Artist, designer, storyteller and independent researcher Alyen Foning resides in her ancestral home, the Lepcha community at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas, with its sacred mountains and rivers.. Creating with fabrics, colours, music and design, Alyen’s work serves as a bridge between both the fields of art and research, and ancestral pasts and future generations.

In this We As Nature episode, Alyen shares her journey from growing up in the city, disconnected from her Lepcha roots, to the psychotic breakdown she experienced in 2014 that changed her life forever. From this place of darkness arrived guidance from an unlikely source, and an invitation back to her lineage, community and shamanic traditions.

In Alyen’s We As Nature story, she shares:

• How art has been a source of remembering her interconnection with the natural world since childhood.
• The breakdown she experienced whilst living in Goa that led her to discover her role as a shaman in her ancestral community.
• How her experiences as a Shaman have impacted her lifestyle, her art and her relationships.
• Guidance and a prayer, which came through after sharing her personal story.

After Alyen’s story, in a twist to our usual format, we share some of the questions and answers from the live event.

Links:

• Remembering our sacred Himalayan river Teesta and the Water Dragon— You Tube and Story with Artwork.
• The Story of the Muun, Female Shamans of the Lepcha tribe: A Video story session hosted by White Otter Academy.
• Alyen’s Instagram and Facebook profiles

Credits
Creative Producer & Host: Nathalie Joel-Smith on behalf of Flourishing Diversity
Music Composer and Sound Producer: Dom Martin
Live Event Production: Katy Molloy &  Laura Tyley
Illustrations: Rohama Malik

About Flourishing Diversity
We As Nature was recorded during an online gathering hosted by Flourishing Diversity.

Flourishing Diversity nurtures the human capacity to respect and uphold vibrant cultures and flourishing ecosystems. The events we produce, the narratives we amplify and the relationships we nurture seek to strengthen existing and emerging restorative cultures by supporting people to protect and deeply connect with the land on which they dwell and the multi-species communities they share these spaces with.

You can register to receive updates and inspiration from us here and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and Linked In.