COM|PASSionate Events

Morning, loves! How goes it? We've been busy traipsing back and forth to the Bay to hang with some of the coolest middle schoolers around. Seriously...

Finally at a place where most of have to own the title of "adult," it's good practice to surrender to how epically un-cool you are in the midst of 11-13 year old gender rebels. I plan to bow my tarnished unicorn horn and step back gracefully. It's good self-care to let some of the whippersnappers "eat genders for breakfast!"

So we're cuddling up, slowing down, catching some outdoor time, and generally honoring our self-care.

What is your favorite form of self-care? What self-care is always accessible to you? Have any tips for the rest of us?

EVENTS

Get out, take care of yourself and heal in community!

• SATURDAY 7.18.15 Greet the Day Yoga, Deep Dog, Yorba Linda*
• MONDAY 7.20.15 Summer Flow, Yorba Linda*
• WEDNESDAY 7.22.15 Midweek Mindfulness Practice, Deep Dog, Yorba Linda*
• THURSDAY 7.23.15 Bones + Breath Yoga, Deep Dog, Yorba Linda*

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Don't forget there's lots of upcoming ways to get involved!

• You've done plenty of volunteering and advocacy this year! How about you do something for your queer kinky unicorn heart and run away to Amorous Revolt? Amorous Revolt is queer kinky camping, "To celebrate our bold love, our brilliant spirits, our playful (and sometimes serious) sex, our creative relationships, our radical interdependence, our perfect bodies, and our unstoppable power and agency."
• Hey younger COM|PASSionate REVOLUTIONARIES looking for something fun to do this summer?? How about Brave Trails-- a leadership summer camp for LGBTQ Youth & Allies?! Folks that are our age or older-- we know what you're thinking-- where was this camp when we were in high school?? Well, you can still go help out by being a camp counselor or leading a workshop! Go check them out!
• All of these internet shenanigans too much? Need to digitally detox? How about checking out Camp Grounded: Summer Camp for Adults! CA camp is over but you can still take a road trip to hit the North Carolina camp in August!

RECOMMENDATIONS

Oi! A little self-promotion or rather invitation to come heal with us! COM|PASSionate REVOLT will soon have physical office space at Deep Dog Yoga, Yorba Linda! However, in the meantime, you can already book appointments for Physical Therapy Wellness Services through COM|PASSionate REVOLT PT or LGBT, Queer, Genderqueer, Non-Binary, Non-Monogamous, and Kink Affirming and Knowledgeable Mind/Body Services through COM|PASSionate REVOLT Healing.

We're also dreaming up a COM|PASSionate Men's Group and other COM|PASSionate Out-tings! This is a collaboration so make sure to let us know if you have any ideas! In the mean time here's some self-care spots on the interwebs-- have more? Let us know!

Radical Self-Care Tumblr

Boxers + Binders Queer Self-Care List

Elixher Article: Black Queer + Trans Women Discuss Self-Care

Let's Queer Things Up Article: Self-Care for People With Anxiety

The Queer Fat Femme Guide to Life

Take care of yourselves,

The COM|PASSionate REVOLT Community<3

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*Events are put on by the CR Community/CR Community members. Other events are by friends of the CR Community or of interest to the CR Community. Feeling a little nervous about getting out and involved? Email us and if we can we'll make some introductions so you have a friendly face to say "Hi" to when you get there!

**Most of these events will be local to Southern CA (unless we notice an event that sets us off into road trip dreamland.) If you want to do a COM|PASSionate event round-up for your local area let us know!

***Are you an individual, meet-up or community group that has some COM|PASSionate events of your own? Email us for details on how to submit your event to our calendar!

****Have your own story about healing or thoughts on healing? Are you a queer vegan healer? Want to talk to your community about ways you're living consciously and connected? Do you want your blog, org, or event to be featured on one of our running series or want to do an interview introducing yourself to the COM|PASSionate REVOLT Community? Are you a unicorn in a pony world disguising your magickal star dust sprinkling mane to live amongst the commoners?

Pitch us a blog series or interview idea!! Contact us at compassionaterevolt@gmail.com!

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There are photographs in this post that were borrowed lovingly from the internet and do not belong to us. All are linked and credited to the best of our abilities in hopes of attracting more traffic to the photographers and websites who have blessed us with this imagery. The inclusion of a photograph here should not be interpreted as an assertion of the subject's or artist's identity or beliefs. If there is a photo included here that belongs to you and you want it removed, please email compassionaterevolt@gmail.com and it will be removed promptly, no questions asked.

Dreamwork for Survivors

I'm so pleased to announce that my very first dream class, Dreamwork for Survivors, is launching!

