Yuria Celidwen Ph.D. is of Indigenous Nahua and Maya descent from the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. The Mesoamerican cloudforests, where her generational lineage of mystics, healers, poets, and explorers have lived for many generations, is the only remaining ecosystem of its kind in all of Northamerica, and now threatened with extinction by 2050 due to the climate emergency.

Her scholarship centers on Indigenous forms of contemplation examining self-transcendence and its embodiment in prosocial behavior (ethics, compassion, kindness, awe, love, and sacredness).‎ She calls this work the Indigenous “Ethics of Belonging” toward planetary flourishing rooted in honoring Life. For the past two decades her work has supported the advancement of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the rights of Nature as well as the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations. She is now transitioning to the Department of Psychology of the University of California, Berkeley, where she is conducting research into Indigenous practices of contemplation, and the Other & Belonging Institute where her work reclams Indigenous Peoples governance, bridging, and belonging.‎ 

She teaches Indigenous epistemologies and spirituality and her work pioneered the Indigenous contemplative experience within contemplative studies. In addition, she leads workshops on prosocial practices from an Indigenous perspective. She emphasizes cultivating a sense of reverence and ecological belonging, raising awareness of social and environmental justice and community-engaged practices, revitalizing Indigenous languages, traditional medicine, clean energy, and conservation that restores authority to Indigenous Peoples Lands and Territories. Dr. Celidwen co-chairs the Indigenous Religious Traditions Unit at the American Academy of Religion, and is a Contemplative ‎Studies Unit steering committee member.

Website: www.yuriacelidwen.com