Hi Friends-
Here in the northern hemisphere, we are less than a week away from the winter solstice β the shortest day of the year. Normally, the shorter, darker days tip me right into a mild seasonal depression, but I've been feeling fairly upbeat so far this year. What a gift β maybe things really don't have to be so hard.
I just recorded a new episode of the podcast that explores how wellness culture keeps us focused on all that we are not, all that we lack, and all that we need to heal. I talk about how we can counteract this "energy of lack" by coming back to the present moment, working from the here and now, and appreciating how much magic and goodness we already embody.
Tune into the latest Hurry Slowly epi "You are already that," or scroll down for an excerpt from the episode in place of the usual essay below.
If you're interested in joining my new Finding Your Voice course, the deadline to save $30 on early-bird registration is tomorrow, Friday, December 15th. You can learn more and book your spot here.β
I've been fielding a few questions from folks wondering if FYV is the right fit, and I also wanted to share some more details on how the course works on multiple levels (e.g. intellectual, energetic, and spiritual), so I recorded a quick voice memo to offer a little more clarity.
βListen to a 5-min voice memo from yours truly on "finding your voice."β
Much love,
Jocelyn
You are already that which you yearn for.
*An excerpt from the new episode of Hurry Slowlyβ
As someone who has most definitely not experienced enlightenment, but may have experienced some mild awakening from the depths of my slumber, my experience is that waking up is not an easy or certainly not a graceful process.
In fact, I think it's very much like when you wake up in the middle of the night to step out of bed and go to the bathroom, and you realize that your foot is asleep. So first you stumble and then you sort of hobble along and then that slightly magical, slightly painful feeling of walking on pins and needles comes into your foot, and maybe you stop and massage it a little bit, and then you hobble around a bit longer and then, eventually, voila, your foot is awake!
I would say that fairly accurately describes my experience of awakening.
And lately I have been walking around on pins and needles as I notice all of the ways in which I spend so much time trying to be anywhere but here β here in the present moment.
I'm noticing the little pinpricks of comparison β how I look to others to see how I measure up to them or how they measure up to me. How I might look outside of myself for approval or to feel like I'm doing a "good job."
I'm noticing how I needle myself with worst case scenarios to gin up anxiety that pulls me into my head and out of my body, out of rootedness, and out of the present moment.
I'm noticing how I can turn to my relationships with others as a way to escape myself thinking, Oh, you know, let me help this person fix this thing or that thing so that I don't have to think about, or work on, all of my own sh*t.
It's a tingly, prickly kind of noticing, this waking up. It's not particularly pleasant hobbling around the world like this, but it is⦠constructive. You have to learn how to hobble before you can run, as they say.
So I'm starting to notice all of the ways in which, mentally and energetically, I have this tendency to go somewhere else and to not be here.
At the same time, I'm noticing what's happening at the opposite end of the spectrum. How when I am truly present, how when I am truly rooted in my body, how when I am truly here, those are the only moments in which I can be truly grateful, in which I can notice everything that I have.
Those are the only moments in which I can see and feel who I truly am. Those are the only moments in which I can really experience pleasure. I was recently revisiting an interview that I did on this podcast with adrienne maree brown, which is one of my all time favorite interviews.
I was talking to her about her book, Pleasure Activism, and I remember in that conversation that all of the different examples that adrienne shared with me about finding pleasure, and even all of the examples of pleasure that I could think of for myself, they were all instances in which I or other people were completely present in the moment. They were instances of pleasure that happened in the real, 3D, embodied, present moment.
And it really kind of clicked in my consciousness in that moment that we can only experience pleasure when we're truly here. When we're truly in our bodies, when we're truly present. I think it's also true that we can only heal when we are here, when we are truly present in this moment.
But one of the great challenges to this is that in our culture, the environment that we are living and breathing in all of the time, is always encouraging us to be somewhere else, to not be present with our current self as it is. To not focus on what we are, or what we've accomplished, or what we love, or what we want to celebrate, but to focus on what we are not, where we have fallen short, where we are wanting, what we lack.
βKeep listening to the Hurry Slowly episode, "You are already that which you yearn for" ββ
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LINK ABOUT IT
βWe're sedating ourselves with self-care. A good piece in The Guardian about how, as per usual, America has taken a collective, structural problem and placed it squarely on the shoulders of the individual: "Wellness has become a new form of faith. As organized religion has retreated from everyday life, she argues, wellness has rushed in to fill the void. 'It's providing belonging, identity, meaning, community. These are all the things that people used to find in their neighborhood church or synagogue. Wellness offers some sort of salvation on the horizon.' It also offers the illusion of control and empowerment."
My new podcast episode, You are already that which you yearn for, also speaks to the ills of the wellness industry and is definitely in conversation with the above piece.
βNobel Prize-winner journalist Maria Ressa on the fragility of democracy. This is a beautiful and inspiring interview with Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa about the imminent dangers of social media, AI, and authoritarian dictators: "Democracy is fragile. You have to fight for every bit, every law, every safeguard, every institution, every story. You must know how dangerous it is to suffer even the tiniest cut. This is why I say to us all: we must hold the line."
βUnmasking AI's racism and sexism. A great conversation on Fresh Air with computer scientist and AI expert Joy Buolamwini on how facial recognition technology is riddled with the biases of its creators. (Joy is also the founder of the Algorithmic Justice League β these are the superheroes we need!)
βAI, ain't I a woman? If you don't have time for the above interview, don't miss this searing 3-minute poem from Joy Buolamwini, which seamlessly marries art and data to show the stunning inadequacies of what our current AI systems "recognize."
βI had a lovely chat with Leo Babauta on the Zen Habits podcast about productivity vs receptivity, expertise vs being experimental, and the importance of self-trust.
βStop multitasking. No really β just stop it.β
βReturning to our original settings.β
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βJust for fun, my favorite Xmas albums...
βThe Staples Singers - The 25th Day of Decemberβ
βLow - Just Like Christmasβ
βVince Guaraldi Trio - A Charlie Brown Christmasβ
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Offerings: How you can work with me β β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β Join me in cultivating a deeper relationship to your self-expression in 2024 with "Finding Your Voice." This four-week course will help you open up a more expansive and empowering relationship to self-expression and build the self-trust you need to step into your voice. You can use the early bird discount "FREETHEVOICE" to save $30 through Dec 15th. Learn more and register here. β I have a few remaining slots for 1-on-1 energy sessions in December. My one-on-one energy practice focuses on helping individuals connect more deeply to their intuition, self-expression, purpose, and creativity. You can learn more about what working with me looks like and book a spot here. Currently, I am focusing on working with folks who have already participated in one of my online courses or energy offerings. If you don't fit that bill but are still keen to work together, drop me a line by replying to this email and we can set up a brief consultation call. : ) β β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ β¨ |
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SHOUT-OUTS:β
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βThe illustrations are from: Andrew Footit, who is based in London, England.
Link ideas from: Jessica Bozek and Sebene Selassie.
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βYou can support me & my work by: Participating in one of the many offerings listed above! : )
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Website: jkg.coβ
βTwitter/X: @jkgleiβ
Copyright Β© 2023 Hurry Slowly LLC, All rights reserved.
Mailing Address:
βPO Box 832, Woodstock, NY 12498
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