Holy Sh*t
with Dr. Sarah Nahar
“When I think about beginning with the end in mind, when I think about the world I want to live in, that which is a leftover nutrient for my body, or that which is a conflict that which I do not need, goes to help nourish rather than creating mess everywhere.”
“It is a total wonder that we are able to digest the world...waste is not waste until you waste it. Nature doesn’t have waste - what we are are excreting is discarded resources...”
In this conversation between Taya Mâ and Dr. Sarah Nahar, Dr. Nahar speaks to beginning with the end in mind, anus as holy gate, conundrums of complicity and what what happens when excretion is not just habitual but intentional
Dr. Sarah Nahar
is a nonviolent action trainer and interspiritual theologian. Her work focuses on ecological regeneration, community cultivation and spiritual activism, dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery and on the toilet, both the ritual and receptacle.
Sarah was a 2019 Rotary Peace Fellow and worked at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a member of the Carnival de Resistance and has been the Executive Director of Community Peacemaker Teams. She attended Spelman College and has an MDiv from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in her hometown of Elkhart, Indiana Potawatomi traditional land.
She lived in Jerusalem 2011-2012, doing comparative liberation theology work and playing capoeira while challenging the occupation. She recently finished up two full terms on the board of Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and is a member of Tzedek Lab which is a group that challenges racism, antisemitism, and white Christian supremacy. She and her spouse, Jonathan, are parents to a 2.5 year old.
What changes when you begin with the end in mind?
Are there places where you are avoiding being present with something that makes you uncomfortable? What might happen, or be possible, if you brought both attention and meaningful intention there?