Radical Soul

I hope you’re lucky enough to have a friend or friends who specifically check on your mental health. Folks who genuinely want to hear about your anxiety, depression, attempts to focus, regulate sleep, etc. It’s pretty wonderful to have permission to talk about these things.Spiritual activist Bex Mui is taking it one step further. She wants to talk about your spiritual health. In our interview, she explains:“We've always understood physical health. That's always been a part of our system and our societies. And now we're like growing in our understanding of mental health with its own needs and its own tools. I'm really interested and invested in our spiritual health, especially as queer and trans folks. It's crisis time of isolation and of attacks and of grief and I'm really curious about and always thinking about what are the strategies for our spiritual health that exist?”I spoke to Bex in anticipation of Radical Soul’s next book club on March 25 where we’re covering her book: House of Our Queer: Healing, Reframing, and Reclaiming Your Spiritual Practice.The book covers her personal journey to finding the sacredness of her own queerness and how she’s incorporated it into her spiritual practices and identity. It also offers examples of practices that center queerness from Bex’s own “spiritual toolbox.”Listen to the podcast for more of Bex’s history about growing up biracial with two cultural heritages, her spiralic relationship with the catholic church, her thoughts on spiritual leadership, and more.About The GuestBex Mui, M. Ed (she/her) is a biracial, queer witch and energy worker committed to the work of LGBTQ+ affirmation.  As a spiritual organizer, Bex believes that a spiritually grounded approach to the work of LGBTQ+ advocacy is increasingly needed, as well as an expansive, shame-free, spiritually-grounded approach to sexuality. In 2021, Bex founded House Of Our Queer, a spiritual playspace committed to enhancing spiritual health for the LGBTQIA+ community.  In her book, House of Our Queer: Healing, Reframing, and Reclaiming Your Spiritual Practice, she shares about her spiritual journey being raised Catholic with Buddhist influences, and her current practices including astrology, tarot, sacred sexuality, and honoring ancestors. Through House Of Our Queer, Bex hosts monthly virtual and in-person workshops focused on ritual and reflection. Learn more and stay connected via email, Instagram, or LinkTree.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

When Goddess Erica and her husband opened up their marriage, her husband helped demonstrate how she deserved to be treated. “I don't want to say that he gave me the standards, but he helped me get to a point where I realized that l my low bar is worship,” she explained in our interview.But this realization wasn’t the only thing that led to Erica claiming her Goddess title. Becoming a mom was also a big part of the journey of learning how she felt about herself:“I gave up my body and was willing to give up my personhood for my son. I chose to be an entity that would do anything for this kid. And then you take just a half step further and you're like, I'm willing to do anything for them —  I'm willing to do anything for myself. And if that's not God, then what is?”To Goddess Erica, claiming divinity has everything to do with a fierce and radical self-love.Now she’s on a mission to change the world by helping others recognize their own divinity. She runs a mission-based agency that works with businesses and individuals to provide everything from marketing support to doula services.On the podcast, she tells us her history from growing up as the granddaughter of a Southern Baptist minister to the impact of having a child and opening up her marriage. We also explore the dynamics involved in goddess worship, how to live an orgasmic life and consider an orgasmic death.Goddess Erica is an Orgasmic Doula, specializing in personal empowerment and pleasure- centered childbirth. With a mission of normalizing kink, gender identity, polyamory and radical self-love, her creative services agency offers group workshops, individual coaching and marketing support for sex-positive businesses. To find more information on her body of work and service offerings visit www.YesGoddessErica.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

A friend and artist Addie Hirschten recently released her first book, The Alchemy of Symbols: How to Use the Power of Images to Transform Your Life. The book is about living an intentional life filled with symbols: noticing how symbols affect you and paying attention to how the universe may be speaking to you through them, and/or how you also may be speaking to yourself. Addie asks the reader (and podcast listener) to consider what symbols you surround yourself with and why.Symbology is just another tool to work with. It can be part of our self-care toolbox, as well as help us in our work to decondition from and challenge mainstream culture. A way to better understand what messages we absorb and what we choose to own.About The GuestAddie Hirschten, is a visionary painter, public speaker, and host of the Studio Alchemy Podcast. She teaches creativity classes from her studio in Indianapolis, Indiana. Learn more at studioalchemy.art.Books Mentioned On the Podcast* The Alchemy of Symbols by Addie Hirschten* She Who Runs with Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola* Goddess in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women's Lives By Jean Shinoda Bolen* The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Maté* Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

