PODCAST #8 - Farming in Cooperation with Spirit

On this week's episode, I speak with farmer Chris Bolden-Newsome, co-director of the Sankofa Community Farm in West Philadelphia, PA. Chris uses sustainable agriculture and spiritual practices as means to liberation, decolonization, and cultural recovery for people in diaspora – especially the African Diaspora. In this conversation, we discuss: • Farming in cooperation with spirit • Natural agriculture • Living in communion with the soil • Okra as a food that connects and restores all people of the African Diaspora • Diaspora as scattering of seeds • The relationship between colonizing plants and colonizing people • The difference between feeding the soil rather and feeding the plants • Why the South is important in the recovery of African and black cultures and traditions • The expansiveness of African and Catholic cosmologies • The spirit in the plants of the African Diaspora

On this week's episode, I speak with farmer Chris Bolden-Newsome, co-director of the Sankofa Community Farm in West Philadelphia, PA. Chris uses sustainable agriculture and spiritual practices as means to liberation, decolonization, and cultural recovery for people in diaspora – especially the African Diaspora. In this conversation, we discuss:

• Farming in cooperation with spirit
• Natural agriculture
• Living in communion with the soil 
• Okra as a food that connects and restores all people of the African Diaspora
• Diaspora as scattering of seeds
• The relationship between colonizing plants and colonizing people
• The difference between feeding the soil rather and feeding the plants
• Why the South is important in the recovery of African and black cultures 
and traditions
• The expansiveness of African and Catholic cosmologies
• The spirit in the plants of the African Diaspora

PODCAST #7 - Educating People Through Herbs

On this weeks episode, I speak with Medicine Woman, Jacque Maldonado, owner and proprietor of The Prana House New Age Apothecary in West Chester, PA. Jacque comes from a long line of medicine women and now seeks to share her knowledge with the masses. In this episode, Jacque and I discuss: * How taking on responsibility for her mom's illness led to the work that she's doing now * Growing up in a coven of women and being the "weird" one in school * What it's like educating the masses about Earth medicine * Having a life that's integrated into the cycles of the Earth * Navigating a healthy Earth-based lifestyle and business in a world that isn't set up for it To learn more about Jacque, her work and the Prana House, visit www.thepranahouse.com.

On this weeks episode, I speak with Medicine Woman, Jacque Maldonado, owner and proprietor of The Prana House New Age Apothecary in West Chester, PA. Jacque comes from a long line of medicine women and now seeks to share her knowledge with the masses. In this episode, Jacque and I discuss:

* How taking on responsibility for her mom's illness led to the work that she's doing now
* Growing up in a coven of women and being the "weird" one in school
* What it's like educating the masses about Earth medicine
* Having a life that's integrated into the cycles of the Earth
* Navigating a healthy Earth-based lifestyle and business in a world that isn't set up for it

To learn more about Jacque, her work and the Prana House, visit www.thepranahouse.com.

PODCAST #6 - Subscribing to Your Own Rhythm

In this episode, I have an expansive conversation with nationally-renowned artist Terrance Vann about: * How the power of love can overcome every worry * Why...

This week, I speak with artist Terrance Vann in Wilmington, Delaware in a neighborhood that houses one of his best-known murals. We have an expansive conversation that explores:

• How the power of love can overcome every worry
• Why meditation is necessary for art and life
• Art as a spiritual practice
• The connection between Natural Black hair, Nature, and power
• The source of white supremacy
• The value of human energy
• Hope for the future

To learn more about Terrance and see his work, find him on Instagram at @terranceism and order prints at www.terranceism.bigcartel.com.

PODCAST #5 - Saving Culture Through Seeds

"He who controls your bread basket controls your destiny" ~Abu Talib * Saving seeds as a form of saving culture and story-telling * Food justice & food sover...

