Spiritual Grit

“If you’re a mess, how can you help others? In what way can you help others at all?”- Ira Sukrungruang For this week’s podcast episode, I talk with Ira Sukrungruang, poet, writer, and creative writing professor at Kenyon College *and* a former Buddhist monk. We talk about “striving for nirvana first” before we can help others get to enlightenment. It’s another way of saying “put your own mask on before assisting others.” This striving includes self-examination, looking at how our language was formed and informed, at how we express ourselves, at how we respond (or react) to external events. Some of the things that came up in our conversation: race relations: the rise in awareness around racism and white supremacy but in particular, the relationship between Black and AAPI  communities cultivating of the skill of deeper listening self-awareness - why we need it and what to do with it once we have it being fully present in your body, something we take for granted communication: where language is formed and how it plays a role beyond just talking to each other. and of course, writing! All the things about writing! Ira is the author of four nonfiction books, including the forthcoming memoir, This Jade World; the short story collection The Melting Season; and the poetry collection In Thailand It Is Night. He is the recipient of many awards, including the 2015 American Book Award and the New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Nonfiction Literature. He is one of the founding editors of Sweet: A Literary Confection (sweetlit.com), and is a creative writing professor at Kenyon College. * Introducing the Witchy Writers collective! In this membership, you'll not only be part of an amazing community of women of color, but you'll also get weekly tarot-inspired writing prompts to help jump-start the creative juices or get you out of any stuck-ness in your writing. AND you'll get to participate in monthly new moon sacred circles and receive guidance in monthly group coaching calls. Become a member now! Follow me on Instagram for Maverick Mondays, Free Verse Fridays, and some real talk about healing AND play: @leslieannhobayan Today’s poems/ Books mentioned: “Forgive the Dream” by Hafiz “A Small Needful Fact” by Ross Gay Membership(s) Mentioned: Witchy Writers: https://suryagian.com/witchy-writers

“Loosen up and just not have answers sometimes to feel through things.”- Su Hwang I’m so excited! Today I have a very special guest, Su Hwang! Su Hwang is a poet, activist, stargazer, and the author of Bodega (Milkweed Editions), which received the 2020 Minnesota Book Award in poetry and was named a finalist for the 2021 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. She is a teaching artist with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop AND recently completed her first year studying Hellenistic astrology! This is a great conversation about poetry, the cosmos, astrology, and how they can come together! Here are some highlights of what we have covered in this latest podcast episode: -Struggles with the idea of spirituality versus religion -How Su started to have an interest in astrology -The process of getting to know herself better during this pandemic -both of us sharing our journeys on how we ended up where we are now -how this past year has affected and influenced her writing and writing process ...and a lot more! Make sure to head on to your favorite podcasting app and listen to the full episode!  Introducing the Witchy Writers collective! In this membership, you'll not only be part of an amazing community of women of color, but you'll also get weekly tarot-inspired writing prompts to help jump-start the creative juices or get you out of any stuckiness in your writing. AND you'll get to participate in monthly new moon sacred circles and receive guidance in monthly group coaching calls. Be a member now! Follow me on Instagram for Maverick Mondays, Free Verse Fridays, and some real talk about healing AND play: @leslieannhobayan Today’s poems/ Books mentioned: “Dividing God” by Hafiz “Graveyard Shift” by Su Hwang Membership(s) Mentioned: Witchy Writers: https://suryagian.com/witchy-writers About the guest: Su Hwang is a poet, activist, stargazer, and the author of Bodega (Milkweed Editions), which received the 2020 Minnesota Book Award in poetry and was named a finalist for the 2021 Kate Tufts Discovery Award. Born in Seoul, Korea, she was raised in New York then called the Bay Area home before transplanting to the Midwest. She is a teaching artist with the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop and is the cofounder, with poet Sun Yung Shin, of Poetry Asylum. Su currently lives in Minneapolis.

We interrupt our usual programming to bring you a special episode I just recorded late last night. With the escalating violence in Palestine, I felt the urgency to speak about it. All day, I had felt heavy, like an anchor, and couldn’t figure out why. Then, it hit me. I could sense the grief and pain -- it’s so palpable. In this episode, I reiterate that spirituality and activism are NOT mutually exclusive. They go hand-in-hand. I also call on folks to take a stand, to take inspired action to end the violence. We need to focus on peoplecare --truly caring for each other, even if we disagree (or not even like each other!). What might a world like that look like? A world where we could practice genuine peoplecare? Call your Congresspeople and tell them to stop Biden’s $735 million arms deal with Israel. We refuse to be an accomplice to the genocide of Palestinian peoples. And that money can be used to fix our healthcare system and help solve so many more of our own problems. Doing nothing makes you complicit in the violence. Resources to help free Palestine: https://savepalestine.carrd.co #freepalestine #takeaction #activism #inspiredactivism #stopgenocide #aapiinsolidarity #speakup #dosomething #spiritualityandactivism #peoplecare #permaculture #suryagian #leslieannhobayan

