The Cosmic We with Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant

By Center for Action and Contemplation

The Cosmic We goes beyond race and racism to consider relatedness as the organizing principle of the universe, exploring our shared cosmic origins though a cultural lens that fuses science, mysticism,... more

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The podcast currently has 32 episodes available.

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Number 1: Honoring the Life of Dr. Barbara Holmes and Birthing Justice with Linda Janet Holmes
In this very special episode of The Cosmic We, we're honoring the life of our beloved co-host Dr. Barbara Holmes. Co-host Donny Bryant and producer Corey Wayne recall what it was like working on this show with Dr. B over the last 4 years. Coincidentally, the last unaired episode was with Dr.B's cousin Linda Holmes. We had been working on it across the last year of Dr. Holmes' life. As we look to living her teachings forward through this show, we wanted to share this powerful conversation. This conversation covers a lot of ground: the history of Black midwifery, systemic racism in healthcare, and the spiritual traditions surrounding birth, the importance of honoring African traditions, and the need to reclaim and transform the medical system to name a few. Linda shares her birthing journey and how it led her to champion birth justice and to connect with midwives in both the US and Africa. A fun fact, Linda and Dr. B grew up in the same home. They take us into their shared childhood, their family's history, and the powerful connections between midwifery and Black history. Linda's book Safe in a Midwife's Hands was a finalist for the Stone Book Award for the Museum of African American History. About Linda: Linda Janet Holmes, writer, biographer, oral historian, curator, and long-time women's health activist, is the author of the groundbreaking book, Safe in a Midwife's Hands: Birthing Traditions from Africa to the American South. Holmes' most recent book focuses on stories emanating from decades of interviewing African descendant midwives in the American South, intertwined with the stories of traditional midwives in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Ghana. Safe in a Midwife's Hands is rooted in the research and writing for her previous book, Listen To Me Good: The Life Story of An Alabama Midwife, (Ohio State University Press). Co-authored with Margaret Charles Smith, a traditional African descendant midwife, Listen to me Good continues to be a widely read best seller, 27 years after its publication. Resources: To learn more about Linda, visit her website here Her book, Safe in a Midwife's Hands can be found here The transcript to this episode can be found here.
January 28, 20251h 27min
Number 2: Consecrating Chaos With Rev. Otis Moss III
How can we cultivate resilience and hope, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges and ongoing chaos? In this episode Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant talk with Rev. Otis Moss III about Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times, and how we can build resilience by consecrating chaos through prophetic grief and liberation listening. Otis Moss III built his ministry on community empowerment and social justice activism. As senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Moss spent the last two decades practicing and preaching a Black theology that unapologetically calls attention to the problem of mass incarceration, environmental justice, and economic apartheid. Hailed as one of the "twelve most of effective preachers in the English-speaking world" by Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, he has been cited by Chicago Magazine as one of the city's thirty most influential people. He is an NAACP Image Award recipient, award-winning filmmaker, poet, and professor of homiletics at Mercer University McAfee School of Theology. He is married to Monica Brown, and they are the proud parents of two children. Resources: A transcript for this episode can be found here. Rev. Otis Moss III's latest book, Dancing in the Darkness, can be found here.
April 19, 202459min
Number 3: Futurism and Cosmic Rebirth
Envision a future brimming with peace, joy, and creativity. What does that look like for you? In the final episode of “The Cosmic We” season 4, Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant discuss the importance of envisioning a future that bridges the ordinary and the eternal. As Dr. Holmes explains: “We are unique and ordinary mystics in the making, flowing from one state of existence to the other, inhabiting the ordinary and touching the eternal. We are embedded in the continuum of life, related to the divine, the earth, and our neighbors.” Resources: The transcript for this episode can be found here. If you wish to get a copy of Crisis Contemplation, you can find it in the CAC Bookstore. Connect with us: Have a question you'd like Dr. B or Donny to answer on a possible listener questions episode? Email us: [email protected] or leave us voicemail. This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at https://cac.org/support-cac/podcasts/ Thank you!
August 11, 202349min
Number 4: Healing
How do we heal while traumatic events continue to happen? “As we sit with what is and what never should have been, our feet remember the call of drums and we allow the spirit within us to soar.” – Dr. Barbara Holmes In this episode, learn more about the essential expression of joy as Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant explore the themes of the 5th chapter, Healing, in Crisis Contemplation. Resources: The transcript for this episode can be found here. If you wish to get a copy of Crisis Contemplation, you can find it in the CAC Bookstore. Connect with us: Have a question you'd like Dr. B or Donny to answer on a possible listener questions episode? Email us: [email protected] or leave us voicemail. This podcast is made possible thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at https://cac.org/support-cac/podcasts/ Thank you!
August 04, 202345min
Number 5: Becoming Instruments of Grace and Compassionate Justice with Dr. Rachel Harding
Have you ever experienced another culture’s interpretation of universal wisdom? Dr. Rachel Harding drops by to talk about ancestry and mysticism with “The Cosmic We” hosts Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant. What do you think Dr. Harding means by travel being a mnemonic device? How have you witnessed that play out in your life? Rachel Elizabeth Harding, is Associate Professor of Indigenous Spiritual Traditions in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Denver. A native of Georgia, a writer, historian and poet, Rachel is a specialist in religions of the Afro-Atlantic diaspora and studies the relationship between religion, creativity and social justice activism in cross-cultural perspective. She is a Cave Canem Fellow and holds an MFA in creative writing from Brown University and a PhD in history from the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Harding is author of A Refuge in Thunder: Candomblé and Alternative Spaces of Blackness as well as numerous poems and essays. Rachel’s second book, Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism and Mothering, combines her own writings with the autobiographical reflections of her mother, Rosemarie Freeney Harding, on their family history and the role of compassion and spirituality in African American social justice organizing. Rachel is an ebomi (elder initiate) in the Terreiro do Cobre Candomble community in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, where she has been a participant for over 20 years. Resources: The transcript for this episode can be found here.
November 04, 20221h 1min