HUMANING: in Conversation

Join Hallie and Alex in an intimate contemplation of the balance between form and flow. Distinguishing between healthy boundaries and harmful limitations, we begin to untangle the meaning and purpose of internally-cultivated discipline from the punishment and blind obedience that often go hand in hand with the externally imposed discipline many of us are so familiar with. 

Alex redefines practice as anything that helps us reconnect with our self, our body, and our intentions for being, opening a path of commitment that -- rather than relying on rigid containers and prescribed actions -- invites us to touch into the importance of tuning in daily with our why as part of aligning with an ever evolving internal conversation with Life. 

We hope this passionate reflection on how adaptive structures support the flourishing of life and embodied liberation on all fronts may inspire you to look at the beliefs you hold about what love truly is, and what is required for it to grow and root in our lives. 

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer & Alex Crow

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding ends at - 14:25

Recording Date: July 22, 2021 

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of reference) :

• Alex Crow | GroundedCrown.com
• Wu De | Zen Buddhism | GlobalTeaHut.org
• Deborah Hay | dhdcblog.blogspot.com

Centering within self is a far cry from being self-centered. 

In this wide ranging conversation, we consider the personal, the relational and the systemic. Turning a critical eye towards the notion that selflessness and martyrdom are the hallmarks of care, we consider what it means to be truly generous — and how filling our own cup first is a foundation for moving out of transactional relating and into the flow of reciprocity. We contemplate the way that our trauma responses time travel us out of the present moment, dislocating us from our felt sense and our ability to respond to the situation at hand.

Many questions arose, including:

Might the transactional nature of capitalism undermine the very possibility of creating or existing within a healthy relational ecosystem? 

When and where is it appropriate and necessary to center ourselves and where is it our responsibility to be centered enough in ourselves that we can center others?

In the end, we regard centering within self as a way to take responsibility for how we show up in the world — cultivating our capacity to stay in present time, hold charge long enough to get curious about it, and harness the space between stimulus and reaction to reclaim our ability to choose how we respond.

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer and Ally Rugge. 

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding & Reading ends at - 13:09

Recording Date: June 10, 2021

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of reference) :

• Catherine Linnard | catherinelinard.com
• Jamie Sams : The 13 Original Clan Mothers
• Dr. Gabor Maté : The Wisdom of Trauma | https://thewisdomoftrauma.com/
• Viktor Frankl | https://www.viktorfrankl.org/biography.html
• Co-Counseling / Re-evaluation Counseling | https://www.co-counseling.org/
• Hallie Dalsimer | humaning.space
• Resmaa Menakem : Somatic Abolitionism | https://www.resmaa.com/
• Dr. Thomas Hübl | https://thomashuebl.com/
• Amanda Taub, “The Rise of American Authoritarianism” | https://www.vox.com/
• Dr. Stephen Porges: Polyvagal Theory | https://www.stephenporges.com/
• Nkem Ndefo : The Resilience Toolkit | https://theresiliencetoolkit.co/

Last week we discussed what it might mean to excavate the "self" from the tangles of conditioning and expectation, but what exactly is the "self"? Meander with us through a maze of meanings as we suss out the vocabulary of selfhood, exploring how our definitions inform both our internal and external relationships.

What does it mean to develop a "healthy" ego — one that works in service to the soul that inhabits the body? And is it the ego or our relationship with it that evolves as we move towards greater self-actualization? Peeling back the layers of our distinctions between ego, identity, psyche, and soul, this conversation dances us to the edge where the individual meets the whole — to the choice of whether to recognize ourselves as apart from or as a part of the whole of life itself.

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer, Alex Crow, and Ashley Berry. 

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding & Reading ends at - 14:45

Recording Date: August 19, 2021

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of reference) :

• The Zen Peacemakers | zenpeacemakers.org
• Bill Plotkin: The Eco-Soulcentric Wheel of Development | www.animas.org/wp-content/uploads/Intro-to-ESDW-for-Animas-website.pdf
• Carl Jung |  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung
• Thich Nhat Hanh | plumvillage.org

Who might we become beyond the roles and habits through which we've come to know ourselves? Could we give ourselves permission to release our predetermined notions of how to be and claim the possibility — moment by moment — to receive, consider and respond from a deeper place of authenticity?

*Full show notes to come!

What would it feel like to live a cyclical life, one that is aligned with the natural rhythms of the Earth? How might the health of our environments, within and without, be impacted by a life that truly celebrates all of the seasons — especially winter? What does winter offer to our well-being, and why is it important to embrace the many expressions of winter in our lives? 

