To Exist is to Flare: Labor-Less

Loving Our Chronically Ill Bodies and Minds

with Ella deCastro Baron and Anya Pearson through Corporeal Writing

Sunday, September 10, 2023 1-4pm Pacific (4-7pm EST) over Zoom
(A recording will be made available to all registrants for a limited period afterwards.)

Fall is the essence of liminality:  ripening, change, preservation, protection, comfort, balance, letting go. With less daylight, we are invited into more mystery. 

Leaves change color; so, too, we shapeshift to adapt to our physiological needs. 

Less planting, more harvest. 

Less distress, more rest. 

Less toil, more joy-l. :) 

As Brontë Velez invokes, “How can I be useless to capitalism?”

Could Fall be an invitation to labor less? 

________

Western culture tries to teach us that illnesses have cures. We hunt for antidotes and fix-alls. Yet, those of us with chronic illnesses—in our bodies and minds—persist in the slog of hit-n-miss treatment and diagnoses in-between “flare-up” and “remission.” There’s the isolation. There are. All. The. Costs. We’re even gaslit by healthcare professionals when we self-advocate, judged by those who do not/cannot see our inconvenient, uncommon, or invisible illnesses. Our stories are messy, inflamed, transcendent, mundane, stunning.

How do we love our own sick bodies and minds when so often, we are not loved well?

We need to decolonize the industrial, capitalistic, ableist reactions to the liminalities of sickness, suffering, treatment and wellness to love our true selves better.

This virtual “sick bay” is for chronically ill people of mind and body. Together, we will resist band-aid, results-driven ways of loving ourselves. We will:

*ponder and play through somatic portals

*practice sick-informed “love languages” beyond ‘toxic positivity’ (e.g. dispense laughter, tears, and tender touch as medicine)

*honor the divergent, brilliant ways our sick bodies and minds hold and tell story

*share and listen to our wonderings, woundings, and epiphanies. NOT medical advice!

In this same spirit, we encourage you to join the meeting however you can. We recognize that how we are able to ‘show up’ changes constantly, hour by hour. Come as you are. We got your back (unless it hurts too much to touch).
***

Pricing:

The following payment model is inspired by and borrowed from the payment model of Bayo Akomolafe’s class, We Will Dance With Mountains: Into the Cracks.

This workshop offers a sliding scale based on your relative financial standing. In an effort to reflect disparity in economic condition and access to wealth, the following payment system is designed for those with more wealth to help cover the costs of those with less access to wealth and resources. We trust your discernment of your current financial situation and how you fit into the global economic context.

As you decide what amount to pay, please consider your present-day financial situation governed by income, but also the following factors: historical discrimination faced by your peoples; your financial wealth (retirement/savings/investments); your access to income and financial wealth, both current and anticipated (how easily could you earn more income compared to other people in your community, country, and the world; are you expecting an inheritance); people counting on your financial livelihood including dependents and community members; the socio-economic conditions of your locale (relative to other places in your country and in the world); your relationship to food & resource scarcity.

$250 Partner

$175 Supporter (Note: This amount reflects the “real” value of this course.)

$100 Companion

$50 Friend

Scholarships are also still available for anyone needing further financial assistance. Please email Daniel at registration@corporealwriting.com for more info, or if you are feeling challenged in any way by the financial requirements of participation.

Where We Come From: Writing Your Ethnoautobiography

with Ella deCastro Baron, G. Ravyn Stanfield, and Anya Pearson

A six bi-weekly generative Collaboration

(Please note: there is a brief application process for this workshop! Click here to Apply Now)

We have to co-create a better, fuller story of who we are. When we speak or write the stories of how our ancestors were harmed or harmed others, we clear the way for justice in the present. When we tell the truth about the past, we move towards the possibility for healing and repair. 

Ancestry gives us heritage: “traditions and practices that inform how we move through the world.” Who are our ancestors of blood, love, and spirit? This circle will facilitate and explore our ethnoautobiographies** through place, ancestry, body, seasons, and story. 

Embodied and community-activated stories not only redirect from damaging neural pathways, they promote neurogenesis: our brain cells can pave new, anti-racist and truly restorative paths as we dare to practice. As we decolonize and re-indigenize core values that de-center and dis-engage with dominant culture (white supremacy, patriarchy, settler colonialism, capitalism) we create a more inclusive one. We become “radically present” and better care-givers of each other and the planet.

**as inspired by the work and teachings of Dr. Jürgen Werner Kremer and Dr. Leny Strobel

WHEN and HOW: This collaboration contains two parts: We will gather on Zoom for six live, co-creative meetings (with recordings for those who cannot attend live). A final celebration on 12/12, after the six meetings.

WetInk (our rich interactive online platform) will be used to build community, share, explore ideas and engage with each other. (WetInk will not be required for critique or hierarchical feedback).

Meeting dates and times: 

Six bi-weekly Tuesdays, from 5:00-7:00 p.m. PST

9/26, 10/10, 10/24, 11/7, 11/21, 12/5 (+ final celebration on 12/12) 

Each bi-weekly meeting will focus on:

Week 1: 9/26 Embodied place

Week 2: 10/10 Body 

Week 3: 10/24 Seasons

Week 4: 11/7 Story

Week 5: 11/21 Ancestry

Week 6: 12/5 Justice and Repair

Week 7: 12/12 Final Celebration

ACCESS: We are dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices and empowering stories that truly reflect the diversity of our world. To uplift those most impacted by dominant culture, this course will prioritize folx identifying as BIPOC with the goal of holding a safe space. There is a short application process for this collaboration.

Cost: $500-600 (sliding scale—please read below)

Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Suggested Cost:

To create intentional space and support for BIPOC attendees, we ask that you pay in light of your financial privileges and with a JEDI spirit (!) Here are a few guidelines:

$550-$600 – you have reliable sources of food, shelter, and transportation; are employed or financially secure; have regular access to healthcare and savings; can spend recreationally at your discretion (e.g. enjoy a concert, new clothes, a great meal). Paying the full amount also means you are able to support a BIPOC with limited resources who would like to join this course.

$500-$550– you have debt that sometimes compromises stability with food, shelter, and/or transportation; are employed; have some access to healthcare and savings; can spend recreationally.

Below $500 (please contact us) – you are under- or unemployed and/or for other reasons (e.g. healthcare, shelter expenses), you have very limited resources.