Francesca Maximé – ReRooted – Ep. 48 – Playful Progressions with Miki Yamanaka
March 27, 2021  |  No Comments
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ReRooted with Francesca Maximé
Ep. 48 – Playful Progressions with Miki Yamanaka
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 00:00 / 48:39
Jazz pianist, Miki Yamanaka, joins Francesca to share about her musical upbringing, food as spirituality, Asian allyship, and how play makes perfect.
Jazz pianist, Miki Yamanaka, joins Francesca to share about her musical upbringing, food as spirituality, Asian allyship, and how play makes perfect.
Miki Yamanaka is a New York-based pianist from Kobe, Japan. She moved to New York City in 2012 and has studied Piano with Jason Lindner, Jeb Patton, and Fred Hersch, and Organ with Sam Yahel and Larry Goldings. In 2015 she was one of three pianists selected to participate in “Betty Carter’s Jazz Ahead”, an intensive composition residency at the Kennedy Center. She earned her Master of Music degree from Queens College, receiving the Sir Roland Hanna Award. She holds residencies at Smalls and Mezzrow Jazz Clubs in NYC, and is the current pianist in the Philip Harper Quintet, the Roxy Coss Quintet, and the Antonio Hart Group. One of her newest compositions is a 5-part suite entitled “Human Dust Suite.” For more information, please visit MikiYamanaka.com

Natural Progression: Music & Practice
Continuing tapping her deep well of joyful, mindful, creatives on the ReRooted podcast, Francesca welcomes extraordinary jazz pianist, Miki Yamanaka. Invited to share her story, Miki describes her upbringing in Japan, her musical training, the natural progression to playing for money, and then her giant leap across the pond to New York in 2012, where her career as a musician would fully blossom. For a sampling of her improvisational prowess which sparked the interview, check out this Miki Yamanaka Trio livestream.

“There is spiritual practice, musical practice, athletic practice, mind, body, soul, spirit. The freedom comes to do all these fun things [like playing music], when you’re grounded in a certain degree of discipline, which from at least my understanding, is part of what happens when we’re able to establish one-pointed concentration and be in a more centered space of focusing our attention.” – Francesca Maximé

Dig another Jazz based interview with Francesca, as she dives into the musical healing of Warren Wolf, on Ep. 46 of ReRooted
Food & Gratitude as Spiritual Practice (7:35)
When asked by Francesca if she has a spiritual practice, Miki shares that her daily practice is actually something very close to all of our hearts: food and cooking. Taking a page from Konda Mason’s Brown Rice Hour Podcast, Miki and Francesca dive into the spiritual goodness and holistic importance of a grounded, well-balanced diet. Through this lens, Miki explores her relationship to preparing and consuming food, outlining the deep gratitude and spiritual awareness inherent to all parts of the process.

“I like to cook and I like to eat. Eating healthy and eating well is very important to human beings, more than people think. It’s really important eating well and grounded. I eat everything, but with a healthy balance, and I thank every bit of things I cook and eat—I really thank them.” – Miki Yamanaka

Join Ram Dass, along with Francesca’s teacher, Jack Kornfield, explore eating food as meditation, on Ep. 104 of Here & Now
Asian Allyship (18:50)
Speaking to the uprise of Asian hate crimes coming to a horrific head with the eight murders in Georgia this past week, Miki discusses the harsh realities of anti-Asian racism, and the dire need for true outspoken allyship across the board.

ReRooted – Ep. 48 – Playful Progressions with Miki Yamanaka

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Francesca Maximé – ReRooted – Ep. 50 – Music from the Heart with Emmet Cohen
May 7, 2021  |  No Comments
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ReRooted with Francesca Maximé
Ep. 50 – Music from the Heart with Emmet Cohen
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 00:00 / 46:33

Francesca Maximé welcomes jazz pianist Emmet Cohen to ReRooted for a conversation about how music truly comes from the heart, the importance of practice, and much more.
Leader of the “Emmet Cohen Trio” and creator of the “Masters Legacy Series,” Emmet Cohen is an internationally acclaimed jazz pianist and dedicated music educator. He has performed, recorded, or collaborated with Ron Carter, Benny Golson, Jimmy Cobb, George Coleman, Jimmy Heath, Tootie Heath, Houston Person, Christian McBride, Kurt Elling, Billy Hart, Herlin Riley, Lea DeLaria, and Bill T. Jones. Learn more about Emmet and sign up for his newsletter at emmetcohen.com.

Music from the Heart
Francesca welcomes Emmet to ReRooted, and asks about how he became the pianist he is today. Emmet talks about how important improvisation is to jazz music, and how music truly comes from the heart. He reflects on the appreciation and great respect he has for the jazz artists who came before him, and the great joy he brings to his music.

“Anything I can do for the music, I think, is more important than anything I can do for myself.” – Emmet Cohen 

John Forté discusses the spirit of music on Mindrolling Ep. 386
Practice Routines (13:23)
Francesca brings up the importance of practice, and Emmet shares how his routine has evolved over the years. They play some of Emmet’s music, and he talks about how he uses the music to communicate with his bandmates as they play. Francesca explores how Emmet’s presence in his music can really bring people into the present moment.

“Your presence and focus and attention to detail, I think gives people a certain degree of permission to really just sink in to observing the experience.” – Francesca Maximé

Watch Emmet Cohen and Vanisha Gould perform “What a Little Moonlight Can Do” during a recent edition of Live From Emmet’s Place
Breath is an Anchor (32:25)
Francesca asks Emmet about his yoga practice; Emmet talks about how the breath is an anchor in both yoga and his music. They discuss Emmet’s new album, Future Stride, and whether he’ll continue the “Live From Emmet’s Place” live stream in the future. Whatever’s next, Emmet will bring along his sense of goodness, joy, and respect.

“As I was learning [yoga], I’d learn how the breath integrated into all of this, and it really kind of reminded me of the way that I always thought about my breath when I played music.” – Emmet Cohen

Jazz Pianist Emmet Cohen: ReRooted – Ep. 50 – Music from the Heart

Shirley Turcotte, RCC, joins Francesca to discuss how Indigenous Focusing-Orientation Therapy techniques are medicine for remembering our collectivity.
Shirley Turcotte, RCC, is founder of the Indigenous Focusing-Orientation Therapy (IFOT), a Métis knowledge keeper and registered clinical counselor, working internationally with survivors of childhood abuses, torture, and complex traumas, including Residential School Syndrome. A pioneering activist in the areas of complex trauma therapeutic treatment and program development for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities, she has received awards, including British Columbia’s Woman of Distinction Award in Health and Education. She is the lead instructor and clinical supervisor of two Aboriginal Programs with the Centre for Counseling and Community Safety at the Justice Institute of British Columbia. For more info please visit: Focusing Initiatives’ IFOT page

All My Relations: Pandemic & Indigenous Community
Welcoming her friend and teacher, Shirley Turcotte, RCC, to ReRooted, Francesca invites her to share about the effect of the pandemic on both herself in her work and daily life, and the Indigenous community as a whole. Sharing the trying history of genocide amongst Indigenous populations, Shirley relays the importance of recognizing the collective, communal, and intergenerational experience of pandemic (and trauma in general), recognizing our connection to all life and land, the interconnected web of life.

“‘All my relations’ means to be connected and interconnected to all of life and land. So what you in your own body is experiencing does not belong to you. It’s something that’s held collectively. So when I’m experiencing pandemic anxiety, it’s not just my lived experience, I’m holding my community there too.” – Shirley Turcotte

For more Francesca exploring the intersection of Indigenous perspectives and mindfulness, check out Ep. 40 of ReRooted
Indigenous Focusing-Oriented Therapy (10:58)
Shirley shares how her ‘all my relations’ collective perspective connects with her Indigenous Focusing-Oriented Therapy (IFOT) which, ‘heals trauma and has been especially well-received because it honors core values of each community and respects local traditions. It is rooted in a humanistic, person-centered approach to healing and is offered in situations of violence, intergenerational trauma, and collective cultural and economic genocide, bringing healing to individuals, families, schools and communities.’

“The remembering is the healing. Because once you get that, you come out of suffering. The remembering of ‘all my relations’ is the healing peace in Indigenous Focusing-Oriented Therapy. It’s the remembering of ‘all my relations’ that pulls everyone out to be able to be present.” – Shirley Turcotte

Learn how to heal by giving yourself permission to be fully present with your trauma, on Ep. 78 of the BHNN Guest Podcast
“A Felt Sense’ Guided Meditation (16:40)
Shirley leads a guided meditation experience for experiencing ‘all my relations’ ancestral interconnection led by ‘a felt sense.’

