Breaking the Trance of Pragmatism with Bayo Akomolafe

How do we respond to harm and injustice without reinforcing the very systems we want to tear down? What if our most pragmatic responses—fixing, solving, demanding—are part of a trance that keeps us under the thumb of power?In this episode, Jennifer speaks with philosopher, writer, and teacher Bayo Akomolafe, whose work invites a sideways glance at activism, politics, and the idea that we can simply repair the world if we try hard enough. Together, they explore:How activism can sometimes reinforce the “myth of repair” and the logic of pragmatic solutionsWhy saying “no” is not always refusal, and how resistance can still participate in the systems it opposesBayo’s concept of parapolitics—an ethically experimental space beyond conventional political choreographyFugitivity as a form of transformation rather than escapeHow the “obvious” response to crisis can hide deeper entanglements and possibilitiesThe seasonal tension between saving and savoring, urgency and presence.Come listen as Jennifer and Bayo explore what it might mean to break the trance of pragmatism—and discover new possibilities for aliveness, creativity, and ethical response in uncertain times.Links & resources—Learn more about Bayo Akomolafe and his workPre-order or explore Bayo’s new book: Selah: A Bayo Akomolafe ReaderGet Jennifer’s Substack Newsletter Follow Jennifer on Instagram or LinkedInListen for the bonus micro-episode following this conversation for a short integration practice. Gratitude for this show’s theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro.

In this short guided practice, Jennifer builds on her conversation with Zen teacher Diane Musho Hamilton and facilitator & executive coach Gabe Kaigen Wilson to explore one underrated superpower in our “growing up” toolkit: listening well.We’ve all been in those harder conversations—at work, with a partner, a teen, or a family member—where we’re either talking over each other or shutting down. In this episode, Jennifer offers a simple, relational practice to slow things down and listen in a way that softens defensiveness and deepens connection.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why reflective listening is such a powerful practice in conflict and everyday conversationsHow to shift from listening to confirm you’re “right” to listening from a place of not knowingHow slowing the pace of a conversation can change the entire field of relationshipJennifer reminds us that reflecting back doesn’t mean you agree. It simply shows that you’ve heard what matters to the other person and are willing to be with it—without rushing to fix, solve, or convince.Links & Resources:Get Diane Musho Hamilton and Gabe Kaigen Wilson's new book Waking Up and Growing Up: Spiritual Cross Training for an Evolving WorldGet Jennifer's bi-monthly newsletter or reach out here Gratitude for this show’s theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro.

Jennifer speaks with Zen teacher Diane Musho Hamilton and facilitator Gabriel Kaigen Wilson about walking a spiritual path: not just waking up to our inherent belonging, but growing up into emotional maturity, flexibility, and courage.At the heart of the conversation is the tension many of us live inside—between enlightenment and the ego, urgency and presence, identity and oneness. Diane and Gabe offer practical, compassionate tools for navigating modern complexity without abandoning ourselves or each other.In this conversation, we explore:Why oneness isn’t enough to navigate conflict:  why we need both the spiritual path (waking up) and the developmental path (growing up).How identity can be both a safe home and a tight boundary: why flexibility is essential for compassion, clarity, and connection.How reflective listening calms the nervous system; and becomes a practical, transformative way to stay connected through difference and polarization.Come join us for a light hearted conversation on how to trust the grit and wisdom of our entangled, modern life.  Links & ResourcesGet their new book Waking Up and Growing Up: Spiritual Cross Training for An Evolving World Real Life Programs: training with Diane Musho Hamilton in emotional maturity, conflict resolution and leadershipLearn more about Two Arrows Zen, a practice community co-founded by Diane Musho Hamilton and Michael Mugaku ZimmermanLearn with Gabe (Wisdom Gym and Executive Team Development)Follow Jennifer’s Substack and connect with her work Gratitude for this show’s theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro.

