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Patreon Q&A

Patreon contributions are vital for sustaining Heart-Head-Hands: Everyday Living for Justice.

Subscribers can ask questions anytime and receive a Q&A newsletter each month.

You can “unlock” and receive access to all previous Q&A messages by becoming a patron.

The following are some previous questions and answers to give a sense of the Q&A:

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1. Do you have recommendations for speakers and facilitators who offer racial equity training?

I have two strong-YES recommendations:

  1. Sagashus Levingston, Ph.D. with Infamous Mothers offers a range of programming, and I know her work to be accessible, serious, inspiring, and so valuable!
  2. Monique Liston, Ph.D. with UBUNTU Research offers not only facilitation but also curriculum development, program design, and evaluation. I’ve worked with Monique for coaching, and I highly recommend her and UBUNTU Research.

Both Sagashus and Monique are deeply committed to antiracism and racial justice work. And their work always speaks to my heart. <3

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2. I’d love to bring a vegan casserole to Thanksgiving dinner. Do you have any suggestions?

I have family visiting this week, and I’m making several vegan casseroles, including green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, and my favorite potato and kale casserole (made with spinach instead of kale to please family members). We’re also having mushroom gravy, roasted Brussel sprouts, orange-cranberry sauce, and two pies: pumpkin and chocolate pecan.

You’ll notice that several links point to the blogs Oh She Glows and Minimalist Baker because these are two of my favorite sources for vegan recipes. I hope your family enjoys some plant-based yumminess.

And in addition to this food inspiration, I’ll share the Center for Racial Justice in Education’s guide for talking about and teaching Thanksgiving. And check out “6 Things Every Non-Native Should Do on Thanksgiving” by Brittany Wong. May we interrupt the holiday through conversation as well as through casseroles. 🙂

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3. Where can I learn more about contemplative pedagogies, or ways of teaching that center the body, including mindfulness, movement, and meditation? *AND* What could I read to learn more about embodied-awareness, felt-sense, and the like?

These two questions arrived on the same day, signaling the importance of sharing some academic resources.

First, I think of bell hooks’s work, as she often describes embodied ways of knowing.

Second, so much work on Indigenous epistemologies centers not only collective responsibilities (“all my relations”) but also intuitive decision-making (making meaning from everyday life and signs). Places to start include with Vine Deloria, Jr., Winona LaDuke, Malea Powell, and Bryan Brayboy.

Third, my gut feeling (yeah, a gut feeling to answer a question about scholarly literature) is to dive into the work of Black, Indigenous, and people of color: I’m thinking about how, in addition to bell hooks, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde, Alexis Pauline Gumbs, adrienne maree brown, and Gloria Anzaldúa, among other feminists and womanists of color, center the body and contemplative, mindful engagement.

Fourth, I’d suggest looking at Augusto Boal’s work and the many uptakes of his movement-based/body-based work, including in the Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (PTO) Journal.

Fifth, to add some of my writing, I’ll share this blog post about my contemplative writing course, this chapter on “pedagogical too-muchness,” and my co-authored article with Jasmine Kar Tang and Moira Ozias on movement-based workshops for critical tutor education.

I hope these sources are helpful, and I love that there’s such interest in contemplative pedagogies and embodied meaning-making.

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4. Your recent blog post on love, fear, and emotional overload was very helpful. While I found it clear, I admit that I am having trouble moving beyond old patterns of doing what I should or what everyone in my life has come to expect. How can I start to imagine new possibilities for myself without being overcome by the fear that I will fail and the shame that I might have done that already? How can I find hope that if I do fail, I can move on?

This question feels like a gift because I read the answers in the question itself. You’re already naming the emotions to wrestle with—fear, shame, and hope—as well as noticing how many old patterns are rooted in others’ expectations and the sense of “should.” You also wrote into the question the movement from fears of failure into hope—a movement that feels like it’s opening possibilities. So, let me say up front: you’ve got this. My additional thoughts are just support for your process.

So, in my life, I notice that whenever I’m desiring a shift (desiring to change something— whether at work or home, in family relations or everyday habits), all the “should” messages come up as resistance or perhaps as a sort of review of old thinking patterns before I can release them. One thing that helps me is making lists of thought patterns and noticing where they come from. I use a lot of freewriting when weighing decisions, and one exercise that’s shocked me in the past is writing “origin stories” (like mythology) of the thought patterns. You, too, could write the scene, characters, plot, and climax: getting to know the story so that you can rewrite it. The more you see the fuller picture, the more you can step in and change it, releasing old attachments and scripting a new chapter.

Another thing that helps me when making change is noticing what feels risky. For example, when I was considering the decision to leave my faculty job, I recognized that many of my fears were tied to downside risks, or potential losses. It’s easy to focus on such risks without attending to their relational partner: upside risks, or potential gains.

What helped me to work with fear was using the language of “risks” to track a wider range of uncertain possibilities. Some of my upside risks included a better alignment between my work with my commitments, daily time and attention dedicated to writing, and investment in healing long-term back pain. By imagining not only what could be lost but also what could be gained, I could see more clearly the potential benefits of making change and began investing in the mantra: “Do it scared.”

