Sometimes people stop me and say, “Are you India.Arie?” and I have to think for a second. The thing that makes me feel uncomfortable with the persona is how big it is. Robinson: In psychology, we call it the persona.Īrie: That’s right.

For me, it was missing many facets of everything I really am. There’s part of being a celebrity that you construct and you tell people, “This is India.Arie.” We all have a public face.

Robinson: Is there a correlation between your personal life and some of things you’re doing now.Īrie: When we talk about what things look like as opposed to what they are, the things I’m doing are about the place I’ve developed to. She used to say, “People are way more concerned with what stuff looks like than what it really is.” But they don’t usually get to see a celebrity’s insides, so it’s delightful that you’re able to show that to us.Īrie: My great grandmother was 100 when she passed away. Robinson: Readers get to see your outsides, your beauty and musical talents in your performances. Now my self-development, wellness and contemplation are my favorite things to do.

I started looking at my spiritual practices not as a hobby but as tools to make it through life. Then when I got into the music industry, my health was hit hard on all levels-mentally, spiritually, physically and emotionally. I had a dedicated prayer practice and prayer corner in my bedroom, started meditating, and started keeping a journal. I did my first detox and learned to heal an ulcer by myself. So I went into reading books learning how to heal myself. After that summer when I was coming down from all that, I was super sluggish and it affected my digestion. I was never a drug user, but I was a spiritual seeker and I tried mushrooms because I wanted to see what they had to show me. In the summer of my early twenties, we were partying really hard. I stopped eating dairy and I became a vegan because I was allergic to some things like cheese. Robinson: What about your wellness journey as an adult?Īrie: When I was about 15, I started making my own choices about diet.

India arie songs life is a journey