Teachings of the Great Outdoors with Danisha Dumornay

Today we're joined by Haitian-American author, educator, and passionate advocate for nature education, Danisha Durmornay. She takes us on a vivid journey into her life, including influences from her grandmother, and her new children's book, Teachings of the Great Outdoors: Exploring Nature, Robin Finds Herself.

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Transcript

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Nature and Cultural Identity's Importance

Speaker 1 0:00

You know , there's this huge recognition and acknowledgement of , you know , groups of peoples , indigenous peoples , who had learned this so much longer before we did that , like the Earth was truly something that we're supposed to be coexisting with and really learning from , and so I think I just drew on a lot of that understanding is like this is not , you know , a necessarily new concept . It's just something that I want to honor and recognize in my community .

Speaker 2 0:30

Welcome , revolutionary Mama , to the Raising Wild Hearts podcast . I'm Ryan Watkin , educator , mom of three , revel at heart and passionate soul , on a mission to empower and inspire you .

Speaker 2 0:44

Here we'll explore psychology , spirituality , parenthood and the intersection where they all come together . We'll discover how challenges can be fertile soil for growth and that even in the messy middle of motherhood , we can find magic in the mundane . Join me on my own personal journey as I talk to experts and share resources on education , creativity , self-care , family , culture and more . I believe we can change the world by starting at home in our own minds and hearts , and that when we do , we'll be passing down the most important legacy there is Healing , and so it is . Hey , friends , welcome back to the Raising Wild Hearts podcast . We're back today with another amazing convo . I feel so blessed , I feel so lucky to be sitting down with these humans and having conversations . Big shout out to podmatchcom . I'm not an affiliate . I'm not going to get anything from saying this , but if you are a podcaster or a potential podcaster , their platform has been amazing . I have seriously met some of the most amazing humans from all walks of life on this platform . It's like a dating app for podcast guests and hosts , so I want to throw that out there , that that's this season where I'm meeting most of my guests , and so , yeah , thanks , podmatchcom . Love you guys .

Speaker 2 2:20

And today I'm talking with Denisha DeMorne . She is oh my gosh , she is so many things . I'll read you guys her bio . She just wrote her first book and it's a children's book . It's called Exploring Nature Robin Finds Herself . It is the coolest book . I love it and I have started teaching my creative , heart centered leadership class for kids and this is one of the books that I'm reading in the class . It's like the perfect message and story for these kiddos . It's about connecting with nature . It's about connecting with oneself , it's about learning about yourself through connecting with nature , and it's just so good . As soon as we got off our interview , I ordered two of the books and I gifted one to our school , One of our old schools , cocoa Plum Nature School here in Delray Beach , florida . We love them , so we gifted them one and then we kept one for our collection .

Speaker 2 3:26

And so Denisha is set to captivate readers with her debut book Teaching of the Great Outdoors Exploring Happiness , humanity and Nature I think that might have been the original title . Anyway , drawing inspiration from personal experiences , she skillfully delves into self-discovery and resilience . With a passion for spreading nature education , she facilitates hikes and encourages others to connect with the healing power of the natural world . She's a certified yoga instructor and an advocate for equitable education . Denisha aims to inspire creative potential and promote literacy . Her diverse background includes working in education , administration , management and strategy consulting . Her business and her collective is called Kallalu Collective . Follow her on Instagram . I'll put her website in the notes . You can get her book there and download fun free resources .

Speaker 2 4:19

You guys are going to enjoy this conversation so much . We talk about nature , we talk about education , we talk about her grandma , who inspired her in so many ways , and it's just such a beautiful , heartfelt conversation and I know you guys are going to feel that . So , yeah , let's jump into it , enjoy it . Reach out to me at raising wild hearts on Instagram . I'm also on LinkedIn , so one of the other social media platforms I hang out on and post some clips on quite frequently . So if you're on LinkedIn , connect with me there , and then , of course , you can email me . Hello at raisingwildheartspodcastcom . Let me know what you want to hear more of , let me know which guests you want me to invite back because I'm getting ready to ramp up my list of return guests and what questions I want to ask them . So I'd love to have some questions from you guys . All right , enjoy it , hi Denisha .