“He who controls your bread basket controls your destiny” ~Abu Talib

In this week's episode, I speak with Owen Taylor, proprietor and facilitator at True Love Seeds--a seed-saving network that spans from coast to coast in the United States. In this episode, Owen and I discuss:

·      Saving seeds as a form of saving culture and story-telling

·      Food justice & food sovereignty

·      Sharing seeds as story-telling 

·      What’s your cultural food?

·      Farming as a spiritual practice

To learn more about Owen's work, visit www.trueloveseeds.com and follow him on Instagram at @seedkeeping.

PODCAST #4 - It's all Yoga!

This week, I speak with Jason Aviles of Fly Yogi and the Wilmington Green Box--a semi-permanent juice bar in the center of Wilmington, DE that employs at-ris...

In this episode of the Rose Hip Road Trip, I talk with Jason Aviles of Fly Yogi and the Wilmington Green Box--a semi-permanent juice bar in the center of Wilmington, DE that employs at-risk youth and educates people from all backgrounds about the benefits and joys of fresh-pressed juices.

We had a visionary conversation about:

  • Access to healthy food in low-income urban neighborhoods

  • Youth employment as a form of education and community empowerment

  • Creating a new type of society based on community and mindfulness

  • How life becomes easier when you learn to work with others

  • Food as a pathway to consciousness

PODCAST #3 - Farming as Happiness

In this episode of the Rose Hip Road Trip, listen to Dave Lorom from Coverdale Farm in Wilmington, Delaware talk about: * Farming as happiness * Farming as a...

In this episode of the Rose Hip Road Trip, listen to Dave Lorom from Coverdale Farm in Wilmington, Delaware talk about:


* Farming as happiness
* Farming as a tool for conservation
* Regenerative Agriculture
* Being surrounded by life & death

PODCAST #2 - That Old Kennett Magic: Consciousness in the Mushroom Capital of the World

In this episode, Doug and I discuss: * The synchronicities of his shop (State & Union) * How its unique energy and politics make Kennett Square, PA (the Mush...

In this episode, I interview Doug Harris, owner and proprietor of State and Union - shop for good.

We talk about:
* What makes Kennett Square, PA unique
* The realities of sustaining your own business while maintaining your values
* Being a steward of positive energy for other people
* How your business acts as a mirror for your life
* The importance of being connected

 

 

 

PODCAST #1 - What's the Rose Hip Road Trip???: Creating Equitable Communities as Earth-Based Living

Earth-Based Restoration: How we return to our own ecological identities so that we can allow the Earth to restore us. Surrendering to the cycles of the body ...

In this very first episode of the Rose Hip Road Trip, you will hear about:

  • My most important ideas/foundations as a researcher and human being

  • How I define Earth-Based practices

  • How I define diversity

  • Why I focus on solutions, rather than problems

  • How I define respect for other people and the planet

  • How I envision equity and why I feel it's critical for ecological restoration

  • Healing the collective imagination

Transparency: I'm not just a researcher

As a researcher, one has to have goals, deliverables, to produce something. That’s true for me—but in addition to goals, I also have intentions. I not only want to produce something that demonstrates that I did the work, but I am borderline obsessive about trying to ensure that whatever I produce is done so with a certain sensibility, is done so in accordance to my values. One of my intentions is to be transparent about my research and its processes. Another intention is to describe the ways in which my research corresponds with my own life. Currently, I am writing a book about how my doctoral research reflected my own life, about how what you seek is seeking you and about how what you seek is who you are—even when you’re doing formal research.

I say all of this because this week I will introduce you to my first interviewee. I first encountered this interviewee over the Summer when I helped some friends process their chickens. I want people following this project to know that I not only study these practices, but I also enact many of them. They are a part of my life and who I am. When we processed my friends’ chickens, I made this video because I wanted to give people an opportunity to become more intimate with what goes into bringing food to their tables. My first interviewee is most familiar with this process and I look forward to introducing him to you this week … but to allow you to become more familiar with me and what I am about, I wanted to share this video with you. I’m sure this won’t be the first video of me participating in the various processes about which I am interviewing people, but I hope you find this one enlightening.

