Curated Consciously

As the celebration of Women’s Month winds down, how do we identify our worth not just as a woman but as an individual? It starts with an intentional pause to go inwards so we can confidently stand in our worth, communicate it clearly, and never feel taken advantage of as we proudly express our boundaries. In this episode, Jazz reflects on what it means to stand in your worth as we move through transitions, whether in our relationships, our passions, and in our career.

We have been conditioned to believe calling “things” by their name is disrespectful, exclusive, and even racist. This has brought the onset of labels to help put people and things into boxes to create a layer of comfort, such as using terms like “people of color” and “LGBTQ”. However, our identities cannot be so simply defined by labels. And that’s why we needed to check ourselves and dive into how the English language continues to colonize and oppress non-white folk and non-heterosexual folk (aka the “majority” or mainstream). We are here to challenge this paradigm of language and explore the origins of our existing labeling system, their original intentions, and the emotional, social, and psychological repercussions on us humans. In this episode, Maria Paz Amara joins us to explore the irony of “inclusive language” while sharing her personal experiences as a Chilean woman raised in Mexico.

Over the past 10 years, we’ve watched healthcare systems become harder (and more expensive) to navigate. As healing through spiritual practices and energy work, such as Reiki, become more mainstream and accessible, we’re seeing a lot of self-led practice and more teachers and resources widely available. But imagine exploring energy healing 35 years ago and the stigma one would face in not just expressing curiosity, but finding the right teachers and people to deepen one’s own practice. In this podcast episode, Jazz sits down with Sheri Fogarty of Sheri Fogarty Healing, one of the first Reiki Masters in North America, to talk about how Reiki and energy healing has become the go-to for those exhausted of navigating the healthcare system for addressing mental health needs. In this episode, Sheri and Jazz dive into: - How Reiki and meditation can be powerful methods for healing. - What energy blocks are and their relation to anxiety and depression. - What it means to be a healer and how you can start using energy healing practices on yourself.

Did you struggle as a teen to fit in with white majority groups, abandoning your cultural identity and heritage in the process? Many of us feel a heavy sense of shame for trying to blend in as youth. So much so that we now guilt ourselves as we grow into understanding the importance of our incredible ancestral stories. For too long, we have masked our culture and our rich roots so we could just fit in. Now, we need to reclaim our space and our stories, and challenge existing dynamics of power when choosing where to invest our hard earned dollars. As activists, entrepreneurs, storytellers, and magical humans (our decolonized term for addressing people of color), we MUST change this mainstream way of being and consuming. We must hone in on how to support each other in our communities, ventures, art, and marketing by centering us (yes, US!) instead of subconsciously supporting white supremacy. In this episode, Jazz chats with friend and social entrepreneur Gelaine Santiago about reclaiming your cultural identity after years of hiding it, and how we’re working to honor and celebrate our cultures within our communities.

Nobody wants to have a bad day, but when you spill your coffee on your shirt, trip on the dog, and get an annoying email first thing in the morning, things start to spiral. So, how do we start everyday in control of the direction it’s going to go? How do we ensure we are continually rejecting toxic and negative energy by grounding and energizing ourselves from the inside out? That’s where intention setting comes in, helping you master energy transformation and leading you towards manifestation. Intention setting is how you begin your journey in cultivating the light, joy, and connection you want to see in the world. But it can look different for everyone. In this episode, Jazz is walking you through different daily activities and conversations to have with yourself that nurture your journey in living every damn day in holistic alignment with your needs and your values (with a HUGE focus on the importance of intentional morning rituals!).

You know when you’re young and you think your parents have all their shit together? Then you grow up, observe their behaviors, experience your own soul wounds and healing and realize that maybe no one has their shit together? Yup. We’re all going through it. But here’s the thing, if we can just accept that we’re all winging it as we go, we can be a lot lighter on ourselves, our community, our family, and especially, our children. In this episode, Jazz sits with long-time friend and conscious mama Kenda to define conscious parenting, and understand what it takes to continually inspire your children to be leaders of critical thought.

Our generation’s fear of failure is robbing us of vulnerability, joy, and incredible transformation, and the only way to get over it is to recognize it. In this episode, I’m sharing a recent experience where I tapped into a fear of failure to identify the true root of the fear, where it sat in my body, and how I transformed it through conscious thought and action.

