I was born in Iran in the immediate aftermath of the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79, which became one of the country’s darkest moments in modern times. I was birthed into a time of great fear, uncertainty, death, and destruction, what was essentially the culmination of the greed, interference, and predatory energies of Western powers determined to destabilize the region. Seeing the opportunity, these energies were then taken up by a patriarchal theocratic regime that has ruled ever since through the brutal repression of its people, women and ethnic minorities in particular.

My parents were revolutionaries fighting for a democratic future. A victim of the regime’s bottomless cruelty, my father was imprisoned at the time that my mother gave birth to me. They named me Sepideh, which means first light, dawn — the dawning of the first light. My name symbolizes hope, freedom, joy, and liberation from the depths of darkness.

We eventually left my motherland to seek stability and freedom, initially in France and then in Turtle Island — the present-day United States — first as refugees and, eventually, as citizens.

My teachers have been many over the last 20-plus years: Michael and Anneli Molin-Skelton, Susan Harper, Lionel Corbett, Jack Kornfield, Pema Chodron, Gabrielle Roth, Toi Smith, and Clarissa Pinkola Estes, among numerous others, have all expanded my understanding of myself and my place in the world. And I am currently in mentorship with Myranda at Boundless Warrior. In the unseen realms, I work closely with my guides, guardians, ancestors, and Creator.

I identify as non-white and queer; my pronouns are she/her. I see my queer identity as one that is in relationship with all energies around me, expanding beyond rigid categories of sexual identity and gender. As for identifying as non-white, Whiteness is a cultural construct that has its basis in Western European narrative. I am an Iranian woman, an identity that carries a lot of complexities in the West. My identity speaks to a culture, a way of life, and an understanding that is definitively neither white nor Eurocentric.

I want to acknowledge the original land protectors: As a resident of Los Angeles County, I live on Chumash, Tongva, and Kizh land.