From Writing & Reimagining Black Masculinity: Joél Leon – Into Healing S2, Ep.1:

“That reimagining started with me first. If I can reimagine it for myself, then it creates an opportunity for me to potentially reimagine it for others as well.

Not that that’s my purpose—I’m not here to be a teacher per se. I don’t want to put that kind of egoic pressure on it. But I do recognize there’s a level of wisdom I’ve been able to garner through my own experiences. So what does it look like to share that in a way that’s intentional and loving?

So much of that, to me, is about the reimagining. It’s about curiosity. And it’s also about seeing Black men in history—and Black folks in general—reimagining their lives, their existence, their ways of being. And seeing it now come full circle.

I think of people like Mahogany Brown, a brilliant poet and friend of mine, who continues to reimagine art and Blackness in new ways. My friend Frederick Joseph, who reimagines masculinity and patriarchy, and what these institutions can look like.

It’s really about seeing the thing and then saying, *Okay—there has to be another way.”

From What Every Woman Needs To Know About Perimenopause: Sophie Hunt – Into Healing S3, Ep.3

From Leaving High Fashion to finding Meaning in Islam: Imam Dawood Yasin – Into Healing S3, Ep.1:

“Dawood: In our [Islamic] tradition, the devil—if you will, these negative forces, energies—runs through the veins of the children of Adam. And we restrict them through fasting.

Mira: We all have the propensity to harm.

Dawood: Right? Absolutely. Yeah. Abolition talks about that a ton.

Mira: Right. It's like we all have that ability. We're in these human bodies, but how do we lessen the harm?

Dawood: Right. And so I think just getting back to that idea of the best version of oneself.

For example, someone is at the light and they have a sign. One of my teachers was saying maybe you have a $1 bill, you have a $10 bill in your pocket. Or you're walking by them and you're like, “One, ten,” and I'm too shy to pull both out, and he sees the ten and then I give him the one—and you're a miser. And our teacher was like, no. You have to fight that because in that moment we believe the devil’s trying to get you away from giving. If you go “one, ten, one, ten” in your mind and you walk away and end up giving nothing, you lost. These negative energies win.

So in that place, it’s about stopping and being like: it’s okay. Embarrassment is okay. If I don’t give the ten, it’s okay. Maybe I give the ten, I don’t know. But my point is, these are the things that have been brought to my life in terms of that’s my north star. Giving is better than not giving. And then, too, understanding that one gives and one will receive.”