Soul Salon with Ayandastood

hi precious beings! if you're battling with perfectionism, this episode is for you. earth angel, consider this your permission slip to declare your unfinished work FINISHED because completion is a myth maybe?! find out... i love you all, thank you thank you for being here! I hope you enjoy today’s soul session. stay tuned for more, and share it with a friend 💛 ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. JOIN THE COMMUNITY: my muse-letter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG and ⁠⁠@ayandastood ⁠⁠on YouTube visit my website at ⁠⁠www.ayandastood.com⁠⁠⁠ Work with me one-on-one in coaching to unlock your authentic expression and face your fear of being seen online: ⁠www.ayandastood.com/coaching⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

if you dream of writing, there are people dreaming of reading you. if you dream of singing, there are people dreaming of hearing you. if you dream of being seen, there are people dreaming of seeing you. if you dream of teaching, there are students dreaming of being taught by you. your dreams are dreaming you back. even more: the collective is dreaming THROUGH YOU. Question for you: Who might be dreaming you back? book a one-on-one coaching session to step into your fullest expression and power, on- and offline: ⁠www.ayandastood.com/coaching⁠ Time stamps: (00:35): Individualistic vs. collectivist dreams (02:02): Example of my (our!) podcast dream (03:09): Who will expand through you? (05:11): Against perfectionism (06:37): You are a representative (07:41): The other side of desire (08:05): What you seek is seeking you (08:26): The beauty of surrender (09:24): Please follow & subscribe :) ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. JOIN THE COMMUNITY: my muse-letter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG and ⁠⁠@ayandastood ⁠⁠on YouTube visit my website at ⁠⁠www.ayandastood.com⁠⁠⁠ Work with me 1:1 www.ayandastood.com/coaching --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

today i bring you a bite size dose of ENERGY I recorded in December but felt wasn't "good enough" at the time. in honor of breaking up with perfectionism, i bring you this offering. let's call it a SOUL SNACK if you will. topics include: envying someone's success, listening to yourself, embodying what you seek, and the energetic messages of the universe. i love you, sunshines & soul siblings! i hope you enjoy this experience. stay tuned for more, and share it with a friend if you resonate 💛 TIME STAMPS: (00:51): Are you listening? (01:38): Reframing envy (05:50): Who I'm drawn to (06:33): Energy is a spectrum (07:09): Collective healing (09:55): Unity consciousness (10:23): What are you calling in? Work with me one-on-one in coaching to unlock your authentic expression and face your fear of being seen online: www.ayandastood.com/coaching ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. JOIN THE COMMUNITY: my muse-letter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG and ⁠⁠@ayandastood ⁠⁠on YouTube visit my website at ⁠⁠www.ayandastood.com⁠⁠⁠ Work with me 1:1 www.ayandastood.com/coaching --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

if you are a worst case scenario thinker/feeler/(anti-)dreamer, this soul session✨ is for you. let's unpack why it's time to let go of assuming the worst — not only in terms of what's possible, but also in our relationships and friendships. in this soul session, i share examples of times when i assumed the worst and the exact opposite happened. i invite us to ask ourselves this question the NEXT time we find ourselves stuck in a worst case scenario mindset. you will (re)learn how holding onto the worst case scenario to protect ourselves becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy: we align our actions to what could go WRONG instead of RIGHT, thereby making the former more likely. you will hear me walk through common examples where we assume the worst and are often "wrong", such as: let me say that i applied the lesson of this episode in the PROCESS of making, editing, and sharing it. here's how: my inner critic said (repeatedly): "what i'm saying is nothing ✨revolutionary✨ therefore it's not worth sharing this episode". or "i'm not adding anything new here!" the underlying assumption is A) we get our value from our uniqueness (individualism) and B) no one wants to hear and re-integrate the same lesson again from ME specifically. WHAT IF THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE? A) What if collective wisdom becomes more potent the more people share it? and B) What if people actually LOVE hearing and re-integrating wisdom they already know and feel to be true, and they love hearing it from ME (not exclusively but in a particular way) i love the feeling of applying a lesson i am sharing with you, because it makes me feel very aligned and like i'm sharing my life's wisdom with you. with that being said, I hope you enjoy today’s soul session. stay tuned for more, and share it with a friend 💛 Time stamps: (01:00): Reframe the worst case scenario (05:11): The energetics of possibility (06:33): Creativity & Rick Rubin (07:37): Approaching strangers (08:08): TikTok, cancellation, & judgment (14:00): Texting responses (15:19): Cancelling plans (17:22): Conflict (19:07): Reaching out to old friends (20:12): It's always going to be this hard (20:48): Valuing your opinion (22:33): Self-doubt (23:38): Summary Work with me one-on-one in coaching to unlock your authentic expression and face your fear of being seen online: www.ayandastood.com/coaching SOURCES: Book: The Creative ACT: A Way of Being by Rick Rubin Episode: 35: Awakening to Possibility by me ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. JOIN THE COMMUNITY: my muse-letter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG and ⁠⁠@ayandastood ⁠⁠on YouTube visit my website at ⁠⁠www.ayandastood.com⁠⁠⁠ Work with me 1:1 www.ayandastood.com/coaching --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

