Grits and Eggs Podcast: Episode 108 – Self Love & Deconstruction w/ Dr. Taylor Cummings

Date: December 15, 2025
Host: Deante’ Kyle
Guest: Dr. Taylor Cummings (Educational Psychologist, Ph.D.)

Overview

In this deep, candid conversation, Deante’ Kyle welcomes Dr. Taylor Cummings, a recently minted Ph.D. in educational psychology, to dig into the themes of self-love, deconstructing religious worldviews, the power of critical thinking, and personal and societal transformation. The episode blends stories about education, family, spirituality, mental health, and how to find meaning and community outside traditional systems. Both Deante’ and Dr. Cummings reflect on their intellectual journeys, their personal challenges—including experiences with spiritual crisis/psychosis—and the search for authenticity and communal liberation.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Dr. Taylor Cummings' Background and Journey (02:54–07:42)

• Dr. Cummings introduces herself: undergrad in Social Development and Cultural Change, M.Ed., and Ph.D. from UNLV.
• Started as a D1 student-athlete (soccer), but injuries shifted her path (03:48).
• Community college to HBCU (North Carolina A&T) was “life-changing”:
  • First time seeing positive depictions of Africa and Black history, not just pain and poverty (04:27).
  • Sparked deep questions about history, spirituality, and social/political realities.
• Initial focus: “The Miseducation of Me,” culminating in a dissertation titled:
  “The Miseducation of Taylor Cummings: An Autoethnographic Analysis of Belonging in the United States Education System and a Vision Towards Healing and Consciousness.” (07:25)

Notable Quote

“It was the first time I had depictions of Africa that were not desolate and poor... I saw lavish luxury, I saw resources. I started to understand what's really going on here.”
— Dr. Cummings, (04:27)

2. Navigating Religion, Race, and Education (07:46–14:32)

• Dr. Cummings' upbringing: private Christian schools (Eurocentric, white institutions), Black churches, but with lingering “white Jesus” imagery.
• Subtle but powerful psychological effects: feeling that divinity does not look like you (09:36).
• Deante’ reflects on his own church experience and how HBCUs/worldly exposure shifted his worldview.
• Both discuss how school and church often discourage questioning, instead favoring indoctrination.

Notable Quote

“You think that your God or the creator of the universe... is not somebody who looks like you. So really getting into the scientific and trying to bridge that gap between science and spirituality has been really important to me.”
— Dr. Cummings, (09:36)

3. Deconstruction: Questioning Everything (14:32–18:22)

• The etymology of “education” as drawing out, not stuffing in, knowledge.
• Asking questions is anti-indoctrination. Both guests describe how curiosity led to pushback from authority figures.
• Dr. Cummings details exploring African origins of philosophy, holding that “everything starts with the Greek” is a myth.
• Emphasizes reclaiming narrative and centering African contributions to civilization.

Notable Quote

“There's still more... to always unpack and understand. The deeper you go, sometimes people start to think you're being spooky... your bible is talking to you about consciousness—energy, consciousness, frequency, vibration.”
— Dr. Cummings, (14:32)

4. Deconstruction in Community and Relationships (18:22–26:37)

• Deante’ discusses the social fear of being ostracized for deconstructing religion—even among secular friends.
• Dr. Cummings speaks on early radicalism, being a “vibe killer” in her early 20s, and the pain/anger of new consciousness.
• Family dynamics: Her father’s agnosticism, her mother's journey from tension to understanding, and how education provided a bridge.
• The importance of respecting people’s paths; credentials help but “consistency of action” matters more.

Notable Quotes

“I was very radical... that's all I cared about. You know, it's like, what else is there to talk about? Like, niggas ain't free.”
— Dr. Cummings, (20:01)
“I’m a million percent a better person not being a Christian than I was trying to be a Christian.”
— Dr. Cummings, (22:05)

5. Managing the “Evangelical Phase” of Awakening (26:37–28:45)

• Both talk about the urge, when first gaining new knowledge, to convert or “awaken” everyone around them—even before fully processing things themselves.
• Advice: “Find people you can talk to. Not everybody needs to know what I know.” (Dr. Cummings, 26:37)
• The fear-based nature of mainstream religious indoctrination—fear of hell, of difference, of not fitting in.

6. Spiritual Crisis, Mental Health, and Psychosis (38:32–55:37)

• Both share experiences with “psychosis”—auditory and/or visual hallucinations—during spiritual awakening/crises.
• Dr. Cummings details a public episode (“derobing” in a classroom), subsequent hospitalization, and a severe drug reaction to antipsychotics (43:23–45:23).
• The struggle to distinguish between spiritual revelation and mental illness in a system that pathologizes “different” consciousness (42:43).
• Value in sharing and destigmatizing these experiences, connecting them to the search for meaning and liberation.