Speaker 1 5:10

Welcome to the Raising Wild Hearts podcast . Hi Ryan , Thanks for having me .

Speaker 2 5:14

Yeah , thanks for being here . I'm really excited about talking to you and about your new book , which today , the day we're airing , it happens to be the publication date , so yay .

Speaker 1 5:33

Yes , so exciting . This was very well timed .

Speaker 2 5:36

Yes , it was . Does it feel surreal or like ? How are you vibing with it right now ?

Speaker 1 5:42

It's absolutely surreal . I mean , this is obviously my first book , as we've kind of chatted about and yeah , this kind of just came from a place of like this needs to happen and I made it happen . So I'm still kind of processing the real time reaction of it all .

Speaker 2 5:58

Yeah , what made you have that really strong feeling of like this is the book , like this needs to happen . If not , if not now , then when ? And if not , who , then me ? Like it came to you and you were like this is it ? What gave you that ping from the universe ?

Speaker 1 6:17

I'm sure . Yeah , I think it was a total of many moments and experiences over the past few years , but I will say it all came down to 2020 , of course , when we were all kind of seeking and searching . I think a lot of people were turning to figuring out what it is that really makes them happy , thinking about what it is that is their truth , and I got to spend a lot of time doing that during that time , because I was in an apartment in New York City by myself . I couldn't really go anywhere , so had to kind of figure out some good stuff to do at home , and so I turned to journaling and writing more and engaging in artwork more , because I was a part of my childhood that I always appreciated .

Speaker 1 6:56

But you know , as you grow older , you kind of lack the space or making space for those types of things if you're kind of going down a certain route with your career , and that's where I was . And so 2020 allowed me to pause and take a restock of all the things that truly mattered , and and this story came to me because , you know , when we were able to kind of more freely go outside , I was absolutely going into nature and hiking a lot more . I had always been really inclined to spend time outside , but of course , again , while everything was closed , it was even more of a Priority and accessible for me , luckily . So yeah , so the story came from those moments of just sitting in in Meditation and sitting in nature and really just finding out the story that I needed to tell within me .

Speaker 2 7:44

Yeah , so one of the first things you mentioned in your bio is that you're a Haitian American . I'd love to talk about your experience growing up and ask you you know culturally how that has had an impact on who you are now and who little Daneisha was and that whole experience of your life .

Speaker 1 9:09

Being a Haitian American is pretty much , you know , at the center of my universe for many reasons , you know . I think any person that has a multicultural home can understand . Growing up in , you know , a new space , that a space that's not only new For your family but , of course , new for your family to help experience both cultures . Right , how do we create a balance where , you know , my family , who migrated from Haiti at the time , you know , had to kind of assimilate , as , as it happens , when you come to a new country to learn a new language , you don't understand the culture , and they were teaching me how to do that and teaching like learning for themselves . So , you know , growing up in and home , you know , I lived with my whole family , my mom , my dad , my grandmother and my siblings , and so much of that experience was like my parents teaching me about American culture , but then my grandmother , who was like a very , you know , an older Haitian woman , who was like I'm a Haitian woman first . I am teaching my grandchildren about the Haitian culture . So we were always navigating the two cultures in our home and With that came a lot of richness .

Speaker 1 10:20

You know , I'm able to speak Creole . I'm able to understand the different foods that are important to my culture and , more importantly in this experience , my grandmother . She was very connected to herbal medicine and herbal foods and so Growing up she would always put a huge Importance on you know , make sure you understand what you're eating , make sure you know where these come from , what the roots are , and so all of that learning . You know , I didn't see all of that in American culture . That's not really what we were going to school and hearing about , right ?