I've been away from this column for a little longer than I'd planned, but I've been hard at work getting this class together and it's looking SO GOOD, I have to say. Dreaming and healing happen together - they are natural parts of the same deeply human process, primary ways we make sense of our old stories, weave new stories, share our visions and encounter our own power. I have long wanted to host a dream circle, but I am deeply proud and grateful that I get to bring this work particularly to folks who are in this process of their own healing and self-discovery. When I talk about this project lately, I get a lot of curious eyebrow faces and questions like, "Survivors of what? Why?" Dreams have always been a big part of my life, and especially my path through the territory of healing and recovery, and so I forget sometimes that what makes total sense to me isn't necessarily crystal clear to others. I could talk ALL DAY about intersections between dreamwork and the work of being a survivor (obvs, so much to say that I'm making a whole class and workbook!), but I think some of the crux of it breaks down like this:

For my purposes here, a survivor is anyone coming through a powerful experience of loss, illness, or violation, and who carries awareness of this wound in understanding themself. Survivorship is a relationship with your wounds, an orientation toward healing, mapmaking in the dark. A survivor is a shapeshifter, learning her magic on the fly, dreaming up new ways to be in the world. Survivorship often entails having a troubled relationship with one's own body, feelings, dreams, and memory.

Dreamwork teaches us to spend time with the modality of memory: to bring careful and loving attention to whatever fragments, images, sensory experiences, and internal knowings rise up into conscious awareness, and then to value them on their own terms, without forcing the pieces together or interpreting them to death. To instead turn the pieces over and over and see what starts to emerge, what the pieces want us to know, what patterns may develop. Dreamwork asks us to sit with the discomfort of what these pieces bring and let our deep feelings guide us toward our truths, rather than imposing truth from the top down, so to speak. This process inherently reconnects our thinking minds with our experiences of body, emotion, intuition and imagination. It leads us to a healthier place where all these parts of ourselves get to participate in deciding what’s true and what’s meaningful for us. At the base of survivorship are experiences of having one’s rightful power and control taken away. We all react in myriad different ways to such experiences, but we share the root experience of feeling out of control, disempowered. Claiming a practice that makes new roots in your power and your imagination - a practice that roots you in your ability to control how you come to your truth and what you do about it, is a revolutionary healing act. We may not be in charge of what happens in dreams, or what happened to us in our pasts, but we are in charge of how we relate to those experiences now.

Dreamwork builds a sense of empowerment that feels collective and responsive, open and communicative, and diminishes the kind of power that gets stuck trying to control everything from on high - and that then feels angry or hopeless when that doesn’t (and can’t) work. I believe survivors, just going about the business of our own healing, have unique access to building the kind of open and constructive empowerment I’m talking about. Survivorship is ultimately about co-creating the space to remember, grieve, hold ourselves lovingly, and come into new kinds of relationships. Dreamwork naturally encourages, strengthens and supports all of these skills, and helps us experiences them in ways that show us we are not alone in this work.

I know you want to know more. There are a few ways to do that:

1) Join the first-ever Dreamwork for Survivors circle!

2) Pick up the workbook - available super soon - and each copy sold will support someone's access to the circle at a sliding scale, so you're directly supporting a local survivor as you learn more about working with your own dreams! Amazing! I'll announce it here so keep an eye out!

3) Stay tuned to Dreamboat here at Compassionate Revolt - there will be more dreaming adventure, future classes and circles to come. <3

Sweet dreams,

Kaeti

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Kaeti is a therapist, teacher, and dreamer based in Long Beach, California. All of her work (and play!) is interested in dismantling intersections of oppression and breathing magic and radical healing into all the daily corners of her life, into all the spaces of community she helps weave. ———- There are photographs in this post that were borrowed lovingly from the internet and do not belong to us. All are linked and credited to the best of our abilities in hopes of attracting more traffic to the photographers and websites who have blessed us with this imagery. The inclusion of a photograph here should not be interpreted as an assertion of the subject’s or artist’s identity or beliefs. If there is a photo included here that belongs to you and you want it removed, please email compassionaterevolt@gmail.com and it will be removed promptly, no questions asked.

Tarot Tuesday: The Fool's Journey

Hey there Tarot Tuesday fans!

So lovely to see everyone! Traci here of Picnic Lunch, COM|PASSionate Inspiration and general blog/website upkeep. Kaeti's still out of town so I'll be pinch hitting on this one.

