What is a Good Life? #113 - Attentiveness: The Key To Living Fully with Minna Salami

Mar 11, 2025

In this engaging discussion, Minna Salami, an author and social critic, dives into the transformative power of attentiveness, emphasizing how it shapes our understanding of a fulfilling life. She shares insights from her childhood and mystical experiences, advocating for a deeper engagement with existence. Minna also explores the intersection of spirituality and feminism, highlighting how personal growth emerges from confronting societal challenges. The conversation invites listeners to embrace their true selves and navigate the complexities of identity, empowerment, and integrity.

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ANECDOTE

Childhood Meditation and Past Life Experience

As a child, Minna Salami played a game of trying to have no thoughts, a form of meditation.
During this, she had what felt like a past-life experience, sparking her curiosity about the brain.

INSIGHT

Spontaneous Mystical Experiences

Mark McCartney notes the significance of spontaneous mystical experiences in childhood.
He finds it fascinating how these can occur without preconceived notions, like Minna Salami's past-life memory.

ANECDOTE

Near-Death Experiences and Resilience

Minna Salami shares several near-death experiences, including a kidnapping and accidental amphetamine ingestion.
She discusses negotiating with her kidnapper at six years old, showcasing an unexpected adult-like response.

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On the 113th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Minna Salami. Minna is an author and social critic, and currently senior fellow and research chair at The New Institute. She is the author of Sensuous Knowledge and Can Feminism Be African?, and her work appears in the Guardian, Project Syndicate, Al Jazeera, and other outlets.

In this incredibly captivating conversation, Minna shares her sense of living an extraordinary life, emphasising the importance of attentiveness and curiosity. We explore childhood and mystical experiences and their impact on her understanding of life.

This conversation is an invitation to notice, to really pay attention to life, and to live your own full expression of life.

For more of Minna's work, check out the following:
Newsletter: https://msafropolitan.com/
The New Institute: https://thenew.institute/en/people/minna-salami
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/minnasalami_/?hl=en

Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life if you'd like to explore your own lines of self-inquiry through 1-on-1 coaching, take part in my 5-week Silent Conversation group courses, discuss experiences I create to stimulate greater trust, communication, and connection, amongst your leadership teams, or you simply want to get in touch.

- For the What is a Good Life? podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos
- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/
- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
- Exploring this question for yourself: https://www.whatisagood.life/p/your-personal-interview
- The Silent Conversations: https://www.whatisagood.life/p/the-silent-conversations

00:00 Introduction

01:25 Living An Extraordinary Life

04:21 Attentiveness and Curiosity

07:32 Childhood Reflections and Early Experiences

10:22 The Nature of Mystical Experiences

13:21 Appreciating Life's Continuity

19:15 Reflections on near-death experiences

26:00 A Groundedness of Being

29:10 The Range of Human Experience

32:10 The Intersection of Spiritual and Political Journeys

37:43 Navigating Obstacles: The Tension of Growth

41:10 Embracing Paradox: Grace and Anger

48:55 Spirituality and Feminism: A Symbiotic Relationship

58:10 What is a Good Life for Minna?