Speaker 1 10:53

So the different kind of learnings and Abilities to kind of get these two very different worlds at once , while sometimes very challenging , was , honestly , what has made me so open-minded today about like pretty much any experience I'm having is because of all of the different cultures that really do Come into play at the origin of any story , of any dish , of any thing we're interacting with , and so being a Haitian woman Is important to me , especially now . You know the country is going through a lot of political unrest , and I always want to make sure that people know that we exist , that we are here , that we are resilient , that we are trying to Forge our past through this very tumultuous time for our country , and that our culture is beautiful , and so I always make sure to advocate for that in any platform that I can , and so , yeah , being being a part of the community is really special to me .

Speaker 2 11:52

Thank you for sharing that . I think it's important to Understand the unique and varied Perspectives of everyone we come across and on this podcast I really want to hold space for that . So thank you for diving in deep into that . For us and I love your grandma , I just the wisdom of the elders is , you know , like none other , and I think we don't Value it enough in our culture as a whole . So that was a beautiful ode to that elder wisdom , thank you .

Speaker 1 12:23

Yes , I know I'm sure she's . You know she's always with me , and so I know that she's happy that I can share this as well .

Speaker 2 12:31

Yes , thank you , grandma . You're in my heart too . That's beautiful . So would you talk to us a little bit about your main character and how you got your inspiration ?

Robin's Journey of Self-Discovery in Nature

Speaker 2 12:42

Her name is Robin , right ? Yes , robin .

Speaker 1 12:45

Yeah , then is a young girl who is very much just like having fun and just exploring life as you do kind of innocently in your early years of life . You're Looking out the outdoors , you're looking inside , you're kind of seeing what's around you , and then you get asked these really big questions and you're like , hmm , how do I even go about answering this ? So that's Robin , and I think for me it was just important that this character really Embodied curiosity , because I think that is at the core of the . The storyline is that she maintained an open mind throughout the entire Journey and that really served her and helped her kind of get to that next level of understanding .

Speaker 2 13:25

How old is Robin .

Speaker 1 13:27

Robin is a seven-year-old she is . So she's again , like very much in this , about to kind of turn into a new chapter of adolescence . So again she's asking a lot of questions and just being a curious seven-year-old .

Speaker 2 13:43

I love that because I have an almost seven-year-old as this airing . She'll probably be turning seven and that is such a fun , curious , miraculous age . Like everybody's teeth are falling out , you're learning who you are and what you love , and you're learning like that first sense of very like individuated opinions , like I am very separate from my parents now and my siblings and whoever else , and I think it's a really good age for self-discovery . So is that the journey that Robin goes on ? Is it like a self-discovery ? You know , is maybe like spoiler alert ? Give us like a little hint of what the journey is that she's going on as she's navigating the challenges . Yeah , yeah .

Speaker 1 14:32

So she is asked to do a homework assignment , which is very common . We're always asking our children what do you want to be when you grow up ? And so she gets that question and you know , I think there are some seven-year-olds that've been really confident about answering that , and then there are some that don't . She kind of falls into the yeah , I'm not really sure category . She might have some ideas , but she's also seeking approval . You'll kind of see that a little bit . So yeah , so the story is about her kind of going through this journey of like , what is it that I actually want to be and what matters ? Like , what does my mom think ? What do others think ? And she's trying to source kind of communal opinion . And then her mom is kind of like well , let's see if we can figure this out together , and there's the adventure to be told there , and it kind of leads them to the outdoors .

Speaker 2 15:21

Oh , OK , cool . So why nature ? Why the emphasis on nature for you ? Where did it come from ? I know that in 2020 , you kind of realized when something was taken away , how much value it really had in your life . What about you as a girl ? Did you always value nature ? Do you remember growing up like being in the outdoors ?

Speaker 1 15:39

Yeah , so when I grew up , I grew up in Massachusetts and we lived adjacent to some farmland , and so I was really lucky because the people who lived on the farm one of the children in the household was also in my grade and at my school so we became very , very close and we would always go outside and I would always be able to go on his farm and there was like these like lush , really nice , like land surrounding , even some marshland around the area , and we would just go on these like mini adventures and just kind of find things and see things .

