The Creative Soul Collective

Audio version of blog post, The Lost Vagina at www.thecreativesoulcollective.comExplorations of cultural appropriation, Tantra, Gujarati culture, erotic energy and life in the WestThe Erotic is a measure between the beginnings of our sense of self and the chaos and power of our deepest feelings. It is the internal sense of satisfaction to which once we have experienced it, we know we can aspire. Once having experienced the fullness of this depth of feeling and recognised its power, in honour and self respect we can require no less of ourselves.- Audre Lorde

How to navigate your blackness your healing, your agency and your value…Profound, informative and deeply spirited chat with a fellow Ghanaian sister, Jocelyn Yeboah-Newton. Jocelyn is a Gender consultant, founder of art/healing organisation Our Naked Truths, and The Communion Podcast. She is a protector of intersectional black femininity, and an explorer of the mental health issues that come with that intersection. Jocelyn is also training to become a therapist herself. We unwrapped many issues, including:what collective healing looks like,life modelling and black femme bodies as the muse, the meaning of sisterhood,sexual trauma and mental health struggles that black womxn face,and what's good on Netflix right now.Definitely give this one a listen.“Having to navigate your gender and your race in a world that doesn't see you as equal is really difficult and so a lot of us do that journey in isolation and shame, not feeling that we can share our story, and so I'd love Our Naked Truths to be able to start delivering that work with young women to show them that they have value and they're not alone and that the things that they're experiencing are not in isolation and have been experienced by many that have come before them. These are the things that we've learnt, and this is for you.” - Jocelyn Yeboah-NewtonFollow Our Naked Truths on IG and check out upcoming eventsSupport the Black Womxn's Therapy FundListen to The Communion Podcast

An inspiring and enlivening chat with facilitator, storyteller and community worker; Sola Adebiyi. Sola kicks the episode off with some Djembe drumming and a story called The Golden Seed.Then we talked about our dreams for the new world, the gift that creativity brings us, intention for engaging in art/storytelling, experiences of childhood and education influenced by ethnicity, and the world as the inheritance of the African people. Sola calls us to our empowerment, imagination and connection.“The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free.”Maya AngelouFB: Sola Story (join Mythic Medicine group).IG: Sola Storyinfo@narrativemindfulness.comwww.narrativemindfulness.comLIFEbeat youth organisationCreative Practice and Facilitation Training with LIFEbeatOnline yoga:Join my Wednesday 6.30pm class (UK time)Join my Thursday 12.30pm class (UK time)https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=T4_AHygozTA

A short n' to the point chat. Shola and I talked about recognising yourself in the divine, Ancient Egyptian deities and their connection to yoga, the influence of African spirituality in the world, and experiencing the world through energy.Shola's new Chakra Empowerment cardsOpening to SpiritMore of Shola's offeringsIG: @sholasays

Insightful chat hopping all over the shop! Safiya and I talked about food, intersectionality, African American culture, learning to love yourself, how to form a less oppressive food future, finding role models, and how to write your own story when history doesn't give it to you right. BUY CHILDREN OF THE YAM, black healing handbook by Safiya RobinsonIG: @girlholdmybeadsIG: @sisterwomanveganSafiya's websiteVertamae Smart-Grosvenor, vibration cooking https://www.globalgeneration.org.uk/about-the-skip-gardenhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51377.Sisters_of_the_YamNigerian Tapas in Tottenham https://uk.gofundme.com/f/the-free-black-universityhttps://www.blackmindsmatteruk.com/

Healing the mother wound w/Rev. Chelle

Another awesome conversation of truth and fire. I am so grateful to be able to do this and connect over important issues with love. Nadia is a writer, yoga teacher and outlier of injustice and oppression of marginalised groups. We chatted about cultural appropriation, the roots of yoga, being South Asian in the industry and yoga's western outfit.Here are some links that came up in conversation.Back to Black by Kehinde AndrewsOf Water and the Spirit by Malidoma Some- Ancestral teachingsKemetic yoga article- Yoga was born in EgyptYoga charity that Nadia is involved with- Our MalaIG: @theyogadissidentNadia's websiteMore of Nadia's offerings and writing

