Embracing the ever-changing nature of identity, queer somatic experiencing practitioner Coral Short discusses Buddhism’s place in polyamory, trans-embodiment, and more.
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In this episode, Coral Short and Vincent explore:
- Bringing Buddhist insights into polyamory
- Encouraging others to share their truth
- Anattā (non-self) and accepting the fluidity of identity and body
- Performance art and celebrating community through joint creativity
- Digital dharma offerings and eco-somatic hikes
- The importance of sangha and exploring what forms of Buddhism resonate with you
- The book Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices
- Taking the practice off the mat and into the world
- Coral’s performance art and the somatic element to many of their creative avenues
- The radical act of taking up the full space of your body
This conversation was originally recorded on the Paths of Practice Podcast. Listen to more episodes HERE.
“I think I am just at home in my body. I’ve been on testosterone, I’m off testosterone. I’m aging, I had a menopause party with my friends. I am constantly changing, hormones, aging, whether you like it or not everything is changing. This idea when I was younger of an attachment to gender, I remember teachers telling me this gender will shift, and watching gender shift as people age across genders and sexualities is fascinating.” –Coral Short
About Coral Short:
Coral Short is a queer, non-binary, white settler born in 1973. They completed their Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP) training in March 2023 with Dea Parsanishi. They specialize in working with LGBTQIA+ folks, recovery, activism, creativity, and all forms of radical sexuality.
They are a graduated active Community Dharma Teacher at True North Insight in Tiohtià:ke/Montreal and co-lead a weekly Queer Sangha. Coral has been working with the Stretch Festival in Berlin for several years at the Somatische Akademie/ Village Berlin and at the Montreal Somatics Festival. They offer anti-racist courses, somatic workshops, and eco-somatic walks to international communities. They have been an organizer, activist, and artist for the last two decades.For more information about Coral, please visit the following website: https://www.coralshort.com/
“Knowing that there is that freedom inside my body and that there’s sangha members who also know, people coming together and being like ‘this is possible’. We can be super gay and also in a state of bliss. It is possible to get these glimmers of joy in the body.” –Coral Short
About Vincent Moore:
Vincent Moore is a creative and creative consultant living in San Francisco, California, with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry and holds a graduate degree in Buddhist Studies. For years, he performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, an improv and sketch comedy theatre based in New York and Los Angeles. As an actor, Vincent performed on Comedy Central, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Seth Meyers, Above Average, and The UCB Show on Seeso. As a writer, he developed for television as well as stage, including work with the Blue Man Group, and his own written projects have been featured on websites such as Funny or Die. Additionally, he received a Masters of Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies with a Certificate in Soto Zen Studies and engages in a personal Buddhist practice within the Soto Zen tradition. Vincent is also the creator and host of the podcast, Paths of Practice, which features interviews with Buddhists from all over the world. Learn more on Vincent’s website HERE.
More Be Here Now Network Podcasts:
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JoAnna Hardy shares a guided meditation all around the first foundation of mindfulness – mindfulness of the body: First Foundation Guided Meditation
Through bearing witness, love & service, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee shares how we can collectively heal the crisis of disconnection & ecological devastation: Love & Service
Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh explores how we can joyfully bring mindfulness into everyday activities like phone calls, driving, and walking: The Ojai Foundation Presents: Under the Teaching Tree with Thich Nhat Hanh