an amalgamation of thoughts
questions, updates, voting, playlist
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Hello Dear Friends.
I am writing this by the skin of my teeth, by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin. Which is to say that I am booked and busy. Arena Academy starts tomorrow (fyi: apply for our next training Arena Academy 201: Digital Skills / hit me up if you have questions), I have two applications due by the week’s end and I’m watching Real Housewives of New York for the first time. This is not me telling you that I am burnt out but I am telling you I am tired. This is me saying that I am alive and committed to the practice of this newsletter but that I don’t have the capacity for an in-depth considered missive this month. Instead, I am going to deliver an amalgamation of thoughts.
xo Jessica
We are asking questions.
As always, I invite you to join my weekly class at Heal Haus. Here are the questions that we have been exploring these past weeks.
Healing doesn’t always look like we expect it to. So much of what I have imagined certain events on my path to be or look like are not what I pictured. A big part of my practice at the moment is staying open when things “don’t go my way”. Where is there room for curiosity in your practice?
Earlier this month at the community garden we waited too long to pick the melons and they rotted on the vine. That same day, I went to pick some figs and found that several had rotted on the limbs. We can wait so long for something to be perfect that we spoil the seeds we’ve planted. How do we know when we are ready?
In Zen, nonduality is not a view or position, but an open-hearted practice of an intimate and transformative engagement with dualities and dualistic ways of thinking and being, which are so often the root of delusion, grasping and the suffering that flows from them. Where and how are we unnecessarily creating separation?
new date: I AM THE EARTH AND THE EARTH IS ME
A cyclone moved through New York and I had to reschedule my garden workshop. This might be fortuitous because now I can share concrete details with you all.
How can we build a more reciprocal relationship with the land we live on?
During this 2 hr. workshop, through contemplation, writing and photography, we’ll explore how the land we inhabit holds and carries us and what we can offer the Earth in return.
Meet your neighbors, get connected to 462 Halsey Community Farm and learn how to build more sustainable relationships with the natural resources of Bed-Stuy.
*Bring a Polaroid/instant camera if you have one!
Date: Saturday, October 7, 2023
Time: 11 am - 1 pm ET
Hosted by: 462 Halsey Community Farm
Address: 462 Halsey Street Brooklyn, NY 11233
Questions? Reply to this e-mail or hit me up in the comments.
When We All Vote 😉
As we move closer to the presidential election, my brain is swimming around organizing, deep canvassing, race class narrative, radical education, and generally how to authentically engage in community. This is alongside all the usual swimmings, like dharma, immigration, longing, exasperation with the “wellness” industry, healing and so on.
I turn this Substack over to you. What are you interested in reading about in this space? For the record, I will write about both, I will just favor one over the other next month based on the vote!
Fall Playlist
Work with me.
You can find me weekly at Heal Haus, monthly at Inner Fields and five days a week at Arena.
🌞
Such great questions for reflection. I’m really sitting with “Where and how are we unnecessarily creating separation?” I find myself engaging in black-and-white thinking frequently, and hoping to move towards embracing the nuance and messiness of life more often!