Five Elements: Voices of wisdom on the things that matter most

A special episode on Martin Luther King Jr's birthday and holiday, which also happens to be Trump's inauguration day.

A conversation with our friend, Iris, about what it means to be mahu.

Today is my brother John's birthday! I wish you all got a chance to meet him. He was a special person in my life and I learned so much from him. I have many tender memories of him, and I celebrate him today and everyday, with love.

Who are your best friends? What makes them special? What kinds of things do you play together? What do you like about them and what do they appreciate about you? Anna Lim, where are you today? I am remembering you and sharing you with my grandchildren!

This conversation is with Barbara Jones. She’s a daughter, mother, and grandmother, and we talk about caregiving, ancestry, faith, and the roadmap we wish to leave our grandchildren. Barbara talks about her son, Conté, and what he is teaching us, even since his transition at age 24. You can learn more about her work and her family here. Barbara L. Jones, lifelong Detroiter and community activist, organizer, restorative justice practitioner and youth-violence prevention advocate, is the Community Dispute Resolution Specialist and Faculty Instructor for the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies Program at Wayne State University. Barbara mentors and advocates for the youth and students at WSU as well as scores of youth in Detroit and in the metro Detroit area in a variety of capacities in schools and organizations.

Welcome to Five Elements, a podcast featuring voices of wisdom on the things that matter most. I’m Hong Gwi-Seok, and I’m a Korean American mother, grandmother, Iyengar Yoga practitioner and teacher, caregiver, and activist, rooted in Detroit, MI. You can find me at halmonipower on Instagram. Each episode will consist of a conversation with someone who is centering transformational practices.  Especially in these times of upheaval, we need to lean on and learn from each other. These conversations will center voices of Black and Brown, justice-oriented folks who are steeped in both inner and outer work to heal and transform themselves as well as to create the more beautiful, equitable, sustainable society we need. Each conversation will be structured around the 5 elements, as defined by the yoga tradition: earth, water, fire, air, and ether. Earth: How do you find stability? What is grounding and centering you these days? What boundaries are you setting? Water: What is flowing, moving, and shifting in you lately? What is cleansing and refreshing you? Fire: What is burning in you?  What are you currently passionate about? What within you is going through the fire of transformation? Air: What is as yet unsettled? What choices are still up in the air? What are your unanswered questions? Ether: What do you have a sense of that is not yet on the horizon? What is your larger, expansive vision? What do you not yet have words for? What is as yet unmanifest? General: What element is predominant right now? What element do you need more of? What specific practices are you leaning into these days to create inner and outer well-being?

Many children in Palestine are hungry, sad, scared, and needing our help. How do we help take care of each other? How do we make the world better, far away and also here at home?

This episode was made by my grandkids, plus a story about the 12 animals of the lunar calendar!

Uncle Walt shared some really powerful wisdom with us today about Hawaiian cosmology and what makes today special. I'm sharing it with my grandchildren!

Thoughts on Palestine, intergenerational trauma, and what transformation actually requires. Gratitude to Resmaa Menakem, Orland Bishop, Grace Lee Boggs, and so many others. This is an audio recording of Gwi-Seok's essay, "Day 30," at StillinSirsasana.blogspot.com. Ukulele intro and outro, "Helpless" by Ruby Mary Gill, played by Gwi-Seok.

Baba Wayne Curtis is a beloved elder, artist, farmer, former Black Panther, and visionary organizer, along with Mama Myrtle, at their farm, a gathering place on the far east side of Detroit, Feedom Freedom Growers. We talked on his front porch on a rainy Sunday afternoon. You will hear the rainstorm, the wind, the traffic, and the birds. You’ll also hear Baba Wayne’s reflections on revealing what has not yet been seen, what Grace Lee Boggs and Jimmy Boggs might say about these times of transition, how the neighborhood ducks have evolved for the urban environment, and what collective sustainability means to him.  https://www.facebook.com/wayne.curtis.31 https://www.facebook.com/FeedomFreedom