Why Black Farming Matters w/ Leah Penniman

As a society, we’ve lost much of the healing knowledge that our ancestors held. With that loss, combined with corporate greed, has come a fear of herbal medicine. Karen M. Rose joins me to talk about how the Divine Feminine is rising, ancient medicine is finally coming back, and why you need to heal your spirit. Karen says we need to rediscover how to trust ourselves, unlearning all the years of corporate propaganda that have been embedded into our minds. When we’re ready to expand ourselves, we will feel more comfortable exploring ancient medicines as an alternative to modern, and in my opinion last resort, medicines. Regardless of where your medicine comes from, true healing comes from within yourself. And with the global rise of the Divine Feminine, we’re seeing mass healing on a bigger scale than ever before. But for many women, especially black women, we need to deal with ancestral trauma that’s been passed down through our lineage. What modern medicine is missing is the language of wellness. Modern medicine treats the symptoms but it doesn’t look at the root cause or the health of your spirit. We’ve truly disconnected from the spirit of the earth and are only now finding our way back. Karen believes that we all need to celebrate and feel our joy every single day. Even when you’re fighting the good fight, sad about the state of the world, or whatever other negative emotions are swirling around in you. When you embrace joy, you embrace life… and you should always strive to be that calming and joyful model for others, as Karen is every day. For Karen, our spirit is the most important aspect of ourselves to heal. There is a connection between illness and spirit; you can’t heal only one, and you might find that when you’re healing your spirit, you’re also healing your illness and trauma. How are you finding and celebrating joy every day? How have you connected to your spirit today? I’d love if you shared your thoughts in the comments on the episode page.   In This Episode: Why we’ve developed a fear of herbal medicine Where healing comes from How the emergence of the Divine Feminine is healing the world What does it look like to have ancestral trauma in your lineage How modern medicine has ignored the language of wellness Why you need to stay connected to joy, especially through difficult times How you can be a model for joy and relaxation for others What the connection between illness and spirit is How you can show up in both your trauma and your joy   Quotes: “I find that our language in the West is designed to create a separation between ancient medicine and people. So, of course, if we think of it as something alternative or something that is next to normal, we have a harder time using it.” (6:34) “The more healed you become the more you see what you need to heal.” (15:22) “We’re going to delve into all the ways in which plants work in this body but also all the ways in which plants work in the spirit. They cannot be separated from what’s going on around you spiritually and emotionally.” (41:26)   Links Find the full episode post here Find Karen M. Rose Online Follow Karen M. Rose on Facebook | Instagram    Claim your free Earth Medicine Healing Bundle Dr. Maya Shetreat Follow Dr. Maya on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Podcast production support from the team at Counterweight Creative

Have you ever wanted to peel back a corner of an artist’s mind just to see what exactly it is that has inspired their work? Well, that’s exactly what we have the pleasure of doing in today’s episode with Benjamin Shine. Benjamin is a brilliant artist who has had a beautiful display in Bergdorf Goodman’s in New York City, worked on a couture line with Givenchy, and even has a piece acquired by The Met. You will definitely want to hear Benjamin’s fascinating story about how he got to where he is today. He went to fashion school, but ended up dropping out just because he didn’t feel like he had the ‘passion for fashion’ that he would need to complete the schooling and decided to pursue his sculptural artistry. He was naturally drawn to a work that isn’t seasonal as fashion tends to be. He also knew he wanted to ‘make something’, but didn’t want to be confined by the body. Have you, like Benjamin, been drawn to something that you can’t explain? Do you believe the universe has called you to that particular thing? Did you pursue it, or did you push it to the side? Let us know in the comments!   In This Episode The unique story of how Benjamin was drawn to tulle. Benjamin’s creative process when presented with a challenge. Some of the different inventions Benjamin has created and produced that fueled his creative flow and taught him a lot about the business aspect of the industry. Why the majority of the portraits he produces are women and how energy plays a part in his materials and works themselves. The lessons Benjamin has learned from the material and the importance of working alongside that material verses overworking it.   Quotes “I think that’s the beauty of aging and experiences, is you grab things as you go along and you don’t necessarily realize you’re doing it.” “There is power in that which is quiet” “Ideas of energy and things like that come into play with this material because, for me, it almost forms energy streams and this idea of manifestation it forms into and out of physical form.” “As a designer, you are thinking ahead to formulate this end product, and therefore you’re almost trying to test yourself. Can you think of all the problems that are going to come up before they happen?…. It’s almost impossible to not have an ego when you are so driven to solve the problems, and be correct, and right, and know it before it happens.”   Links Find the full episode post here Find Benjamin Shine Online Follow Benjamin Shine on Instagram   Claim your free Earth Medicine Healing Bundle Dr. Maya Shetreat Follow Dr. Maya on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn Podcast production support from the team at Counterweight Creative

