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Currents: Episode 9 // Essence w/ Muki Izora
43 Plays6 months ago
I'm excited to start sharing the interviews with some incredible and inspired humans sharing their essential selves in the coming weeks ahead. Why do this? We learn through transmission and I want everyone to get to feel and receive the gifts of the incredible people I’ve been blessed to interview because:
- Their essence is beautiful and magical and has its own gifts to teach - about everything from the energy of wealth, to the essence of freedom and joy.
- Each of the people I’ve interviewed has done an incredible amount of their own work to understand, embrace, and liberate, their essence, and in experiencing that, we learn how we might do this for ourselves.
My first interview is with dear friend and collaborator, Muki Izora. A researcher, musician, technologist and so much more, Muki is ultimately a joy-bringer at his core.
In this episode, he shares how Joy and Freedom are the essence of who he is. What’s more, he talks about how this essence expresses itself across life, work, and play across everything from complex systems to science, music, and beyond.
How does working with data and technology bring joy? How can solving global problems bring liberation? One listen to Muki’s laugh and you can catch that infectious and inspiring energy of liberated passion. But here’s a hint: this kind of freedom comes from finding something bigger than yourself that you can give to ❤️.
Take a listen and let us know what you think in the comments!
With love,
Rei & Muki
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Transcript
Introduction to Mookie Azora and Essential Self
00:00:02
Speaker
Hey, everyone. I have my dear friend, Mookie Azora, here with me. And I'm super excited to just have a conversation with you um about this idea of what it is to share your essential self, your essence, what makes you you.
Energy Session and Personal Essence
00:00:22
Speaker
um You know, we're just coming off of an energy session, which is always a great. yes but Hey, y'all. Energy work is the best. Yeah. um And so, you know, there's all sorts of impressive things that you could say about who you are and what you've done. But I'm more curious about sort of backtracking that into a more like essential quality of self and being that all of that generates from. And so if you want to just like take a second to tune into that.
00:00:57
Speaker
You know, who are you at your core? Sometimes I see like a color or like a glowing orb of energy. um Like what quality, what essence, what shape is the essence of you and what makes you you?
Joy's Connection to Essence
00:01:21
Speaker
Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Ah, let me take a breath on that one. Shake it, shake it. Shake it and do it. Shake it and do it. I can start with what I see with you, if that would be okay. Yeah. Ooh, wow. Well, let me say a little bit on that point and then we can, we can talk through it. So, and we've talked about this a little bit right before as well. And I think for me, it's, it really is about joy, right? It's about,
00:01:53
Speaker
when I'm fully in myself and just being me and allowing my essence to flow through, I experience joy, right? I experience being me as joy and I feel like I bring joy to others, right? And I think that is an essential part of me being myself. And it also means doing it with freedom, right? Doing it with, um, you know, truly unburdened in being able to be freely oneself, right? And that's when my joy comes through, right? When I feel uncontained, unrestrained, right? I feel like that's just a natural state of being. It's like a child playing, right? yeah With their feet in the sand at the beach.
00:02:51
Speaker
It should, you know, and life should feel like that. and Our work should feel like that. Our creative work, our collective work, right? Our work in the world to do good works. It should feel like that. It should feel it should feel free. and It should feel joyous. It should feel unrestrained and uncontained.
Joy and Authentic Environments
00:03:07
Speaker
And yeah, and if I think about what I'm trying to live more into, at this stage in my life and in my career, it's more, it's that, right? It's making sure that my my environments that I'm in, the people that I'm with, right? The, those that I collaborate with and and work with, the projects that I work on.
00:03:29
Speaker
um allow me to be in my joy, right? And if they're not, then it's not right. It's not the vibe, right? yeah And move along, move along and trying to be, I think what horrible what was harder earlier in my life was just to be sensitive to that. to that inner calling within them myself and just kind of maybe pushing it to the side because, oh, well, I got to get, you know, XYZ done, or, you know, um I want to be able to push forward and make this happen in this way, or I need to have this kind of security right over here. And I may not tune in to and listen as carefully to that need that I really have had really my whole life. This is all it how all I've always been. yeah Right. We've known each other a long time. You know that right as well. And I've definitely had had stages where it was more my life was brighter hu and where
Vibrancy of Life and Personal Energy
00:04:26
Speaker
it was dimmed. And now I can i'm I'm much more sensitive to, you know, what, what, what impacts the ah the vibrancy of my life. Right.
00:04:36
Speaker
And that's how I experience you, like in an energetic sense. It's like very bright. I see when when I see it, I see like this like yellow golden light that is to your point, like full of joy and really strong in the freedom frequency. Right. Like that is a powerful energy, the energy of freedom. Yes. Yes. Yes, it is. Yeah it's it's ah it's a strong vibe and it's really beautiful to feel it when it comes through you and you know through our conversations part of what I find so beautiful and fascinating is you know when we talk about freedom the freedom to be fully oneself which is not just one way right like to
00:05:26
Speaker
to find freedom and joy through music, through yeah thinking about yeah complex systems, through art, through you know the the sweetness of relationship or supporting one's community, which are all things that you are ways that you express, I think. your energy in the world that I've heard are enlivening and also just you know return so much.
