A liberatory episode with special guest, Filip! Here are some highlights from our conversation:

• Supporting the spiritual gifts of children

• Shame as a genius protective mechanism of the psyche

• Filip’s experience growing up in Serbia / former Yugoslavia, the culture’s hypermasculinization due to war creating a climate where it was very unsafe to be trans

• The revelation of realizing one’s own internalized prejudice and starting to unpack and work with the shame

• Inner healing intelligence; healing takes as long as it takes!

• Transforming trauma

• Finding MDMA as a fascinating medicine for ptsd, which is endemic in the Balkans

• Indigenous teachings around transgender topics

Filip Velimirovic (they/them) is a Serbian-born transgender non-binary healing teacher based in France. As part of their practice "Heal With Fil", they support women & people socialized as women to be mentally and emotionally fortified and transform trauma into renewed energy & hope.

Filip has been an activist since they were 15. First for transitional justice & reconciliation in their native Balkans, then for drug policy reform and psychedelic science in the US & at the UN level, and more recently for community healing in the Trans / Queer community. After studying political science at a prestigious French university, they were quickly disillusioned by the potential of institutional politics to bring about a needed change.

Upon finishing university, they designed their own curriculum: studying the interior world through yoga, meditation, psychotherapy, healing themselves and their female ancestral line with psychedelic-assisted therapy. In parallel to working in the cannabis, psychedelic, and tech spaces (to pay the bills), Filip worked to distill the best methods for healing & personal transformation. Using proven methods such as Internal Family Systems and Brainspotting, they now offer a safe space for folks who hold the vision of a better, more just world in their heart. Favorite conversation topics: divine feminine, healing ancestral lineages, transformation of trauma into community leadership, history of patriarchy, visions of ancestral future, Star Trek, psychedelics & homecooking recepies.

Filip is guided in their practice by the following beliefs:

• Healing happens in community.

• Trans liberation = collective liberation.

• Our mental & physical health is a direct reflection of the state of all our relations—not only with other humans, but with our ancestors, the Earth, rivers, lands, animals, and plants.

In this episode, the brilliant Emily Ana Levy speaks to themes of ocean life, compost, healing from chronic illness, sovereignty, evolution and transformation, Ayahuasca, spiritual awakening and coming out of the spiritual closet, stepping into our gifts, and prioritizing play, pleasure, and connection to the Earth. She provides a beginner friendly introduction to topics such as plant dietas, Kambo and kambo self application, and shares about her experience with these healing modalities.

Links:

Personal Website: Emily Ana Levy | Entreprenuer, Speaker, Thought Leader

Shepherd Website: Shepherd ✳︎ | Collaborating with socially conscious leaders + entrepreneurs

Mighty Well Website: Mighty Well | Patient-Powered Products That Make Life Simpler

IG: @‌Emilyana_levy

In this special episode, Kufikiri Hiari Imara returns to the podcast, to guest host an amazing conversation with the brilliant individuals behind Entheogen Melanin Collective - Imani Turnbull-Brown and Julian Fontaine Fox.

Imani and Julian share the stories of how they each came to their advocacy and community work. They speak about the many intersectionalities of Blackness and Melanated Empowerment through storytelling. Entheogen Melanin Collective is fostering connection within the psychedelic space and offering healing in BIPOC spaces throughout and beyond the Boston area. Check them out and support their work at @‌EMCmass on IG

Bio: Imani Turnbull-Brown is a U.S. Navy veteran and holistic health & wellness consultant with a deep commitment to ancestral healing and community empowerment. She is the cofounder of the Entheogen Melanin Collective, an organization that uses entheogens as one of many tools to support education, integration, and accessibility to melanated joy, healing, and community. Rooted in her Afro-Caribbean heritage, Imani blends traditional wisdom with modern wellness practices to help others reclaim their wholeness.

Bio: Julian Fontaine Fox is a passionate and longtime psychedelic entheogen advocate, poet, and storyteller. He began his advocacy while in Santa Fe New Mexico where he founded a chapter of SSDP and worked with Synergetic Press as a volunteer consultant and advisor. He is the co-creator of Entheogen Melanin Collective and a resident of Boston in Roslindale. In his role with EMC he facilitates community building and outreach. He plans and holds events in the Boston area for community members to attend holding workshops centered on intergration, healing and education. He also reaches out through tabling at bus stops and train stations offering a place for locals to ask and get answers about these substances are.

Links: linktr.ee/entheogenmelanincollective