Tracking ‘A Felt Sense’ (30:03)
Sharing in conversation on the medicine inherent within the connection of life and land, Francesca and Shirley discuss the healing encased within finding balance. Sharing techniques like ‘tracking through time’ and going into old traumas to reframe and heal them, Shirley and Francesca offer a doorway into the past, present, and future, from the boundless, timeless perspective of the indigenous world.

“When you’re tracking a felt sense, you’re very much present for observing – observation of the self, where you are in time, and whatever moments are coming forward. You are not dissociated; you are tracking through time. Time is always here in the Indigenous world. Past, present, and future is always here. It’s not linear.” – Shirley Turcotte

ReRooted – Ep. 51 – All My Relations with Shirley Turcotte, RCC

Adam Gust 

https://www.youtube.com/user/3DdrummingDVD

joins Francesca Maximé for a conversation about trauma, healing, and how incorporating the tools of somatic experiencing can help pave a new path in life.
Adam Gust is a Los Angeles based drummer, producer, and educator. Head to his YouTube channel to learn more about Adam and check out his work as a drummer and a teacher.

Trauma and Healing
Francesca welcomes Adam to ReRooted, and they discuss the traumatic incident that changed the course of Adam’s life and career as a drummer. Adam takes us through the process of healing from his trauma, and how discovering somatic experiencing gave him hope and a new path in life.

“I went from feeling like my whole life was just about to happen, to being in bed with both my hands in casts for a few months.” – Adam Gust

Incorporating the Tools of Somatic Experiencing (16:04)
Francesca and Adam explore the work of Bell Hooks and Terry Real, and how they gave Adam a new perspective on patriarchy and hierarchy. Adam talks about how incorporating the tools of somatic experiencing into playing the drums allows him to perform better than ever before. Francesca plays the soundtrack Adam created to accompany her podcast with Dr. Shelly Harrell. 

“I can’t believe drummers aren’t talking about embodiment and somatic experiencing, like, of all people!” – Adam Gust

Listen to the full conversation between Francesca Maximé and Dr. Shelly Harrell on ReRooted Ep. 11
Befriending Your Practice (32:20)
Francesca and Adam discuss what inspired him to create that soundtrack. They talk about having compassion for the person you were before your trauma, structural hierarchy in the music business, and Adam’s continuing work with bringing somatic experiencing into the drumming community. Adam shares an exercise from his teaching series, Befriending Your Practice. 

“I’ve been really practicing to break these patterns, these tension and movement patterns, and ground the feet.” – Adam Gust
https://www.youtube.com/user/3DdrummingDVD

ReRooted – Ep. 52 – Incorporating the Tools of Somatic Experiencing with Adam Gust

www.thelotusinstitute.org
Larry Ward Ph.D. joins Francesca to uncover ‘America’s Racial Karma,’ exploring the healing intersection of Buddhism and race in America.
Larry Ward Ph.D. is a senior teacher in Buddhist Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition. He brings twenty-five years of international experience in organizational change and local community renewal to his work as director of the Lotus Institute and as an advisor to the Executive Mind Leadership Institute at the Drucker School of Management. He holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies with an emphasis on Buddhism and the neuroscience of meditation, and recently released a new book, America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal. Larry is a knowledgeable, charismatic and inspirational teacher, offering insights with personal stories and resounding clarity that express his dharma name, “True Great Sound.”

Buddhism & Race in America
Welcoming Buddhist teacher and author Larry Ward to the Rerooted podcast, Francesca invites him to share how the vantage point of learning and teaching Buddhism under Thich Nhat Hanh helped inform his timely new book, America’s Racial Karma: An Invitation to Heal. Francesca and Larry take a close look at how our identities are constructed narratives, but still hold a strong reality in our daily lives; before diving into the historical roots of white supremacy.

“I wanted to apply what I had learned through my practice in Buddhism, as well as my scholarly work in Buddhism, to my lived experience of race in America. I wanted to invite people into a deeper look at the human psychology and nervous system interactions that create and sustain white supremacy.” – Larry Ward PhD

Explore anti-racism as a spiritual practice in this podcast focused on the spirituality of racial equality, on Ep. 21 of Sufi Heart
Colonialism & Seperation / God & Interconnection (13:18)
Speaking to the ‘othering’ inherent in colonialism, Larry explains how the idea of being a fixed separate self creates materialism, commodification, and hierarchy – seeing the world as matter, rather than one interconnected god. Uncovering the Buddhist notion of non-self—the interconnection that is the baseline love of reality—Francesca and Larry illuminate how, through spiritual practice, society can begin to heal at its root: the individual human nervous system.

“I’m hoping to contribute to understanding our nervous system well enough to understand how it’s been conditioned by white supremacy, by our own lives, by our families, by our school systems, by our work ethic, by our cultural context, so that we can have enough distance from that to look at it and decide: What do we keep of this? What do we throw away? What do we modify?” – Larry Ward PhD

For more Francesca in conversation on healing racial trauma in the mind and body, tune into, Ep. 43 of ReRooted
Poetry, Pain, & Sensitivity (37:20)
Invited by Francesca to read a deeply moving poem from his book, Larry harkens a powerful bhav (spiritual essence) in exploring the themes of race, racism, identity, impermanence, equanimity, George Floyd, love, and infinity. From this vantage, Larry and Francesca share how to hold pain when dealing with such an immense weight of suffering, by learning how to become more sensitive in your own body and within the spirit.

“Find the ground of no coming and no going. Embrace yourself. Love yourself. Lift yourself up so you can lift all the rest of us to higher ground.” – Larry Ward PhD

Francesca Maximé – ReRooted – Ep. 53 – America’s Racial Karma with Larry Ward, Ph.D.

Dr. Bruce Perry rejoins Francesca to share on trauma, resilience, and healing, power dynamics and the collective, as well as the stress response and shutting down.
Dr. Bruce Perry is the Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy a Community of Practice based in Houston, TX, and Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. He recently authored, along with Oprah Winfrey, the new book, What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing. Over the last thirty years, Dr. Perry has been an active teacher, clinician, and researcher in children’s mental health and neuroscience. You can find more information at www.bdperry.com https://www.childtrauma.org/  https://www.neurosequential.com/nmt

“Awareness is part of the primary process that will lead to change.” – Dr. Bruce Perry

What Happened to You?
Welcoming back Dr. Bruce Perry to the ReRooted podcast for the first-half of a riveting two-part conversation, a delighted Francesca invites him to share on core themes of the new book he just wrote alongside Oprah Winfrey, What Happened to You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing. Marking the foundations of trauma work created through the diligence of Sandy Bloom, Dr. Perry shares the history and evolution of trauma, resilience, and healing, in regards to race, misogyny, and education systems.

“If every few generations we make tiny little tweaks, you haven’t really changed education. All you’ve done is maintained the existing power structure; you just redecorated it. You have the same house; it’s just got different furniture. When people talk about systemic racism or misogyny – both exist in our public education system. If you get so defensive that you don’t see that clearly, you’ll end up missing a tremendous opportunity to make meaningful change in your systems.” – Dr. Bruce Perry

Learn to get in touch with your nervous system and start to heal through resilience, on, Ep. 106 of the Indie Spiritualist
Power Dynamics & The Collective (11:08)
How do we begin to transform the culture? How can we start to transform ourselves from the inside out? How do we recognize power dynamics at play throughout history and change them now? Inviting in the micro, macro, and mezzo perspectives, Francesca asks Dr. Perry to illuminate historical power dynamics through the lens of U.S. colonization, oppression, and marginalization.

“Oppression flows down. It’s an unfortunate characteristic of the human species, that we tend to cluster and create an ‘us & them.’ And so, in the consolidation of power for yourself, it’s always in your interest to have an external marginalized people to basically coalesce your power. That model of gaining power is marginalizing others.” – Dr. Bruce Perry
Stress Response & Shutting Down (17:42)
Speaking to the notion that many humans will naturally exhibit a stress response in the brain when confronted with other people with unfamiliar attributes, Dr. Perry explains how this shutting down of the neocortex makes individuals less open to change and connectivity; and more susceptible to fall into concrete thinking and accepting oversimplified explanations.