We warmly invite you to cozy up with us as we contemplate these important questions and reflect upon the multi-dimensional gifts and challenges that winter brings.  

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer, Ally Rugge, Alex Crow, and Ashley Berry. 

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding & Reading ends at - 10:42

Recording Date: January 26, 2022

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of reference) :

• Katherine May: “Wintering: The Power of Rest & Retreat in Difficult Times” | https://katherine-may.teachable.com
• Adyashanti | https://adyashanti.opengatesangha.org
• The Nap Ministry | https://thenapministry.wordpress.com
• Lorie Eve Dechar : Five Spirits | https://anewpossibility.com

This week we explore our evolving relationships with the natural world, reflecting on the many ways that Nature has guided, invited and taught us along the way.

We share stories of where, when, and how these relationships quickened and deepened, and how particular encounters kindled a recognition of the intelligence of the "other than human" beings with whom we share the planet. We contemplate interconnectedness and co-evolution, and marvel at the capacity for direct communication between humans and plants. We honor teachers, books, places, plants, and practices that have supported us to remember that we are never truly alone in a world that is viscerally alive and sentient.

May this conversation inspire you to deepen your sense of belonging in and to the world (and support your nervous system!) by accessing more pathways to connect with the living, breathing quality of life on planet Earth.

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer, Ally Rugge, Alex Crow, and Ashley Berry. 

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding ends at 12:30

Recording Date: January 20, 2022

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of reference) :

• Peter Wohlleben : The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate | https://www.peter-wohlleben.de/ueber-mich
• Tony(a) Lemos : Blazing Star Herbal School | https://blazingstarherbalschool.typepad.com
• On Being with Krista Tippett | https://onbeing.org
• Taos Pueblo | https://taospueblo.com
• Robin Wall Kimmerer : Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss | https://www.robinwallkimmerer.com
• Martin Prechtel | https://www.martinprechtel.com
• Bill Plotkin | https://www.animas.org
• Jamie Sams and David Carson : Medicine Cards Oracle Deck: The Discovery of Power Through The Ways of Animals | https://medicinecards.com

Influential humans & resources (not mentioned) who we want to acknowledge :

Ally Rugge

• Jamie Sams | The 13 Original Clan Mothers and Sacred Path
• Mary Siisip Geniusz | Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have To Do is Ask: Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings
• Pat McCabe/Woman Stands Shining | The Earth Talks, Indigenous Ways of Knowing
• Tree Sisters hosts Pat McCabe/Woman Stands Shining | Indigenous Wisdom for Earth

Ashley Berry

• Daphne Lowell and Alton Wasson | https://www.contemplativedance.org
  Nature and Contemplative Dance
• Victoria Loorz, Brian Stafford, Matt Syrdal, and Rev. Bryan Smith : Seminary of the Wild | https://www.seminaryofthewild.com
• Susun Weed : Healing Wise | http://www.susunweed.com
• The Standing Rock Movement | https://standwithstandingrock.net
• Nini Melvin : 5 Element Meridian Movement | http://ninimelvin.com
• Stephen Harrod Buhner : The Secret Teachings of Plants | https://www.stephenharrodbuhner.com
• Eliot Cowan : Plant Spirit Medicine | https://eliotcowan.com/plant-spirit-medicine

Our conversation this week grounds into the many questions we hold about the ways that place impacts our identity, sense of belonging & notion of home.  We reflect upon our relationship with the environments, landscapes and cityscapes we have had the privilege to be immersed in, and how we have been changed through our travels and relocations. 

Swapping stories and rich memories, we allow ourselves to wander through the many inquiries that present themselves. We touch into the depth of human history that sits in places and how the soul or spirit of a place might inform our sense of self.  Do the places we are attracted to or repelled by say something about who we are or who we are becoming? Are we truly in balanced reciprocity with the many beings we coexist with? 

We hope you are inspired by this curious & wonderfully wandering conversation.  May the many questions presented here offer space for you to explore your own sense of place.  

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer, Ally Rugge, Alex Crow, Ashley Berry & Wren LaFeet(who joined us via ClubHouse). 

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding ends at 15:39

Recording Date: July 1, 2021

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of reference):

• California Heritage : Indigenous Research Project - Ancestral Homelands Reciprocity Program | https://chirpca.org/ancestral-homelands
• Wren LaFeet | https://dancecocrea.com/
• Gene Keys | https://genekeys.com
• Rebecca Solnit : A Field Guide to Getting Lost | http://rebeccasolnit.net/book/a-field-guide-to-getting-lost/
• Bill Plotkin : The Eco-Soulcentric Wheel of Development | https://www.animas.org/wp-content/uploads/Intro-to-ESDW-for-Animas-website.pdf

We were hoping to share a full convo with you this week, but alas(!), recordings are missing... Instead, we offer this grounding from what would have been our next conversation (about rites of passage - a topic we will definitely revisit) as a bridge between last week's episode about time and next week's exploration of place. 