Alignment of Work, Joy, and Freedom
00:05:53
Speaker
you you know it It gives so much to the community when you do that and it sounds like it gives a lot to you as well.
00:06:00
Speaker
100%, 100%. No, I think you you naed you really nailed it. And I think it's, like I said, getting more and more in tune with that, right? I think it naturally comes through when I just get engaged in ideas or engaged in a project. I just naturally, that joy just comes through. It's just the excitement, the energy, right? The passion around it naturally comes through. um And so making sure I'm in, being better at trying to cultivate context where that can come through. Because sometimes you just you just don't know. You just dive right in and then you look around and you're like, wait, you saved the place where I get to be me. This is not right. My energy is is not compatible.
00:06:41
Speaker
with this situation of these people, it's just constrained. And, you know, especially in corporate environments, that's that's a ah a symptom, let's say, of how those systems could be, and those institutions cannot be the healthiest for our humanity, right?
Systems Supporting Humanity and Individuality
00:06:56
Speaker
But, and and being sensitive to that yourself, and then, you know, a big thing we talk about is trying to create systems that are more supportive of our our collective humanity. So, trying to, to It's come out of being aware for that of ah aware of that for myself. right Where I think I can bring that more into work on impacting systems as well. right So everybody can, whatever their light is, whatever hue they happen to be, right it can shine as bright as possible.
00:07:29
Speaker
And one thing that I've loved about hearing from you, what brings you joy, is you know the many different faces and aspects. right We met doing like complex systems, technology, data work. And and so when we when we talk about joy, sometimes it's funny. You don't necessarily think immediately. Right. complex systems and to acknowledge and enjoy. But seeing seeing you know like the the joy and freedom light up in you and thinking about that in service to others and communities. But then also again, like joy in music, right? Or the service work that you're doing. So I'm just curious, like A,
00:08:12
Speaker
What that has like how how has it felt? navigating Your expression and your joy through these many different lenses which you know one might not necessarily assume right like There's so many different facets not just yeah one um And then like if you have any moment that comes to mind where you really felt like I here I am, you know, like I am feeling me um just to, you know, give us a sense of that.
Joy through Global Health and Technology
00:08:47
Speaker
No, for sure, for sure. Now, I think, um you know, one aspect of, you know, one of a big part of the work that I've done in the past is is working in corporate technology labs, right, where you get to kind of imagine the future and work on the technologies that will will help create the future. And there's something inherently
00:09:08
Speaker
For me, at least joyous about that. It's like a playground of ideas. It's a playground of possibility, right? If you're in the right context where you really can. um work on understanding, and we were trying to do it from a human perspective, right? Trying to understand people and then try to really think about and imagine what sorts of technologies and innovations can really make their lives better, right? And that's inherently joyous, right? You try to make the world a better place, right? Use all these fantastic tools and amazing tools we have. And you know I can remember a time, one of the projects I worked on was technologies for global health.
00:09:47
Speaker
right and trying to bring mobile devices into like rural Africa to connect doctors in hospitals with rural health workers using mobile mobile devices so they could have the expertise of the doctor like delivered out into the field. And I'll never forget when I was in Uganda working with the University of Makarere University there, and I was in the field and they were taking me on these tours of these different rural health clinics. And one of the things that they had was they have posters on the wall that kind of visually tell a visual story of, you know, kind of healthy kind of public health messaging, but also behaviors that to try to encourage the community to be in, to to engage in. And I never forget being in this one clinic
00:10:34
Speaker
where one of the health workers said, if I was able to you know have a doctor give me advice on how to treat this malaria patient right in a way that allows me to to sort of um not just care for them, right? Take care of them, but actually heal them, right? Because a lot of their work was about just kind of providing presence, right? But actually giving them the ability to heal on them um because of the guidance they would get from someone who's hundreds of miles away. Like she, she teared up in the moment and I was like, wow, this is,
00:11:16
Speaker
really it's it's not just a job right for her it was like really impacted impacted her in the way that that um she thought this had potential to to really impact her work and impact her community around her so I like that's a moment I think of I would have those little moments in the field a lot of them were in the field right when you're talking with real people in their real situations and you're trying to imagine how their lives could be improved and they'll just tell you one personal nugget that really you know hits you in your heart and fills you with joy right because there's a possibility that you could really make some change that's really powerful there so I think that's you know that's one story
00:12:02
Speaker
What I could share, that really was memorable for me.
