“The roles I’ve taken so far have all been trans characters. And so, they are innately trans stories,” said Leo Sheng. “And with my job comes this joy of getting to be this type of representation that I didn’t have growing up. So maybe [the reason I’m an actor] is a little selfish, but I’m excited I have this opportunity to tell stories, period.”
Posts filed under Interviews
The Process of ‘Becoming’ Through the Diamond Approach – As Taught and Practiced by Lou Weir
The Diamond Approach, as taught and practiced by Lou Weir at the Ridhwan School in Ann Arbor, can be likened to the pupa stage of metamorphoses. It is a cognizant, individualized, un-becoming process through active inquiry (psychologically and emotionally). It is a process which transforms students to becoming their most beautiful, authentic selves.
Healers of Ann Arbor: Mindful Awakenings with Julie Woodward
Through the pandemic, many people have reached out to healers and wellness teachers for self-care techniques and help through crisis. One such teacher, Julie Woodward of Mindful Awakenings, seemingly does it all. She teaches yoga for resilience, mindfulness meditation, and leads nature immersion hikes that help us all re-anchor ourselves in the present moment and recharge through times of stress.
Healing Hands Physical Therapy: Amira Tal-Henig's Labor of Love
The caregiver’s heart is characterized by a few simple, yet powerful traits: empathy, commitment, and action. This holds true across diverse homes, occupations, and settings. The call to nurture another being is one of humility and hope. It is knowing that even when logic says nothing else can help, there is still love and presence to provide.
Bringing Youthful New Leadership to Jewel Heart: The Crazy Wisdom Interview with Spiritual Director Demo Rinpoche
Rinpoche has an impressive resume of lifelong monastic and religious studies starting at age five, when he entered Drepung Loseling Monastery in Mundgod. He officially joined the monastery in 1987 where he spent nearly thirty years of uninterrupted education in meditation, debate, memorization, philosophy, and composition under the Dalai Lama’s direct supervision. After completing his studies at Drepung, Rinpoche received the highest monastic degree of Geshe Lharampa from Gelugpa University in India in 2011. He continued his studies at Gyume Tantric College and was a visiting scholar under the auspices of the Dalai Lama at Sarah College of Higher Tibetan Studies in Dharamsala. At the request of the late Gelek Rimpoche, Demo Rinpoche came to the United States, where he received his master’s degree in Inter-Religious Engagement from Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 2018.
Healers of Ann Arbor: HeartMath™ with Rachel Egherman
“HeartMath™ is heart-focused breathing, or breathing through the heart space,” Rachel Egherman said of the gentle form of self-care that helps you check in with your body, your heart space, and feel supported. “This is something you can do yourself in the grocery store line. It’s a way to quickly self-regulate.”
iZōsh: Ann Arbor’s Own Microfinance Organization Lifts Women Up Globally
iZōsh is an emotive and powerful Ethiopian word with no English equivalent. It is said to a woman specifically, and it connotes compassionately coming alongside her. The closest translation means: “I’m there for you; you can do this, and I won’t let you fail.” iZōsh is also the name of an Ann Arbor micro-lending organization that funds third-world women who live in extreme poverty.
An Integrative Approach to Women’s Health: An Interview with Holistic Gynecologist Dr. Suman Tewari
A graduate of Wayne State University Medical School, Dr. Suman Tewari is a women’s doctor who has incorporated many aspects of functional medicine and mindset coaching with her allopathic training to bring the best possible care to her patients. I sat down with her at her beautiful office in the Parkway Center to discuss what she means when she says “holistic gynecology” and why women might not feel “empowered to heal.”
Pandemic Q+A’s for the Community Leaders on our Anniversary Cover
For our 25th Anniversary Issue, we invited eight well-respected leaders in the regional conscious living community, all of whom have been on our cover before, to gather together for a cover photo shoot to help us celebrate. (Plus, since it was our anniversary issue, we asked our founder/publisher, too.)
It turned out to be on Thursday, March 12th, the eve of the national pandemic lockdown.
Thankfully, they are all well, and so we asked them to tell us what they have been up to since that fateful evening, and what they have been thinking about during these months of sheltering in place. Here are their answers…
Healers of Ann Arbor
You can try a new type of massage or read a chiropractor’s online reviews, but how do you really know when a healing modality is right for you? This new column, from tech and wellness journalist and meditation coach Laura K. Cowan goes in depth with local healers to give you a behind the scenes look at what they really do to help people relax and heal.
A Conversation with Erin Stohl and Dan DeSena about Somatic-Oriented Psychotherapies
An Ann Arbor couple, Erin Stohl and Dan DeSena, has found a place within the local somatic psychotherapy community. I sat down with Stohl and DeSena, pre-pandemic, to learn about how they came to somatic psychotherapy, and how their experiences as somatic psychotherapists have impacted their relationship. Stohl and DeSena are both seeing patients via video chat and doing appointments by phone.
