S2E7 — Rev. angel Kyodo williams: What is Radical Love?

In this episode, I have the honor of introducing you to one of my teachers — a woman whose brilliance, insight, and wisdom has been a welcome partnership on my own journey of liberation.

Come with me to meet the Reverend angel Kyodo williams – only the second black woman to be ordained as a Zen priest in the Japanese Buddhist lineage. Rev. angel is a social visionary who applies wisdom teachings and embodied practice to intractable social issues at the intersection of race, climate, and economic justice.

Radical, redemptive, accepting love is at the core of all personal and social transformation. However, as we discuss, this is a challenging concept and one that requires us to redefine our notion of what love is.

And this examination further calls on us to look more closely at how and whether we are practiced at offering this expansive love to ourselves first.

Rev. angel offers us a tool for expanding the reach of our self-exploration by plugging us into our integrity and inherent dignity through a somatic connection that is formed in a practice that she calls, “centering presence.†Come walk with us on this path in our conversation here.

She is the co-author of one of my favorite books, “Radical Dharma: Talking race, love, and liberation.†In this Soul Force Politics podcast, Rev. angel Kyodo williams gives us meaningful insight to navigate today’s political challenges by teaching us the difference between anger that is fueling versus anger that is consuming.

And no conversation with Rev. angel is complete without touching on the challenges of disarming, disrupting, and dismantling white supremacy culture. With her characteristic fierce truth-telling-but-held-with-love approach, we learn how to locate ourselves within this system, and land with tools she gives us to create the transformational shift to a future filled with radical love for self and others.

Watch this video for instructional guidance on the “centering in presence” activity taught by Rev. angel Kyodo williams