Beloved Futures
“the ultimate, hidden truth of the world is that it is something that we make, and could just as easily make differently.”
~ David Graeber
The world is changing all around us. I know in my bones that, contrary to the evening news, a new and more beautiful way of human-ing on the planet is being birthed. One that is in right relation with Earth (Gaia), embracing the truth of Inter-being. The Beloved Futures podcast is a space of soul nourishment where we explore what is going right with the world and give space to the Beloved Futures emerging in our midst.
When we can collectively imagine multidimensional futures that we wish to live in, we will make the choices in the present that steer us there with more ease and grace.
Imagination is the mostpowerful force available to humankind.
Together we imagine new worlds into being. Radical (to the root) modes of relating with the world, remembering how to live with earth as the sentient being that she is.
Each episode, I connect with individuals and collectives whoare actively engaged withand devoted tocatalyzingbelovedfutures. What do these futureslook like, taste like, smell like, feel liketo them? What propels their work and dedication to radical imaginings?Together we explore what brings them energy and hope, the twists and turns of their life and learningand how their workin the world adds to the collective experience of thriving and joy.
These conversations with artists, healers, teachers, creators, storytellers, farmers, spiritual leaders, mothers and others on the frontlines of the imagination revolution are aimed at supporting all of us as werise into our creative potential as human BE-comings.
Each one of us is a vessel for thelife forceof Loveto flow into material experience and each one of us has an invaluable gift to share. When we focus our energies on the Beloved Futures, we collectively produce an energetic in the now that makes the seemingly impossible, possible. The time is now, there is no other moment than the present. Together we are a force. And so it is...
Beloved Futures
S2 E13 | Mary Thanissara – Dharma, Devotion & the Fierce Grace of the Sacred Feminine
What becomes possible when the Dharma meets the wounded places of our world with tenderness, and also with righteous, necessary fire?
In this episode of Beloved Futures, host Aubrey Morgan Yee sits down with Mary Thanissara – Buddhist teacher, former monastic, author, activist, and carrier of profound devotional lineage – for a spacious, intimate, and stirring conversation. This dialogue becomes a remembering: of feminine wisdom long suppressed, of inner authority reclaimed, and of the Dharma as a living, breathing force for liberation.
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About Our Guest
Thanissara began practicing in the Burmese tradition in 1975 and later ordained in the Ajahn Chah lineage, becoming one of the first Western women to join the siladhara order in the UK. She spent twelve years as a Buddhist nun, helping establish both Chithurst and Amaravati Monasteries and pioneering Dharma retreats for families and children.
Thanissara and her husband and partner, Kittisaro, live in Sonoma County, California where they founded Sacred Mountain Sangha Non Profit which hosts regular practice spaces, retreats, Dharma trainings and its emergent contemplative activist focus, Liberation Spirituality, to support a revolutionary Dharma to meet these times. She holds an MA in Buddhist Psychotherapy and is the author of Garden of the Midnight Rosary, a collection of mystical, devotional poetry. Her work integrates Dharma, depth psychology, trauma-informed healing, and sacred activism – with a particular emphasis on restoring the feminine principle within spiritual life and systems of power.
What We Explore in This Episode
This conversation moves between the intimate and the mythic – tracing Thanissara's journey from early monastic life to decades of teaching, activism, and trauma-informed spiritual care. Through stories, lineage memories, and fierce clarity, Thanissara calls us back to an embodied, relational, and sacred Dharma.
Key Takeaways
- The wounded feminine within Buddhism – how patriarchal structures shaped Thanissara’s early monastic life and why reclaiming the feminine is essential for collective liberation.
- Trauma, silence, and spiritual bypassing – understanding how traditions can unintentionally reinforce harm, and how courage, truth-telling, and relational repair restore the integrity of the path.
- Right timing and sacred cycles – how awakening often unfolds in spirals, not straight lines, and why deep practice requires patience, attunement, and compassion.
- The Dharma in a burning world – how Buddhist practice meets climate emergency, social injustice, and global grief – not as escape, but as embodied engagement.
Whether you are a longtime practitioner, newly exploring Buddhist teachings, or simply longing for a more truthful and loving way of being, this conversation with Thanissara invites you into a deeper relationship with presence, integrity, and sacred courage.
With Love & Gratitude,
Aubrey Morgan Yee
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GUEST INFO
Learn more about Thanissara’s work:
Websites: https://sacredmountainsangha.org/ and https://dharmagiri.org
Substack: https://thanissara.substack.com
FOLLOW AUBREY'S WORK
Website: www.ourbelovedfutures.com
Instagram: @aubrey.morgan.yee
Substack: ourbelovedfutures.substack.com
Book: Our Beloved Futures