Are you currently between the age of 28 and 30, or already in your early 30s, and wondering why everything just seems so freaking hard? Honey, you’re in your Saturn Return. Your Saturn Return is a transformative period that happens every 27 to 29.5 years when Saturn returns to the position it was in at the time of your birth. Saturn, one of the slowest moving planets in our solar system, changing signs every 2 to 3 years, is a huge energy force for transformative change, hard lessons, hard work, and serious personal growth. What does that mean for you? Your Saturn Return can take a serious toll on your physical and mental health. But, it’s important to think of it as a blessing in disguise. Even if you aren’t big on astrology, Saturn Return is a great growth and reflection framework to help you navigate transitioning over to the “dirty 30”. In this episode, Jazz shares how she heavily prepared for her Saturn Return at 28, while Kels reflects on being in the midst of their Saturn Return in 2019, and how the framework helped them accept the everyday changes they were experiencing.

How has your childhood shaped you? What consequences, challenges, and unconscious reactions are you still struggling to navigate? You, as a child, are still alive and trying to thrive within your mind, body, and soul. But it’s been a while and you’ve been eager to grow up. You’ve disconnected, ignored your inner child’s needs, and unconsciously been hurting yourself and others because you haven’t healed the open soul wounds of your childhood. It’s time to validate your experiences and heal what’s blocking you from communication, love, and connection. Ivonne is back on the podcast to help us navigate inner child work. Together, we’re looking inwards at our wounded, inner children, and consciously addressing the needs and triggers that have continually manifested into adulthood.

What is it that triggered stress for you everyday? Not sure? It’s probably because you haven’t taken intentional time to think about what those triggers are, or realize that they even exist. After a rollercoaster of a year, it’s crucial that we finally take that intentional time to reflect, analyse, and implement mindful practices that allow us to thrive—not just into the new year but always in our conscious journeys. Mindfulness is knowing how you are behaving in the moment, and having the ability to change your energies through intentional practices. In this final episode for 2020, Kelsey walks Jazz through a new framework on approaching stress and anxiety through mindful practices that ensure we don’t spiral, catastrophize the present, and harm ourselves in the process. PLUS A Free Worksheet On How To Mindfully Approach Stress and Anxiety!

We all know the incredible and transformative impact travel can have on us. But, have you ever really reflected on the impact you leave on travel? The way you interact with locals? How your behavior could be disrespectful, or controversial, towards the local culture and community? How your privilege could lead to continued oppression? From understanding the impacts of voluntourism and white saviorship, to being conscious of your presence, decisions, and actions in destination, there’s a lot to learn in creating an inclusive travel industry, and luckily this episode is all about diving into the how of getting started. Social justice power-houses, Justine Abigail Yu and Ariel Goldberg of Wanderful, are here to help define anti-oppression, anti-racism, and the work we are all accountable to as mindful travelers. What started as a virtual series of Anti-Racism Town Halls at Wanderful earlier this year, led to the development of their Anti-Oppression Toolkit for Travel & Culture Creators led by Justine and Ariel. The ongoing project equips travel creators with resources to push for an equitable travel industry for people at all intersections of identity.

We’re getting vulnerable with this one as Jazz and Kelsey dive into their past (and present!) self work for fostering healthy interracial relationships. Sharing lessons learned from previous relationships, and experiences with racial stereotypes and privilege, this episode is full of necessary reflection (and will deeply resonate with our community for navigating both platonic and romantic interracial relationship). While Kelsey covers their experience in both an interracial and long-distance relationship, Jazz shares her previous fear of not being accepted into a new culture and family, and the journey to embracing new traditions, communication styles, and lifestyle practices.

Were you living a zero waste, or low waste, lifestyle before the pandemic and are now struggling to live up to your core values? Or, has encouraging your partner to go zero waste been an ongoing challenge in nurturing a zero waste household? Curator-in-Chief Jazz goes solo in this episode to reflect on her 2020 transitions. From managing Hara House, India’s zero waste guesthouse, to struggling to sustain a zero waste home in a bigger city with her partner (during a pandemic!), she’s diving into the many pain points of the conscious community during this roller coaster of a year.

