Musings Podcast Charisse

The first time I met Izzy she was a 15 year old student of mine at Imhoff Waldorf High School and reading one of the classics…for fun! In other words, not your average tenth grader, but exactly the bookish creative soul that I was at that age.

We went on to have oh so many adventures together — trekking in the mountains, grabbing all the accolades on stage, navigating the rich waters of the Waldorf Main Lessons together.
After graduation she was a regular at my Flow circles. And those early days of moving, meditating and making together are probably my favourite memories of my entire life. The tremendous healing that took place in those intimate sessions are very dear to my heart.
Our Izzy moved to England, studied Eurythmy (this was Izzy’s Grade 11 Eurythmy performance as choreographed by Sandise Richie Lingani Ngxumsa).…
…met a guy and came home for a last hoorah before becoming an exceptional mom.
Getting to meet my godstar Juno and his lil bro Judah this last December was a life-light. So grateful for this precious time together. Gallery hopping wasn’t quite as seamless as in the past, but what fun we had!
Artists like Izzy help me feel happier about being alive.
Or as Wendy Cope puts it in The Orange:
The rest of the day was quite easy.
I did all the jobs on my list
And enjoyed them and had some time over.
I love you. I’m glad I exist.

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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit charisselouw.substack.com

Chelsea and I met at the Burning Down the House Symposium at the beginning of April. It was love at first Feminist New Materialist quote. To be fair, she wasn’t just poetically patching others insights together, but very much embodying the ethos of this avenue of inquiry most eloquently.
A dream of an afternoon followed where I had the tremendous pleasure of introducing my supervisor/colleague/soulmate to the enchanting Chelsea…it was, of course, a match made in heaven. Quite literally…the Dylan Lewis Sculpture Garden is an actual heaven on Earth.
Chelsea is no stranger to the podcast milieu and you can let yourself be soothed by her dulcet tones at Tea Cake and the Cosmos.


This podcast is available on all platforms. Your subscribing, rating, sharing is greatly appreciated.
Spotify
Apple
Youtube & Pocketcast too.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit charisselouw.substack.com

This beautiful soul and I walked together in the mountains behind my home a year ago. Rakhee has blessed my life ever since with her generosity. We get together to discuss the student uprisings in America after discovering that we were both studying at NYU at the same time…a different time, but also a time of war.
Some of the protest action sweeping across America at this moment as shared by Rakhee on her Instagram:
We wrangle with how to participate in the struggle for a more peaceful planet. After I stopped recording, Rakhee suggested that we regard mindful resistance as a relay race — rest when we need to, trust one another to keep the flame of hope alive, with our awareness ever attuned to the greater good.
We agreed that speaking vulnerably about how horrified we are by the devastation unfolding and how difficult it is to know how to navigate these waters, was very helpful. We hope you find it so. I am constantly moved by the graciousness of those who help walk us home. Rakhee, thank you.
Since we discuss the Tik Tok ban — here’s a lil vid I made on that app of us frolicking in our mountains, but if you prefer your Evil Empire Americ(t)a flavoured…here it is on Facebook.
Last but not least, the Carl Sagan meditation Rakhee mentions:

If you prefer listening to your podcasts, rather than watching them (as I most certainly do) they are available on all platforms. Your subscribing, rating, sharing is greatly appreciated.
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit charisselouw.substack.com

I have an impromptu chat with embodied ray of sunshine Lili who is a skateboarding, crochet kween…and also a physicist in the making. Because apparently you can do it all!

Our small talk looks a little like this, when in our natural habitat, Noordhoek beach:
As usual our conversation roamed into the metaphysical. Thank you for allowing your bday brunch to be hijacked and for engaging in the unknown with such openhearted gusto. Love you Lili.

If you prefer listening to your podcasts, rather than watching them (as I most certainly do) they are available on all platforms. Your subscribing, rating, sharing is greatly appreciated.
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This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit charisselouw.substack.com

I have a lifelong friend. This is not something I take for granted.
We were both born into devout Mormon families in Pretoria and were besties from the get-go.
Both great lovers of the performing arts, we loved the stage and went on to teach, Natalie in Dance and me Drama.
Then as teenagers we were split up when she moved to Ecuador. We were later reunited when I studied at Brigham Young University in Provo Utah.
One of my most precious memories is of how I had but one tragic potato left on my shared kitchen shelf in smelly student housing. I was feeling desperately out of place in this new culture and waiting on my first paycheck from my legally allowed minimum wage 20 hour a week on-campus job, sucking the revolting food waste from the University cafeteria drains. I wasn’t sure where my next meal would come from and was too proud to ask anyone for help.
I came limping home from another endless night shift to discover two fresh baked loaves sitting on my kitchen table with a little note from Natty who was then working at a local bakery. I sat down in the morning light and wept. My friend had my back. She didn’t know, but she knew. Isn’t that friendship in a nutshell?
When I was pursuing my graduate studies at New York University she came to stay and we got to meet up one last time in person in Washington DC where she was house sitting for her eldest sister and I fell in love with her firstborn Byron, who is now 23.
It is midlife that has brought us back together with almost daily conversations that are honest and helpful. We value our love so much that we wanted to share it with you.
If you prefer listening to your podcasts rather than watching them, as I most certainly do, they are available on all platforms. Your subscribing, rating, sharing is greatly appreciated.
Spotify
Apple
Youtube & Pocketcast too.
I hope you enjoy our chat. We did. And if you are keen to have a little natter with me on Musings, please just let me know.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit charisselouw.substack.com

I had a meeting with my brilliant student Shakeelah Ismail this morning.
She had given a(nother) presentation that blew me away at our Burning Down the House Symposium earlier this month and I wanted her to teach me her ways.
In the end we spoke about so much more than that.
This is a snippet of her impromptu wisdom for the benefit of us all.



This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit charisselouw.substack.com