The Cosmic We with Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant

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The Cosmic We is a brand new podcast that goes beyond race and racism to consider relatedness as the organizing principle of the universe, exploring our shared cosmic origins though a cultural lens that fuses science, mysticism, spirituality, and the creative arts. Together with prominent cosmologists, shamans, biblical scholars, poets and activists, Center for Action and Contemplation core teacher Barbara Holmes and co-host Donny Bryant unveil the “we” of us beyond color, continent, country, or kinship to conjure unseen futures in exploration of the mystery of Divine connection.

On this introductory episode, Dr. Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant introduce who they are, recap their highlights from the first season and share their hopes for what the listeners will gain from listening to this podcast.

Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant welcome Mikael Owunna in conversation for this episode of The Cosmic We. Mikael Owunna is a queer Nigerian American multi-media artist and engineer based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Exploring the intersections of visual media with engineering, optics, Blackness, and African cosmologies, his work seeks to elucidate an emancipatory vision of possibility that pushes Black people beyond all boundaries, restrictions, and frontiers. Learn more about Mikael at mikaelowunna.com. This generative conversation is followed by a cosmic reflection by Barbara and Donny on one of the evocative threads offered by Mikael during this episode. Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Mikael Owunna: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

On this episode, Rev. Sonia Walker joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant in conversation for this episode of The Cosmic We. Pastor Sonia’s professional and civic pursuits include service and leadership roles in education, and social work in agency, medical and religious settings. She is currently the Associate Pastor at First Congo in Memphis where she uses her gifts in worship services, congregational nurture, outreach ministries, community network and collaboration. She is a graduate of Memphis Theological seminary and is ordained at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, (Disciples of Christ), she was called as Associate Pastor at First Congo. Her late life call and ordination were no surprise to those who knew her on her other career paths. Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Rev. Sonia Walker: First Congo Website The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

On this episode, Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant in conversation for this episode of The Cosmic We. Alexis Pauline Gumbs is a Queer Black Troublemaker and Black Feminist Love Evangelist and an aspirational cousin to all sentient beings. Her work in this lifetime is to facilitate infinite, unstoppable ancestral love in practice. She is the author of several works, including her most recent book Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals; series of meditations based on the increasingly relevant lessons of marine mammals in a world with a rising ocean levels and part of adrienne maree brown’s Emergent Strategy Series. To read the full bio, visit Dr. Gumbs's website. Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs: Instagram | Twitter The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

On this episode, Dr. Walter Earl Fluker joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant in conversation for this episode of The Cosmic We. Dr. Fluker serves as Dean’s Professor of Spirituality, Ethics, and Leadership at Candler School of Theology at Emory University; Professor Emeritus of Ethical Leadership (formerly the Martin Luther King, Jr Chair) and at Boston University the editor of the Howard Thurman Papers Project.  Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Dr. Walter Earl Fluker: Website | Facebook | Twitter The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

On this episode, Billy Mark joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant in conversation for this episode of The Cosmic We. Billy Mark is an interdisciplinary artist who lives and works in Detroit. He’s married to fiber artist, Sarah Mark. His areas of exploration lately have been embodied poetics, experimental liturgies, site-specific music and poetry, and the creative and spiritual resources found in monasticism.  Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Billy Mark: Website | Ways a Suit Can Move The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

On this episode, Belvie Rooks joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant in conversation for this episode of The Cosmic We. Belvie Rooks' work weaves the worlds of spirituality, feminism, cosmology and social justice with a passion for dialogue. She is the co-founder of Growing a Global Heart, a project to plant a million trees along the Trans-Atlantic Slave Route in West Africa and the Underground Railroad in the U.S. to honor the millions of lives lost during the slave trade. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Anthropology and an MA in Inter-disciplinary Studies in Education and has taught and lectured at a number of colleges and universities including, the State University of New York at Old Westbury, University of the District of Columbia and University of California, Santa Cruz. Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Belvie Rooks: Growing A Global Heart The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant welcome James (Jim) Finley for this episode of The Cosmic We. Jim was a student of Thomas Merton and is a retired clinical psychologist. Dr. James Finley teaches how connecting to our Divine indwelling can transcend fear and shame and awaken to our True Self. He is the author of Merton’s Palace of Nowhere and The Contemplative Heart, as well as the host of the podcast Turning to the Mystics. Jim is a faculty member with Dr. Barbara Holmes at the Center for Action and Contemplation Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. James Finley: Website The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

