The Living World

This episode navigates the complexities of our emotional and practical relationships with money. Weaving connections between water and currency to dig deep into the essence of money flow and the dynamics of wealth in our lives, the discussion revolves around how money, like water, is life-sustaining and flows throughout society, impacting growth and enabling choice.

Ganga Devi introduces listeners to thought-provoking perspectives on financial security and the role of money in empowering communities. She highlights innovative strategies in agriculture that could realign the flow of resources to support both ecological sustainability and economic growth. Through her storytelling and deep dives into the intersections of money with trust and values, the episode challenges listeners to reconceptualize their relationship with currency in a way that aligns with their deepest values and the collective good.

Key Takeaways:

* Money and water share similarities in their ability to flow and perpetuate life, with the concept of currency deeply rooted in the movement and utility of both.

* Our relationship with money can mirror the stagnation or flow of water; when money is hoarded, it can become toxic, but when moving, it can grow and nurture societies.

* The control and allocation of money and resources, like water in drought situations, are critical issues that affect communities and require thoughtful management and reallocation.

* Ganga Devi introduces Change Finance, a company that manages an ETF with the intent to pressure companies into better environmental practices and human dignity.

* She calls for a collective conversation about Money, Sex, and God—three taboo topics that are crucial for personal empowerment and broader societal change.

Notable Quotes:

* "I believe that money is at least neutral and at best, actually a very positive thing."

* "Money enables choice. What does that do to you? What does that do in your body?"

* "To change the way that agriculture is done will take public will, public pressure, people understanding that it's something that is going to require policy change."

* "We are more weather pattern than stone monument."

* "The more we talk about it, the more we destigmatize the truth of wherever it is that we are in the moment."

Resources:

* The Hunger Project

* Kiss the Ground

* Trigger Warning with Killer Mike

* Greenwood Financial - Founded by Killer Mike

* 'The Soul of Money' book by Lynne Twist

* Emunah Living Course 'Sex, God, and Money'

Episode Summary:

In this episode of Living World with Ganga Devi Braun, we explore the pervasive beauty of the sun and its parallels with the concept of God. Kicking off with Mary Oliver's poignant poem "The Sun," the conversation opens up to discuss the cosmic and spiritual significance of the sun, as well as its foundational role in life on Earth. This episode interweaves this celestial appreciation with a deep dive into various perceptions of God, including transcendent and imminent perspectives.

Expanding on the idea of "transcending and including," we explore Ken Wilbur's integral theory into spiritual thought, challenging listeners to embrace a holistic view of existence. The podcast traverses through the journey from discomfort with the concept of God to finding resonance with panentheism, a perspective that sees the divine in everything yet acknowledges a greater mystery. Through personal experiences and studies, Ganga Devi opens up a reflective discourse on the structure and nature of faith across different traditions.

The powerful imagery of the sun serves as a pivotal theme in this episode, with Ganga Devi's narrative further reinforced by the implications of solar energy in our lives. From the cellular to the global scale, she highlights our profound and often unacknowledged connection to this life-sustaining star. As she eloquently draws parallels between ecological systems and spiritual frameworks, listeners are encouraged to ponder their own relationships with the world's esoteric energies.

Key Takeaways:

* The beauty of the sun represents the awe-inspiring interconnectedness between us and the cosmos, prompting contemplation on the spiritual aspect of natural phenomena.

* Transcending and including, a key concept from integral theory, encourages us not to forsake our humanity but to integrate our experience as we evolve.

* Panentheism, a model of God, emphasizes the divine within all and the inexhaustible mystery that transcends it—an idea that can be found in the mystical branches of all religions.

* Emunah, or deep trust in the divine, is enriched by Ganga Devi's personal journey through pluralistic spiritual environments and intellectual rigor.

* The episode inspires listeners to recognize and express gratitude for the countless contributions of the sun and to embrace a holistic spirituality that honors both the physical and spiritual realms.

Notable Quotes:

* "Have you ever seen anything in your life more wonderful than the way the sun... floats toward the horizon and into the clouds or the hills or the rumpled sea and is gone?" (from Mary Oliver)

* "I don't think it's possible for us to conceive of what we owe the sun. I don't think it's possible for us to feel or know the gratitude that this earth is constantly calling out and expressing toward the sun."

* "I believe that panentheism is present in all religions' mystical branches."

* "Can we transcend and include, can we embrace the fullness of the human experience? Can we recognize the importance of integrating all aspects of life?"

