The language of our rivers

In this episode Amisha Ghadiali talks to Minna Salami, author, blogger, feminist theorist and lecturer. Minna’s blog ‘MsAfropolitan’ connects feminism with critical reflections on contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective. This Series is part of a collaboration with The Future Is Beautiful, which reaches for the place where spiritual ecology and climate justice meet. It explores the integration of spirituality with grounded action through the lives and leadership of people of colour.

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"Listening as a way of doing beauty. We have so much to learn from listening and being present to nature, because of the way that the natural world coexists and how it can teach us that we are all in this kind of ecosystem of togetherness." – Minna Salami

<p>Minna’s blog ‘MsAfropolitan’ connects feminism with critical reflections on contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective. She is the author of ‘Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone’, which explores universal concepts such as art, beauty, identity, blackness and womanhood with an Africa-centred, decolonial and feminist paradigm.</p> <p>Amisha Ghadiali and Minna Salami explore the idea of beauty and how the poetry, language and willpower we receive from our rivers and from our natural world increases our sensuous knowledge, expands the volume of our integrity and flourishes the gardens of our beauty. Minna describes how the flow that shapes our rivers and the patterns of nature alongside them can inspire systems of power and governmental structures rooted in reciprocity.</p> <p>Minna believes that in the 21st century we are by default born into a multi perspectival approach that shapes our identities and knowledge into worldviews that are a golden opportunity to overcome the complex struggles humankind is facing. They speak about how our societies could utilise the wisdom traditions of our elders, especially our grandmothers as the antidote to the robotisation of our collective psyche during these current times.</p> <p>We learn that listening is beauty; that being present and the small things make us beautiful. They reveal that our complex identities are an opportunity for curiosity and inquiry to understand each other and the human species in greater depth; a powerful opportunity to embrace new perspectives and truths letting our minds flow with the gravity of rivers of reciprocity, integrity and beauty.</p> <p>“In these really troubling times we have this opportunity to really learn from each other and learn from nature, and listen to what it’s trying to say to us.” Minna Salami</p>

<p><em>Minna Salami is a Nigerian, Finnish and Swedish author, blogger, feminist theorist and lecturer. Her multiple award-winning blog ‘MsAfropolitan’ connects feminism with critical reflections on contemporary culture from an Africa-centred perspective. As a lecturer and keynote speaker, she has spoken at over 200 universities, cultural events and conferences, on five continents.</em></p> <p><i>She is the author of ‘</i><i>Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone</i><i>’, is a series of thought-provoking essays exploring universal concepts such as art, beauty, identity, blackness and womanhood with an Africa-centred, decolonial and feminist paradigm of knowing.</i></p> <p><i>Minna is a co-director of the feminist movement, Activate and she sits on the advisory board of the African Feminist Initiative at Pennsylvania State University, and the editorial board of the Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of the Sahel.</i></p>

About the host

<div class="x_gmail_default"><b>Amisha Ghadiali</b> is a facilitator and author. She is the host of the globally acclaimed podcast, The Future Is Beautiful, which is one aspect of a non-profit she founded in 2010. She works one on one through her Presence Leadership Mentoring, and with groups through The Beautiful Leadership Immersion. She is interested in the relationship between inner transformation and systemic change. She edited the collaborative book The Future Is Beautiful, and is the author of Intuition.</div> <div class="x_gmail_default"><a href="http://www.amisha.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">www.amisha.co.uk</a></div>

About this series

<div><a href="https://stethelburgas.org/projects/spiritual-ecology/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">Listening To Each Other, Listening to Earth</a>, is a collaboration with <a href="http://www.thefutureisbeautiful.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">The Future Is Beautiful</a>, and is funded by the <a href="https://kalliopeia.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">Kalliopeia Foundation</a>.</div> <div></div> <div>Listening to each other : Listening to Earth reaches for the place where spiritual ecology and climate justice meet. It explores the integration of spirituality with grounded action through the lives and leadership of people of colour.</div> <div></div> <div>The Future Is Beautiful is a global community weaving together politics, spirituality, creativity and regeneration as we co-create a better world. Through the influential podcast, collaborative book and interactive learning experiences – The Future Is Beautiful is moving us beyond silos and into an integrated way of being. You are invited.</div> <div></div> <div><a href="http://www.thefutureisbeautiful.co/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable">www.thefutureisbeautiful.co</a></div>

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