On this episode, Dr. Monica A. Coleman joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant for this episode of The Cosmic We. Dr. Monica A. Coleman is Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Delaware. She spent over ten years in graduate theological education at Claremont School of Theology, the Center for Process Studies and Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. Coleman has earned degrees from Harvard University, Vanderbilt University and Claremont Graduate University. She has received funding from leading foundations in the United States, including the Ford Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Foundation, among others. Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Monica A. Coleman: Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant welcome Dr. Peter Gathje for this episode of The Cosmic We. Dr. Gathje is a founder and co-director of Manna House, a place of hospitality in the Catholic Worker Tradition located in Memphis. He helps with Room in the Inn, a shelter program involving area churches. He is active with a number of peace and justice organizations including Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. He frequently speaks at local churches on a variety of topics, including various traditions of Christian spirituality, hospitality for persons who are housing deprived, holiness, and issues of social justice. He is currently serving as Professor of Christian Ethics and Vice President of Academic Affairs/Academic Dean at Memphis Theological Seminary. Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Dr. Peter Gathje: Website | Radical Hospitality Blog | Manna House The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

On this episode, Bayo Akomolafe joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant for this episode of The Cosmic We. Bayo Akomolafe is the grateful life-partner to ‘EJ’, father to Alethea Aanya and Kyah Jayden Abayomi, son of Olufunmilayo Ibidapo Akomolafe and Ignatius Abayomi Akomolafe, and descendant of Yoruba fields of archetypal becomings and mythopoeic landscapes. He is an author, celebrated speaker, teacher, and self-styled trans-public intellectual (a concept imagined together with and inspired by the shamanic priesthood of the Yoruba healer-trickster)- whose vocation goes beyond justice and speaking truth to power to opening up other spaces of power-with, and queering fond formulations and configurations of hope. To learn more about him, check out his website. Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Bayo Akomolafe: Website | Twitter | Facebook The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

Barbara and Donny welcome Cole Arthur Riley to this episode of The Cosmic We to explore the power of our stories. Cole Arthur Riley is writer who was formed by thinkers such as Audre Lorde, Octavia Butler, James Baldwin, Thomas Merton, Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Julian of Norwich, to name a few. Cole studied writing at the University of Pittsburgh, but traces her love of words back to her father, who would bribe her and her siblings to write poems and stories to get out of chores, or for cold hard cash; and her gramma who was part writer, part sage.  Cole currently serves as the spiritual teacher in residence with Cornell University’s Office of Spirituality and Meaning Making. She is the creator of Black Liturgies, a space that integrates spiritual practice with Black emotion, Black literature, and the Black body; and a project of The Center for Dignity and Contemplation where she serves as Curator.  Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Cole Arthur Riley: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram The transcript for this episode can be found here. This podcast is made possible, thanks to the generosity of our donors. If you would love to support the ongoing work of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the continued work of our podcasts, you can donate at cac.org/podcastsupport Thank you!

Rev. Dorsey O'dell Blake joins this episode of The Cosmic We with Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant. Rev. Dr. Dorsey Odell Blake, Faculty Associate, Leadership and Social Transformation, was officially installed as Presiding Minister of The Church for The Fellowship of All Peoples in October, 1994. During Dr. Blake’s installation service, Mrs. Sue Bailey Thurman presented Dr. Howard Thurman’s robe — which had not been worn since his death – to Dr. Blake as a symbol of her trust in his leading the congregation “so that there will be no past greater than our future.” He has extensive field ministry experience with interfaith groups addressing justice and peace issues, including the California People of Faith Against the Death Penalty, The Interfaith Alliance for Prison Reform, Genesis and The San Francisco Interfaith Council. He served as a member of the steering committee of Religious Witness with Homeless People and has been in the forefront of peace and justice activities. Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Rev. Dorsey Odell Blake: Website The transcript for this episode can be found here