if you find it cringe or challenging to promote your own work, this soul session will SPEAK to you. today we completely REFRAME AND RECLAIM promotion, breaking it down to its roots and paradigm shifting our understanding. connected to nature and service. In this episode you will learn: Time stamps: (01:04): the evolutionary roots of our shame (03:42): reframing pro-motion (08:06): nature & motion (10:45): my own example of coaching (16:00): blocking motion (17:43): what you seek is seeking you I hope you enjoy today’s soul session. stay tuned for more, and share it with a friend <3 Work with me one-on-one in coaching to unlock your authentic expression and face your fear of being seen online: www.ayandastood.com/coaching Sources mentioned: Morning pages essay by me ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. JOIN THE COMMUNITY: my muse-letter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG and ⁠⁠@ayandastood ⁠⁠on YouTube visit my website at ⁠⁠www.ayandastood.com⁠⁠⁠ Work with me 1:1 www.ayandastood.com/coaching --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

today's soul session is a spiritual perspective on why you fear your own success. if you're like me, you are both drawn to and repelled by your dreams. they are at once enticing and terrifying. in today’s soul session we explore a paradoxical fear that many of us face whenever we confront our dreams and desires. but in the typical style of this podcast, we are going to unfold a deep and spiralling web of ideas such as: I hope you enjoy today’s soul session. stay tuned for more, and if you feel called to, please share it with a friend or your community. i love you ✨💛 Work with me one-on-one as your coach to unlock your authentic expression and face your fear of being seen online: www.ayandastood.com/coaching Time stamps: (00:06): The magic of your existence (01:53): My fears & dreams (05:11): The paradox of fear (06:22): God/source/universe & AWE (12:57): Why we fear our Dreams (14:17): Healing our relationship with Power (17:37): Nature & benevolent Power (21:15): Step into Y(OUR) Power (22:29): Co-Creation (27:52): Channeled journaling (30:00): Why we can't silence ourselves (31:35): It's bigger than You (33:10): You have these gifts for a REASON (35:54): Trust is the opposite of Fear (36:15): Your own POWER & WISDOM (40:31): Creativity is how we change the world (42:21): Affirmation Sources mentioned: The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action by Audre Lorde Ant geopolitics by John Whitfield ADVICE HOTLINE: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. JOIN THE COMMUNITY: my muse-letter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG and ⁠⁠@ayandastood ⁠⁠on YouTube visit my website at ⁠⁠www.ayandastood.com⁠⁠⁠ Work with me 1:1 www.ayandastood.com/coaching --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

in today’s episode we talk about the deep state of consciousness that being LOST entails, rather than the inferior state it represents in the western imagination. I frame this in terms of colonial consciousness which privileges "clarity, direction, Knowing, confidence" vs. the deeper truth of the universe, nature, and indigenous consciousness, which embrace chaos, magic, cyclical time, and humility in the face of the unknown and unknowability of all truths of the universe. At the same time, I am sending love as I know being lost feels deeply uncomfortable and isolating. An update episode on the name change is coming soon angels! WORK WITH ME: Pov: you are a spiritual soul with a powerful voice and message that you dream of sharing with the world. You are here to serve the collective and the divine through the gift of your voice and ability to channel wisdom and insights. When it comes to sharing that voice on social media to find your dream audience, community, and clients, you often feel blocked by perfectionism, fear of judgment & being cancelled, self-doubt, and lack of trust in your voice. You want to quantum leap into the version of you that is taking up SPACE, speaking your truth, and opening up your throat chakra. Work with me one-on-one and let’s get your voice shared with the world. Visit www.ayandastood.com/coaching TIMESTAMPS (01:15): Western imagination (06:26): What we gain from being lost (12:30): Birth and Death in life (17:50): Lost in isolation (19:30): The God of the Self (22:18): Finding teachers & surrendering (24:30): Spiritual awakening (32:08): The universe is always inviting us SOURCES MENTIONED: Essay: Heavy, difficult emotions are important to face & only overwhelming when carried alone by Dr. Ayesha Khan Book: The Wisdom of Insecurity by Alan Watts Substack: The Unpublishable by Jessica DeFino Podcast: The Highest Self Podcast by Sahara Rose Episode: 16: Industrialized vs. spiritual Beauty by me ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. JOIN THE COMMUNITY: my muse-letter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG and ⁠⁠@ayandastood ⁠⁠on YouTube visit my website at ⁠⁠www.ayandastood.com⁠⁠⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

