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The Prolific Hub Podcast
The Prolific Hub Podcast is a digital archive & celebration of all things creativity, purpose and alignment.
The Prolific Hub Podcast
[REPLAY] | A Journey Through the Primordial Soup ft. Adriana Michelle, The Death Alchemist
This week's episode is a replay of Ep. 39 | A Journey Through the Primordial Soup ft. Adriana Michelle, The Death Alchemist, with an updated intro.
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"The fear of death is also the fear of life." This week, we're journeying through the 'primordial soup' with Adriana Michelle, The Death Alchemist.
Adriana's compassionate storytelling and unique perspective offers us a chance to explore death and grief through the lens of cultural heritage and ancestral connection. With her mission to create a space where these difficult conversations can happen with care, Adriana brings both her personal and professional experiences to the table, guiding us through the importance of honoring our ancestors and finding tools to navigate life’s transitions.
More from Adriana:
- Visit amoryalquimia.com
- Follow @thedeathalchemist on IG
- Listen to Vida Podcast
Resources:
- Vida Podcast - Episode 4: The Death of Self
- Ted Talk - Why thinking about death helps you live a better life, Alua Arthur
- GMA - Regina King talks about her grief after son’s death
- Sensual Faith Ep. 39 - What Does the Unchained You Look Like?
- Therapy for Black Girls - Session 355: The Work of Death Doulas
- Hold for Maintenance - Hold for Virtual
- Small Doses with Amanda Seales: Side Effects of Honoring Death (with Dr. Nicole Truesdell)
- Shaping the Shift Podcast - Death & The Girl Series: Attachments & All
- Unruly with Shelah Marie - Grief & Healing: Navigating Loss with Asha Edouard
Support:
- Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK
- Dial "988" for the 24/7 Crisis Line
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Hi friend, welcome back to the show. This week we're on the heels of El Dia de los Muertos and we are also in a transitional time of year, a transitional season. It's fall, the seasons are changing. For those of us based in the US, we just had to roll our clocks back and, yeah, people should be in tune and attuned to the natural cycles of our seasons and it's sad that a lot of people feel like they can't slow down. I am slowing down as much as I possibly can this time of year and I wanted to actually reflect on a previous episode. So this week's episode is not new. It is a replay of a previous episode A Journey Through the Primordial Soup featuring Adriana Michelle, the death alchemist. Suit featuring Adriana Michelle, the death alchemist. Our conversation touched a lot on the themes of death and grief, themes that we know all too well, particularly as we continue to witness a lot of grief and death around the world, and I just felt like it was a good time to reshare this episode. I'm also reflecting on my last big international trip, which was around this time last year, to Mexico with my best friend, on the heels of El Día de los Muertos and, yeah, just feeling a little bit nostalgic about that trip and about that time and how good it felt and how much I enjoyed it. And, yeah, I felt like it was a good time to revisit this episode. So this episode, like I said, it is a repeat episode. So this episode, like I said, it is a repeat episode. It's one we've played before. So if you didn't get a chance to tune in then I hope you'll tune in now. If you enjoyed that episode at the time, I hope you will enjoy it again, maybe in this new season with new ears. Depending on the experiences you've had since this episode first dropped, it might land a little bit differently, so I'm excited to replay it.
Speaker 1:I have actually come across some other just resources pertaining to this topic since this episode aired and I have included those in the show notes. But I've listened to some other podcasts and some other series around this topic and I think they're worth the deep dive. So if you're interested in more resources around that, there are some of the original ones that were listed when the initial episode dropped. I've added an episode of the podcast Unruly with Sheila Marie that talks a lot about death and transition. I've added a series called Death and the Girl that is actually from 2023, by Thea Monnier, and, yeah, a number of other resources that I think are worth checking out. So that is that this will be an audio only experience. So I hope you will enjoy listening and tuning into an audio only experience, which is how podcasting started. So, getting back to basics here, which I like.
Speaker 1:All of that being said, I would be remiss if I did not mention or encourage folks to get out and vote. I know that's not the greatest transition or pivot, but if you did not have a chance to participate in early voting over the past week, several days, you still have an opportunity on actual election day. If you're someone who's living out of state from where you're actually registered and you didn't have an opportunity to go back to the county that you're registered in, I hope you had an opportunity to send in your absentee ballot or made whatever arrangements there that you might have needed to. I know so many folks are just fatigued by this whole electoral process.
Speaker 1:People feel strongly about what's going on in the world. We have been exposed to the monstrosity of the US empire in ways now, particularly through social media, that a lot of us had not seen before or maybe were too young to fully understand a long time ago. A lot of people feel defeated, distrustful. What's the point, all of the things? And I will always say that our society and our world is going to require a new way of being and a new system. However, until we get there and those things take decades to build, to deconstruct and build again we still exist in this current system and in order to have a say in how it changes and how it evolves and how it adapts to within the confines of the current system that exists, there is still an electoral process, and I think where a lot of the frustration builds is that many folks wait until the general election to have their voice heard and then they feel like their president doesn't meet their needs.
Speaker 1:Well, I hate to be the person to remind you. You've forgotten about this. There are other elections that take place for your local and your state officials, and those are the people that are going to have the biggest impact on your day-to-day lives. So if we're not regularly participating in those elections for our local communities, for our cities and our states, of course we're going to feel defeated by the time we get to the presidential election. So I would just encourage folks to really think about that how you can be more engaged locally, more regularly throughout the course of the year, so that you actually feel like changes are happening in your community and you're a part of them and not feeling so burnt out and defeated by the time we get to the presidential election, which is still an election that we need to be mindful of and we need to consider. That we need to be mindful of and we need to consider, and, as long as we exist in this current system until a new one is born, we do what we must to create the change that we want to see.
Speaker 1:So I was able to participate in early voting and that was great for me because I actually like my early voting site way more than my regular election day site. It's closer, it's more convenient, it's more open and just cleaner and feels better and runs more smoothly. I was able to get in and out in a couple of minutes, which was great. To get in and out in a couple of minutes, which was great. So, yeah, if you didn't have a chance to participate in early voting, you still have an opportunity on election day. So I hope that you will do that and I hope that we'll have an opportunity to buy ourselves a bit more time, especially those of us who identify as marginalized or underestimated communities people of color women, members of the LGBTQ community, those of us who are witnessing firsthand state throwaway women's rights and access to various kinds of health care related to pregnancy or abortion.
Speaker 1:So many states are reconsidering laws around interracial marriage. It's just crazy like gender-affirming care for people. It's sad to be in a time where we've witnessed so many people come before us fight for these liberties, many of whom have obviously transitioned and are ancestors who have passed on, but many of whom are still alive and remember what a fight and a struggle it was to even be able to vote in like 1960. It's just a wild time to exist. But I'm also just a little bit concerned by the fact that there are so many people, particularly in my age group, who are just completely opting out and passing on problems that are very much all of ours on to like younger generations, like saying things like oh, gen z got it, gen z will save us, like all these things.
