Francesca Maximé: WiseGirl Francesca Maximé

https://www.moma.org/collection/works/81795?sov_referrer=theme&theme_id=5133&effective_date=2020-08-28

https://www.moma.org/calendar/galleries/5133?

Constantin Brâncuși
Fish
Paris 1930
On view
MoMA, Floor 5, 500
This sculpture is the last of the seven Fish Brancusi created, and the largest. It attests to the artist's deep interest in movement; not only does its heavy body, made of flecked blue-gray marble, evoke aquatic motion, it rests on a pivot that once allowed the work to spin. Even when still, the work changes as one moves around it. Broad and horizontal, the marble transforms into an attenuated sliver from particular points of view.

https://www.moma.org/calendar/galleries/5133?installation_image_index=1

Constantin Brâncuși
Fish
Paris 1930
On view
MoMA, Floor 5, 500
This sculpture is the last of the seven Fish Brancusi created, and the largest. It attests to the artist's deep interest in movement; not only does its heavy body, made of flecked blue-gray marble, evoke aquatic motion, it rests on a pivot that once allowed the work to spin. Even when still, the work changes as one moves around it. Broad and horizontal, the marble transforms into an attenuated sliver from particular points of view.

Sandor Iron Rope is the President of the Native American Church of South Dakota, and also a board member of the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative. Learn more about and donate to the IPCI at ipci.life.

Sacred Plant Medicine
Francesca asks Sandor how we can avoid further exploitation of sacred plant medicine, such as peyote, during the psychedelic decriminalization movement. Sandor talks about the need to have awareness and mindfulness around using these powerful medicines. He shares how his people have struggled to protect this medicine, and how the decriminalization effort has lost the sense of respect it needs in an attempt to move too quickly.

“It’s been a battle since day one to protect our medicine, and grandmas and grandpas have been jailed for utilizing this medicine, peyote. They have been jailed for even practicing our way of life. Now, when you come and understand that history, you can understand a little bit of why we don’t want our peyote in this decriminalization movement, because it’s bio-cultural.” – Sandor Iron Rope

Ram Dass talks about understanding the risks and rewards of using psychedelics on Here and Now Ep. 183
Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative (20:15)
Sandor explains how his organization, the Indigenous Peyote Conservation Initiative, has allowed reconnection, regeneration, and conservation of the sacred peyote medicine. They are also teaching their children about the spiritual harvest of the medicine, ensuring the knowledge is passed on. Francesca talks about the short-term thinking of Western culture.

“Everything is about the transfer of energy. Energy is moving, energy exists in all things. Positive and negative energy exists. And when we generate this prayer through positive energy, we are creating this aura, this spiritual aura of energy. And we are projecting the energy upon our medicine, and we are asking it something to help us with. That has been missing.” – Sandor Iron Rope

Roxy Manning PhD and Sarah Peyton join Francesca for a conversation on how we can effectively respond to racism with truth, compassion, and an antiracist heart.
Roxy Manning, PhD is a clinical psychologist and NVC facilitator who loves to guide groups from discord toward values-driven solutions that work for everyone. Her own inner work, coupled with her professional experience, has grown her capacity to meet people with varying levels of education, disparate life experiences, and the most intense feelings in ways that help them feel heard, respected, supported and loved. She has worked globally with individuals and groups committed to social justice and has consulted with businesses, nonprofits, and government organizations around the U.S., wanting to move towards equitable and diverse hiring practices and workplace cultures. Find more at www.RoxanneManning.com

Sarah Peyton, international constellations facilitator, Certified Trainer of Nonviolent Communication and neuroscience educator, integrates constellations, brain science and the use of resonant language to heal personal and collective trauma. Sarah teaches and lectures internationally and is the author of three books: Your Resonant Self: Guided Meditations and Exercises to Engage Your Brain’s Capacity for Healing, it’s companion – Your Resonant Self Workbook: From Self-sabotage to Self-care, and Affirmations for Turbulent Times: Resonant Words to Soothe Body and Mind. Discover more at SarahPeyton.com

Please support Roxy & Sarah’s Kickstarter Project: Two Books: Antiracist Conversations & The Antiracist Heart
Antiracist Conversations // The Antiracist Heart
Welcoming Roxy Manning PhD and Sarah Peyton to ReRooted, Francesca invites this dynamic duo of social justice reform, antiracism, neuroscience, education, and trauma healing, to share the powerful inspiration behind their transformational new two books: Antiracist Conversations & The Antiracist Heart. To start, Roxy shares contemplations around how we address and respond to racism, while Sarah offers grounded self-regulation for overcoming implicit biases and facing racism.

“The more self-regulated we are, the less we are at the mercy of our implicit biases, so the more capacity we have to name what’s happening in our own bodies and be resonate with ourselves, the more we have some ground to stand on to begin to address the structural racism that is terrifyingly comprehensive in our North American world.” – Sarah Peyton

Sarah Peyton & Francesca discuss the effects of white supremacy on neurobiology, on Ep. 41 of ReRooted
History, Grief, & Nonviolent Communication (15:15)
Prompted by Francesca to relay the importance of diving into the history of racism, Roxy shares how doing so is actually learning to move through the stages of grief. Through this lens, she explains how we can use mindful awareness within stages of grief to acknowledge our mourning without collapsing into it. From here the conversation flows into the subtle nuances of nonviolent communication.

