Playlists

VDAY 2017.

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A love letter because... why not...

Dear Loved Ones,

And you ARE LOVED. The year has been long, and it's only February! You might be weary, and that's okay. Your mental and emotional health may have been tested, and you may be in need of a little pep talk, a breath of gratitude, or just some good old fashioned TLC. 

I found this quote placard in an old post from when COM|PASSionate REVOLT was a wider collaborative community project. So much has shifted, changed, and evolved, but the messages that were left here still remain. They're this hodge podge of well worn love letters hidden in our communal queer family attic, and I'm so immensely grateful for every damn word. 

Each blog post was this wholehearted gift from it's contributor, a vulnerable offering of themselves, and commitment to show up and be present. Each project that went swimmingly, the playlists we curated together, the yoga practices where we ended up giving each other high fives in between asanas because there were too many of us for the tiny practice spaces we filled, the tarot spreads that had more truth than we were ready for, and even the groups, events, and series that never quite got off the ground were these immaculate works of art and intention in of themselves-- finished even as they were works in progress. 

So wherever you find yourself on this fourteenth day of February in the year twenty seventeen, take a breath to nurture your whole perfect heart, and know that is so much more than enough. Your life is the narrative of epic tales and heroic homecomings-- even if it's unclear exactly where you are in your plot line. 

One day we're going to pull this old letter out and flatten out the corners. We're going to have to squint to read the words that have gotten lost in the folds of time. We may even struggle to recognize ourselves in the handwriting. Were we the sender or the receiver? Still it won't matter because we're going to know that we are in the presence of greatness. An expression and subject of love is always a thing of greatness.

Thank you for showing up and walking with me. 

Happy VDAY,

Traci 

**I couldn't attach message hearts to this blog post so please accept around an hour of a "Life in Pink." The whole class gets one.** 

COM|PASSionate Events

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Oh, hello friends! We're back from our travels and the summer is starting to cool down. It's not here quite yet but we can feel the change in the seasons hovering just around the corner. We're still  sweating around midday but there are these moments in the morning while we're drinking our coffee (and moments in the evening when we're drinking our whiskey) where you get this little crisp whisper beckoning in the Fall.

{Image Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3307399701921135/}

Take a lesson from the Fall breeze, friends. Take a moment in the mornings to look out on the horizon, take a moment in the evenings to look up at the stars, take a moment when the world feels like it's rushing by to take a long deep breath.

Sure, it's hot, but it's summer! Don't rush through it. Change is coming. Don't be scared of it. Everything is cycle. Seasons change, identities transform, day turns to night. Sink into it with peace and contentment. Breathe it in and let it fill your lungs with stars.

{Image Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3307399703599386/}

EVENTS

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

  • Long Beach First Fridays! Art Walk, Shop, and Dine! Spend some time outdoors enjoying the summer nights. Tonight's the night!
  • Downtown Santa Ana Artwalk! Already have plans for tonight? How about Santa Ana's September Art Walk tomorrow night 9.5.15 or September Artwalk After Party Sunday night 9.6.15???
  • OCFTM Annual Beach Party coming up on September 19th!

RECOMMENDATIONS

Is all this feeling like too much? Do you feel weighted down, discontent, lacking in access to light? We would love for you to sit in the abundance and potential of the changing seasons with us but want to validate that there are multiple things that bedevil our potential and agency which in turn instigate our scarcity anxiety.

If you're feeling the weight of other oppressive forces getting in the way of enjoying the night as much as you enjoy the stars or breathing in the fall breeze as deeply as you soak up the summer sun, meditate on how to expunge oppression from your life while you listen to this playlist from The Collective Tarot's interpretation of The Devil/Oppression.

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spotify:user:compassionaterevolt:playlist:1Cf5TCOMgJMb1jS5Gr7GUT

Deep breaths,

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.

Musical Temperance: Guiding Light

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Banner Oh, Seattle. People who barely know you always lament about the rain and gloomy weather, but last week you showed me nothing but sunshine.

I’ve just returned from the Emerald City from hanging out with family, attending Gender Odyssey’s Professional Conference (by the way, CR’s Traci was insightfully badass during the discussion portions of the panels we attended), adventuring in familiar and unfamiliar pockets of the city, and being reminded of the importance of slowing down and taking a breath.  

You see, I’m an accidental workaholic. Although I am admittedly lazy by nature (translation: I will have food delivered from this restaurant across the street from my apartment because I don’t want to put on pants and go outside), I have a hard time being still. I barrel through the days with little awareness of how I survived my work week and with nothing substantial to show for my efforts. I sometimes go through the month without knowing the actual date.  

Many of us were taught the value of being busy growing up. We were meant to feel accomplished when we were exhausted at the end of the day, but no one specified how we were meant to spend our time, and now we are busy just for the sake of it. Even during my time in Seattle, I stacked up my schedule so I worked in four hour chunks during random times of each day. As usual, I was glued to my phone, reading and responding to emails, text messages, and checking social media anytime I heard that familiar notification chirp. I was so wrapped up in the functional tasks of my day, I almost couldn’t get myself to slow down long enough to enjoy it.

