Yesterday, I relaunched my Substack page under a new title - The Praxis of Humanization (pH). While the foundation of this theory is deeply rooted in the extensive research from my doctoral studies, its practical applications reach far beyond, and before, the confines of my academic journey.
When I made the decision to step away from the world of politics in 2019, a fundamental question gnawed at my conscience: "How can we craft and implement laws designed to safeguard our citizens, especially those in greatest need of care, when we struggle to treat the person sitting beside us with the basic dignity and respect they deserve as fellow human beings?" Simultaneously, I found myself pondering what role I could play in instigating change.
I was convinced that something was wrong within the overarching "system," but pinpointing the exact locus of deficiency or identifying the necessary "tools" to rectify it remained elusive. What never wavered, though, was the belief in my capacity and capability to find the answers. However, I recognized that before I could embark on this journey of transformation, I needed to undergo a process of personal healing, and more importantly, understand that the “system” was not broken. It was, in fact, working as it should.*
Thus began the unforeseen journey towards the Praxis of Humanization (pH): A centre of _____ restoration. [The blank can be filled with words like, intentional, meaningful, compassionate, loving, etc.] This journey was, and still is, an intentional, introspective, voyage inward, so that I can be better and do better, outward.
In October 2019, after the election, I was miserable. I felt that I needed to find a job and do something extraordinary. Something bigger, better, and shinier than politics. Everyone was asking me what I was going to do next. But I was so exhausted, and I was sure that my exit from politics did not make me a favourable candidate in the Canadian job market. I had told off the Prime Minister, and then had the audacity to talk about it publicly and write about it in my book - Can You Hear Me Now?
I spent a full year searching for a job, and coming up short. My political experience, business acumen, two MBAs, and years of neurological research management experience was trumped by one “eff you” to the leader of a G7 country. It sent me into a spiral of searching for ways that I would secure an income, support my family, and maintain my sanity. Everything in me told me to just pause. Everyone outside of me told me to find something before I became irrelevant.
During that first year, the most unexpected event in modern history happened. A global pandemic shut down the world. Now, I do not want to trivialize the gravity of hurt, pain, death, and sorrow caused by COVID-19. I know all too well, especially from my work on the City of Toronto’s Black Scientists Task Force, the devastation the disease caused to everyone, but especially those in Black, Indigenous, and communities of people of colour. In Toronto, where Black people make up about 9% of the population, at the height of the pandemic, Black communities were experiencing over 30% of the impact - meaning sickness, hospitalization, and death. When aggregated within communities of colour, which make up 52% of the city’s population, at the peak of the pandemic, these communities were experiencing over 80% of the impact. It was devastating for everyone. (Find more information on the impact here, and scroll down to DATA).
However, for me, the pandemic gave me an opportunity, and excuse, to pause. It was the universal opportunity for respite and recovery that I needed, in order for me to do something I had never done before - take time to heal. So, I used some of the training resources afforded to ex-Members of Parliament to do just that. Let’s face it. I did not need any additional training. How much more did I need on top of my professional and scholastic experience and expertise? People have landed way better jobs, with much less. I needed to figure myself out. To find the Celina that was buried under the hurt, shame, and pain of that political experience.
Thus, I started this journey by enrolling in the [Deepak] Chopra Global Centre, and completing certifications in health instruction and meditation. The centre bases much of its curriculum on the practice of Ayurveda, a 5000 year old ancient Indian healing system. It was one of the most magical experiences I have ever had. I was reading The Vedas and Bhagavad Gita. I was discovering lessons similar to the ones I had learned in my Catholic upbringing (I was a practicing Catholic until my second year as a politician when members of my church started to protest online, and in the church parking lot with anti-abortion signs, that I should not receive the eucharist because of my beliefs as pro-choice, pro-2LGBTQIA+, and pro-MAID). I was meditating for hours a day, and finally feeling whole and human again. When talking about meditation with a Catholic friend of mine, she said that prayers are the way in which we talk to The Creator, and meditation is how we listen to Hymn.*
When I completed the courses at Chopra, I knew I needed more. As much as the Chopra programs are based in Ayurveda, the centre prides itself on the academic rigour of its program as well. One might believe that we should not be required to qualify our ways of knowing through a positivist or post positivist paradigm, or any other Westernized academic structure. However, I would argue that if our ways of knowing irrefutably can be tested, and proven, through those methods, why not? Besides, my background in research was yearning for the “proof” that what I was learning has physiological benefits, as well as spiritual ones.
My enrollment in the Centre of Neurosciences doctoral program at Queen’s University, has now entered the chat.
Without giving away too much, my research will take a deep dive into the tools and social structures of dehumanization (especially mechanistic dehumanization*), that harms us and causes us to lose ourselves. These structures include family, nation, identities, as well as political, social, and economic institutions. This is important, because if the master's tools cannot be used to dismantle the master's house (Lorde, 1984), we need to understand those tools and the subtle ways in which dehumanization, discipline, and oppression manifest on a day to day basis.*
This understanding will be balanced with the explorations of consciousness, and the “acts of resistance” that we use, to challenge these structures, that are part of our awakening.* These acts are what I hope will inform the Praxis of Humanization. The little things that we do, that we believe to be inconsequential, that restore our humanity. Many before me have written and spoken about these “acts” as part of struggles, fights, or battles for liberation. I believe that they are beautiful moments of awakening our inner self as we journey to higher levels of consciousness. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paulo Freire states that “Little by little, however, they tend to try out forms of rebellious action. In working towards liberation, one must neither lose sight of this passivity nor overlook the moment of awakening” (p. 64).
So, here I am. This is #CelinaNext. This is the work that I love, and have fallen in love with. The Praxis of Humanization is built on the love and compassion that makes us (all of us - together) whole. Healing is not an isolated endeavour. While the practice may begin with one, it should always end in the betterment of all.
To be honest, I have hid this part of me from the world for a long time. I am not sure why. I guess I am worried about what people will think. Does this work have enough academic rigour? Does it have relevance or has she really lost it this time? All sorts of questions pop into my head. However, one thing that I know for certain is that this work is valuable. It wakes me up in the morning. It pushes me to cold call international professors and challenge them in their areas of expertise. It makes me want to learn and devour all the books related, and tangentially related, to my topic. This work makes me joyful, and I have not experienced this level of joy in a very long time.
So I invite you to join me on this ride. I also invite you to challenge me in my thinking. To push me in my understanding of humanization. I openly invite you to my podcast (Unforeseen) to talk about your experiences of resistance, awakening, dehumanization, and consciousness.
And I invite you to be a paid subscriber. This work is now my life, and while the subscription is small, it is everything to me. I did not get this far without your support, and I cannot go any further without it either.
Rest assured, paid or free, the content on this Substack will help you as much as it helps me. I cannot wait to start this new chapter with you.
Welcome to #CelinaNext. Welcome to the Praxis of Humanization.
In gratitude,
CCC
* I will explore these topics further in other articles
I empathize and applaud you for seeing yourself in the 'truth mirror' of life. To gaze behind the shadows and rubbing your eyes, realize who and whose you are. Experience is a goalkeeper and teacher. As the streams water ripple over stones towards the rivers, lakes and oceans, our lights begin to flicker and burst into life's fireworks of directions; to clear, reverse, and bring about our lost inner-beings from tarnished, to par excellence. MDaphne