Speaker 1:And I I remember listening to and I'll make sure this is linked in the show notes as well another episode about death all kinds physical, metaphorical, ego death, all the things with Amanda Seals featuring a guest and the guest was talking about how much we pass off our burdens to these children instead of recognizing that we are adults and we are capable and we should be trying to solve a lot of problems too, and not just like passing them off to the babies and expecting them to save the world, like it's also our responsibility to save the world for them. You know, they are the children and hearing a lot of the ways that folks are sort of dismissing or negating responsibility and expecting like the next person's problem and I definitely was that once upon a time in the past, like my early 20s, maybe I didn't know any better I would say things like oh well, you know, climate change, climate crisis not really my problem, I'll be dead before it gets really bad. And now I'm 32, going on 33, and I'm looking around like yeah, it's like early November in New York City and we had a damn near 80 degree day recently. Like that's not normal, like witnessing the devastation of how much more powerful and intense and insane hurricanes have gotten and the devastations that that's causing. I saw a quote the other day on tiktok? More than likely, because that's I'd be spending way too much time on tiktok, y'all, where it was just like climate change is going to be a series of devastating events. Until you're the one recording and when I tell you that sank in in the worst way. Yeah, it's very real and it's very here and it's very much happening within our lifetime, and it will only get worse because, unfortunately, billionaires and corporations care about themselves and their profits more than humanity.
Speaker 1:You know, I didn't plan to say all this and do all this. I just wanted to be like. You know, this is going to be a replay of a previous episode and go vote. I've been rambling for 15 minutes instead. So, that being said, we are going to jump into this replay. I hope that it will land and hope that you will enjoy it. If you tuned in the first time, I hope you enjoyed it then and I hope you enjoyed this reprise now. All right, friend, let's jump in. Enjoy this reprise now. All right, friend, let's jump in. Hi friends, welcome back to the Prolific Hub podcast.
Speaker 1:I'm so excited and so honored to be joined by Adriana Michelle on this episode. Adriana is an incredible individual and she has the Instagram page, the Death Alchemist, which is one of my favorite pages on Instagram favorite accounts, and I'm just so honored to be in conversation with her about topics around death and grief that are heavy, but they are natural parts of life. Death is inevitable. Grief is inevitable, especially during a time where we're witnessing so much collective grief and collective death in the world. So before we jump into today's episode, I want to invite you to check in with yourself. This is not a trigger warning per se, but we do touch on themes around grief, around death, around suicidal ideation. So if you are not in the head or heart space to tune into that right now, I invite you to come back to this episode at a time that feels better for you to engage with the conversation and listen in, if you are up for the conversation and decide to move forward right now. Thank you for tuning in and holding space for the topics today. Adriana is one of the few people I've just had the opportunity and the experience of coming into conversation with around these topics, and she handles it with so much tenderness and gentleness and care and grace, which is ultimately what topics around death and grief serve. So I'm very grateful to be in conversation with her to talk more about it.
Speaker 1:So we are going to jump into the episode shortly, but first I want to share just a little bit more about Adriana. To share just a little bit more about Adriana. So Adriana Michelle, also known as the Death Alchemist, is a death doula, bruja, storyteller and xenophile. She is the first generation Mexican American who grew up in the liminal space of existing as a border baby. Her work is guided by her ancestors, which include her mom and her stepfather, who both died in 2015 and 2022, as well as her abuela, doña Fernanda, who raised her as a baby and was the first to assuage any fears she may have encountered regarding death and dying. Some of her earliest memories in Mexico are of watching Walter Mercado with her grandmother and other ladies, as well as walking around town and connecting with the neighbors. Adriana's work and mission is focused on reimagining the way we interact with life, death, grief, the afterlife, and how we each move through the spiral path of this incarnation and connect to one another. Adriana is just amazing and I truly, truly loved and enjoyed our conversation together, and I'm so excited to share that with you now. So, without further ado, let's jump into the episode.
Speaker 1:Hi everyone, welcome back to the Prolific Hub podcast.
Speaker 1:I'm your host, aaliyah Cheyenne, and I'm so excited and honored today to be joined by Adriana Michelle.
Speaker 1:Hi Adriana, hi Leah, thank you for having me, thank you for being here. I'm so excited. So I am going to give Adriana an opportunity to share more about just herself and her work, but first I wanted to share how I know of your work. So I found the Death Alchemist page on Instagram, I want to say a couple of years ago now. I've been following loyally ever since and it's one of the few and first pages that I've ever seen just talk so openly and poetically and candidly and beautifully about death, which is not always an easy topic to talk about and grief. It has resonated with me ever since and I have loved it ever since. So I'm just so grateful to be in conversation with you today about a topic that might feel heavy but is really important. Yes, with that, with that, yes, I would love to give you just an opportunity to introduce yourself to the audience, for folks who may not be aware of your work, what you would love for them to know about who you are in the world today.
Speaker 2:Who am I? Right, that is such a philosophical question, but I'll just start with yeah, my name is Adriana Michelle. People know me on the internet as the death alchemist and my mission overall is just to allow folks a space to feel comfortable, curious to speak on things like death and grief, and definitely through an ancestral lens as well. I'm first gen mexican american and that's just super important to me because, um, I just know you know the few of the questions you sent me like I just know how important that is to have an ancestral connection, um, to have tools, to have medicine, really to be able to face these transitions that are, again, very normal. This is a normal part of life, but that's essentially me.