Greenlake

I half-expected Seattle to have the same motivational current as Los Angeles, with everyone rushing to their next destination. Its dreamy stride was unsettling at first. I remember walking through Green Lake and being surprised by its wide open space and how familiar it felt despite the fact that I had never been to that park before. The sidewalks weren’t overcrowded with joggers. In fact, I was able to walk as slowly as I wanted. I was able to feel the dirt crunching under my shoes and breathe as deep as my chest could hold (which I rarely do in LA, because you know, dirty LA air).

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I was completely present in that moment, aware of how the afternoon sun hit the back of my neck and how my arms cut through the air with surprising ease with each step. I didn’t feel claustrophobic, as I often do in LA. If I wanted to change the direction of my path, all I had to do was point my foot where I wanted to go. We are often so swept up in the routines of our daily lives that we forget we have the ability to change the momentum of our lives. When we slow down, either purposefully or because cell reception is spotty and makes you want to throw your phone into a lake (not that that happened to me, of course), we have an opportunity for us to assess where we are, but more importantly, to use our desire and agency to either stay on path or change course.

MTLake

I sat at the water’s edge in Green Lake with my feet dangling above the dirt and rocks. The view was beautiful, spacious, and I knew exactly how I got there.

So this week, as I try to jump back into the chaos known as Los Angeles, I invite you all to take a breath wherever and however you need it. I had this playlist on repeat while I was exploring Seattle. It’s meant to be heard in a wide open space, a place where sound is able to travel effortlessly through the air.

spotify:user:thestarsaregone:playlist:6RV0izR05fYivvTxYLfoAO

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Kristel is a sometimes angsty writer from Hawaii who now lives in Los Angeles, CA. She claims she’s a Marketing Director at a web design agency, but she spends most of her day in front of the computer while wearing pajamas.

Musical Temperance is her small attempt at creating the perfect soundtrack to help her survive an extended quarter-life crisis. Additional musings and playlists can be found at kristelyoneda.com.

COM|PASSionate Events

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Heyo ADVENTURERS! Is everyone ready for the weekend?

We've been thinking a lot about change and journey- all the ways that we plan for the worst and hope for the best. We've been contemplating the positive potential of intentions versus the negative potential of expectations. We've been doing our damn best to travel with the spirit of The Fool and the wisdom of The World.

{Image Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/77616793554654339/}

We've been thinking about what it means to traverse the road of life in this way. We've been asking ourselves how to sink into trust that this is the best way to live. We're taking road trips and paths less traveled. We're stopping to smell roses (and fennel and sage and lavender) that we find on the side of the road. We're uncovering wonders in each other and treasures in ourselves.

{Image Credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/3307399703597611/}

How are your journeys going, loves?

EVENTS

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

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

  • Gender Odyssey is coming up at the end of August! Aunty Kate is doing the keynote and the programming looks rad! We're still not sure if we're going to make it up Seattle but we're crossing our fingers! We've heard the community and events around the actual conference programming is also the jam! Check it out if you can or put it on your roadtrip wishlist!
  • Some music and art love!
    • Heart of Art Gallery : This gallery/event space just popped up into our awareness and we are loving everything we've seen! We haven't made it out yet but hope to soon! Let us know if you go to anything! 80's night coming up!!!
    • Annenburg Space for Photography just popped onto our radar (okay, full disclosure we weren't doing anything artsy or cultured- we saw banners in Highland Park while we were getting vegan donuts at Donut Friend). We're hoping to catch the Emerging exhibit soon. We're also interested in this lecture on Radical Love. Lots of great free events!
  • OCFTM Annual Beach Party coming up on September 19th!

RECOMMENDATIONS

We are going to make it up to Seattle for Gender Odyssey next week so we're going to leave you with some travel music.

We'll miss you SoCal but all the good coffee will help ease the pain! <3

spotify:user:compassionaterevolt:playlist:4pPK2n2ohX14YyRfxteRDP

Missing you,

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!

----------

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.

COM|PASSionate Events

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Happy Friday COM|PASSionate REVOLUTIONARIES! {Image Credit: http://bit.ly/1QQCJxu}

Mmm... us too! Way too many tabs!

Close some. Come play.

EVENTS

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

{http://bit.ly/1MORU3P}

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

  • Gender Spectrum is coming up in July! "Gender Spectrum provides education, training and support to help create a gender sensitive and inclusive environment for all children and teens." They run an annual conference in Berkeley, CA for youth, families and professionals! Go check them out! Registration is now open! They are also looking for volunteers!
  • 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

https://open.spotify.com/user/compassionaterevolt/playlist/2CLja8lEMdHV2DynyFM8Me

Musical Temperance officially launched this week and it was SOOO good... a fridge full of ice cream good. If you can't wait two weeks for more Musical Temperance you can find Kristel's other words of wisdom here: kristelyoneda.com.

Listen to the playlist via Spotify or the blog above while you go about your weekends building community or pulling tarot- we're listening too.

Other upcoming goodies and ways you can get involved in the conversation!  MTTTCC

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!

COM|PASSionately,

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!

compassionaterevolt@gmail.com

----------

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.