I don't have nearly as much experience or knowledge as Kaeti with tarot, but it has been extremely powerful in my life. So I thought this would be a great time to do a post about how someone interested in tarot might get started exploring doing their own readings. Here's my first (and only) tip:

Start at the beginning. Engage in your journey through tarot as the Major Arcana would lead you through it... from 0... with The Fool as your inspiration and guide. The Collective Tarot describes the fool as a "hopeful and trusting traveler... perhaps ill-prepared and going solo." The Fool encourages us to leap forth into life as one would into a spontaneous roadtrip- "leaving lots of room for improvisation and spontaneity." You don't have to have packed everything you need (or even studied tarot as a long time dedicated student) you just need to "loosen up your expectations and open yourself up to chance. Intuition is a voice which speaks louder the more carefully you listen, and the Fool trusts her heart first in all matters. She is our first curious tendril stretched out to the universe, green and new."

I was lucky enough to have some wonderful human guides into my relationship with tarot. They encouraged me to find a deck that resonated with me and to shuffle, pull and make spreads that felt like conversations. When I drew a card and looked towards them wide-eyed for answers they asked, "What do you see?" When my Aries nature bowed down her horns, furrowed her brow and complained in exasperation, "BUT I don't know what the right answer is!" They smiled and said, "Sure you do, you pulled it."

I started to slow down, to let the art in front of me wash over me and through me. I took a breath and asked myself how the cards felt? I asked myself how they made me feel? I let the images, colors and symbols link back to my own set of memories, experiences and the lens throughout which I saw the world. The cards started to come alive, to talk to me and only when I felt like I had finished conversing with them did I look back through the deck books or start to google on the internet.

Each time I pull I learn a little bit more about myself and tarot. I've done a bit of study here and there and still sometimes have the urge to ask those with more knowledge for validation about my understanding of the cards but mostly I'm really grateful to always come to my deck as The Fool.

This wide eyed naivete has served me well. I've seen things along my journey that I wouldn't have if I knew what direction I should be looking.

So if you're interested (but mystified) in tarot I encourage you to find a deck that you like (whether it be the colors, the pictures or the meanings), borrow one from a friend or use an online card generator. Whether you're shuffling or clicking take a moment to set intention. As you take in your cards- take them in for what they mean to you. Then if you would like to also consult the internet googling gods- have at it! Pulling tarot doesn't give us answers anyway- it serves us with more to process.

Enjoy your tarot readings!

Your fellow fool,

Traci

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Traci {She|Her|Hers|They|Them|Theirs} is a yoga teacher, therapist and amateur tarot enthusiast! They try to believe in the power of their inner Magician, stay inspired by the Fool's spirit, understand struggle through the lens of The Tower/Disaster and always stay reminded that, "The Star Awaits..."

When Traci sat down to write this blog, in the intimidating shadow of Kaeti's illustrious magick and wisdom, they asked the cards for guidance + the heart of the matter. This is what they drew...

Of course I would pull The Code + Oppression. I had finished most of this post when I stopped to draw cards. I felt pretty darn good about it.. but I thought... I should maybe add just one more disclaimer that I don't know what I'm doing! My writing on the subject of tarot has no relevance! Use at your own risk!

I asked the cards for guidance/support. The Collective Tarot sets the scene for The Code/The Emperor as you navigating a "steam, sweaty bar on queer night. You are feeling good, looking good," when suddenly you "lock eyes with the pretty boi at the bar.. the one with the confident gaze and all the appropriate accoutrements." Eeks! Shut-up tarot... you don't know me! You're suddenly hit with a "wave of insecurity." This card invites us to challenge the way we identify, the way we understand ourselves, the way these self claimed labels support and confine us. Am I someone who can write about tarot? What is my responsibility to communicating this healing process to my community?

I laughed a little and blushed turning away from the lascivious and familiar stare of The Code's boi at the bar and back to my tarot deck. I'm sure they could see my breath quicken and heart rate race from across the room (read my computer screen.) I pulled once more. What was the heart of the matter?

Oppression/The Devil stared back at me. Was I the perpetrator or victim? What are the "discriminatory ideas or preconceived notions.. at play" in this situation. Oppression reminded me of something I'm all too familiar with in my personal life and work-- that it is everywhere. It can question and invalidate everything we do- especially when our experiences are marginalized ones. It's the reason why I've noticed that for myself, and a lot of queer folks, starting statements with "I don't know..." is a common part of our vocabulary. The Collective Tarot with it's always reflective and affirming hand reminded me gently to "Take comfort in the validation of your experience."

**Deep sigh**

... and that my friends is the magic of The Fool's Journey in reading tarot...

MHM Episode 6: More Than a Single Story

Good Morning REVOLUTIONARIES!

We hope everyone had a lovely V-Day and you all showered yourselves with lots and lots of love and self-care!