Speaker 1 16:09

And this is before , like I did not have a cell phone , like I was definitely like outdoors and just like looking at things . And thankfully , that never went wrong for me , like I never touched something that I wasn't supposed to , but I just , you know , was curious and had a partner in curiosity . Now , again , I mentioned I grew up in a Haitian household , while Haiti is a very lush and beautiful

Childhood Exploration and Love for Hiking

Speaker 1 16:33

, like forest filled land and unfortunately , has experienced some deforestation , but is naturally a very , you know , lush land , and my parents were like you can totally go outside and do that , but we're going to like leave that stuff outside , like nothing comes home with you , like you kind of , just you know we're happy to let you explore , but like just don't bring in the house .

Speaker 2 16:55

Essentially , Leave the sticks and rocks outside Right , exactly yeah .

Speaker 1 16:59

Yeah , that's a lot of what I did with my friend . We would love , like you know , we had like these kiddie pools in my backyard and like they would fill up with like tadpoles and like we would like watch the tadpoles grow . You know , we would pick up like sticks and just bits and bobs and rocks and like it was just so fun then . And you know , I think it's so funny because I try to get my current like nephews and nieces to like be interested in this type of thing and they're like , ok , this is like definitely an interesting activity , but you know we're going to lean into it because you know it's I'm not . So they're going to like try and appease me at some points and sometimes they won't . But yeah , like I just was really lucky to have , you know , that adjacent farmland and be in an area where it was so accessible for me to just go outside and play and be curious . So that happened a lot in my childhood .

Speaker 1 17:51

And then I had a pretty pivotal experience in my mid teens where I went on a trip to Guatemala and I went with a group it was an excursion group for a high school summer trip and that was the first time I had really gotten a real intensive hike and we hiked a volcano in Guatemala and it was , you know , at the beginning of the journey I was really excited but very quickly understood how hard hiking was . And this again was like my first experience really going on a hike without my family , with new people , and really experiencing , like what does this do for me , like what is the feelings I get from , kind of being able to go up a mountain and having this journey through you know , just so many stages of like vegetation and just the people that were there . It was all just so new to me . And when I got to the top I just remember feeling like wow , like I want to feel like this way more than I like can ever , you know , like do in my day to day life . And so that was like the beginning of my love for hiking .

Speaker 1 18:53

After that trip , I had like made it a point to do any other like excursion trips that allowed me to be outside and allowed me to visit , you know , hills and mountains , which led me into my early 20s , and I had started organizing hikes with friends , and then I found an organization in Boston that actually organized hikes for people in the greater Boston area . So I started facilitating hikes . So it really did kind of weave throughout my pretty much entire life of just like being really Connected and finding space and being creative with what I could find in nature and what that really brought to me , and so , yeah , I've carried that for a long time and I'm really glad that that's , you know , something that's stuck with me .

Speaker 2 19:36

Yeah , so you get to the top of this volcano in Guatemala . You're a high school teenager . You're like you're a kid , basically right . Do you remember , like , what that inkling of a feeling was ? Was it like wonder ? Was it joy ? Was it aw ? Was it bliss Like ? Do you remember what the tangible feeling was for you ?

Speaker 1 19:56

I'm not gonna even lie . At first I was like I'm glad that I made it uphill , because , holy crap , that was really hard Relief . It was just relief , yeah , trying to catch my breath . And then when I finally like what it said and I was okay , I made it like we can like now regulate the rest of the emotions around this experience . I think I just was One so proud , like obviously I'm just like this is the first time I've ever done anything like this . I'm not with anyone I've really known and it's an adventure that , like , not many people have access to . So I was just really proud of Myself for taking a chance and like doing this really new thing .

Speaker 1 20:37

And then I think , secondly , I was just Feeling like such a calm .

Speaker 1 20:41

You know , at that point in time in Guatemala I think it was just about rainy season , so there was a bit cloudy , but there was something so comforting about the clouds , like it was like I was up at a top everything and I couldn't really see a ton out ahead of me , but I still felt really safe and grounded and like that and itself is an experience in nature that I Think is so beautiful .

