Soul Salon with Ayandastood

This is for anyone who is struggling to stay consistent with their creative project or goals in life. I am with you! And so are  the sunsets, the fruit trees, the weather, the harvest, the ocean waves. You are made to believe you are separate from and “above” nature. But we are all nature. A peach tree does not produce a peach every Monday on demand. So if you’re struggling to do the same, this is for you <3  ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Sending all my love to you today, sunshine.  Key quote from episode:  “Nothing in nature is perfectly consistent, and you are nature, so why would you be?” Time stamps: (01:12): The colonial imagination (06:38): You are cosmically aligned (11:58): Digital platforms & the mechanization of self (16:46): Examples in nature of inconsistency (33:43): In what way are you fluctuating? (41:33): Cosmic timing for our creations Sources mentioned:  Meditation series: 21 Days of Abundance by Deepak Chopra Book: The Creative ACT: A way of Being by Rick Rubin Novel: ⁠Under the Udala Trees⁠ by Chinelo Okparanta  Join the community: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here! Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood on IG

Today we unpack the prevalent myth of inclusive beauty. This episode is part of my Beauty Bites *insert chews* series, where we think against the Beauty hierarchy. I give 7 reasons why Inclusive Beauty is a myth, including: the way it functions is selectively inclusive which is not genuine inclusion, it leaves the underlying power structure of Eurocentricism untouched, and ultimately it's a profit strategy for corporations run by white western men to make more money! Sending all my love to you today, sunshine.  ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Key quote from episode:  “Inclusive Beauty does nothing to challenge the underlying power structure of the Beauty hierarchy”  Time stamps (00:00): Intro (03:49): Selective inclusion = exclusion (09:45): Underlying power structure remains (13:24): Barbie as an example (16:02): Erasure of personhood (18:35): The broader power structures surrounding inclusive beauty (19:17): A profit strategy (20:15): Optimization is not inclusion (22:30): Beauty is fundamentally exclusive (24:14): Closing Sources mentioned:  Book: Thick: And Other Essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom IG: @bysahra on the Black best friend trope Article: Racial hierarchy Essay: Beauty standards are killing my people by "Rachel" Chart: Statista Beauty Brand Values by age group, 2021 Join the community: ayandastood.substack.com is my newsletter and where I share community events Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood on IG

Today I expand on a recent TikTok I created about overcoming creative resistance. The idea of resistance is based on Steven Pressfield's book The War of Art. If you are an insecure creative like me — terrified of bringing your ideas to life because of self-doubt, perfectionism, avoidance, anxiety, how can you overcome your creative resistance? By leaning on forces much greater than you, such as spirituality, serving the collective, and becoming a student of nature. ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube (@ayandastood). Key quote from episode:  “We can serve the collective through viewing our art as an offering in mutual service of the other. An offering does not have to be perfect. It just needs to Be.”  Time stamps (00:00): My experience with creative resistance (05:35): Resistance (Steven Pressfield) vs Inspiration (11:24): Inspiration > Resistance  (14:10): 3 forces bigger than you (14:20): Spirituality (25:54): The Collective (37:20): Nature (42:10): Summary & Closing  Sources mentioned:  Book: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield (https://stevenpressfield.com/books/the-war-of-art/)  Podcast: Steven Pressfield: Unlock Your Creative Genius on Oprah’s Super Soul podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/steven-pressfield-unlock-your-creative-genius/id1264843400?i=1000427290930)  Book: All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks (https://bookshop.org/p/books/all-about-love-new-visions-bell-hooks/8888106?ean=9780060959470)  Book: The Creative ACT: A way of Being by Rick Rubin (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-creative-act-a-way-of-being-rick-rubin/18543579?ean=9780593652886) Book: The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-artist-s-way-30th-anniversary-edition-julia-cameron/6665657?ean=9780143129257)  Book: Communion: The Female Search for Love by bell hooks (https://bookshop.org/p/books/communion-the-female-search-for-love-bell-hooks/8881836?ean=9780060938291)  YouTube: Shonda Rhimes on MSNBC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKEtjy-K7r8)   Book: The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben (https://bookshop.org/p/books/retaliation/18887828?ean=9781771642484)  Creative Quest by Questlove (https://bookshop.org/p/books/creative-quest-questlove/7326388?ean=9780062670571)  Join the community: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here! Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood on IG.

