Carroll Dunham: The Path of a Householder Practitioner, Rites of Place & Taking Risks
Carroll Dunham is a medical anthropologist, storyteller, Buddhist practitioner, and chaplain, who has devoted her life to exploring human entanglement between other species. She was based in Nepal for over 30 years and has lived and traveled amongst nomadic communities including in China, Mongolia, and India.
Some of what Carroll shares today includes:
00:00:00 From New Jersey to Nepal, a nunnery, her future husband, and the 1985 Kalachakra gathering.
00:08:00 Stories of meeting her teachers, great meditation masters, including Dilgo Khyentse, Bakha Tulku, Trulshik Rinpoche, and Lama Wangdu.
00:17:00 Advice from His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
00:19:33 Taksang (Tiger’s Nest), the Nechung Oracle & receiving Dilgo Khyentse full terma.
00:23:00 Innovation, monasteries, and keeping the dharma meaningful and safe.
00:25:00 Stories and memories of Trulshik Rinpoche
00:30:00 Learning Himalayan languages
00:33:00 Humla and how it is unique
00:35:00 Dragon Brides; on polyandry, women with many husbands
00:40:00 On her meeting and marriage with her husband Thomas Kelly
00:43:00 Fostering children and non-dual gifts of Nepal.
00:49:00 The market economy’s impact on relationships, Earth, and family structure.
00:56:00 Notions of modernity disguised as freedom.
00:57:00 Raising children in a seasonal manner, rituals, healing, and rites of passage
01:09:00 Best place to give birth and to die.
01:10:00 Relationships, healing, mistakes and safety in anthropological work
01:20:00 Nepal’s ethnic diversity and environmental challenges
01:27:00 Longevity, biomimicry, meditation and aging
01:30:00 The origins and journey of clothing.
01:38:00 Innovations of waste and creative change agents in the textile industry
01:45:00 Risk, collaboration, and the unexpected amazing.
About Carroll Dunham:
Carroll is a medical anthropologist whose work explores human entanglement with other species, from microbes to yaks. Based in Nepal for 30 years, she has lived and traveled extensively amongst nomadic communities, including those in India, Mongolia, and China.
A lifelong student of Buddhism, Tibetan medicine, and Himalayan medicinal plants, she is committed to amplifying Indigenous voices and advocating stewardship of fragile ecosystems. She is currently the co-founder of Around the World in 80 Fabrics. Revitalizing vanishing textile traditions to reduce petroleum-fueled fast fashion.
A storyteller at heart, Carroll has authored five books and produced over a dozen documentaries for National Geographic, PBS, and BBC. As a Buddhist chaplain, she is passionate about resiliency and the human ability to thrive post disasters.
Around the World in 80 Fabrics
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https://oliviaclementine.com/podcasts
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