“Historically, the major predator of human beings has always been other humans. So when you meet people who are not like you, or have unfamiliar attributes, the default response is to shut down—activate the stress response which will shut down part of your cortex. So instead of becoming more abstract, inclusive, and thoughtful, you become more concrete, categorial, and vulnerable to simple, linear explanations.” – Dr. Bruce Perry
“All biological systems that develop, they develop all kinds of mechanisms to maintain themselves. If people actually had moments where they were fully reflective, they wouldn’t live the way they live. Which means the whole system would unravel, capitalism would unravel, materialism would unravel.” – Dr. Bruce Perry

What Happened To You: Trauma, Resilience, & Healing with Dr. Bruce Perry (Pt. 1& 2)

https://justinvonbujdoss.com/


Francesca Maximé – ReRooted – Ep. 56 – Modern Tantric Buddhism with Lama Justin von Bujdoss
September 22, 2021  |  No Comments
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ReRooted with Francesca Maximé
Ep. 56 – Modern Tantric Buddhism with Lama Justin von Bujdoss
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 00:00 / 47:51

Lama Justin von Bujdoss joins Francesca to share an authentic and embodied conversation around Tantric Buddhism for our Dharma practice in the modern age.
Justin von Bujdoss is an American Buddhist teacher and chaplain ordained as a repa in the Karma Kamstang tradition of Tibetan Buddhism by His Eminence Goshir Gyaltsab Rinpoche. Justin is passionate about the preservation of the heart-essence of the tantric Buddhist tradition in a way that meets the needs of, and simultaneously challenges, the modern western way of life. Justin has served as the resident-lama and executive director of New York Tsurphu Goshir Dharma Center and is Staff Chaplain and Executive Director of the Division of Chaplaincy and Staff Wellness for NYC Department of Correction. Justin has also worked as a full-time home hospice chaplain and teaches dharma in a variety of settings from monasteries, retreat centers and dharma centers, to hospital didactics, CPE groups and at conferences and museums. More info: JustinvonBujdoss.com

Modern Tantric Buddhism: Engaging in Practice
Welcoming Lama Justin von Bujdoss to the ReRooted podcast, Francesca invites him to share the core themes encased within his new book brimming with ancient wisdom translated for our spiritual practice in the contemporary age: Modern Tantric Buddhism: Embodiment and Authenticity in Dharma Practice.

“The book and a lot of the work that I do is rooted at this intersection of Tantric Buddhist practice and chaplaincy, and also a lot of the natural critique, which I think is a healthy thing for practitioners to engage in exploring: how is it that I interact with the tradition that I am practicing?” – Lama Justin von Bujdoss

Learn to embody Tantric Devotion with Ram Dev (Dale Borglum), on Ep. 63 of Healing at the Edge
Embodied Tantric Buddhist Practice: Authentic Wisdom Born of Experience (11:28)
Francesca and Lama Justin von Bujdoss speak to the importance of visualization practices, working with relationships, facing difficulties and apprehensions head-on, and how truly authentic wisdom is born of direct felt experience.

“Authentic wisdom born of experience—I can’t stress the importance of that enough. That is the thing that becomes this fuel that allows us to reinvest in our meditation, double down, and go a little bit deeper.” – Lama Justin von Bujdoss 

Take the journey to authenticity with Buddhist writer, speaker, and broadcaster, Kelly Carlin on Ep. 71 of the BHNN Guest Podcast
Breaking Relationship to Habit Mind // Social Justice & Equity Work (30:00)
Sharing on the powerful Tibetan Buddhist practices of Dzogchen and Mahamudra, Lama Justin and Francesca dig deep into the power encased in breaking/disrupting our momentum-driven relationship with our habit-mind through short, but frequent meditation sessions. From here, they dive into how to apply Tantric Buddhist practices to social justice and equity work in the real world.

“There’s a long thread of practice style around a meditation called Mahamudra, which is very similar to Dzogchen, advising people to sit for short periods, like 12 minutes, where it’s really about breaking up the habit, rather than one long grueling session where your mind goes numb and you find yourself suffering. Sometimes there’s more power in breaking up our relationship to habit-mind in these shorter sessions.” – Lama Justin von Bujdoss

ReRooted 56: Lama Justin Von Budjoss: Modern Tantric Buddhism

https://complexintegrationmbs.com/

Beatriz & Terry Sheldon MD join Francesca to explore Complex Integration of Multiple Brain Systems, their new innovative psychotherapy paradigm.
Beatriz Sheldon M.Ed, Psych, has practiced psychotherapy for forty years in four languages. She has received specialized post-graduate training in short-term dynamic psychotherapy at McGill University in Montreal, and is director of a psychotherapy training program for advanced clinicians in Vancouver. She and Albert have researched and taught psychotherapy together for 20 years. Albert Sheldon, MD, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington, Seattle, has specialized in the research, practice, and training of psychotherapy for 35 years. Dr. Sheldon received a Bush Medical Fellowship to study psychotherapeutic processes from a psychophysiological perspective. The development of the CIMBS paradigm is a result of the Sheldon’s research and teaching experiential psychotherapy to clinicians throughout North America and Europe. More info: ComplexIntegrationmbs.com

Emotional Brain Systems // Care, Connection, Safeness
Welcoming husband and wife psychotherapy duo—Beatriz Sheldon M.Ed, Psych, and Terry Sheldon, MD—to the ReRooted podcast, Francesca invites them to begin with the groundwork of illuminating the various emotional brain systems which make up our present moment human experience. Through this lens, they explore how emotional brain systems like care, connection, and safeness relate to therapy and healing.

“It’s important to get to know what these emotional systems are so that we can have more clarity about our own experiences inside of ourselves, and as a therapist, to get to know the deeper levels of functioning and capacity and resources that we’re all born with.” – Terry Sheldon, MD

Francesca and Dr. Bruce Perry talk trauma, resilience, and healing, on Ep. 55 of ReRooted
Complex Integration of Multiple Brain Systems (12:42)
With groundwork laid, Francesca invites Beatriz and Terry to further unpack the Complex Integration of Multiple Brain Systems, their new innovative psychotherapy paradigm, which aims to heal by “going the other way” – going beneath the fear, by recognizing and allowing our deeper systems’ ability to abide in love in the moment. The Sheldons explain this as a physiological recognition that fear is in the past, while care and trust are in the present.

“There is a physiological change into standing up inside of themselves. When I see that there is this change inside, I immediately ask, ‘What’s happening right now? What are the sensations that are happening right now?’ – Beatriz Sheldon

“Trauma is the puppeteer of the present.” – Francesca Maximé

Learn about embodied change and neurosculpting with Sharon Salzberg and Dr. Rick Hanson, on Ep. 123 of the Metta Hour
Neuroplasticity // Trust, Presence, Unconditional Love (37:37)
Speaking to neuroplasticity, Dr. Sheldon relays the power of following up your therapy session with a walk, physical movement, or meditation—as well as reactivating the same neural pathways when drifting to sleep—to help create lasting traits. From here, the group engages in discourse around very dear themes to Ram Dass and the Be Here Now Network: trust, presence, and unconditional love.

“Trusting what-is on a deeper level, you may not feel like you have access to it, but it’s still there. Not trying to make something happen, but just keep orienting to that neurobiological truth that you are unconditionally worthy, you are unconditionally lovable.” – Terry Sheldon, MD

Dr. Dan Siegel joins Francesca to share the practice of presence, on Ep. 27 of the BHNN Guest Podcast

ReRooted – Ep. 57 – Complex Integration w/ Beatriz & Terry Sheldon MD

Physicist, musician, & author, Dr. Stephon Alexander, joins Francesca in a conversation bridging physics, jazz music, race, inspirational teachers, and why it’s important to think outside the box.
Dr. Stephon Alexander is a theoretical physicist, musician and author whose work is at the interface between cosmology, particle physics and quantum gravity. He works on the connection between the smallest and largest entities in the universe, pushing Einstein’s theory of curved space-time to extremes, beyond the big bang with subatomic phenomena. Alexander is a professor of physics at Brown University and the president of the National Society of Black Physicists. In his critically acclaimed book The Jazz of Physics, Alexander revisits the ancient interconnection between music and the evolution of astrophysics and the laws of motion. In his new book Fear of a Black Universe, he invites the field of physics to embrace the unknown. More info: StephonAlexander.com

Ram Dass, Science & Seeking
Introducing another multifaceted being of ‘complex intersectionality,’ Francesca welcomes physicist, musician, and author, Dr. Stephon Alexander, to ReRooted to explore the macro and micro of all things theoretical physics, jazz music, Ram Dass, science, spirituality, race, the universe, and embracing the unknown. To begin, speaking to his upbringing, Dr. Alexander shares how his multicultural background informs his work in science as well as his musical inclinations.

