We Outside amplifies the outside thinking of leaders and healers whose lives and work are located beyond the limited imagination of dominant culture.
Together we uplift how we explore, practice and create our lives and our visions in a world teeming with a lot of chaos and also with an abundance of life.
We Outside
A New Seneca Village Podcast
Season One
Generative conversations that invite us to
re-connect to our humanity, re-engage our divinity
and illuminate all of the richness that lies between.
:The Mystery of Spirit
Episode 1
In this episode:
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Spirit as an eternal mystery and guiding force
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Abundance is available when we open ourselves to it
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Transformation and co-reliance
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The role of spirit in community and activism
In this conversation human rights catalyst and Villager, Tina Lopes, joins host Ain to uncover the profound connections between spirit, community and personal growth.
They discuss the nature of spirit as an immense mystery that influences their lives and work, emphasizing the importance of intimacy with spirit and the challenges of navigating personal and collective healing. Their dialogue also touches on the ruthlessness of spirit in prompting transformation and our reliance on community as a vessel to hold us through the turbulence.
Sacred Shoutout Links
Tina: “undrowned,” by Alexis Pauline Gumbs and Ahmed Abu Amsha - Songs from the Rubble
Ain: Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) August 20, 2025
“what we call illness,
what we call disease,
what we call burnout,
what we call falling apart,
what we call collapse.
I think is our spirit's way of getting us to slow and still…”
What might be preventing me from receiving the abundance that's right at my doorstep?
Tina's Reflection Prompt for Listeners
Nature's Wisdom and Our Sacred Responsibility
Episode 2:
Sacred Shoutout Links
Elissa: “undrowned,” by Alexis Pauline Gumbs and“The Healing Tree: Botanicals, Remedies, and Rituals from African Folk Traditions,” by Stephanie Rose Bird
Ain: The Northwest Pacific Ocean + Highway One (Sonoma and Mendocino county coastlines specifically)
In this episode:
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Embracing Complexity in Our Lives
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The Power of Curiosity and Emotion
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The Call to Sacred Responsibility
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Faith in Sacred Possibility
Join us ‘outside’ in this episode guest Elissa Sloan Perry and host Ain dive into the abundant wisdom of nature. They discuss the trials and tribulations that come with navigating the complexity of life and the importance of listening to nature to guide us through.
Elissa shares the significance and power that curiosity has in fostering growth and the ability to listen to our instincts and find ways to thrive through challenging times. They speak about the sacred responsibility we have to ourselves, to the earth, and to community as we work towards joy.
“ None of us have lived in the world we want. So we're doing this all based on faith.Therefore, this is all faith-based work, faith and sacred possibility, and that means all of us stepping into our sacred responsibility."
Invitation: actually listen to and be curious about what information our emotions are bringing us.
Elissa's Reflection Prompt for Listeners
Sacred Gifts and the Ecosystem of Spirit
Episode 3:
Sacred Shoutout Links
Ellina: Plants in San Jose &
Ain: Dancer Will West in Jungle - Keep Me Satisfied music video
& Choreographer Shay Latukolan
In this episode:
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How intergenerational gifts inform personal direction and growth
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The power of storytelling to liberate and decolonize minds.
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Civic power and responsibility beyond voting.
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What does the next 250 years look like?
In this episode, social-practice artist Ellina Yin and host Ain explore the intersections of spirit, community and civic engagement. They examine spirit as both an inner life and part of an external ecosystem, as well as get into the practice of awakening to and honoring ancestors for the immeasurable gifts they pass down.
Ellina shares her civic‑service commitment and the power of collective action beyond the ballot box, while the conversation also touches on the role of storytelling in reframing our shared narratives.
“I felt like the more I got into this, the more affirmation I got from my ancestors. They were just raining down affirmations and little signs here and there.
Cultivate a relationship with the moon:
Starting with the next new moon, every night go out and try and find the moon. Look at it, watch it change shape and do its revolution, because that is real time.
Ellina's Reflection Prompt for Listeners
The Practice of Being
of Service
Episode 4:
Sacred Shoutout Links
Kirsten:
Dried Calendula (with sea salt flakes and Borage) & Work Your Light Oracle Deck
Ain: Pillars of Creation &
In this episode:
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Commitment to connection and being in service as spiritual practices
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How systems and societal constructs can inhibit genuine connection.
