Vanilla Weeds: Recent Episodes
Dayu Dwirani, Mia Boyle, Natalia Blagoeva
Today, we perceive weeds as valueless. So, we destroy them. Similarly, we see value in grooming humans to think alike. We claim to appreciate diversity, but we live in bubbles, scared of the messiness and lack of control over the “wild field” full of diverse opinions and values. We also take a “vanilla approach” to how we show up in the world. We show the beauty but hide the messiness in our heads and lives. This podcast of Dayu Dwirani, Mia Boyle, and Natalia Blagoeva ventures beyond right and wrong into the unknown, yet familiar space, from where we can create a life worth living. Together.
Welcome to the latest episode of the Vanilla Weeds Podcast, where hosts Natalia Blagoeva and Mia Boyle are joined by Andrew MacDonald.
Andrew brings a unique perspective to the conversation, describing himself as a meditator, lover of groups that foster collective intelligence, and a light-hearted former long-term confused trauma victim. He is also a writer and has extensive experience in men’s work, serving as an elder, mentor, and coach.
Throughout the episode, Natalia, Mia, and Andrew delve into the challenges that arise in relationships between men and women. They discuss how understanding and navigating these challenges is crucial to re-emerging the lost art of living together harmoniously. Andrew's, Mia's, and Natalia's rich backgrounds and experiences provide valuable insights and practical advice for anyone looking to master the art of living together.
Join us for a thought-provoking and enlightening discussion that aims to bridge the gaps in our understanding and bring about a more harmonious way of living together.
In this episode, Mia Katherine Boyle and Natalia Blagoeva are hosting a conversation with our guest Erin Reese- a spiritual teacher, an intuitive, and the author of the Soul of India Trilogy. The trilogy is a spiritual travel adventure. It includes the book “Truth Seeker: A Spiritual Adventure of Love, Loss, and Liberation” as well as the books “The Adventures of Bindi Girl: Diving Deep Into the Heart of India” and “Bindi Girl 2: Surrendering to the Soul of India”.
Erin’s books are deeply personal spiritual memoirs of her journey. They start with her own existential crisis and the willingness to lose everything to find true, lasting freedom. That ultimately led her to the end of seeking and the end of suffering.
Although the books are about Erin’s spiritual journey, they are a great companion to anyone who may feel any existential suffering or anyone standing on a cliff, having to dive into the unknown.
Indeed, during our conversation, we spoke of spirituality and other spiritual concepts like living in the now, seeking, awakening, non-duality, and surrendering. However, what came through in the end is that the ultimate result of such a journey is living a life here on Earth of joy, easiness, fulfillment, and richer self-expression. That is the natural result of the step-by-step removal of all separations we have built and surrendering to life instead of trying to control it. It is about reconnecting to our true selves, to each other and to Nature, and ultimately, to the natural rhythm of life.
We invite you to follow Erin on Substack and get to know her: https://erinreese.substack.com/.
In the first episode of Vanilla Weeds for Season 2, we find ourselves in unprecedented times when it comes to the state of affairs locally and globally.
In times like these, we always ask ourselves what is our personal responsibility; what’s ours to do. During the discussion that followed, we came up with answers to this question. First and foremost, we agreed that we need to start by admitting that whatever is happening, we are part of it. We are contributing to everything we do or don’t do.
What we agreed is that if we want to take our responsibility and show up in the world differently, there are some simple steps we could take:
- Slow down, breathe, and connect to your heart.
- Spend quality time with Nature and like-hearted people.
- Diversify your sources of daily information.
- Become aware when you act out of fear.
- Welcome anger and sadness and avoid toxic positivity.
- Engage in soul-enriching activities, for example, art.
- Acquire knowledge on how society and economy function.
We agreed that these are all simple things within our reach, and we can find the time to do it. Listen to the full episode to understand the meaning and significance of each topic and how we can find the time to fulfill our responsibilities.
In this episode, we delve into the multifaceted world of self-censorship, exploring its motivations, its consequences, and its impact on our individual and collective freedoms. We'll examine how self-censorship shapes our online interactions, filters our information intake, and ultimately influences our perception of the world around us.
In this episode, we take a deep dive into the world of social media. We explore the good, the bad, and the future of this powerful tool.
We'll talk about the impact of social media on our mental health, our relationships, and our democracy. We'll also discuss how social media can be used for good, such as to promote social justice and to raise awareness about important issues.
In this episode, we talk about Artificial Intelligence and its implications for human civilization in general, as well as for each one of us in particular.
In episode #6, Vanilla Weeds explores the broad topic of Beauty.
