Parisa Radpey, the writer behind People, Life, Politics And Bullshit
Welcome to my space of creation. Let’s call it a point of exchange. This is a blog about people, everyday life, philosophy, politics, and all the bullshit we must deal with but do not necessarily like. Like it or not, we are all on this crazy, mysterious, surrealistic ride called life. Life does not make sense every day. Maybe it is better to say that we try to make sense of it. A wise Peruvian guide once told me, “life was here before we were born, and life will continue after we pass away.”
I started this blog in 2017, in the middle of what people call a dark night of the soul. Despite the darkness, I followed my own inner knowing. I had to use my creativity just to stay on track. So I got started, bought a domain, and named it. The name got mixed reactions. Some loved it, some asked why on earth I’d call it that. I wanted it to be People, Life, Politics and Bullshit, so I listened to the feedback without getting trapped by it. I knew I liked the name.
People. The more mature I become, the more interested I become in people. Who are they? What motivates the choices they make? How do they get through life’s nooks and crannies? How do groups work together? And who controls what? People are people, all over the world. Simple.
Life. Isn’t that a mystery? We are part of life, but it continues after we are gone. It fascinates me in all its forms, colours and dualities. It awakens my sense of wonder.
Politics. When people tell me they’re not interested in politics, I think: I don’t follow it as closely as I used to either, but politics rules our lives whether we pay attention or not. It shaped mine directly. I was seven when the Iranian revolution happened, and what followed is part of why my parents eventually took us out of Iran. My life abroad turned out nothing like my fourteen-year-old brain could have predicted.
Bullshit. We are taught, served, and have to wade through so much of it. You know what I mean.
So there you have the name.
I created this blog to hold a blend of everything, writing, pictures, the odd video, in one place. I wanted to share what I notice, what others live and see, and the small moments that make life worth living. Curiosity is said to have killed the cat, but it’s had the opposite effect on me. It has pulled me past my own ego, more than once.
We are strange and amusing creatures, us humans. None of us really know why we’re here, yet most of us fight to defend our version of the truth as if it were the only one. Imagine if we could hold “my reality is not necessarily your reality” a little more lightly. Give up some of the power struggles. Accept that we all see through a different lens, shaped by what we’ve lived.
Who am I, and what shaped the way I see things?
Education: sociology, journalism, philosophy, media rhetoric
I hold a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oslo, completed in 2004, an individually combined degree I built myself from sociology, journalism, philosophy, and media rhetoric. That mix taught me to look at people and systems at the same time, to ask not just what someone does but what shapes the choices in front of them.
Work: journalism, communication, job consulting, teaching, vulnerable groups
My engagement in journalism started because of the political situation that moved us to Norway. At some point I thought I wanted to become a journalist and change the world. So I got myself into journalism, only to realize it was much harder to find a job, and being a freelance journalist was eating all my engagement. I’ll say it honestly: I did it for some years before I decided I was going to use it in another way than working for others. This blog is part of that decision.
Alongside that, I’ve worked in communication roles, which trained me to listen closely and ask better questions before I ever open my mouth to offer an opinion. I’ve worked as a job consultant, helping people find their footing again after job loss or a difficult stretch. I’ve been a substitute teacher, standing in front of a room of kids who didn’t choose to have me that day and had to be met exactly where they were. And I’ve worked directly with vulnerable groups, refugees, people out of work, people carrying more than most of us see. That work taught me how easy it is to judge someone instead of seeing the story they carry.
Life experience: Iran, the revolution, and what came after
I was seven years old when the Iranian revolution changed the direction of my family’s life completely, and it’s a big part of why my parents eventually took us out of Iran. I wrote more about that chapter in When God Moved Into Our Nation. But life in the new, foreign country up in the north turned out totally different from what my fourteen-and-a-half-year-old self had imagined. I ran away from home, just right after our arrival. And it took me a long time before I could admit, even to myself, that what I’d lived through counted as trauma.
