Welcome to the Laverne Cox Show, a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership with IHeart Radio.

We were the Kaiser of our people.

We were the HMO of the land.

Those colonial oppressors, yes, they saw us for what we were.

We were a vehicle to stop their progression.

We bore both physical energy, ancestral energy, energetic energy. We knew how to manipulate the earth.

And the land we would ship. Hello, everyone, welcome to the Leverne Cox Show.

I'm LeBern Cox.

On this podcast, I've invited you to go on a journey with me towards healing from shame,

trauma, attachment issues, adverse childhood experiences, and more.

But I believe there's another essential element involved in healing that we may be briefly

touched on here that haven't really done a deep dive

into yet. And that spirituality. Now let me be clear. I am not talking about religion. I am talking

about spirituality. Now, I love Renee Brown's definition of spirituality. You know we love Renee Brown here.

Renee Brown defines spirituality as recognizing and celebrating that we are all inextricably connected to each other by a power that is greater than all of us.

And that our connection to that power

and to one another is grounded in love and compassion.

Practicing spirituality brings a sense of perspective,

meaning, and purpose into our lives.

I believe spirituality is a crucial part of our healing, and I have the very most perfect

person with whom to have this conversation with you today. I first met Valerie Spencer in 2012

for a panel I was moderating for the National Black Justice Coalition in Washington, D.C. Valerie was a panelist.

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