98 episodes
Stories Lived. Stories Told. Abbie VanMeter and The CMM Institute
-
- Society & Culture
-
-
5.0 • 6 Ratings
-
What does it mean to embody a communication perspective? To use communication as a lens? To take a communication perspective is to consider what we’re making and how we’re making it through our communication practices. This means we look at patterns, contexts, stories, relationships; and that we use curiosity, mindfulness, collaboration, and dialogue to create better social worlds for ourselves. I invite you to join me (Abbie) in conversation with a guest as we learn what it means to use a communication perspective on a new topic each week- all in the hopes of creating better social worlds.
-
On Decolonizing, Re-Indigenizing & Rematriating with Sikowis Nobiss | Sustainability Series | Ep. 95
Please be aware this conversation contains descriptions of violence perpetrated by white colonizers against indigenous people. (46:04-49:11)
...
How can we “decolonize” our ways of thinking and being?
What does it look like to “re-indigenize”?
What does it mean to “rematriate”?
…
Sikowis Nobiss (she/her) is Nêhiyaw/Saulteaux of the George Gordon First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada and grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. She has been living in Iowa for 19 years and is the founder and Executive Director of Great Plains Action Society and is an organizer, speaker, writer and an artist. She fights for a better future for her two young children.
Today, Sikowis shares her story and the story of the Great Plains Action Society (GPAS). Sikowis unpacks the “Society” and “Action”part of the Great Plains Action Society, explaining each of their 3 initiatives: Protect the Sacred, Land Offense, and Representation. Abbie and Sikowis talk stories, perspectives, and meaning; unpacking the dominant Christian colonial-capitalist perspective; and defining re-indigenizing and rematriating.
...
Read the Huffington Post Article Sikows mentioned here.
Learn more about Truthsgiving here.
Read more from Sikowis on ICWA here.
…
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
Find Rik on YouTube.
Listen to our conversation with Rik in Ep. 8.
...
Visit the Stories Lived. Stories Told. website.
Follow Stories Lived. Stories Told. on Instagram.
Subscribe to Stories Lived. Stories Told. on YouTube.
Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here.
Subscribe to CMM Institute on Substack.
Connect with the CMM Institute on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Access all CosmoActivities for FREE!
Participate in the CosmoParents Survey.
Visit the CMM Institute website.
Learn more about Cosmopolis 2045. -
On Climate Action with Miriam Kashia | Sustainability Series | Ep. 94
Why does it matter how we talk about climate action?
How does better language inspire better action?
...
Miriam Kashia is a self-proclaimed “climate action warrior.” Based in Iowa, she is involved with 100 Grannies for a Livable Future. In 2014, at the age of 71, she participated in the Great March for Climate Action, where she walked 3,100 miles over 8 months across the United States. She was named a “Climate Hero” by the Guardian’s Down to Earth Environmental Newsletter in 2022. You can hear more about her story in “The Race to Save the World” Documentary.
In this conversation, originally published in September 2022, Miriam shares her story, detailing different chapters of her life and reflecting on the journey that has led her to where (and who) she is now. Using the Daisy Model, Abbie and Miriam discuss the petals (lessons, people, and experiences) that transformed Miriam from a concerned citizen to a "climate action warrior" and how Miriam is using her platform to educate and empower others. Miriam shares with us a quote that was shared with her, "We will not give into the fear because it is fear that feeds the darkness" and how she is striving to take on daunting issues with love, truth, and justice. Finally, Abbie and Miriam explore the roles, relationships, and rest that help Miriam stay whole and balanced; Miriam's advice for activists and how her perspective has changed; and what it looks like to lean into the chaos that comes when we start to change our social worlds.
Listen to Part 1 and Part 2 of our conversation with Aline Mugisho.
…
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
Find Rik on YouTube.
Listen to our conversation with Rik in Ep. 8.
...
Visit the Stories Lived. Stories Told. website.
Follow Stories Lived. Stories Told. on Instagram.
Subscribe to Stories Lived. Stories Told. on YouTube.
Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here.
Subscribe to CMM Institute on Substack.
Connect with the CMM Institute on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Access all CosmoActivities for FREE!
Participate in the CosmoParents Survey.
Visit the CMM Institute website. -
On Combating Food Waste with Yolanda Soto | Sustainability Series | Ep. 93
What can you change today about the way you relate to food that would minimize your food waste?
What is the “highest level context” that is guiding you when it comes to how your actions affect the planet?
...
Yolanda Soto has been the CEO President of Borderlands Produce Rescue for 30 years. Borderlands Produce Rescue is located in the border community of Nogales, Arizona and goes beyond the limits of traditional Food Banks by addressing the issue of food waste at the intersection of hunger.
Today, Yoli introduces herself and the Borderlands Produce Rescue. Abbie and Yoli explore the issue of food waste, including the lack of knowledge around the issue, the impact of food waste on the environment, and the opportunities that exist to combat food waste through the Borderlands Produce Rescue and beyond. Using a communication perspective, Abbie offers some new insight around the stories we tell about the issue of food waste and the work of the Borderlands Produce Rescue. Finally, Yoli offers a call to action to all of us.
…
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
Find Rik on YouTube.
Listen to our conversation with Rik in Ep. 8.
...
Visit the Stories Lived. Stories Told. website.
Follow Stories Lived. Stories Told. on Instagram.