Speaker 1 21:02

And every time I go on hikes now , like I think we think of like the climax and the apex of a hike and we're like sunny skies , like mountain range everywhere around us .

Speaker 1 22:13

But sometimes you won't get that and there's still something beautiful and moving to be felt about being kind of at this , this top of an , you know the top of your world at that very moment , and really just taking in the world around you and knowing that like the ground Supported you to make your way up this mountain and that you were able to support yourself up this mountain . So , yeah , I think I just felt a ton of like gratitude and just like recognition of like how proud I was and and and yeah , I think , all in all , like nature just really for me , just brings up so many emotions of of just just Happiness and truly , like you know , like that like bit of a door from Russian , like you're just feeling like Wow , like I , just I just did this and I did it In a supported structure that has always been here for us , that we don't always get to acknowledge that has been here for us , and so that was the first time I think I really acknowledged that nature was supporting me .

Speaker 2 23:13

That's beautiful . There's something so sacred about a cloudy day because , like , the Sun is still out , like you know , the Sun's still there , it's still shiny , but we've got this like little safe haven . I just heard Glennon Doyle interview Oprah on the we can do hard things podcast and they were talking about how the Sun is so bossy . You know , when it's sunny out you're like go out , you got to get outside , you got to go do whatever and do this and do that , and how the clouds are so comforting , like it's just Very non-assuming , very calm , and so I like that presence of the cloudy day on your amazing experience of the volcano . That's really cool .

Speaker 1 23:52

And I think I actually recently posted an affirmation about this of like , even when I can't see the Sun , it's still there , like the Sun is still shining , there is still light , and that , to me , just feels so , so Securing and just again makes me feel very grounded and like knowing that everything is around me at all times .

Speaker 2 24:11

Yeah , me too . I love that . So you say that you explore happiness and humanity through the lens of nature . How did you come to this like conclusion , that you're exploring these two Really

Exploring Happiness and Humanity Through Nature

Speaker 2 24:28

big concepts through this other thing that's all around us , that we're part of like ? Where did that come from ?

Speaker 1 24:35

Yeah , I can . I think it really does come from that , that feeling that I would feel in mountain tops , and I think also , you know , there's this huge recognition and acknowledgement of , you know , groups of peoples , indigenous peoples , who had learned this so much Longer before we did that , like the earth was truly something that we're supposed to be coexisting with and really learning from , and so I think I just drew on a lot of that Understanding is like this is not , you know , and necessarily new concept . It's just something that I want to honor and recognize in my community . Again , you know , we're socialized in an environment with like social media and like all these different .

Speaker 1 25:20

What I sometimes feel is like a distraction , that it has to be Like a little bit more complex or it has to be flashy , but actually I think we need a calling to do the complete opposite and make it much more simple , and I think that's a part of , again , the unlearning and the , the bridging of gaps that I'm hoping to do , which is like remind people that If you find a patch of grass , like you can ground and you can feel good , like very like , it can happen very fast for you and you'll be so surprised . But it's just showing images of people like me that I'm hoping will help Generate that understanding . Yeah , I love that .

Speaker 2 26:02

Oh , it's beautiful . I don't even know and we're done . No , I'm just kidding , it's just so . I'm inspired for two reasons because you're sharing your story , which is different than mine , however . I didn't grow up really in nature either , so I have like I didn't know it was possible . And it's still a different didn't know it was possible from you and the other black Americans you're talking about right , so I appreciate that so much .

Speaker 2 26:36

And then also , just , it's something so calming when you just say , yeah , all you need is a patch of grass to go ground and we as a culture , as a society , are pushed towards the hustle and the bustle and the shiny and the new consumerism .

