Current Projects & Previous Publications
"Vanessa possesses the spirit of compassion, a gift for inquiry, and an instinct for beauty. Her work and writing is born of the same."
"Vanessa is a very important voice in a new generation of thinkers
and change agents. She combines integral ideas with her own important
insights to arrive at some very unique observations. Check this girl
out!"
~Ken Wilber, Philosopher, Author of The Integral Vision
As a published author, I've written for mainstream magazines, online newsletters and academic journals, including The Huffington Post, Ascent Magazine, Shambhala Publications, Elephant Journal, Beams and Struts Magazine, Lightwaves, the Journal for the Association of Research on Mothering, The Journal for Integral Theory and Practice, and Kosmos Journal. I'm also currently co-editing my first book, to be published with SUNY press. My work is in a continual process of growth and evolution. Below are some samples of my past work and current projects. Feel free to peruse at your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Dancing in the Liminal: A Global, Border-crossing Inquiry into Art, Activism, Spirituality & Leadership for the 21st Century
Dancing in the Liminal is a free Dialogue Series I am hosting here at vanessadfisher.com
Listen to the dialogues here.
Dancing in the Liminal is my latest creative adventure, and isactivism, art, politics, technology, gender issues and spirituality. Through interviews with Arab activists, African priestesses, yogini feminists, Sudanese storytellers, unorthodox academics, rogue spiritual teachers, radical artists, and many more, this series attempts to cross continental, discursive and artistic borders so as to nurture trans-cultural, trans-gendered, and trans-spiritual conversations.
The liminal, coming from the Greek word limnos, means “threshold.” Liminality describes an “in-between” time and space, when what was, is no longer, and what will be, is not yet. It is a time rich with ambiguity, uncertainty, and the possibility of creative fermentation. As our globe continues to undergo unpredictable tectonic shifts of regression and progression, chaos and emergence, I feel called to enter into the liminal, so as to hold an open and generative space that could facilitate emergent dialogues born through the creative wisdom of the collective.
As a young woman currently engaged in a border-crossing pilgrimage around the world, I often experience my own consciousness and identity as “in-between,” or “at the margins” of any one national, discursive or spiritual identity. I therefore feel in a unique position to hold an open, curious and creative space for facilitating border-crossing conversations and connections.
A sample of some of my current and upcoming guests include: Rose Sackey~Milligan, Marianne Williamson, Leslie Flood Hershberger, Velcrow Ripper, Jakub Evolved, Rita J. King, Mick Quinn, Carol Horton and many more...
Listen to the dialogues here
*A special shout out to Dan McKinnon for his generous financial contribution that allowed me to get this dialogue series off the ground~ Thank you!
Passion, Spirituality & Critical Inquiry: My Interview on Gaiafield Radio
In this 60 minute interview with Myra Jackson on Gaiafield Radio, we start with an intimate discussion of my own life journey, and explore how my formative experiences and my journey as a global nomad have shaped my unique perspective on spirituality and social transformation.
You can listen to the interview here.
We cover an array of critical topics including: the importance of travel and gaining global perspective, the integration of political-economic with psycho-spiritual discourses/perspectives, and an exploration of the commercialization of spirituality and spiritual teachings in our contemporary world.
This interview was inspired by an article I recently had published in Kosmos Journal, which compiled a series of my blogs over the last two years on my experience as a global nomad, an artist, and a spiritual seeker.
You can read my article in Kosmos Journal, Journey of a Global Nomad: Breaking Down and Breaking through, here.
Holy Irreverence: A Series Exploring the Dark Side of the Sacred
I recently hosted a provocative trilogy series here at vanessadfisher.com exploring the Dark Side of the Sacred.
Please read important framing, context and purpose for this series here and here.
This series includes three exploratory blogs written by me, investigating the dark side of the sacred as it shows up in madness, eroticism and art. Each blog is also accompanied by an intimate and in-depth dialogue with an expert in each respective field.
This series was also re-published on Elephant Journal.