Hallie invites us into conversation with sensation, as a way to arrive more fully in the here and now.

Recording date: May 20, 2021

TIME AS A DIMENSION OF OUR BEING

We walk into 2022 by bringing forward a conversation that began with a seemingly straightforward question Hallie brought forward around their last birthday — is age just a number? — and expanded into a wide ranging exploration about the ways we relate to time itself. 

From the many dimensions of how we understand age and aging, to unpacking learned systems of tracking time, we get curious about how our personal orientations not only inform our embodied experience of passing through time on Earth, but actually impact the ongoing health of our bodies and minds. A potent space was created to contemplate stages of growth and rites of passage from a variety of personal and cultural perspectives, including how individual, communal and cultural initiations support the grace of our human development. 

We hope you are as inspired by this expansive conversation as we were - may it be a support to us all in embracing new ways of relating with ourselves and each other as we move beyond the threshold of this new year.

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer, Ally Rugge, Alex Crow and Ashley Berry.

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding ends at 9:27

Recording Date: May 13, 2021* 

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of reference):

• On Being with Krista Tippet : Ellen Langer |  https://onbeing.org/programs/ellen-langer-science-of-mindlessness-and-mindfulness-nov2017/
• Ellen Langer | https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2010/09/the-mindfulness-chronicles
• Bill Plotkin : The Eco-Soulcentric Developmental Wheel | https://www.animas.org/wp-content/uploads/Intro-to-ESDW-for-Animas-website.pdf
• 5 Element Theory : Traditional Chinese Medicine | https://www.tcmworld.org/what-is-tcm/five-elements/
• Taoist Alchemy | https://www.goldenelixir.com/jindan/jindan_intro.html
• Stephen Jenkinson | www.orphanwisdom.com
• Laura Fallon | https://www.lauracfallon.com

*Please note: this conversation was originally recorded live on ClubHouse, so the guests’ voices were unable to be recorded.

Following the emergent thread of this month's exploration of the senses, Ashley leads us deep into the realm of touch. From simply offering the care and attention of our hands to our own body, to the invisible realms of gravity and breath, Ashley invites us to experience the intimate reality that we are in a constant state of touching and being touched by the world around us.

Beginning once again with the breath, Ally leads us in a simple and powerful exploration of the power of scent. Have your favorite scent on hand or dive in with your imagination.

Footnote: In a strange twist of fate, Ally got sick and lost her sense of smell days after guiding us through this exploration - we hope it will return quickly. For anyone else who has lost their sense of smell due to Covid-19 (or for any other reason), we hope that harnessing your imagination to engage with this exploration offers you an enlivening experience of reconnection.

Today we are guided by Alex Crow in an exploration of breath, sound, and grounding - acknowledging where we are and all that is here with us.

Find out more about Alex's martial arts practice:

• Brea Fisher : Qigong & Gongfu | https://quanyingongfu.com

Every week for the rest of December we’ll be sharing a guided embodiment practice — in support of finding a little more ease, grace and grounding to navigate the holiday season. 

Today we are guided by Hallie to explore the power of noticing, sensing, and intentional breath.

More full conversations to come in January!

Embodiment Practice/Drop-in ends at: 6:50

Born out of a real life challenge Ally is in the midst of, today we discuss the lifelong impacts of the perfectionism we learned as children. We look at how both family dynamics and cultural conditioning taught us to “perform” in order to belong, and examine how the identities we adopt to please others keep us from truly being ourselves. We dig into how perfectionism undermines our sense of worth and our capacity for intimacy. 

Join us as we walk the messy web of our personal entanglement with this topic - differentiating perfectionism from perfection; contemplating how we might cultivate a healthier expression of our natural drive to evolve; and reflecting on  the reclamation of self that becomes possible when we begin to listen to our bodies, claim our wholeness, and believe in our inherent enoughness.

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer, Ally Rugge, Alex Crow and Ashley Berry. (Yay for Ashley joining us!!)

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding ends at 6:50

Recording Date: April 29, 2021*

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of reference):

• Gabor Maté | https://drgabormate.com
• Wu De : Zen & Tea | globalteahut.com
• The Gene Keys | https://genekeys.com
• Human Design | founded Ra Uru Hu 
  Hallie learned from Karen Curry Parker | https://understandinghumandesign.com/

*Please note: this conversation was originally recorded live on ClubHouse, so the guests’ voices were unable to be recorded. 