Resources:

* Mary Oliver's poem "The Sun"

* Ken Wilbur's integral theory

* Ganga Devi Braun's previous podcast episodes and discussions on Instagram

* EMUNAH

In this episode of "The Living World with Ganga Devi Braun," Ganga explores the process of personal change and transformation, drawing parallels to the molting metamorphosis of insects. She discusses the two types of metamorphosis that insects undergo and emphasizes the importance of recognizing and embracing the more subtle, gradual changes in our own lives. Ganga shares her own experiences of growth and transformation and invites listeners to join her in a twelve-week course on Sex, God, & Money. Through poetry and reflection, she encourages listeners to embrace discomfort and navigate the process of shedding old identities to become their truest selves.

Key Takeaways:

* Personal change often comes with struggles such as anxiety, uncertainty, and overwhelming feelings, marking the beginning of a transformational process.

* Metamorphosis in humans is akin to the molting of insects, where the gradual outgrowing of one's old self allows growth and the emergence of a new self.

* Two types of metamorphosis are highlighted: "holometabolous" for complete transformations and "hemimetabolous" for gradual, subtle changes.

* Morphogenesis, a biological process, is used as an allegory for human psychological growth, driving the point that evolution in form and psyche is interconnected.

* Ganga Devi Braun emphasizes the importance of embracing change and encourages listeners to actively participate in their own lives' unfolding narratives.

Notable Quotes:

* "Morphogenesis is relevant to all species across biology, including, for us, humans."

* "This process of growth, this process of metamorphosis is no less valid than the big, massive changes."

* "We probably have many different types of these types of changes throughout our lives, and I don't think that we often make space for these more subtle ones."

* "The core of the being that's going through that change doesn't change. It's not what gets lost."

* "The core of the organism, the core of the being that's going through that change doesn't change."

* "I think that we're here to grow. I think that we're here to move through threshold. I think that we're here to change and to make change and to respond to change within ourselves, within the people that we love, within the world around us."

Resources:

* Resources for Pleasure: A self-guided mini-course created by Ganga Devi Braun and Seth Kaufman exploring sexual education, nervous system involvement in arousal, and guidance on touch.

* Sex, God, and Money Course: Join us in this 12-week, trauma informed journey through the sexual, spiritual, and financial dimensions of your life.

* Seth Kaufmann: Seth integrates his expertise in physiology, sexology, performance coaching, relational intelligence, interspirituality, somatic nervous system work, and more into Holistic Systems Coaching. For a limited time, he’s taking on new clients.

* Rae Halder: Somatic coach and host of the Slow Burn course Ganga Devi mentions in this episode. A deeply supportive space for gently moving through somatic blocks in sex and beyond.

Notable Quotes:

* "The slower you go, the deeper, stronger, and faster it can become when the time is right."

* "Real, true, good sexual experience...isn't about getting one partner to want sex so that the other one can be satisfied...It’s about dropping the shame and the belief that you should be different than you are in the moment."

* "What I would recommend is to continue being present for real intimacy, continue showing up with real presence."

* "Under the surface, the roots find one another. They embrace one another, entangling in the wet, dark, fertile soil."

Key Takeaways:

* Responsive Desire: Many individuals experience arousal that is responsive rather than spontaneous, necessitating patience and presence to facilitate pleasure.

* The Importance of Slowness: For individuals with vulvas, full arousal takes 20 to 45 minutes, a fact not widely portrayed or understood in society.

* Mollusks as Teachers: The slow mating rituals of mollusks offer profound lessons on mutual exchange, balanced relationships, and the necessity of taking one's time.

* Sexual Trauma and Growth: Ganga Devi shares her personal journey through sexual, reproductive, and birth trauma, affirming the potential for deepening pleasure over time.

* Rooted Intimacy: Like trees whose roots entwine beneath the earth, long-term relationships can cultivate hidden depths of connection and erotic fulfillment.

This episode is an invitation to dive into the dynamic and transformative world of making authentic and accessible change. I explore the theory of change that I am working from, drawn from an extensive background in environmental and social activism, spiritual study, and my experience deeply supporting changemakers in moving from burnout to vitality. I draw wisdom here from the example of ecosystem engineers like the gopher tortoise to demonstrate the outsized impact certain beings, including humans, can have on their surroundings.

In this episode, I examine the critical need for change in human activities and systems of oppression with illustrative examples from nature, philosophy, and personal experiences. These reflections bring attention to the urgency of conscious change-making, drawing inspiration from thought leaders like Buckminster Fuller and poetic wisdom from Rilke. The essence of this theory of change hinges on the relationship between having a regulated nervous system, effective communication, and visioning for collective thriving. The recursive loop that is possible between these three practices can catalyze genuine transformation in widening circles, stressing the idea of humans as 'trim tabs' in the larger ship of society: small but essential parts that can steer us toward thriving futures.