Speaker 2:And using film to also allow people to be more comfortable, because if you are watching a movie, you're being entertained. But a lot of the films that we at least the films I love, dramas and comedies there is a thread of you know it's about the human experience essentially. So watching films is my favorite way to explore things like that, because people are being entertained. They don't realize that they're actually facing certain topics within the human experience that are hard to talk about. So, yeah, that's just a little bit about me. I'm super honored to have this, you know mission I guess you could call it this path in life and to talk to people like you who want to talk about it too. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Thank you, that was beautiful and I love you referring to all of that in short, as a mission. For me, it feels very much like purpose, and what a gift it is to come into this world and to lean so heavily into something that so many people it's inevitable but so many people don't want to acknowledge. I think that's really profound and really beautiful. Thank you, thanks. So again, I found the page, your page, the death alchemist, so I can imagine what might have led you to create a page of that nature, but I, you know, if you feel comfortable sharing, I would love to know what kind of led you to creating the page and how it's, you know, morphed into what it is today.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely growing up in Mexico with my abuela, death was always something to be honored and be again, be curious about, and not necessarily feared. So it's always been there. I mean, especially if you know about Mexican culture, dia de los Muertos, like that is. It's super normalized right, which I love, but I never really dove super deep into it until my mom died in 2015 after a long battle with breast cancer. So that was my introduction to doula work, you know, and I didn't realize what I was doing at the time, but that's what was happening. So that was back in 2015, obviously went through a lot of grief and a lot of escaping as well. It was really hard for my friends and family to really hold space for me. It was a lot of trying to I don't know make me feel better by telling me like well, your mom loved you and things like that. Because one of the biggest things that I experienced I know a lot of people can relate to this is after my mom died. I really wanted to only see the good in her, like. I didn't want to think about the trauma that she experienced as an immigrant and the subsequent stuff that happened to me as well. That really molded this space as well. When I sat with that and I was angry, you know, I was angry with my theas, with my family, who were just trying to tell me your mom loved you. You know, blah, blah, blah, like just trying to being dismissive essentially mom loved you. Blah, blah, blah, just trying to be dismissive essentially. And that happened a lot, and with friends as well, who were just so terrified. A lot of my friends had never gone through any sort of trauma, hadn't ever lost anybody, still had their family unit intact, and for me it was just like the tower in the tarot. It was just like destruction after destruction. So, essentially, from 2015 for the next five years, I was just unpacking all of that and really leaning into spiritual work. And in 2020, it was my mom's five-year anniversary. I'll never forget it. It was March. It was March of 2020.
Speaker 2:I went to New York City with a friend who also lost her mom to kind of celebrate, right To honor the five-year anniversary. As soon as I landed, it was a red eye. We got the news that COVID was in New York City. When I got back to California, I was like this is it? I'm going to start an Instagram page. I'm ready to, and the thing that's interesting when I reflect back death is it? I'm going to start an Instagram page, I'm ready to.
Speaker 2:And the thing that's interesting when I reflect back, death wasn't even like at the forefront, it was more so. I wanted to talk about life, I wanted to talk about spiritual work, I wanted to just connect, and so I started a page called Amor y Alquimia, which is called Love and Alchemy. Okay, over time I mean it makes sense during 2020, where death was everywhere, I just it clicked. I was like this is what I'm supposed to talk about, and through a life affirming, you know, through that lens of affirming life and how beautiful it is to be alive, through death and destruction and grief and loss and all of it.
Speaker 2:But yeah, I worked with a coach, changed my name to the death alchemist and just kind of hit the ground running and it has just been. It's snowballed ever since. And yeah, when I introduced the, the, the film component, that's when things really took off. And that was just in the last two years where I was like, let's bring more of like my personality and the things. I again life affirming, like how can we actually talk about this in a way that is fun for me and actually reach people, and that's what really exploded, you know, made everything kind of explode and I'm I'm super grateful for that. Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's evolved, evolved.
Speaker 2:I'll just say it's definitely evolved, yeah well.
Speaker 1:first and foremost, thank you for sharing that and being so vulnerable and you know parent loss is not something that's easy, so I'm holding space for you with that. Thank you for sharing that here and I think it I don't take like synchronicities and coincidences like for granted and I think what a special way to honor, for your friend and you, to honor your mothers. Even though it's the chaos of COVID during that time, it propelled you and launched you into finding your mission and your purpose and I think that's really beautiful. Propelled you and launched you into finding your mission and your purpose and I think that's really beautiful. Celebrating you and this evolution and you coming to your calling. I think that's really beautiful. So thank you for sharing that just origin story of your work with us.
Speaker 2:Thank you and shout out Anisha, my friend Anisha, who was with me on that trip. I don't think she understands fully what that trip did for both of us, I think.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, hi, anisha, good to see you. So we'll talk about your love of film a little bit more. But I also think about just the love of shows, not always film, but like shows. Just recently, like, there's a show that I like called 9-1-1. It's about following these fictional first responder characters and one of them, he has a near-death experience. His name is Buck and he has this very freakish near-death experience and in it he gets to know a death doula and they actually start dating at the end of one season. Then the new season comes back and it's like was like they didn't work out because all she wanted to talk about was death, death, death.
Speaker 1:And I love just the beautiful explanation you made before of you know, acknowledging the pain and the grief and just the insurmountable amount of death that we're dealing with, just the insurmountable amount of death that we're dealing with, but also celebrating life and what a privilege and a beauty and an honor it is to be alive. And I think about that sometimes when it comes to conversations around death, like people shy away from them so much to the point where things that you can do to prepare for death and acknowledge it as a natural part of life that is inevitable. They don't get discussed and sometimes that's really hard for families when they experience a loss or, you know, for friends when they experience a loss, because we just don't talk about this kind of stuff. And I'm very curious from your work and your experience and your culture and just your mindset, why it is you think we're so uncomfortable talking about death, especially in the West.
Speaker 1:Because, as you mentioned your culture, it's a part of your culture, it's a part of life, it's celebrated and there's parts of the world where we don't talk about it. And I'm very curious from your thinking why is that? Why don't we want to talk about it? Like, yeah, and I'm very curious from your thinking like why is that? Why don't we want to talk about it more?
Speaker 2:I think there are several reasons, but the two that come to mind right now is capitalism. If you are in the rat race, solely focused on production and, honestly, survival, that's the truth. Truth People don't have time. I think that's part of it. People literally don't have the time to think about something that is so important, like you said, and they're being driven by this vehicle of capitalism. So I think that's part of it.
Speaker 2:The other big part, I think, is the disconnection from our culture. Even have an ancestral practice, you don't even think about your ancestors, you don't think about the fact that I guarantee you know every culture. Within every culture there's some sort of medicine, ritual, preparation about. You know not just death but any transition, whether it's like childbirth, you know having children getting. You know finding, you know getting married I'm sure in other cultures it's not called that, but you know what I mean Like some sort of unions that occur.
Speaker 2:I was just recently talking to someone about perimenopause and menopause.
Speaker 2:So it's all of these transitions that all have a cultural element and practice behind it, and so if you don't have that connection, it's easy to just go through life on autopilot and not honor any of the what I call little deaths, little transitions that we are experiencing and that we are meant to pause, we are meant to honor, we are meant to witness it within ourselves, our loved ones, just in society, around the world, these things that are occurring.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would say those are the two biggest ones, and they really do go hand in hand in my opinion. Yeah, it's just this fear, this big fear of not existing, and it's very fascinating to me because how many of the people, I think, how many of the people who are so terrified of death are actually not even living a full life. So to me, the fear of death is also a fear of life. Yeah, in a weird twist way that maybe might not make sense. Yeah, I would say those are the two biggest that I'm thinking of right now that come to mind the fear of death is also a fear of life.
