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courage

Commitment Statements: Questions and Answers Pointing Toward Action

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Everyday Feminism, Higher Education, Racial Justice By Beth Godbee February 28, 2022 Leave a Comment

This image shares folded paper in the shape of a leaf surrounded by the words: “Small-group commitment statement coaching. Part II. Wednesday, March 2nd 1:00-3:00pm ET (2 hours). Heart-Head-Hands.com. Email to get registered.”

Commitment statements are living documents: a way to clarify deep dedications and priorities and to make them actionable both in everyday life and for the long haul. For several years now, I’ve been working with commitment statements as a way to better understand my own commitments and where I’m out of alignment with them—and, importantly, to realign and strive toward justice. This work has grown out of my collaborative research on “Making Commitments to Racial Justice ... Read more ...

Walking Meditation for Writers: A Contemplative Writing and Walking Practice

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee November 5, 2021 Leave a Comment

This cover image for the YouTube video shows a photo of Beth looking down toward the screen. The photo is framed by a yellow-orange-pink border and the text: “Walking Meditation for Writing Motivation: Walk & Reflect. Contemplative Writing Practice, Beth Godbee, Ph.D., Heart-Head-Hands.com.”

Sometimes serendipity and unexpected connections make for excellent contemplative writing moments. To close this series of posts on contemplative writing (for now—more posts are sure to come in 2022), I want to share another guided meditation: a walking meditation for writers. I was presented with the unexpected opportunity to record this meditation during a recent writing retreat. A participant asked for guided meditation during a mid-day walk. I love walking and ... Read more ...

Lessons from Turtles, or How I’m Practicing Saying “No” to Say “Yes”

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee August 26, 2021 2 Comments

This image shows a woodland box turtle with a yellow and black patterned shell peeking its head out, with its eye just visible. It’s on gray gravel terrain, keeping an eye on me as I snap this photograph.

Recently, I moved homes, and throughout the move, I kept seeing turtles. Turtles walking across trails, peeking out of shells, and sunbathing on logs.Turtles in real life and on divination cards and in photographs.Turtles of different sizes and species: box turtles and snapping turtles. At first, I thought these turtles were symbolizing that home is with me wherever I am. To go home, go within. This message continues to be comforting as I create a new home-space. Then, I ... Read more ...

Planning Writing Projects: Workshop Handouts and Resources

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee June 29, 2021 Leave a Comment

This screenshot shows the registration page for “Planning Writing Projects.” It includes a photo of Beth teaching (body facing and writing on a dry-erase board) and a lot of text, including the workshop title, date, and description shared above; the Fayetteville Public Library’s name and logo of a yellow exclamation mark; and tags of the age group: adult and the event type: writing workshop.

Welcome to this page of handouts and resources for the upcoming workshop: “Planning Writing Projects.” This workshop is offered through the Fayetteville Public Library and sponsored by the Brown Chair in English Literacy at the University of Arkansas. Much gratitude to Professor Eric Darnell Pritchard (the Brown Chair) for initiating and sponsoring this collaboration! I'm really looking forward to this virtual, public workshop coming up on Thursday, July 29th. I’m sure ... Read more ...

Reflection Questions for Committing, Creating, and Pacing This Summer

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee June 9, 2021 Leave a Comment

This photo shows a late summer afternoon. The corner of a green picnic table points toward a green field and blue lake stretching out to blue-green hills. Leaves hang down, and puffy white-grey clouds float overhead. The scene, hopefully, captures the possibilities of summer: open, outdoor space inviting contemplative practices.

Recently, a Patreon subscriber shared that they appreciate reflection questions, and their feedback prompted me to consider which questions feel especially important for this summer (summer 2021). Spinning off the original Q&A response (shared as part of the Q&A newsletter for subscribers), here are some questions I’m sitting with. These are influenced by the CHANI app (“astrology for self-discovery, mindfulness, and healing” by Chani Nicholas and team). The app ... Read more ...