That acknowledgement opened the door to something else: understanding ancestral trauma, how physical and emotional pain gets passed down from generation to generation, and what it actually takes to heal it. I am the lucky one. I got to live in a time where I had the chance to learn to know myself and do that work. That opportunity wasn’t there in my parents’ generation. That’s why I’m so passionate about body-based practices. They’ve literally helped me heal, become whole, working on an energetic level and not only the mind. It’s part of why I hold the certifications I do, and part of why I’m building the work I’m building now.
Certifications and trainings behind the work
Alongside all this, I’ve picked up trainings and certifications over the years that deepened my understanding of myself, people, communication, and what it takes to empower a student rather than fix them. Not to collect credentials after my name, but because I wanted real tools, not just instinct, when I sit across from someone who is struggling. I believe a teacher is just as much a student. In every encounter, I learn something about myself, about how I approach the teaching, the meeting, the conversation, and so much else that passes between two people. In the winter of 2026, I ran a four-week online course called Calm Your Racing Mind, my first real taste of teaching a group online, rather than in person, the way I already had as a substitute teacher and as a belly dance instructor. You’ll find the specific trainings, yoga, dance and movement therapy, Holistic Therapy, NLP, on my Dhyana Donya Movement & Health page, since that’s where they show up as the work I actually offer today.
Travel as a teacher
Travelling is part of my existence. It’s been one of my greatest teachers, for many years now. Most recently, I gave it a full year. From the end of 2024 to October 2025, I set out on a spiritual quest, not fully knowing where it would lead. I wrapped that journey up the way I love best, on foot. Walking the Camino Vía de la Plata, at the end of August 2025, one step folding into the next, until the walking itself became the writing. A book was born somewhere along that road. The Silver Route, soon to find its way to you on Amazon.
On the road, I feel free. I learn, I observe, I flow, and get inspired. I also feel protected out there, even when things don’t go the way I planned. Like on my last trip, when I lost quite a lot of money to an exchange scammer crossing the border into Nepal, on the Indian side. I stood my ground and got some of it back. Later on that same journey, taking the bus into Nepal, I woke up early one morning to find the whole bus empty. It had broken down overnight, and nobody had thought to wake me. I’d slept straight through it, completely alone. I laugh about all of it now. That’s simply part of what the road gives you, alongside everything it takes. Every place I’ve spent real time in has quietly rearranged something in how I see what’s normal and what’s possible, a much bigger picture than the pragmatic, western view that runs the show in everyday life. You can read more of these travel reflections in my Travel Blog Posts category.”
All of it, the education, the jobs, the upbringing, the travel, has shaped the same thing in me: a genuine, ongoing interest in communication and people. Who they are underneath the roles they play. What actually moves them.
I don’t have it all figured out. What I am is curious, and I think that’s one of my biggest gifts. It’s part of what makes me a good guide, knowing how to ask the right questions.
I am a big believer of experiential living. I’ve lived enough of my own hard chapters to know that change is possible, and that it usually starts quietly, from the inside. That is why I believe in the power of intention.
And who am I?
I’m a dreaming gypsy, one who has more questions than answers. I am someone who dreams of a world without borders. A world where we realize that we are one human family, regardless of country, place of birth, religion or skin colour. I dream that one day we can create peace on Earth by letting go of all the power struggles we are part of. I believe in the power of change, which can be created by living a conscious life. If we wish to create peace with others, we must make peace with ourselves first. It happens through knowing oneself. There is enormous opportunity in a life like that, once you do the work of turning inward. It costs to live authentically, it requires courage, but it is also stimulating. Therein lies enormous growth potential. I used to aspire to change the world, but at 50, I realized I could only change myself and maybe inspire others to change.
My motto for life: “Embrace imperfection as perfection.” It has carried me for years, and it still guides how I work.
If you’re curious what I actually do today, and how all of this shows up in practice, visit Dhyana Donya Movement & Health, where I explain the work I offer.
Anyway, thanks for dropping by, and I hope the time you spend in my room inspires you. If you have any feedback, please leave it here, and I promise to answer you.