Speaker 1:I feel like that's very profound and when you were speaking, another thing I was thinking about was fear as well, the unknown and the unknown, yeah, and I've like I feel like people say it anecdotally but I've also just read accounts from like nurses and doctors who are dealing with folks and treating folks who are on the brink of death, and how many of them look back at their life and don't feel fulfilled with what they've done or don't feel like they lived enough.
Speaker 1:Versus something I saw the other day I feel you might have even shared it, to be honest, or maybe I saw it somewhere else but just what it to like be on your death deathbed and to not fear the unknown because you lived well, like you can greet death with laughter and kindness because you you lived a full life even thinking about that sends a little tingle down my spine, like how, how profound and wonderful that is to be able to greet death in that way. Even in my own family people are scared to talk about it. Some of us have beliefs around speaking things into existence and I get that, but at the same time I'm like it's inevitable. Everything transitions. It's what you do to prepare for that. That makes your life well lived, and how you greet that transition is what's most important, so I love just your responses to that.
Speaker 2:I love that so much. I mean, I think a lot of people can relate to what you're saying of like, don't speak it out into existence. But I think the key thing here is that people need to realize it's not what you're talking about, it's how you're talking about it. So a message just came through in one of my groups. I did like a community call a collective reading.
Speaker 2:This feels very on point to share, so I'll share it that communication is a chariot. So when it comes to speaking about death, talking about death, communicating about it, opening yourself up to even getting a little bit curious about it, even if it's just researching something or reading a book or watching a video or listening to this podcast, right, it's a vehicle. It's a vehicle for you to be somewhere else in where you are. I think it would be a shame to stay in the same space in terms of a fear around death to never wiggle out. I'm envisioning a chrysalis right To kind of transform, to wiggle out of it and move elsewhere. Move out of whatever you're, you know, thinking about death yeah, yeah, yeah, I, I love that.
Speaker 1:I literally just this is very this is gonna rant, be random, but I'm bringing it home the chrysalis analogy, like just a previous guest I've had on the show, lavon briggs. She made a video recently on social media about coming out of your cocoon and like recognizing the transformation and the destructive and chaotic and not beautiful process of that and then coming out of a cocoon of the chrysalis and, like you know, transforming into this beautiful thing. And I just love that analogy of you know going through that transformative process and coming out on the other side, using it as a vehicle for change and transformation. And coming out on the other side is just a more empowered and whole and fully human version of yourself. So I think that's really cool.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah, I think, also, just on that note of despair, there's like a lot of collective grief that's happening right now as we look at so many things that are happening around the world, from Palestine to Sudan to Congo and there's just a lot of grief and death that many of us are witnessing and, more importantly, people there are experiencing firsthand. And in response to that, there are a lot of people who have kind of lost the fear of death, whether that looks like. You know extreme forms of protest against those things. We've seen some self-immolation here in the States, but also in Congo. And then there's an aspect of losing the fear of death that's not always related to collective grief and oppression. There's an aspect of it that people are just actually freaking, exhausted of surviving under the weight of capitalism and the weight of their lives, and I shared with you.
Speaker 1:I saw this TikTok where this creator was talking about death becoming an option for people in those situations. So I'm just curious your thoughts around losing the fear and death becoming an option in that way, as we're witnessing so much collective grief and trauma and death and exhaustion, given the state of the world today. Any thoughts you have around that?
Speaker 2:It's so in our face, you know, and it's horrifying. But there is a sense of gratitude that I have that people are willing to look at it now, or not even willing. It's inescapable at this point. If you are not seeing it, that is a choice. Like you are fully and again for those who are listening, I'm not condoning or not condoning, but I'm not suggesting you traumatize yourself by just watching it incessantly.
Speaker 2:But the awareness is important. So I think the awareness, too, of what it looks like to have a violent death, one that is driven by greed and colonization. I think through that lens as well, we're able to kind of look at the contrast between a natural death versus a completely unnatural, violent, oppressive death. So I think that is part of maybe why the fear is lessening as well as like, wow, I'm going to die one day. But you know, whatever what these people are experiencing, hopefully that probably won't be my experience, or it might not be my experience. So I think there's through that lens as well. I think about suicide as well and how, you know, I've experienced suicidal ideations when, like deep in crisis right, a lot of people live um long-term suicidal ideations, which is really tough and I think part of it as well is um, at least for me, right, I won't speak for everybody, but I see it as when you're in that state, you've lost hope yeah you don't see a way out, there is no sense of community.
Speaker 2:But you know that what you are experiencing, what the body that you're living in, the world that you're living in, is like something's got to give right. Yes, yes, you a lot of people don't even necessarily want to die like they don't want to, they don't want to check out, but they don't want to continue to live in how things are, like the existence that they're living in. There has to be some sort of death, and death can just be change. So I think I feel like, for those out there who are feeling like hopeless, this is coming through to share is like you have to. If you're I mean if you're devastated by what you're witnessing, that's normal. Yeah, that means that you're, you know, open to seeing yourself and in another person's shoes. That's a good thing. You're connected to your humanity and you recognize that we're all connected.
Speaker 2:I was just talking to someone about this. We're, like, you know, someone living, just really work on, not staying there, and the best way to do that is to get out of your head and to move, to move that energy around, whatever that looks like for you. Um, I think what happens is, um, people feel hopeless because they're not doing anything about it. They're just witnessing, they're just looking at what's occurring, whether it's in their own lives, right, or in the world. You can't just stay stuck in that.
Speaker 2:I'm just, I'm doing my part by witnessing. You have to do more than that. You have to move in some way, whether it is just, you know, reaching out to, you know, local, local, local people in your community that also are feeling the same way. Yeah, you know it's. It seems like it might not be doing enough, but I promise that it is because it's going to give people, it's going to give you capacity. It's going to give you capacity to keep going, yeah, and not stay stuck in it, because it's freeze. It's like this freeze response right, it's a trauma response, it's very normal, but we can't exist in that, and that's also a symptom of colonization and capitalism is just to stay stuck and you might think in your mind that you're doing all these things and achieving things, but that's also still a freeze response. Yeah, if it's on autopilot, you know, I hope you heard your question.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it did in a very big way, and what you're saying toward the end about it reminds me of the phrase like get out of your head and get into your body. Be mindful of where those feelings are, you know, coming up for you, like where that energy is circulating for you, but also move in a way that is beyond your mind and your body. Like how do we tap into community care in those moments? And I know it's not easy to share personal experience around suicidal ideation. So thank you for being vulnerable and sharing that.
Speaker 1:And, as you know, a question that I had for you, because you shared it on the VEDA podcast before, was just continuing to learn how to support people who are in that space, and something that you shared that was really beautiful was a quote around something you can say if someone confides that in you, because I've also had people confide in me suicidal ideation and I've immediately run to like what steps and actions can we take to get the person the support that they need?