In a special episode of Radical Soul, my partner David Britton interviews me for a change! He asks me about growing up as a pastor’s kid and my move away from Christianity.For the past fifteen years, we’ve been there to witness each other’s spiritual evolutions. The result is a unique glimpse into the ways two people who love each other can impact each other, as well as what remains stable about someone’s personality or essence in the midst of massive change.During the interview, David jokes that the subtitle for this podcast could be “Spirituality, Whatever That Is Anyway,” and he’s completely right. Spirituality — whatever it is — is so often a source of hope, comfort, and meaning to others, that to rigidly define it in a way that takes away that hope, comfort, and meaning would be an act of violence.I offered a definition of what it means to me, which was “divine mystery and connection to the unknown.” But if you asked me tomorrow, I’d probably offer a different answer.I feel the same about defining queerness or justice or even love: these big topics that define us, how we understand ourselves, and how we interact with the world. I once heard activist Loretta Ross speak at a conference and one of the things she said that stuck with me is that a community that forces its members to believe all the same things is a cult. Instead, let’s wrestle with big ideas together and leave space for difference.About David BrittonDavid Britton grew up watching Marx Brothers movies (which his mother loved) and Mystery Science Theater (which his mother hated). He is a comedian, writer, and actor who has performed all over the United States. He has written for the Hard Times, The Daily Dot, and other publications. He recently starred as Reinfield in several sold out performances of Dracula, on Bannerman Island. His newest comedy album “Possum Pals” is a split with comedian Megan Gilbert and can be heard wherever you listen to the things you listen to. Learn more at davidbrittoncomedy.comMore From JeraI was recently interviewed by my friend Addie Herschel for her Alchemy of Art Podcast about being a sexuality writer. We talk about being “obsessed” with sexuality, what makes a relationship codependent, and all of my projects in the works! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

Janet Hardy has a very public body. As a traveling kink educator and public player, it’s no leap to believe that thousands of people around the world have studied her body in public scenes or demonstrations. And as an author, much of Hardy’s work has centered around her own embodied experiences. As such, she has given us access to her body in a profoundly intimate way.Now in her late sixties, Janet reflects on her aging body and her changing relationship with pain, sex, gender, time, and mortality.She opens the book by talking about how she used to teach classes on pain processing which teaches you to divorce “pain from all the feelings that usually accompany it, such as fear, anger or worry.” Learning to process physical pain is exceptionally helpful for kinksters who use pain in their play, not to mention anyone living with chronic pain, preparing for childbirth, recovery from injuries, etc. But she found the same advice could be applied to emotional pain and learning to process feelings like “jealousy, displacement, or insecurity.”“But all my techniques and practices fall short when I think about my own aging and especially about its inevitable endpoint — which is to say, death,” she writes. “That may be one sensation that’s too big for me to process.”The book is an attempt to process it all, from how her body is forcing her to slow down and change what she enjoys to the aging of her partner and the death of her father.Listen to the interview for more on ageism and accessibility issues in alternative communities, Janet’s warning to folks exploring kink and other intense embodied practices, and more.And pick up a copy of Notes of an Aging Pervert for a humorous reflection on aging as an alt-lifer.About the GuestJanet W. Hardy is the author or coauthor of more than a dozen groundbreaking books about relationships and sexuality, including The Ethical Slut, which has sold more than 300,000 copies to date.She spent the first three decades of her life believing that she was the only person in the world who got turned on by thinking about spanking. She wrote her first book, The Sexually Dominant Woman, to help create a world in which nobody else would ever be that clueless.Janet has traveled the world as a speaker and teacher on topics ranging from ethical multipartner relationships to erotic spanking and beyond. She has appeared in documentary films, television shows,and more podcasts and radio shows than she can count. She has narrated audio versions of many of her books, and looks forward to doing more.Janet spent a quarter century as editor-in-chief of Greenery Press, the firm she founded in 1992, which went on to publish dozens of books about alternative sexuality and relationships. While she has retired from being a publisher, she goes on writing, drawing, editing and educating about sexuality.Janet lives the life of a kinky poly queer genderbent geezer in Eugene, Oregon, with her spouse and a whole lot of pets. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

