The Joyous Justice Podcast

In this episode (recorded as an Instagram Live before April's Kohenet ordination), April unpacks and examines the buzzword term "trauma-informed." Thinking and talking about trauma has become more and more common. While this is, generally speaking, a good thing, it's important--especially with something fraught, fragile, and potentially triggering--for us to be clear about what we mean, what is possible, and what is safe. April offers a new term, "trauma-agile," to help make things clear. Discussion and reflection questions: What in this episode is new for you? What have you learned and how does it land? What is resonating? What is sticking with you and why? What feels hard? What is challenging or on the edge for you? What feelings and sensations are arising and where in your body do you feel them? Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365) Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Want to work with us? If you are considering one of our group or executive coaching packages, but want to talk it through, you can schedule a no-obligation zoom with April: https://app.usemotion.com/meet/april-baskin/chat-w-april?d=30 All content © 2023 The Joyous Justice Podcast.

The limits our circumstances can place on us often creep in incrementally until we wake up one day and realize we aren’t allowing our full selves to shine. Originally an Instagram Live, this episode finds April reminding herself she can and has created space for what she wants and who she is. There is room for our whole selves in this big wide world–if we’re courageous enough to claim the space. Discussion and reflection questions: What in this episode is new for you? What have you learned and how does it land? What is resonating? What is sticking with you and why? What feels hard? What is challenging or on the edge for you? What feelings and sensations are arising and where in your body do you feel them? Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365) Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Want to work with us? If you are considering one of our group or executive coaching packages, but want to talk it through, you can schedule a no-obligation zoom with April: https://app.usemotion.com/meet/april-baskin/chat-w-april?d=30 All content © 2023 The Joyous Justice Podcast.

The limits our circumstances can place on us often creep in incrementally until we wake up one day and realize we aren’t allowing our full selves to shine. Originally an Instagram Live, this episode finds April reminding herself she can and has created space for what she wants who she is. There is room for our whole selves in this big wide world–if we’re courageous enough to claim the space. Discussion and reflection questions: What in this episode is new for you? What have you learned and how does it land? What is resonating? What is sticking with you and why? What feels hard? What is challenging or on the edge for you? What feelings and sensations are arising and where in your body do you feel them? Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365) Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Want to work with us? If you are considering one of our group or executive coaching packages, but want to talk it through, you can schedule a no-obligation zoom with April: https://app.usemotion.com/meet/april-baskin/chat-w-april?d=30 All content © 2023 The Joyous Justice Podcast.

In this contemplative episode, April reflects on key insights she gained while on vacation. Rest and fun opened up the truth that despite leaning into heart- and spirit-led living, there is still more room–and even an obligation–to be fully and truly oneself. Movement toward that truth can feel scary, since humans sometimes (often?) compromise who we are in service to belonging. But belonging based on censoring our true selves is not true belonging. Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365) Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Learn more about Brené Brown’s writing and research: https://brenebrown.com/ Want to work with us? If you are considering one of our group or executive coaching packages, but want to talk it through, you can schedule a no-obligation zoom with April: https://app.usemotion.com/meet/april-baskin/chat-w-april?d=30 All content © 2023 The Joyous Justice Podcast.

In this reprise of episode 30, April and Tracie reveal the liberatory wisdom in eight practices from Passover observance. Find April and Tracie's full bios and submit topic suggestions for the show at www.JewsTalkRacialJustice.com Learn more about Joyous Justice where April is the founding and fabulous (!) director and Tracie is a senior partner: https://joyousjustice.com/ Resources mentioned: Learn more about the characteristics of White Supremacy Culture: https://www.dismantlingracism.org/uploads/4/3/5/7/43579015/okun_-_white_sup_culture.pdf Hear the song "All my relations" by Ulali: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swgz8nocENw%20 and read the lyrics: https://www.flashlyrics.com/lyrics/ulali/all-my-relations-27

In this vulnerable episode, April shares recent experiences uncovering and working to heal old wounds including feelings of rage, betrayal, and fear. She shares details of fear she’s been navigating and ways it’s been holding her back and that she’s ready to let go of. For April, transparency around her process of feeling and transmuting suffering toward healing is a strategic move to help counter the perception that to have joy we must deny or ignore suffering. Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365) Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Want to work with us? If you are considering one of our group or executive coaching packages, but want to talk it through, you can schedule a no-obligation zoom with April: https://usemotion.com/meet/april-baskin/chat-w-april?d=30 All content © 2023 The Joyous Justice Podcast.

Resilience has gotten a bad rap recently. The ability to “bounce back” has been conflated with the requirement to bounce back into oppressive dynamics. But it’s those oppressive dynamics, not the bouncing back, that’s ultimately the problem. In this episode, April explores the difference between the gift of resilience and the ways in which it has been weaponized by capitalist and neo-colonialist contexts, and previews the work she’ll be leading in the Redefining Resilience workshop next week. Secure your spot in the workshop: joyousjustice.com/resilience Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365) Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Want to work with us? If you are considering one of our group or executive coaching packages, but want to talk it through, you can schedule a no-obligation zoom with April: https://calendly.com/aprilnbaskin/chat-w-april All content © 2023 The Joyous Justice Podcast.

