![]() Indigenous ways of relating to the material world are sustainable and sacred as a Material Feels listener, I imagine you care about those things, too. Every time I do a land acknowledgement, I don’t just google “Whose land am I on?” I take time to read and listen to the voices of the people. San Diego County has more reservations than any other county in the country. ![]() The Kumeyaay have intimate knowledge of this topography, their cultural practices in tune with the seasonal changes. The Kumeyaay’s territory has incredibly diverse geography in the state of California, stretching from the coast to the desert, with valleys and mountains between. The interview with Colleen was recorded on Ohlone land in Oakland, California, and this episode was produced on the traditional territory of the Kumeyaay. You might need time to process during or after so I encourage you to press pause, jot down some thoughts, listen with a friend and maybe give yourself some extra time after listening to decompress. It can bring up heavy emotions, and the kind of work Colleen does asks us to go to a vulnerable place. Just a heads up this episode is a bit intense: ritual and ceremony is a deep topic. Welcome to Material Feels, where we explore the intimate relationships between people and the materials they have fallen in love with. Like parents came, it was like, there was a program, it was like a, this is the purpose of this gathering. But you know, like it was an intentional space. It was very secular ritual, you know, anyway, and it wasn’t, and they didn’t make a big deal and invoke any gods or goddesses or anything obviously. ![]() Like that bridge to juniors thing I had when I was leaving brownies was a ritual. materials that I work with are time and space and elements.Ĭatherine: How would you define a ritual?Ĭolleen: It’s intentional space that’s created with one or more people and it is, um, usually has an intention, with a sacred space of some kind created, um, whether that’s or an intentional space, I could say, cause it’s not always the, the word sacred and religion kind of go together. I am based in the San Francisco bay area. And that, that is very, very freeing and comforting.Ĭolleen: My name is Colleen Thomas I’m a ritual artist and an independent audio producer. I feel like I’m like connected to spirit, to ancestors, to, you know, in my case to the goddess or all it is, well, then I feel like I’m, I’m not alone. They’re like linked up with me, like energetically in this space. I feel in the zone the whole time I’m in ritual space, especially if I’m not facilitating or having to be my brain, if I can just be in my body, you know? I feel most empowered when I feel like I’m not doing it alone,when whatever is moving, maybe being witnessed by people, listening to this thing I’m sharing or watching this thing I’m doing, and they’re with me, you know, they’re a hundred percent with me. ![]() Um, cause they’re letting me in, even if I’m not in the ritual, I’m helping them plan it and probably going to check in with them afterward just to sort of get a debrief on how it went. I tell me more about that….a lot of deep listening and just profound respect for their process and gratitude that they would in that they are involving me in their process. Shame Piñata Opening & Closing Music by Terry Hughes Material Feels Podcast music by Liz de LiseĬolleen Thomas: I have to contain my natural excitement a bit, so to be quiet and to listen, cause what my job is, is to listen and to hear and to hear between the words and to say, oh, wow. But what are the materials of ritual and how can we use them to design ceremonies to support us in doing "the thing"? What differentiates one kind of ceremony from another often comes down to intention. Ritual can help begin things, end things, bridge over from one thing to the next.
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