“Learning this history is learning to move through the stages of grief. There’s an innocence we have as children where we think we’re gonna be fully accepted and seen for exactly who we are at the capacities we bring, and that moment of realizing over and over again that that’s not the case, we have to go through the anger, denial, all the stages, and whenever we don’t do that, whenever we stop, we actually can get into this really frozen place.” – Roxy Manning, PhD

In this episode of the ReRooted Podcast, Dr. Colin Ross joins Francesca Maximé for a conversation about working with trauma survivors, including combat veterans.
Dr. Colin Ross is an internationally renowned clinician, researcher, author and lecturer in the field of dissociation and trauma-related disorders. He is the founder and President of The Colin A. Ross Institute for Psychological Trauma. Dr. Ross has been running a hospital-based Trauma Program in Dallas, Texas since 1991. He has authored more than 30 books and 250 professional papers. Learn more about Dr. Ross and his work at rossinst.com.

Dissociation and Flashbacks

Francesca welcomes Dr. Ross and they chat about his background in the field of trauma-related disorders. Dr. Ross explains how he defines dissociation, and talks about flashbacks caused by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Francesca brings up how hard it is for people to let go of trauma, and they touch on how the mental health field can cause mental health problems.

“I always say that a flashback flashes back. If it doesn’t have the quality of flashing back, it’s just with you, it doesn’t intrude. So, in order to have the quality of a flashback, it has to be dissociated, disconnected, stuffed inside somewhere.” – Dr. Colin Ross

The Locus-of-Control Shift (24:40)

Francesca asks Dr. Ross about how he sees shame versus guilt. Dr. Ross brings in his concept of the locus-of-control shift, and gives examples from his work with combat veterans who have shifted the blame about loss of life onto themselves as a way to retain some form of control. He talks about why it might be better to label PTSD as Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

“So the locus-of-control shift is the self-blame, which can lead to both guilt and shame, self-hatred, [and] self-punishment.” – Dr. Colin Ross

A Memorial to Trauma (48:55)

Dr. Ross explores a case where he was treating a woman who was traumatized by sexual abuse. He and Francesca discuss the power of memorials such as the one in Auschwitz, but lament that most trauma survivors don’t have a place like that to put their sorrow and grief. They talk about how addiction manifests as a memorial to trauma, and touch on the ugly history of the mental health field.

“This is what’s missing… Slowing down the empathy, the compassion, holding space, honoring, grieving, having collective ceremony, recognizing one another’s common humanity, that life is precious, that different things are not within our control.” – Francesca Maximé

Get more wisdom and resources from Francesca Maximé at maximeclarity.com.

Physicist, musician, & author, Dr. Stephon Alexander, joins Francesca in a conversation bridging physics, jazz music, race, inspirational teachers, and why it’s important to think outside the box.
Dr. Stephon Alexander is a theoretical physicist, musician and author whose work is at the interface between cosmology, particle physics and quantum gravity. He works on the connection between the smallest and largest entities in the universe, pushing Einstein’s theory of curved space-time to extremes, beyond the big bang with subatomic phenomena. Alexander is a professor of physics at Brown University and the president of the National Society of Black Physicists. In his critically acclaimed book The Jazz of Physics, Alexander revisits the ancient interconnection between music and the evolution of astrophysics and the laws of motion. In his new book Fear of a Black Universe, he invites the field of physics to embrace the unknown. More info: StephonAlexander.com

Ram Dass, Science & Seeking
Introducing another multifaceted being of ‘complex intersectionality,’ Francesca welcomes physicist, musician, and author, Dr. Stephon Alexander, to ReRooted to explore the macro and micro of all things theoretical physics, jazz music, Ram Dass, science, spirituality, race, the universe, and embracing the unknown. To begin, speaking to his upbringing, Dr. Alexander shares how his multicultural background informs his work in science as well as his musical inclinations.

“[Ram Dass] inspired me because he showed those of us who are on an academic path, who prioritize the discursive mind, the intellect, and end up at places like Harvard and Brown—like the Buddha he said, ‘I reached that level, but there’s still more questions that could not be answered in those constructs.’ He is an inspiration for those of us – a seeker, a great scientist. The greatest scientists were like Ram Dass in that way. That idea of being a seeker and being a true scientist are parallel to each other.” – Dr. Stephon Alexander

Ram Dass & physicist Amit Goswami connect science & spirituality, on Ep. 160 of Here & Now
Physics & The Power of a Good Teacher // BIPOC Teacher Empowerment (12:08)
Prompted by Francesca to recount the moving story behind his Ted Talk, Dr. Alexander shares about the inspiring physics teacher and professional jazz musician who changed his life by recognizing and nurturing his innate talent from a young age – propelling and motivating Dr. Alexander on his current paradigm-shifting multidisciplinary trajectory and path. From here, they discuss how having BIPOC in teaching positions empowers us all.