Align Your Orbit: Next Permutation
Align Your Orbit is a series of philosophical and somatic experiments to guide ourselves toward intentionality and impact. Synthesized after years of conversations and now with inspirations from ChatGPT and MidJourney, we’re fully embracing our cyborg natures. Find delight in these journeys of exploration. If you would like to receive these offerings as a monthly email, sign up here.
Nothing could justify the harms being done to the people in Gaza right now. We stand in aghast horror at the weight of it all, watching a televised genocide. Remember that, even if your voice seems insignificant—your participation in the outcry reminds you of your own humanity. Be a person who speaks for the silenced.
Even while the present feels weighty and untenable, you must hold pleasure and enjoyment as a sacred bastion in this time of global crisis. Find ways to invite the complexity of now into your dance, your celebration, your joy. Expand what your spaces can hold by calling attention to what is. Rebuild your visions of the future.
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New Experiments
1. don’t wait – Your next life might never come. If there’s a person you want to be or something you want to learn, take steps to do it now. Choose an aspect of your life, your involvement, your environment, and make a change. There’s a temptation to cocoon, so let your body rest while you transform your mind. Let your mind rest while you transform your body.
Challenge Mode: Growth means entering the unknown. Leave the outcome open-ended and practice your improv. Pay attention to what you say when you don’t have a script. Let the answers out of your own mouth surprise you.
2. for simulated satisfaction – The media industry has mastered the ability to trick you into feeling an empty sense of accomplishment. When you engage in media, ask yourself what you’ve learned, how you’ve changed. Seek out entertainment that is more than just a distraction.
Challenge Mode: Navigate alternate histories and sci-fis as a way to understand the present. Let these guide your imaginations of what is possible for the future while avoiding the pitfalls of the past.
3. look through the curve – As you move through your next transition, don’t let compelling personal narrative discount the overall trajectory of your beliefs and values. While one human’s story might add context to numbers and headlines, remember the pitfalls of anecdotal evidence.
Challenge Mode: Whether it’s your Facebook memories or a visit from an old friend, you might encounter visions of your past self. Approach them with grace and a commitment to lifelong learning. You are never going to be perfect. Acknowledge harm and know that you are a new person now.
4. there is no destination – It’s easy to think of activism as a battle to win and set down again, but it’s a quality of being, a way to teach, a way to learn. How do you embody justice and seek it out in each area of your life? It’s all right to wait until opportunities come to you, but take them when they arrive.
Challenge Mode: Want to call for a ceasefire in Israel and occupied Palestine? We found this app called 5 Calls, which gives you a script and helps you find your legislators quickly to tell them what you think about the ongoing U.S.-backed war. It’s a great resource for other issues you care about as well.
Andra’s Recap for Here for the Growth Pains
The theme for last month was Here for the Growth Pains and included experiments around trusting unseen forces, experiencing gut feelings, acknowledging distractions, and playing with scale.
While I believe that unseen forces are at work in supporting my endeavors, I don’t always feel them. That said, I’ve gotten a lot out of trusting the ripple effect of what I’m doing now. One of my coworkers said that the goal is not really to change where this brick goes—the hope is that, 300 bricks down the road, something major shifts. I’m working to trust in that long-term labor.
I’ve had a number of novel interactions with my partner lately while we are embodying parts of ourselves. In one of those, two of our parts met for the first time and explored touch as a profound experiment of skin. It resonated so deeply and re-invigorated my interest in touch as a healing personal practice. Additionally, in another parts interaction, I spoke directly as my intuition and imagined what her life would be like if she were human. Letting her speak openly and without hesitation gave me a lot of trust in her wisdom.
Even during this time of veil-thinning, I feel like signs, omens, and otherworldly communications have been more silent than usual. It’s left me feeling a little adrift, but I’m practicing trust and rest in the meantime. My dreams feel a little elusive, but that might be related to having some trouble sleeping lately.
I’ve built in a practice of doing one administrative task for myself any time I find myself with some unexpected time, and that pause has helped me assess what it is I need in that moment. Overall, I feel as though I’m struggling a little with finding satisfying ways to rest, but it, too, is a process.
While I move a lot at work and have a regular yoga practice, I could stand to get more cardio. I’ve mostly successfully gotten into the habit of biking twice a week again, though I let myself skip it if I’m not feeling well.
In terms of scale, I’ve been feeling a lot of overwhelm, so one night, I asked myself: “What would I change in my life if I didn’t care about anyone but myself?” The very first thing on the list was that I would quit my current job. It made me realize that I’m really not there for me anymore, and I’m taking steps to remedy that. A sustainable position needs to serve me while I serve its mission.
I implemented a meditation regimen in the mornings for 10 minutes after I wake up, but I feel like, because I’m not fully awake, I’m not getting what I want to get out of the meditation. I think I’m due for a shake up there.
Sounds like I’ve got some changes to make.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy this month’s experiments