Speaker 1:Like whether that's connecting to a professional, like talking to me, like if it's a situation where it does a medication needs to be involved, like what do we need to do instead of just taking a breath and taking a moment and saying something as simple as I'm willing to do anything in my capacity to support you, or whatever's in my capacity to support you, which is what you shared on the VEDA podcast, and I thought that was so beautiful. I love your advice around getting out of your head and getting out of that hopelessness and moving, but if you had any other encouraging words of just wisdom or anything that's coming to you in this moment for people who might be experiencing suicidal ideation, I would love to share that.
Speaker 2:It's hard because, again, there's people who experience suicidal ideations just during a time of crisis and that lessens, right, it's not as bad, or it goes away entirely, and then maybe sometimes you still have it bubble up, and then there's people who live with it like on the daily, on the daily. So for people who live with it on the daily, I would say finding community, because if this is something that you are living with every day, you wake up and this is something you think about. You need community, you need support. Yeah, and I actually want to shout out a death doula named kate. You can find her on ig, I think it's kate death education and her. The population she speaks to is specifically people who are experiencing this and, as far as those who are in crisis, I would also say to reach out to community.
Speaker 2:But I know it's not that simple, because part of suicide is that there's a sense of shame and isolation and feeling or that, like people don't understand. So my just advice would be to recognize that the extreme feeling right, the extreme feeling that you are feeling right now it's going to lessen. It's just really, really hard right now. Um, there's an expression I can't remember the the writer, but, um, she says something like um, beauty or terror, like no feeling, no feeling is final, right, no feeling is final beauty or terror. Just hold on. Essentially, just hold on, keep going. Because my whole thing about suicide, too, is that there's no going back. There are people who have survived it, obviously, but for the most part it's one of those things like, once you fulfill that idea, that decision, that's it. There's no returning.
Speaker 2:For those who are listening, who love someone who has suicidal ideations, I would say stop trying to fix your problem, because that's the other thing too. It's not just a personal issue, it's a systemic problem. So I would say please stop, please stop trying to fix them and just listen. Just listen to what they're saying, listen to their pain, validate their reasons why they are in pain, the reasons why they don't want to be here anymore. Yeah, oh, I understand. Yeah, I have felt this way before. I would feel the same as you. People assume that if you say something like that, then they're going to go ahead and do it. It's not. That's not how it works. If anything, you're just lessening that pain and that loneliness and the isolation and say someone sees me, someone understands why I feel this way and it really lessens the shame of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think that's really powerful.
Speaker 1:Thank you for sharing that Something that I struggle with and I don't want to be irresponsible with my words, but I especially I'm obviously Black and black churches, black community can be very inhumane to people who are experiencing suicidal ideation.
Speaker 1:It's just very like fire and brimstone type of energy. They call it very cowardly behavior, things like that, and I've always felt like the exact opposite, because to have the mindset or the commitment or the dedication to do something that is so final that you cannot come back from is not cowardice. And I don't say that in a way to obviously not encouraging, but I'm saying we have to think about these things differently in the language that we use to describe people who are in that state and the language that we use to describe people who are in that state, because it's not as simple as the way certain institutions or certain communities often like to talk about it. So I think even you just sharing that advice around, allowing the person to be seen, to be comforted in that loneliness, to know that they are not actually alone, is just such a game changer and it's really powerful.
Speaker 2:So thank you for sharing that Thank you, aliyah, thank you for saying that about growing up and just that culture and I grew up going to Catholic church with my abuela, and so there is. I understand that culture influences the way we treat each other, the way we think about each other. Yeah, there's a gray, there's everything is so gray and we want it to be black and white and it just isn't. It isn't that way. Yeah, we just need a little more compassion, and the thing I always come back to is that people who don't, who aren't able to access that right and share them with others, it's because they weren't taught, you know, maybe they were never reflected, that some, but essentially someone wasn't able to have compassion for them for X, y, z reason. So it goes back to what I was saying's systemic, you know, yep, and it's molded by society, culture, religion, all of it, all of this. Well, thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2:It's. It's hard. It's hard to be like, hey, y'all, what are we, what are we doing? Yeah, but it's real and it's important to speak that out so people maybe can have a little like aha moment, of like wait a second, I don't want to do that like, is this actually hurting people? I thought it was just helping people, you know, pick themselves up and and tough love something my abuela would say all the time, or not my abuela, excuse me, I misspoke. After my mom died, my aunt would always tell me your mom wouldn't want you to be sad, your mom wouldn't want you to be depressed. What do you have to be sad about, or something?
Speaker 2:And I'm like are you kidding me? Yeah, the denial of one's experience, that's it. The denial of one's experience is so painful, yes, so painful. It adds, right, it adds to what someone is already experiencing. So, yeah, yeah, compassion for sure, yes, yeah, and also being okay with not understanding what someone else is going through.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You don't have to understand to have compassion.
Speaker 1:Yes, exactly, thank you for that I want to slightly shift gears in just that. Obviously, I keep referencing tiktok, but my algorithm brings me to things that I'm interested in, and death is something that I'm interested in. And recently I saw a video of a mother who is in late stages of stomach cancer and she hasn't given up. She's still trying to do holistic things to support herself, but she doesn't want to go through chemo or anything anymore. And she asked her tiktok. She asked tiktok like what would you do if the doctor told you you have six months to live? Like how would you prepare for death? And it was such a I I watched it a few times because I was just trying to process as one human being to another, like the absolute, just like resolve and just stoicness that I saw like on her face even in asking that question, like, yeah, she. And on the one hand, it almost felt like she was disconnected from the emotion of what she was asking of people, like how it looked to me, and I kept looking at it like I'd be personally, I'd be falling apart.
Speaker 1:She's leaving behind a son and people in the comments were so just caring and kind to her and they were saying these are all the different things you can do. You can think about different anniversaries or ways that you would want to celebrate your son. Even if you're not here, you can set gifts and letters aside for him. Make sure you get your affairs in order in this way and that loved ones know where these passwords are, these files are just all these answers about preparing for death, and it felt overwhelming just viewing it and being present to that and witnessing that kind of preparation made me think a lot about what I would do to prepare if I knew my timeline to an extent. I'm just curious around your thoughts around what it looks like to prepare for death. I know you mentioned your experience as a doula and I'm just curious around your thoughts around what it looks like to prepare for death and I share that as an example of someone preparing for death.
