The Queer Ritual Podcast

Is it okay for a white person to practice Eastern or indigenous spirituality? (Short answer: yes, BUT with more work!) When does it count as cultural appropriation? This is a complicated topic, and by no means is this episode of the podcast all you need to know. I don't claim to be an expert here, but I would love to hear some thoughts from my listeners on this subject! New episodes post Monday an...

New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram.com/rikidementia Thank you for listening!

It's Asian Pacific American Heritage Month! Also known as APIA Heritage Month. After a month long break from producing this podcast, this episode represents the first "pivot" in this content toward healing: whether that is psychological healing, spiritual healing, or societal healing. In this episode, I'm focusing on the "perpetual foreigner experience" that is so common with Asian Americans, both...

Back to the podcast roots with this one! Focusing on the Buddhist philosophical concept of how everything is borrowed. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram.com/rikidementia Thank you for listening!

An amusing story about the time Team Impact tricked my family into going to a Baptist Church! New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram.com/rikidementia Thank you for listening!

In light of the recent shooting in Nashville, this episode continues more thoughts on queer respectability politics. I wanted to speak on gender biases within the queer community, and how the fight for equality isn't over after achieving marriage equality in America. TW: This episode contains discussion on gun violence. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries...

What are queer or LGBT respectability politics? In this episode, I go over the concept of respectability politics with examples in other communities. Then, I offer some insights on the deeper meaning behind why the LGBT community polices its own behavior. Apologies for some sound issues in this episode. I'm not sure what adjustments I need to make to remove the echo! New episodes post Monday and F...

When you use one candle to light another: is it one flame, or two flames? This is also how fundamental truth works. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram.com/rikidementia Thank you for listening!

New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram.com/rikidementia Thank you for listening!

Just a quick mini episode welcoming the Spring equinox! I will be on vacation for the next few days, so content might be shorter while I take a break from the hustle and bustle of life. I will see you all soon when I return! Much metta. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram.com/rikidementia Thank you for list...

This episode is a general overview on how to heal from past trauma. This episode does not replace the help of a licensed mental health professional! In this episode, I go over what is trauma in the broadest sense of the word, as well as tools to help change our mindset on past events to promote healing. This includes more traditional psychotherapy, as well as plant medicines. Mentioned in this epi...

In this mini episode, I share the parable of the snake and the rope that comes from the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram.com/rikidementia Thank you for listening!

I generally try to steer away from politics in this podcast because I want to be as inclusive as possible, but I feel the call to action after the recent rise in anti-trans and anti-drag bills being proposed in state legislatures across the United States. Ignorance and fear are being exploited in America, and this WILL lead to harm and suffering if we do not counter it with action and education. I...

Quick little introduction here to newer concepts in Western psychology about Mind Body complex,  or the idea that emotions live within certain parts of the body. I think this is a fascinating example where Eastern wisdom is finding growing support within Western medicine. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram...

Warning: This episode contains discussions of emotional abuse, including child abuse, spousal abuse, and spiritual abuse. If these topics are too triggering for you right now, skip this episode or return to it at a later date. ** This episode is on one of the most primal fears of all human beings: the fear of abandonment. I go over the origins of this fear, who can experience it, how it manifests...

There is a difference between healthy skepticism and unhealthy skepticism, and that difference is ego. If your skepticism is only to reinforce your preexisting worldview, then that isn't skepticism. That's ego. Continue this line of thought, and see where it takes you! New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram.co...

I read an article recently referencing a study on whether men would promote a masculine or feminine presenting gay man for a spokesperson position. The article can be found here: https://www.them.us/story/glass-ceiling-gay-men-study I have some thoughts! In this episode, I break down the "glass ceiling" and how femmephobia affects both women and men. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener q...

**SPOILER WARNING FOR AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER** I had a listener request for this one! What is different about the spirituality in James Cameron's newest film, Avatar: The Way of Water? In this bonus episode, I go over the newer concepts introduced in the sequel; including reincarnation, Amrita / immortality serum, and Taoist metaphysics. This new film has parallels to real world issues such as p...

Since this episode drops the day before Valentine's Day, let's talk about love in the age of "the apps".New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram.com/rikidementia Thank you for listening!

This guided walking meditation is for the times in your life when you don't feel your most confident. Put on your headphones, find some comfortable shoes and a safe space to walk in your power with me. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG: www.instagram.com/rikidementia Thank you for listening!

Right Speech is one of the steps on the Noble Eightfold Path in Buddhism, but this practice should be accessible to everybody. In this episode, I read excerpts from the Pali Canon pertaining to Right Speech. I try to elucidate effective communication strategies in situations where two people cannot agree on what is truth. I also connect the practice of Right Speech to the throat chakra within the...

In Western cultures, we tend to view gender as existing within a binary. But globally, this isn't always the case. In this episode, I go over various third gender identities from around the world. Some of these identities have spiritual significance in their cultures, while some are also discriminated against. In certain instances, I think it's much better to use a culture's specific term instead...

What's in a name? In this episode, I'm talking about names: surnames, given names, nicknames, stage names, and Dharma names! Names confer meaning upon us, whether that's given to us by our parents or a mentor, or even a meaning that we choose for ourselves. I also share the Dharma name or Homyo given to me by Bishop Marvin Harada this past month. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener quest...

I hadn't fully explained my family's immigration story yet, so here it is! I talk about my grandfather, General Khamhou Boussarath, and how he brought my family over to the United States from Laos. The legacy of the Vietnam War and the Secret War (the Laotian Civil War) lives within me. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions and business inquiries: tqrpodcast@gmail.com Personal IG...

When people make prayers or try to manifest something in their lives, you'll notice they offer start with the word "Please." In this mini episode, I offer a different kind of manifestation by using "Thank you." You will notice by thanking the universe for something as if you already have it, you are visualizing the change you actually want. New episodes post Monday and Friday! Listener questions a...