The Cosmic We with Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant
Center for Action and Contemplation
The Cosmic We goes beyond race and racism to consider relatedness as the organizing principle of the universe, exploring our shared cosmic origins though a cult...
Honoring the Life of Dr. Barbara Holmes and Birthing Justice with Linda Janet Holmes
In this very special episode of The Cosmic We, we're honoring the life of our beloved co-host Dr. Barbara Holmes. Co-host Donny Bryant and producer Corey Wayne recall what it was like working on this show with Dr. B over the last 4 years. Coincidentally, the last unaired episode was with Dr.B's cousin Linda Holmes. We had been working on it across the last year of Dr. Holmes' life. As we look to living her teachings forward through this show, we wanted to share this powerful conversation.
This conversation covers a lot of ground: the history of Black midwifery, systemic racism in healthcare, and the spiritual traditions surrounding birth, the importance of honoring African traditions, and the need to reclaim and transform the medical system to name a few. Linda shares her birthing journey and how it led her to champion birth justice and to connect with midwives in both the US and Africa.
A fun fact, Linda and Dr. B grew up in the same home. They take us into their shared childhood, their family's history, and the powerful connections between midwifery and Black history.
Linda's book Safe in a Midwife's Hands was a finalist for the Stone Book Award for the Museum of African American History.
About Linda: Linda Janet Holmes, writer, biographer, oral historian, curator, and long-time women's health activist, is the author of the groundbreaking book, Safe in a Midwife's Hands: Birthing Traditions from Africa to the American South. Holmes' most recent book focuses on stories emanating from decades of interviewing African descendant midwives in the American South, intertwined with the stories of traditional midwives in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Ghana.
Safe in a Midwife's Hands is rooted in the research and writing for her previous book, Listen To Me Good: The Life Story of An Alabama Midwife, (Ohio State University Press). Co-authored with Margaret Charles Smith, a traditional African descendant midwife, Listen to me Good continues to be a widely read best seller, 27 years after its publication.
Resources:
To learn more about Linda, visit her website here
Her book, Safe in a Midwife's Hands can be found here
The transcript to this episode can be found here.
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1:26:28
The Restorative Power of Love With Felicia Murrell
"When I think of the tapestry of the cosmos, I see all sentient beings as threads woven together—one energy running through us all." - Felicia Murrell
In today's episode, author Felicia Murrell joins the Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant in conversation to offer a new vision of living gracefully and with connection. In this conversation, we're diving deep into what it means to be woven together and yet be gloriously unique in this stimulating conversation and about belonging, identity, privilege and our national and cosmic identity.
Resources:
The transcript for this episode can be found here.
To learn more about Felicia, visit her website here.
Felicia's new book And: The Restorative Power of Love in an Either/Or World can be found here.
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59:04
Mysticism, Social Action, and the Path of the Soul With Dr. Liza J. Rankow
How do you remind yourself that we are one—even with those we struggle to like?
On this episode, Dr. Donny Bryant and Dr. Barbara Holmes are joined in conversation by Dr. Liza J. Rankow. Together they explore the concept of mysticism and its relevance to social justice and the uncertainties of our world. Dr. Rankow emphasizes the importance of direct experience with the divine and how that experience can inform and sustain our work for a more just world; highlighting that the current state of the world demands a shift from oppositional dualism to a paradigm of reverence, kinship, and belonging to the wholeness of life.
Dr. Liza J. Rankow is an interfaith minister, educator, activist, and writer. Her lifework centers the deep healing that is essential to personal and social transformation. Liza is the founder and former executive director of OneLife Institute, supporting the well-being of frontline activists and caregivers. She has provided counseling and offered classes in healing and spiritual development for over three decades.
Resources:
The transcript for this episode can be found here.
To learn more about Dr. Liza J. Rankow, visit her website here: https://www.lizarankow.org/
Follow Dr. Rankow's writing on Substack: https://lizarankow.substack.com/
Find Dr. Rankow on InsightTimer: https://insighttimer.com/lizarankow
For all over offerings by Liza, visit: https://linktr.ee/lizarankow
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1:03:55
Sacred Activism With Alison McCrary
When was the last time you deeply listened to someone’s story?
On this episode, Dr. Donny Bryant and Dr. Barbara Holmes are joined in conversation by Alison McCrary exploring the very real impact of how we listen, speak, and show up in the world.
A former nun and tireless advocate, guest Alison McCrary reminds us, “We’re all called to be holy beings—to be the eyes, ears, heart, and being of God in the world.” How will you embody the eyes, ears, and heart of God in the world today?
Alison McCrary, a Georgia-born, New Orleans-based social justice lawyer and spiritual worker, bridges justice and spirituality in her work. With roots in the U.S. South, she serves as a transformative justice practitioner, strategist, and mediator. Passionate about healing trauma and repairing harm, Alison is a Spiritual Advisor on Louisiana’s Death Row. Formerly a Catholic nun, she remains active in her parish and indigenous community, advocating for criminal justice reform, environmental justice, human rights, and cultural preservation.
Resources:
The transcript for this episode can be found here.
To learn more about Alison's work, visit her website here.
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55:07
Consecrating Chaos With Rev. Otis Moss III
How can we cultivate resilience and hope, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges and ongoing chaos?
In this episode Dr. Barbara Holmes and Dr. Donny Bryant talk with Rev. Otis Moss III about Dancing in the Darkness: Spiritual Lessons for Thriving in Turbulent Times, and how we can build resilience by consecrating chaos through prophetic grief and liberation listening.
Otis Moss III built his ministry on community empowerment and social justice activism. As senior pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Moss spent the last two decades practicing and preaching a Black theology that unapologetically calls attention to the problem of mass incarceration, environmental justice, and economic apartheid. Hailed as one of the "twelve most of effective preachers in the English-speaking world" by Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, he has been cited by Chicago Magazine as one of the city's thirty most influential people. He is an NAACP Image Award recipient, award-winning filmmaker, poet, and professor of homiletics at Mercer University McAfee School of Theology. He is married to Monica Brown, and they are the proud parents of two children.
Resources:
A transcript for this episode can be found here.
Rev. Otis Moss III's latest book, Dancing in the Darkness, can be found here.
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About The Cosmic We with Barbara Holmes and Donny Bryant
The Cosmic We goes beyond race and racism to consider relatedness as the organizing principle of the universe, exploring our shared cosmic origins though a cultural lens that fuses science, mysticism, spirituality, and the creative arts. Together with prominent cosmologists, shamans, biblical scholars, poets and activists, Center for Action and Contemplation core teacher Barbara Holmes and co-host Donny Bryant unveil the “we” of us beyond color, continent, country, or kinship to conjure unseen futures in exploration of the mystery of Divine connection.
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