“[Ram Dass] inspired me because he showed those of us who are on an academic path, who prioritize the discursive mind, the intellect, and end up at places like Harvard and Brown—like the Buddha he said, ‘I reached that level, but there’s still more questions that could not be answered in those constructs.’ He is an inspiration for those of us – a seeker, a great scientist. The greatest scientists were like Ram Dass in that way. That idea of being a seeker and being a true scientist are parallel to each other.” – Dr. Stephon Alexander

Ram Dass & physicist Amit Goswami connect science & spirituality, on Ep. 160 of Here & Now
Physics & The Power of a Good Teacher // BIPOC Teacher Empowerment (12:08)
Prompted by Francesca to recount the moving story behind his Ted Talk, Dr. Alexander shares about the inspiring physics teacher and professional jazz musician who changed his life by recognizing and nurturing his innate talent from a young age – propelling and motivating Dr. Alexander on his current paradigm-shifting multidisciplinary trajectory and path. From here, they discuss how having BIPOC in teaching positions empowers us all.

ReRooted – Ep. 58 – Fear of a Black Universe with Dr. Stephon Alexander

In this episode of the ReRooted Podcast, Dr. Colin Ross joins Francesca Maximé for a conversation about working with trauma survivors, including combat veterans.
Dr. Colin Ross is an internationally renowned clinician, researcher, author and lecturer in the field of dissociation and trauma-related disorders. He is the founder and President of The Colin A. Ross Institute for Psychological Trauma. Dr. Ross has been running a hospital-based Trauma Program in Dallas, Texas since 1991. He has authored more than 30 books and 250 professional papers. Learn more about Dr. Ross and his work at rossinst.com. 

Dissociation and Flashbacks

Francesca welcomes Dr. Ross and they chat about his background in the field of trauma-related disorders. Dr. Ross explains how he defines dissociation, and talks about flashbacks caused by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Francesca brings up how hard it is for people to let go of trauma, and they touch on how the mental health field can cause mental health problems. 

“I always say that a flashback flashes back. If it doesn’t have the quality of flashing back, it’s just with you, it doesn’t intrude. So, in order to have the quality of a flashback, it has to be dissociated, disconnected, stuffed inside somewhere.” – Dr. Colin Ross

The Locus-of-Control Shift (24:40)

Francesca asks Dr. Ross about how he sees shame versus guilt. Dr. Ross brings in his concept of the locus-of-control shift, and gives examples from his work with combat veterans who have shifted the blame about loss of life onto themselves as a way to retain some form of control. He talks about why it might be better to label PTSD as Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“So the locus-of-control shift is the self-blame, which can lead to both guilt and shame, self-hatred, [and] self-punishment.” – Dr. Colin Ross

A Memorial to Trauma (48:55)

Dr. Ross explores a case where he was treating a woman who was traumatized by sexual abuse. He and Francesca discuss the power of memorials such as the one in Auschwitz, but lament that most trauma survivors don’t have a place like that to put their sorrow and grief. They talk about how addiction manifests as a memorial to trauma, and touch on the ugly history of the mental health field.

“This is what’s missing… Slowing down the empathy, the compassion, holding space, honoring, grieving, having collective ceremony, recognizing one another’s common humanity, that life is precious, that different things are not within our control.” – Francesca Maximé

Get more wisdom and resources from Francesca Maximé at maximeclarity.com.

Francesca Maximé – ReRooted – Ep. 59 – Healing Trauma w/ Dr. Colin Ross

Roxy Manning PhD and Sarah Peyton join Francesca for a conversation on how we can effectively respond to racism with truth, compassion, and an antiracist heart.
Roxy Manning, PhD is a clinical psychologist and NVC facilitator who loves to guide groups from discord toward values-driven solutions that work for everyone. Her own inner work, coupled with her professional experience, has grown her capacity to meet people with varying levels of education, disparate life experiences, and the most intense feelings in ways that help them feel heard, respected, supported and loved. She has worked globally with individuals and groups committed to social justice and has consulted with businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations around the U.S., wanting to move towards equitable and diverse hiring practices and workplace cultures. Find more at www.RoxanneManning.com

Sarah Peyton, international constellations facilitator, Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication and neuroscience educator, integrates constellations, brain science and the use of resonant language to heal personal and collective trauma. Sarah teaches and lectures internationally and is the author of three books: Your Resonant Self: Guided Meditations and Exercises to Engage Your Brain’s Capacity for Healing, it’s companion – Your Resonant Self Workbook: From Self-sabotage to Self-care, and Affirmations for Turbulent Times: Resonant Words to Soothe Body and Mind. Discover more at SarahPeyton.com

Please support Roxy & Sarah’s Kickstarter Project: Two Books: Antiracist Conversations & The Antiracist Heart
Antiracist Conversations // The Antiracist Heart
Welcoming Roxy Manning PhD and Sarah Peyton to ReRooted, Francesca invites this dynamic duo of social justice reform, antiracism, neuroscience, education, and trauma healing, to share the powerful inspiration behind their transformational new two books: Antiracist Conversations & The Antiracist Heart. To start, Roxy shares contemplations around how we address and respond to racism, while Sarah offers grounded self-regulation for overcoming implicit biases and facing racism.

“The more self-regulated we are, the less we are at the mercy of our implicit biases, so the more capacity we have to name what’s happening in our own bodies and be resonate with ourselves, the more we have some ground to stand on to begin to address the structural racism that is terrifyingly comprehensive in our North American world.” – Sarah Peyton

Sarah Peyton & Francesca discuss the effects of white supremacy on neurobiology, on Ep. 41 of ReRooted
History, Grief, & Nonviolent Communication (15:15)
Prompted by Francesca to relay the importance of diving into the history of racism, Roxy shares how doing so is actually learning to move through the stages of grief. Through this lens, she explains how we can use mindful awareness within stages of grief to acknowledge our mourning without collapsing into it. From here the conversation flows into the subtle nuances of nonviolent communication.

“Learning this history is learning to move through the stages of grief. There’s an innocence we have as children where we think we’re gonna be fully accepted and seen for exactly who we are at the capacities we bring, and that moment of realizing over and over again that that’s not the case, we have to go through the anger, denial, all the stages, and whenever we don’t do that, whenever we stop, we actually can get into this really frozen place.” – Roxy Manning, PhD

ReRooted – Ep. 60 – Antiracist Heart Conversations w/ Roxy Manning PhD & Sarah Peyton

Sandor Iron Rope is the President of the Native American Church of South Dakota, and also a board member of the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative. Learn more about and donate to the IPCI at ipci.life. 

Sacred Plant Medicine
Francesca asks Sandor how we can avoid further exploitation of sacred plant medicine, such as peyote, during the psychedelic decriminalization movement. Sandor talks about the need to have awareness and mindfulness around using these powerful medicines. He shares how his people have struggled to protect this medicine, and how the decriminalization effort has lost the sense of respect it needs in an attempt to move too quickly. 

“It’s been a battle since day one to protect our medicine, and grandmas and grandpas have been jailed for utilizing this medicine, peyote. They have been jailed for even practicing our way of life. Now, when you come and understand that history, you can understand a little bit of why we don’t want our peyote in this decriminalization movement, because it’s bio-cultural.” – Sandor Iron Rope

Ram Dass talks about understanding the risks and rewards of using psychedelics on Here and Now Ep. 183
Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative (20:15)
Sandor explains how his organization, the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative, has allowed reconnection, regeneration, and conservation of the sacred peyote medicine. They are also teaching their children about the spiritual harvest of the medicine, ensuring the knowledge is passed on. Francesca talks about the short-term thinking of Western culture.