we are becoming FEAR ALCHEMISTS in 2024. hi darlings! in this episode I am giving a MasterClass on moving through and BEYOND the fear of being cringe/embarrassing/shameful online. this is a deep wound that many of us carry: fear of being cancelled, ridiculed, dragged, rejected, or criticized. it stops us from sharing ourselves, promoting our work, art, and services, and opening ourselves up to the LOVING POSSIBILITIES that exist for us through the global portal that is the internet. i have faced this pain (both the fear and the experience) and sat with it and soothed and nurtured, it still lives in me but it is now in a place where i can alchemize it into wisdom, grounded in a collective understanding of creativity and healing. so i wanted to speak to this pain and give us some mindset and perspective shifts on how we can TRANSFORM the fear of being cringe into posting through the fear and embarrassment, with love for ourselves and for the people seeking our voices, art, services, and perspectives. Affirmation: THE WORLD NEEDS Y(OUR) VOICE/ART/GIFTS/CREATIONS JUST! AS! THEY! ARE! ☎️ seeking advice and want to phone in with a question? ⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠ OR write-in an advice question anonymously at the ASK Ayanda form. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Time stamps (01:16): Validate (07:04): Neutralize (16:18): Connect (27:51): Serve (42:33): Zoom out (49:35): Desire (51:20): Summary Work with Me: Work with me one-on-one: https://ayandastood.com/work Information on my Creative Fear MasterClass dropping mid Feb will be updated here: https://ayandastood.com Sources mentioned: ⁠The Creative ACT: A Way of Being⁠ by Rick Rubin Join the community: my muse-letter: ⁠⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG and ⁠@ayandastood ⁠on YouTube visit my website at ⁠www.ayandastood.com⁠⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

in this episode we are calling in ease, flow, pleasure, and love in the experience of creating, rather than as a reward. i talk about releasing the tension i've been carrying, the love i am feeling from all of YOU, the magical masterclass experience I had this Sunday with some of you, and end off with reflective questions that can assist us as we create with more pleasure and ease in 2024. <3 ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here. Key quotes from episode: “The people you make art for don’t want you to suffer” “We embody the codes that we’ve learned from the systems that made us” “The invitation for you is knowing that you are worthy of ease, of pleasure, of flow. NOW. Not when the project is done.” “Pleasure is a measure of our freedom” — adrienne maree brown Time stamps (01:31): MasterClass reflections (05:15): The Love Dimension (05:56): From perfectionism to ease (15:00): Your invitation to ease (20:39) Experimentation (22:53): Tension & release (30:44): Pleasure activism by Adrienne Maree Brown (41:47): Abundant love (48:44): Pleasure & imagination (54:27): Reflection questions (01:00:00): Gratitude & affirmation Sources mentioned: Book: ⁠Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good⁠ by adrienne maree brown Essay: What Plants Are Saying About Us YouTube Channel: Sadhguru Show: The Brothers Sun on Netflix Poem: I Put The Coffin Out To Sea by by Lisa Marie Basile Offering: My MasterClass experience Other resources: YouTube: The Perfect Bedtime Sound bath by Sleeping Vibrations YouTube: Yoga Nidra Questions to reflect on: Join the community: my muse-letter: ⁠⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠⁠ on IG and ⁠@ayandastood ⁠on YouTube visit my website at ⁠www.ayandastood.com⁠⁠ Other quotes from me in this episode: --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