In this practice episode, Jennifer England invites you into the courageous act of consenting to be undone.Drawing on her recent conversation with cultural worker and author Stephen Jenkinson (Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart’s Work), Jennifer reflects on how, in a world filled with urgency, grief, and collapsing certainties, true participation requires both patrimony (our inheritance of grief, beauty, and obligation) and matrimony (a ritualized consent with the unseen).From this larger vision, Jennifer distills a simple yet powerful practice:Notice when things don’t go as planned — a delay, an interruption, a conflict.Pause and soften your body’s resistance.Ask: What might open if I allow this moment to undo me, just a little?This practice offers a counterweight to urgency and the need to fix. It nurtures intimacy with the unknown, and a deeper participation in what is always remaking itself.🌿 If you’re navigating transition, longing for ease, or wrestling with the question what is yours to do in a world breaking open, this practice will be supportive.Links & resources—Listen to Jennifer’s full conversation with Stephen JenkinsonMatrimony: Ritual, Culture, and the Heart’s Work For more practices and inspiration from Jennifer get inspiring emails to help you navigate the hard mess of leading and being humanFollow Jennifer on Instagram or LinkedIn Gratitude for this show’s theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro.

In this festive wedding season, what if matrimony wasn’t here to affirm the intensity of love between two people but a courageous submission to the unknown?  Jennifer speaks with Stephen Jenkinson—cultural activist, author, ceremonialist—about the necessary burdens of love through the ritual of matrimony. With characteristic poetic edge, Stephen challenges the Western obsession with autonomy, authenticity and safety and gestures toward a redemptive cultural project: one of radical hospitality, memory, and the mystery of matrimony as a village-making act.Together they dive into:How matrimony is distinct from weddings and is rooted in mothering culture, not just romantic loveThe lost valence of patrimony, and what it asks of usThe role of the stranger in belonging and village makingWhy being “yourself” might not be the gift you think it isThis conversation reveals how ritual and ceremony thins the membrane with other worlds, makes congress with the divine and helps us honor what's come before —so we might find our place, and responsibility, in what’s yet to come.Links & Resources:Order Stephen Jenkinson's newest book Matrimony: Ritual, Culture and the Heart's Work Learn more about Orphan Wisdom SchoolGet Jennifer’s biweekly newsletter for radical encouragement on the hard mess of being humanConnect with Jennifer on Instagram or LinkedIn Gratitude for this show’s theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro.

What if feeding what you love—even in the face of despair—could be your most vital climate practice?In this episode, Jennifer offers a guided practice inspired by a recent conversation with climate educator and author Sarah Jaquette Ray, who invites us to face the monstrous scale of climate change not with more fixing, but with more loving. Together, they explored the emotional toll of activism, the trap of numbness, and the surprising resilience we access when we stay rooted in what brings us joy and meaning.This practice is designed for anyone who feels overwhelmed, powerless, or stretched thin by the weight of the world—and who longs to feel more alive, connected, and steady in the long game.In this episode, you’ll take away:A fresh perspective on grief and anxiety as signals of what you care most deeply aboutA two-part reflective and experiential practice to help you feed what you loveA gentle invitation to discover how ordinary joys can become acts of resistance and renewalJoin Jennifer in this quiet, potent offering—a return to what enlivens, surprises, and sustains us. Because when you feed what you love, you find others there. And together, we remember how to belong.Links & resources—Get an email from Jennifer every couple of weeks to support you in the hard mess of leading and being human. Follow Jennifer on Instagram or LinkedInTalk with Jennifer! Share an insight or ask a question here [email protected] Gratitude for this show’s theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro.