Subscribe to Stories Lived. Stories Told. on YouTube.
Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told. here.
Subscribe to CMM Institute on Substack.
Connect with the CMM Institute on LinkedIn and Facebook.
Access all CosmoActivities for FREE!
Participate in the CosmoParents Survey.
Visit the CMM Institute website.
Learn more about Cosmopolis 2045. -
On Embracing Rewilding in Nature and Ourselves with Mark Edwards | Sustainability Series | Ep. 92
How can you embrace wildness in yourself?
What opportunities do you have to experience nature, beauty, and wilderness in your own backyard?
...
Mark Edwards is a 76-year-old naturalist, is a leader in BeWildReWild and its Big River Connectivity project, and is retired from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, where he lead restoration efforts for 30 years. You can join the "Rewilding Iowa and Beyond" Facebook Group and check out this podcast with Mark from the Iowa Nature Summit.
In this conversation, Mark shares his story, including how moving throughout his childhood and being exposed to many different cultures and environments shaped him; how he learned to take care of himself; and how he connected with wilderness through his own travels and finding his way back to Iowa, where he has remained ever since. Abbie and Mark discuss the meaning of rewilding and how we can make new choices around the meaning we make around our relationship to wilderness, nature, and non-human beings. Mark and Abbie explore our own wildness, rewilding as overcoming fear, and moving from imagination to embodiment as we navigate the need to do things differently. Finally, Abbie and Mark talk about the wildness in Iowa (the most biologically altered state in North America) and within ourselves.
…
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
Find Rik on YouTube.
Listen to our conversation with Rik in Ep. 8.
...
Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told.
Learn more about the CMM Institute.
Learn more about CMM.
Learn more about Cosmopolis 2045.
Access CosmoActivities for FREE.
Contribute to the CosmoParents Survey. -
On Redefining Gender Narratives with Burton Patterson | Women's Stories Series | Ep. 91
Please be aware this conversation contains references to sexual assault and gender-based violence.
…
What ideas about gender have you learned from your culture, peers, and family?
How can you find ways to call people in instead of calling them out?
How can you practice approaching defensiveness with curiosity in yourself and others?
How can we begin to embrace our full humanity by allowing ourselves to engage in all ways of being, not just the ones that were assigned to us based on our sex?
What is a small thing you can do this week to create a next turn/ ripple from this conversation?
...
Burton Patterson is a social worker by trade with experience in the fields of Harm Reduction and Mental Health and Addiction, Sexual Violence Prevention, and Healthy Sexual Education. He specializes working with male-identifying folks in gender-based violence prevention.
In this conversation from July 2023, Burton shares his story. Abbie and Burton discuss the narratives and norms around gender that we internalize (whether we recognize it or not). Burton explains why it matters to call men into the conversation, rejecting the idea that the conversation around gender-based violence and sexual assault is simply a “women’s issue.” Abbie and Burton discuss “The Man Box” and doing the internal work. In the second half of this conversation, Burton shares stories about his experience educating groups of young men about toxic and healthy masculinity, rape culture, and gender-based violence. Abbie and Burton explore the way meaning is made when it comes to “femininity” and “masculinity” and how we can embrace the power we have to make new meaning. Finally, Abbie asks Burton what new stories we can start telling about gender to create a better social world for all of us.
…
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
Find Rik on YouTube.
Listen to our conversation with Rik in Ep. 8.
...
Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told.
Learn more about the CMM Institute.
Learn more about CMM.
Learn more about Cosmopolis 2045.
Access CosmoActivities for FREE. -
On Women, Leadership & Collaboration with Sarah Urech | Women's Stories Series | Ep. 90
Where do we start?
How do we bring an awareness of systems and structures and also redefine power within our own selves?
...
Sarah Urech is senior strategist and a founding staff member of the Omega Women's Leadership Center (OWLC), where she designs, coordinates, and leads innovative, holistic education programs, including workshops, conferences, and online courses. Sarah holds a Bachelor’s in Drama from Duke University and studied theater in Berlin, Paris, and London, where she first saw Playback Theatre—improvisational theatre that honors audience members’ true stories through spontaneous enactment. 30 years ago, she moved to New York’s Hudson Valley to study Playback with its cofounders and immediately joined Hudson River Playback Theatre. Her Playback work has taken her around the world and rooted her in an embodied listening practice that is committed to social justice and collective artmaking.
Today, Sarah introduces herself and the Omega Women’s Leadership Center (OWLC). Abbie and Sarah explore shifting consciousness and building awareness around women’s relationships to power and leadership. Abbie and Sarah discuss the old stories we have internalized that have kept women out of leadership roles as well as the new stories we hope to tell to empower women to claim leadership for themselves. Sarah explains Playback Theater; Abbie talks about emergence, improvisation, and collaboration. Finally, Abbie and Sarah consider the relationship between communication, creating space, and wellbeing.
…
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created, produced & hosted by Abbie VanMeter.
Stories Lived. Stories Told. is an initiative of the CMM Institute for Personal and Social Evolution.
...
Music for Stories Lived. Stories Told. is created by Rik Spann.
Find Rik on YouTube.
Listen to our conversation with Rik in Ep. 8.
...
Explore all things Stories Lived. Stories Told.
Email me! storieslived.storiestold@gmail.com
Follow me on Instagram.
Subscribe on YouTube.
Check out my website.
Learn more about the CMM Institute.
Learn more about CMM.