Dr. Shelly Harrell has been a licensed psychologist in the state of California since 1990 and a tenured Full Professor at Pepperdine University’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology since 1999. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with Highest Honors from Harvard University in 1982 and received her PhD in Clinical Psychology from UCLA in 1988.

Her practice areas of focus include individual psychotherapy, couple therapy and relationship issues, depression and anxiety, stress management and contemplative practices, “isms” and mental health, and cultural identity. Her research and scholarship focuses on sociocultural and sociopolitical considerations in psychological well-being and interventions. Most recently, she has been working on the development of a resilience-oriented stress management group intervention (“R&R”- Resilience and Reconnection) and a culturally-informed approach to meditation and contemplative practice (“Soulfulness“).

Soulfulness is about cultivating inner aliveness in the service of our embodied, emotional, mental, relational, spiritual, cultural, and collective liberation. Soulfulness practices are influenced by healing, wisdom, and cultural expressions from across the African diaspora.

Learn more here: https://www.thesoulfulnesscenter.com/classesandprograms
See also: Harrell, Shelly P. (2018) "Soulfulness as an Orientation to Contemplative Practice: Culture, Liberation, and Mindful Awareness," Journal of Contemplative Inquiry: Vol. 5: No. 1, Article 6.
Available at: https://digscholarship.unco.edu/joci/vol5/iss1/6

00:08 - Sean introduces Dr. Shelly Harrell
04:30 - Mindfulness as an essential component of mental health
07:25 - Dr. Shelly shares about her personal mindfulness journey
10:22 - Dr. Shelly shares about her professional mindfulness journey as a therapist and researcher with a focus on the mental health of BIPOC and members of marginalized communities
11:40 - What is the role of culture in our healing and how do we reach people who may not be interested in ‘standard’ mindfulness offerings?
18:12 - Why the way we speak about mindfulness may not resonate with all communities
23:45 - How do we adapt our teachings to meet the needs of who we are teaching?
24:30 - How the concept of “soulfulness” became a means of culturally adapting mindfulness
27:01 - QUESTION: How do you differentiate between ‘soulfulness’ and ‘spirituality’ in a space where it may be important to remain secular?
35:10 - QUESTION: When teaching to groups (versus individuals), how do I reach everyone where they are at?
45:20 - QUESTION: The only thing worse than no awareness of cultural differences is assuming what cultural resonance looks like. So, what advice do you have for those seeking to connect with communities that are not their own?
49:30 - Sean emphasizes soulfulness as an invitation, and connecting not with the head, but with the heart.
51:05 - Dr. Shelly shares slides from her 6-session flagship course, A Soulful Introduction to Mindfulness
52:37 - The aim of the class is to teach the foundations of mindfulness, but to emphasize and integrate culturally resonant themes
56:32 - What do we mean when we say ‘cultural adaptation?’
57:33 - Integrating music and mindful music listening
1:02:12 - Integrating connection to the natural world
1:09:33 - Integrating quotes and the wisdom of BIPOC
1:15:03 - Exploring non-theological definitions of ‘soulfulness’ and ‘soul’
1:25:28 - African healing traditions and the Sankofa Adinkra wisdom system
1:26:58 - Temporal interconnectedness, ancestral connection, and remembering
1:31:05 - A culturally relevant definition of mindfulness and the four essential qualities
1:34:15 - The explicit relationship between mindfulness and liberation
1:41:30 - Sawubona as a specific soulfulness practice (i see you)
1:47:03 - A 10-sense practice that goes beyond the 5 senses
1:50:25 - STUDENT REFLECTION: Thank you for this perspective on how the teachings can be customized using different tools.
1:52:10 - STUDENT REFLECTION: On mindfulness in nature
1:56:10 - STUDENT REFLECTION: On the profundity of soulfulness and the ways in which we can meet people where they are, no matter which ‘group’ they belong to.
1:57:50 - Dr. Shelly’s closing remarks