Healing Systemic Racism with Lama Rod Owens

12/27/18 • 51 min

In the final episode of 2018, Ruby talks to Lama Rod Owens, co-author of the book Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love and Liberation, about the spiritual work of healing systemic racism. World events coupled with the advent of social media as a platform for the literal raising of consciousness, have helped this to emerge as the collective healing work of our times—as much a personal issue as it is a public and a political one.

As Ruby wrote in this piece for The Numinous, Radical Dharma offers a powerful and compassionate perspective for anybody confused about their role in this—and is ESSENTIAL READING for anybody working in the healing, wellness or self-help space, or otherwise actively engaged in this work. Among other topics, in this episode we discuss:

How to talk about the things we're scared to talk about.
The importance of saying the 'wrong thing' in order to progress conversations about race.
Healing racism as part of our collective dharma.
Understanding the 'psychic mutilation' of whiteness.
How we are addicted to being triggered and the importance of boundaries as self-care.
How all systems of oppression are harmful to everybody—including those perceived to be benefitting from these systems.

You can learn more about Lama Rod Owens and his work HERE and purchase your copy of Radical Dharma HERE.

How to talk about the things we're scared to talk about.
The importance of saying the 'wrong thing' in order to progress conversations about race.
Healing racism as part of our collective dharma.
Understanding the 'psychic mutilation' of whiteness.
How we are addicted to being triggered and the importance of boundaries as self-care.
How all systems of oppression are harmful to everybody—including those perceived to be benefitting from these systems.

You can learn more about Lama Rod Owens and his work HERE and purchase your copy of Radical Dharma HERE.

Previous Episode

Capricorn Season 2018 Astrocast with Bess Matassa + Sandy Sitron

This week's episode features our monthly Astrocast with Numinous resident astrologers Bess Matassa and Sandy Sitron, in which we'll explore the key cosmic shifts of Capricorn Season 2018-19. The themes of the season are to find a balance between effort and allowing, to cultivate radical trust in what we can't yet see, and to construct boundaries and safe containers to help birth the legacies we long to create. Transits we'll be discussing include:

Uranus stationing direct in Aries and Mars transiting through the sign of the ram

The Lunar Cycle, including the significance of the dec 22 Cancer Full Moon and the Jan 5 Capricorn New Moon

Venus moving out of Scorpio and entering Sagittarius

The Tarot cards for the New Year, as we move from Justice/High Priestess year in 2018 to Hanged Man/Empress year in 2019.

Next Episode

Living Sober Curious with Lee From America

Happy new year! Yes, this episode has been timed for the first week of January—and is for anybody who may be embarking on a month off drinking as a way to kick-start a longer reevaluation of their drinking habits. What I call, getting "Sober Curious." Since I began using this term, Lee Tilghman (a.k.a. @leefromamerica) is one person who's been very vocal about her own sober curiosity, and I wanted to hear the full story.

Turns out, Lee's story (which she writes about HERE) is very, very similar to mine. Is, I suspect, very similar to MANY of our stories, when it comes to the complex and not always healthy relationship we have with our bodies, our feelings, and the behaviors and substances we use to manipulate both with. In this episode, we discuss ...

Lee's experience of getting Sober Curious and what the term means for her
Problem eating as a precursor to problem drinking
Drugs and partying as a way to feel validated, and play a role that's been sold to us by society and the media
The root of feelings or even the Self we're often hiding from with booze
Feeling the FOMA (Fear of Missing Alcohol) and how to make new Sober Curious friends
How to be present with what we don't want to be feeling
The importance of knowing your "why" for getting Sober Curious

You can learn more about Lee and her work HERE and follow her on Instagram @leefromamerica. You can also read more about her history with eating disorders HERE and her thoughts on "Body Checking" HERE.