Home to Her

Mothering as a Verb with Finn Schubert

Episode Summary

Who is the Great Mother, and what does it mean to embrace mothering as a verb – stretching our notions of this action to reach out beyond gender? On today’s episode I explore this and many other questions with writer, storyteller and epidemiologist Finn Schubert. Finn is a board member at Baltimore Wisdom Project and co-author of Developing TransCompetence: A Short Guide to Improving Transgender Experiences at Meditation and Retreat Centers. Released in 2014, this book was an early resource on transgender inclusion in Buddhist communities. Finn is also the author of a new essay collection, Even the Cemeteries Have Space Here, which explores finding home in body, place, and time -- an intimate look at a moment in his life when he moves to a small town to start over and immediately gets his period back. On today’s episode, we discuss: • Finn’s background in Zen Buddhism and how his spiritual practice has evolved • His discovery of the Great Mother in a witch shop • What it means to embrace mothering as an act that anyone can offer • The power in naming our desires, and the liberation that comes from a spiritual practice that allows us to do so • Embracing the wisdom of his menstrual cycle as a transgender man • How praying the rosary has helped him connect with his ancestral people

Episode Notes

• You can learn more about my upcoming book, Home to Her, and pre-order it at Womancraft Publishing: https://www.womancraftpublishing.com/books/home-to-her/.
• You can watch this episode on the Home to Her YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCK6xtUV6K7ayV30iz1ECigw
• You can sign up to read more of Finn’s writing here: https://finnschubert.substack.com/
• Finn’s latest book, Even the Cemeteries Have Space Here, can be ordered here: https://www.finnschubert.com/books/p/even-the-cemeteries-have-space-here. You can also learn more about the artist who designed the cover, Shea in the Catskills, here: https://www.sheainthecatskills.com/
• Here’s a link to Finn’s beautiful poem, “In the Witch Shop”: https://finnschubert.substack.com/p/poem-in-the-witch-shop
• And here’s a little more information on Santa Muerte, whom Finn mentions briefly:  https://santamuerte.fr/blogs/news/la-santa-muerte
• Finn and I both reference The Way of the Rose, which is the title of a book by Clark Strand and Perdita Finn, and a community dedicated to “the forgotten Earth wisdom of the rosary…and to the Lady, by any name you like to call Her.” It is not affiliated with the Catholic Church in any way. You can visit the Facebook Group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wayoftherose