Episode 26: Syda & Kelsey

Hello and welcome to the Baha’i Blogcast with me your host, Rainn Wilson. In this series of podcasts I interview members of the Baha’i Faith and friends from all over the world about their hearts, and minds, and souls, their spiritual journeys, what they’re interested in, and what makes them tick. In this episode I'm in Chicago again, and I'm joined by my friends Syda Segovia Taylor and Kelsey Taylor, an awesome couple who live here in the Chicago area. Syda works as a consultant in issues relating to social justice and Kelsey owns his own civil engineering company. They are both members of the Baha'i Faith and are passionate about working on issues around social justice and youth empowerment. In this conversation we talk about the work they're doing, issues relating to race, youth, violence, social inequality in the neighbourhood and the lessons they've learned. They also really open up and talk about how they've separated twice within their 21 years of marriage, what that was like, and the hard work they put in to strengthen not only their relationship, but themselves as individuals. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did! To find out more about Syda and Kelsey, and some of the things we covered in this episode, check out the following links: * Syda Segovia Taylor's LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/syda-segovia-taylor-m-a-414a4629/ * Kelsey Taylor's LinkedIn profile: www.linkedin.com/in/kelseyataylorcivil/ * Syda's talk on BahaiTeachings.com called ‘Healing the Trauma of Racism and Violence’ can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikpbv9zSQ74 * Syda talks about her work with Dr. Joy DeGruy (http://joydegruy.com/), who was also a guest on the ‘Baha'i Blogcast with Rainn Wilson’, and you can listen to that episode here: http://bahaiblog.net/site/2017/03/bahai-blogcast-rainn-wilson-episode-10-joy-degruy/ * Syda also mentions Steve Sarowitz, who was also a guest on the ‘Baha'i Blogcast with Rainn Wilson’, and you can listen to that episode here: http://bahaiblog.net/site/2018/05/bahai-blogcast-rainn-wilson-episode-25-steve-sarowitz/ * Syda talks about the work being done by Environmentalists of Color (http://www.eocnetwork.org/), and Sacred Keepers (http://www.sacredkeepers.org/). * I mention the Baha'i gardens in the Holy Land (http://www.ganbahai.org.il/en/), and you may enjoy this visual exploration of the Baha'i gardens in this video called ‘Pathways’: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGiXqusyrQ4 * Kelsey talks about his namesake, Curtis Kelsey, whom you can read about here: http://bahaiblog.net/site/2016/11/life-curtis-kelsey/ * I mention my conversation with Stephen Phelps, who was also a guest on the ‘Baha'i Blogcast with Rainn Wilson’, and you can listen to that episode here: http://bahaiblog.net/site/2016/08/bahai-blogcast-rainn-wilson-episode-7-steven-phelps/ * Kelsey talks about the 'Love Bank' model found in therapist Dr. Harley's book ‘Effective Marriage Counseling’ (https://amzn.to/2s8vfgB), and the book ‘Divorce Busting’ (https://amzn.to/2sDseVs) * Kelsey talks about the quotation from the Baha'i Writings: "Not until man is tried doth the pure gold distinctly separate from the dross. Torment is the fire of test wherein the pure gold shineth." -Abdu'l-Baha Be sure to ‘subscribe’ to the Baha’i Blogcast for more episodes on: *YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLePDtgwcyKAQmifUJTw0Kk-hBGL2ZGMJi *iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/bahai%E2%80%A6son/id1127132519 *Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bahaiblogcast *Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6EnTNdLBTeu4KrA9xFTgQw If you would like to find out more about the Baha'i Faith visit BAHAI.ORG, and for more great Baha'i-inspired content check out BAHAIBLOG.NET. Thanks for listening! -Rainn Wilson