5x physical form

Our physical form. The inescapable vessel we navigate this life through. The easily perceived creative expression of ourselves as we exist in this moment.

I am very fortunate that I have had a peaceful relationship with my body from an early age. This was supported by the fact that society had a peaceful relationship with my body as a white, cis, able bodied, thin, traditionally feminine person. I have never had a serious injury or illness that has given me reason to doubt or mistrust my body. My gender identity, although sometimes limiting or discriminated against, is generally perceived to be aligned with my physical body which protects me from a lot of harm. I have experienced great pains and great pleasures but neither has caused me to lose my connection to this living breathing vessel. Because I have such a peaceful relationship to my body it does not seem fair for me to reflect on the limits of my relationship to it. There are others that struggle everyday for what I have. And yet it is precisely because of that I feel it is still important to reflect that I am not my body.

I am not body, and in a blink of an immortal eye my body will break down and fade to dust. All of its quirks, concerns, and candor are fleeting at best. This inherent flaw renders all else mute in its shadow.

So how to live a creative life in this temporal form? Here are a few things I have been contemplating.

1. Rae Spoon’s latest album Bodies of Water they explore how like bodies, water is heavily regulated and increasingly commodified, despite being fundamental to life.

2. Everything You Know About Obesity is Wrong via one of my heroes Kimya Dawson who had this tender Instagram post on the subject

3.Our Sister Becky: What If The Doctors Had Listened to Her By Kate Beaton via The Cut

4. Shon Faye interviews Travis Alabanza about their new theatre piece BURGERZ via Alok Vaid-Menon

5. Music Video for Sea Dragon by Covet

5 x seeker

I had the great fortune of staying at the Yasodhara Ashram for a month as a karma yogi in their young adult program. It was a beautiful transition between seasons, and deepening thirsty roots that had been forgotten. During my time there I got take a closer look at the motivating forces in my life, and really hone in on how I would like to focus these energies in my next chapter. Entering this community enriched my personal practice deeply, and reignited a deep desire within me to ~know~ more. I'm currently reading Ram Das's book Be Here Now and he talks about the searching feeling of each of us looking into each other's eyes "do you know?" And the ultimate satisfaction of finding someone who Knows. It was encouraging to be in a community of such earnest seekers. I've spent the last couple weeks transitioning back, and here are a few of the things I have been considering as I do. Enjoy ~

1. Oprah Winfrey talks to Thich Nhat Hanh an 20 min excerpt via Super Soul Sunday
2. Kardinsky on the Spiritual Element of Art & The Artist's Three Responsibilities via Brain Pickings
3. Something About Mary via Ascent Magazine
4. Marias: Faith in Womanhood on Netflix
5. Music by Sheenah Ko

5x infinite game

Lazy Sunday pondering the infinite. Happy Leo new moon 💕

1. Cradle to Cradle Design via Ted
2. Chance The Rapper on Tiny Desk Series via NPR
3.What happens when a pastor goes poly? Via the insightful Anne Barker
4. The Yarn Film now on Netflix
5. Karma action & results

5x sensual silence

It takes me so much longer to put together these lists these days. I’m not in a receptive mood, but I’m not in a creative mood either. I’m oscillating between contemplative practices and social sensory stimulation. Trying to find a way just to exist in the world without coming or going too much. In the course of that here are a few things that have come up for me.

1. Listen to Mulatu Astatke – New York Addis London (full album) via Broken Trancy Things
2. What Do Your Sexual Fantasies Say About You? via Slutever
3. Helmholtz Resonator via the book I’m currently reading Dramturgy of Sound in the Avant-Garde and Postdramatic Theatre
4. Bob Dylan on Sacrifice, The Unconscious Mind, and How to Create the Perfect Work Environment via Brain Pickings
5. Inspired by the art work of WITCHORIA revisted on The Hoodwitch

5x (come)immunity

Here are a few things that have rolled across my consciousness lately. I’m spending more time in quiet reflection than reading or writing these days. I am practicing being fully present. Listening to what is around me. Learning from what is there. It’s an inwardly reflecting period, so I don’t have as much to share here. I’m working on the poety & other small miracles still. Enjoy

1. Color Schemes new track by my pal Eden
2. In Defense of the Wastelands by Erica Violet Lee
3. Arlissa on Hearts Ain’t Gonna Lie
4. Anil Dash on Tech’s Moral Reckoning via On Being
5. Date night idea making this while listening to Miranda Krogstad recite her Ode to Pasta