The sacred and divine feminine is wisdom passed down for generations, especially through women of color. Professor Claudia J. Ford joins me to talk about how, as a society, we can start reconnecting with the divine feminine, why we need to, and how to work through our grief for the world while still holding on to hope. Over many generations, our connection with the divine feminine has been disrupted. Through colonialism, racism, and an increasing fear of women’s power to give birth, we have lost the reverence our cultures once had.  The patriarchy is increasingly, still, of the belief that they are solely responsible and in control of women’s bodies - when this couldn’t be further from the truth. And, in reality, this belief is harmful and destructive to everyone. It’s important that we strive to reach a sense of balance between the divine feminine, divine masculine, and the future of our cultures. By accepting that there can be more than one truth, we can all fully embrace and accept the non-existence of the gender binary. The future is fluid: gender, agriculture, and our connection to the divine. Claudia explains why we all need to engage in difficult conversations in order to heal ourselves and the world, move forward from the divisive culture we find ourselves in, and have hope for the future.  Yes, the world is hurting right now and there is a collective feeling of grief. We can sit with this grief while still moving forward with hope for our future. We have to. How can you embrace the divine feminine in your everyday life? Are you ready to have the difficult conversations in order to heal and move forward? I’d love if you shared your thoughts in the comments on the episode page.   In This Episode What the sacred feminine is How colonialism has impacted our connection to the divine feminine What happened to turn the reverence of women’s childbearing to fear Why the idea that women can’t control their own lives is destructive to our society What role balance has in the divine feminine How we can embrace gender non-binary as the future Why we need to engage in difficult conversations How we can sit with grief for what’s happening in the world and move forward with hope   Quotes “I think that the women of color, the women from black and brown communities, have been deeply hurt and traumatized and continue to be so.” (15:06) “Part of this new way of thinking is to be able to hold more than one truth at the same time.” (30:24) “The discomfort is absolutely necessary for us to act. Because we need to act, we need to change our behavior. So we feel uncomfortable, we feel sad. I’m not trying to get rid of that feeling, because it feels appropriate and necessary to make the changes we need to make.” (39:14)   Links Claim your free Earth Medicine Healing Bundle Find the full episode post here Dr. Maya Shetreat Follow Dr. Maya on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn   Podcast production support from the team at Counterweight Creative

Healing yourself from an autoimmune disease like Multiple Sclerosis sounds impossible, doesn’t it? What if I told you it WAS possible and my guest, Dr. Terry Wahls, has healed herself from MS using her own protocol? Nothing short of miraculous.   About Dr. Terry Wahls Dr. Terry Wahls is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Iowa where she conducts clinical trials. She is also a patient with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, which confined her to a tilt-recline wheelchair for four years.  Dr. Wahls restored her health using a diet and lifestyle program she designed specifically for her brain and now pedals her bike to work each day. She is the author of The Wahls Protocol: How I Beat Progressive MS Using Paleo Principles and Functional Medicine, The Wahls Protocol: A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles and the cookbook The Wahls Protocol Cooking for Life: The Revolutionary Modern Paleo Plan to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions. She conducts clinical trials that test the effect of nutrition and lifestyle interventions to treat MS and other progressive health problems. She also teaches the public and medical community about the healing power of the Paleo diet and therapeutic lifestyle changes that restore health and vitality to our citizens.   About The Wahls Protocol On this episode, Terry shares her miraculous story of healing herself from Multiple Sclerosis. Along with undertaking a strict routine of supplements and dietary changes, she attributes a lot of her healing to doing something every single day.  Having hope and showing her children that she was still capable to do some amount of exercise had a profound impact on her mental health, which in turn helped bolster her physical health. Terry explains what her self-care routine is. Every morning, she gets up and spends two hours caring for herself with meditation, exercise, and electric stimulation. This routine helps keep Terry’s physical and mental health in check. We spend some time together absolutely geeking out about the role of mitochondria in our bodies. It’s especially important to support our mitochondria when dealing with a chronic illness like MS, and Terry explains how she designed her protocol to do this. Luckily, other doctors and clinicians realized the value in Terry’s protocol and encouraged her to conduct clinical trials. She explains what this process looked like in the beginning. One of the biggest obstacles Terry overcame on this journey was finding a medical journal to publish her findings! Of course, we also talk about the spiritual side of Terry’s miraculous healing. Because of the fact that one year she couldn’t walk and the next year, following her protocol, she could is downright miraculous.  Finally, Terry gives us some practical advice about how to follow a Keto diet when you have an autoimmune disease. She explains when and how long you should be on the diet. How amazing is Terry’s miraculous healing journey? Did this resonate with you and your health journey? I’d love it if you shared your thoughts in the comments on the episode page.   Claim your free Earth Medicine Healing Bundle   In This Episode: The power of doing something every day How your self-care routine has a profound impact on your daily health What role mitochondria have in long-term and chronic illness How Dr. Terry Wahls embarked on a clinical research journey so her findings can positively impact more MS patients How to see the miracle in medical science What the best way to introduce the Keto diet to your lifestyle is   Quotes: “Supporting your mitochondria improved the brain’s ability to inhibit that excessive flow of information. It lets us be calmer in all of our responses.” (20:38) “Okay, let’s say that all of my physicians all across the country were incompetent. Now, what about my prospective clinical trials? What about the possibility that this stuff actually does work? Why would you want to miss out on that opportunity?” (35:05) “I want the world to know if I can come back from facing that future to this rich, full life that I have, then they, too, whatever condition their physician tells them they’re facing, there’s reason for them to have hope.” (40:35) “We can’t force people to change. They have to want to change from within. The only way to do that is to inspire curiosity, then have them understand the possibility, then have them believe that this is an achievable task.” (42:23)   Links Find the complete episode post here Dr. Terry Wahls is recruiting for the next MS Patient Study. To register your interest, please email: [email protected] Buy The Wahls Protocol: A Radical New Way to Treat All Chronic Autoimmune Conditions Using Paleo Principles by Terry Wahls, M.D.  Download all of Dr. Wahls' Research Papers and Gait Videos Get your One-Page Copy of The Wahls Paleo Diet Food Pyramid Find Dr. Terry Wahls Online Follow Dr. Terry Wahls on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Facebook | Pinterest Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl   Claim your free Earth Medicine Healing Bundle Dr. Maya Shetreat Follow Dr. Maya on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn   Podcast production support from the team at Counterweight Creative

