Powerful session, combining all our voices to address what needs clearing away (same old ____ showing up in a new form, pretending change)
So many answers. Some of my favorites:
gaslighting
fake outrage
misguided and ungodly priorities
greed
fear
lies
patriarchy
greenwashing
racist policing
criminalization
Clearing away the "same old" recurring patterns requires first naming and recognizing them.
I hope to become the ancestor who helps remind that healing comes in great circles of love with self love at center. The one who reminds of the power of sacred “No” and “Yes” . The one who helps them remember right rituals of earth and mother love. The one who healed and offers healing. The one who knows her true name so they will never forget. The one who helps them know that we belong to each other, to the earth.
I'm so grateful for this whole series. Each conversation between movement leaders has been informative and inspiring, and the healing justice practice at the end of each session is especially nourishing. Thank you!
It is my original quote above.
We rise by uplifting others. We fall by putting others down. Women are the epitome of strength. We as a species are unbreakable. So, let's continue to rise together. The only way to love others is to love ourselves first.
Resistance, power
not in the institution
but in the people
The epitome of change is defined by tenacity, fearlessness and courage. I am author, T. Younger and I was recently attacked by 3 female TSA agents. My ordeal transpired during a routine security check at the LAX airport. I was on my menstrual cycle and then became falsely accused of harboring drugs in the maxi pads. The alarm derived from the scanner did not go off. I was then escorted for additional excessive fondling and digging in the back. I was not allowed to have a companion witness accompany me. These female agents violated tons of proper procedures. They were combative beasts and caused damages to my attire. I am of mixed race and it was probably motivated by that. Due to a Coronavirus global issue, I was forced to be wrongfully touched in private areas period. These unjust, unfair practices must be stopped. It depicts a Nonsensical abuse of power. It was a painful, public display of drama. I was bleeding profusely. I am a well educated, law abiding citizen. These unnecessary acts happen on a daily basis. If people did not travel, these workers would not have jobs. They must show RESPECT AND STOP THE BULLYING. My joggers were searched and my under garments were destroyed. I filed a report with the Federal TSA. Let's stand together as females and make a CHANGE.
T. YOUNGER
I knew that when we were going to write about power
that it was going to be our type of power and
not theirs.
A power that does not hurt
that does not stab
that does not burn
but that calcifies and glows
has a wingspan of 50 fucking feet.
And I thought about just today when I talked to my Nana on facetime for her 92nd birthday
I felt powerful because I felt engaged
I felt powerful because I felt in control
I felt power because I felt love and because
I felt that love reciprocated.
I know, it's a weird answer
one without a podium or an agenda
one without me screaming to ensure I'm heard
but it came to my head and so, I guess, it's the right response
for a person who feels powerful
in the presence of love
in the presence of power.
All 92 years of it.
The future cries.
I weep with her, knowing that all the world lay at my will.
But, what will shall I push out of my womb into this plane?
What will shall I exert and inflict upon those who swim and float and drown in the circles around me?
What will shall I create, piece by piece, and moment by moment, through my own evolution?
That will shall be justice.
That will shall be inclusion.
That will shall be freedom for all people to grow in process, stretching and bursting forth from their own shells of -isms applied by the masses who do not struggle against their cases.
That will shall be understanding, empathy, and the peace which comes from shared stories, witnesses borne of curiosity and empathy.
We shall be we, the burdens of us and them far behind us.
That will shall be ally.
Repair looks like making attempts to fix what is broken. If it can not be fixed, taking steps to heal it through communication and actions. Actions that are beneficial to the thing or person that was broken not the actor.
Belonging feels safe, secure, valuing, loving, happy, carefree, warm, confident...
I envision true beauty,
Something I can see beyond the eye,
One who stands tall,
Even when it's not their fault.
I want to see all those who stand free,
Chin held high,
and refuse to bow.
These are not our problems,
But we must not ignore the trouble.
My troubles are not problems,
but it always recreates a rumble.