Speaker 2:That's a great question. Definitely prepare before you hear something like you have six months to live. So that is also because that's such a rare. It's not rare, but it's not going to be everyone's experience Like most people aren't going to be told you have six months to live.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:So that practical advice I think is good of like, you know, preparing a will, all of these things. You know the stages of grief. A lot of people get it wrong. They assume that the stages of grief are for people who are grieving the loss of someone, but it's actually for people who are dying. So people are going to go through those stages. So I think just being aware of those stages, of the bargaining, of the anger, of the acceptance, all of that is important. The other practical advice I would give is like being open to palliative care, being open to hospice care. Yeah, not being afraid of that. A lot of people assume like if they accept palliative care, hospice care, then it's like they're gonna die the next day or something, but it's really to offer comfort for the person who's dying through medication. Obviously, death doula is more of a spiritual component, emotional component. So having all of those lined up and I'm fully aware that these aren't resources that are available to everyone, which is really awful, but those two are definitely in the forefront of my mind.
Speaker 2:Those two are definitely in the forefront of my mind, and the other one, too, is making peace with yourself. Yeah, forgiving yourself. I think a lot of people assume, like well, on my deathbed, I'm going to reach out to so-and-so and make amends and ask for forgiveness, and that's not how it works. I think a lot of the times you have to actually forgive yourself for the things that you got wrong, for the things that you didn't do because you were afraid. Forgiving yourself, I think, is a really, really, really big one. I was just going to say that the other component of terminal illnesses is the preparation behind it. Maybe you have six months, maybe even like two months, right, it's this knowing it makes me think of sudden death, right? So, like a car accident, things like that, that's really really hard and it can be very traumatic for people who are left behind. But this is going to sound really weird and I'm not saying everyone do this if it's not your cup of tea or if it's going to make you spiral. Yeah, I think about it a lot. I think about what I would, how I would react, what would I do if I was involved in some sort of accident where it was just a sudden death and I was laying on the couch. I and I was just kind of like thinking about it, like what would I do? Like I'm in a car accident, they remove me from the car, right, they're like working on me Well, what do I do? And I just was like I would just be in it, I would I don't want to say surrender, but I would just do as much as I could to relax, because that can also save your life when you are in a panic and a lot of it is like you can't really control. There's someone I met, actually, who was involved in a motorcycle accident and her femoral artery was cut. And this angel saw the accident up and like, took off her shirt and, you know, put it, wrapped it around her leg as a tourniquet and was like, if you keep your hyperventilating, if you don't calm down, if you don't study your breathing, you're gonna die. Yeah, and she just was like and then slowed down her breathing.
Speaker 2:So it is kind of like a death meditation, I would say, to think about it. And it's hard because a lot of people ruminate on death and it's more of like an intrusive thought that comes over them. So you need to kind of know the difference. And it's really it's a personal journey because I've done both. I've done both but just recently, this week, I was like what would I do? And I was like I would just read, like steadying my breath, my breath, and that's probably that's either going to save my life or it's going to help me enter the next stage of existence, of whatever this is, in a peaceful way or as peaceful as it can be. So it's a little bit of a death meditation that I just I don't know I felt like sharing. It's hard. I know there might be some people listening like why would you do that to yourself? It really brings me a sense of peace to just prepare before die, before you die, I think is the expression yeah, die before you die.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love what you were saying. We took a little pause, but you were saying something about preparing before it happens to an extent, and I think there are practical things you can do to do that, starting with having conversations. But I love the phrase death meditation. Actually, I've never heard that before and I think it gives me language for something that I do regularly. I think about my mortality and the mortality of people. I love all the time, to the point it's not always healthy, but to the point where I'll start crying by thinking about the loss and how I will navigate losing them. I don't always think about me, it's always how I'll feel losing them and I love the language of death meditation. That gives me a phrase to use versus like I'm constantly thinking about my mortality and the mortality of others. It just feels more, I don't know. It feels better. So I like that language. Thank you for that.
Speaker 1:We're getting toward the end, but there's two things you touched on that I did want to get into anyway. So one of them is around for those who are left behind after loss losing the people that we care about, or even pet loss losing the pets that we care about like just dealing with that grief, or even pet loss, losing the pets that we care about. Like just dealing with that grief? You mentioned acknowledging the stages of grief, not just for the person dying but also for the person experiencing losing someone. What sort of tools can those of us left behind think about when we've experienced loss or when we're preparing for?
Speaker 2:loss. It's interesting because that question I look back after my mom died in 2015,. I think about the things that I didn't do that I think would be helpful to folks, but I also understand the pushback against it. So, for example, after my mom died, I was given a pamphlet for grief counseling and grief groups and things like that. I was not in the space to accept it because it felt cold, it felt like a business and even though it was free right, it was like a year of free counseling, counseling I was so deep in denial, I think, over what happened, because I was so accepting of her impending death that I went the other way.
Speaker 2:Something she had told me was like just take a few days off work and I want you back at work when I die. I don't want you. I think she just didn't want me to suffer as a mother. But I think that's part of it is like if you prolong, if you delay the grief, you're going to cause suffering to yourself. If you surrender to it a little more, if you open yourself up to it, if you are, you know, not understanding, but if you admit to yourself, maybe I'm in denial, maybe I'm, you know, pushing feelings away, maybe I'm in shock, Right. Maybe there is a component of like post-traumatic stress disorder or something, right, just some sort of what we call it is soul loss. You know where your spirit kind of leaves your body after a traumatic event, just to survive, essentially to be able to keep going after that.
Speaker 2:I think, admitting it, being open to things like that, maybe it's not a group counseling through a hospital, but it's something. It's keeping their memory alive, keeping the connection alive by talking to your loved ones about them. That's something you know. It's keeping their memory alive, keeping the connection alive by talking to your loved ones about them. That's something I did a lot. I would talk about my mom incessantly, like it was like mom, this mom, that mom, that and obviously other practices and rituals, like, um, setting up an altar, you know, and that you that can be secular, you don't need to believe in anything. You can just believe in the connection that you have and want to honor the person, honor the grief that you're feeling, and it can be as simple as a photograph, a candle, a glass of water, some flowers and being able to go into a room and see them. There is a really good way to kind of push back on any sort of denial or like freeze response. Yeah, because you are seeing a picture of them every day and you are, you know, not in denial of it because you can see them and it kind of trains your brain Like, well, I'm seeing this photograph of them, yeah, I can't call them, right, I can't just pick up the phone and call them. So it's a simple, things like that.
Speaker 2:And also, just, it's not even time, right, cause the whole thing about the, the stages of grief for people who are terminally ill, is that there's an end. You know an estimate of like a few months, six months a year with grief. You're like I'm going to live with this for the next 30, 40, 50 years. So the stages of grief for someone who's grieving, it's more of a spiral. I always look at life itself as like a spiral. So we are coming back. We're never really leaving entirely an emotion and a memory that we might have with our loved one. We are just traversing that spiral path and returning to it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's so beautiful. I love that. Um, thank you for sharing that. I think one thing that I know I want to do is to I'm not sure if you've heard of A Lua Arthur. Yeah, I'm going with Grace and yeah, I know she just came out with a book and I want to read her book. I think it's briefly, human or something like that. I want to read it.