in this episode we honor the garden of your soul AS IT IS rather than focusing on the seeds you will plant this year. we remember you’re whole as you are. you’re complete as you are. you're divine as you are. i expand on this metaphor, inviting you to reflect on the different seeds, plants, flowers, trees, and beings within your soul’s garden and the role you play in that of other people. I also discuss my struggles with cultivating soil of self-compassion within my soul's garden — including in the creation of this episode. i hope you enjoy this episode, made with love <3 ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Time stamps (02:25): My word for 2024 (05:00): Your soul garden (09:11): Eternal seeking (11:40): What role do you play? (15:17): Non-linear time (18:36): My soul garden (25:11): Celebrating you (30:29): Nature is always complete Join the community: my muse-letter: ⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠ on IG and @ayandastood on YouTube visit my website at www.ayandastood.com⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

today’s episode is all about embracing POSSIBILITY as an abundant energy that can unlock itself even further. possibility, and moving through the world with the openness, expansiveness and abundance mindset it invites us into, is a beautiful self-fulfilling prophecy. unfortunately, impossibility works the same way. i discuss some of the ways the energy of possibility has affected my friendships, and unpack four related areas full of possibilities: conflict, romantic relationships, creativity, and social change. we also get into other things (like we always do) such as soulnliness vs. resonating with the people around you, delusion, wholeness, and more. if you are calling in more possibilities at this stage of your life — this episode is for you. I also share an exciting announcement in this episode about a special opportunity to work with me 1:1 through my creative coaching container, launching in January 2024. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks. 👀🤎 i hope you enjoy this episode, made with love. 🤎 ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Time stamps (01:43): Soulnliness (05:27): Possibility & fiendship (16:50): Possibility & conflict (23:17): Possibility & romantic relationships (30:16): Possibility & creativity (see episode 24) (31:31): Special announcement (34:17): Possibility & social change (39:44): Wrap up & summary “Possibility is an energetic frequency we can all tap into” “There’s an amazing reclamation of Delusion on the internet — but let it not just be delusion for our own individualistic hopes, dreams and desires to manifest our own will. Let it also be a delusion we embrace to fuel our collective dreams — the delusion to believe we can end systems of oppression, the delusion to believe we can return to community with each other and with the earth, the delusion and confidence to insist that — in the words of Arundhati Roy — another world is not only possible, though some of us may never get to see her, she is on her way.” “We deserve people around us that make us feel more possible.” “It always seems impossible until it’s done” — Nelson Mandela “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. Maybe many of us won't be here to greet her, but on a quiet day, if I listen very carefully, I can hear her breathing.” — Arundhati Roy “ I refuse the prison of “I” and choose the open spaces of “we.”” — Toni Morrison,The Source of Self-Regar “Assuming other people and opportunities will reject us is a self-fulfilling prophecy: in order to protect ourselves from rejection, we end up rejecting ourselves. We reject ourselves from the possibilities of love, fulfillment, aliveness.” Sending all my love to you today, sunshine. Sources mentioned: Book: The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison (https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-source-of-self-regard-selected-essays-speeches-and-meditations-toni-morrison/9585719?ean=9780525562795) Book: ⁠Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World⁠ by Jenn Granneman and Andre Sólo (https://bookshop.org/p/books/sensitive-the-hidden-power-of-the-highly-sensitive-person-in-a-loud-fast-too-much-world-jenn-granneman/18547944?ean=9780593235010) Speech: Come September by Arundhati Roy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hVfjW81gGg) Episode (mine): 24: Let it Become (https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Ez2vp4qp73hdB9PfJ5Yaa?si=a64d1b5353854463) Join the community: my newsletter: ⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠ on IG and @ayandastood on YouTube every Sunday: Join ⁠⁠showing up together⁠⁠, a virtual working session every Sunday on Zoom from 9am-12pm EST. --- Support this podcast:...

