• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Heart - Head - Hands logo

  • Home
  • About
    • Beth Godbee
    • Commitments
    • Publications
  • Blog
    • Contemplative Practices
    • Emotional Literacies
    • Everyday Feminism
    • Higher Education
    • Interviews
    • Racial Justice
    • Recipes
    • Why Vegan?
  • Work with Me
    • Coaching
    • Courses, Retreats, Workshops
    • Career Discernment
    • Pathways Through Burnout
    • Writing Groups
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter

Patreon Q&A

Patreon subscriptions 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 subscriber.

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

This image shows Q&A written in white chalk on a black chalkboard.

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

Untitled design

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. 🙂

Untitled design (1)

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.

Copy of Untitled

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

2019-06-29 20.48.07-1

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.

Please also consider subscribing to posts and liking this blog on FB. Thanks!

Primary Sidebar

About This Site

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.

Subscribe via Patreon

This button from Patreon says “Become a Patron” in white font against a bright orange background.

Subscribe to Newsletter

featured offerings

This e-course announcement shows a yellow sunflower and blue sky. It includes a textbox with the following information: “E-COURSE AVAILABLE NOW! Career Discernment for Academics: Aligning Career with Commitments. Self-paced study, exercises, coaching, and more ...”

This ad reads: “Time to write! Writing Retreats. Learn more @ Heart-Head-Hands.com.” A white coffee mug and table appear in the foreground, with golden chairs and walls in the background.

This image shows writing tools (phone, keyboard, journal, pencil, and pen) along with the event information: “Online Writing Groups. Tuesday afternoons & Friday mornings. Come Write Together: Heart-Head-Hands.com.”

This image shows a blazing campfire in a mountain setting at dusk. It shares workshop information: “Practices for Navigating Burnout. Interactive Small-Group Workshops. Offered by Beth Godbee, Ph.D. & Candace Epps-Robertson, Ph.D.”This image shows a scene of wrapped packages, a pine cone, and evergreen branches. A white text box shares the circular logo for Heart-Head-Hands: Everyday Living for Justice, and another text box reads: “gift cards available.”

Categories

  • Contemplative Practices (61)
  • Emotional Literacies (85)
  • Everyday Feminism (106)
  • Higher Education (52)
  • Interviews (10)
  • Racial Justice (64)
  • Recipes (22)
  • Why Vegan? (12)

Footer

bethgodbee

Updates to the new offering “Pathways Through Bu Updates to the new offering “Pathways Through Burnout: A Cohort Experience”:

For the past year, Candace and I have been listening to requests for an offering around burnout (or, more precisely, being burned up), and we launched a new cohort experience August 1st. We are deeply grateful for the range of responses we’ve received since then, and we’ve been prioritizing time to listen and discern what people want and need.

Through a lot of conversation and reflection, we’ve decided to slow down further and to reshape the offering. 

We’ll continue offering interactive workshops on practices for navigating burnout—with new dates announced for November 3rd and December 15th (and more to come in 2024). 

Starting in January, we’ll hold a few one-day retreats with time for art, play, contemplative practice, conversation, and coaching. We hope the retreat will feel like something that’s possible now (with so many pushes and pulls on time and attention).

All of this is leading to a 12-week version of the cohort experience: a season of connection to match a season in life. We’ll reopen applications in the spring and hope that a small group forms well ahead of our start date in September 2024.

The details of all of these experiences—and an invitation to join the workshops in Nov and Dec—are shared online here: https://heart-head-hands.com/pathways-through-burnout/ 
✨✨link in bio✨✨

And we continue to appreciate all sorts of feedback (questions, suggestions, affirmations), so please reach out anytime. <3

[Image says: “Pathways Through Burnout / Practice Workshops / One-Day Retreats / Cohort Forming for Fall 2024” and shows photos of the two of us—Candace and Beth—side by side.]

With @dr._candace_epps_robertson_ #burnout #update #practice #contemplative #meditation #writing #art #retreat
I am slow to edit and share photos, but I want to I am slow to edit and share photos, but I want to share these from the Beyond Granite public art exhibit that just left the National Mall here in DC. I wish this installation was staying long-term. How I struggle with visiting the Mall in the best of conditions. And how these pieces helped me appreciate what could instead be done in this space. 

Also, Jonathan and I got really lucky that the night we visited was the most spectacular sunset! Scroll through for photos of how "America's Playground" appears against an orange sky (no filter).
In case you missed it, here again is the new inter In case you missed it, here again is the new interview with Candace Epps-Robertson @dr._candace_epps_robertson_ :
https://heart-head-hands.com/qa-with-candace-epps-robertson/
✨✨link in bio✨✨
 
This photo shows Candace at a BTS concert, Permission To Dance LA, December 2021.
 
Among the wide-ranging subjects Candace addresses are her experience with #BTSARMY fandom and her current work with museums.
 
Read to the end, where Candace talks about the importance of listening for pursing justice. :-)
New blog post (this one has been a long time comin New blog post (this one has been a long time coming)!
 
It’s an interview with Candace Epps-Robertson -- “On Seasons of Life, Writing, and Career” -- https://heart-head-hands.com/qa-with-candace-epps-robertson/
✨✨link in bio✨✨
@dr._candace_epps_robertson_ 
 
I am incredibly excited about this interview because Candace speaks to a wide range and depth of curiosities. Her related work ranges from reflecting on her journey as part of the BTS global fandom ARMY to curating museum exhibits to teaching writing with visual art and music to caring holistically for ourselves as writers and to navigating burnout. Candace describes the underlying motivations—the deep why—behind the range of questions she asks about social justice, cultural rhetorics, literacy, and writing. It’s clear that this range speaks to the importance of everyday, integrated living for justice: for striving toward justice in all ways of showing up and being in the world—relating, listening, and living.
 
[IMAGE: Photo shows a close-up of Candace Epps-Robertson, Ph.D. with head tilted to the side and smiling.]

#writing #writingcommunity #interview #blogpost #highered #highereducation #literacy #literacyeducation #rhetcomp #writingstudies #bts #btsarmy #museums #art #rest #burnout #socialjustice #socialjusticeeducation #culturalrhetorics #questions #curiosity #listening #everydaylife
If you (like me) feel like you can't keep up with If you (like me) feel like you can't keep up with the posted speed, consider joining this Saturday's writing retreat. There will be guided meditations, time to connect in small-group and one-with-one, and time to write or journal or create on your own. Retreats are certainly one way to claim "me time."

Here's the link (with multiple registration options): https://heart-head-hands.com/product/writing-retreats/
🏕️🏕️link in bio🏕️🏕️

And this photo is of my partner playing around on a path in Shenandoah that we always find hilarious. The posted speed limit of 20 miles/hour feels very at odds with navigating vegetation on foot. :-)

#writing #writer #hiking #hiker #metime #slowingdown #writingretreat #retreat
Load More... Follow on Instagram

About Beth Godbee

I'm an educator and former writing studies 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 ...

This image shows books alongside the words: courses, coaching, consulting. learning + unlearning.

Copyright © 2023