#68 - Visions of an Afropunk Futurist | Adah Parris (-ism)

This week on Life is a Festival, I am honored to share the vibrant voice of Adah Parris. Self-isolating in her flat in London, Adah offers her perspective on these difficult times, from Covid-19 to racial injustice in the United States. On the show, we talk about Afropunk and Adah’s radical self-expression, including mystical tattoos of imaginary numbers, DMT molecules, and the ancient Ouroboros. Recorded just as news broke of George Floyd’s murder in Minneapolis, we discuss the impact of “othering” and how to be an ally. We also discuss Adah’s idea of cyborg shamanism, a synthesis of ancient and futurist movements and Adah’s new venture, a global network of forward thinking humans dedicated to eradicating the -isms that create boundaries in our world. Adah is a storyteller, an Afropunk futurist, and a master pattern recognizer. You can check out her writing on Medium and join her community of future thinkers at ism.earth. LINKS Adah Parris: https://www.adahparris.com/ Adah Parris on Medium: https://medium.com/@adahparris -Ism: https://www.ism.earth/ TIMESTAMPS :13 - Adah never had the curiosity educated out of her :16 - Tattoos of imaginal numbers, DMT molecules and ouroboros :20 - Every plant is plant medicine :27 - Cyborg Shamanism :37 - Afropunk and Radical Self-expression :45 - The impact of “Othering” :49 - How can allies shine a light on injustice? :56 - Can radical self expression be a way to alchemize the “othering” of a dominant culture? 1:06 - Adah’s “ism” project