Who are you, asked the teapot as we poured ourself into the cup. I was once Alice and now we are becoming. Here, see and feel and taste for yourself. Becoming is a beautiful place.
I appreciate this line of enquiry and all the gems in this post, Sophie šš¼
āIām not an expert. Iām a lover. I just love what I write and talk about.ā This is why I love the describing myself as an amateur: doing a thing for the love of it.
The last time someone asked me for a bio, I opened with this:
'"The text: the words are immobilised on paper by the chemistry of ink... Poor words, they have lost their freedom." - Rubem A Alves
How can someone describe themselves in such a fixed medium when they are never the same person from moment to moment?
Hello, I'm Jez. I'm part human, part kingfisher, part oak tree, part snail. In this moment, snail and kingfisher are arguing about what to say next. The tree is staying silent.'
I can relate! Itās a hard place to be. Itās not easy to ādefineā ourselves to ourselves, let alone for anyone else. The older I get, the harder it is, because Iāve morphed a few times, but the underlying essence, purpose has never varied. Which is to bring people to fall in love with Earth. And to somehow catalyze people experiencing the reality that Earth is alive, and we are living within her living body. The fact that my hip hurts and there are things I can no longer do, the essence has not changed. Recently an online magazine wants to feature me and when I first heard, I was excited. But when I thought about āmy journeyā (that I need to write for them), I couldnāt. So I wrote to apologize, that I wouldnāt be able to meet their deadline, and instead sent them a poem I wrote not long ago called āI am the Dark Motherā. Itās a poem of raging love and itās totally where I am right now. When I read you wanting to run, pulling off your clothes, screaming āI am a Cheetah!ā, I could totally see it in my mindās eye. We are so many different beings, so many different lives, from different places, ultimately. What Perdita calls āthe long journey of our soulsā. The times we are in, and your writing, to me - right from when I first started reading your stuff - takes us where we need to go, engages and even challenges how we situate, place, ourselves in each moment, dimensionally. I hope that makes sense. Itās a sensual thing that I struggle to put words on.
So resonant. Iāve always balked at such questions too. It all started with my repulsion towards āWhat do you do for a living?ā as the quintessential inquiry into someoneās identity.
Interesting that you bring up diagnoses etc as part of this tapestry, as my very latest piece dives right into that. Not surprising, we are often waving on the same length! Xx š
āSpoken words cannot be labelsā is a lovely thought to wake to this morning as are your ideas always a pleasure to read. When I think of you in the Hudson River Valley I for some reason see Bierstadt painting the scene at the same time: both the presencing and a representation that is unspoken but still not a label.
Ohhh I know this exactly. A couple weeks ago someone surprised me by introducing me using an old bio and I was horrified. The labels were so out of date, I think I gasped.
In the same moment, I thought how relieved I am when forms allow you to not identify as a gender. If weāre lucky or clever or real, weāre always becoming as you say so beautifully in this piece.
I used to always laugh when someone would start an interview with ātell us, who is Oceana?ā It still makes me chuckle. How do you describe worlds in 2 minutes or even 2 hours when youāre unfolding further just responding to the question.
Did you happen to also read Mind in Society by Vygotsky? I was wondering if it was a thing to start with this one before Cognitive Development of Luria?
Introducing myself as a hand-formed sculpture painted shades of blue that are a collage of ocean, spring and sky in relation to the beeswax candle alight as my rose womb breathes heavenly prana into my being such that when you see me, feel me I am a flower, a tree.
Here we are, in the ritual theater of the subcnscious. We carry the talismans, and then we have to speak the spells. (My latest series of essays is about this very idea.) Thank you for living and breathing this spell.
Thank you for this. I often think that the part in Genesis 2 where god asks Adam to name all the animals is symbolic of the actual primary fall of our species out of our own divinity.
Genesis 2:19: "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."
Genesis 2:20: "And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him."
And notice the last sentence. Could that have been the purpose of pinning the butterfly of the dynamic developing world to names? For this half human to find his other half?
I also have to wonder if this translation isn't deeply flawed because the original story was brought down in an oral tradition that even when it was rendered into ancient Hebrew was still anything but specific. It took the Romans to nail it down to our binary, controlling form of language.
As always, your brilliance inspires my inquiries. Again and always, thank you.
Who are you, asked the teapot as we poured ourself into the cup. I was once Alice and now we are becoming. Here, see and feel and taste for yourself. Becoming is a beautiful place.
Yes!
I appreciate this line of enquiry and all the gems in this post, Sophie šš¼
āIām not an expert. Iām a lover. I just love what I write and talk about.ā This is why I love the describing myself as an amateur: doing a thing for the love of it.
The last time someone asked me for a bio, I opened with this:
'"The text: the words are immobilised on paper by the chemistry of ink... Poor words, they have lost their freedom." - Rubem A Alves
How can someone describe themselves in such a fixed medium when they are never the same person from moment to moment?
Hello, I'm Jez. I'm part human, part kingfisher, part oak tree, part snail. In this moment, snail and kingfisher are arguing about what to say next. The tree is staying silent.'