if toxic, eurocentric beauty standards won’t let you rest: this episode is for you. i made a tiktok (620K views) about this idea in June that people resonated with, and so I decided to make an episode about it. let’s unpack how Beauty is a form of alienation from ourselves — and from each other. i hope you enjoy this episode, made with love. 🤎 ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Key quotes: “I believe there’s a world in which we see each other as Divine Beings that cannot be flattened into a toxic Eurocentric, colonial, elitist, ableist beauty standard that is always and already going to dehumanize us and remove us from the ability to experience ourselves and each other as Love.” “Beauty dislocates you from being able to claim yourself in the present tense” Time stamps (02:48): What is alienation? (05:07): Beauty as a distorted mirror (12:32): Beauty and Time (15:48): Intra-community Beauty standards (19:43): Mirrors and Love (25:50): The relentless pursuit and pressure of Beauty (27:17): 3D vs 5D consciousness (32:01): Why I struggled with this episode Sending all my love to you today, sunshine. Sources mentioned: TikToks: On beauty as alienation by me Video 1 (https://www.tiktok.com/@ayandastood/video/7249132796822752518) and Video 2 (https://www.tiktok.com/@ayandastood/video/7249137595135872261) Essay: Estranged Labour, 1844 by Karl Marx (https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1844/manuscripts/labour.htm) Related episodes Industrialized vs. Spiritual Beauty (Idea via Jessica DeFino) Beautiful Lies Ft. Kalpana Mohanty The Ugliness of Beauty The Myth of Inclusive Beauty Moving toward Ugliness Ft. Mia Mingus Read my hand-written essay on Breaking the Colonial Paradigm of Beauty Other key quotes: “We can be so much more if we dismantle the Beauty hierarchy” “Beauty robs you of your sense of self in two ways: Number 1, it equates who you are with how you look according to a toxic, Eurocentric beauty standard. Your “ideal self” is someone who looks a certain way, rather than someone who is a certain Being — which you already are. Number 2: you are always relegated to being worse than your ideal future self, so then when are you ever allowed to exist and to claim yourself? As you grow older and age, people say you don’t look yourself. If you gain weight, people say you don’t look yourself. If you lose weight, you are meant to “feel more yourself than ever”. So then who are you? Surely you always look yourself? No, because Beauty is the alienation of the self from the self” “A world with more radical love, rooted in an anti-colonial understanding of life, HAS TO dismantle the beauty hierarchy, and replace it with a deep love and awe for people as people, rather than value people based on their ability or inability to conform to toxic Eurocentric beauty standards” “You are a multi-dimensional being who, through Beauty and other oppressive structures, is forced to conceive of yourself as a one-dimensional self” “Beauty dislocates you from being able to claim yourself in the present tense” “We will always be alienated from ourselves when we are made to feel unloveable because of a standard that has been imposed on us, one that deeply limits how we then come to understand, experience, and make sense of ourselves and each other” Join the community: my newsletter: ⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠ on IG every Sunday: Join ⁠⁠showing up together⁠⁠, a virtual working session every Sunday on Zoom from 9am-12pm EST. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

many of us feel plagued by a deep-seated unworthiness ingrained in us by society and culture. at a fundamental level, we are convinced there is a lot wrong with us. part of this suffering comes from a society that reduces us to the level of its own distorted and violent view of reality, rooted in colonial and capitalist imaginations. in today's part 2 of our conversation on our infinite worth and power, I asked ChatGPT: why are we irreducible to any one given aspect of our lives? Here are my 7 favorite reasons it came up with, and my reflections on each. if you haven’t watched part 1, you can do so here. i hope you enjoy this episode, made with love. 🤎 ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Sending all my love to you today, sunshine. Key quotes from episode: "You are the universe experiencing itself" “We are multi-dimensional beings often forced to live a one-dimensional reality” Time stamps (00:00): Soul check-in (11:48): Reason 1: Cosmic identity (19:50): Reason 2: Inherent divinity (23:57): Reason 3: Interconnected being (26:47): Reason 4: Multi-dimensionality (27:40): Reason 5: Capacity for growth (30:16): Reason 6: Unique experiences (33:52: Reason 7: Capacity for empathy (37:39): Summary of 7 lessons Sources mentioned: Episode: 32: you are irreducible by me (https://open.spotify.com/episode/0aARoL7F45K4tXoGBPtOxz?si=70d922c02375459b) Podcast: The Science of Setting & Achieving Goals by Huberman Lab Podcast (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1F7EEGPQwo) Article: The Buddhist philosophy of Anatta (https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Anatta) Article: Nondualism: A brief history of a timeless concept by SAND (https://scienceandnonduality.com/article/nondualism-a-brief-history-of-a-timeless-concept/) Book: You're Not Listening: What You're Missing and Why It Matters by Kate Murphy (https://bookshop.org/p/books/you-re-not-listening-what-you-re-missing-and-why-it-matters-kate-murphy/6985911?ean=9781250779878) Book: You Are the Universe: Discovering Your Cosmic Self and Why It Matters by Deepak Chopra and Menas C. Kafatos (https://bookshop.org/p/books/you-are-the-universe-discovering-your-cosmic-self-and-why-it-matters-deepak-chopra/9794035?ean=9780307889157) 🎵 BACKGROUND MUSIC: ⁠Sleeping Vibrations⁠: ⁠Inner Abundance Sound Bath⁠ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPpJ1GOt4_c) Join the community: my newsletter: ⁠⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠⁠ on IG --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

