Month: September 2025

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393 Dr. Catherine Svehla “Myth Matters and Inanna’s Descent”

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Happy Autumnal Equinox! Today on the show, Jennifer Mulak and I share our conversation with Dr. Catherine Svehla @drcsvehla a storytelling scholar and consultant in the field of mythology/depth psychology, artist, creativity coach, outdoorswoman, lover of the Mysteries, mentor in the mythic life and host of the Myth Matters Podcast. She helps people reframe their questions or their story, and explore the connection between being true to oneself and spiritual growth. She believes there’s an inner knowing, a source of direction and truth in your psyche that’s waiting for you to rediscover it. Dr. Svehla will be at the Arts Society of Kingston this Thursday, September 25th from 7-9pm for a workshop supporting folks to go deeper into the myth of the Transformation and the Myth of Inanna Workshop where folks will be invited to “EXPLORE THE ROLE OF TRANSFORMATION IN YOUR LIFE THROUGH A GUIDED JOURNEY INTO THE ANCIENT MYTH OF THE GODDESS INANNA AND SEED YOUR PSYCHE FOR DEEPER ENGAGEMENT WITH THE GREATER MYSTERIES RITUAL-PERFORMANCE AT WIDOW JANE MINE.” Previous knowledge of the myth is not required.

During our conversation, Dr. Svehla takes us through her own journey from confusion to creativity and how myth and consciousness helped to shape her own clarity and the way in which she now supports others. Her dissertation on the archetypal exploration of The Law of Attraction in American self-help culture folds into our conversation as we unravel some of the myth of unlimited human potential. Two hours was not nearly enough time to explore these rich topics that she surfaces for herself and others in her work. We’re still in deep contemplation…

Jennifer and I close the show with some sharing on the Equinox and the transition into and through this new season.

Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda from Radiokingston.org.

Our show music is from Shana Falana!

Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org

** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND IT

http://iwantwhatshehas.org/podcast

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392 Odeya Nini’s “Free Voice” and Tanya Himeji Romero’s “Woodland Pantry”

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Today on the show, I am joined by two magical women whose work has woven into my world in a special way. In the first half of the show I get to speak with Odeya Nini, a Los Angeles based interdisciplinary vocalist and composer. At the locus of her interests are performance practices, gesture, textural harmony, tonal animation, and the illumination of minute sounds, in works spanning chamber music to vocal pieces and collages of musique concrète. Her solo vocal work extends the dimension and expression of the voice and body, creating a sonic and physical panorama of silence to noise and tenderness to grandeur.

Odeya’s work has been presented at venues and festivals across the US and internationally, such as The LA Phil, Merkin Concert Hall, The Broad Museum, and MONA from Los Angeles to Australia, Mongolia, Madagascar and Vietnam. Her solo performance of I See You was included in the The New Yorker’s 10 notable performances of 2021. Odeya is also a member of the 3 time Grammy nominated ensemble Wild Up and is the founder of Free The Voice, leading vocal sound meditations, workshops and retreats exploring the transformative and healing qualities of embodying the voice.

Odeya holds a BFA from the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music and an MFA in composition from California Institute of the Arts. She’s joining me by way of Zoom today for our talk, but she’ll be in Kingston soon, September 24th actually and offering HEALING VOICE OF DEEP RELEASE: A VOCAL EMBODIMENT WORKSHOP prior to Kelli Scarr’s Greater Mysteries Cave Experiences at the Widow Jane Mine September 26 and 27.

Then in the second half of the show, I am joined by Tanya Himeji Romero, a multi-disciplinary artist and energetic alchemist whose vision for over a decade has materialized in her work and devotional practices as a forest farmer, plant steward and intuitive culinary herbalist. While she believes any medium can be used to communicate our creativity, reverence and inherent connection, she is especially devoted to the realms of nourishment inspired by that which activates and attunes the inherent potential of our bodies as instrument, vessel and channel.

She has worked as a creative director in the fashion industry, as a team manager for the world’s largest wild simulated ginseng farm, in botanical product development and manufacturing, as well as a farmer and as a cook. The guidance of nature has led her home to her calling as a conduit for plant medicines to be regeneratively utilized in this world. All being is relatedness and at heart, we all desire to be heard, seen and respected. This is the reality she communicates and cultivates within her work.

Amongst other offerings here in the Hudson Valley, she is also a collaborator to Kelli Scarr’s Greater Mysteries Cave Experiences and will be offering an opportunity to nourish oneself and connect with EATING FROM THE TREE OF KIN – AN INTEGRATION NOURISHMENT EXPERIENCE on September 28th at The Bridge in Kingston. An intimate gathering of intentional co-nourishment to bridge and create greater integration in our relational field. Next up Tanya is offering sacred conscessions at the Misery Mother music and more gathering at The Local on October 24th.

Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda from Radiokingston.org.

Our show music is from Shana Falana!

Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org

** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND IT

http://iwantwhatshehas.org/podcast

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ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-want-what-she-has/id1451648361?mt=2

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391 Taína Asili “Fever Pitch Pilgrimage”

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Taína Asili, a dynamic New York-based Puerto Rican singer, composer, interdisciplinary artist, and educator carrying on the tradition of her ancestors, fusing past and present struggles into one soulful and defiant voice. She is celebrated by NPR, Rolling Stone, and Billboard for her soulful, genre-blending music echoing calls for love and liberation. With powerful vocals and a multi-genre fusion traversing salsa, rock, reggaeton, Afrobeat, and other global sounds, Asili’s music is both unique and deeply rooted. Accompanied by her brilliant ensemble, she delivers energetic performances at diverse venues nationwide – from iconic stages such as Carnegie Hall with Toshi Reagon, to renowned festivals like the main stage of San Francisco Pride, to historic events like The Women’s March on Washington, to numerous colleges and conferences – inspiring audiences to dance to the heartbeat of social change.

She joins us on the show to share about the inspiration and motivation for her upcoming 150 mile walk from Albany to NYC for Climate Justice. She’ll be arriving in Kingston on Sept. 16th, walking through the Sojourner Truth State Park, and stopping at the Kingston Point Beach at approximately [3:30] PM for a song offering. She’ll likely arrive in the park around [2:30] if you want to join in the walk to the beach. The next day, on Sept. 17th they will perform their new climate justice multimedia show Fever Pitch at Unicorn Bar. Then on the morning of the 18th they’ll be at the Red Fox Ravine in Kingston for a song offering and continuing on their walk to New Paltz.

Midway through the journey, she will sail from Newburgh to Haverstraw (9/21) aboard the historic Clearwater. The pilgrimage will then continue on foot into New York City, culminating during New York Climate Week with a final performance of the walk at UPROSE in Brooklyn (9/26).

The Fever Pitch Pilgrimage is supported by a growing list of sponsors and partners including grassroots organizations, artists, and community leaders. A GoFundMe campaign and sponsorship drive are currently underway to support artist fees, accommodations, and free/sliding scale performances throughout the route.

Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda from Radiokingston.org.

Our show music is from Shana Falana!

Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org

** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND IT

http://iwantwhatshehas.org/podcast

ITUNES | SPOTIFY

ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-want-what-she-has/id1451648361?mt=2

SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/77pmJwS2q9vTywz7Uhiyff?si=G2eYCjLjT3KltgdfA6XXCA

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390 Eliza Swann “The Alchemical Imagination”

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01:41:24
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Eliza Swann, also known as Emerald, is a writer, artist, alchemist and scholar based in New York. Swann’s formative years cultivated a deep interest in the intertwined studies of mysticism and fine art, which remain central to their work as both artist and educator. Swann received a BA in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute (2004) and an MFA from Central St. Martins in London (2012). Additionally, Swann is an initiate in Gnostic and Hermetic orders, has studied Vedic cosmology with Dr. Vagsish Shastri, trained in mindfulness meditation at the Insight Meditation Society, and studied herbalism and gardening under the guidance of their witch aunt. These studies inform their expansive approach to esoteric and ecological practices.

Swann teaches art and mysticism as a unified practice and, in 2014, founded Golden Dome, an artist-in-residence program rooted in queer intersectional mysticism. Since its inception, Golden Dome has expanded to offer nationwide exhibitions, residencies, publications, and educational programming. Swann is currently faculty at Pratt Institute, where they teach “The Alchemical Imagination”, a course they created to introduce alchemical concepts to contemporary creative practice. In 2025, Swann transitioned from directing Golden Dome to launch a new initiative: Emerald School, which explores alchemy as a living, transdisciplinary practice.

As a visual artist, Swann has exhibited internationally, most recently at the University of California Santa Cruz and the Feminist Center for Creative Work in Los Angeles. They are the author of The Anatomy of the Aura, Green Mary, and The Alchemical Imagination, and have contributed to numerous publications. Their work has been supported by PEN America, the Foundation for Contemporary Art, the Author’s League Fund, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Pratt Faculty Development Fund, the Feminist Center for Creative Work, the Hemera Fellowship for Contemplative Practice, and the Wassaic Project.

Today Eliza shares about their roots, literally, the gardens of their aunt and a return to them after living and traveling beyond. We talk about alchemy and how it folds many disciplines, prayer, devotion, poetry, intuition… into its being. Eliza recalls teachers both direct and indirect and what they’re work surfaced. We discuss grief and how alchemy has supported them in navigating both the personal and the global. The Emerald School is the container for their work where they guide folks through the stages of alchemy including a freeing of self and specialty, to move into deeper collaboration with all. “The school becomes a crucible: a space where diverse elements converge, disciplinary boundaries blur, and new ways of knowing can take shape.”

We talk about their upcoming 9 week online course, “The Alchemical Imagination,” Sept. 14-Nov. 16, and their upcoming offering as a part of the O+ Festival, “The Star Inside: Alchemy and the Power of Plants” and why mugwort became a part of the conversation.

Today’s show was engineered by Ian Seda from Radiokingston.org.

Our show music is from Shana Falana!

Feel free to email me, say hello: she@iwantwhatshehas.org

** Please: SUBSCRIBE to the pod and leave a REVIEW wherever you are listening, it helps other users FIND IT

http://iwantwhatshehas.org/podcast

ITUNES | SPOTIFY

ITUNES: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/i-want-what-she-has/id1451648361?mt=2

SPOTIFY:https://open.spotify.com/show/77pmJwS2q9vTywz7Uhiyff?si=G2eYCjLjT3KltgdfA6XXCA

Follow:

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