The Dust Beneath Our Feet: An Evening with David Edward Walker
We are living in a time of profound fracture—marked by separation, alienation, hostility and wounding, deepened by racism, authoritarianism, genocide, climate and species collapse, and massive wealth inequality. The earth and all life seem more imperiled each day by humanity’s neglect and short-sightedness. As therapists, pastors, artists, leaders, and citizens of the world, many of us feel the weight of this brokenness and wrestle with how to hold hope, how to practice resilience, and how to invite others into healing. In such times, how do we live with feelings of powerlessness and turn them toward practices of restoration, balance, and healing?
Join us on Friday, October 3, as David Edward Walker will weave story, poetry, and song in conversation with the ancient wisdom of the Original Peoples of this land, the spiritual vision of the Baháʼí tradition, and the ongoing call within all faiths toward justice, humility, and hope. Together, we will explore deeper meanings of “wellbeing” and “liberation” in light of our current moment, and consider what it means to embody the Baháʼí aspiration of cultivating “such humility and submissiveness that every atom of the dust beneath their feet may attest the depth of their devotion.”
About David Edward Walker:
David Edward Walker is a liberation psychologist, writer, poet, songwriter, and Missouri Cherokee descendant. He follows a path of the heart, mind, body, and spirit informed by mentorship from Yakama, Blackfoot, Cherokee, and other Native elders alongside the teachings of the Baháʼí faith. Journal of Humanistic Psychology calls David’s book, Coyote’s Swing (WSU Press, 2023), “a work that serves to confirm why we need a radically new approach to mental health treatment, one that embraces the diverse cultures found in the world’s spiritual traditions—a message that is not limited to Indian Country but is an urgent call to action for us all.” David’s powerful essays for Indian Country Today (ICT) in 2015-2016 were among that media source’s most liked and shared at the time. ICT also praised his Medicine Valley novels, Tessa’s Dance and Signal Peak, as “two books [that] deal with all the issues of tragedy, psychological healing, and cultural and language revitalization. . . necessary in the wake of centuries of genocidal efforts to destroy our Nations and Peoples.” In 2023, David was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Ethical Psychology and Psychiatry for his work in “supporting a liberation psychology movement to help people act as free agents constructing their own lives.” He’s served on past faculties at Washington School of Professional Psychology, Heritage University, Oakland University, Wayne State University Medical School, and Eastern Michigan University. David earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Detroit in 1992.
Finally, Music Hound’s Essential Guide to Folk Music characterizes David as “a singer-songwriter with a special ability to reach listeners” via “rich metaphors, spiritual themes, moving ballads, and ambitious fingerstyle guitar work.”
You can learn more at www.davidedwardwalker.com
Sponsored by Illuman of Washington:
Illuman of Washington is the Washington State chapter of Illuman, a global community committed to supporting men who are seeking to deepen their spiritual lives. We are an organization that is open to all men based on the simple belief that we are all brothers. Illuman emerged from the remarkable work started by Fr. Richard Rohr in the late 1990’s. Our programs and offerings focus on providing men with an opportunity to do their ‘inner work’ in the company of other men. We use nature, ritual, teaching, and ways of communicating that allow men to create an environment where men can explore what matters to them most.
This event is in-person only. The recording will be available for purchase at a later date.