Ron Ragin: "I write, sing, compose, and make interdisciplinary performance work that integrates sound, text, and movement. My creative practice incorporates music of the African Diaspora, embodied ancestral memory, improvisational creative processes, liberation aesthetics, and the development and maintenance of spiritual technologies. My artistic work centers around the role of sound, and the un-amplified human voice in particular, in transforming our environment, our selves, and each other. I grew up in Perry, Georgia, and received my earliest musical training at the Saint James Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. I live in New Orleans, make a mean red velvet cake, and can throw down on some biscuits." Episode Highlights Ron tells the story of how he first discovered his love of music and voice as a child singing in church and the backseat of his family car. He shares more about the different music and singing technologies that came out of Black American churches, and his documentation of this into the Spiritual Technologies Project. Ron tells us how the Spiritual Technologies Project started and its mission to document and transmit unifying performative practices. We talk about the power of collective singing as a way of "stirring up the spiritual atmosphere." He shares about his work facilitating vocal workshops with people who don't consider themselves singers; and how healing it can be to empower your voice again. Ron discusses his upcoming solo show which concerns intimacy and physical touch between Black men, particularly in the context of families. Web links Find more at RonRagin.com & SpiritualTechnologiesProject.org You can also find Ron on Instagram INNER PEACE: A Free Online Winter Meditation Circle To Comfort Your Queer Heart - Sign up HERE Grab your FREE Guide – Needs, Boundaries & Self-Care for Queer Folks. Download it here. Join the Queer Spirit Community Facebook group to continue the conversation and stay up to date on new episodes. And follow us on Instagram! Join our mailing list to get news and podcast updates sent directly to you.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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