Orland Bishop
Spiritual Biography
In this remarkable series of four interconnected conversations, we trace Bishop’s spiritual biography from his childhood in Guyana to his teen years in Brooklyn, his college years in California, and the subsequent conscious emergence of his shamanic journey. These conversations with Michael Lerner took place in the presence of a small group of friends at The New School at Commonweal.

Orland Bishop combines an extensive study of medicine, naturopathy, psychology and indigenous cosmologies with a deep dedication to human rights advocacy and cultural renewal. He was a research fellow at the Center for the Study of Violence at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science in Los Angeles and has consulted for many human development organizations in the United States and internationally.

Orland is co-founder and Executive Director of ShadeTree Multicultural Foundation in Los Angeles, California, a unique organization devoted to the mentoring of young people and the creation of communities to support them. Through ShadeTree, Orland has pioneered approaches to urban truces and working with at-risk youth that combine indigenous wisdom and practices with contemporary methodologies designed to mentor the human potential and create intentional communities. He has developed processes that support people to come into deeper inner and collective agreements in order to heal violence and social exclusion. Orland is currently focusing on understanding the deeper meaning money as a pathway to designing new economic forms that support healthy community life.

Orland Bishop
Orland Bishop is the founder and director of ShadeTree Multicultural Foundation in Los Angeles, where he has pioneered approaches to urban truces and mentors at-risk youth that combine new ideas with traditional ways of knowledge. ShadeTree serves as an intentional community of mentors, elders, teachers, artists, healers, and advocates for the healthy development of children and youth. Orland’s work in healing and human development is framed by an extensive study of medicine, naturopathy, psychology and indigenous cosmologies, primarily those of South and West Africa.

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New School Conversations

2011.08.17:  Orland Bishop - Spiritual Biography Part 1

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In my music, I improvise with guitar, piano, voice and atmospheric sounds around me, leaving my productions usually raw and in form of sketches waiting to be explored and open to continuation. My songs often resemble sonic meditations and work best with headphones / good speakers, a cup of coffee or tea and sitting or walking amongst trees or along a wide shore in a contemplative mood. 

Beyond music, I interrogate the poetic life through various artistic mediums and by creating atmospheres, experiences and creative adventures with artists from across disciplines and geographies. 
I'm currently working on a film exploring our relationship to aging, death, beauty and the power of presence with my mother who is on a journey with dementia. 
Having lived and worked on five continents, I am now back in Berlin as my main base. 

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