In this episode, I talked about Being vs Doing. // It's hard to stay vigilant about BEING versus DOING because DOING is very much part of the machine that we are in. // Society puts expectations on us to keep DOING in order to feel like we’re contributing, that we’re doing our part of participate as a member of this construct. With awareness, we can pay attention to the decisions we make on autopilot, decisions we make to please others. What might happen if we were more intention with our decisions? If we were more intentional with our BEING? // I also talked about how challenging it is for us spirits-souls to have human experiences if we're not even aware of the patterns we have and the constructs we line in, so we end up living challenging lives (or boring ones!) until we start to wake up. // Creating awareness to tune in to discern between your inner voice and your Ego takes a lot of practice. // Where is your story coming from? Who gave you this story? Is this the story that you believe? Is this true for you? From these questions, you will start to notice the underpinnings of how you act and how you behave. // Tapping into you intuition takes practice. Why do this? You can use it as a way to make decisions that serve your highest good. // My program, Heal to Power, helps you, a woman of color, move from exhaustion, insecurity, and emotional hangover to empowered writer with kick-ass resilience. Over the span of 8 weeks, you’ll learn how to release fear and anger, loosen up blocks, and begin to heal your traumas so that your creativity can flow freely! Get on the waitlist to be the first notified when registration doors open NEXT WEEK!// Follow me on Instagram for Maverick Mondays, Free Verse Fridays, and some real talk about healing AND play: @leslieannhobayan// Today’s poems/ Books mentioned: “The Same Suntan” by Hafiz “Migratory Daughter” by Kenji C. Lu Course(s) Mentioned: Heal to Power: https://suryagian.com/heal-to-power-waitlist

“I have to be realistic in the way things are presented and how things are going to be seen” - Rahnee Haskins In this special episode of Vinyasa in Verse, I have the amazing Rahnee Haskins. He began practicing yoga in 2015 after a work injury that did not allow him to participate in his favorite physical hobbies such as running, hiking, and biking.  Before practicing yoga, Rahnee practiced meditation and mindfulness using this to balance work life, home, and graduate school. Rahnee is a humble gentle giant with a big heart.  When in his presence, he makes you feel calm and safe. He is a true humanitarian helping and showing compassion to those in need when he can because he loves all beings big, small, and in between. In this episode, he made a distinction between different identities or roles that he might play within the community, family, neighborhood, etc. This brought up a discussion about identity. // He said that all the hats he wears are part of his whole being - the interconnectedness of being a father, a husband, a counselor, and even as a yoga teacher. // He also talked about what it was like growing up, not really aware of being “different” as a Black man. Using the example of a recent job search, he talked about what it means to be Black and how to navigate the world in this way. // We also discussed how yoga as a whole way of BEing (not just the asana practice) has helped both of us as people of color living in a racist society. // You can find Rahnee teaching yoga at Onyx Yoga Studio in Warren, NJ, and online! Check out the link below. // Follow me on Instagram for Maverick Mondays, Free Verse Fridays, and some real talk about healing AND play: @leslieannhobayan// Today’s poems/ Books mentioned: “Imagination does not exist” by Hafiz “There are things I can't force. I must adjust. There are times when the greatest change needed is a change of my viewpoint.” - Denis Diderot Links Mentioned: Rahnee Haskins Website: https://www.mindbodyonline.com/explore/fitness/instructors/rahnee-haskins

Another Asian elder has been attacked in NYC. In this episode, I talk a little bit about the invisible systems in place that uphold white supremacy with regard to this latest attack on the AAPI community. I also invite folks to take a look at our relationship with our elders, the respect and reverence that is missing. // There are a lot of ways to take action to fight racism and other social issues: protests, running for an office in your local town council, signing petitions, and sending donations to non-profit organizations to name a few. But, ALSO are there steps that we can take that are less visible, steps that feel safer for some? Yes, here’s one option: to focus on yourself. // Work on who you are and who you are being. It is important to take care of yourself; inner work can heal your trauma. You can learn to recognize your behavior patterns, acknowledge your habits that are harmful, and revise them so that you can live the life you desire.//  How can one live your best life despite the not-so-happy happenings around us? Each of us is put on this earth individually to follow a certain calling - your Dharma. What is your Dharma? What is your duty? What is your life's purpose? // Everyone has a very specific life’s purpose. Some may have more visible callings that might change the world. Others’ purposes can be simple and small, affecting those in their families or immediate communities. It doesn’t matter. It all counts. // Join me on Tuesday, May 4th, 7-9 pm ET for Write to Heal, a workshop for women of color, where we use the magic of stories to begin healing. It’s a space for you to just BE. To be seen and to be heard. Register at https://suryagian.com/write-to-heal  // Follow me on Instagram for Maverick Mondays, Free Verse Fridays, and some real talk about healing AND play: @leslieannhobayan// Today’s poems/ Books mentioned: “The Hatcheck Girl” by Hafiz “Ghazal For The Lost” by Faisal Mohyuddin Courses Mentioned: Heal to Power: https://www.suryagian.com/heal-to-power-waitlist

