Let's Talk Longing
An Interview with Lisa Anderson Schaffer and Mimi Young
The following is an article transcribed from a conversation between myself (Mimi Young) + Lisa Anderson Schaffer - artist and founder of Zelma Rose, author of These Three Things, and host/therapist consultant of Joy is Now Podcast. We shared recorded two juicy interviews, and the excerpt below is from episode 53, titled Let's Talk Longing with Mimi Young. (Note, since this originally was a verbal interview, some of the text may have been lost in the transcription).
We Are Year Older Now
We are all a year older now.
Softer, wilder, breathless and breath-filled.
We are all a year older now.
Trust the Fruits
Trust the fruits that rot in the ground will provide nourishment for the living soil.
Voice is Yin and Breath is Yang
"But remember, as humans, the only reason why we could even call ourselves humans. The only reason why we can even call ourselves intelligent and sentient beings conscious beings is because we came from these, we came from consciousness.
ENTER THE YIN: A Winter Solstice Online Gathering
Release the pressure to constantly perform, to fit in everything, to create, to be productive, to be efficient, to be better, to transcend, to be a 'better' version of yourself.
Rather, ENTER THE YIN energy that awaits to be met as your companion, and as your wholeness, with full acceptance.
Why I Write
I write for no one but myself. Writing is a form of accessing the hidden, and keeping things hidden. In a society, especially as a woman of colour, nothing is truly mine. But my written words, hidden from view, are mine.
Black Friday Alternatives
Ways we can be / do instead of feeding into the frenzied consumption of Black Friday:
Paint and Sustainability
I recently relocated, and the need to paint walls came up. Initially, I had a couple of questions that only produced more as I began the research. Paint is often perceived as an almost intangible layer of pigment on walls (and some other surfaces), and not viewed as a substance with much environmental and health impact. However, paint is just about used in every indoor space; it's extremely rare that drywall is left as is in its raw state; one cannot avoid using paint in some shape or form.
HOW I DO THINGS (HINT THERE IS NO SECRET)
Don’t know how; try it anyway.Never went to school for it; give it a shot anyway.Didn’t fit the specs and profile; do it anyway.Lack the experience; learn it anyway.Didn’t fundraise; risk anyway.They might say no; ask anyway.Left or right— no idea; turn anyway.Fall hard; get up anyway.Have no community; create it anyway.Doubt yourself; believe anyway.
WRITING WITH SPIRIT Winter Retreat
The WRITING WITH SPIRIT RETREAT welcomes an intimate group of 13 attendees to explore the intersection of writing and the supernatural by unwrapping the words that are already contained within and to call them forth with clarity and boldness. We’ll discuss supportive writing techniques, powerful esoteric tools, and will be actively collaborating with our intuition and the Great Mystery. Open to anyone who is needing space, desires a heightened embodiment, and a safe container to focus on their inner (and outer) work.
NON-EXTRACTIVE BUSINESS PRINCIPLES
WHAT IS EXTRACTION?
Extraction is a perspective, a behaviour / set of behaviours committed by systems of colonialism, exploitation, hierarchy, and homogeny. Non-extraction is a value system that naturally de-centers mechanism of dominance, accumulation, and exploitation, to restore traditional, indigenous, and circular cultures. In the context of business and project creation, here are some principles to return to:
Plants For The Witches New Year
There are plants who settle, who calm, who awaken, who invigorate, who quench, who stir, who help recall, who help inspire...
THE MYTH OF EFFICIENCY
We are told that multitasking will allow for us to complete more tasks in less time.We are told that efficiency is paramount in work culture. That more is more, not less is more.
That fast is efficient, that fast is competitive, that fast is sexy, that fast means mighty.
For what, though?
Say it til you know it...
Say it til you know it…
We are the People.
We are the Love.
We are the Change.
We are the Archetypes.
What October Means
October is a month when witches recognize the veil between the Seen and the Unseen is thinnest, and for this reason, ancestors are connected with, spirits communed with, deities adored. Those who honour the lunar calendar may see October as the latter half of Autumn, having just celebrated the Mid Autumn Festival on September 21 this year. October is a month that holds endings and beginnings. And for this reason, I wanted this issue to hold you in the ways where you may feel flux. I've included some remarks on the symbolism of home, notes on my favourite plants to cross thresholds with, a hearty carrot cake with adaptogens recipe, a transcription of a conversation between Lisa Anderson Schaffer and myself on the topic of longing.
The Void of Yin
I need concentration, without distraction, without interruption. Creation exists in the Void of Yin, in her Womb.
Sitting with Tea: Tea As Teacher
Tea, my Teacher, my Medicine, my Sister. With you, I enter into stillness. Penetrating clarity. Acute listening. Shivers of recognition. Tender exhales. Scents of what is to come. Conduit of flow.Interpreter of ancestors. Vapours of daemons. I venerate your companionship.
Fast Magick and Slow Magick
There’s fast magick, and there’s slow magick. Both have their functions - much like our two thinking faculties. I love the intuitive and emotional aspects of fast magick, and I also love the more deliberative, patient, and thorough power of slow magick. The slower build ups, deeper roots, sturdier with its layers as it grows above ground, more anchored in, immovable by pointless urgency — these remind me of the overlooked capacity of slow, and how slowness is a gift. Another comparison— magick and love — there’s loving fast, and there’s loving slow— and of course, love is a current that magick accesses. Relishing in slowness now.
The Animal In Your Heart
Do you know the animal that lives in your heart? Is it the fun-loving Monkey? The ethics-minded Horse? The serene Snake?
Evoking Your Project + Business Course
Conjure, activate, and expand your new or existing business by learning essentials-only business skills, with the support and alignment of earth-based and supernatural principles and practices. Neither seeking permission from toxic establishments nor nor participating in them,, and you have an inner longing to birth your business or passion project in a way that is intuitive, spirit-collaborated, anchored-in, and self-honouring all the while also being viable and meaningful.