How Deep Is Your Self-Love?

 — "Together, we are the product of broken hearts & the brave decision to return to love." Love from the Vortex & Other Poems (Kaleidoscope Vibrations, LLC), is poet and scholar-activist Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz's first full-length collection. An archaeological exploration on love and intimacy, the book charts her journey of finding and losing love over the span of three decades with six different men who came into her life at various times, but also offers a universal take on what can happen when one seeks love and connection with others, and the lessons that follow when that connection and love is lost. Revealing moments of happiness, fantasy, frustration, and eventually dealing with the dissolution of relationships, the book moves beyond these anticipated stages to moments of grace and beauty that come with the discovery and practice of self love, and a more fuller understanding of what it means to truly love someone as your love yourself. Valeria Teles interviews Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz — the author of "Love from the Vortex and Other Poems." Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz is an award-winning associate professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. Her research focuses on racial literacy in teacher education, Black girl literacies, and Black and Latinx male high school students. A sought-after speaker on issues of race, culturally responsive pedagogy, and diversity, Sealey-Ruiz works with K-12 and higher education school communities to increase their racial literacy knowledge and move toward more equitable school experiences for their Black and Latinx students. Sealey-Ruiz appeared in Spike Lee's "2 Fists Up: We Gon' Be Alright", a documentary about the Black Lives Matter movement and the campus protests at Mizzou. Her first full-length book of poetry, Love from the Vortex & Other Poems, an archaeological dig on love and intimacy was released in March, 2020 by Kalediscope Vibrations. To learn more about Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz and her work please visit: https://www.yolandasealeyruiz.com/   — This podcast is a quest for well-being, a quest for a meaningful life through the exploration of fundamental truths, enlightening ideas, insights on physical, mental, and spiritual health. The inspiration is Love. The aspiration is to awaken new ways of thinking that can lead us to a new way of being, being well.