046: Ending the War in the Body w/ Harvey Ruderian

I feel so touched and honored to have Harvey Ruderian on this week’s episode of the Voices of Wisdom podcast. A profoundly masterful bodyworker whose history of spiritual and political revolutionary work stretches back into the counterculture movements of the 60’s and 70’s, Harvey has precisely the kind of deep, elder wisdom transmission that this podcast was designed to share with the world.

Although our conversation covers a wide range of topics, they all point back to the interrelationship between spirituality and politics. For Harvey, to be a healer is to be a revolutionary, committed to ending the war in the body. We discuss how it is just as courageous and revolutionary a move to face your core wounds and traumas as it is to face the negativity and institutionalized suffering in this world – for both moves ultimately arise from a desire for freedom, for liberation, and the continued evolution of consciousness. 

Paraphrasing the depth psychologist James Hillman, Harvey reminds us that we can’t just sit here and deny politics and just work on our inner child. Rather, by attending to our social and political environments, we can move from an ego-centric spirituality to a world-centric or even cosmic-centric spirituality, cultivating a love that extends both inwards to our deepest wounds and outwards to those around us who need it most.

We also cover:

• The revolutionary teachings of Jesus, and how subversive they were for his society
• The art of surrender
• Using indigenous ritual to connect to the earth
• The role of eros and nature in facilitating deep healing
• The evolutionary biology of our chronic hyper-vigilance
• Aiming for a shift in consciousness, rather than a shift in technology, to liberate the world
• And so much more!

If you want to connect with me, shoot me an email at [email protected]. And as always, you can find me on Instagram, @vickylizette.