What do in the images of social unrest and riots in America's streets that are seared into our minds from

social media and television, evoked disturbing feelings in our meditation practice.

How are we to meet our very uncomfortable reactions to seeing the videos of George Floyd or

Ahmed Aubrey's deaths. How do we even talk constructively about race and

privilege when there's so much noise in the world and unsettledness in our minds.

On today's podcast, Spring Washm and I have a wide-ranging discussion about race,

white privilege, and how in our meditation practice we can embrace discomfort and disturbing emotions

rather than shy away from them. Spring is a visionary teacher and author of a

fierce heart finding strength, courage, and wisdom in any moment.

Spring talks about how she relies upon meditation and writing as a way to deal with racism that she experiences,

and how Harriet Tubman's heroism is a model for her in

today's tumultuous world. Spring offers us very clear advice for our meditation

practice, become grounded, and recognize clearly all of our emotional states from the bliss to the

agony all the while opening our hearts to our own pain and to the pain of others.

It is through this expanse of our hearts that love can be fully expressed

because as Spring reminds us love heals and it is what is needed more today than ever.

Hi Spring. Hi, Mateo, so happy to be here.

Yeah.

You and I recorded a podcast episode a few months ago about meditation, shamanism, and plant medicine,

and your work with black and communities of color, especially in Oakland and also with the indigenous

healers in Peru.

And we were going to air that episode, but as the world has been completely upended in the last months with the worldwide

...