All Parts Welcome Podcast Interview
Deconstructing Your Religious Experience to Create Your Own Religion

In this episode, Melissa talks with Shelby Remillard, a licensed counselor in NYC who specializes in helping clients heal from trauma, explore grief and loss, and build healthy relationships. Shelby shares her unique experience as an Indigenous person from Laguna Pueblo and as a Filipina, using humor and candor to tell her story.

Growing up in a conservative, predominantly white community in Colorado Springs, Shelby struggled to connect with her heritage and identity as a mixed-race individual. Despite feeling a strong connection to her Indigenous father’s side, she found herself drawn to her mother’s Filipino and Hawaiian heritage as she got older.

Shelby also discusses her experience with Christianity and how it influenced her relationship with spirituality. While she found comfort in certain aspects of the religion, she ultimately felt the need to seek a more inclusive, accepting community that aligned with her values.

Melissa and Shelby also explore how religion and spirituality affect mental health, community, and culture, and the importance of finding belonging and connection in the healing process. They touch on topics such as white supremacy within organized religion, the beauty of connecting with your ancestral spirituality, and the role of humor in coping with trauma.

Click the picture below to listen.