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Humility and vulnerability as a counterbalance to ego
Philanthropic advisor and guest Kirsten Scobie joins host Ain to explore spirit, connection, and the role of ego in how we relate to others. They surface moments of intimacy—both in personal relationships and professional life—and unpack how societal systems can complicate true connection.
Kirsten traces her own journey with ego, showing how it can protect yet also limit us, and they highlight humility, vulnerability, grounding practices and gratitude as tools for deeper connection. The conversation closes with reflections on building a future rooted in service and belonging.
“ I have to be able to connect. And that takes vulnerability, not just humility, but…to be vulnerable”
Before entering connective spaces, take a moment to ground in your intention of being with others. When you are no longer in the space, reflect on what you noticed
Kirsten's Reflection Prompt for Listeners
Weaving Worlds
Episode 5:
Sacred Shoutout Links
Vanessa: Whale Rider Movie
Check out the Hālau Nā Wai Ola: Website & Youtube
In this conversation, community leader and museum director and Villager Vanessa Hatakeyama joins host Ain Bailey to share her insights on the role of spirit through movement and deep connection to community.
Vanessa discusses her journey in hula, the cultural roots that inform her practice, and her dedication to creating a nurturing work environment in the nonprofit sector. The conversation highlights the role of physical movement in grounding oneself, and the significance of love and compassion in leadership.
In this episode:
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Cultural art of hula and how it informs the ways spirit moves through oneself
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Spirit and intentionality in community
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Transforming nonprofit culture
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Evolving the role of leadership to create the world we want to see
“ There's an acceptance and recognition of just our shared humanity that even if we feel separate, we're all breathing the same air. We're all alive and living beings.
We need this breath. We all have this life force.”
Cultivate the little things that bring you a sense of ease and joy! Accept, love and honor them.
Vanessa's Reflection Prompt for Listeners
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Centering Spirit
A Q+A with We Outside creator and host, Ain B.
Q: Who are the We Outside guests?
A: We Outside is blessed through New Seneca Village to be connected to powerful, progressive leaders and healers from across the US, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico.
These are people who are committed to standing for transformational change, through organizing, advocacy, research, teaching, feeding and tending on behalf of and in solidarity with our expansive communities.
And these folks carry such deep wisdom and brilliance about not only their work, but about how society works and how power works. We were delighted to be in conversation with them about how spirit works with, in and through them as we seek to amplify and spread conversations about the intangibles that undergird and actualize what it means to be human, especially at this moment in time.
Q: Why We Outside?
A: Leaders working towards progressive change often bring a depth of heart and spirit to the work that is not acknowledged because our society does not easily recognize the intangible.
We Outside is an invitation to explore the motivating spirit that moves people to take on the crucial work of standing in the gap for others, particularly within a societal context that is oriented towards their neglect, or historically and increasingly, towards their outright destruction.
Q: Why We Outside Now?
A: We are in a time of intense stress and ever increasing chaos. Now is the time to remember that we are not alone in facing the death throes of a white supremacist, capital worshipping culture and that there are forces - both inside of us and outside of us - that are conspiring in our favor, that are working with us to create something entirely new.
Folks of color have always been the visionary force for actualizing the stated (and still aspirational) values of this country, and many others. It is crucial to that visioning that we deeply and constantly inhabit our own imaginations and that we remain connected to our own hearts, as we call in a future that works for all of us.
We Outside is a space/time portal centered on generative conversations about spirit and life, about the challenges of committing to creating progressive change in a society that is resistant to evolution, about the restorative practices that sustain us and the things in the world that move us to gratitude and awe.
We hope you join us in these free-wheeling conversations!
Reach out to share your reflections with us at team@newsenecavillage.org.
Also sharing your reviews on Apple helps us find new listeners.
WHY
We Outside
We Outside
of dominant thinking - our imaginations and visions are sourced elsewhere
We Outside
of dominant culture
based on our values
and our lineages
Reclaiming our
relationship with nature
We Outside
being easy, sharing stories, enjoying the day and one another's company
We Outside
exploring, creating and using new tools, so when the Master's house collapses we will have practice thriving in the world that will become.