we all face a deep unworthiness and are convinced there is something (or a lot) fundamentally wrong with us. this episode unpacks why you can’t be reduced to any one given aspect of your being or experience, or what society projects onto you and you in turn internalize as your own (eg, Beauty according to the colonial paradigm). you are infinite, complex, and multi-dimensional. you are love. you are divine. you are a multidimensional being forced to over identify with a one-dimensional identity that will reproduce the social order. you are not your productivity, your job, your social status, your “success”. you are not your failures, regrets, or mistakes. you are not the chapter of life that you are currently in. you are not what you fixate on about yourself. what if you are love? what if you are more complex, deep, layered, and awe-inspiring than the reality you've been given will ever let you see or understand? i hope you enjoy this episode, made with love <3 ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠⁠⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Sending all my love to you today, sunshine. Key quotes from episode: “You are irreducible. You cannot be reduced to anything. You cannot be reduced to what the society has defined as deficient in you." "I cannot be counted. I cannot be measured. There is no way to take a Being, who has a lineage, millions of cells conspiring to keep them alive, and quantify their existence. That is the colonizer's way." "We become reduced to what society wants us to think about ourselves, because as long as we carry shame within us, we are less likely to demand anything from the social structures that surround us. Because we believe WE are the ones to blame for our own deficiencies, and we take that out on one another" Time stamps (06:22): You are irreducible (08:20): Social media and quantification of self (14:50): Society's mis-education (16:55): Everything is a mirror (26:19): Reduction, blame and alienation (30:07): You are love (40:37): 7 ways you are infinite (45:12): Spotify Interact (48:54): Rumi poem Sources mentioned: Poem: A gift to bring you by Rumi Book: You Are the Universe: Discovering Your Cosmic Self and Why It Matters by Deepak Chopra Quotes: Quotes on the nature of love by A. H. Almaas Essay: Marx on Alienation by Dan Lowe Background music: Sleeping Vibrations: Inner Abundance Sound Bath Join the community: my newsletter: ⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠ please join me here! follow me at ⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠ on TikTok and ⁠⁠@ayandastood⁠⁠ on IG every Sunday: Join ⁠showing up together⁠, a virtual working session every Sunday on Zoom from 9am-12pm EST. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

if you’ve ever felt that the same sensitivity that makes you drawn to creative work also makes you TERRIFIED of starting, finishing or sharing yours — this episode is for you. the irony of this episode is more than i can express to you — throughout this process i faced so much shame, fear and avoidance (particularly in the editing phase). i feel there’s so much more to say and so much i wish i had said differently. but i'm telling myself that my inner critic is a LIAR, and & i'm choosing to let it be. thank you today and always for being here on this journey with me. i hope that you receive my offering, and i hope my words take the shape of some of your wounds today.i hope you enjoy this episode, made with love <3 ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠⁠⁠. 🎥: Video available on Spotify and YouTube. Sending all my love to you today, sunshine. Key quotes from episode: “Our sensitivity can be the water that hydrates and nourishes our creativity, or the water that drowns it.” Sources mentioned: Book: ⁠Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World⁠ by Jenn Granneman and Andre Sólo Poem: ⁠⁠Why Bother?⁠⁠ By Sean Thomas Dougherty Book: ⁠The Creative ACT: A way of Being⁠ by Rick Rubin Essay: ⁠The Transformation of Silence into Language and Action⁠ by Audre Lorde Join the community: my newsletter: ⁠ayandastood.substack.com⁠ please join me here! Every Sunday: Join ⁠showing up together⁠, a virtual working session every Sunday on Zoom from 9am-12pm EST. Follow me at ⁠@ayandastood⁠ on TikTok and ⁠@ayandastood⁠ on IG --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