Tristan Taormino’s new memoir A Part of the Heart Can’t Be Eaten combines her relationship with her father who died from AIDS, coming into her own queer identity, and becoming the sex educator and porn creator that she is today.As her astrologer who read her birth chart explained, Tristan is living in her dharma.There’s a beautiful theme of learning to trust her intuition throughout the book, and I asked Tristan about this. How do we learn to build a sense of intuition? You’ll find some of the highlights about this topic below.Listen to the full episode for more about relationships with dykes, acknowledging and exploring power dynamics, what it means to be a spiritual leader, and more.About My GuestTristan Taormino is a writer, speaker, sex educator, and host of the podcast Sex Out Loud. A former syndicated columnist for The Village Voice, she is the author of numerous books, including Opening Up: A Guide to Creating and Sustaining Open Relationships, Down and Dirty Sex Secrets, and The Ultimate Guide to Anal Sex for Women. She is the founding editor of the annual Best Lesbian Erotica anthologies, editor of The Ultimate Guide to Kink: BDSM, Role Play, and the Erotic Edge, and coeditor of The Feminist Porn Book: The Politics of Producing Pleasure. Taormino has won four Lambda Literary Awards and eight Feminist Porn Awards. She lives in Los Angeles.Follow Tristan on Instagram or Twitter @tristantaormino. Follow Jera on Instagram or Twitter @thejerabrown. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

Kai Cheng Thom’s most recent book, Falling Back in Love With Being Human, is a series of letters to people or groups of people who are hard to love. Which is everyone.  She addresses trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) and trans women. She writes to sex workers and their clients. She has letters to mass shooters and their victims. She writes to J.K. Rowling. She writes to herself.The current state of the world can make it awfully hard to ground ourselves in love. It can be hard to love ourselves when we represent something that society is raging against. And it’s just as hard to look at those doing the raging with compassion and curiosity.In this newest episode of the podcast, I spoke to Kai Cheng about her book, what she learned from doing sex work in her twenties, and how she’s cultivating a spiritual practice grounded in love and recognizing the inherent worth of everyone. Basically: who is this wonderful person capable of writing love letters to those who hate her? And how did she become who she is?---Kai Cheng Thom is an award-winning writer, performance artist, and community healer in Toronto. She was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award and won the Writers’ Trust of Canada’s Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ2S+ Emerging Writers for her surrealist novel, Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir. She is also the author of several other books, including a poetry collection, an essay collection, and two children’s picture books. Kai Cheng writes the advice column Ask Kai: Advice for the Apocalypse for Xtra. Find her on Twitter: @razorfemme or Instagram: @kaichengthom. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

“Healing our relationship to desire, and being able to acknowledge, verbalize, and celebrate our desires is key to living a life of joy, presence, and meaning,” explained conflict navigator and healer Opulence Abundance in a recent newsletter/blog post.We spoke about Opulence’s relationship with desire for the podcast, along with the relationship between yoga and the caste system, embracing one’s identity as a healer, and the loss of wisdom in communities that shun their elders.Resources Mentioned In This Episode* @thefatsextherapist* Tara Brach’s podcast* Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach* Opulence’s Substack and podcastAbout the GuestOpulence Abundance is a speaker, conflict navigator, and healing professional. As a queer intersex person of color born and raised in the Carolinas, Opulence learned how to diffuse conflict and build community at a young age. In 2014 Opulence moved to California and in 2016 they graduated from the University of Southern California with their Masters in Social Work. They went on to work in grants management and healthcare, creating one of the first healthcare programs for people exiting incarceration. Opulence now works with individuals and groups to navigate conflict in new ways so they can break patterns, harness their power, and change the world. Check out their Substack and podcast. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