Beauty has always been important but we seem to lack the ability to differentiate various ideas about beauty. There are different kinds of beauty — There is a deeper aspect of beauty that speaks to the heart —and this is one of the main capacities of the soul — to experience this deeper beauty. Then there is another beauty that is constructed by societies. Socially constructed beauty is both imprinted on our biology and also socially constructed over time.
It is important to discern the different kinds of beauty in order to understand the higher self as well as our relationship to one another. We do a deep dive into the idea of beauty, what are the origins of these ideas around beauty and how are the different aspects of beauty impacting our communication, our understanding of the world, and of ourselves?
As is customary for Vanilla Weeds, we contemplate how systems impacting the global community are affecting and changing us locally as well. We ponder the development of technology and Artificial Intelligence and what - if any - consideration is given to the soul or concepts like compassion and emotional intelligence. What are the ramifications of developing a future without understanding the human relationship to creativity and compassion?
Also with regard to beauty and the soul— the concept of Art and the purpose Art serves for both the individual (inner) and the collective (outer) as a way to recognize an objective truth.
A work of Art can express the soul in humanity for the observer. This is where beauty resides.
We also explore different aspects of beauty as a concept. We asked ‘What is beautiful?’ in the conventional sense. Beauty standards adversely effecting the role of women in society and can be exploited in various ways. Every human being is unique so why do we allow ideas about beauty to be standardized? In this way, understanding ourselves through examining what we find to be beautiful becomes a way forward personally and also creates expansion for society. There is great value in questioning current standards of beauty and elevating the conversation around human values in order to create a way forward through a world that is fraught with challenges and crises.
For the next hour and a half, we are joined by the great frontman, multi-talented musician, activist, teacher, and humanitarian Gino Yevdjevich who graduated from law school into the beginning of the Bosnian war. His shock at the destruction and death drove him to give up the law for the immediacy of musical expression. He sought refuge in Seattle, where he still resides with his band of 26 years, Kultur Shock - a Settle-based gypsy punk band that specializes in mixing music like rock, metal, and punk with traditional Balkan music.
In this episode, we discuss Art, commerce, and the true definition of creativity, the courage to pursue creative arts as a career, pursue the knowledge of Self (“It’s not easy to know who you are…what if you don’t like it?”) and the power of creativity during the madness of wartime. We discuss his experiences in Seattle teaching theater to people with developmental disabilities — their achievements as artists that defy all expectations (“Talent and I.Q. have nothing in common, nothing.”)...And finally, we discuss the modern-day issues around femininity and the role of gender, political roles vs personal expression, competition vs collaboration -- and end up where we always arrive -- with the notion that -- if we can sit at the same table and talk about life, we always find a common thread uniting humanity.
During this conversation, we call out the real reasons why we see an increase in mental health problems. We touch upon societal changes causing an increase in mental health issues (including the recent pandemic) and critique news media and social media. We touch upon the failings of the western/modern mental health system and emphasize the importance of recognizing our own healing powers. Finally, we discuss the urgent need to reconnect with nature and to our own humanity, emotions, and creativity.
This conversation is about opposites and polarization. We consider that the concept of opposites is helpful to reframe a state of mind. Polarization, on the other hand, is helpful in simplifying complex issues into simple options.
Yet, these simple options often become oversimplified into ‘black-and-white’ and ‘right-and-wrong’ thinking. Most debates in society today are diminished to pro and against, which has led to unprecedented divisions, paralyzing us by blinding us to alternatives, and denying us the possibility of discovering more subtle, viable solutions to our problems today.
Our conclusion was that, to get out of that circle and master the art of living together, we need to embrace the reality of complexity, get out of our traditional bubbles, and become open to explore different and even opposite opinions. These ideas and more are what Vanilla Podcast focuses on bringing to you.
This conversation turns the mainstream rhetoric upside down on the topic of women's empowerment and women's equality. What you will hear is provocative and inspiring at the same time. We realized that what seems to be a very complex theme boils down to a few simple things.
We concluded that to master the art of living together, our task as women is to stop identifying as the victim and to stop asking for permission to be powerful.
Instead, we need to recognize that we have always possessed the power we seek. We need to reawaken our authentic, feminine sense of Self, own it, live it, and fall in love with it.
The first episode of the Vanilla Weeds Podcast is an organic conversation about what our responsibility is as individuals and communities in the world of today.
To master the art of living together, we concluded that we need to accept our role and responsibility in co-creating the world we live in. In order to create possibility, we need to let go of blaming others or trying to ‘change’ the world outside of ourselves. Instead, without being scared or paralyzed by what we think is happening, we can influence a change by being awake and open to exploring the complex and diverse world of today.
Our role is to continue the flow of life with gratitude, reconnect to ourselves and each other, enjoy life, tune into our creativity and be consciously pro-active in how we co-create the world we live in.