I LOVED this chat with Data so much!Through her work, Data serves to heal and reconnect humanity with spirituality from an African perspective.We talk about...-Spiritual awakening/depression-The patterns in reality and sacred geometry-The ancestral African archives that have been burned by colonialism-African spirituality and it's deities (one being Atete- an East African Goddess of fertility). Data's depiction of her is shown here.Check out Data's work!Enjoy this episode and subscribe for future sharings. 

Tania is an Art therapist and community worker. She works with refugees and asylum seekers, nourishing their creativity and artistic expression. She started up The New Art Studio in in order to do this."We exist to give refugees and asylum seekers a space to overcome trauma and rebuild their lives."I really genuinely loved this conversation and connecting with Tania. In this episode we discussed art as a spiritual practise and an act of rebellion, the danger of isolation (SO pertinent right now), how identity is created and making art from the heart.We also talked about her upcoming book release: Who am I? which I am so excited to read. Take a look.Make sure you check out the link for the New Art Studio above. Donate to support if you are able to, and maybe even delve into your own practise of making art from the heart.

Naala is a singer, musician and producer.In this episode we discuss feeling into the history of music, making yourself as an authentic creative and living and growing in a white supremacy culture. Naala's spirit is vibrant. It is such a joy to be around her, especially magic for me as we are first cousins!Check out the links below (some mentioned in the episode):Lotus Videosplintered window - spotifyBellatrix- Bad Dancing (her most recent EP)

Natalie Roper is an Ayurvedic therapist and healer. She offers personalised treatments for women; filled with Ayurveda's ancient Indian wisdom and her own deep intuition.In this episode we discuss the five elements, the seasons, motherhood, the elemental qualities of different foods and how Ayurveda can help us to come into deeper relationship with all of these things.Contact Natalie at natalieevelondon@gmail.com for information on treatments and deepening your knowledge on Ayurveda. Here is where you can read more about Ayurveda online:Banyan Botanicals siteThe Ayurvedic InstituteGreat introductory books are:Sattva: The Ayurvedic way to live well by Emine and Paul RushtonAyurveda: the science of self healing by Dr Vasant LadAyurveda (Idiot's Guide) by Sahara RoseNatalie also recommends Vaidyagrama in South India as a place to learn and experience Ayurveda, and Ayurveda Pura as a place to study.

Declan Perring is an actor, writer and close friend. He is eternally curious and committed to serving the magic of presence and transformation on stage. We discuss taking risks in creative journeys, having the will to persevere and being authentic. Check out Sam the Good Person, Declan's writing debut play.Link to explore The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, as discussed in this episode

Lisa Minerva Luxx is a queer writer, performer, essayist and activist of British Syrian heritage. She writes for freedoms, for healing, to mobilise and to inquire. She is a beautiful, powerful woman; a force to be reckoned with!​Luxx is winner of the Outspoken Prize of Performance Poetry 2018, and was shortlisted for both Peace Poetry Prize 2016 and Sabotuer Awards Best Spoken Word Performer 2017. She was also nominated for the Arts Foundation Fellowship in Poetry. She regularly headlines literary events internationally including shows at Royal Albert Hall, Latitude Festival and Station Beirut. ​Luxx's poetry, essays and opinions are published internationally in newspapers, magazines and anthologies. She has lectured on the philosophy of language in mental health for TEDx, spoken on panels about refuge at the Tate Modern and given a talk on sexuality for The Psychedelic Society. She is also a poetry educator in high schools, Pupil Referral Units and has taught at School of Everything summer school at University of the Arts London (Central Saint Martins).Check out Lisa's offerings online and listen to her new sisterhood song- Girl Gang herehttps://www.lisaluxx.com/@luxxy_luxx on insta