I refuse to give in,
because I know it won't be free.
You and I are not the problems,
We're just mixed in the troubles,
We will refuse to let in,
Because there's not place to set free.
This is not the end,
but just the beginning,
just like they said in the eighties.
You and I are here to stay,
Just like how our parents were made to be,
We are not like the rest who can't speak free,
This is our space declaring to our galaxy,
but this is just the beginning,
This is our place to be free.
Without us,
who will be set free?
Only you and I will know in reality.
For me, repair is about duality. It is personal and social. It is internal and external. It is looking back and looking forward. Repair is going within myself to mend what is broken and bruised. It means holding light to the shadows, for ignoring that darkness would allow the wounds fester. Repair means climbing into my creature comforts: meditation, '80s punk, radical books and cabbage rolls. It is a great expression of love. Repair is about looking around me. Trace the generational, the cultural and the social traumas that are at play in the world. These massive forces require a type of repair, too. A repair that looks at my whiteness within broader race contexts, my working class roots in building class struggles, my Americanness in an increasingly international context. Repair is seeing the life my mother lived, and her mother before her. It is about the process of understanding.
We are never absolutely at rest, at standstill. We are always moving in a direction. I have to believe that if I never repair, I will never move in the direction that I desire. May my direction be positive, hopeful, loving, and heartfelt. May my direction of change be one in which I take steps forward for those who couldn't. May my direction be one in which I hold hands with people who don't look like me or see things exactly as I do. May my direction continue to develop as I continue to heal myself and my community.
It feels like being accepted and understood with the freedom to be imperfect. It feels like love.
Comfortable, at peace, full heart, joyous, supported, accepted, seen, loved.
I attended the Feminist Futures: Our Feminist Roots event and was so thankful I did! The content was empowering and gave a good overview without getting too in the weeds. The presenters were engaging and fun and dropped lots of great reading list suggestions along with all the other knowledge and experience they shared. Their acknowledgement of the historical rifts between feminists and their encouragement of intersectional feminism was insightful and avoided navel-gazing. I really appreciate this series and hope you continue to offer such great learning outlets.
Tonight's educational experience centered me. Everyone was wonderful and incredibly inclusive. I loved the breathing/relaxation techniques used at the end of it.
Belonging to me feels like the nurturing nonjudgmental support I get from the creative feminine body wisdom practice of trauma-informed Chakra Kundalini Yoga.
I find unity and calm in the face of a chaotic, often judgmental, critical field of normative conditions I have never fit into and never will. Rather than seeing my difference as a deficit, Chakra Kundalini gives me through its many inspired modalities that include mantra, humming, meditation, breath work, body alignments, liberating asanas, chakra clearing, intuition channeling, visualization, sound healing, singing, trance dance and rhythmic drumming, a feeling of being the right person in the right space at the right time.
There are no people that come into this since it is a soul relationship with spirit and nature. From this rooted place of worship, I want to offer others the refuge and relief I receive and am currently training to become a certified Trauma-Informed Kundalini Teacher.
This certification will allow me to offer this healing and self-empowerment to many, especially to social justice activist communities on the front lines especially in need of potent self-care and spiritual resilience.
My background as an ERA, voting rights, and gender equality activist lends itself extremely well to serve these communities, my strong connection to spirit, and my work healing Holocaust, antisemitism, and misogynist violent ancestral trauma, make me a fearless match to light the flame of a Feminist Future. The primal sense of belonging provided by a Chakra Kundalini practice will crush the lack of belonging that the dominating white supremacist patriarchy aims to undermine.
Not being alone but together. Others holding space for my own fears (and joys) and sharing with others who will not judge. Community, safety, identity, love, understanding, empathy, security, strength in numbers, ACCEPTANCE.
Thank you for the beautiful meditation on belonging. For me, belonging feels like being known and appreciated for who I am and the gifts I bring to my community. I am lucky to have such a community here in Oregon.