“Everything is about the transfer of energy. Energy is moving, energy exists in all things. Positive and negative energy exists. And when we generate this prayer through positive energy, we are creating this aura, this spiritual aura of energy. And we are projecting the energy upon our medicine, and we are asking it something to help us with. That has been missing.” – Sandor Iron Rope

Sacred Plant Medicine with Sandor Iron Rope - ReRooted – Ep. 61

Max Rollin In My Bently (1)

In today's #WiseGirl, I talk to the author of "Disarming the Narcissist" Wendy Behary, LCSW, about what narcissism is, where it comes from, how you can spot it and what to do about it, how it shows up in relationships and in society in general. https://disarmingthenarcissist.com/

WiseGirl: Wendy Behary, LCSW, author of "Disarming the Narcissist:

In today's #WiseGirl video, I speak with Dick Schwartz, the creator of Internal Family Systems. Learn what IFS is, how it works (we do a role-play!), Self-leadership, applications for trauma, relationships, and even world leaders, and how it differs from mindfulness meditation exercises and even self-compassion methodologies. https://www.selfleadership.org/

#WiseGirl: Richard Schwartz, Ph.D., creator of Internal Family Systems on finding our deepest Self

In today's #WiseGirl podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with bestselling author and psychiatrist Dr. Mark Epstein: we discuss everything from attachment theory and the ego, the role of prescription drugs in psychiatric treatment, Buddhism, and among other things, what is enlightenment, anyway? http://markepsteinmd.com/

#WiseGirl: Mark Epstein, M.D., author, Adice Not Given on Ego, Psychotherapy, Buddhism & more

In today’s #WiseGirl video podcast, I chat with psychotherapist Bruce Ecker, MA, LMFT, co-originator of Coherence Therapy and coauthor of Unlocking the Emotional Brain: Eliminating Symptoms at Their Roots Using Memory Reconsolidation. 
***
What’s enlightenment, anyway? That’s one of the things I’ve been curious about for some time. The new neuroscience research that’s emerged in just the last 1-2 decades shows how subcortical synaptic changes in the brain can enable some people to be rid of issues that have plagued them for years, once and for all.  While explicit autobiographical memories of life experiences remain, after these synaptic changes take place — here known as memory reconsolidation — people who’ve gone through the process don’t end up reacting with the same patterns and locked into the same “triggered” emotion or feeling that’s bothered them for years. They can relate to it differently, from where they are, right here, right now. How does this happen? It’s a process that can occur spontaneously, either in the therapist’s office or in “regular life,” but it’s also one that can be accessed by following certain protocols. While acknowledging that many therapeutic theoretical models can and support these critical subcortical changes, Ecker offers a set of steps that fosters these transformations, known as Coherence Therapy, and discusses how the process works with me on #WiseGirl.
***
Bruce Ecker, MA, LMFT is also the author of Depth Oriented Brief Therapy: How To Be Brief When You Were Trained To Be Deep and Vice Versa. Clarifying how transformational change takes place is the central theme of Bruce Ecker's clinical career, and he has contributed many innovations in concepts and methods of experiential psychotherapy. Since 2006 he has driven the clinical field's recognition of memory reconsolidation as the core process of transformational change and has developed the application of this brain research breakthrough to advancements in therapeutic effectiveness and psychotherapy integration. Bruce is a frequent presenter at conferences and workshops internationally, has taught extensively in clinical graduate programs, and is in private practice near San Francisco, California.

https://www.coherencetherapy.org/

#WiseGirl: Bruce Ecker, MA, LMFT: Memory Reconsolidation

In today's #WiseGirl video podcast, I talk with Dr. Stephen Porges, Distinguished University Scientist at the Kinsey Institute at Indiana University Bloomington and Research Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of The Polyvagal Theory: Neurophysiological Foundations of Emotions, Attachment, Communication, and Self-regulation. 

His research has highlighted how our mammalian (human) autonomic nervous system controls the reactions and behaviors of people affected by a wide-range of traumatic experiences. We discuss safety, defensive reactions and deep listening, why texting too much isn't good for mammals, and what our physiology and traumas large and "small" have to tell us about our deepest selves, spirits, and connection with one another. We also discuss his "Safe and Sound Protocol" (SSP), which is now available for professional use.  http://stephenporges.com/

#WiseGirl, Dr. Stephen Porges: Polyvagal Theory, Trauma, Safety/Intimacy & Mindfulness/Spirituality

Bruce Perry, M.D., Ph.D., is a neuroscientist and child psychiatrist, Principal Member of the Neurosequential Model Network and the Senior Fellow at the Child Trauma Academy in Houston, Texas. He is also the author of best-selling book, The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook--What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing, and also published Born for Love: Why Empathy Is Essential--and Endangered. Both are co-authored with journalist Maria Szalavitz.

In our wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Perry goes deep into explaining the brain’s architecture and neuroplasticity: why the first two months of an infant’s life are incredibly impactful across an individual’s lifetime, creating pathways for later helpful or harmful behaviors to self or others. He also discusses how current models of mental health may be adapted to effectively treat trauma at its roots. Dr. Perry also explains the implications of untreated trauma on our greater collective wellbeing, how regulated embodiment can be transformative healing, and the role curiosity, joy and love in growing care, community and connection.
***
Dr. Perry is the Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy a Community of Practice based in Houston, TX and Professor (Adjunct) in the Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago andthe School of Allied Health, College of Science, Health and Engineering, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria  Australia. 

https://www.bdperry.com/
https://www.neurosequential.com/
http://childtrauma.org/

#WiseGirl: Dr. Bruce Perry, Neuroscientist & Child Trauma Expert

In today's #WiseGirl video podcast, I talk with Dr. Ann Weiser Cornell about what is Focusing and the felt sense, the "something in you" that you can say hello to, how Focusing can help get to the core of addictions and relationship issues, and how this is a practice we can explore and cultivate.

Dr. Cornell is an American author, educator, and worldwide authority on Focusing, the self-inquiry psychotherapeutic technique developed by Eugene Gendlin.

She has written several definitive books on Focusing, including The Power of Focusing: A Practical Guide to Emotional Self-Healing, The Focusing Student's and Companion's Manual, and Focusing in Clinical Practice. 

Cornell received a PhD in Linguistics in 1975 at the University of Chicago. While still a graduate student there, she met psychologist Eugene Gendlin, and learned the psychotherapeutic technique he had discovered and developed, called Focusing.

Cornell has taught Focusing around the world since 1980, and has developed a system and technique called Inner Relationship Focusing.

More about Ann and her work can be found at Focusing Resources, on the web at https://focusingresources.com/
*****
To learn more about Dr. Eugene Gendlin and Focusing, you can go to: http://focusing.org/ and https://focusinginternational.org/

#WiseGirl: Dr. Ann Weiser Cornell, Author, Teacher, Focusing Expert

In today's #WiseGirl podcast, I have the privilege of interviewing psychiatrist Dr. Judith Herman, incest and trauma expert.

During our wide-ranging interview, Dr. Herman discusses how she first came to studying incest and trauma (believing her patients), Freud and psychiatry's history regarding women and incest, statistics around childhood sexual abuse, the importance of (survivors) being and feeling safe,  what justice would ideally look like from the survivor/victim's perspective, and more. 

What's more, we talk about individual and collective trauma, the #MeToo and #TimesUp, feminism, and the culture of silence and what bystanders -- especially men who want to be allies -- can do to help.

Dr. Herman is the author of Father-Daughter Incest; Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence--From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror; as well as her recent contribution to The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 27 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President, released in 2017. 

More on Dr. Herman's work can be found here https://www.challiance.org/cha-services/victims-of-violence

Dr. Herman's books on group work with survivors, can be found here: https://www.guilford.com/author/Judith-Lewis-Herman
***
Dr. Herman's partial bio, excerpted from Wikipedia, is here: Judith Lewis Herman (born 1942) is an American psychiatrist, researcher, teacher, and author who has focused on the understanding and treatment of incestand traumatic stress.
Herman is Professor of clinical psychiatry at Harvard University Medical School and Director of Training at the Victims of Violence Program in the Department of Psychiatry at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a founding member of the Women's Mental Health Collective.

#WiseGirl, Dr. Judith Herman: Psychiatrist, Author, Incest & Trauma Expert

In today's #WiseGirl video podcast, I speak with trauma expert Dr. Bessel Van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps The Score. He talks about the physiology behind what transforms trauma in the brain and body, how modalities like yoga can help transform trauma, self-awareness and curiosity about noticing what we're experiencing, how oppressive, systemic societal structures influence the degree of trauma people experience, how systems (housing, healthcare) that support greater wellbeing can help prevent trauma, and we also address who often does -- and doesn't -- have access to the kinds modalities often helpful for trauma healing. 

***
http://besselvanderkolk.net/index.html

***

​Bessel van der Kolk MD has spent his career studying how children and adults adapt to traumatic experiences, and has translated emerging findings from neuroscience and attachment research to develop and study a range of potentially effective treatments for traumatic stress in children and adults.
In 1984, he set up one of the first clinical/research centers in the US dedicated to study and treatment of traumatic stress in civilian populations, which has trained numerous researchers and clinicians specializing in the study and treatment of traumatic stress, and which has been continually funded to research the impact of traumatic stress and effective treatment interventions. He did the first studies on the effects of SSRIs on PTSD; was a member of the first neuroimaging team to investigate how trauma changes brain processes, and did the first research linking BPD and deliberate self-injury to trauma and neglect in early childhood.

