Shelly P. Harrell, PhD is teaching during the Wisdom & Wellbeing at Blue Spirit Multi-Faculty Week 1, January 7-14, 2023 about the following topic:

Soulfulness, Interconnectedness, and Embodied Awareness

Soulfulness is a path to experiential awareness that emphasizes contact with our inner aliveness and the interconnected nature of life. This includes inviting and allowing experiences that move and stir us, and facilitating attunement to the whisperings of soul. Inspired by a diasporic African worldview, we will explore soulful experiencing using movement, music, and sensory experience to tap into our integrated mind-body-heart-soul wisdom. Emphasis is on experiencing the truth of our interconnectedness with each other, humanity as a whole, the natural world, and the sacredness of life.

Dr. Shelly Harrell is Full Professor at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology where she directs the Culture, Wisdom, and Resilience lab. Her current work focuses on cultural and contextual dimensions of healing with an emphasis on mind-body and contemplative practices such as meditation and mindfulness. Most recently, she has offered “soulfulness” as an approach to healing and wellness practices.

Dr. Harrell has a long-standing focus on the development of culturally responsive psychological interventions. This includes attention to sociocultural and sociopolitical aspects of mental health, racial stress and trauma, liberation psychology, resilience-oriented interventions, collective and cultural wisdom, wellness and well-being among Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), pan-African/Black psychology, and cultural competence in the training of mental health professionals. She is a practicing psychotherapist and has served as a consultant to numerous educational, social service, health care, and professional organizations on issues of culture, anti-racism, and intergroup relations for over 30 years