Today we are redefining and reimagining the Erotic. What is it, why is it so powerful, and how can we bring more of it into our lives? We will hear clips from Audre Lorde’s seminal essay, The Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power, as well as words of wisdom from adrienne maree brown, and Esther Perel. I hope this makes you feel enlivened, and invites more Erotic experiences into your life. I dream of a society rooted in aliveness instead of death, especially of the most marginalized. Let's dream together. ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. 🎥: Watch the VIDEO  of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Key quote from episode:  “What makes you feel alive? Keep a note on your phone of moments, experiences, people, that enliven you" Time stamps: (00:00): Intro to The Erotic (07:09): Intro to Audre Lorde  (13:33): Esther Perel on the Erotic  (17:17): What makes you feel alive?  (19:10): Public parks as Erotic spaces  (22:11): adrienne maree brown on Audre Lorde’s Uses of the Erotic (22:55): Love & The Erotic ft. bell hooks (33:66): Audre Lorde on how the Erotic functions in her life  (36:30): Closing Sources mentioned:  Essay: Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power by Audre Lorde Essay reading: Audre Lorde reads Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic As Power Website: Adrienne maree brown Book: Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown Book: Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown Book: All About Love by bell hooks YouTube: What is Erotic Intelligence? (Mindvalley Talks) by Esther Perel TED Talk: Rethinking infidelity by Esther Perel Discussion: Reimagining Desire post on my Substack Essays on porn by adrienne maree brown: Liberating Desire & The Pleasure Dome TikTok: Follow Misako Envela @MisakoEnvela on YouTube and @misako_envela on TikTok Join the community: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here! Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood on IG. Next Showing Up Together Event: August 6, 10am-1pm EST | RSVP here

Welcome to a new series within my podcast called Beauty Bites *insert chews*. This is an ode to and a home for the very many thoughts I have on Beauty politics and breaking the colonial Beauty paradigm. In today’s episode we discuss an idea I learned from Jessica DeFino’s Substack, The Unpublishable. It is the idea that the beauty we are sold (industrialized beauty) is not the beauty we actually yearn for or need as human beings on earth (spiritual beauty). I wanted to discuss Jessica’s powerful idea further on the pod, so here it goes.  Sending all my love to you today, sunshine.  ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. Key quote from episode:  “Nothing that makes a person hate themselves should be allowed to be called Beauty”  Time stamps (00:00): Intro to Beauty Bites *insert chews*  (05:35): Intro to The Unpublishable Substack (09:47): The cultural importance of spiritual beauty (11:24): Ask ChatGPT: Beauty industry and religious language (16:56): Reclaiming Beauty (22:44): Democratizing the access to spiritual beauty (29:00): Closing Sources mentioned:  The Unpublishable by Jessica DeFino Essay: Beauty, Appearance, Attraction, & Power The Ugliness of Beauty episode by me (Apple & Spotify)  Moving Towards Ugliness Ft. Mia Mingus episode by me (Apple & Spotify)  Join the community: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here! Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood on IG.

If you're like me you have a bunch of scary projects or tasks or responsibilities or texts you are currently AVOIDING. you keep telling yourself to "just face them". but hard things are not meant to be faced alone! in this episode I discuss a community event called Showing up together⁠ on Sunday Jul 23 at 11am-2pm EST. if you can't make it or are listening to this after this date, no worries, this is hopefully just the beginning! This event is: A working session to face anything you’ve been avoiding (personal, creative, career) The goal is to actively face the thing on a Zoom call tg, rather than just talk about it :) Come whenever and stay for however long! I’ll be there :)  Stay tuned on my Substack for the next one! Key quote from the episode: “It’s called Showing Up Together — because why would we show up alone?”  ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. Time stamps: (00:00) Introducing this event  (02:09) Creative resistance poll results  (04:20) Building the world we want (06:26) What I’m avoiding currently (08:54) Urgency and white supremacy  (10:11) Collectively facing avoidance (12:16) Closing Sources mentioned:  Essay: Cosmic Anarchy Substack by Dr. Ayesha Khan Specific essay mentioned: “Heavy, difficult emotions are important to face & only overwhelming when carried alone”  Book: Viral Justice by Ruha Benjamin Book: Freedom is a constant struggle by Angela Davis Book: Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown  Book: Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey  Essay: Cornel West on Existential hope Clip: Tricia Hersey: Rest & Collective Care as Tools for Liberation by Sounds True Article: Bodymind by Stimpunks Foundation Creator: Follow 5hahem on TikTok. Support them via their LinkTree here The Highest Self Podcast by Sahara Rose  Join the community: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here! Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood on IG.