Part One: The Dark Side and Madness
Blog: My Journey through Madness & Mysticism
Dialogue: Darkness Shining Wild: An Intimate Walk through the Labyrinth of Madness & Mysticism with Robert Augustus Masters
Part Two: The Dark Side of Art
Blog: Reflections on Art, Shadow & the Intersection of the Individual and Collective Spheres
Dialogue: Unfolding the Dark Side of Art: A Journey through Movement & Dance with Margie Gillis
Part Three: The Dark Side of Eroticism
Blog: The Dark Side of Eroticism & Some Closing Reflections on my Dark Side Series
Undressing Sex: Re-Imagining the Art of Female Eroticism
Vanessa D. Fisher
Publisher: Beams and Struts: A Magazine for Hungry Minds and Thirsty Souls
This article weaves together a potent cocktail of sex, shadow and spiritual eroticism, anchored in my own path as a young woman navigating her way through the obstacles and revelations of the spiritual journey. This article is the third installment of a trilogy. It responds to and integrates my last two articles, Pop Culture, Porn Stars and the Mis-guided Revolution, and Envisioning Young Women's Leadership for the 21st century, which generated a lot of public response upon their publication. Undressing Sex is an intimate exploration that offers both a critical reflection on the obstacles facing young women's empowerment today, while also attempting to ignite a new kind of erotic awakening...
Read full article online here.
My Descent into Hell and what it Taught me about Beauty
Vanessa D. Fisher
Publisher: The Huffington Post
This blog-style article offers an intimate and vulnerable look into my spiritual descent into hell and ugliness when I was 22-years-old, and illuminates what the experience taught me about the deeper reaches of beauty and radiance.
This blog was originally featured here on my own blogscroll. The Huffington Post then offered to publish this piece on their site in a shortened form to fit their word limit.
Read blog on The Huffington here.
Sex, Gender & Sexuality: The Birth of a Critical Integral Inquiry
(currently in press)
Edited by Dr. Sarah Nicholson & Vanessa D. Fisher
Publisher: SUNY Press
The material collected in Sex, Gender & Sexuality represents the first fruits of an exciting new field of theory and practice. This anthology highlights some of the cutting edge discourses and critical voices on sex, gender and spirituality that are emerging from within the integral paradigm of theory and practice. This collection of essays from academic theorists and advanced practitioners brings the integral perspective to bear on issues of gender, sexuality, feminism, the men's movement and women's and men's spirituality, as they appear within disciplines as diverse as psychology, sociology, philosophy, religious studies and art theory.
This anthology will feature a broad range of scholars and practitioners working across a diverse field of disciplines including: Ken Wilber, Elizabeth Debold, Warren Farrell, Barbara Bickel, Gilles Herrada, Rebecca Bailin, Michele Eliason, Joseph Gelfer, R. Michael Fisher, Terry Hildebrandt, Sarah Nicholson, Diane Musho Hamilton and Vanessa D. Fisher. We believe this book will find an wide readership, as while the issues raised in this book are topical and highly contentious subjects, no other book has collected and dealt with the range of integrally informed voices on these subjects in as comprehensive way.
My Two Part Dialogue Series with Philosopher Ken Wilber on Integral Life
Contributors: Vanessa D. Fisher & Ken Wilber
In
this dialogue, recorded in 2008, I explore some of my
early ideas about beauty, art and feminism with philosopher Ken Wilber,
as we discuss the often tenuous relationship that exists between
feminist thinkers and modern conceptions of beauty.
Listen to Dialogue here.
Beauty and the Expansion of Women's Identity
Vanessa D. Fisher
Publisher: Journal of Integral Theory and Practice (JITP)
Beauty and the Expansion of Women's Identity is an article I wrote when I was twenty-two years old (published two years later in 2008), which documents an intimate exploration of my relationship to beauty as a young woman. The article is both personally revealing, as well as offering an artistic, philosophical and spiritual inquiry into the nature of beauty itself. This article won one of four prestigious awards given out at the first Biennial Integral Theory conference in 2008 for best research and writing.
Read full PDF online here