Quick announcement about rebranding this podcast to the Radical Soul Podcast.Follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Threads. And if a certain newsletter or episode of this podcast resonated for you, please share it with others.Thank you so much for your support, and expect new content soon! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

My latest guest for Left-Handed Journeys is spirit, also known as spiritchild.  We talked about:* spirit’s spiritual roots as a Yaruba or Santerio priest.* Traveling as a freedom artist and giving back to communities he visits.* spirit’s work as a Somatica practitioner, helping people embrace their core desires.* What it means to be a spiritually-rooted person and a revolutionary.Transcript for this episode available here.spirit is an afro-indgenía maroon (of Puerto Rican and Jamaican descent) who was born, raised and currently resides in New York City. spirit's a rEvolutionary Somatica practitioner incorporating elements of sensuality, sexuality, spirituality and the various “realities” (our society and daily practical challenges) to holistically obtain desired effects of eroticism and greater intimate relations with self and the world that surrounds us.  spirit also has 30 years of experience as a spiritual advisor and counselor along with; community organizing, mentorship, prison/school/community workshops on arts and exploration of another world for the liberation of all beings, being an international touring freedom singer (musician) who devotes songs that speak to liberation and a pedagogue that assist with the professional development with individuals as well as organizations.Learn more about them or follow spirit on Instagram @xpiritmental. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

“I understand why self-care is important, but self-care cannot be a replacement for community care. You cannot ‘self-care’ your way out of horrible mistreatment, and mistreatment is often systemic,” explained Felicity Azura, my guest for this episode of the Left-Handed Journeys Podcast.Felicity is a writer, professional cuddler, sex worker, and host of Pro Cuddle Hustle —the world's first podcast on the cuddle industry. We talked about the unique space that professional cuddling holds in society, how loneliness is the result of late-stage capitalism, the problems of always being the caretaker, and more.For more, check out Pro Cuddle Hustle here and follow Felicity on Twitter.Transcript for this episode available here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

Queer Theology is the multi-faceted brand of Brian G. Murphy and Fr. Shay Kearns — two friends who believe in spreading a progressive message about the goodness of queerness, gender fluidity, and sexuality within Christian spaces. However, the community they’ve fostered, known as the Sanctuary Collective, is open to all “seekers, doubters, and used-to-be-Christians” who are looking for a body-positive welcoming space to ask questions and just be.In this episode of Left-Handed Journeys, we talked about how Queer Theology came to be, grieving the loss of religious communities, the sacredness of casual sex, and more.Father Shannon TL Kearns is a graduate of the Union Theological Seminary and the first openly transgender man ordained to the Old Catholic Priesthood. His first book In The Margins. A Transgender Man's Journey With Scripture was just released from Eerdman’s Books.Brian G. Murphy is an activist, educator and certified relationship coach who studied film production and religion at the University of Southern California. He spent time in Hollywood working on a number of television projects before turning to activism. Brian is a co-founder of a relationship coaching practice helping LGBTQ+ and polyamorous people build thriving relationships on their own terms.For more stories and perspectives about healing from religious trauma, decolonizing spirituality, and similar topics, please follow my newsletter: Radical Soul. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

A big theme in Lenny Duncan’s story, as they told it to me for the podcast, is making space for themselves and breaking out of spaces that no longer fit. From a teen runaway who finds a home in alternative relationships in the 90s with other queer folks,  to becoming ordained in the ELCA church, to becoming initiated into Ifa, an African spiritual tradition while reparenting themselves in a loving kink community.In this episode, we talked about The Grateful Dead, praying to our ancestors, finding queer communities and the abuse that can happen there, the moral failings of the white church, and so much more.Lenny is a writer. speaker. scholar. media producer. Babá Awó. Check out their newsletter, a sorcerer’s notebook, about the history of magic and Lenny's journey.For more stories and perspectives about healing from religious trauma, decolonizing spirituality, and similar topics, please follow my newsletter: Radical Soul.Find the transcript for this episode here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