Thank you so much for the Alves quote!! Yes!
From "The Poet, the Warrior, the Prophet" - such a great read!
I can relate! Itās a hard place to be. Itās not easy to ādefineā ourselves to ourselves, let alone for anyone else. The older I get, the harder it is, because Iāve morphed a few times, but the underlying essence, purpose has never varied. Which is to bring people to fall in love with Earth. And to somehow catalyze people experiencing the reality that Earth is alive, and we are living within her living body. The fact that my hip hurts and there are things I can no longer do, the essence has not changed. Recently an online magazine wants to feature me and when I first heard, I was excited. But when I thought about āmy journeyā (that I need to write for them), I couldnāt. So I wrote to apologize, that I wouldnāt be able to meet their deadline, and instead sent them a poem I wrote not long ago called āI am the Dark Motherā. Itās a poem of raging love and itās totally where I am right now. When I read you wanting to run, pulling off your clothes, screaming āI am a Cheetah!ā, I could totally see it in my mindās eye. We are so many different beings, so many different lives, from different places, ultimately. What Perdita calls āthe long journey of our soulsā. The times we are in, and your writing, to me - right from when I first started reading your stuff - takes us where we need to go, engages and even challenges how we situate, place, ourselves in each moment, dimensionally. I hope that makes sense. Itās a sensual thing that I struggle to put words on.
So resonant. Iāve always balked at such questions too. It all started with my repulsion towards āWhat do you do for a living?ā as the quintessential inquiry into someoneās identity.
Interesting that you bring up diagnoses etc as part of this tapestry, as my very latest piece dives right into that. Not surprising, we are often waving on the same length! Xx š
Ooh I will go read asap!! Youāre writing about parasociality and the High Weird of being a digital avatar has been so helpful Devany
Thank you darling!!
Oh Sophie, thank you again, for keeping our lives fluid and ever becomingā¦ā¤ļøā¤ļøš
šššš
āSpoken words cannot be labelsā is a lovely thought to wake to this morning as are your ideas always a pleasure to read. When I think of you in the Hudson River Valley I for some reason see Bierstadt painting the scene at the same time: both the presencing and a representation that is unspoken but still not a label.
Now Iām looking up Bierstadt!
Here are two of his landscapes. He loved the Hudson River Valley. https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT8dJ3TWDVUYKAi8WKZgucC1M6-oFemV0atjuiwzryWPvidrWPl8YiqRvDtd6zt-9_cJ7enA1lhks7OrK0O5bSHpPH1Q4ZVev-gCWIrVg.
https://www.art.com/products/p53767353575-sa-i4233065/albert-bierstadt-view-of-the-hudson-river-valley.htm'View of The Hudson River Valley' Art Print - Albert Bierstadt | Art.com
Ohhh I know this exactly. A couple weeks ago someone surprised me by introducing me using an old bio and I was horrified. The labels were so out of date, I think I gasped.
In the same moment, I thought how relieved I am when forms allow you to not identify as a gender. If weāre lucky or clever or real, weāre always becoming as you say so beautifully in this piece.
I used to always laugh when someone would start an interview with ātell us, who is Oceana?ā It still makes me chuckle. How do you describe worlds in 2 minutes or even 2 hours when youāre unfolding further just responding to the question.
So grateful for the way you roll.
āAlways becomingā feels like a good placeholder answer for now!! Grateful for you Oceana
I am hyped.
Did you happen to also read Mind in Society by Vygotsky? I was wondering if it was a thing to start with this one before Cognitive Development of Luria?
No! Iāll check out
i think this is why i often share my poetry & song w/ the trees... humans want to lable & vivisect, but the trees just sing along
š³šš²
Thank you, Sophie.
š
Lovely.
Thank you Mark!
Do you know the book Wisdom Sits in Places?
A now classic anthropology text. Very relevant to your thinking in this piece.
I donāt! Iāll look up!
Introducing myself as a hand-formed sculpture painted shades of blue that are a collage of ocean, spring and sky in relation to the beeswax candle alight as my rose womb breathes heavenly prana into my being such that when you see me, feel me I am a flower, a tree.
"How would you like to stop flying" is so heartbreaking and true
Here we are, in the ritual theater of the subcnscious. We carry the talismans, and then we have to speak the spells. (My latest series of essays is about this very idea.) Thank you for living and breathing this spell.
Thank you for this. I often think that the part in Genesis 2 where god asks Adam to name all the animals is symbolic of the actual primary fall of our species out of our own divinity.
Genesis 2:19: "And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof."
Genesis 2:20: "And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him."
And notice the last sentence. Could that have been the purpose of pinning the butterfly of the dynamic developing world to names? For this half human to find his other half?
I also have to wonder if this translation isn't deeply flawed because the original story was brought down in an oral tradition that even when it was rendered into ancient Hebrew was still anything but specific. It took the Romans to nail it down to our binary, controlling form of language.
As always, your brilliance inspires my inquiries. Again and always, thank you.