CW Kids in the Community: Love You From My Head To-ma-toes: Ann Arbor’s Immersive Farming Programs For Kids
In a busy age, and now in a time that encourages outdoor activities and social distancing, how do parents help their kids get the most out of outside play time? I recently looked into starting a small cut flower farm on land next to our home. It’s an amazing opportunity to expand my daughter’s knowledge—from watering plants around the house to a full-scale growing operation. This plan may take a few years, if we ever get through the experimental stage, but it got me thinking about how modern parents can get their kids involved in gardening if they don’t have a lot of space in their yard or schedule. Now that Covid is in the picture, we also wanted to check in with local educational and farming programs to find out what is still scheduled for kids.
Kathy Braun and the Role of Hypnotherapy in Healing
Kathy Braun, the Clinical Hypnotherapist of Ann Arbor Hypnotherapy, is my cousin. When she relocated to Ann Arbor about fifteen years ago we all wanted to hear about her hypnosis practice. I was interested, but skeptical. I thought the “hypnotic state” was fiction. Kathy wouldn’t talk about her practice—explaining that the sessions she has with her clients are strictly confidential. She preferred to talk about what she calls her “bragging rights” back in the day when she was in a New York Shakespeare Festival production of Measure for Measure starring Meryl Streep.
The Grit Behind the Grange
“Join us for seasonal menus inspired by the fresh flavors of local farms and farmers’ markets.” This is the best way Grange Kitchen and Bar can describe what they provide through their inspired kitchen and bar operating in an historic building in the Old West side of town. Their style is simple and elegant, but not pretentious. There is no dress code and all are welcomed to enjoy small plates, entrees, appetizers, and desserts with unique beverages, many fueled by one of the three partners who owns Ann Arbor Distillery. From cocktails to shrimp, the Grange Kitchen and Bar’s menu is truly an homage to fresh Michigan flavors and Ann Arbor’s community custom.
Motawi Tileworks--Local Craftswoman Nawal Motawi has Built the Leading Art Tile Manufacturing Business in the Country
Scattered throughout Ann Arbor, and in homes across the United States, the jaw-dropping showstopper of a renovation is a longed-for big statement and focal point boasting the lush colors, careful curves, and elegance of Motawi tile. Be it a rich palette of field tiles gleaming across a foyer, colored Celadon and Caribbean Blue, and framed with nature inspired accents, or a graceful interpretation of Charley Harper’s red birds, installed within a kitchen surround, becoming the trill and warm quiet of the woods, ceramic artist Nawal Motawi’s decorative, handmade tiles elevate the statement of the space.
The Ecology Center – 50 Years of Innovative Solutions for Healthy People and a Healthy Planet
n 2020, the Ecology Center of Ann Arbor will be celebrating its 50th anniversary. It has grown to become one of the most dynamic and influential organizations of its kind in the United States. Created in the wake of the first Earth Day, the Ecology Center was founded by members of ENACT (Environmental Action for Survival), the University of Michigan’s student environmental group. ENACT and the Ecology Center’s primary original focus was to start a recycling program. The city’s first recycling program, at the newly created Recycling Center, was not the recycling program Ann Arbor residents know today: no curbside pickup, only a few types of recyclables were eligible, and residents had to sort recyclables into separate containers and deliver them directly to the Recycling Center.
Hands on Heart Healing with Julie Kouyate
Several years ago I was walking through the U-M Diag one warm summer evening and stumbled upon swathes of barefoot dancers undulating to the rhythms and harmonies of a large drumming crew. I was in awe of these powerful dancers and drummers, and the ways they all seemed to harmonize with joy, pleasure, and sincere effort that flowed from their hearts and was expressed through their limbs.
Celebrating the Ecology Center's 50 year Anniversary--More interviews!
In addition to the interview with Garfield (see the main article here), freelance journalist Sandor Slomovits contacted a few other people who have been associated with the Ecology Center in the past fifty years and asked them to discuss the history and accomplishments of the organization. To provide a multifaceted picture of the EC, he got in touch with people who worked at the EC during various points in its history, and who held different positions and served in a variety of capacities, from staff and leadership, to volunteers.
An Interview with Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton on Holistic Approaches to Public Safety and Bias-free Policing
After working more than thirty years in the field of law enforcement, Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton has become an international expert on such intransigent issues as bias-free policing, cultural diversity, and “subject control” arrest techniques. In 2016 Clayton represented the U.S. at a conference on community policing held in Barcelona, Spain, hosted by the Open Society Foundations. In 2017 Clayton again represented the U.S., this time at a conference in Geneva, Switzerland, sponsored by the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights. In February of 2018, Clayton participated in a U.S.-U.K. exchange in London, focusing on building leadership for fair and effective policing.
A Visit with the Women of White Lotus Farms Botanicals
I met Jess Tsomo and Kat Tsomo ten years ago while visiting Tsogyelgar Dharma Center, located on West Liberty Street in Ann Arbor. A few years after that I moved here to Ann Arbor from New York, so as to make Tsogyelgar the center point of gravity in my life. Kat, Jess, and I share a precious and magical bond as disciples of Buddhist Siddha Traktung Yeshe Dorje—the founder of Tsogyelgar Dharma Center. (Editor’s Note: For more information about Tsogyelgar, see the Cover Story in Issue #64 of the Crazy Wisdom Journal, September through December 2016, available in our archive online at crazywisdomjournal.com)
