spring transits ✈️
cleveland, pittsburgh, atlanta, asheville and brooklyn
If you would like to support this work, in the spirit of generosity, please consider becoming a paid subscriber.
Hello,
How are you?
Earlier this month, there was an earthquake in New York City. I thought my building was falling down. Then I got on a flight to the Path of Totality, to spend time and watch the total solar eclipse in Cleveland, Ohio with Jen. Then I took a 1:00 am train to Pittsburgh, to Moynihan Station. Then I got on a flight to Atlanta. It was bumpy and I was aware that I felt scared and did my little techniques throughout the flight to settle my fear.
After Arena Summit, S.R. met me in Atlanta and we - he - drove through the evening, past a Pizza Hut Classic and into the Blue Ridge Mountains under a Scorpio full moon.
At the end of our Asheville trip, we walked straight onto the tarmac to fly into a sunset miniature model of New York City. Yesterday, I celebrated 11 years of living in Brooklyn.
Sharing some more moments from the past, current and future below. I hope you’ll listen, donate and RSVP to these various offerings. See you in May.
xo
Jessica
Listen to Spiral Deeper.
Gaby Azorsky is a dharma friend on the spiritual path. We have been in informal sangha together since around 2018, when we both worked at MNDFL.
I’ve always loved her offerings (Almost Heaven Radio! had / has me dreaming of a radio show of my own) and I was honored to be included in her latest, Spiral Deeper, a podcast which Gaby describes as “a place to nourish deep conversation and connect over the paths that we wander, that shape us like rocks in a waterfall to being who we are”. What really made me smile listening back to this conversation, was Gaby’s reflection of how we spent many weeks together at the front desk silently enjoying each others company (one of my favorite ways to be in space with other people).
In this conversation, I share my path to dharma, lovingkindness, wisdom for starting your practice, home, ecology, interdependence, community, and “McMindfullness”.
Listen and subscribe to Spiral Deeper.
Donate to 462 Halsey Spring Fundraiser.
Help us 462 Halsey Community Farm raise $2,000 by April 30th!
Support local community green space by donating to our Spring Fundraiser! Community green spaces have never been more important. With the reduction of city-wide compost programs, 462 Halsey’s community composting program is essential to building sustainability in Bed-Stuy. This year, we will be increasing our compost program, providing education, and utilizing the compost produced to reinvigorate our plants and better serve the community with our harvest. The 462 Halsey Community Farm is 100% volunteer lead and run.
This year, our community can also expect more workshops spotlighting local voices on topics ranging from environmental preservation, culinary arts, creative arts, bee-keeping and more. All of this will be done while offering a space for community members to connect and become empowered to engage with the land around them.
Other projects funded by your donation include: mitigating the impact of rats 🐀, building a new rain barrel system 🌧, and contributing to the sustained existence of green space in Bed-Stuy for years to come 🌀!
Support our efforts by donating here.
RSVP for the Black Zine Fair
In May, I’ll be facilitating the workshop “Writing Our Rage: An Exploration of Audre Lorde and the Uses of Anger” at the Black Zine Fair.
This workshop draws on the essay “USES OF ANGER” by Black, lesbian, feminist, mother, poet warrior, Audre Lorde. Participants will recall their personal histories of rage, and respond to Lorde’s call to build intimacy with anger “to stand still, to listen to its rhythms, to learn within it, to move beyond the manner of presentation to the substance, to tap that anger as an important source of empowerment.” Workshop participants will be invited to share and reflect on a moment of rage and resistance from their personal narratives. Drawing on memory and lineage (blood and otherwise), participants will use prompts and prose to explore anger, connecting the thread of this strong emotion to bring forward new perspectives toward our liberation. Together, we’ll write our rage, drawing inspiration and strength from those who have resisted before us, claiming our political inheritance of anger as a source of power. The workshop will include 30 minutes of guided exploration of text, 30 minutes of creative writing and will end with a 30-minute story circle of works written during the workshop.
Work with me.
You can find me weekly at Heal Haus, five days a week at Arena, intermittently at Inner Fields and often at 462 Halsey Community Farm.
🌞