Align Your Orbit: Sparkle

Align Your Orbit is a monthly set of philosophical and somatic experiments to guide you toward intentionality and impact. Find delight in these timely experiments. If you would like to receive these offerings as a monthly email, sign up here.

This deep into our futures, we have become experts at holding contradictory emotions. We hold acute joys and chronic pain together in one hand while we bloom out of the other. Even this unprecedented weather demands the glitter of life and movement. Don’t clam up now; the ground shakes beneath you and calls your name.

  *Artwork co-created by Ash and MidJourney

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Experiments for January

1.      Indulge – There’s no reason the holiday excitement needs to end in the new year. Give yourself what you’ve been craving. Discover new guilty pleasures. Listen to French pop music. Watch lesbian romance dramas. Revel in your sexuality.

Challenge Mode: Find the limits of pleasure. How much is too much and when do you feel satiated? Plan periods of breaks from your indulgences in the future so you can freely enjoy them now.

2.      Tune-up – Like any machine, your body needs a little priming before it really gets going. Lengthen your warm-ups and stretches before intense physical activity and take them seriously. Do snow angels in your living room. Lay down and shake. Just because you do something often doesn’t mean you can always jump back in where you left off.

Challenge Mode: Regular tune-ups decrease the likelihood of full blow-ups. Apply this logic to your closest relationships and clear the air. Hold space with kindness, determination, and compassion as you speak change into being.

3.      Miracle – To build the future, we must plan. Though the unpredictable nature of right now demands flexibility and constant adaptation, that doesn’t mean we should shy from setting dates and throwing wishes onto time. Be daring in the ways you curate what’s to come.

Challenge Mode: There’s nothing wrong with a full stop. You are justified in and capable of quitting because vibes. Refuse to let capitalism grind you to dust. Rest as a revolt. Walk out as an act of solidarity.

4.      Cyborg – The golden age of AI is upon us. Have you interacted with it yet? Use ChatGPT. Make an AI friend. Generate some art using MidJourney or Lensa. Explore what the future holds for you. Embrace the fear and excitement of the unknown and take the outstretched hand.

Challenge Mode: We’ve all identified that it’s difficult to make friends in this highly specialized, digital world. We need to introduce new methods and curiosities to the practice. Try finding new queer friends on Lex, go to new venues, or start a text-message pen pal relationship. Find digital connection and engagement that works for you.  

Andra’s Recap of December’s Experiments

The theme for last month was Forces in Our Control and included experiments around comforting resources, setting boundaries and their corresponding consequences, identifying cravings, and recognizing your own bandwidth.

It seems that I could never get enough rest this month. I bit off more than I could chew in terms of workload and especially lifting, and I ended up with a shoulder strain that put me largely out of commission for the end of this month. I can’t even crochet. But, it’s been an opportunity for me to focus on different aspects of my life and reflect on the habits that caused the problem.

I have contacted my emergency preparedness group, but so far I have been disappointed by how gadget-focused they seem to be. I am craving more of an accessible community atmosphere. More information to come as I get deeper into it.

I needed to set a tough boundary as I had to file for worker’s comp after my shoulder injury happened at work. It wasn’t really something I had intended on doing—I was in too much pain to think about it much—but this will help give visibility to what I’ve been doing and the stress I’ve been under.

In terms of hunger, I have been starving for rest. I just wanted to spend the end of the year curled up in a cozy ball in bed, but between the holidays and work, I kept having to get up and go. I’m hoping January will slow down to some degree, especially now that my work schedule is significantly more consistent.

I also made progress with Extinction Rebellion as we are starting a new affiliate group in Portland focused on art and theater. We are meeting for the first time at the beginning of January.

I hope you enjoy this month’s experiments!