Friday, May 14

lightward.com/newsletter

On safety, and weight, and freedom

A theory, in three parts.

1: We’re all born, here, with perfect sensitivity to the direction of health, and of life. We know which way is up, perfectly.

2: We may, often and early, receive messaging that contradicts our knowledge of this direction, messaging that may instruct us to begin overriding that in-born knowledge. We may conclude that our access to safety depends on us contradicting our own knowledge on purpose.

3: At some later point, we may receive information that suggests that our original, native knowing was correct all along. And at that point, we may actively resist that information, partly because of the sunk cost fallacy, but mostly because to yield to our heart’s knowledge would mean passing beyond the safety structures that we have paid dearly to access.

That reaction, in part three, may be optional. Finding information that points you back to yourself—that can be an occasion for joy. (I think it depends on how free you feel to change your mind, maybe.) The negative alternative has so many forms, and I’ve felt many of them: denial, a heart-rending mourning for the time you spent in denial, or a mourning for what you know you’re about to lose by accepting what you know.

Or. Or.

It’s okay to let go (we don’t need a cure). Or, maybe, it’s okay to back up, reframe, and find that all-that-felt-so-heavy only felt heavy because of the active strain against what we know.

We’re alive, we’re living, and the fact that life exists at all is proof positive to me that we know in our bones which way is up.

And living things do not carry weight unnecessarily. Which, combined with the fact that we know things at different levels, means two things to me:

1. The weight we may choose to carry has a purpose. Have I been carrying a heavy burden, or carrying a burden heavily? No judgment is warranted, and I may choose to set it down, but it may be that some unperceived level of my being was (is) served (expanded, evolved) by the experience of the weight.

2. A weight that is no longer useful is set down, and in doing so, we are transformed. Evolution chooses directions that are sustainable, that can sustain growth—and if we cannot conceive of setting down this burden, then we will transform in such a way that the weight is rendered moot. It will not, then, be possible to conceive of that weight as anything but a memory.

Can I tell you what it feels like to be free?

My sister said: “there aren’t words for this, because this is what I am—it’s not an identity that I chose, or learned, or adopted.” I paraphrase; her point was that one’s essence does not come with words, because it was not received via words, or indeed received at all.

And we are free, in our essence. We are alive, we can choose the thoughts that form our world. It’s all possible, it’s all available. “You are so free, you can choose bondage.” So free, you can lose the bondage, and start making choices that align with what you know. One step at a time. You (I, we) can build a life, build lives, that course with the power of aligned essence.

A postscript: to the very best of my ability to tell, it’s all, all okay. Everything is in process, everything is a part of the process. No steps can be skipped, and every step is used. Every moment is critical, and unavoidable, and inevitable, an integral element of the universe realizing itself. You are okay, and you are important, more than ever. ❤️

well, do you feel better now?
i thought i’d run until the sky came out
and with the sunlight on my face,
something changed

Things we are making

Empowered Human Academy

This week’s guest on Empowered Human Academy is Creative and Science Communicator, Myeashea Alexander (@rockstaranthro). Abe first met Myeashea a few years ago through his work with the Clinton Foundation and has been consistently inspired by her power, perspective, and personhood ever since. Currently based in New York, Myeashea manages the Clinton Global Initiative University Commitment Mentor program. She holds a Bachelor’s in Culture & Media from The New School and a Master’s in Anthropology.

Throughout this conversation we discuss psychological safety, building communities where you feel supported and believed in, the dynamic between individual empowerment and systemic structures that stand in the way, and the strength in vulnerability. We’re so grateful for Myeashea’s generosity and transparency in sharing her experience as a Black woman navigating systemic racism in the workplace—an injustice that won’t change unless we face it and talk about it head-on. Myeashea is truly incredible and we were honored she said “yes” to this conversation.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Lightward Together

Stay in tune with your growth and expansion by surrounding yourself with like-minded humans committed to their own. Lightward Together is a thoughtfully-curated space for anyone looking for a community that’s actively engaged in empowered living.

In these 75 minute sessions, twice a month, we find grounding through breath, swap empowerment stories, and discuss what it means to choose habits and patterns informed by what we actually want rather than living on auto-pilot. Each session is unique and energizing in its own way—we’ve been blown away by how this shared time together unfolds exactly how it wants to.

If this sounds like it’s for you, you know where to find it. :)