Dr. Brian Swimme joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant for this episode of the Cosmic We. Brian Swimme is the Director of the Center for the Story of the Universe and a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. He received his Ph.D. from the Department of Mathematics at the University of Oregon in 1978 for work in gravitational dynamics. He brings the context of story to our understanding of the 13.7 billion year trajectory of the universe. Such a story, he feels, will assist in the emergence of a flourishing Earth community. Resources: Dr. Brian Swimme's forthcoming book can be found here. The transcript for this episode can be found here. Connect with us: To send a question to Dr. Barbara and Donny, or to share your thoughts, comments, or feedback with us about this show: Send us an email. Dr. Brian Swimme's organization Center for the Story of the Universe: Website

Welcome to Season 3 of The Cosmic We! As we start a brand new season, Dr. Barbara Holmes wanted to interview, and re-introduce you to the co-host of the show, Dr. Donald Bryant. Dr. Donald (Donny) Bryant is a champion for christ-centered preaching and is the lead Pastor of ONE Community Church, a multicultural and intergenerational church located in Farmington, MI. He is also the founder and CEO of Alden Oils, a major specialty oil supplier in the United States. The company has grown to be a primary supplier domestically and internationally of Organic and Non-GMO cooking oils and is the owner of the category leading brand, LifeOiL. He holds a bachelors of science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan State University, an MBA from the Broad School of Management (MSU), and a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Donald is the proud father of Kennedi, Isaiah, and Payton. Resources: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

What if mainstream Christianity prioritized contemplation? Fr. Richard Rohr joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant to discuss reimagining our notions of love, power, charity, and accessing the “universal mind.” Fr. Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province. He is the founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation and the academic dean of the CAC’s Living School. An internationally recognized author and spiritual leader, Fr. Richard teaches primarily on incarnational mysticism, non-dual consciousness, and contemplation, with a particular emphasis on how these affect the social justice issues of our time. Resources: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

Have you ever experienced another culture’s interpretation of universal wisdom? Dr. Rachel Harding drops by to talk about ancestry and mysticism with “The Cosmic We” hosts Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant. What do you think Dr. Harding means by travel being a mnemonic device? How have you witnessed that play out in your life?  Rachel Elizabeth Harding, is Associate Professor of Indigenous Spiritual Traditions in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Denver. A native of Georgia, a writer, historian and poet, Rachel is a specialist in religions of the Afro-Atlantic diaspora and studies the relationship between religion, creativity and s­ocial justice activism in cross-cultural perspective. She is a Cave Canem Fellow and holds an MFA in creative writing from Brown University and a PhD in history from the University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Harding is author of A Refuge in Thunder: Candomblé and Alternative Spaces of Blackness as well as numerous poems and essays. Rachel’s second book, Remnants: A Memoir of Spirit, Activism and Mothering, combines her own writings with the autobiographical reflections of her mother, Rosemarie Freeney Harding, on their family history and the role of compassion and spirituality in African American social justice organizing. Rachel is an ebomi (elder initiate) in the Terreiro do Cobre Candomble community in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, where she has been a participant for over 20 years. Resources: The transcript for this episode can be found here.

How can preaching be a way of relating to life and one another? On this episode, Dr. Frank A. Thomas joins Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant for a conversation about his ability to preach in a way that is applicable to the life around us. Frank A. Thomas, PhD, currently serves as the Nettie Sweeney and Hugh Th. Miller Professor of Homiletics and Director of the Academy of Preaching and Celebration at Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis, Indiana. Indicative of his great love of preaching, an updated and revised version of They Like to Never Quit Praisin’ God: The Role of Celebration In Preaching, considered by many to be a homiletic classic, was released in August 2013. For many years, Thomas has also taught preaching to Doctoral and Masters level students at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, and at Memphis Theological Seminary in Memphis, Tennessee. He is the CEO of Hope For Life International, Inc., which formerly published The African American Pulpit. With a long history of excellence in preaching and preaching method, Thomas was inducted into the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers of Morehouse College in April 2003. Thomas also serves as a member of the International Board of Societas Homiletica, an international society of teachers of preaching. Thomas holds a PhD in Communications (Rhetoric) from the University of Memphis, a Doctor of Divinity from Christian Theological Seminary, Doctor of Ministry degrees from Chicago Theological Seminary and United Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity from Chicago Theological Seminary, and a Master of Arts in African-Caribbean Studies from Northeastern Illinois University.  Resources: The transcript for this episode can be found here.