: The Two Biggest Blocks to Your Healing
There are two important places to look if you’re feeling blocked from deeper healing, your desires, or the vision you have for your life - compassion & connection to the body.
In today’s episode, I want to dive deeper into these two areas, why avoiding these foundational pieces can block you from what you truly desire, and some ways you can begin (or dive deeper into) this work to use the mind in tandem with the body to open to more growth & expansion.
I dive into:
- The 2 biggest reasons for feeling stuck in our healing & expansion
- Slowing down to do the foundational healing work
- Looking at life as a spiral & using this view to have more compassion for yourself
- Exploring how you relate with your body
- Opening your heart to see yourself more clearly (there is perfection right where you are)
- And more
Sign up for my masterclass on October 25th, “Microdosing 101”: https://bigredalchemy.as.me/microdosing
Schedule a free discovery call with me: https://bigredalchemy.as.me/discoverycall
Learn more about my program, “Beginner’s Guide to Microdosing”: https://www.taoofpo.com/microdosing-group-program
Connect with me and let’s go deeper:
Website: https://www.pohongyu.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/pohong.yu/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pohong.yu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pohongyu/
Next Episode
085: Uncovering Your Desires
A lot of us store up desires that we haven’t permitted ourselves to feel, or that we’re afraid to receive. This leaves us with some untouched desires that are just waiting to be uncovered. (Try not to judge yourself here, leaning into this awareness is such a potent first step.)
In today’s episode, I’m sharing a transmission on uncovering your soul-level desires so you can gain access to all the orgasmic, juicy energy underneath them. I dive into the ways you can begin to trust your knowing, explore your boundaries, and get honest with yourself about the deeper work you can do to reveal and connect with your truest desires.
I dive into:
- Exploring your untouched desires with permission & self-love
- The direct connection between boundary work and desire work
- A journal prompt to help you uncover your soul-level desires
- Why activation & resentment are powerful portals to getting what you want
- Owning your NO & exploring your YES
- A short exercise to help you explore what’s alive for you right now
- The BIGGEST block to your healing and expansion - and how to avoid it
- And more
Schedule a discovery call with me: https://bigredalchemy.as.me/discovery
Connect with me and let’s go deeper:
Website: https://www.pohongyu.com
IG: https://www.instagram.com/pohong.yu/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pohong.yu/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pohongyu/
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