Diving in to unpack the relationship between sexuality and sensuality, we explore the rich and varied terrain of sensation and pleasure. As we untangle some of the knots that attempt to bind sensuality exclusively to the realm of sex, we retrace the roots of the conditioning that teaches us to master our bodies - rather than inhabit and enjoy them - to expose the systems invested in keeping us disembodied and ashamed. What is restored when we tune back into the rich beauty and complexity of our lived, embodied experience? We invite you to join us in reveling in the awe of the profound human capacity to touch and be touched by life, ourselves, and one another.

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer, Ally Rugge and Alex Crow. 

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding ends at: 7:50

Recording Date: April 22, 2021*

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of reference):

• Katie Sutton : Zen Within Academy | https://www.zenwithinacademy.com
• Adrienne Maree Brown | https://adriennemareebrown.net
• Gaga Movement Language | https://www.gagapeople.com/en/
• Catherine Linard | https://www.catherinelinard.com

*Please note: this conversation was originally recorded live on ClubHouse, so the guests’ voices were unable to be recorded. 

Continuing the thread from our conversation on pain, this episode explores the ways in which we have each come to value discomfort. Unpacking the tendencies we see within ourselves and the collective to orient towards comfort, we explore how avoiding discomfort can perpetuate harmful patterns, both in our personal relationships and in society. We touch on many topics, including the discomfort of the healing process, the difference between stretch and strain, and how something being uncomfortable doesn't make it "bad" or "wrong." We also share some tools that help us lean into discomfort in a generative way, increasing our tolerance for conflict and creating more space for growth, repair, and connection.

“If you’re committed to comfort, you cannot be committed to justice. Withstanding our discomfort requires understanding that our discomfort is a necessary and constant part of the work. Our goal is not to feel comfortable because we won’t, it is to better tolerate the discomfort that inherently arises.”

~Rachel Ricketts

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer, Ally Rugge and Alex Crow. 

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding ends at 7:15

Recording date:  April 15, 2021*

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of their reference):

• Gaga Movement Language | https://www.gagapeople.com/en/
• Mantak Chia : Qigong & The Inner Smile | https://www.mantakchia.com
• Rachel Ricketts | https://www.rachelricketts.com
• Nkem Ndefo : The Resilience Toolkit | https://theresiliencetoolkit.co
• Alex Crow : Yin Yoga | https://groundedcrown.com/guidance
• Mapi Ormachea : contributor to this conversation | https://www.umaceramics.com
• Wu De : Zen & Tea | https://globalteahut.org
• The I Ching | https://www.chinafile.com/library/nyrb-china-archive/what-i-ching
• Katie Sutton | https://www.zenwithinacademy.com
• The Gene Keys | https://genekeys.com
• Shambhala Meditation Practice | https://shambhala.org
• Qigong : Brea Fisher/Quan Yin Gongfu | https://quanyingongfu.com
• Resmaa Menakem : My Grandmother’s Hands | https://www.resmaa.com

*Please note: this conversation was originally recorded live on ClubHouse, so the guests’ voices were unable to be recorded. 

A poetic and poignant place to begin, our first conversation hones in on the reality of pain as an essential aspect of our human experience. From our own tender perspectives, we contemplate the many dimensions of pain, including how slowing down to acknowledge and become more intimate with our personal pain may just be the doorway to more trust, empathy and compassion with others - human and more than human. 

This conversation includes the voices of Hallie Dalsimer, Ally Rugge and Alex Crow.

Embodiment Practice/ Guided Grounding ends at: 5:40

Recording Date: April 8, 2021*

Humans & resources mentioned (in order of reference) :

• Dare Sohei : Underworld Party Podcast | https://bodyaltar.org/underworldparty
• Alex Crow : Yin Yoga Embodiment Practice | https://patreon.com/groundedcrown
• Ally Rugge : Menstrala School of Embodied Arts + Advocacy | https://menstralaschool.com
• Khalil Gibran’s The Prophet : On Pain | https://poets.org/poem/pain-1
• Deborah Hay : Dance Artist | https://dhdcblog.blogspot.com
• Mapi Ormachea : contributor to this conversation | https://www.umaceramics.com
• Rolfing Technique | https://www.rolf.org
• Brea Fisher : Qigong & Gongfu | https://quanyingongfu.com

*Please note: this conversation was originally recorded live on ClubHouse, so the guests’ voices were unable to be recorded.

Hello and welcome to HUMANING: in Conversation! 

Join Hallie, Ally, Alex and Ashley, as we dive deeply into exploring what it means to human well - in our bodies, in relationship, in this moment, on planet Earth.