Diverse Expressions of Joy
00:12:06
Speaker
A lot of that that work that I did in global health in Africa was very powerful for me. for sharing that sweet beautiful story
00:12:17
Speaker
yeah and i guess You had another question in there, too, somewhere. and I think, or was that it? Well, I guess it was more sort of thinking about like you know what it is to lead a life where you are finding joy in lots of different ways. Yes, yes. You know, people sometimes say, work is work, and then I can play, or I should try to make my passion my job, or maybe some people only like one thing, but I think people like you and I were interested in. I like a lot of different things, yeah. they don't have different things And so what is for you to find expressions like many outlets for your expression, your joy, you know, what has that, what has that process been like for you? Right. Wow. That's a really good question. Um, you know, I've always been just eclectic, right? I've always loved a lot of different things. And I think for me, it's, it's been, um,
00:13:19
Speaker
I don't know, it's just an essential part of my nature is to be expressive on a lot of different levels, right? So be an expressive, um you know, musically and artistically and creatively. I grew up like that, I grew up in that tradition. My mom was was a creative arts director for a college, for a small. ah Black College in the Bay Area. And I grew up around African dance and music. My mom was in a funk band. right So I grew up around that. So that that was just a natural part of me. And then when I got into kind of school and more academically focused, I realized ideas are a whole other dimension of expression and, you know, getting intellectually engaged and then doing community work is another level. So I guess just part of growing up, I learned that
00:14:08
Speaker
um It was really important. This is something that I found really important for me personally, and something also with my with my kids that I do is making sure you have a creative expression outlet has really been fundamental for me, even also athletically, like I like to move, I like to be active. So having a creative outlet, whatever it happens to be, it doesn't care if you're music, painting, you know, maybe you want to sculpt, whatever it happens to be. But having a creative outlet, an athletic outlet to move your body and move your spirit,
00:14:39
Speaker
And that could be dance as as well as sports and stuff. And then an intellectual outlet for me. was was I noticed when I was doing all those things, i just my spirit just felt better, right? If I was just doing one. it it It didn't fill me up as much. as like There's just a ah um a dynamism that can come from um having all, it's like we're operating on all cylinders, right? it's just is' There's something else and that moves energetically. For me, when I'm kind of plugged into those different
00:15:13
Speaker
Different dimensions at the same time. And so I think it could be really rewarding because we're not we're not you know One-dimensional beings, right? We're multi-dimensional that need beings that need to be fed on multiple levels So I think being conscious about feeding your spirit on multiple levels, whatever it happens to be right nourish yourself and be sensitive to how you can get nourishment and through different experiences right and the different ways you're engaged in the world and try to do that with attention. That's definitely something I've tried to do right throughout my life.
Living a Life of Multiple Expressions
00:15:50
Speaker
Yeah, I just love that because I feel like so often these days people are trying to figure out like who I am and define and figure out what boxes I fit into or what frameworks, et cetera. And just to hear that like you know there are others out there who are living a multiplicity of you know oh ways of expressing who we are and what lights us up I think is just helpful to hear about. um So just coming to a close now inviting just a moment to like drop into that energy and frequency that is you and for me to do the same and if you're listening for you to just feel into the space of your heart and feel the energy of you as if it's this glowing orb of light wanting to share itself.
00:16:46
Speaker
and feeling this expression outward into the world and lives of those who can receive something really beautiful from your light.
Spreading Joy and Freedom to Others
00:17:02
Speaker
and just connecting with you know one one thing one wish one way in which the light in you would like to offer the light in others something anything a vision some words of inspiration, how could be one word, it could be, yeah, just something that you are hoping for. You're sharing your light, or does this make any sense, sharing theirs? Well, I really hope that, you know, if one thing comes through is that finding joy and freedom in your heart and what you do, how you bring yourself into the world,
00:17:49
Speaker
and have an aspect of that be beyond yourself, right? Be a contribution to the world in some way, a way that contributes to others. There's just a, not only is that good for the world, but it's good for you, right? It's good for you. Your expression of joy and freedom freedom can also make others joyous and free. It just, you know, that just elevates the impact on so many levels. So that's, you know, something I've tried to cultivate more and more in my life. And I think it's really, you know, that is a an intention I would love to, you know, share, you know, with the listeners.
00:18:34
Speaker
thank you and with that i think i'm i've been so grateful to get to receive you know your light and
Laughter and Joy in Relationships
00:18:42
Speaker
i hope that those listening have gotten just a little bit little taste of what it is to get to hang out with mookie and i i my what was coming through for me for me was like you know getting to amplify or support your channel, your energy out to everyone, and I'm sure there will be lots of people who are listening who I would love to like you know have interview and just to, again, this is like a little snippet, a little share. And hello what was coming through was like more Mookie laughing.
00:19:17
Speaker
i I like to laugh. I got a big laugh and I got a big smile. I know. So hey, right? I feel like laugh, Mookie's laugh would be a great takeaway and for everyone to get to hear more of it. I'm here for it. I'm here for it all day. I got plenty of laughter this year. I think anything and everything that brings out Mookie laughter, I think is,
00:19:49
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, actually, that's the other thing, too, big thing.
Reflections on Sharing Joy and Light
00:19:51
Speaker
You got to laugh. Hey, you got to laugh, right? There's so much going on in the world. You got to find. That's where the joy is, right? When I'm laughing, that's my that's joy. That's joy. And it's from, you know, from the people I love to be with and conversations I love to have. Right. And just, you know, living your life in the fullest way possible. So. Thank you so much, Mookie. You're the best. Of course. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I hope this was fun. I hope you got something. It was super fun. anyone Anyone who is listening to, thanks for joining, and we'll see you soon. Yeah. All right. Take care. Bye. Bye.