Much of his research has focused on how trauma has a different impact at different stages of development, and that disruptions in care-giving systems have additional deleterious effects that need to be addressed for effective intervention. In order to promote a deeper understanding of the impact of childhood trauma and to foster the development and execution of effective treatment interventions, he initiated the process that led to the establishment of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), a Congressionally mandated initiative that now funds approximately 150 centers specializing in developing effective treatment interventions, and implementing them in a wide array of settings, from juvenile detention centers to tribal agencies, nationwide.

He has focused on studying treatments that stabilize physiology, increase executive functioning and help traumatized individuals to feel fully alert to the present. This has included an NIMH funded study on EMDR and NCCAM funded study of yoga, and, in recent years, the study of neurofeedback to investigate whether attentional and perceptual systems (and the neural tracks responsible for them) can be altered by changing EEG patterns.

​His efforts resulted in the establishment of Trauma Center that consist  of a well-trained clinical team specializing in the treatment of children and adults with histories of child maltreatment, that applies treatment models that are widely taught and implemented nationwide, a research lab that studies the effects of neurofeedback and MDMA on behavior, mood, and executive functioning, and numerous trainings nationwide to a variety of mental health professional, educators, parent groups, policy makers, and law enforcement personnel.

#WiseGirl: trauma expert Dr. Bessel van der Kolk, author of The Body Keeps the Score

Dr. Peter A. Levine, a pioneer in the field of psychology, visits the Rerooted podcast to discuss healing trauma through Somatic Experiencing.
Dr. Peter A. Levine has worked in the field of stress and trauma for over 40 years and is the developer of the Somatic Experiencing method. Peter was awarded the Lifetime Achievement award from the United States Association for Body Psychotherapy (USABP). He also received the honorary Reis Davis Chair in Child Psychiatry for his innovative contribution to therapy for children and adolescents. Learn more at traumahealing.org.

Trauma and Memory
What is the connection between trauma, stress and our memory? Peter speaks about the important differences in explicit (declarative) memory, body (procedural) memory, and emotional (limbic) memory. He and Francesca discuss the interconnection between these forms of memory and how they relate to trauma.

“A specific class of procedural memories are the memories that have to do with threat, danger, helplessness, and shutdown. These are profound global states that the nervous system and the body goes through. What happens, if we have been unsuccessful where we have been threatened and we were overwhelmed. Is that memory will become long-lasting. Sort of like how the memory of riding a bike becomes long-lasting. These memories tend to be permanent. But they are not. We have to access them. And the way to access them is through the body. Through sensation.” – Dr. Peter A. Levine

Healing Through Somatic Experiencing (12:35)
How can working with sensation relieve our deep-seated traumas? We explore the mind, body, connection that allows Somatic Experiencing to heal in an integrated way. Peter shares a practice that uses with clients to get in touch and work with the senses.

A Gateway to the Heart (24:00)
Can the journey to healing trauma become a portal to a spiritual awakening? Francesca and Peter discuss the way that traumatic experiences can get in the way of our social engagement system and cause isolation from our interconnection with the world. They look at the ways that trauma shifts us out of our natural state of calm and locks us into a detached state of fight or flight.

“To really have an authentic experience in the meditation practice, we do need to in some ways 
address the trauma that is there in the territory of consciousness.” – Dr. Peter A. Levine

https://traumahealing.org/

#ReRooted: Dr. Peter Levine of Somatic Experiencing on Trauma, Memory, Spirituality & Healing

#ReRooted on the Be Here Now Network, Dr. Diane Poole Heller

https://beherenownetwork.com/francesca-maxime-rerooted-ep-3-dr-diane-poole-heller/

video of interview: https://youtu.be/Clw7Mxk4pfc

Francesca Maximé is joined by Dr. Diane Poole Heller for a conversation around viewing trauma as a portal to spirituality and creating deep and lasting relationships.
Diane Poole Heller, Ph.D., is an established expert in the field of Adult Attachment Theory and Models, trauma resolution, and integrative healing techniques. She is a trainer, presenter, and speaker offering workshops, teleseminars and educational materials on Trauma, Attachment Models and their dynamics in childhood and adult relationships, as well as many other topics. Learn more about her practice at www.dianepooleheller.com.

Trauma as a Portal
Dr. Heller looks at the possibility of gaining wisdom and developing a spiritual connection through traumatic experiences. She and Francesca discuss ways we can integrate those experiences back into our body and grow from them.

“In these cracks and fragments between these parts of ourselves, we often have this experience of having easier spiritual access. One of the challenges is, how do we then come back into our body and integrate it in a way that is healing? How do we integrate all those continuum of experiences?” – Dr. Diane Poole Heller 

The Power of Attachment (19:25)
What can we do to develop a deeper connection and a more secure attachment in a relationship? Diane looks at methods available for regulating our relationships and mindfully connecting to another person.

Ram Dass speaks about the interconnection between spiritual awakening and our relationships on Ep. 78 of the Here and Now Podcast
When Attachment Goes Wrong (34:30)
How do we work with the negative potential of attachment? Francesca and Diane talk about what happens when attachment goes wrong and how we can move back to secure and supportive attachment.

#ReRooted: Diane Poole Heller, PhD: Trauma as a Portal to Spirituality

My latest #ReRooted podcast on Be Here Now Network is out! Diana Fosha PH.D. of AEDP Institute https://beherenownetwork.com/francesca-maxime-rerooted-ep-4-diana-fosha/

Therapist Diana Fosha visits the ReRooted Podcast for a conversation about innovative methods for healing trauma.
Diana Fosha, Ph.D., is the developer of AEDP, a healing-based, transformation-oriented model of psychotherapeutic treatment, and is the Founder and Director of the AEDP Institute. She has been on the faculties of the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology of NYU and St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Medical Centers (now Mount Sinai) in NYC, and of the doctoral programs in clinical psychology at the Derner Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies and The City University of New York. Learn more about Diana’s AEDP method at aedpinstitute.org

The Healing is Always There
Diana discusses the principals of her AEDP method of therapy and trauma recovery. She and Francesca discuss AEDP’s emphasis on the relational connection between the therapist and the client.

“I think this is something that is so fundamental to AEDP and to how I work, that the healing is there. It is about engaging it and bringing it forth. Getting it to engage with that that is broken. It is not like we are broken and, at the end, we are healed. It is like the two are side-by-side.” – Diana Fosha

Explore healing from a different perspective with Somatic Experiencing Practitioner Oren Jay Sofer on Ep. 86 of the Metta Hour Podcast
Existing in the Heart and Mind of an Other (14:30)
How can a deep relational connection low our defenses and allow us to heal from trauma? Diana shares how recognizing another for who they really are can open them to this kind of healing.

“Sometimes the small things, little details, can provoke a profound sense of, ‘Oh, I exist for you. Feeling seen and cared about in those terms is just huge – people just melt.” – Diana Fosha

No Longer Lost (40:00)
Francesca and Diana discuss the breakthroughs that occur during therapy and spiritual practice which awaken a person to a deeper understanding of themselves. They discuss the life-changing shift that is inevitable once someone realizes their potential for positive transformation.

#ReRooted: Dr. Diana Fosha, founder of AEDP -- Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy

Francesca Maximé sits down for a conversation with somatic psychologist Pat Ogden about applying mindfulness towards the ways that our bodies and minds relate to trauma.
Pat Ogden, PhD, is a pioneer in somatic psychology. Pat is both Founder and Education Director of Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute. An internationally recognized school specializing in somatic–cognitive approaches for the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder and attachment disturbances. Learn more at sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org

Getting Unstuck with Mindfulness
Pat talks about the Embedded Relational Mindfulness practice that uses with her clients. Francesca and Pat talk about how mindfulness can be used to bring awareness to our experiences.

“The way that we organize experience drives the content of our lives.” – Pat Ogden

Learn more about healing trauma through Somatic Experiencing with Dr. Peter A. Levine on Ep. 5 of the ReRooted Podcast
Standing Tall (7:15)
Francesca and her guest discuss our relationship to past trauma. How does trauma relate to the posture of the body? What is the potential for Relational Mindfulness to address trauma linked to our bodies?

Relational Alchemy (27:35)
Pat speaks about the principles that guide our lives. What is the importance of acknowledging and working with these unique principles?