Reflections on Silence, Fear, Courage, and Writing: Always Come Back to Writing

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee March 1, 2021 Leave a Comment

This book cover for Your Silence Will Not Protect You, an essay collection of Audre Lorde’s work (published posthumously), is pink with Lorde’s name and the title/quote appearing along with her image.

This past month I’ve read Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Journals: one of the books I’ve heard and thought and talked about long enough that I’ve felt a knowing of it, yet never read it. And the timing of reading it now—during a global pandemic, in the midst of winter, and at a time when I’m trying to figure out my relationship with worsening asthma—has felt miraculously timed. It’s felt particularly significant to read Lorde’s oft-cited quote “your silence will not protect ... Read more ...

Interrupting Thanksgiving: Three Responses to Disrupt What’s Normalized on This National Holiday

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Racial Justice, Why Vegan? By Beth Godbee November 24, 2020 Leave a Comment

The text “Interrupting Thanksgiving: Three Responses to Disrupt What’s Normalized on This National Holiday” appears against grey wooden planks and green, white, and orange pumpkins.

Each month, I write a Q&A newsletter for Patreon subscribers based on questions I receive, and this month, it felt important to share these responses as a blog post. It felt important because I received three questions all related to the upcoming holiday: How do you interrupt the Thanksgiving holiday? How do you prepare for conversations with white family members? For example, how do you handle situations where people say “let’s agree to disagree” to shut things ... Read more ...

What Is White Fragility?

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism, Racial Justice By Beth Godbee September 30, 2020 Leave a Comment

Against a dark orange background appears the following quote: “It’s important to name that white fragility can manifest in aggression. Or, when not outright aggression, then as defensiveness, which peace studies scholars describe as the first step of offensiveness.”

How can those of us who identify as white, who are conditioned into whiteness, and who have internalized white supremacy recognize and respond to emotions before they do harm? How can we take accountability when they do? And how can we recognize complicity with the long-standing harm and systems that prevent taking accountability? These questions motivate the “40-Day Practice: Strengthening Emotional Stamina to Counter White Fragility”: a daily practice of ... Read more ...

How Do We Build More Accountable Lives?

Filed Under: Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee August 21, 2020 Leave a Comment

This image shares this week’s question—“How do we build more accountable lives?”—along with meeting information: “Processing the Pandemic with Heart-Head-Hands. Wed, Aug. 12th.” Text appears in a central box that looks like a letter partially out of an envelope. The colors are red, orange, and yellow.

This week’s processing group asked the question: “How do we build more accountable lives?” In the past few months, I’ve been inspired by and drawn into this question, using it to reflect on how I act on (and fall short of acting on) my commitments. I’m greatly influenced by community organizer Mia Mingus whose work focuses on transformative justice and disability justice. During Wednesday’s group, I read aloud a recent Instagram post by Mia Mingus, and I want to share ... Read more ...

Summer 2020 Is Calling for Change, and Processing Groups Can Support Change-Making Reflection and Re-Commitment

Filed Under: Contemplative Practices, Emotional Literacies, Everyday Feminism By Beth Godbee June 29, 2020 Leave a Comment

This image shares this week’s question—“What is becoming intolerable and demands real change?”—along with meeting information: “Processing the Pandemic with Heart-Head-Hands. Wed, July 22nd.” Text appears in a central box that looks like a letter partially out of an envelope. The colors are red, orange, and yellow.

Among the many needs of this time, holding spaces—that is, spaces for processing, reflection, somatic awareness, and grounded re-commitment—feel particularly important. With this need in mind, I’m continuing to hold lunchtime processing groups: “Processing the Pandemic with Heart-Head-Hands.” Throughout the spring, these groups felt supportive for me—like I’d learn or remember or release something new with each session. So, this summer, I'm continuing to facilitate  ... Read more ...

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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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bethgodbee

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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