How are you going to be intentional in your life? // Everyone is meant to be their whole selves. Most of the time, we shift and adjust ourselves to be a version that we think is going to be accepted and to be loved so we can feel like we belong. This is where less obvious trauma sets in. How to address these traumas? Build resilience. // All bodies are different. All souls are different. Every action we take is going to look different from what another does. But if we follow our heart and our life’s purpose, the results will be the same: one of love and belongingness. // Most of our beingness is in our subconscious. Awareness can bring forward those subconscious thoughts to the conscious mind. From here, we can make better choices. // When we are inspired, we can act from a place of empowerment. We feel confident. // It’s important for us to follow our own individual callings so that we can create a beautiful orchestra of life… or a kickass gymnastics team! // Mimicry into mastery: it’s okay to mimic the people who inspire us. Often, they are a mirror of who we already are and what we already have within us. We can use them as a model to follow until we master what it is that we're meant to do. // Our heart is a compass through the life that we're living. // Join me on Tuesday, May 4th 7-9pm ET for Write to Heal, a healing space for women of color, a space for you to just BE. To feel cared for, to be held. To be seen and to be heard. Register at https://suryagian.com/write-to-power // Follow me on Instagram for Maverick Mondays, Free Verse Fridays, and some real talk about healing AND play: @leslieannhobayan// Today’s poems/ Books mentioned: “A Great Need” by Hafiz “Disbelief” by W. Todd Kaneko Programs Mentioned: Heal to Power: https://www.suryagian.com/heal-to-power-waitlist

In this special “Best of” series of Vinyasa in Verse, I’m highlighting some episodes that recap a crazy year full of shifts, growth and healing. In this one, I talk about healing as a journey. It doesn’t happen overnight -- it’s a continuous evolution. This is only a starting point // If we can build resilience around trauma in ways that help us stop being overwhelmed by past experiences, we can find joy in healing. // We need to recognize the patterns in our behaviors to create awareness and space, which will support our whole healing journey. // Be kind to yourself as you work towards wholeness and towards gathering the pieces of yourself. Want to learn more about healing your trauma? Visit https://suryagian.com for more insight on healing, offerings to learn how to heal (from in-depth courses to 40-day meditation classes), and invitations to practice.  Heal to Power is a program designed for women writers of color to help them heal their traumas --known and unknown-- and step into their power. Get on the waitlist for when doors open again in May! https://suryagian.com/heal-to-power-waitlist // Follow me on Instagram for Maverick Mondays, Free Verse Fridays, and some real talk about healing AND play: @leslieannhobayan Today's poems: “The prettiest mule” by Hafez "The Last Time Marvin Gaye Was Heard in the Sudan" by Safia Elhillo from the book The January Children

What we experience in this human body is designed to help us evolve, to help us move our souls into growth and to help us get closer to that divine existence. // How do you connect your day-to-day life to what’s happening in your culture, your society or your life? // With the recent media coverage on violence against Asian American Pacific Islander bodies, how does this true-to-life violence relate to spiritual practices? How does our own healing help the community? // What we do affects the people around us. Who we are BE-ing has a ripple effect on the world. Consider those folks you see as role models. They inspire you. Do they know what kind of effect they have on you? Some might, but many don’t. They are simply BEing themselves. // We don't always know how we affect people. And sometimes, we don't have any idea how we are affected by them. // As you continue to do your own personal healing work, the ripple effect will show up as people who are ready to learn from you as well as teachers who are there to guide you to the next level, to guide you into deeper healing. // Everyone has their own individual way of responding to challenges, adversities, violence. We must honor that. // With more awareness, change can be possible. // We can't change people's minds. Each individual has to change their own mind. But what we can do is create awareness. With awareness, a person can then decide what to do with that information. // Heal to Power is a program designed for women writers of color to help them heal their traumas --known and unknown-- and step into their power. Get on the waitlist for when doors open again in May! https://suryagian.com/heal-to-power-waitlist // Follow me on Instagram for Maverick Mondays, Free Verse Fridays, and some real talk about healing AND play: @leslieannhobayan Today’s poems/ Books mentioned: “The Quintessence of Loneliness” by Hafiz “To My Many Mothers, Issei and Nisei” by Mia Ayumi Malhotra

In this episode, I talk with Filipina writer, comic maker, and fellow parent, Isabel Garcia-Gonzales. A week after the Atlanta shootings, we sit down to share how we’ve been processing and responding to these killings and how we’ve been talking with our children about it. We noticed that people in the AAPI community had different responses to what was happening - some were outspoken and some were silent. // We sometimes take our own personal experiences for granted, thinking that people like us already know what we know. // By sharing our experiences, someone out there will feel normal and less alone. This was made apparent by a young person speaking at a gathering in Isabel’s community. Connections are what make us stronger. // Heal to Power is a program designed for women writers of color to help them heal their traumas --known and unknown-- and step into their power. Get on the waitlist for when doors open again in May! https://suryagian.com/heal-to-power-waitlist // Follow me on Instagram for Maverick Mondays, Free Verse Fridays, and some real talk about healing AND play: @leslieannhobayan Today’s poems/ Books mentioned: “Why Aren’t We Screaming Drunks” by Hafiz Untitled - Amihan Gonzales