“I think therapists don’t really consider the philosophical and spiritual principles that inform the context that we work in.” – Pat Ogden

What Privilege Means (41:15)
How do the issues of privilege and race factor into trauma and how we relate to experience? Pat and Francesca look at how progress in this area relates to our individual and collective journey of awakening.

#ReRooted-Dr. Pat Ogden Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, on Mindfulness, Relational Alchemy & Privilege

My latest #ReRooted podcast on Be Here Now Network with Shawn Ginwright, PhD

https://beherenownetwork.com/francesca-maxime-rerooted-ep-10-hope-and-healing-with-shawn-ginwright/

Author, professor and activist Shawn Ginwright visits Francesca Maxime on the ReRooted Podcast for a conversation about bringing hope and healing to the youth of urban America.
Shawn Ginwright is a leading national expert on African American youth, youth activism, and youth development. He is an Associate Professor of Education in the Africana Studies Department and Senior Research Associate for the Cesar Chavez Institute for Public Policy at San Francisco State University. Dr. Ginwright is the founder of Leadership Excellence Inc. an innovative youth development agency located in Oakland, California and the Research Collaborative on Youth Activism. Learn more at shawnginwright.com.

Healing Centered Engagement
Shawn speaks about his early work as an educator and sociologist working with young men raised in challenging urban environments. He shares how working with these young men inspired him to move away from the trauma-informed method of care that he was trained in. Gravitating to an approach that focuses on engaging the full individual – not just a piece of them.  Francesca and Shawn explore the importance of this paradigm shift from trauma-informed care to healing-centered engagement.

“What does it mean to provide young men with an opportunity to be fully human, even in the context of their trauma? I don’t think we should abandon trauma-informed care, it is just an incomplete process.” – Shawn Ginwright

Building Opportunities (17:40)
How do Shawn’s background and history factor into his approach as an activist? Shawn shares how the traumas and opportunities that he experienced early in life has informed the direction of his work.

Hope and Healing (24:00)
Francesca and Shawn discuss the impact that self-work and regulation have on those who hold roles as leaders, caregivers, and educators. Shawn talks about his own practice and looks at how a personal practice allows for a deeper connection between individuals fulfilling leadership roles and those that they serve.

“There is a lack of contemplative spaces and opportunities for adults who are working with young people, particularly in schools. Teachers, principals, educational leaders simply do not have the space to sit and reflect and be centered.” – Shawn Ginwright

http://www.shawnginwright.com/
https://flourishagenda.com/our-team/#our-staff

#ReRooted: Dr. Shawn Ginwright on Healing-Centered Engagement & Trauma-Informed Care

Richard Schwartz, PhD, is the founding developer of Internal Family Systems (IFS), a therapeutic model that synthesizes systems thinking and the multiplicity of the mind, suggesting alternative ways of understanding psychic functioning and healing.
Dr. Schwartz co-authored, with Michael Nichols, Family Therapy: Concepts and Methods, the most widely used family therapy text in the United States. He joins Francesca for a timely chat on how the Internal Family Systems Model is evolving to include cultural and collective trauma and legacy burdens. To keep up with Dr. Schwartz ongoing work, visit www.ifs-institute.com

Legacy Burden
We take in, often unconsciously, what are called legacy burdens, which come into us through events that happened to our ancestors, ethnic groups, or culture. The parts of us that have been demonized in our culture carry these burdens in terms of extreme beliefs and emotions which came from traumas, but the burdens are not to be confused with the parts or the true nature of these parts. That’s a big mistake that many systems have made, to assume the burden is actually the part. So, the rage isn’t a bundle of rage. It’s a part that tried to stand up to your abuser, and as a result, took on the abuser’s energy to protect you, and now carries all this rage, but that’s not the true nature of the part at all.

“How you relate to these parts will play out in terms of how you relate to people who resemble those parts. So, if you can have compassion for your rage, then when somebody is raging, you’re going to see that pain that is driving the person, and have compassion for them. If you can be with your exiles, your vulnerable hurting parts, in a loving way, then when somebody is in their exiles you can be there with them too.”

For a deep dive into identity, oppression, and restorative justice, open yourself to Ep. 28 of ReRooted
Implicit Racism & Unburdening (9:55)
Dr. Schwartz discusses how the anti-racism movement has done a lot of good in terms of raising people’s consciousness and bringing issues to the surface, but it has also taught individuals to be very ashamed of their racist parts. There’s nobody in our culture who hasn’t absorbed some racist belief system, so we all have that attached to some part of us. When you are so ashamed of that part that you wind up locking it away and pretending you don’t have it, then it becomes implicit racism, where it has an underground effect on your thoughts and actions, which makes it even more sinister because you aren’t even aware of how it is steering your ship.

“I would encourage you to go to your racist part, and get all the parts that hate it and fear it to separate to the point that you can be in Self, and be at least curious. You start to talk to that part of yourself about the racist burden it carries, where it got it, and what it’s afraid would happen if it didn’t carry this for you. At some point it decides, often spontaneously, that it doesn’t want to carry this anymore, and then you help ship it out of your system. We have a process we call ‘unburdening’ for doing that, for actually sending these burdens out of the system, at which point the part will transform…It’s my belief that it’s possible to unburden large groups of people simultaneously.”

ReRooted - IFS's Dick Schwartz: legacy burdens, racism, privilege, activism and healing the planet

Dr. Janet E. Helms joins Francesca to explore the historical roots of whiteness and systemic racism, and offer perspective on privilege and racial identity.
Francesca is joined by Dr. Janet E. Helms to explore the concept of whiteness. White is whiteness? What is white-bodied supremacy? Where did this come from in terms of the history of this country? How does it live in people’s psyches, movements, behaviors, and actions? What kind of research supports different ways of being? These questions are explored among others concerning race relations, gender, patriarchy, autonomy, and freedom.

Dr. Janet E. Helms is the Augustus Long Professor in the Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology and Director of the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture at Boston College.
Learn more about Dr. Helms:
https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/lynch-school/faculty-research/faculty-directory/janet-helms.html

https://www.bc.edu/content/bc-web/schools/lynch-school/sites/isprc.html

She is past president of the Society of Counseling Psychology. Dr. Helms is an APA Fellow in Counseling Psychology, Ethnic Diversity, and Psychology of Women. In addition, she is a member of the Association of Black Psychologists, the American Psychological Society, and the American Educational Research Association. She has written extensively about race, for laypeople as well as for clinicians. 

Whiteness, Systemic Racism, & The Constitution
Dr. Helms and Francesca share on how the concept of whiteness perpetuates racism in this society, and is rooted even in The US Constitution, which actually protects white male heterosexual privilege. Systemic racism has to do with the protection of that privilege, where all the rules, policies, and social practices are essentially designed to protect white male heterosexual privilege. This is rarely in the common vernacular because its recognition poses a threat to the people who have privilege from birth.

“Whenever we change a rule about systemic racism in this society, we threaten someone who’s white, and so I think it’s really important for us to begin to think about what is the threat, because if we can understand why white people feel threatened then we can maybe help them understand how they can change themselves in ways so that they’re not always afraid of losing something.” – Dr. Janet E. Helms

Unacknowledged Privilege (5:02)
Highlighting issues surrounding privilege, Dr. Helms shares that if you are a white person who begins to recognize that you have been treated differently because of your skin color, there becomes a recognition of some responsibility for change, both in yourself and the current societal paradigm. That might not feel so comfortable to give up some of your own privilege, some of your own safety.

“There are different privileges and each white person has to begin to ask themselves, ‘What is the privilege in my life, and how do I have to change myself in order to share privilege?” – Dr. Janet E. Helms

Dr. Helms shares that this action is not just reflecting on oneself, but also learning how to change the context in which you exist. Learning to see things from an interconnected, holistic, ecological perspective acts as good medicine.