Speaker 2 26:56

You know , all these things that we think will make us happy , fulfilled calm . In reality , it's just slowing down enough to be able to be present , and I think so much of what we can learn , so many lessons in life are , can be bounced off of nature . So when I look at my kids playing outside and they find a butterfly cocoon and they find , you know , the caterpillar that's gonna turn into the cocoon , and they , you know , have seen one of the butterflies die Like it's just like you learn who you are when you can bounce yourself off of these really big ideas , but in a very calm , present way . There's no expectations in nature . I mean , aside from Oprah and Glennon Doyle saying the sun is bossy , which I just think is funny Not necessarily true , but you know , I just think there's so much to be learned , very simple yet profound life lessons in this Exactly exactly .

Speaker 1 28:00

And so , yeah , I think , even on a personal journey , note like a lot of the time I spent in nature like I mentioned to you I mean , of course , 2020 , but always has made me think , like , what am I doing in the rest of my life , like , and does it embody these great lessons that I know are true to me ? Am I bringing these back with me into the other activities ? Like , am I really truly engaging with these messages , or are they just easy to remember when I'm in nature ? And so it's like , how do we draw the connection points back to some of the things we're experiencing in our day-to-day lives that you know , because not everyone can just like sit on a patch of grass all day , though that sounds like amazing . Like I would love to just like bring some tea outside and like spend most of my day grounding . Sure , that would be really good for my mental health , but it's unfortunate that , like you know , some of us don't have even more than 20 minutes , so I'm always grateful for whatever I can find , but I do really try to make sure that I'm drawing a parallel to how I react in my personal relationships , my working relationships , basically every aspect of my life . I wanna make sure is acknowledging and recognizing these pieces that I'm learning , because otherwise it's just only helpful for those moments .

Speaker 1 29:20

But I want it to be helpful for every moment and I wanna be able to just kind of train my brain to go to those moments when I need it the most .

Speaker 2 29:28

Yeah , me too , denisha , me too , you know . There's the quote of I'm gonna butcher it the nature never rushes , yet everything is accomplished . I don't remember who said it , but I'll put it in the show notes . And there's a thing about integration which I talked about in the episode in season two with Hunter Clark Fields . We talked about how , as parents and people who are interested in personal development , we have these stacks of books everywhere . But actually integrating , so practicing the things that we learn in the books , is the key . It's not just more and more and more and more information and knowledge , it's let's learn one thing and then practice it in a day to day capacity . So I think that's a beautiful point that you brought up about taking that experience in nature back into our work and our home life and our relationships , and the way we show up for ourselves and the way we observe culture and humanity , and the way we show up in the grocery line to greet the person who's checking us out and the way we do everything . You know .

Speaker 1 30:45

Yeah , and I think sometimes we get a little nervous because we know that change will couple with that . You know that new found understanding we're going to confront some types of change and I think for me , what's resonated the most is like helping my family see me in this light has probably been one of like the bigger of challenges , because they're just not really into nature like I am . So I'm always like , let's like go for a walk and they're just like , okay , tunisia , like maybe another time , or , like you know , putting it off . But it's like now that they see you know me embodying this , like I think it is giving them this , like you know , renewed understanding of , like what's important to me and that's helpful because they can know how to , you know , be a part of my life in a way that , like I would love them to interact and vice versa , like I want to interact in their lives with this new understanding that I'm really grasping from the world around me .

Speaker 1 31:40

And so , yeah , I think the point is that Everything happens in community . I always say my me time is my you time . I say that because everything that I'm doing for myself is truly a reflection of how I want my community to feel and how I want my community to interact with themselves .

The Power of Self-Development and Education

Speaker 1 32:01

I keep telling myself if I do this and I can show this to my family and my friends and the people around me , maybe it helps them feel like it's a little more accessible to them to start asking the questions for themselves . That's really the journey is how again back to that humanity factor , it's like how can we bridge these gaps for each other and work on ourselves to then essentially work on our relationships and our abilities to show it better for ourselves as well ?