Speaker 1:So I yeah, I've come across this idea of doing like a grief letter ritual, you know, thinking about those stages of grief and writing to that loved one and however you decide to either keep it or destroy it after, whatever symbolic to you, whatever means the most, just the idea of writing those thoughts and feelings down to help you process those emotions and get them out of your head and your body, and on paper too. I love that. I love what you shared, too, about just keeping the memory of the loved one alive, like speaking, like how you spoke about your mother often and still do. I think that's really special and don't judge me, but it reminds me of Coco because, like, well, just the idea that remembering is important, because it helps you feed the spirit of that loved one and that ancestor and keep them with us, you know that land ancestor, and keep them.
Speaker 2:Keep them with us, you know. So I love, I love that, I love coco. I'm not like, I'm not offended, like, oh, that's such a, you know what, do you call it like a. I forget what I was trying to say, but you know what I mean.
Speaker 1:I'm not offended, but I love it. But it just like taught, taught me to even look at culturally deals with meritos a a different way. You know, like I only had somewhat of an external and I still do. I'm not a part of Mexican culture, but I think it's beautiful, like just the idea around El Dia de los Muertos and like what it symbolizes and what it means to remember and honor ancestors. I think that's really beautiful and like continuing to speak about them even long after they're gone keeps their memory and their spirit alive. So I think that's really beautiful and like continuing to speak about them even long after they're gone keeps their memory and their spirit alive. So I think that's beautiful.
Speaker 2:The other thing too this just came through because I just had a dream about my mom was in the dream last night is a dream work practice. I love dreams. A dream work practice, like you know, sometimes they just pop in when they want, but other times you can ask yeah, before you go to bed and you're like, hey, like let's go to the, and it might help too to recall a memory. So it's actually something that's like a little more, a little more tangible.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Easier for you to slip into, like let's go back to that memory you know we had a tea party or whatever and then slip into the dream and and see them. You know it's our dreams to us, our bodies, like it's real. You know we can't really differentiate the difference between a dream and real life. Yeah, yeah I think.
Speaker 1:think some people haters will like to say that it's just subconscious, but to everyone who's spiritual it is not. I actually had a dream about my grandfather the night before he passed. He came to our house and he was like I don't know what he was looking for, but he was in the house just looking at everything and touching little things. And I'm saying, grandpa, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be in bed, you're supposed to be relaxing. Like what are you doing? And he wouldn't speak. He was just looking at everything and touching everything and I was trying to lead him back to his bed and he wasn't talking. But I was leading him back to his bed and it cut off. I didn't get him back to his bed, I just led him Like I was taking him back to his bed in his room and before we could get there the dream ended and I woke up and then the next day he actually he passed. So I think about that dream all the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I would too. I'm sure it confirmed the connection you have and also just the awareness of like something, something we can't see, something that maybe is not meant, this is unknown, like question mark, and there's definitely something there that's so beautiful yeah, it's like it's bittersweet, but it is beautiful.
Speaker 1:And I remember too like he kept seeing a friend before he was passing and he was saying that his friend was coming to get him on a Tuesday and he was very confused about the day and he was just like Wait, was this in waking life, like he was saying that In waking he was already seen, he was already aware?
Speaker 1:yes, people. And then he kept saying it and then he, he passed on a tuesday. So I always like to say that his friend was this, the person, like the loved one, who had passed before him. The friend was the one who, like, ushered him, definitely wherever you know yes, yes, it's true, it's true.
Speaker 2:The last time I saw my abuela, she told me she was going to die. Like, I remember I fed her a mango. I'll never forget this. We cut up a mango and I fed her a mango and she had all this mango juice like dripping down her chin. She was so happy, it was so good. Like mmm que rico, it was so good. Yeah, rico, it was so good, yeah. And then I remember we got into bed and I was kind of spooning her and then she was like I'm ready. She said I'm ready to die and I just was like no, you know, I did the whole thing. No, no, no. And then less than a month later she died. So, oh, they know, they do know in many ways, yeah, yeah, especially when they get reach elderhood, it's more of a connection. That phase, that transition is coming up for them, that initiation is right there and they're ready in many ways. What do you think?
Speaker 2:or believe happens after we die we return whatever you want to call it. Source, like returning to source yeah, the word that came to mind just now is like primordial soup. Yes, it's this universal soup that we all will return to, and I feel this through talking to people, experiences that I've had, dreams that I've had too. I had a dream with prince where he basically showed me that, like he fully showed me, that there's not only an afterlife, but that we reincarnate. No, and he's, he's a guide of mine I know it sounds super weird like you don't even know he's, he's a, he's a collective ancestor is how I feel. Yes, yes, so I think we return. Yeah, we return.
Speaker 2:I feel, I don't know. I feel like it's going to be very like a party kind of yes, you know, and peaceful, and I don't know, I I know a lot of people don't feel that way. I would just say whatever, whatever you feel is fine, but also be curious and open to being wrong. Yes, hearing other people's perspectives and ideas on it. I think being so stuck on like this is what it is. It's heaven and hell, and that's my whole thing. Circling back to the very beginning of the call of the. Yeah, our call is like reimagining life, death, yes, humanity grief all of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I, I love that. And it goes back to what you're saying before about the, just the spiral, or the sphere, the spiral, everything. Yeah, the spiral, everything coming back full circle. And I, I feel pretty similarly that we return to source. Whatever you call that, god, universe, whatever religion's name is for that entity, I think we return there. I joke slash, not joke all the time that when I die, like I want to be like a gaseous nebula, like I just want to be like a nebula floating around in space. I want to be able to, like time and space doesn't need to be a thing for me, I just want to be free. It's not going to be, it's like anywhere. Everywhere I want to go. You know me, I just want to be free. It's not going to be, it's like anywhere everywhere I want to go.
Speaker 2:Yes, I fully agree. That's the dream I had. I was floating around in a void, I was with my stepfather, who was actually in the hospital dying, and I had that dream.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:Prince came in to help and it's because, like when you, when I tell people that dream, they get really freaked out because they're like wait, you were just floating in nothingness, how scary. And I was like, no, it felt like I was in a womb and I was in a universal womb, yeah, and I was just, it felt great, it felt really peaceful, yeah yeah, I also believe in reincarnation.
Speaker 1:But I'm like, if earth is like this, I don't know what to put back.
Speaker 2:Just let me float around the space for a little bit.
