LINDSAY BRANHAM

           I’m thinking of eucalyptus arms, and moss laps, tidal hips and night flower kisses. I am thinking that. . .

... we all come from this and we will decompose back into them.
... we will be returned to nitrogen and phosphorus, potassium and magnesium.

... we get just a little time here and we do not control our breath.

…the lungs of this place make it possible to keep, unconsciously, breathing.

…some bodies do not get the privilege of their breath.

Just as the mycelium network, whale song, and aspen root system function as one living organism, the chain of the sun’s photons, the moon pulling both the oceans and wombed bodies into elegantly paralleled cycles shows us, we are not islands. As much as western culture would sell us otherwise, we belong to one another.

Angel kyodo Williams says that separation from self, others and the natural world seed the division and collapse we are living in. Sustained activism is born from practices of re-connection.

I see this not as frivolous, but essential. I look to Deep Ecology to create reciprocal relationship to germinate a coherent foundation for the world that is possible. I must fall in love with the Earth. It is both simple and painstakingly difficult. Although love might cost us everything, I keep hearing - go ahead, love anyway.

I do not dream of a utopian world; I am re-membering a world where nothing is separate, where reciprocity and listening can one day become a shared freedom. For all living things.

Listen to Lindsay’s guided meditations on Insight Timer.

Podcast Episodes featuring Lindsay:

• Empathy, Collaborative Storytelling & Reconciliation on The Hive Podcast
  
  
• Widening Circles on The Unknowing Podcast
  
  
• Navigating Eco-Grief on The Things That Die Podcast

Education
PhD Candidate Psychology, University of Cambridge, 2018 - current
M.Phil Social and Developmental Psychology, Univeristy of Cambridge, summa cum laude, 2018
Eco-Chaplaincy Certificate, Sati Center for Buddhist Studies, 2021-current
Graduate Certificate, Global Mental Health Trauma and Recovery Harvard Medical School, 2017
Graduate Certificate, Contemplative Christianity, The Living School for Action and Contemplation, 2017
Drama Therapy Certification, Creative Alternatives of New York, 2015
BA Broadcast Journalism, Univeristy of Southern California, 2005

Affiliations
Integrative Complexity Thinking Research Group, University of Cambridge
Mind/Brain Center on War and Humanity, Stony Brook University
 

I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the teachers who have shaped me (this is not an exhaustive list):

Robin Wall Kimmerer
Bell Hooks
Thich Naht Hanh
Rumi
Resmaa Menaken
Ibram X. Kendi
James Baldwin
Kimberlé Crenshaw
Jean Paul Lederach
Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Bayo Akomolafe
Joanna Macy
Pema Chödron
ALOK
Terry Tempest Williams
Mirabai Starr
Rev. Jacqui Lewis
Richard Rohr
Jim Finley

Awards
Nominee for Outstanding New Approaches, 38th News and Documentary Emmy Awards
Grand Jury Award for Best Virtual Reality Film, SXSW
Silver in Film Technique, Clio Awards
VR for Good Fellow, Oculus
Fellow for Peace, Kathryn Davis at Middlebury College
Envision Social Good Fellow, United Nations and Independent Film Project
Jury Prize: Journalistic Achievement (Sponsored by Adobe), SIMA
Silver Cube in Best Interactive Film, ADC/The One Club
Best of Public Service, Addy Award People’s Voice for Best Public Service and Activism, Webby Awards
Gold in Best Cinematography, Telly Awards
Best Virtual Reality Film, Cine Golden Eagle
Best Social Activism Film, Cinequest
Best Cinematography, Telluride Mountainfilm Festival
Best Film, Lower East Side Film Festival and Brooklyn Film Festivals
Gold in Animation, Telly Awards Best Documentary, Cine Golden Eagle