“It’s good medicine for everyone, but I think it would be unwise of me not to warn people that people don’t always like to take their medicine. So, as one begins to awaken and try new things, one needs to be aware that other white people might not accept you because you’re challenging social norms. I think; though, that what will happen eventually is that if enough white people begin to challenge those social normals, then this challenging will become the norm, rather than the colorblindness that now seems to exist.” – Dr. Janet E. Helms

Dr. Janet Helms - Stages of Racial Identity Development - ReRooted podcast

Dr. Diane Goodman joins Francesca to talk about why it is important to distinguish our different experiences, especially among and between Black and Jewish folks.
Trainer, consultant, professor, speaker, author, and activist, Diane Goodman has been addressing issues of diversity and social justice for over 30 years. As a trainer and consultant, Diane and her associates have worked with a wide range of organizations, community groups, and educational institutions to build their capacity around diversity and social justice issues. Using a participatory approach, she helps people increase their awareness, knowledge, and skills to foster equity and inclusion. Programs address how cultural differences and issues of power and privilege affect individuals, interpersonal relationships, and organizational culture and practices. She offers practical strategies and skills to enable people to create more positive intergroup relations, and institutional and societal change.As a regular presenter at national and international conferences, Diane has offered institutes and sessions at NCORE (National Conference on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Higher Education), Teachers College Roundtable on Multicultural Psychology and Education, The White Privilege Conference, The Diversity Challenge, AAC&U (Association of American Colleges and Universities), Association of Contemplative Mind in Higher Education (ACMHE), Creating Change, NAME (National Association for Multicultural Education), ACPA, NASPA, among others. She also gives talks and keynote speeches. Diane earned a B.A. from Tufts University in Psychology and Child Development and an M.Ed. and Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst with a focus on social justice education, group and organizational development, and counseling. Her humor, openness, insight, and compassion make her sessions engaging and meaningful. Learn more about at dianegoodman.com
Not Equal
Francesca and Dr. Goodman explore the complications that arise when we equate our own trauma and suffering to others.

“There is a very real reality of anti-Semitism and that is different than the very real reality of racism and anti-blackness.” – Dr. Diane Goodman

The Privilege of a Lighter Pallete (22:55)
Dr. Goodman talks about the ways that Jews who look like her can sometimes benefit from being identified as white by others.

“I think that it is really important, and this is what I try to do when I work with white Jews – is to both recognize the reality of anti-Semitism and the reality of white privilege, and that Jews have been able to assimilate with whiteness.” – Dr. Diane Goodman

Francesca Maximé explores roots deeper than whiteness on ReRooted Ep. 14

https://dianegoodman.com/

Not Equal w/ Dr. Diane Goodman, Exploring Black-Jewish Solidarity - ReRooted Ep. 37

Dr. Bruce Perry and Francesca explore how the physiology of belonging heals the colonized traumas of cultural fragmentation and implicit bias.
Dr. Perry is the Senior Fellow of The ChildTrauma Academy a Community of Practice based in Houston, TX, and Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago. He is the author of The Boy Who Was Raised As A Dog, Born For Love: Why Empathy is Essential and Endangered, and BRIEF: Reflections on Childhood, Trauma and Society. Over the last thirty years, Dr. Perry has been an active teacher, clinician and researcher in children’s mental health and neuroscience. You can find more information at https://www.bdperry.com/ and https://www.childtrauma.org/ and https://www.neurosequential.com/

This fall, Francesca is offering a 5-week embodied antiracism online course through the Academy of Therapy Wisdom launching in October. Please sign up for 90 minutes of FREE antiracism teaching videos offered by Francesca in late September. You’re also invited to sign up for the course launching with a FREE 60 minute LIVE antiracism webinar conversation with Francesca October 14th, with the course beginning October 21st. Sign up for your free 3 embodied antiracism video teachings from Francesca at: https://therapywisdom.pages.ontraport.net/fm-courageous-heart  and learn more about Francesca’s embodied antiracism offerings at www.maximeclarity.com/resources

The Physiology of Belonging and Disconnection
Exploring his time with the Māori people, Dr. Perry elucidates the nature of our physiology in relation to belonging. A sense of belonging quiets your physiology and sparks neuroendocrine processes that make your organs more flexible, adaptive, and functional. When you don’t feel as if you belong, when you’re getting signals that you’re not seen or heard, it literally makes your physiology different, you become more distressed and increase the risk for disconnection.

“The conceptualization of disease is disconnection. It’s disconnection from community or disconnection from being out of sync with nature. All of the healing processes involve reconnecting with the rhythms of nature, reconnecting with the people that you belong with.” – Dr. Bruce Perry

Open yourself to Indigenous wisdom, learn to begin to heal cultural wounds, decolonize your mind, and transform through listening on Ep.355 of Mindrolling
Colonization, Cultural Fragmentation, Resilience, & Trauma (22:28)
When colonization and slavery destroyed and stripped away Indigenous communities, there was a powerful fragmentation of the cultural and community anchors that helped individuals feel like they belonged and kept them healthy. Dr. Perry shares that if you look at any First Nations or Indigenous community across the planet that has been colonized and has this cultural fragmentation, there are two things present: Resilience and Trauma.

“To survive literally decades and generations of intentional genocide and cultural genocide; that’s pretty resilient. The second thing is, because of this fragmentation of physiological meaningful anchors of family and culture, there are higher rates of trauma-related, or stress related, health-issues.” – Dr. Bruce Perry

Dr. Bruce Perry, MD, PhD: The Physiology of Belonging. ReRooted podcast Ep. 38  w/ Francesca Maximé

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/81795?sov_referrer=theme&theme_id=5133&effective_date=2020-08-28

https://www.moma.org/calendar/galleries/5133?

Constantin Brâncuși
Fish
Paris 1930
On view
MoMA, Floor 5, 500
This sculpture is the last of the seven Fish Brancusi created, and the largest. It attests to the artist's deep interest in movement; not only does its heavy body, made of flecked blue-gray marble, evoke aquatic motion, it rests on a pivot that once allowed the work to spin. Even when still, the work changes as one moves around it. Broad and horizontal, the marble transforms into an attenuated sliver from particular points of view.

Brancusi MOMA walkthrough - museum meditation

https://www.moma.org/calendar/galleries/5133?installation_image_index=1

Constantin Brâncuși
Fish
Paris 1930
On view
MoMA, Floor 5, 500
This sculpture is the last of the seven Fish Brancusi created, and the largest. It attests to the artist's deep interest in movement; not only does its heavy body, made of flecked blue-gray marble, evoke aquatic motion, it rests on a pivot that once allowed the work to spin. Even when still, the work changes as one moves around it. Broad and horizontal, the marble transforms into an attenuated sliver from particular points of view.

Brancusi MOMA walkthrough - at home/office meditation

On today's episode, I talk with Francesca Maxime', an IFS informed powerhouse!

Her passion is contagious and my hope is that you will take one of the MANY resources and challenges she gives to 'accept your assignment' while giving ALL of your parts (including your racist parts) compassion and care.

One of my favorite quotes: "We are all breathing carbon monoxide which is racism and think we are breathing oxygen... it does sicken over time."

Check out her website here: https://www.maximeclarity.com/

Check out her podcast here: https://beherenownetwork.com/category/francesca-maxime/

Check out her upcoming talk on Active Mourning:

Active Mourning: Transforming Grief, Loss, Longing, and Resentment | InsightLA Meditation

To register for the Heirloom Summit on Feb 24-26 and get a special discount as a listener of the podcast:

http://bit.ly/theoneinside

I'd love to connect with you at ifstammy on Instagram and Twitter and on The One Inside Facebook page.

Enjoy!

Tammy Sollenberger - Embodied Antiracism and Internal Family Systems

Please come along! As of April 2019, #WiseGirl has rebranded as #ReRooted and can now be found with new podcasts posted every other Friday on Ram Dass's Be Here Now Network at:  https://beherenownetwork.com/category/francesca-maxime/
and on my website https://www.maximeclarity.com/podcast

My podcast still sits at the intersection of mindfulness, psychology, neuroscience, the creative arts and social justice.  ReRooted: Unearthing Our Natural Radiance, And Remembering The Roots We Share

Welcome to the ReRooted Podcast with Francesca Maximé, trauma-sensitive mindfulness meditation teacher and poet. Together we’ll take a closer look at approaches to transforming trauma with insights from psychology, neuroscience, spirituality, social justice and the creative arts. Join Francesca and her guests for an exploration of our shared connection and how we can cultivate greater compassion for ourselves and for others.
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#WiseGirl is where we invite you to discover your own inner wise girl or wise guy -- the wisdom within that has always been there, deep inside. The show aims to help us connect to our wisest self, to help guide us through our interconnected lives, with respect and compassion. WiseGirl aims to help us understand why we do what we do, and how we can relate to things differently so we can shift into a new way of being: to go from surviving to thriving.

About me: Brooklyn-based TV personality, certified  mindfulness meditation teacher, and wellbeing and life coach: Creating Space for Wellbeing & Mindful Brooklyn.  Journalist, poet/author/writer. Haitian-Dominican Italian-American. Harvard. Cats. Tennis. Yoga. Gratitude. Love.

Francesca Maximé: #ReRooted on BHNN & #WiseGirl

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