On today's Mental Health Mash-Up we talk about the complications of one dimensionality, how our stories serve us and how single stories/labels/identities limit us.

You can listen here or visit us at Libsyn!

http://traffic.libsyn.com/compassionaterevolt/MoreThanASingleStory.mp3

Here are links to some things we mention in the podcast:

• Invisibilia Podcast: The Power of Categories
• Queer Mental Health: Community based support and resource site
• Blog Article from The Gender Press on "Baby Storm: Raising a Genderless Child"

We hope you enjoy and we'd love to hear your thoughts!

 As always you can reach us at...

compassionaterevolt@gmail.com

www.compassionaterevolt.com

www.compassionaterevolt.wordpress.com

COM|PASSionate REVOLT FB

 In COM|PASSionate REVOLUTION,

Skye + Traci 

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Skye is a youth worker, educator, activist and white transmasculine human. Traci is a therapist, yoga teacher, educator and queer vegan femme-inist of color. They reside, practice, navigate, process, survive and flourish in the Southern California area.

Picnic Lunch

Good Morning Everyone! We know it's Tuesday~ "Where is our Tarot Tuesday scream the people?!" Well our resident COM|PASSionate Tarot-ist (Read it out loud… it's my new favorite way to describe the magic that Kaeti brings to the REVOLUTION) is off doing some healing inspiration finding and field research for a couple of weeks so we thought it would be a great time to introduce a couple of new blog series! Up for today:

Good Morning COM|PASSionate REVOLUTIONARIES!

Traci here. For those that may be visiting from past vegan blogging lands, you might know me as Guava or one half of Vegangelical. I'm a queer vegan femme-inist of color who practices in the healing modalities of talk therapy and yoga. I grew up on the Japanese American (family from Hawaii) version of meat and potatoes… aka meat and rice. I've been vegan for around six and half years. Here are some things you should know about me:

1. I like LOVE food. Food is a way that we nurture and fuel ourselves. Food is a literal interaction with our environment and engages all of our senses. Food can link us into our past, situate us in our present and help us invest in our future. Food can often transcend generational divides and create a center point for celebration and community building.
2. I'm not a nutritionist. Nor am I a vegan just for health reasons. However, I appreciate folks that enter veganism from this entry point and believe that I am MUCH healthier in mind, BODY and spirit since honoring my person with this compassionate lifestyle. I've also picked up a lot of physical health information since instituting consciousness into my food consumption. Most notably, I'm just more tapped into my body's wants/needs. I've started to listen- so my body's started to have dialogue with me- knowing it doesn't have to be screaming before I check in.
3. I'm not an immaculate environmentalist. I believe in the power of a plant based diet to help with a lot of our current environmental challenges but it hasn't been the center point of my practice- a place where I'm still learning. I believe in food not lawns but am also guilty of having vegan take out boxes in my trashcan.
4. I don't believe that veganism is universally or equally accessible to all humans. I wish it was because I believe so deeply in it's healing power- especially in relationship to my own marginalized identity pieces. However, I am also passionately invested in us finding systems that can look directly at flaws, even if those flaws are within our own communities/movements, break cycles of violence against all animals, human or otherwise, and institute sustainable patterns where folks have agency to prioritize self-nurturing and healing.
5. Hey, crazy vegan, each of those statements sound like a contradiction wrapped in an enigma. What does this "smorgasbord" that you speak of include anyway? You're right! It is! This world, who we are as we navigate it, the way we choose to traverse it and what we need to heal ourselves, our local/cultural communities and our global community is full of complications and intersections. I want to hold those complications and intersections so that we can be in an honest conversation about integrated healing.

That's the complicated way of saying--  I'm really excited to share tips, tricks and recipes with you all. You'll see some recipes that are good for the mind, some that are good for body, some that are good for your spirit and, when serendipity allows, recipes that are good for all three! We'll also talk about how to find safety and growth in living consciously and connected, the ways we come to understand what we each individually need to nurture ourselves and parse out what our responsibility is to create nurturing space for everyone.

Okay, let's end there as to not spoil our appetites.

Forks up! Napkins tucked into shirts? Roll up your sleeves. All in?

Good me too! I'll start prepping for our next gathering and we'll re-convene over some delicious COM|PASSionate fare!

In COM|PASSionate and RAVENOUS appetite,

Traci

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Traci is a COM|PASSionate vegan foodie and diligent student of interconnections.  COM|PASSion (Intention towards passionate compassion) drives their own healing journey as well as informs their healing practices. They offer themselves here to this space to feed, nourish and create dialogue over shared conversational meals and celebrations.

"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

Hippocrates