Acknowledgements

The somatics of acknowledgement and embodied connections to place, practice and ancestry are vital threads in my work.

I am interested in how we are, where we are, in relationship with ourselves, one another and with the more-than-human-world.

Questions that stir me:

What does it mean to live in symbiosis with place (Country)?

How do we simultaneously learn from and acknowledge multiple practices and knowledges (lineages)?

Who are my blood family, and what does that mean (ancestry)?

Who are my water family, and how am I shaped by them (nurturance)?

Below is a working acknowledgement of the multidimensional facets of being here, now.

Acknowledgement of place

I am grateful to live, create and learn on the sacred lands of the wurundjeri woi worrong people of the kulin nation. I acknowledge the living wisdom of this land, and that I live here as an uninvited guest. I pay my respects to and stand in solidarity with traditional custodians in their campaign for human rights, land back and decolonisation. In a commitment to paying the rent, I contribute 10% of all profits from my work to local First Nations owned and led organisations.

Acknowledgement of practice

I honour and pay my respects to the spiritual lineages, practices and traditions that inform my life and work, especially yogic, embodiment and tantric teachings in the non-dual tradition. I acknowledge the ancient roots and the living traditions that continue to thrive, as well as the teachers, guides and practitioners who have come before me. I recognise that spiritual practices are not mine to own, misuse or appropriate, and that it is my responsibility to practice and share with humility.

Acknowledgement of people

As a first-generation settler of Scottish Highlands ancestry, I acknowledge and pay my respects to the ancestors who came before me, and to my own celtic lineage. I am grateful for the ways in which story, ritual and magik weave through my being.