The ancestral connection between Black communities and farming is integral to our health and wellbeing, but unfortunately, it’s been systematically oppressed over the last centuries. I’m joined by Lean Penniman, Co-Director of Soul Fire Farm, to talk about li mission as a soil steward on an urban farm for Black and Brown people.   About Leah Penniman Leah Penniman (Li*/Ya/She/He) is the Co-Director and Manager of Soul Fire Farm. Li has over 20 years of experience as a soil steward and food sovereignty activist. Soul Fire Farm started in 2010 with Leah’s mission to reclaim the inherent right to belong to the earth and have agency in the food system of Black and Brown people.  Leah’s areas of leadership at Soul Fire include farmer training, international solidarity, perennials, writing, speaking, “making it rain,” and getting deep into the blood, sweat, and soil of the earth. Li is the author of Farming While Black, an actual love song for the earth and her peoples.   About Farming While Black We get right into it on this episode of Navigating our Terrain with my question to Leah: What does being black have to do with farming? Li explains the ancestral connection between Black and Brown people and the earth. Slave traders who brought Black people to America broke this connection. Leah talks about the history of Black farming and how when slave traders went to Africa, they targeted master farmers to bring their knowledge to America. And now, Black communities are systematically cut off from fresh and organic foods, leading to a higher prevalence of ill health. Leah explains how over the years, we’ve lost our connection to the earth. This includes a lack of gratitude for using the land. Li says this lack of gratitude has had a negative impact on the overall health of our nation. There is absolutely a connection between farming, nature, and spirituality. Leah shares some of li experiences in Ghana where she learned from Queen Mothers how to truly connect with the land. This includes asking permission from the land: When’s the last time you thanked your soil for letting you plant there or your seeds for nourishing your body? Asking permission from the earth to make changes on her shows honor and respect to the planet that’s been nurturing us for millennia. We need to allow the earth to use her voice - and even more than that, we need to listen to her. Finally, Leah gives us some practical ways in which we can make a difference in our communities. Whether we reconnect to mother earth with our own farming initiatives to supporting Black farming programs, there is something you can do right away to grow your community. How will you give back to your community today? In what ways will you seek your spiritual connection with the earth? I’d love it if you shared your thoughts in the comments on the episode page.   Claim your free Earth Medicine Healing Bundle   In This Episode: What being black has to do with farming How gardening can help black youths stay out of incarceration What a lack of gratitude for the land has done to the overall health of the nation How farming and spirituality go hand and hand How to ask permission from the land to make changes on it Why we need to allow the earth to use her voice How you can make a difference in your community   Quotes: “Of course, we know what we need to be eating, we have a desire for those foods, we know how to prepare those foods. In our community, we have a long tradition of doing that. But you simply can’t get those foods in many black neighborhoods. They’re not available, not affordable, or are inedible. It’s all of society’s responsibility to look at why we have these disparities and how we correct and create better access to healthier food.” (10:22) “That’s why we’re spiritually, physically, and emotionally sick. The earth is a sibling and we are treating the earth as a commodity.”  (25:23) “I just love the ways that we get to inspire and support each other and keep pushing the envelope towards this world that we all, hopefully, want to see.” (40:19)   Links: Find the complete episode post here Find out how you can support Soul Fire Farm and the black community Buy Farming While Black by Leah Penniman Find Leah Penniman and Soul Fire Farm Online Follow Soul Fire Farm on Instagram | YouTube | Twitter | Facebook Follow Farming While Black on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook   Rise & Root Farm with Karen Washington Watch Just Mercy on Amazon High Hog Farm with Keisha Cameron Watch 13TH on Netflix   Claim your free Earth Medicine Healing Bundle Dr. Maya Shetreat Follow Dr. Maya on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn   Podcast production support from the team at Counterweight Creative