While I do not show animals directly while they’re being slaughtered, please know that this video may not be suitable for younger viewers if you are unprepared to explain to them what they’re watching and where their food comes from.

Have a beautiful day, Rose Hip Road Trippers!

~Hilary

Welcome to 2018, Rose Hip Road Trippers!

RHRT - Blog Pic 1-1-2018.jpg

Hi Rose Hip Road Trippers!

Thank you for your patience over the past few months as I have continued to work to bring the Rose Hip Road Trip into existence. As you can see, www.rosehiproadtrip.com has been incorporated into the Institute for Earth-Based Living. The Rose Hip Road Trip is the inaugural research project for the Institute for Earth-Based Living (IEBL). If you haven’t had a chance yet, please consider supporting the IEBL by making a contribution or by sharing the work that’s being done. Click here to learn more about the Institute’s goals and vision for the future.

In 2017, I spent a weekend with one of my closest friends in VT. We spent a lot of time staring at the sky, reading, sitting quietly and chatting about where our lives were headed. That weekend, the Rose Hip Road Trip was born out of a desire to travel and speak with people engaged in Earth-based food, medicine, and spiritual practices, to learn more about what's really happening and share it with the world. It’s safe to say that (as usual) I wasn’t entirely clear about what I was getting into. It’s also safe to say that I feel more committed to the Rose Hip Road Trip and to this work every day. Every day, I know that I am doing work to which I am called. Every time I conduct an interview, I know I am doing work to which I am called. Every time, I go back and listen to and watch the interviews, I know I am doing work to which I am called.

I have been gifted (sometimes cursed) with far-sightedness and the ability to see the big picture. On a very basic level, the Rose Hip Road Trip is a collection of interviews about people engaged in Earth-based food, medicine, and spiritual practices. But the Rose Hip Road Trip is about so much more than that and I can’t wait to see how it grows and blossoms in this new year. I am committed to conducting 30 interviews in 5 regions, for a total of at least 150 interviews of people who were referred to me by other interviewees. I remain committed to this particular method because of how it creates a sense of connectedness and continuity within the research.

As a new year begins, I am also committed to posting about this research each day. I will share the interviews, discuss why I think the research is important, share other research that’s aligned, and what it means for larger issues facing the country and the world. The Institute for Earth-Based Living provides thought leadership. It is a voice unto itself. And yet, one of our priorities is creating space for other people to share their voices unhindered by translations and analyses. This is the raw data. We want to be a space where many voices can speak and be heard. The Rose Hip Road Trip, especially, is a project meant to set the foundation for how the IEBL will go about making this happen.

Please continue to read this blog, support the IEBL by clicking here, and follow the Institute for Earth-Based Living and the Rose Hip Road Trip on Facebook—where I have been speaking about the IEBL and our thought leadership in more specific terms. Finally, follow @rosehiproadtrip on Instagram for my real-time experiences and adventures during this exciting project.

Have a beautiful day! 

Hilary

 

 

Environmentalism: Tensions Between Light & Dark

Environmentalism: Tensions Between Light & Dark

I do not want to separate my work from “traditional” definitions of environmentalism, but I do want to differentiate it momentarily as I consider the difference between trying to fit lives into philosophies, rather than generating philosophies from experiences of everyday lives.

PURPOSE!

The purpose of this study is to explore how people I interview engage in Earth-based food, medicine, and spiritual practices in their everyday lives and why. Ultimately, I hope this exploration will help shape a narrative of Earth-based practice based on the experiences people have in their everyday lives. I hope this approach can offer an emerging narrative of environmentalism and environmental practice that is based in people’s relationships with their bodies, the planet, and the philosophies, theories, and systems of devotion that help them to maintain right relationship with themselves, other people, and the planet.