In this episode, I talk to the wonderful Colin Bedell whose work combines queer studies and astrology. We talked how to "queer" astrology through the act of questioning and how astrology can, in turn, deepen your self-identity .  Colin explains how he came into his own as a queer individual through understanding his sign and his place in the universe and how he now grows in his spiritual being by queering astrology.Learn more at queercosmos.com or follow Colin on Instagram @queercosmos.Follow me on Twitter: @thejerabrown or Instagram: @thejerabrown.Subscribe to my Radical Soul Newsletter for news, profiles, and musings about modern spiritual movements that center justice, offer healing from religious trauma, and reject white and Christian supremacy.Find the transcript for this episode here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

Growing up, Alex Liu didn't know it was okay to be queer. And although he's been out of the closet for decades, a shadow of shame around sex and sexual desires still follows him around.He turned his own story and questions into a documentary: A Sexplanation. The documentary takes us "from neuroscience labs to church pews, [featuring] provocative conversations with psychologists, sex researchers—and even a Jesuit priest. With humor and grit, Alex takes audiences on a playful, heartfelt journey from a shame-filled past to a happier, healthier, sexier future." You can now rent or buy the documentary on Apple TV, Amazon, and more.Alex’s passion for telling compelling stories that blend education, advocacy, and entertainment led him to found Herra Productions in 2012. Since then, he’s developed two award-winning YouTube channels focused on sex and drug education, totaling over five million views. After studying molecular toxicology at UC Berkeley and Science, Health, and Environmental Reporting at New York University, he produced video, radio, and print content for NOVA scienceNOW, CNN Health, and San Francisco NPR station KQED.Learn more at herraproductions.com or follow Alex on Instagram @alexanderxliu and follow Jera on Twitter: @thejerabrown or Instagram: @thejerabrownCheck out Jera's newsletter Radical Soul for news, profiles, and musings about modern spiritual movements that center justice, offer healing from religious trauma, and reject white and Christian supremacy.Transcript for this episode. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

We all get to define what spirituality is for us. Jimanekia Eborn, also known as the Trauma Queen, has done this for herself. One of her spiritual practices is a bath with different oils—something that connects her to her body. And on this episode of the podcast, she encourages listeners to figure out what unique spiritual practices work for them.We talk about relationships and trauma, femmes and the unhealthy expectation to trust quickly, and building self-trust.More about my guest:Jimanekia Eborn is a Queer Media Consultant, Comprehensive Sex Educator, and Sexual Assault & Trauma Expert. With a Master's in Health Psychology, she has worked in mental health for the past 13 years in sex education and sexual trauma support. Jimanekia is the host of Trauma Queen —a podcast for survivors of assault and our allies, and the Founder of Tending the Garden, a non-profit for sexual assault survivors of different marginalized identities. In 2020, Jimanekia co-founded Centaury Co., bringing increased representation to the field of Intimacy Coordination in the film industry.Learn more at traumaqueen.love or follow Jimanekia on Instagram @Jimanekia. Follow Jera on Twitter: @thejerabrown or Instagram: @thejerabrownCheck out Jera's newsletter Radical Soul for news, profiles, and musings about modern spiritual movements that center justice, offer healing from religious trauma, and reject white and Christian supremacy.Transcript for this episode here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

