In the past few days, we as Americans (and as members of our interconnected world, wherever you’re reading from) have moved into a new stage of our collective experience.

As a historian, I know this is all part of a continuum. An evolution of groundwork laid over years, decades, and centuries aimed at oppression and intimidation, and marginalization and exploitation.

The question is, how are we going to meet the moment? As creatives, whatever our creativity looks like and however we embody it, how will we harness and play with that energy to bring forward something new?

Imagination and capacity are the two key things that are coming forward, for me, right now.

Imagination:

In terms of building a new world but also in using our imaginations to help us direct our attention and energy so we can be focused on creating. On being so fiercely dedicated to the building of a new world that the old world finally has permission to fall awya.

Capacity:

Nervous system support (critical always, but especially now) isn’t just about regulation. It’s about capacity building. The ability to cultivate and experience resilience, and to be able to engage in creative thought 

Read to the bottom for practices I’m using right now to support both.

The world is a lot right now. It is going to take time, and a lot of work on all of our parts, to get things back to something where (for most of us at least) we can feel regulated and calm most or nearly all of the time.

Our task of the moment is to learn to cultivate feelings of regulation, safety, and calm even as the storm clouds swirl around us.

To not let what is happening outside us deter us from creating and building so that we can see beyond those clouds but, more importantly, begin to walk in the direction where the storm clouds have abated. 

To take our creativity seriously, and to consistently engage in the act of creating, to take pleasure in that work, and to take pleasure in living and in moving towards our individual and collective dreams. Whatever is happening around us. 

That’s how we rebuild not just structures to govern us, but collectively-imagined infrastructure that allows us to be free. It’s how we keep ourselves sane in a seemingly insane world. 

History teaches us that in times of crisis we can support change in part by checking on our neighbors, using our voices and our privilege to help while centering the collective, not just ourselves. Stock resources without hoarding if that feels beneficial, and learn skills and/or learn to skill share. And to remember that we’re creating this world together.

Now, as ancestors ourselves, the future asks us to keep showing up, and to keep creating. 

Practices to try during a storm:

These are some of the practices I’m currently using. Try as is or modify, share with your community, or just use them yourselves. 

Imagination: 

Reclaiming your attention:

Part of what’s hard about this moment is that we’ve been trained for years to scatter and outsource our attention. Our decision making. The activities of our daily lives that are inconvenient. And so part of reclaiming our imaginations is also reclaiming our attention. 

Rather than trying to change everything, begin with one single practice to reclaim attention: 

Waiting to check your phone rather than checking it when you first wake up. Reading a book on the train rather than watching TikTok. Going to the grocery store once a week rather than opting for delivery. Whatever it is that feels slightly challenging but manageable. You can build from there.

I can also help with this, if you want to go deeper: Just reach out. 

Imagining:

Reclaiming our attention increases our capacity to imagine something new. And our imaginations are needed more than ever. Like with attention, choose one achievable way to bring more imagination and creativity into your week: Get together with friends, talk about community care and make crafts or write letters. Journal. Go outside and listen, or imagine yourself in energy exchange with the beings there. 

Start with one thing, then go from there.

I can also help you build these practices into your world, if that feels generative.

Capacity: 

Capacity and resilience aren’t just about holding big feelings or witnessing scary things, they’re about being able to cycle that energy through ourselves and to process in real time. As with any practice, but especially these emotionally tender ones, use your best judgment and remember this isn’t a competition or a time to let perfectionism take over: This is all about meeting yourself where you are. You know when you’ve reached the limit of what you can handle. Some emotional discomfort is normal, but if it feels like a crisis or like too much, step away if you need. 

Capacity building:

Each morning, as part of my meditations, I spend some time with the big feelings and just drop my awareness into my body and mind, noticing where those sensations arise and what they feel like. This isn’t about any feeling being ‘bad’ or ‘good’, it’s about allowing yourself to hold and experience them, and to build your capacity to feel safe, resourced, and grounded, as you hold them. 

I repeat the mantra “I have the capacity to hold this,” sometimes also with visualizations (like, for example, holding a large container that can carry all these feelings but still has room for more.)

Cycling energy:

If you’re trying to ground/center/clear and it feels really abstract to imagine releasing pent up energy or visualize healing energy flowing through you, a thing that’s helping me:

Channel all the big feelings and anything else you want to cycle into one visual substance. It could be black sludge, a ray of light, whatever feels natural. Imagine all of that pouring down into the Earth, being composted in real time, then cycled back up as fresh new energy and nourishment. Imagine this as an active loop running through you and the Earth at all times, and one you can always tap into when you have a bunch of extra stuff (whatever it is) to compost. 

 Imagine that loop for as long as you need.

Fermentation for grief and transformation 

I’ve also been doing fermentation as a way to process grief, and decided to offer that class recording again, as either pay what you can, or in exchange for proof of a donation to local bail funds, food pantries, or other mutual aid (just send me a screenshot, I don’t need your financial info). Reach out if you’d like the class (you can also see more about ferments and magic here). 

Sending y’all lots of love, and gratitude for being able to create the world alongside you.