In a systemically racist society where more black bodies end up in prison over white bodies, the chances are stacked against BIPOCs who often see and live out the worst sides of humanity. How might we look to the heroic survivors of injustice as our greatest spiritual teachers of our time, and work through our traumas at the nexus of both bodily and psycho-spiritual realms?

On episode 8, we get deep with Melvin Hart, a Neuromuscular Therapist, Shamanic Medicine Practitioner, Intuitive Coach, Healer and Spiritual Nomad who has worked with hundreds of people from around the world and participated in 100+ plant medicine ceremonies, helping his clients integrate their experiences into everyday life through his platform, the Evolutionists.

As an Indian-Black man raised Hindu in New York, he has never checked any conventional boxes. In fact, at age 18, he found himself unjustly locked behind bars for the next 8 years (“his grandfather was a senator; his family grew up in law enforcement. So I kind of got the wrong end of the deal.” - NYPost). According to the ACLU, 1 out of 3 Black boys born today can expect to go to prison in his lifetime, as compared to 1 out of every 6 Latino boys and 1 out of 17 white boys. While his formative years were influenced by an institutionally racist criminal justice system and years of “seeing the worst side of humanity,” he prevailed against all the odds to come out not simply alive, but incredibly resilient, in service, and powerful beyond measure.

In this poignant conversation, we travel all the lifetimes Mel lived and wisdom collected along the way, covering a wide ranging conversation that includes: 

• What it was like to be indicted unjustly at the ripe age of 18 and actually experiencing “the worst side of humanity”

• His transition from prison to the real world, and how he picked himself up by his bootstraps despite the staggering reality that former inmates face each year (650,000 men and women nationwide in the US return from prison to their communities, and face nearly 50,000 federal, state, and local legal restrictions that make it difficult to reintegrate back into society)

• While he evolved a successful career merely 5 years following prison, Mel gave it all up to heed his greater calling for ayahuasca in the jungles of Peru — what he saw and how it changed the game forever 

• How plant medicine is not the silver bullet, but rather the amplifier of who you already are and who you want to be

• The kind of world he envisions as a Shamanic Practitioner and his reaction to George Floyd’s wrongful murder and the traumas confronting humanity today -- “you can ignore reality, but you can’t ignore the consequences of you ignoring reality” 

• Mel’s personal spiritual practice that combines his diverse background, accountability structures, and multidisciplinary approach to healing

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