Only a late bloomer has accumulated enough wisdom to become a true cultural futurist. Returning consciously to that body is harder that it sounds. You must turn off all media, step out from behind screens long enough to rebalance, then be deliberate about you allow back in.
It may be subtle, but I do feel that your writing comes from an embodied place. I say this, because it offers clarity. Which is an elegant way to model what renewed trust could look and feel like, because clarity communicates safety to our nervous systems.
It’s like a small act of rebellion in an otherwise, as you say, “dead” internet. We must be alive in order to speak clearly and truthfully. Waking up our bodies wakes up our minds.
Anyway, very much appreciate your efforts to be a pioneer in this space. 🫶
Fascinating! The lack of trust (in religion and other authority figures) and the absence of physicality (in 'higher consciousness' spaces) are two of the very things that catalyzed what has become Firekeepers. When I was challenged to come up with a personal creed back then, I added a physical aspect to it for myself, connecting each value with a finger, in such a way that the values were literally part of my body, integrated, more material. Not just abstract ideas. It's exciting now, decades later, to see more of us starting to realize: there is such a thing as being too alive to 'optimize.'
Great piece! I wonder how the fashion world will navigate this change-so far we have had brands invest in virtual items and experiences, but I can feel it shifting.
There’s a chunk in this video when C Thi Nguyen - who has written a whole book about how metrics and scores are fun in games but oppressive in life - talks about how chasing points in climbing enabled him to connect with the inherent joy of embodied movement.
In other words, he integrates goal and purpose through the frame of the game.
Thanks for this, Jasmine. I hope we all find our way back home to our bodies. We are so acculturated to trust the external over our own inner knowing and give so much credit to the intellect, the mind. Spirituality often supports an escape, leaving. In fact one of the most significant woundings happens in utero/birthing and the defense pattern is called the leaving pattern. Where we disconnect from our bodies. I have spent the last twenty years on my own journey back to my body. It’s the most wise tool we have. I’m seeing the power of reconnection in the people I work with every day beginning to access and build trust in their own inner knowing through somatic, experiential, intuitive practices. It’s profound what shifts for people. I believe it’s truly what will bring about great change- when we all come home to ourselves and can bring our core essence to the world.
I think this is why the fragrance industry is having a moment and somatic surfaces are becoming ministers to our body. We are leveraging the senses to grasp wellbeing.
Another astute observation Jasmine! I read somewhere and I agree that the next Great Awakening of religious experience in America will come in the Catholic and Orthodox churches because of this very reason. Their expression of faith is a bodily one, much more than Protestant and certainly Evangelical circles.
I covered wellness trends in my previous life as a journalist and I found that the early adopters of fitness and wellness groups who succeeded were the ones who tied fitness goals with some sort of communal experience that was distinct beyond the normal running clubs or Jazzercise. I believe they're still around but Nerd Fitness fits your argument. They found a way to both embody good health and the mythologies of D&D, Magic: The Gathering, Star Wars/Star Trek, etc, that became a high signal of trust over time.
Only a late bloomer has accumulated enough wisdom to become a true cultural futurist. Returning consciously to that body is harder that it sounds. You must turn off all media, step out from behind screens long enough to rebalance, then be deliberate about you allow back in.
What an incredible opening line.
It may be subtle, but I do feel that your writing comes from an embodied place. I say this, because it offers clarity. Which is an elegant way to model what renewed trust could look and feel like, because clarity communicates safety to our nervous systems.
It’s like a small act of rebellion in an otherwise, as you say, “dead” internet. We must be alive in order to speak clearly and truthfully. Waking up our bodies wakes up our minds.
Anyway, very much appreciate your efforts to be a pioneer in this space. 🫶
Fascinating! The lack of trust (in religion and other authority figures) and the absence of physicality (in 'higher consciousness' spaces) are two of the very things that catalyzed what has become Firekeepers. When I was challenged to come up with a personal creed back then, I added a physical aspect to it for myself, connecting each value with a finger, in such a way that the values were literally part of my body, integrated, more material. Not just abstract ideas. It's exciting now, decades later, to see more of us starting to realize: there is such a thing as being too alive to 'optimize.'
Great piece! I wonder how the fashion world will navigate this change-so far we have had brands invest in virtual items and experiences, but I can feel it shifting.
There’s a chunk in this video when C Thi Nguyen - who has written a whole book about how metrics and scores are fun in games but oppressive in life - talks about how chasing points in climbing enabled him to connect with the inherent joy of embodied movement.
In other words, he integrates goal and purpose through the frame of the game.
https://youtu.be/jHrskVhWdsU?is=7fTfgSzIAYYoOTqg
Thanks for this, Jasmine. I hope we all find our way back home to our bodies. We are so acculturated to trust the external over our own inner knowing and give so much credit to the intellect, the mind. Spirituality often supports an escape, leaving. In fact one of the most significant woundings happens in utero/birthing and the defense pattern is called the leaving pattern. Where we disconnect from our bodies. I have spent the last twenty years on my own journey back to my body. It’s the most wise tool we have. I’m seeing the power of reconnection in the people I work with every day beginning to access and build trust in their own inner knowing through somatic, experiential, intuitive practices. It’s profound what shifts for people. I believe it’s truly what will bring about great change- when we all come home to ourselves and can bring our core essence to the world.
I think this is why the fragrance industry is having a moment and somatic surfaces are becoming ministers to our body. We are leveraging the senses to grasp wellbeing.
Thank you Jasmine.
Really enjoyable piece Jasmine and some wonderfully articulated insights 🙏🏼
Another astute observation Jasmine! I read somewhere and I agree that the next Great Awakening of religious experience in America will come in the Catholic and Orthodox churches because of this very reason. Their expression of faith is a bodily one, much more than Protestant and certainly Evangelical circles.
I covered wellness trends in my previous life as a journalist and I found that the early adopters of fitness and wellness groups who succeeded were the ones who tied fitness goals with some sort of communal experience that was distinct beyond the normal running clubs or Jazzercise. I believe they're still around but Nerd Fitness fits your argument. They found a way to both embody good health and the mythologies of D&D, Magic: The Gathering, Star Wars/Star Trek, etc, that became a high signal of trust over time.