This one is for my fellow creatives facing self-doubt, insecurity, resistance, fear, anxiety. If you know you want to start, complete, or share your creative project — this episode (and the last one) is for you! I recommend listening to Part 1 first but also you can dive in right here. Sending love!  ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. Key quote: “Things shift for you as a creator when you focus on serving the collective.”  Time stamps: (00:00) Intro (03:00) Focus on one person (10:20) Don’t identify with the outcome (16:56) Paint the world with your consciousness (22:53) Why not you? (31:14) It’s just a video! (35:42) Closing  Sources and clips included: Essay: The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action by Audre Lorde Book: The Creative ACT: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin Clip: Follow Simplifying Sam on TikTok and link to her video here Clip: My video on Beauty as alienation from the self  Clip: ABTalks with Jay Shetty interview by Anas Bukhash Join the community: Subscribe to my newsletter at ayandastood.substack.com Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood on IG. JOIN FREE EVENT: Showing up together on Sunday Jul 23   Working session to face something you’ve been avoiding Anything! Adulting is hard! Creating is hard! Let's do it together <3 Come whenever and stay for however long! I’ll be there Stay tuned on my Substack for the next one!

If you are experiencing creative fear, resistance, or anxiety, this is for you. We are on the same journey, because I face this daily as an insecure creative myself. In this episode I read an essay I wrote for my Substack on the wisdom I rely on to overcome or move through creative fear and resistance: to create content on TikTok, to write on Substack, and to create episodes for you right here. Plus I have other projects I dream of. I know my worth is not in completing any of these things. But I also know that I don't want to be guided by my fear and anxiety, but by my wildest dreams and my desire to serve the collective. I want my deepest and fullest consciousness to guide me, in service of you and others like you, while I am still here on earth. Disclaimer: This is not about self-improvement but rather about honoring our creativity and our aliveness. How do we create art in a way that is not rooted in hustle or productivity culture? For me, spirituality - grounding myself in serving the collective and sharing my fullest consciousness as a member of the universe who will one day die - is the answer. To be my fullest expression while I still can, I know I need to be overcoming my fears to share my voice and my art. That is my truth, as inconvenient as it often is for me. It's a calling that many of us feel. If you feel it but sometimes struggle to honor your calling(s), this episode (and many more to come) is for you. ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. Book mentioned: The Creative Act: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin. His YouTube interviews are inspiring too, like this one with Jay Shetty. (00:00): Why we are all creative (06:03): The world needs your voice, just as it is (10:05): Disclaimer: Self- and Collective-honoring NOT Self-improvement (15:00): Perfectionism is self-repression (20:00): Creativity is subversive (22:43): How self-silencing goes against nature (25:09): Self-doubt connects you to all other creatives Join the community: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here! Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood_ on IG.

Why did I change the name of the podcast from "Reimagining" to "Paradigm Shifts"? Let's talk about it! An episode where I basically profess my love to paradigm shifts, why I'm ok with the fact that the podcast name is not unique to me, and how paradigm shifts are connected to pleasure. Key quote: "Paradigm shifts are embodied experiences of learning. They make us GASP, pause, stop walking, scream, open our eyes a wide... they feel magical and profound, both personal and communal." ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. Time stamps: (00:00): Why I changed the podcast name (03:28): What is a paradigm shift? (07:51): Other podcasts have the same name (10:20): Celebrating Shared Consciousness (11:40): Why I love paradigm shifts so much + Embodiment (14:39): Paradigm shifts, pleasure, and the Erotic (25:19): The intimacy of being Known (27:00): Wrap Up Sources and clips included: The Laura Flanders Show: adrienne maree brown: pleasure activism Book: Pleasure Activism by adrienne maree brown (follow amb on IG here!) Essay: Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power by Audre Lorde Join the community: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here it's lots of fun! Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood_ on IG.

in this episode, I read an essay I refer to often in this podcast, Audre Lorde’s “On the Transformation of Silence into Language and Action”. This episode was initially meant to be my original “return” to the podcast. I ended up cutting some of my reflection down to let the essay stand on its own, but my reflections on it will continue to be peppered throughout the podcast.  ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. Key quote from the essay: “What are the words you do not yet have? What do you need to say?” — Audre Lorde.  Time stamps: (00:00): Intro and Welcome back  (02:28): Audre Lorde bio. Read more here (04:11): Essay reading (16:50): Brief reflections Sources and clips included: Essay: ⁠On the transformation of silence into language and action⁠ by Audre Lorde Read Audre Lorde's Bio Book: ⁠Selected Works of Audre Lorde⁠, edited by Roxane Gay Clip: "There is no hierarchy of oppressions" by Audre Lorde Join the community: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here! Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood_ on IG.