Learn With Avthar

In a world where politics seems to gets more and more divisive each year, the need for objectivity and honest debate has never been clearer.

In this clip, Avthar and guest Andrés Bronniman discuss the importance of decision-making that emphasizes practicality and fact over appealing to the fashionable ideological position. Our intuition should be guided by our sense of truth rather than our political group of choice.

Clip from Learn with Avthar Ep #4 with Andrés Bronniman and Avthar Sewrathan.
Learn more and stay up to date at www.avthar.com

Our projects guide us toward things we seek to discover, as well as things we never imagined we needed to know. Realizing how little we actually know is one of the most daunting and exhilarating parts of the learning process.

In this clip, guest Andrés Bronnimann shows us how much he learned about migration, economics, and climate change through working on his latest documentary, "The Universality of It All". He discusses the folly of the research rabbit hole, the valuable opportunity to alter our opinions in light of new information, as well as his newfound appreciation for Nicaraguan history.

Clip from Learn with Avthar Ep #4 with Andrés Bronniman and Avthar Sewrathan.
Learn more and stay up to date at www.avthar.com

Living and moving between cities and continents, Andrés Bronnimann is as "international" as an international filmmaker gets. Andrés produced and filmed material in over 25 countries for clients ranging from Red Bull and Land Rover, to Projects for Peace. He aims to bring a social impact edge to his creative delivery.

In this clip, Andrés discusses his personal connection to his latest documentary, "The Universality of It All", which centers on the immigration difficulties faced by one of his best friends from university. He explores their touching friendship in the film within the wider context of the international refugee crisis, climate change, political turmoil, and their interconnectedness.

Clip from Learn with Avthar Ep #4 with Andrés Bronniman and Avthar Sewrathan. Learn more and stay up to date at www.avthar.com

Sena is the perhaps the most interesting person I've ever met and I'm sure you'll agree after listening to this podcast.

Sena Voncujovi was born in Japan and raised in Ghana. He comes from a family of African traditional healers and is a Bokor, one who has been initiated into the highest spiritual rank of Ifa. As a Davis United World College Scholar, he graduated from Middlebury College in the USA, with a bachelors degree in international politics, economics, and African Studies. He founded ReVodution: Voodoo Education to educate the world about African spiritual traditions and co-founded Jaspora to build a community for the African diaspora in Japan. He's currently a Yenching Scholar at Yenching Academy of Peking University.

I first met Sena in 2012 in Costa Rica. Since then we've shared countless hours of insightful conversation. This podcast is one of the most interesting talks we've ever had. I learned so much about African spirituality, how Sena connects Africa and Asia through his work, as well as the lessons Sena learned as a founder of not one, but two organizations!

In the podcast, we cover:

• Sena's experience as an African spiritual practitioner and his take on why Voodoo is misunderstood by Africans and the West.
• What does it mean to be a "Bokor"?
• How Sena leverages digital media to show the world the truth behind African traditional spirituality
• The story of Sena's multi-cultural upbringing and why his father, Christopher Voncujovi, is the most successful person he knows.
• How Sena's work and life connects Africa and Asia
• The book that influenced Sena's life the most
• The mindset that helped Sena become a clear, independent thinker
• What it was like to attend a Black Lives Matter protest in Japan
• The belief Sena changed in order to achieve his entrepreneurial goals
• Sena's experience at United World College Costa Rica and African Leadership Academy
• How Sena found his natural strengths

Connect with Sena Voncujovi

Facebook

Twitter @SVoncujovi

LinkedIn

Learn more and stay up to date at www.avthar.com

There are elements of our identity that are subconscious, but when we become an "other", they become crystalized. So the more we put ourselves in situations that we become an "other", the more we actually learn about ourselves, about identity and what makes us unique in the world.

In this clip, guest Sena Voncujovi describes how he found his strengths by exposing himself to as many things as possible and taking in as many different perspectives as he could. He also talks with Avthar about how others can go about replicating his process of self discovery.

Clip from Learn with Avthar Ep #3 with Sena Voncujovi. Learn more and stay up to date at www.avthar.com

The father of guest Sena Voncujovi is a magician, African traditional spiritual healer and global traveller. His name is Christopher Voncujovi and he's perhaps the most interesting person you've never heard of. 

Sena paints a fascinating image of his father who has a phenomenal story to share. Growing up exposed to several different religions, Christopher Voncujovi questioned organized religion and began delving into the world of spirituality, yoga and meditation. Sena talks about Voncujovi's journey of seeking out individual connections from several diverse religions to reach a higher level of spirituality and why this journey has made him the most influential figure in Sena's life.

Clip from Learn with Avthar Ep #3 with Sena Voncujovi. Learn more and stay up to date at www.avthar.com

Guest Sena Voncujovi has been practicing African traditional spirituality for over 12 years. He's nicknamed "Bokor Costa Rica" and "Bokor Worldwide", as he's shared his knowledge about Vodu and African spiritual practices passed down to him by his father with folks from all over the world, during his time in the USA, Costa Rica, and Japan. 

In this clip, Sena describes his family heritage of traditional healing, why African spirituality became associated with Satan (hint: the media), and his experience teaching Africans and non-Africans (westerners, asians) the truth about Vodu. He also tells us how he leverages digital media like film and livestreams, and social media platforms like Facebook, to give the world a practitioner's perspective of African Traditional Spirituality.

Clip from Learn with Avthar Ep #3 with Sena Voncujovi. Learn more and stay up to date at
www.avthar.com

In this clip, guest Sena Voncujovi describes his work with the African Leadership Group, an organization dedicated to producing the next generation of leaders on the African continent. Sena talks about his time at African Leadership Academy in South Africa, as well as studying abroad at African Leadership University in Mauritius. He highlights how these experiences impacted his life and shaped his passion for Africa.

Clip from Learn with Avthar Ep #3 with Sena Voncujovi. Learn more and stay up to date at www.avthar.com

Should African students who've studied abroad return home? If so, when is the best time? 

In this clip, Avthar and guest Sena Voncujovi, two Africans who've lived and studied aboard, wrestle with these questions in the context of their own lives. They talk about timelines for returning to Africa, how you can return home without making an impact and how you can impact your home country through your work abroad, using the example of Sena's work with African entrepreneurs while living in Japan.

Clip from Learn with Avthar Ep #3 with Sena Voncujovi. Learn more and stay up to date at
www.avthar.com

"You don't need to have everything set in order to start."

This was just one of the sage pieces of advice Sena Voncujovi dropped for aspiring entrepreneurs in this fire clip. Sena talks about how planning and preparing held him back from taking action and how he learned to fail and learn quickly in order to succeed as an entrepreneur. How many of us spend our lives waiting for someone else to give us the go ahead or that final push into doing what we truly love or are passionate about? Avthar and Sena discuss what's holding you back, as well as the effect of people who surround you on your growth and ambition.

Clip from Learn with Avthar #3 with Sena Voncujovi. Learn more and stay up to date at www.avthar.com