Wanting to be a Nun, Nikki Giovanni, and Lies We Tell Our Children

Wanting to be a Nun, Nikki Giovanni, and Lies We Tell Our Children

It was so obvious to me at that point that history books were lying, or at least telling only a very small portion of the story. I knew there were so many other stories and I wanted to tell them, I wanted to see them next to one another. I had a clear vision at that time of how all of these stories would be presented in book form. I had no idea at that time the sorts of technologies that would become available to be able to tell stories. Facebook was only just starting. YouTube wasn’t a thing—the idea that people would be able to make videos at the drop of a dime from their phones wasn’t conceivable to me at that point. Few people are as critical about technology as I am. And yet, at the same time, I have so much hope about the ways in which technology, when used mindfully, can shift the narratives that dictate our lives, can shift how we understand ourselves, our collective and individual histories, and the ways in which we share them with other people.

Physics, Metaphysics & Research as ME Time

Physics, Metaphysics & Research as ME Time

spending time alone researching, reading, writing, philosophizing, making subtle distinctions, engaging in intellectual processes is necessary for me to show up in the world as a kind and loving human. It’s necessary for me to be open to experiencing connection, to being vulnerable with other people, to being compassionate and empathetic, and so much more.

Destiny Still Tryna Find the Best in Me: Science, Divination, and Owning My Calling to be a Researcher

Destiny Still Tryna Find the Best in Me: Science, Divination, and Owning My Calling to be a Researcher

I think Science (with a capital S) is a cultural system, a spiritual system. And, simultaneously, I believe that all cultural systems and spiritual systems are also scientific systems—ways of exploring the world, ways of discerning what is actually happening, ways of predicting the future. Even crazier (perhaps), I believe it’s possible to merge these different systems. I don’t believe in the separation of spirit and matter. And in reality, the separation of spirit and matter—even in western Science—is quite recent. A large piece of what I hope to contribute to the world lies in my ability to hold spirit and matter together in my own Scientific research, as a serious (formal) researcher.

Research as Spiritual Practice, Catalysts on the Journey & Fulfilling Your Destiny

Research as Spiritual Practice, Catalysts on the Journey & Fulfilling Your Destiny

I believe researchers must name why they do what they do on a personal level. I want you to know that my research isn’t just a job—it is one of the most personal and spiritual practices of my life. Given the public nature of this project, I want to be as clear as possible about my underlying motivations and intentions. I question the legitimacy of researchers who can’t do this, who don’t do this. It’s called a bias—everyone has one because there’s no such thing as objectivity. It’s problematic when people don’t know that they have bias or know what their biases are because certain perspectives are normalized.

Why Auto-ethnography???

Why Auto-ethnography???

I believe that most research connects to the lives and experiences of the researchers conducting it in some way. I use auto-ethnography as a research methodology because it requires me to connect my life and my experiences to my research. It goes deeper than naming one’s methodology or the way that one is positioned in her research. It requires the researcher to be specific, personal about what brought them to a certain topic, to researching a topic in a certain way, to asking certain questions, to the methods they use to collect and analyze data. This decreases the distance between the person doing research and the “other” people and phenomena the person is researching. It gives both a common point of reference (even if the experiences or people or identities are very different). It makes the research personal.

WTF does "Auto-ethnography" mean???

WTF does "Auto-ethnography" mean???

For example, today I attended the People’s Festival honoring Bob Marley in Wilmington, DE. If I were doing an auto-ethnography. I might write about the smell of jerk and the smoke wafting from a BBQ pit and use that experience as an opportunity to explore Jamaican/Caribbean food culture or the power of scent to elicit memory.

The Scientific Method & Asking the Right Questions

The Scientific Method & Asking the Right Questions

Every question is a locked room waiting to be explored. And often, it is also a book written in a foreign language--which is why solid research methods allow people to learn a lot more than they might have anticipated. I believe that asking the right questions is an excellent step to moving forward in life. Be sure, however, that you are prepared to receive the answers to the question being asked ...