Speaker 2 32:31

Yeah , I couldn't have said it better myself , because I think that the only thing we have control over I know that the only thing we have control over is us and how we show up . I think it sounds like you're being an amazing example of the change you want to see in the world . That's all we can do as humans is just be what we want to see more of . You're making that accessible to your family , should they choose to hop on board with that , and making it more accessible to the community , if they choose to hop on board . I think just that example is enough in itself . Them choosing to hop on board doesn't even matter , because it that choice still is so positively impactful .

Speaker 1 33:23

I also , and it won't look the same , and I think that's what's important too . It might not look exactly identical to how I'm choosing to explore , but as long as it's prompting them to explore something , I think this journey has reminded me how it is just so powerful for me to have been on this journey and seeing my friends and family being on their own personal development journeys and what they want to work on and what they want to aspire to share about their art and their experiences . I'm just happy to even be able to share space with people who are open to hearing about these benefits and hopefully just using it for their own benefit and using it in a way that resonates with them .

Speaker 2 34:06

Yeah , let's talk about education a little bit . One of the ideas that I'm obsessed with lately is I'm getting ready to teach a leadership class to a group of girls who are in first through fourth grade . I'm just so excited about passing . We think leadership and it's this like oh , girls are bossy , or you have to be loud , or you have to be assertive . I think it's like this traditional model I'm really taking it to this heart centered , creative model of what is your creative ability , because everybody has one . How do you feel ? Joy , bliss , calm in your heart ? This is where we lead from . If you could get into a room with elementary school aged kids , what would you teach them ? What would be your class that you would teach these kiddos ?

Speaker 1 35:03

Oh , my goodness . I think the first thing that comes to mind immediately is breathwork and meditation , because I think when you learn how to do that , again , breathwork and meditation couples a lot of different aspects . It couples like the emotional regulation . It couples taking a beat and being reflective Again , a lot of these things that in a fast paced world we don't always make space for . I think if you can teach youth how to first internally recognize the world within them , to then better recognize the world around them , that in itself is a tool that they will probably be grateful for very early on and into their adulthood , because in my personal life I've experienced anxiety and different elements that , had I known a little bit more about meditation and breathwork sooner , I think I would be very grateful for that . But when I did learn about it , it changed my life completely . I was like , wow , why is this not the first thing we teach immediately , totally ? Yeah , as soon as we can help children grasp these concepts .

Speaker 1 36:19

Again , it is a simple concept of feeling how the breath moves in your body . What is that ? How does it make you feel to breathe at a slower pace ? How does it make you feel when you're breathing more rapidly ? Because there is pranayama practices that do require faster paced breath . They ignite different pieces of you . The igniting of a faster paced breath is to make you build heat in your body and explore what heat feels like , but then there's the cooling of having a slower breath . Just that in itself is a science experiment and feels very just , something that every child should experience . I would immediately turn to meditation .

Speaker 2 37:01

Can you imagine learning how to meditate or breathe properly when you're a kid ? It sounds revolutionary and in many ways it is Also . It's just so simple and basic . It almost boggles my mind that every single elementary school up and down my block and yours isn't doing it . I hope that some of them are doing it . Some teachers are very , very with it . I know that , but it's not a standard thing for a system . I wish it was , and that's a vision in my lifetime that I hope will change . I really do that's the answer .

Speaker 1 37:38

Health and wellness in school systems , and especially in our public education system , is so under acknowledged and could benefit from just a more worldly perspective in my opinion . And so , yeah , I also dream of the day where my nieces and nephews come home and are like , yeah , we meditated in class today . I'm like that's amazing .

Speaker 2 38:01

Yes , I'm with you . Oh my gosh . So first tell us what do you hope people are going to walk away with when they read your book ? What hope that kids and parents and educators will come out the other side with ?

