What are the 3 biggest key learnings from PhDJ?

1) I have a greater impact on people than I realize

2) I LOVE mixing wild, loud, bouncy music...which, given my classical music background, I never would have expected

3) The mixes I make are often medicinal for me - and so I have a new way to participate in my own transformation

What has your experience in PhDJ been like?

Absolutely revolutionary, for so many reasons: I have never encountered leadership like this, which is an extraordinary combination of powerful and vulnerable, and which inspires me to explore the same qualities, in myself; I feel like I've gone on an 8 month shamanic journey, in which I experience the very same things, as we go, that we are learning to give to others; I feel a strong sense of belonging to a community in a way that has required me to re-evaluate some of my beliefs about my relationships with other people; I have learned SO MUCH and each of the things I've learned also acts as a gateway toward the infinite amount of learning that is still available; the experience as a whole has felt like being nestled inside a cocoon that has been caught in a tornado and launched into outer space, finally falling back to Earth and landing on a treetop.

How would you describe PhDJ to someone who doesn't know about it?

PhDJ is a life experience as much as it is a course. It requires much more of us than to simply learn the material, and the "much more" is the most essential component. It asks us to establish true belongingness in a community. It asks us to reach into ourselves to find forms of creativity we don't even realize are there, and to understand ourselves in deeper ways. It is a vehicle for growth and change, and it is best approached with an open mind and heart, and a willingness to be challenged. It can also turn anyone - even those like myself, with no DJ'ing experience and a totally different music background - into a magical DJ with the ability to leave dancers changed at each encounter.

What shifts in your life have you observed from the work we did in PhDJ?

My life is now filled with music and dance, and play, and creative activity...whereas before, it was almost completely devoid of these things. I had lost my creativity and I was sure I'd never find it again. I had given up on being a musician years ago, when trauma stopped me in my tracks, and now my past as a musician has given me gifts as a DJ that I never could have predicted. I have also taken on projects that were previously not even figments of my imagination, such as leading a therapeutic dance group, and DJ'ing ecstatic dances. This has been associated, for me, with intense feelings of generosity that weren't accessible to me before. PhDJ has also led to a significant career shift, that has required me to say no to things I couldn't have imagined saying no to, in order to say yes to something that brings me so much more fulfillment. And in doing so, the world has not crashed down around me! I have also noticed I've become much more willing to be vulnerable with people in my life, saying more of what I really feel, and expressing a wider range of emotion. I am allowing myself to be more visible in the public eye (for example, starting an Instagram and Facebook account, whereas before I avoided it due to shyness and fear of exposure), and have even put videos of myself dancing and talking about dance online - this coming from someone extremely, extremely timid, who only agreed to dance for the first time in her life when the pandemic hit, because she could be invisible on Zoom. I did not imagine I could transform so radically. And, there is much further for me to go...but I feel more open to that now, and a little less afraid.

What are you most excited about for what's next for you?

Many things! I'll choose my top three: 1) Building a strong therapeutic dance program for patients referred to me with PTSD, OCD, and other significant psychological struggles (the context of this, for people reading this who don't know my background, is that I am a psychiatrist specializing in these challenges). I am already seeing the dance impact patients in my pilot group, and I absolutely cannot wait to offer this to more people who I know are desperately in need. Related to this is my excitement about DJ'ing ecstatic dances in non-clinical settings, where I can also offer similar therapeutic magic. 2) Playing with music and harmonies and enjoying the pure art of mixing, just for its own sake. 3) Remaining part of this extraordinary community, where I feel more at home than anywhere else.

What would you tell someone who is interested in PhDJ?

If you are willing and ready to become more of yourself and to develop skills that will allow you to change peoples' lives, do not hesitate to join. You will not regret it. Be prepared to make time for this course and to work hard, so that you can get the most out of it possible. Be open to surprising yourself and being surprised. Allow yourself to believe in the existence of a totally different world from the one in which you're used to living.

Where can we learn more about you?

Instagram: @dj_justinedembo