Notable Quotes

“There's been studies that show, like, no, this is literally just you;... it's just me conversing with myself and going through this information and trying to break down this information and make it make sense.”
— Deante’, (41:54)
“It's incredible that we've been able to experience things like this, and we come back from it, because not everybody comes back from it... I want to affirm you and your gift.”
— Dr. Cummings, (42:43)

7. The Power and Pitfalls of Knowledge (55:48–62:42)

• Knowledge as both liberating and isolating: “Once you know, you can't go back.”
• Discussion about how societal systems use fear and materialism to keep people docile and productive.
• The skewed value of labor and the artificial nature of money.
• How passions and gifts, not transactions, should drive a healthy, collaborative society.

8. Money, Labor, and Systems of Control (63:06–71:49)

• In depth breakdown of how capitalism keeps people segregated by transaction, rather than facilitating natural symbiosis.
• The “illusion of inclusion” politically; disenfranchisement under both red and blue.
• Why reparations or sudden money won’t fix Black America’s condition under current mental programming.
• True sovereignty means building new/as-yet-unimagined systems.

Notable Quote

“Money is the middleman and we don’t really need it. If you enjoy making clothes and I enjoy making bread... we literally have a micro-society.”
— Deante’, (63:41)

9. Media, Culture, and the Power of Representation (72:15–79:45)

• Why Black achievement and identity, especially in hip hop and social media, are often funneled into materialism and shallow status rather than community liberation or true self-actualization.
• Dr. Cummings: “I created a playlist to make sense of what it is that I wanted to do… we make meaning out of who we are and what we are through music.” (75:35)
• Value of diverse, holistic Black representation, especially for girls; the oversexualization of women; lack of balance between body and mind.

10. Collective Imagining: What Else is Possible? (79:56–89:36)

• The impact of collective imagination and consciousness on social liberation.
• Contrasts the U.S.’s fractured identity and lack of collective will with societies like Japan’s.
• Racism as ultimately damaging not only to the oppressed but to the quality of life for all.

11. Control, Power, and Changing the Narrative (89:36–94:46)

• The need for internal (not external) control systems—internal social control, self-regulation, self-actualization.
• Current systems foster obedience and hoard power through artificial hierarchies.

12. Religion, Critical Thought, and the African Origins of Spirituality (97:49–106:29)

• Energy, consciousness, and religion: The story of Horus pre-dates the Jesus story; all big three religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) share roots and control mechanisms (99:02+).
• Dr. Cummings recommends starting points for those deconstructing:
  • Dr. Anthony Browder (“why it’s relevant for Black Americans”)
  • Dr. Asa Hilliard, Professor James Small, Dr. Marinba Ani (“Yurugu”), Dr. Amos Wilson
  • Stolen Legacy by George G.M. James
  • Documentaries: Out of Darkness series, Hidden Colors
  • Online: The Real Marica, Prof. Kaba Kamene, Dr. Phil Valentine
• Deante’: “If the entire journey is about proving something is real, it’s probably not.” (104:19)

13. Closing Thoughts and Resources (106:29–109:57)

• Practical tips:
  • Read works by named scholars
  • Seek online lectures (YouTube: Serious Times Media, etc.)
  • Dr. Cummings is writing a book based on her dissertation, will have a Patreon, and recommends her TikTok: @the.self.love.doc and website.
• The guests agree: True liberation comes from the inward journey, self-actualization, and collective imagination; not “outsourcing” meaning or power to oppressive or external systems.

Memorable Quotes & Timestamps

• “There’s still more, I think, to always unpack and understand. The deeper you go, sometimes people start to think you’re being spooky. You know, you start to get into space, you start to get into the woo woo woo. But it’s like, nah, that’s what it is.”
  — Dr. Taylor Cummings, 14:32

• “I’m 1 million percent a better person not being a Christian than I was trying to be a Christian.”
  — Dr. Taylor Cummings, 22:05

• “Money is the middleman and we don’t really need it…”
  — Deante’ Kyle, 63:41

• “Racism... reduces the quality of life for every human being. It’s destroying you too.”
  — Dr. Taylor Cummings & Deante’ Kyle, 88:18

• “If the entire journey is about proving something is real, it’s probably not.”
  — Deante’ Kyle, 104:19

Resources & Further Reading

• Books/Authors:

  • Dr. Anthony Browder
  • Dr. Asa Hilliard III (Kemet, Afrocentricity and Knowledge)
  • Stolen Legacy – George G.M. James
  • Yurugu – Dr. Marimba Ani
  • Dr. Amos Wilson
  • Professor James Small

• Documentaries/Videos:

  • Hidden Colors series
  • Out of Darkness (Netflix)
  • YouTube channels: Serious Times Media, The Real Marica

• Dr. Taylor Cummings:

  • TikTok: @the.self.love.doc
  • Instagram/LinkedIn
  • selflove-doc.com (coming)
  • The LAB (Black Women Scholars Network)

Final Notes

This episode blends intellectual rigor with vulnerable, lived experience, offering both practical references and visceral testimony of what it means to “deconstruct” the stories you inherit, and courageously author your own worldview.

Full length: 01:50:54 (useful content ends ~1:50:54)
For more, follow Deante’ Kyle and Dr. Taylor Cummings on social media and check links above for upcoming publications and projects.