Speaker 1 38:18

Your character and your journey of self development and identity is the most long , lasting event of your life . Like this is something that will continue to evolve and be a part of you forever . The earlier you can acknowledge that who you are truly does impact what you can you know how you journey through any of these obstacles or any of these new milestones that you experience . Like I just want people to feel that that is the most integral part of their journey is that there's going to be a lot of noise and a lot of simulation , a lot of things going on outside of us and again bringing us back to 2020 , where we were at the height of everything happening all at once . You know , that time I've really benefited from being able to remember who I was and I just hope that we acknowledge that that is so much more important than anything , so that we can kind of show up better for ourselves , show up better for communities and

Benefits of Remembrance and Curiosity

Speaker 1 39:21

be curious and just be open to adventuring and be open to picking up a new , you know , hobby of like looking at the world around us and being curious about the different shapes of leaves and how that shape of leaf makes you feel .

Speaker 1 39:36

Do you like it . Is it pretty to you ? What about it is pretty to you ? Like , just have that childhood , childlike curiosity forever . Like I'm hoping that I can ignite that forever within myself . I'm hoping I can inspire others to feel that way . And so with this book I also have been saying like I actually think adults should read it too . Like I think like we could all benefit from this story of just reminding ourselves what truly matters and what really matters to you and how we can kind of help spread that message to young minds around us .

Speaker 2 40:12

And where can we get the book ? Because I'm literally after we jump off this Zoom I'm . The first thing I'm gonna do is to go order it . So where do we get ?

Speaker 1 40:22

Thank you for the support . So it's available on Amazon teachings of the great outdoors with my name , denisha DeMorne , and it will be available on some other platforms . But still working through that and if you are local to the Jersey city and New York area , it will be in a few local bookstores , so I will be keeping all that information up to date on my Instagram Amazing .

Speaker 2 40:46

And what is your Instagram so we can follow you ?

Speaker 1 40:48

Yes it's Talalu Collective , k-a-l-a-l-o-u Collective , on Instagram , on Facebook , on Twitter . So yeah , we're on all of the platforms , wherever you consume your social media .

Speaker 2 41:04

All the places , okay , amazing . So , as we start to wrap up , I'm gonna ask you the three questions I ask everybody , and the first one is what's bringing you joy today ?

Speaker 1 41:16

I mean most obviously this conversation , but also my book launch , because it did happen today , so I'm very joyous about that .

Speaker 2 41:26

Congratulations again . It's such a I don't know because I haven't written a book yet , but I can imagine and I've heard that it's such a labor of love , like it's a birthing creation , it's like this entity . And so you did it , denisha . You wrote a book and it's out in the world and it's gonna change a lot of hearts and minds . I know it is , and imagine all the kids who are gonna be reading it and have this story to inspire them .

Speaker 1 41:52

Yeah , I'm so excited .

Speaker 2 41:54

Yeah , I'm just so thrilled . Yeah , it's amazing . What , if anything , are you reading right now ?

Speaker 1 42:01

Oh , my goodness , I'm terrible and I read like five books at once . But I would say right now I'm finishing up Homegoing by Ya Gaiassi and it's an incredible book . It's about a whole family tree connected to the origin of the enslaved in West Africa , and so it's just this really involved story about that journey for a whole family , and so that's been my current on the top of my stack to finish . I won't go through all five .

Speaker 2 42:35

Beautiful thank you . And the last question is who or what have you learned the most from ?

Speaker 1 42:43

Yeah , I started out with her shout out . I'm gonna finish out with my grandmother . My organization , kalalu Collective , was named in her spirit . There's a dish in Haitian culture that is made with Kalalu , which is okra , and that was my favorite meal that she would make for me , and so she has really influenced this journey . She also she is the one of my family that has a green thumb , so we always really connected on that , and so I feel like she is just again , always with me and always a part of me .

Speaker 2 43:17

Thank you , grandma . We love you so sweet . And thank you , Dinesha , for this work that you're doing . It's just , you know , I really believe that the ripple effect is so real and I believe that you are going to touch so many

Gratitude and Appreciation for Work Done

Speaker 2 43:30

minds and hearts with the work that you're doing . So thank you for showing up and being brave and courageous and stepping out and doing the thing that was called to you .

Speaker 1 43:39

Thank you . Thank you for creating space for me to share and for this lovely conversation . I really appreciate you .