In this episode of The Joyous Justice Podcast, host April Baskin talks about our relationship with thriving, why so many of us have a bad relationship, and how we can start healing it. Our relationship with the concept of thriving begins when we are very young and money is one of the core areas where we have the most negative programming. As adults, we must evaluate our beliefs associated with thriving, question them, and do the inner work. Healing your relationship with thriving is the foundation of positioning yourself and our movements for long-term sustainability and success. Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365) Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Want to work with us? If you are considering one of our group or executive coaching packages, but want to talk it through, you can schedule a no-obligation zoom with April: https://calendly.com/aprilnbaskin/chat-w-april All content © 2023 The Joyous Justice Podcast.

In today’s conversation, we’re thinking about the difference between making something happen, and making space to see what happens. We explore the transition journeys we are both on, the messaging that April is receiving from her body and the Divine while she navigates being sick, the need to slow down when in the midst of massive transformation. Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365) Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Want to work with us? If you are considering one of our group or executive coaching packages, but want to talk it through, you can schedule a no-obligation zoom with April: https://calendly.com/aprilnbaskin/chat-w-april

In this special conversation, we share some important announcements about transitions that all three members of the Joyous Justice team are embarking upon. In this season of emergence and introspection, all of our transitions are both unique, and sacredly timed and interwoven. April also describes how she’s releasing shame around how her mind works. And, we share our appreciation for Joyous Justice, this podcast, and the potent transformation that we’ve experienced and is to come. Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365) Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Want to work with us? If you are considering one of our group or executive coaching packages, but want to talk it through, you can schedule a no-obligation zoom with April: https://calendly.com/aprilnbaskin/chat-w-april

In this episode, we're sharing segments from a live Grounded & Growing class on some key foundational elements of the Success System version of the S.H.E.M.A. Process. April discusses the foundational power of shifting our focus toward what we truly want. And for those of us who may have a hard time knowing what we want, she shares a tool (a Wheel of Well-being. You can make yourself a copy from the link below) and some key questions to help guide you. Make your own copy of an interactive Wheel of Well-being here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11v7y1pvHKs8BG2DDyiZ2wfpFS5lt9P57rAzLx0KeJzI/edit?usp=sharing When thinking about what you want (next) in one aspect of your life, consider these questions: Discussion and reflection questions: Learn more about Grounded & Growing and sign up for the waitlist at joyousjustice.com/apply Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365)

This week, we put Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish New Year of the trees, in conversation with AI (artificial intelligence) technologies like ChatGPT and Lensa AI. We weigh in on this debate (or socratic seminar, as April calls it) and think about our pacing as AI becomes an increasingly bigger part of our lives. Explore ChatGPT: https://chat.openai.com/chat Find Jo Kent Katz’ website here: https://www.jokentkatz.com/ Learn more about Ricardo Levins Morales: https://www.rlmartstudio.com Learn more about Aurora Levins Morales: http://www.auroralevinsmorales.com/ Listen to our episode titled “Slow, deep, irreversible”: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1146023/11710644 Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365)

The past week or so have brought an unwelcome reminder that anti-Black racism is alive and well in 21st-century America. With this as backdrop, we’re reprising episode 44. In this conversation, we respond to a common question about racial justice work and explain that because the Jewish community is a global, multi-racial people, racial justice already is and must continue to be a core Jewish value and issue. Read Josefin Dolsten’s op-ed in The Forward, entitled “As Jews, we need to speak out against DeSantis’ efforts to erase Black history:” https://forward.com/opinion/533221/jews-black-history-desantis-speak-out-erase/ Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Read more about Rabbi Leora Kaye and her work: https://reformjudaism.org/author/rabbi-leora-kaye Check out what we mean by Jews of the Global Majority here: https://joyousjustice.com/global-majority-jews Listen to April on the BBC’s Heart and Soul on Black Jewish Lives Matter to hear more about her thoughts on our global multi-racial Jewish community: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct2fnq Review the Jews of Color Field Building’s research on population demographics: https://jewsofcolorfieldbuilding.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Counting-Inconsistencies-052119.pdf Check out this article about the importance of cultural competence for teams: http://www.theinclusionsolution.me/cultural-competence-part-2-why-is-it-important/ Check out our discussion/reflection questions for this episode: www.joyousjustice.com/blog/jews-talk-racial-justice-ep-44 Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365)

Tracie shares one of the ways she says present throughout the day amidst the immensity of the to-do list or the demands to be productive: saying blessings over daily rituals. She tells us about the blessings she says over things that may seem mundane–like a cup of coffee or a workout–-, and what effect this has had on her life. Interested in Grounded & Growing? Apply now! https://joyousjustice.com/apply Learn about Marcia Falk and her book The Book of Blessings: New Jewish Prayers for Daily Life, the Sabbath, and the New Moon Festival https://www.marciafalk.com/blessings.html Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365)