Thanks for these questions about working with fear and cultivating hope. There’s much more to explore, and I’m happy to continue talking and thinking together. <3

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5. Where do you recommend hiking near DC?

I’m still learning and exploring different trails near the DC area, and I’m sending this message from Shenandoah National Park, which is my favorite hiking location within a few hours. The photo above (shared with this post) looks down into Shenandoah valley, the view from my lodge room, as I revise, re-read, and send this message with love.

But I recognize that this question is asking about trails closer to DC, so I’ll suggest Great Falls National Park (both the Maryland and Virginia sides of the Potomac) and Prince William Forest, which has miles of trails running along Quantico Creek.

When solo-hiking for my birthday, I mostly walked trails on Theodore Roosevelt Island, in the National Arboretum, and along Rock Creek. These are all close and accessible, though also noisier with air traffic and road crossings. I hope this answer helps, and for those of you close or visiting DC in the future, I’d love to hike together.

—

These answers are written by Beth Godbee, Ph.D. through the Patreon platform.

If you appreciate this site, if you connect with the storytelling, or if you use any of the recipes or resources, consider becoming a patron. Patrons receive monthly Q&A newsletters and have access to all previous Q&A posts.

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Embodied knowledge matters. So do commitments. And especially acting on commitments as part of everyday life, BIG and small. This website—a mix of blog posts and research writing, courses and offerings—shares ongoing efforts toward everyday living (feeling, thinking, and doing) for justice.

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I’m really excited about @soulsupportlc and hope I’m really excited about @soulsupportlc and hope you’ll check out David (@dgs425)’s coaching support. 💗 See you at the launch?

#Repost @ericdarnellpritchard with @make_repost
・・・
Congratulations, David! 💜😭✨🌻🎉💃🏿💕 Today my beloved announced that he has decided to leave his position as a tenure-track faculty member in order to create more space to serve his purpose as a healer. Doing so, he has formally launched his life coaching practice, @soulsupportlc. I say formally because David has been a life coach to me and many of our kindred for a very long time. I am so glad he has chosen to share his gifts and serve his purpose more widely. Please follow his work at @soulsupportlc AND if your time permits, please register and attend the Soul Support Life Coaching virtual launch on June 30. Link in my bio!
vacation mode = cloud watching [Photo is taken l vacation mode = cloud watching 

[Photo is taken looking up at trees, clouds, and blue sky.]

#learningfromnature #cloudwatching #lookingup #trees #sky
I'm starting some time off for hiking and visiting I'm starting some time off for hiking and visiting family this week. And here's a photo of me at a North Carolina welcome center, high in the Appalachian Mountains, standing before a wall of blooming rhododendrons. I'm tired from all-day driving, but so happy to be deep in the mountains and surrounded by blues, greens, and even pinks! <3

#appalachianmountains #rhodadendron #blueridgemountains #home
Today’s newsletter points in multiple directions Today’s newsletter points in multiple directions, much like this turkey tail mushroom. (I love the striations of copper, cream, and olive green on these curly tails.)
 
Here’s a link to the newsletter on tending to brokenheartedness and burnout: https://mailchi.mp/99bd4ad2e962/burnout --> link in bio, too.
 
And if you aren’t receiving my newsletter but would like to, there’s a link to subscribe at the email’s end (just scroll to the bottom).
 
#LearningFromNature #HeartHeadHands #newsletter #brokenheartedness #burnout #resources
🧡🧡🧡 This touches my heart. Grounding and 🧡🧡🧡 This touches my heart. Grounding and guiding.

#Repost @yallaroza with @make_repost
・・・
The first person to show me the power of bearing witness was Helen, my first year Women and Gender Studies professor. Helen was a fierce feminist whose lectures felt more like prose, poetic and passionate. She made me want to take a hammer to patriarchy, and I loved it. 

With Helen, I felt safe enough to say the things I could barely articulate to myself. To name my wounds, to language hard truths, to let someone else in on my hurt. And with Helen, I felt held in those lived and living realities. There were no therapeutic interventions, no life adages, no solutions. There was simply a human being listening, honouring and affirming my experiences of misogyny, racism and sexual violence.

Years later, I forgot this wisdom. I went through therapeutic training(s) that, over time, left me feeling like that wasn't enough. That listening, and presence, and holding space for hurt wasn't enough. And in many aspects of life, I started to feel like I always needed a brilliant intervention that would offer an "aha moment." 

This week, I was reminded in many ways of the power of being present, of listening, of bearing witness. That you don't always need to have the answers, or offer your critical feminist thinking on a topic. You don't always need to have a solution, or advice. And you don't always need to intellectualize what someone's going through. Sometimes, you can just climb into the emotional fort they've built, grab a pillow, and be there. 

Yup, you can just be there, friend. And that's enough. 

(Consensually*)

♥️✨ Gratitude Tag: tag someone in your life who shows up in meaningful ways.
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About Beth Godbee

I'm an educator and former college professor who believes our fully embodied selves matter in the world. We can’t just think our way out of the incredible injustices, dehumanization, violence, and wrongdoing that characterize everyday life. We must feel and act, too. [Pronouns: she/her.] Read more ...

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