85: Re-enchantment with First Nations Worldviews

Show Notes
In this conversation, Simon and Mishel explore the significance
of First Nations worldviews, and how through the modern worldview
we have lost our relationships to the land and wider ecologies
including our ancestors.  Mishel McMahon, a proud Yorta
Yorta woman living on Djaara Country, northern Victoria,
Australia, and shares her lived experience and her academic
research to help us break out of our limited modern mindsets,
where humans are the top of a chain of being, rather than part of
an ecology of co-existence and interdependence. 
She emphasizes the need to reconnect, the importance of
relationality, and the concept of cyclical time. Michelle shares
insights on how these perspectives can inform health and healing
practices, and the conversation culminates in a call for
re-enchantment and recognition of our interdependence with the
world around us.

Reflections
First Nations worldviews offer a broader understanding of
reality.
Modern mindsets often reduce our connection to nature and each
other.
Relationality extends beyond human relationships to include all
entities.
Cyclical time emphasizes the interconnectedness of past, present,
and future.
Ancestors play a crucial role in decision-making and
identity.
Everything in nature is infused with spirit, creating a sense of
family.
Collective identity fosters collaboration and mutual
support.
Re-enchantment is necessary to combat disenchantment in modern
life.
Thinking is a communal practice, influenced by our
surroundings.
Connection to place is fundamental for personal and collective
transformation.

Keywords
First Nations, worldviews, modernity, relationality, ancestors,
cyclical time, ecosystems, collective identity, re-enchantment,
connection to nature

Bio
Mishel McMahon is a casual Senior Research Fellow, Violet Vines
Marshman Research Centre and proud Yorta Yorta woman living on
Djaara Country, northern Victoria. Through First Nations-led
research Mishel positions First Nations worldviews, concepts and
processes for application within the health and healing sector,
and research methodologies. Mishel led the Victorian Aboriginal
Research Accord project, an 'On Country' Aboriginal Youth
Leadership Aboriginal youth mentoring: a pathway to leadership,
Blak Butterfly: First Nations emergency care best practice
framework Blak Butterfly and Replanting the Birthing Trees: Our
Kids Growing Up Strong, Happy & Healthy.