When it comes to climate anxiety, most of us swing between utter despair or self-protective numbness. In our doom-scrolling attention economy, these are natural, but not always helpful, responses.In this episode, Jennifer speaks with climate scholar, educator, and author of A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety Sarah Jaquette Ray to explore how we might move through the heaviest of climate emotions—without turning away, burning out, or losing touch with what we love.They explore:The toll of burnout and the unexpected clarity grief can bringWhat it takes to face the monster of climate chaosThe new texture of climate activism—intimate, relational, and imperfectGrounding practices to help us stay courageous and awake in ecological unravellingTogether, they reflect on the emotional and relational labor of holding space during collapse, the wisdom exchanged across generations, and the quiet courage it takes not to fix—but to animate activism with love.Links & resources—Learn more about Sarah Jaquette Ray's workGet A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep your Cool on a Warming PlanetGet Jennifer’s Substack NewsletterFollow Jennifer on Instagram or LinkedIn Gratitude for this show’s theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro.

In this companion to my conversation with Joshin Byrnes on The Vowing Mind, here's a short practice of seeing those you love—and those you judge—with fresh eyes.We all carry fixed ideas of who others are: the reliable one, the difficult one, the person we think we've got dialed. In this guided meditation, you’ll be encouraged to loosen those ideas, and to meet others anew, with curiosity and compassion.This practice will help you recognize the complexity and unfolding nature of those around you—their strengths and struggles, the systems that shaped them, and the mystery beyond what we think we know.You'll experience: – A short grounding and breath awareness – An inquiry into see someone you love as whole, dynamic, and unknowable – A closing invitation to meet them again and again with curiosity.Whether you’re working with a loved one or someone you find challenging, this practice offers a potent return to presence and reconnection. ✨ You can listen to this practice before or after the Joshin Byrnes episode on The Vowing Mind, or return to it anytime you want to meet another human being more freshly. Gratitude for this show’s theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro.

How can you stay present to a world that breaks your heart open—without hardening or turning away? What is right action when there is no right answer?In this episode, Jennifer talks with Joshin Byrnes—Zen teacher, former AIDS activist, and founder of Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community—for a deeply honest conversation on his evolving expressions of activism and spirituality as he wrestles with and practices ethical action in a time of trouble.  Together, they explore:Growing out of enemy oriented and dehumanizing activism“Bearing witness” as essential practice in a culture of separation How letting go of fixed ideas creates healing action The Zen principle of vowing mind as a compass for ethical responsiveness.Come join us for a slow and tender dialogue about how to deepen your relational intimacy, practice and ethical inquiry as you taste the ache of being human. Content Note: This episode includes a story that references suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, support is available. Resources are included below. Links & resources—Learn more about Joshin Byrne’s work at Bread Loaf Mountain ZenZen Peacemakers Get Jennifer’s Substack NewsletterFollow Jennifer on Instagram or LinkedInCanada Suicide Crisis Helpline: 9-8-8 or https://988.ca/US Crisis Helpline: 9-8-8 or https://988lifeline.org/International suicide resources can be found at https://findahelpline.com Gratitude for this show’s theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro.

Ever find yourself caught in a loop of analyzing what you're feeling—trying to think your way through the ache, the confusion, the rage, the numbness? Or find that it feels easier to let your mind fix or solve the hard things rather than sense in or move with them? In this short practice episode, Jennifer England invites you into a somatic experience of feeling—beyond story, solving and fixing. Inspired by her recent conversation with therapist and writer Lisa Olivera, you’re invited to drop the narrative and let music, movement, and presence guide you into a relationship with aliveness.You’ll be guided through:A simple, intuitive practice to shift from analysis into sensation.Choosing music that mirrors your current emotional tone—no need for it to be calm or upbeat.A movement invitation that meets you exactly where you are—angry, tender, exhausted, joyful, or stuck.Whether you're overwhelmed, can't access how you're feeling, or somewhere in-between, this episode offers a powerful way to grow your fluency in feeling—by letting your body lead. Gratitude for this show’s theme song Inside the House, composed by the talented Yukon musician, multi-instrumentalist and sound artist Jordy Walker. Artwork by the imaginative writer, filmmaker and artist Jon Marro.