Congo is currently undergoing a silent genocide. We are lifting our voices for the people of DRC. This episode is my imperfect attempt to amplify the ongoing situation in Congo, and share the 5 greatest lessons I learned from a book I read in light of the moment we are in called Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara. In this episode, I also read an overview of what’s happening in the Northern Kivu regions where militia groups are massacring, exploiting, and sexually assaulting Congolese people. Free Congo, Free Sudan, Free Palestine, Free Haiti, and free all nations and peoples suffering under colonial, capitalist, supremacist, and military violence. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Sending all my love to you today, sunshine. Key quote from episode: “Cobalt mining is the slave farm perfected.” — Siddharth Kara, Cobalt Red Time stamps: (04:46): Situation overview (18:31): Documentary: Crisis In The Congo (22:26): Book: Cobalt Red & the 5 lessons I learned (25:35): Map of DRC conflicts (29:13): Lesson 1: Exploitative tech giants (43:30): Lesson 2: Human rights atrocities (56:33): Lesson 3: Colonial history (01:03:07): Lesson 4: Stolen future: The assassination of Patrice Lumumba (01:11:47): Lesson 5: Public Health Crisis (01:17:47): How we can help (donate, amplify, share) LEARN: Book: Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives by Siddharth Kara Documentary: Crisis In The Congo: Uncovering The Truth by Friends of the Congo Talk: Cobalt Red with Siddharth Kara by Foreign Policy Association Book: King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa by Adam Hochschild Instagram infographics: Follow @powerfulcountries [Source(s): UnitedNations, IPIS Research, International Rescue Committee, AfricanNews, Al Jazeera, Human Rights Watch, NY Times, Wikipedia, AP News, Relief Web, and The Independent] DONATE: Congolese-led organizations Friends of the Congo Panzi Foundation is renowned for its work in treating survivors of sexual violence. The foundation supports survivors of gender-based violence. HEAL Africa Based in Goma, HEAL Africa runs a hospital and provides health care, training, and community development programs. UCOFEM (Union Congolaise des Femmes des Médias): An organization focused on women’s rights and gender equality. International organizations UNHCR International Rescue Committee Doctors without Borders --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

hi my loves. i recorded this episode a few weeks ago. it’s all about prioritizing sustainability in your creative and life pursuits, rather than burning out on impossible demands of yourself. what’s the easiest and smallest version of this goal or dream or desire i have, and how can i make promises that feel sustainable to keep? i hope you enjoy this episode, made with love <3 ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. Sending all my love to you today, sunshine. Key quotes from episode: “if you keep breaking the promises you make to yourself — why not make different promises?” Sources mentioned: Book: Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown Book: The Creative ACT by Rick Rubin Book: Atomic Habits by James Clear Join the community: my newsletter: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here! Every Sunday: Join showing up together, a virtual working session every Sunday on Zoom from 9am-12pm EST. Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood on IG --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

as a Black South African, my existence and freedom today are only possible because of the liberation efforts of anti-apartheid revolutionaries like Steve Biko, Winnie Mandela, Chris Hani, and Nelson Mandela. all of these people were labeled terrorists by the apartheid government and international community. like Israel, the USA and UK financially supported the South African apartheid government (until it was no longer popular to). after many attempts at non-violent protest, the ANC had to turn to armed struggle. they found that there was no other call for justice and freedom for Black South Africans that would be heeded. this is the case in all liberation struggles. the violence that was used to oppose the apartheid regime in South Africa can not be put on equal footing with the extreme violence of apartheid itself, and must always be viewed in its proper context: an attempt by an indigenous people to be free from the militarized and everyday terror of a white supremacist apartheid state. the same is true for Palestine, with respect to Zionism. ⁠decolonization is not a metaphor.⁠ when we see thorns of violence, and when they pierce our skin, we must look at them and consider: if i am against this thorn, i must acknowledge that this thorn has a stem, this stem has a root, and if i am not against the root of violence, suffering, and terror that gave this thorn life and made its existence not only possible but inevitable, I cannot in good conscience claim to be against violence at all. colonialism and imperialism are the root of all structural violence; are the true terrors against humanity and this earth, so normalized and so protected that to condemn them is to be labeled with words only appropriate for the militarized forces of the world that create the most heinous, and organized forms of violence we as human beings have ever been made to experience and witness. this is an episode in solidarity with my Palestinian siblings, suffering under the weight of an oppressive regime. Free Palestine — free every colonized people from imperialism and colonialism, from bombs, raids, checkpoints, seiges, humiliation, terror, blockades, forced removals, occupations, prisons, slavery, and exploitation. re-indigenize this earth so that peace, community, and love can be returned to the center of human life on this precious planet. DONATE: Medical Aid for Palestinians is on the ground in Gaza where they are working to stock hospitals with essential drugs,disposables and other healthcare supplies. Palestine Children’s Relief Fund is the primary humanitarian organization in Palestine. They deliver crucial, life-saving medical relief and humanitarian aid on the ground The World Food Program has been distributing fresh bread, canned food and ready-to-eat food to those who sought refuge in United Nations Relief and Works Agency shelters in Gaza Doctors Without Borders is providing support to hospitals and health facilities in Gaza UNRWA is providing medical support, trauma relief, and food assistance on the ground in Gaza LEARN: Decolonize Palestine has an overview, myth database, and reading list. Support their Patreon here SOURCES MENTIONED: Video: Why Hamas Attacked Israel - And What's Next For Gaza by Dena Takruri for AJ+ Paper: Decolonization is not a metaphor by Eve Tuck and K. Wayne Poem: Refugee by Mahmoud Darwish Essay: My Palestinian Poem that “The New Yorker” Wouldn’t Publish by Fady Joudah Poem: Shades of Anger by Rafeef Ziadah Poem: HADEEL by Rafeef Ziadah Poem: The Shelling Ended by Najwan Darwish Poem: My Sixteen-Year-Old Mother by Ahlam Bsharat Documentary: Oceans of Injustice Essay: Poetry is Not a Luxury by Audre Lorde --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

