What does it mean to be a self? Can I enlarge what counts as part of “me”, and should I? We’ll delve into recent developments in brain science to explore age-old wisdom about where one person ends and everything else begins—and why it matters.
Amelia (Mel) Shenstone (she/her/hers) is intern minister at the UU First Religious Society of Carlisle, MA and a seminarian at Harvard Divinity School (’23). Mel’s ministry centers around seeking the sacred amidst relationship: within the self, amongst intimates, and with the human and more-than-human community. Mel grew up UU in Lexington, MA and spent her early career as a volunteer in New Orleans, before pursuing clean energy political organizing in the southeastern US. As a young adult she served as President of the UU Congregation of Atlanta, and she is a certified facilitator for adolescent Our Whole Lives, the comprehensive human sexuality program. Beyond ministry, her interests include riding and training horses, foraging wild foods, yoga, singing, and when possible arriving by bike.