The cannabis plant is one of the most holistic, natural healers in the world. It’s been revered for centuries before modern pharma criminalized the use and production of it. Tammi Sweet joins me to talk about how the cannabis plant can positively impact almost every single person who uses it. Cannabis is one of, if not the most, beneficial and healthful plants on our planet. There have even been links between cannabis and eradicating cancer cells. But Tammi doesn’t recommend using her, as she calls cannabis, without forming a relationship with her.  Another piece of advice Tammi gives, especially relevant in our current government client on the legality and funding of the plant, it to share your cannabis seeds with other growers. This allows free distribution without regulation that will benefit the cannabis industry for years to come. Tammi explains who can benefit from using cannabis. From chronic health conditions to anxiety and depression to people who want to form a bond with and boost their endocannabinoid system, cannabis is helpful for most of the population. However, Tammi warns that there are some people who should avoid using high THC cannabis and CBD. In general, cannabis can greatly improve the lives of people who use it. Helping ease pain, improve overall mood, and even impact our digestive health are only some of the positive benefits of using cannabis for its healing properties.  Tammi shares why she believes creating a tincture is the purest way to ingest cannabis. She prefers this method over smoking, vaping, or eating it. She also advises what questions we need to be asking our cannabis suppliers in order to understand the origin, purity, and strain of the plant we’re buying. Have you thought about using cannabis as part of your healthcare routine? If you already use it, what benefits have you seen? I’d love if you shared your thoughts in the comments on the episode page.   Claim your free Earth Medicine Healing Bundle   In This Episode: What the relationship between CBD and cancer cells is How you can form a bond and understanding with the cannabis plant Why you should share your cannabis seeds with other growers How hemp is related to cannabis Who and what health problems CBD can help How you can stimulate your endocannabinoid system How using cannabis can improve the quality of your life Who should avoid using high THC cannabis and CBD Why creating a tincture is the purest way to take cannabis Questions you need to ask your CBD or cannabis supplier   Quotes: “Medical professionals need to stop saying that there’s no evidence. There’s significant evidence that high THC cannabis will help people get off opioids and it is good for pain. There’s study after study after study that proves that.” (5:53) “We’re in a moment where we can actually change the paradigm. Because corporate money cannot get invested right now because it’s not federally legal, the banks can’t get involved, we are at this place where we can all have equal footing. We can support people of color, we can support women. As a way of having equal footing in this huge industry.” (22:08) “When you talk to people and they say it makes them paranoid, the first two questions I ask are, “What strain?” because it’s strain-dependent, and “what were you doing?” I think that if you open too much, in a situation where you weren’t prepared to open, I think that that would cause some negative feelings.” (50:46)   Links: Find the complete episode post here Buy the Wholistic Healing Guide to Cannabis Find Tammi Sweet Online Follow Tammi Sweet on Facebook | Instagram   Claim your free Earth Medicine Healing Bundle Dr. Maya Shetreat Follow Dr. Maya on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn   Podcast production support from the team at Counterweight Creative

On the Navigating Our Terrain Podcast, I want to take you on this wild ride with me - to think outside the box, to upend the status quo, and to rock the damn boat. Expect to be challenged, to question what you think you know, to not be limited by the usual rules of engagement, and to be empowered to live your life more authentically. We will dive into the terrain of us - our bio-terrain - our bodies, how we see our bodies, our health, our pleasure, and of course our emotional and spiritual terrain as well. We’ll talk about the terrain around us - soil, sun, seeds, water, wind, rocks, plants and animals, the moon, the stars, and the cosmos. And I’ll show you how these interact and align with each other - through food, microbes, growing things, herbalism, psychedelics, rituals, ceremony, indigenous wisdom, art and music, astrology, the legal rights of the earth, mysticism and our general relationship to reverence and the sacred. If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s this: We’re navigating uncharted territory. - Let’s create a roadmap together.   Resources Claim your free Earth Medicine Healing Bundle Dr. Maya Shetreat Follow Dr. Maya on Instagram | Facebook | LinkedIn   Podcast production support from the team at Counterweight Creative