We all love a sustainable closet, and a lil’ nostalgia to go along with it. As the secondhand revolution begins to rise in India, especially since the boom of Instagram thrifting during COVID-19, we wanted to dive into understanding what the cycle of secondhand looks like, and how entrepreneurs are leveraging the trend. Looking at the industry as a whole, it’s obviously there is a need for more collaboration. To create an ethical industry, stakeholders must be held accountable in supporting a sustainable supply chain, and this isn’t a task that can be taken on solo. In this episode, Tamanna Chawla of Curated Findings, joins the show to discuss the power of the secondhand industry for fostering sustainability and accountability within fashion. Curated Findings is an online thrift and consignment store that started as an Instagram thrift account in January. Under their RELOVE Project, they also provide a platform for consumers to sell their secondhand fashion and art, as well as get rid of excess stuff. The goal: to bring pieces back into the fashion cycle and make sure they are used to their full efficiency before discarding.

When you think of minimalist living, what comes to mind? Only buying the essentials? Wearing the same t-shirt every 2 days? An apartment with barely any furniture? Usually, when it comes to the conscious living world, we get stuck in thinking that minimalism only applies to our buying habits. Although we live in a capitalistic world, conscious living doesn’t need to solely define you as a consumer. And that’s why we’re diving into the more internal side of conscious living. MNMLGRL, Dr. Dipti Hattangady, joins the podcast to help define minimal living.

We all feel the weight of climate change from time to time (or daily!) as we try to take in the size of the problem and how to solve it. Now imagine being in it, everyday, as a climate researcher and seeing first hand what’s really going on with our planet. In this episode, Anjana Aravind joins the Curated Consciously podcast to break down the misconceptions of climate change, and how our systems, consumer choices, and the media play vital roles in the health of our planet.

When shit gets real, imposter syndrome immediately steps in. The fear of failure, the fear of trying, possibly the fear of success—we’ve all been there (or are still there). That’s why we’re breaking down how imposter syndrome feels and now to navigate it when it comes up for you.

Are you always mentally preparing yourself to pass immigration when travelling abroad? Do you find your international travel choices are restricted because of your passport and/or cultural identity? In this episode, we’re covering passport privilege, racial stereotypes (especially on Mexican culture), and the barriers BIPOC individuals face when travelling overseas with Ivonne I. Solther. Ivonne is an ICF and NLP Certified Coach and professional animator. She is deeply passionate about helping her community go inwards to cultivate solutions outwards. In her spare time, she’s either cycling across new destinations or practicing handstands on her rooftop.

You know that feeling when you return from a long trip abroad, or living abroad for a stretch of years, and the world suddenly seems so hard to navigate again? As nomadic humans, we feel you, and this episode is for you. Coming “home” from travel is a difficult and unique experience for us all, as defining “home” is often very complex. Kelsey White is back to share her personal experience, and the challenges she faced, in returning to Canada after four years of living in India. When the pandemic began, her goodbye rituals were stolen from her as she jumped on the last flight out of India in mid-March.

How do today’s youth in India navigate living in a modern, progressive, and technologically-driven world, even when the family home is deeply rooted in tradition and culture (that can often clash with modern values)? Hear it from a Gen Zer. Mansi Bhatia is a journalist, actor, and singer. With a background in music, and a passion for cinema, Mansi is often found on the stage and the big screen.

When do we start really appreciating the unique bodies we’ve been blessed with and gifted by our ancestors? How do we find confidence and comfort in just being ourselves? How do we set boundaries around the conversations we have with others about our bodies and the constant changes they go through? We may not have all the answers, but it starts by breaking down social norms around body image and how fast fashion influences the way we treat our bodies. Jazz welcomes back Kelsey White to the podcast to chat about navigating body confidence during the “second puberty” of our late 20s and early 30s.

How do you nurture your personal journey in cultivating anti-racist communities? It’s time to get comfortable being uncomfortable. To pull us right into the work we need to do, Justine Abigail Yu shares with us the story of her encounter with a racist woman in a Toronto park.

What do Apple phones and identity have in common? Find out in the first episode of the Curated Consciously Podcast. Today’s guest Kelsey White, and a guest you can expect to hear from on many topics here on Curated Consciously, joins us from the foothills of Alberta. Kelsey is an experiential education and travel program developer and facilitator. Kelsey currently heads Hidden Springs Retreat and Guesthouse in rural Alberta, and volunteers their time with Sustainable Travel Network.

The Curated Consciously Podcast dives into the social and environmental justice topics that have for so long been ignored. By building a platform that empowers us to take responsibility for our intentions and our actions as individuals and community members, we can become better allies and respectfully hold each other accountable to do the work.