Antonieta Paco, AKA Sonia Sass, views her sex work as priestess work. A part of the sacred lineage that extends back to temple priestesses. In this episode, we talk about how she became a mind/body/soul healer, how she explored her own indigenous roots and those of the communities, all around the country, that she found herself connected to. She also explains her work as a sex worker activist, and why it's such an important topic right now.As discussed in the episode, here's Antonieta's list of sex worker advocacy organizations to support:St. James Infirmary Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP)Amnesty InternationalRed Umbrella FundPLAPERTSEuropean Sex Workers' Rights AllianceAnd more about my guest:In 2010, Antonieta attended the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, AZ. She then graduated and became a certified Mind Body Wellness Practitioner, 200 Hour Registered Yoga Teacher, Hypnotherapist, Past-Life Regressionist, and Life Coach. Antonieta, also known as Sonia Sass, has been an important ally and activist for sex workers and human rights for 13 years. She has been involved in various forms of SW and is a proud BDSM educator, nude model, and dancer. She focuses on a variety of styles that include Latin, tribal, pole dance, hip-hop, and burlesque. Antonieta is also an activist, dancer, poet, and strong woman of Maya and Meshika roots who embodies the strength of a warrior and the essence of the Goddess here to restore the ecology and the people through her teachings and her magic.Learn more at priestessa.com  or follow Antonieta on Instagram  @priestess_apFollow Jera on Twitter: @thejerabrown or Instagram: @thejerabrown. Check out Jera's newsletter Radical Soul for news, profiles, and musings about modern spiritual movements that center justice, offer healing from religious trauma, and reject white and Christian supremacy.Transcript to this episode. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

Chicago-based burlesque artist Jenn Freeman, also known as Po'Chop about burlesque as a spiritually healing tool, the erotic as the holy spirit, and Jenn/Po'Chop's work creating sacred spaces and art on the Chicago South Side. As their artist statement so beautifully explains, "Our work is a reimagining of Lord as (Audre) Lorde where worship is a space where the erotic is regarded as the highest knowledge and ancestors are whispered into walls made of brown bags. Our healing is urgent. Through edifying the legacies of Black women and femmes we heal from the lessons we learned between pews."Learn more at itspochop.com or follow Jenn/Po'Chop on Instagram  @itspochop. Follow Jera on Twitter: @thejerabrown or Instagram: @thejerabrown. Check out Jera's newsletter Radical Soul for news, profiles, and musings about modern spiritual movements that center justice, offer healing from religious trauma, and reject white and Christian supremacy.Transcript of this episode. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

Mistress Hecuba explores intimacy through cathartic pain and alarming psychodrama. BDSM is a structure that holds the space for the bizarre, the uncomfortable, and any lustful perversions that are either raging to be seen or lying dormant in the depths of the psyche. Some of her favorite forms of play teach her new things and push against the boundaries and limits of her submissives. She seeks an experience with her submissives and craves to see them in all their complexity and raw humanity.  In this episode, we talk about how we attempt to create safe spaces to play with shame and trauma in professional BDSM sessions and how the concepts of play, power, trust and control fit into it. Mistress Hecuba talks about sadism as an identity and where spirituality fits into the picture.Transcript for the episode here.Follow Mistress Hecuba on Twitter @mistresshecubaFollow Jera on Twitter: @thejerabrown or Instagram: @thejerabrownCheck out Jera's newsletter Radical Soul for news, profiles, and musings about modern spiritual movements that center justice, offer healing from religious trauma, and reject white and Christian supremacy. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com

For over twenty years, Karen Yates worked in Chicago in the performing arts as a director, actor, writer and producer. Six years ago she left the arts and moved into a deep exploration of sexuality and energy - in Tantra and somatic sex education, and Biofield Tuning, a form of sound healing that addresses to issues in the electromagnetic field of the body. Now she is the host and producer of Wild & Sublime, a live talk show and podcast about sex for all orientations, preferences and relationship styles. She also is an intimacy coach for couples and continues to work in sound healing, where she is now developing her own energy system.In this episode, we talk bout the Western Neo-tantric movement, orgasms post-menopause, and Karen's journey through sobriety, discovering the sacredness of the body through the New Age movement and acting, becoming an intimacy coach, and creating sex-positive community through theater and story-telling.Follow Karen on Instagram @mybodyismyresidencyFollow Jera on Twitter: @thejerabrown or Instagram: @thejerabrown.Check out Jera's newsletter Radical Soul for news, profiles, and musings about modern spiritual movements that center justice, offer healing from religious trauma, and reject white and Christian supremacy.Find the transcript for the episode here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit radicalsoul.substack.com