Inspired by April’s appearance on a panel entitled, “Religion is…divisive,” and in the shadow of Martin Luther King Jr Day, we dig into the ways religion can be used to defend or to dismantle systemic oppression. Together, we think through what we believe comes after the ellipses (we don’t LOVE ‘Religion is… divisive.’), weaving in our understanding of the role of religion historically and contemporarily. Register for our upcoming live, interactive 5-day workshop, Roadmap to Resilience: https://joyousjustice.com/roadmap Interested in Grounded & Growing? Join the waitlist! https://joyousjustice.com/apply Read more about David Kyuman Kim (Executive Director, Center for the Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, Stanford University): https://ccsre.stanford.edu/people/david-kyuman-kim Watch Eboo Patel’s TED Talk, “Building bridges - religions’ role in our societies:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYLesUKHPGc Learn more about Dr. Gabor Maté: https://drgabormate.com/ Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365)

In a follow up to our last episode, today’s conversation focuses on joy in adulthood. We talk about joy as abundance and about the ways we can weave joy into our everyday life and give it structure–not to squelch it, but to help it serve our best interests. April also explains how she has tweaked her habit tracker to weave in joy. And, we share other things that are bringing us joy right now (like stovetop popcorn with butter!). Register for our upcoming live, interactive 5-day workshop, Roadmap to Resilience: https://joyousjustice.com/roadmap Interested in Grounded & Growing? Join the waitlist! https://joyousjustice.com/apply Learn more about Annie-Rose London and their work: http://www.annieroselondon.com/ Read about Brené Brown and her work: https://brenebrown.com/ Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365)

We’re on the other side of 2022, and we're thinking about how we can cultivate joy in 2023. April recounts a moment from several years ago when she was struggling to even access joy and reflects on where she is with that journey now. Plus, we harken back to our childhoods and talk about what brought us joy then (and spoiler alert: what brought you joy then might also bring you some joy now!). Register for our upcoming live, interactive 5-day workshop, Roadmap to Resilience: https://joyous-justice.mykajabi.com/roadmap Interested in Grounded & Growing? Join the waitlist! https://joyousjustice.com/apply Read more about Sonia Choquette and her work: https://soniachoquette.net/ Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365)

In this season of short days, the light we do have becomes all the more precious. In today’s conversation, we use the metaphor of light to help us understand and articulate how change happens–both in individuals and in systems. When we stop hiding it, and join our own light with others’, we are so much stronger than the darkness. Register for our upcoming live, interactive 5-day workshop, Roadmap to Resilience: https://joyous-justice.mykajabi.com/roadmap Interested in Grounded & Growing? Join the waitlist! https://joyousjustice.com/apply Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365)

Inspired by the Chanukah themes of rededicating the Temple, April and Tracie explore what it would look like to practice rededication, particularly as an alternative to New Years’ resolutions. While resolutions might feel transactional or center around deficit, rededication recognizes what we’re working for and builds upon it. And, we get into the important role that community and our interconnectedness plays in moving toward the world we want. Interested in Grounded & Growing? Join the waitlist! https://joyousjustice.com/apply Learn about James Clear’s book Atomic Habits: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits Read about Cheshbon HaNefesh, accounting of the soul: https://www.judaismyourway.org/2021/08/20/soul-accounting/ Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365)

As we’re hosting our Roadmap to Resilience workshop, we’re feeling reflective and appreciative about where we are and where we’ve been. So, we’re sharing a conversation from last spring inspired by a session of Grounded & Growing, the program on which Roadmap to Resilience is based. April and Tracie recently realized they have different practices in response to injustices. Though their actual behaviors diverge, what they have in common is that they are using intentional and strategic attention as a form of a social and racial justice practice. Because of our many different identities and experiences, our social justice practices are not one-size-fits-all. Some of us need to protect ourselves from re-traumatization. Others need to counter the numbness and dehumanization that has become default reactions to injustice. All of us can contribute to a world of justice, wholeness, and healing. Register for this live, online workshop and find out more info: https://joyous-justice.mykajabi.com/roadmap Learn more about the police killing of Stephon Clark: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_of_Stephon_Clark Support our Jewish Black & Cherokee woman-led vision for collective liberation here: https://joyousjustice.com/support-our-work Discussion and reflection questions: Visit https://joyousjustice.com to learn more about Joyous Justice, LLC, our team, and get connected & involved in our community! Join our online community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/590922415522750 Submit a question, insight, or topic or guest suggestion at https://joyousjustice.com/connect Find April’s TikTok videos here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aprilavivabaskin Follow us on Instagram (@joyous.justice), Twitter, (@JoyousJustice), or Facebook (www.facebook.com/joyousjustice365)