A Paper Cut, A Korean Spa, and Aspen, CO: Speaking & Publications of Late

I've just flown in from Aspen (and boy are my arms tired! #throwbackjokes). This week has been a flurry of activity - from getting a piece published on Refinery29 to speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival, I and my words have taken me all over. So this week I'm giving you a recap so that I can get around to talking about my recent US travels and then maybe, just maybe, write something new! Stay tuned.

I spoke at the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival on a panel called "Millennials Losing Faith" with Casper ter Kuile, Naomi Schaefer Riley, Jane Shaw, and Mark Oppenheimer as moderator. My position is that Millennials are often spiritual but unaffiliated with organized faith for a variety of reasons, one major one being that traditionally marginalized groups (LGBTQI folks is one we talked about most) are not welcomed in these spaces. I talked about the importance of creating our own spaces within organized faith and making a distinction between 'bucking traditions' and not finding value in faith communities. Check out the video of the full session above! We also got a nice little write up in The Atlantic.

I also was asked to write a post for the Aspen Ideas Festival blog. I ended up interviewing myself! Read my thoughts on doula work, social justice, and art as spiritual ritual.

Refinery29 asked me to write a piece based on a Tweet I had about vulnerability and body self-consciousness at a Korean spa, so you can get into my head about that experience here.

And if you haven't gotten enough of me talking, I did an interview with Paper Cuts on ClockTower Radio alongside Elvis B., Sadie Barnett, and host Christopher Kardambikis. I read a potentially bloody, potentially hilarious segment of a perzine called By Their Proper Names.

And a final zine-y thing, my former boss and Feminist Zine Fest co-conspirator Jenna Freedman just wrote an awesome roundup of black zines for Bitch Magazine that shouts out the controversy at the BZF. Stick around for the rest of her series!

Ramadan is a Time for Feeling, Whether Fasting or Not

It's been a difficult beginning to Ramadan for me. Most of the time, I feel excited for the fast as a time of reflection and community. But this year I've felt stuck.

The night before the first full day of fasting, as we laid out dishes for the coming sehri, I felt irritated and nervous. I'd just come back from traveling across the U.S. and my body was already withered with fatigue; the hours of fasting stretched before me. I always set a few intentions during Ramadan, but this year feels like I'm getting back to basics. Feel more, write/create more, read religious texts and artistic works, challenge yourself. All the same things as the rest of the year but with the additional focus of fasting. I wanted to hurry up and prepare by making a few dishes of food, studying up on how much water to drink, and setting myself up well - in essence, I wanted to control it.

When I actually did begin the fast, I felt by turns resentful of others who were eating/drinking and then guilty for not sitting with my practice. I've been asking again and again the question: Is it better to keep going with a ritual when you feel embittered by it? Will you learn something vital simply by continuing to practice?

I think the answer to the second question is easier for me. I do believe that if I continue to fast, I will gain some greater insights into myself and perhaps even why I feel embittered this year as opposed to others (even while this year I feel like I've got my nutritional plans and other logistics better sorted than previous years). But I also want to respect what my body is telling me, with its mood swings and headaches, and make those decisions on a day to day basis. And so, I have chosen to wake up at sehri and decide then whether I will continue the fast that day.

With matters of religion, there are always people that will tell you that you're not practicing with the greatest level of piety. I have seen people floating around the phrase "let there be no compulsion in religion," which to me helps assuage the guilt of not being able to 'muscle through'. Because, in my heart, I know that's not the point of Ramadan. All of the intentions I've set point towards other purposes: Self-reflection. Going slow. Deepening spiritual practice. Listening to your body's needs and wants.

I'm excited to be going deeper with my practice through writing, reading Qur'an and generally practicing radical self-love. Here's to a month of profound spiritual wellness.

Ramadan Mubarak!

I'm going to be speaking at the 2015 Aspen Ideas Festival next week! I'm honored to be on a panel under the track "Faith, Conflict, and the Future of Religion." Stay tuned for how it goes.