Beautiful Voyager

B Dukes is so many things. A queer, non-binary filmmaker, a photographer, an activist, a student, and a healer. They tell the incredible story of their journey from a child in the backwoods of South Carolina to the world of Silicon tech...with many stops in between.

We talk about what ancestral healing means, the fascinating world of psychedelics being used to address trauma, and B's travel around the globe to understand new ways of connecting with our "shadow selves." This is the first part of a multi-part episode, with the next episode coming after B's research trip to Ecuador next month. Learn with me, then become as big of a fan of B as I am.

Check out
B's vision: https://www.wtfwth.com/
B's book: https://www.amazon.com/Truth-Behind-Empty-Pen/dp/1621472566
B's work with Freedom Community Clinic lead by Bernadette Lim: https://www.freedomcommunityclinic.org/
Follow B on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bdukesthetruth

Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Scientist and Director of the Creativity and Emotions lab at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Born in Croatia, Zorana shares cultural perceptions of creativity. Her research centers on the role of emotions in creative work. Zorana and I were lucky enough to get to work together on the How We Feel app, out now and free to all. I've learned so much about the role of creativity in my own life from Zorana and think you will too! Follow Zorana on Twitter for her latest work. 

Jeffrey Sparr is a father, husband, mental health advocate, teacher, and nonprofit founder who used his early experiences with OCD to fuel his life as a self-taught artist. In this conversation, Jeffrey and I talk about what he's learned from helping people use creativity as a means of self-expression and what an unlikely candidate he was for this kind of work.

Through PeaceLove Foundation  and in partnership with Hasbro and Amazon, Jeffrey's working on a new game to help people with their mental health. Jeffrey says, "You can't reverse engineer authenticity." You definitely couldn't reverse engineer his story.

Links
The artist: http://www.jeffreysparr.com/
The organization: https://peacelove.org/
Online classes: https://peacelove.org/scribl/#

Claudia Dawson is a psychonaut -- and if you don't know what that is, you should listen to this podcast. She co-produces one of my favorite weekly newsletters, Recomendo, which features 6 tools for thought each week. She's the Founding Editor of a publication called Phantom Kangaroo, "an eerie place for poems."

In this conversation, we cover everything from the Carlsbad Caverns as a metaphor for the self, how mental health can be helped by psychedelics, Claudia's fantastic advice for all beautiful voyagers ("accept that you are a prism"), and many other inspiring ideas. Claudia is very inspiring herself, in fact. You should get to know her work. Start here!

Links
Phantom Kangeroo: https://www.phantomkangaroo.com/
Recomendo newsletter: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/Recom...
Claudia's collection of short stories: https://www.amazon.com/New-Temple-oth...
Claudia's newsletter: https://claudiadawson.blog/newsletters

Larz May is the founder of an incredible mental health nonprofit called #HalfTheStory. The nonprofit's mission is to empower the next generation’s relationship with social media through advocacy, education, and providing access to resources. What I love about Larz is her ability to cut through social media's rapidly evolving landscape and point to deeper truths, in a very timely manner.

I look to Larz as a leader in digital wellbeing and think you should too. She founded the Global Day of Unplugging, an internationally recognized day every August that encourages divesting from technology to plug back into life. In this conversation, we talk about what it means to approach daily life with honesty, forge that path for others, and so much more.

Rosie Acosta has studied and taught yoga and mindfulness around the world. She is the  award-winning podcast host of Radically Love and the author of You Are Radically Loved: A Healing Journey to Self-Love.

A first generation Mexican-American, Rosie grew up in East LA in the 1990's. We talk about how she taught herself to reframe her perspective as a kid, and how those lessons have played out in her life.

Rosie's warm, presence, and depth are irresistible. You will want to spend time with her as I did! 

Links
Rosie's website: https://www.radicallyloved.com/
Rosie's book - You Are Radically Loved: https://www.amazon.com/You-Are-Radically-Loved-Self-Love/dp/0593330153
Rosie's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosieacosta/?hl=en 

Could there be a more natural and intuitive connection than mine with the Anxiety Sisters? I don't think so. Abbe Greenberg and Maggie Sarachek have built an online community of 200K people and host a popular podcast called The Spin Cycle. In their work, they blend their personal experience with their professional training as counselors, mental health advocates, researchers, and educators. They are about to release their book, The Anxiety Sisters’ Survival Guide: How You Can Become More Hopeful, Connected, and Happy from Penguin Random House. I read an early copy and it's terrific. The down-to-earth, actionable advice that Abbe and Maggie share is dead on. Great work, sisters!

Jessica Poundstone is an artist who lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Named a Top 100 artist by Saatchi Art, Jessica has found creative process through intuition and exploration. She says, "I work on each image until I feel everything click into place: that feeling of 'rightness' tells me it’s done" -- I love that. Jessica's journey through the world of corporate jobs and into the life of an artist is fascinating, as is her own identity journey and the role emotional wellbeing plays in it. I really enjoyed digging into creativity and mental health with Jessica. 

Dr James Kaufman is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut and the author/editor of more than 50 books, including Creativity 101 and the Cambridge Handbook of Creativity with Robert Sternberg. In this podcast, we talk about the connection between mental health and creativity, a topic that endlessly fascinates me. It was an honor to talk to one of the world experts on this topic!

Peter M. Krask, a New York-based writer and photographer, is the founder of an unusual consulting business called The Creativity Guide. Using his twenty years of experience in theater, television, visual art, and business, Krask acts as a personal "project whisperer" for creatives and entrepreneurs. His consulting work is informed by the practical know-how of a seasoned creative director, project manager, grant writer, community engagement speaker, and development partner. I loved getting to speak with him about how he helps people navigate the anxiety and stress of transitioning into—or starting—something new.  

Links
https://www.petermkrask.com/
https://www.pmkcreativityguide.com/