Key Takeaways:

* Change is an inevitable and powerful force that can be harnessed with consciousness and awareness to create the world we envision.

* Humans have the potential to be 'ecosystem engineers' like the gopher tortoise, capable of nurturing biodiversity and impacting their environment significantly.

* This theory of change emphasizes the importance of a regulated nervous system, effective interpersonal communication, and holding intergenerational visions for creating meaningful transformations.

* Challenging the conventional ways of activism by proposing a more intimate and profound method of change – starting within oneself and one’s immediate relationships.

* The episode invites listeners to envision the role they can play in creating better futures and to take actionable steps towards those visions, just as ecosystem engineers shape their environments.

Notable Quotes:

* "Everything you touch, you change. And everything you change, changes you." – Cited from Octavia Butler

* "You never change anything by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete." – Reflecting on a Buckminster Fuller quote.

* "I believe that we really need each other. I believe that we really need to be willing to encounter one another with really open hearts."

Resources:

* EMUNAH Multidimensional Living

* United Religions Initiative

* Buckminster Fuller

* Joanna Macy’s The Work that Reconnects

Hi friends, it’s been a while since I’ve brought my voice into Substack. I’ve been in deep processes of creation and becoming, and life with a toddler has made the deep focus of writing hard. But I have been able to experiment, in quiet mornings and the depth of the night, with podcasting. This is my first episode, and I would love to hear your thoughts. Much more to come.

Key Takeaways:

* Lichen represents a model of symbiotic relationships, highlighting how collaboration enables survival in challenging environments.

* The principles of symbiosis found in lichen can inspire human partnerships, advocating for slow, steady progress and shared creativity.

* The concept of interdependence is crucial to understanding ecological systems and can extend to inform societal structures, including marriage and community building.

* Ganga Devi Braun's community platform, EMUNAH, offers an exemplar of mutualism in practice, providing a forum for collective growth anchored in ecological insight.

* By embracing the living world's wisdom, individuals can create fertile grounds for personal and collective development.

Notable Quotes:

* "Mutualism enhances survival. So by combining their capabilities, lichen can survive in extreme environments... where each of them would actually struggle on their own."

* "Slow and steady, we go far."

* "Symbiosis and collaboration are the truest forms of what I call magic in this world."

* "The closer we get to lichens, the stranger they seem. To this day, lichens confuse our concept of identity and force us to question where one organism stops and another begins."

* "Lichens are living riddles... they have provoked fierce debate about what constitutes an autonomous individual."

Resources:

* Ganga Devi Braun's platform, EMUNAH: emunahliving.com

* Discount code for EMUNAH subscription: LICHEN

* Book reference: "Entangled Life" by Merlin Sheldrake

* Poem: "The Third Body" by Robert Bly

Join Ganga Devi Braun on "The Living World" podcast as she explores the wisdom of lichen symbiosis and its lessons for collaboration and partnership. Discover how lichen, a composite organism formed by the symbiotic relationship between fungi, algae, and cyanobacteria, thrives in extreme environments and transforms its surroundings. Ganga Devi shares her own journey of collaboration with her husband and the creation of their platform, EMUNAH, as a space for community and growth. Explore the power of mutualism and interconnectedness in this first episode.

• Lichen represents a model of symbiotic relationships, highlighting how collaboration enables survival in challenging environments.
• The principles of symbiosis found in lichen can inspire human partnerships, advocating for slow, steady progress and shared creativity.
• The concept of interdependence is crucial to understanding ecological systems and can extend to inform societal structures, including marriage and community building.
• Ganga Devi Braun's community platform, EMUNAH, offers an exemplar of mutualism in practice, providing a forum for collective growth anchored in ecological insight.
• By embracing the living world's wisdom, individuals can create fertile grounds for personal and collective development.

1. "Mutualism enhances survival. So by combining their capabilities, lichen can survive in extreme environments... where each of them would actually struggle on their own."
2. "Slow and steady, we go far."
3. "Symbiosis and collaboration are the truest forms of what I call magic in this world."
4. "The closer we get to lichens, the stranger they seem. To this day, lichens confuse our concept of identity and force us to question where one organism stops and another begins."
5. "Lichens are living riddles... they have provoked fierce debate about what constitutes an autonomous individual."

• Ganga Devi Braun's platform, EMUNAH: emunahliving.com
• Discount code for EMUNAH subscription: LICHEN
• Book reference: "Entangled Life" by Merlin Sheldrake
• Poem: "The Third Body" by Robert Bly