Listening and Cultural Repair with Lana Jelenjev
Lana Jelenjev is a community alchemist and cultural repair expert who is aware of the importance of creating courageous spaces for deep human connection. Lana shares her journey from the Philippines to the Netherlands and how her cultural background shapes her work. They discuss neurodiversity, cultural wounds, and the concepts of salutogenesis and post-traumatic growth. Lana highlights the need for recognizing and celebrating our strengths, as well as the importance of understanding our historical and familial contexts.
Episode Timeline
00:00 Introduction to Sidewalk Talk
01:07 Meet Lana Gelinjev
01:50 The Importance of Regulated Nervous Systems
02:35 Lana's Journey and Achievements
05:38 Creating Brave Spaces for Cultural Repair
18:22 Understanding Cultural and Family Histories
23:52 Navigating Cultural Guilt and Pride
28:47 Discovering Ancestral Roots
29:45 Embracing Ancestral Strengths
30:26 Salutogenic Approach to Healing
34:07 Positive Experiences and Wellness
43:05 Redefining Power and Anger
48:17 Celebrating Wholeness and Identity
51:06 Final Reflections and Gratitude
Resources Mentioned
Lana’s Substack (Substack)
Lana’s Personal Website (Website)
Neurodiversity Academy (Website)
Refugia (Website)
Standout Quotes
It really got me thinking of how much of our history and our culture has so many wounds [and so many] identities attached to it that we often neglect. (Lana)
We often think of personal development as individual. And yet, you know, what we bring in as humans, as individuals, is very much cultural. So how can we also peel into these layers and understand what needs to be healed and what needs to be expressed and what needs to be acknowledged? And for that to happen, we need to be open to sharing all this and being in these conversations in the first place, which, I can imagine for a lot of people, can be really triggering. (Lana)
For me, one of the things that I go back to is my own regulated state, I often refer to as yes, hurt people, hurt people, and settled bodies, settled bodies. So for me going into this type of conversation, I need to take agency in terms of how am I showing up? (Lana)
What is our lens around productivity? For me I can say for us Filipinos, our lens around productivity has been so tied up with our colonial history. Being told countless times as Filipinos that we were lazy, and we were branded by the Spaniards as lazy, and there were stories created about Filipinos being lazy. (Lana)
…we've had so many founders, um, talk to us about, Ooh, it's so difficult to show up and be visible because, you know, I don't think I'm worthy or I don't feel that I'm enough. So this concept around being enough, is something to unpack, you know, like where did this start and how did this start and how far can you trace it back? (Lana)
Connect
Find | Lana Jelenjev
On Instagram: @our_refugia
On LinkedIn: @LanaJelenjev
Find | Sidewalk Talk
On Instagram: @sidewalktalkorg
On Twitter: @sidewalktalkorg
On Facebook: @Sidewalktalksf
On LinkedIn: @SidewalkTalkOrg
Find | Traci Ruble
On Instagram: @TraciRubleMFT
On Twitter: @TraciRubleMFT
On Facebook: @TraciRubleMFT
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