welcome to ACT 2 of our convo on longing for a romantic relationship and what wisdom we can learn from this longing. In this episode, I read you a love poems, invite you to define romance for yourself, and share my pov on what romance means to me, and how it can be accessed through friendship. I am sending you love, today and always. 🤎 ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. key quotes from episode: “I dreamed of romantic love and I thought I knew the packaging it would arrive in. But the substance was most important — and it did not come packaged as a romantic lover, but as a best friend” “I will love and be loved. Save and be saved a thousand times.” — Kate Baer “Value all deep bonds equally” — bell hooks “Is it really so that the one I love is everywhere?” — Rumi time stamps (01:49): welcome to Act 2! (06:50): poem: ⁠Idea⁠⁠ by Kate Baer (20:10): my definition of romance (28:27): conceptual barriers (36:43): poem: ⁠Looking for love⁠⁠ by Rumi ☎️ advice hotline: phone in with a question here sources mentioned: Poem: Idea by Kate Baer Poem: Looking for love by Rumi Essay: The Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power by Audre Lorde Book: Communion: The Female Search for Love by bell hooks join the community: my newsletter: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here! Every Sunday: Join showing up together, a virtual working session every Sunday on Zoom from 9am-12pm EST. Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood on IG --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support

today we are talking about longing for romantic relationship and what wisdom we can derive from this longing. how can we integrate rather than suppress our romantic longing? what else can it be channeled into? what does our longing have to say to us, and are we listening? we'll be leaning on works like bell hooks' Communion and Audre Lorde's Uses of the Erotic. This is part 1 of a 2 part series. stay tuned for next episode where we will be discussing things like: romantic friendship, the media we consume, and reimagining where we can find love and desire in our lives. sending all my love to you today, sunshine. ADVICE COLUMN: ☎️ seeking advice and want to PHONE IN with a question? ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠submit a voicemail here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 📩 OR WRITE IN an advice question anonymously at the ⁠⁠⁠ASK Ayanda form⁠ here⁠⁠. 🎥: Watch the video of this episode on Spotify or YouTube. key quotes from episode: “imagine we had a society structured on the principle of love: teaching us how we can be loving and receive love; creating the conditions for all kinds of love to flourish and thrive" "longing is love. what else can we channel the love underlying our romantic longing into?" Time stamps (00:44): poll + leave me a voice note <3 (03:10): what is romantic longing? (07:45): honor your longing (14:22): integrate your longing (23:25): self-love is the beginning (25:10): longing is love (33:00): love as a practice (36:39): how can you be more loving today? ☎️ advice hotline: voice note me here with a question or thoughts sources mentioned: Book: Communion: The Female Search for Love by bell hooks Essay: The Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power by Audre Lorde Podcast episode: Redefining the Erotic by me on Spotify, Apple, YouTube Book: Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds by adrienne maree brown Quotes: Love Quotes from the Works of A. H. Almaas Tweet by @northstardoll join the community: my newsletter: ayandastood.substack.com please join me here! Every Sunday: Join showing up together, a virtual working session every Sunday on Zoom from 9am-12pm EST. Follow me at @ayandastood on TikTok and @ayandastood on IG --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ayandastood/support