Speaker 1:Give me a break, yeah yeah, you know that little spirit and that little anime animated movie soul, that didn't want to come back to earth. Yeah, like it's a cute little movie. But there was one little spirit that was like I don't want to come back and eventually they, they came back. But that's me. Anyway, what was the movie? What was the movie Soul? It's like a little animated movie, it came out a few years ago, right?
Speaker 2:Yes, yeah, I think I missed it. I'm going to have to watch it now.
Speaker 1:Yes, yeah it's. They tried to do their thing with that. So just to wrap up, before we go, I saw something the other day. It was a quick little clip of an NPR thing. Someone was interviewing Issa Rae, who some folks may know from creating the show Insecure, and they were talking a little bit about death and the interviewer asked Issa, what is something you see, that's like a sign that reminds you of a loved one who's passed on. And Issa shared that whenever she sees hummingbirds it reminds her of that special someone. And for me it's definitely a few. It's cardinals, it's blue jays, it's hawks. So I'm just curious for you if you have a sign or an indicator, whether it be an animal or a flower, anything of that nature that kind of reminds you of your loved ones, if you feel comfortable sharing.
Speaker 2:Of course there are a few and they're definitely ancestrally. You know, yeah, connected the hummingbird, yes, butterflies, yes, marigolds, the flower, and honestly, sometimes just a feeling, yeah, earlier this week this is so random but I was like making a smoothie and I was like, oh, I'm out of like my fancy dragon fruit, like what am I going to do? And I was like, oh, I'm just going to grab like an apple, banana, coconut water and like a lot of ice. And so I made this smoothie and I like drink it. And as I was drinking it, I was like, oh, yeah, my abuela used to drink these.
Speaker 2:Like, every morning when I was little, we would drink these, you know, we would drink these together. We were always in the kitchen together and it just was a moment of like, oh, like she's here, you know, and even little things like that is a good, good, great way to honor your loved ones too is through ancestral foods. Yes, and just, the food doesn't even have to be ancestor, ancestral food, it can just be food they liked, you know, yeah, whatever it may be, yeah, so yeah, that was just something that came up recently where I was like, oh, I'm making this smoothie and it like made me think of her and yeah, it was nice. I love that, and I had one this morning too and it was really good. Oh, I love that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's beautiful. Thank you for sharing so before we dip out. So you've expressed many times that you have a love of like cinematography and film, like. That's evident to me, and even your work on the Death Alchemist page on Instagram and also the Vida podcast. So I would love to know if there's a film that maybe you're looking forward to watching this week or you watched recently that brought you some sense of like joy or comfort. If there's one you can think of.
Speaker 2:So I actually have an older television show and also a film that is from last year that I've just been watching a lot and it's related to death but also just like a different type of death that we experience some of us through life. But the television show is Ugly Betty, it's from the early 2000s and if you watch it there is such a threat of death Like they're constantly talking about death in that show and obviously it's Ugly Betty, you know, talking about death in that show and obviously it's ugly betty, you know she's, she's mexican in. Uh, in that film I think america ferrer is actually um dominican in the show she's, she's mexican and that's her thing and you know her family's from guadalajara and it's just like super cute. So that show is like a comfort and it's so hopeful and like she's such a dreamer and she really creates yeses out of no's, like she doesn't really take no for an answer and I really dig that, like just that, that spirit that she has.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and as far as films, the film it's a korean film called past lives Okay, and there isn't a death. You know like how we think of it. It's more of a, an immigrant story. You know, of what it's like to be uprooted from your homeland and coming. You know, I think they moved in the film. They moved to Canada and then this character moves to New York City and she has this like first love, like childhood love, that's still back in Korea and then she meets someone but then she's still thinking about him and just the grief of that. Again, not necessarily a physical loss film, but it is about grief and it is about ancestry and I think anyone can connect to that film. Yeah, it is just it's so good, it's okay, it's beautiful, okay I'm in to check that out myself.
Speaker 1:Thank you for sharing that. I, like last year, just separately. Like last year, my um, I went with my best friend to mexico for her birthday in November and it was my first time and we were all over the place. We went to Puebla, we went to Oaxaca we're in Mexico City, of course, and a couple of other places, and it was just so beautiful to me and it was a few weeks after El Día de los Muertos, so I didn't get to see just how much the country and the cities come alive during that time, but there were remnants of it while we were there and just an incredible energy, a beautiful place, and I learned so much about just the history of Mexico and the many cultures and civilizations that created what it is today.
Speaker 1:There was a through line of death in almost everything, from learning about historical cultures and civilizations to up until present day, and I just thought that was really beautiful and grounding. And I'm just deeply honored to have had this conversation with you today to talk more about this, and I find your work so inspiring and it's been so great to just dive into this with you. Not many people can treat the topic with so much just care and attention and tenderness and you do that so beautifully. Always this has been such an honor, so thank you for taking time to chat with me today about this, and I know it will be really valuable to my audience.
Speaker 2:Aaliyah, thank you for those like just your presence and for your amazing questions, and I'm so glad you got to go to Mexico and experience that and I hope you go back. I really want to go back as well and visit so many different places. Thank you so much for this and thank you everyone for listening Just honored, thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you. Can you let folks know where to find out more about you, to support your work?
Speaker 2:Yes, so, as Aaliyah mentioned, I'm on Instagram. You can find me at the death alchemist. I also have a podcast with my colleague and friend, claudine called Vida podcast. Vida is life, and my website is amor. So love y and alchimia, which means alchemy, and alchemia, which means alchemy, and yeah, there's all the goodies there. I'm doing one-on-one work with people, as well as a new community that I just opened up called Love and Alchemy, and that's like a monthly thing for those who want to go deeper with not just me, but like with other like-minded individuals. Oh cool, it's been amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm so excited to see the next like seven months like the end of the year to see like how much it grows. So thank you, I love that and I'll be sure to link all of that in the show notes for folks. Thank you so much, adriana. This is really beautiful and wonderful and I can't wait to share this with everyone, thank you. What an amazing episode with Adriana. Adriana, thank you so much for coming on the show, for speaking with me about a topic that is heavy but is so necessary and so important. You are such a wonder and I absolutely appreciated being in conversation with you. So thank you to everyone listening.
Speaker 1:I hope that you were able to take something from this episode for yourself, or maybe for someone in your community or someone in your network, and I hope that you found it as special and valuable and amazing as I did. If this episode resonated with you in any capacity, please feel free to share it with your friends, your family, your co-workers, anyone in your network, and if you want to share your thoughts with me on this episode, you can send a text to the show. You can send in a voice note. I would love to share your feedback in a future episode and I would love to hear from you in general. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you listened and you made it to the end, I invite you to take a deep breath in and let it out. Please, friends, do whatever you need to do to support yourself and take care of yourself after tuning into this episode, and I will catch you next week. Thanks so much for tuning in. Bye.
