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An archive of all past Queerly Embodied emails is now available. Simply scroll down to “Archive” on my website.
When the outside world is increasingly scary for the identities you hold,
When being perceived in those identities isn’t always safe,
Where can we find our anchors of safety?
How can we come home to ourselves?
How can we come home to each other in community?
How can we keep the internal light of who we are aflame amid political violence and oppression that is trying to extinguish it?
Today’s newsletter is about coming home to ourselves, and keeping the internal light of ourselves, our identities and our ancestors aflame in safe spaces. This concept is not new. It is deeply rooted in Black and Indigenous practices, of the works of Audre Lorde, bell hooks, Assata Shakur, and countless others. In writing this newsletter, I am also honoring the lineage of Black and Indigenous artists, activists, thought leaders, and individuals who created the roots of these practices.
To anyone reading this who is BIPOC, a person with a lineage of immigration or migration, who is trans, gender expansive, queer, or who carries an indigenous lineage of gender expansion, who carries the intersectionality of multiple identities, welcome. And, an invitation to take a deep breath, and pause in this moment.
Wherever you are located right now, wherever you are in your gender journey, however you are navigating the political violence and fascism impacting yourself and your communities, you deserve an internal place to come home to. A place either embodied in yourself, or an altar in your home or the natural world, that helps you remember the core of who you are. Home can be complicated. Amid displacement, genocides, family estrangements and traumas, our physical homes can bring up pain. In coming home to ourselves, we have an invitation to radically envision a felt sense…
Of belonging.
Of offering anchors and safety to our parts even if for a moment.
Of remembering.
… that even when you have to code switch, when you experience being misgendered or encounter transphobia, when you mask parts of your identities to stay safe … There is a place that keeps that flame of who you are alive. A flame of remembrance that you can return to after a day navigating the world, during a sleepless night full of fear, or to fortify you as you enter another day in our current world. The invitation today is: Cultivate what coming home means to you in this moment. Cultivate that flame of remembrance of you that will hold you and stay alight as you navigate the days ahead.
Embodied: Is there a place inside of you that holds the flame of your identities that you can turn toward and feel into when you need it?
External: Is there an altar you can build that contains symbols, photos, and representations of who you are, your ancestral lineage, and the gifts of ancestors both through relation and through chosen family that are holding you in these moments? Community: Are there communities (remember: even one trusted friend is a community: that you can share this concept of coming home with, so that you are not alone, and are seen and held in who you are? The natural world: Are there natural elements - trees, land, or animals, that hold you in this moment? Coming home is different and unique for everyone. Let your coming home honor your unique system of parts, of identities, of ancestral lineages and practices. Let your process of coming home keep the flame of who you are alight to sustain you in the grief, fear, rage, and other feelings you are holding.
And let this process of coming home help you stay rooted and grounded. In solidarity,
Eula
For more T4T mindfulness practices, visit my T4T meditations SoundCloud page. More will be added regularly.
I have several slots open for pro bono, time-limited, virtual somatic resourcing sessions. For a full description of this offering, visit this link.
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