Dear all,
 
This past calendar month, as we walked onto the bridge of spring, towards budding new beginnings, I noted down and journaled on the messages I received and my fleshy knowing, and reflected on the endings I experienced, and the doors which closed.  I then closely observed the new doors which opened.
 
I also created images and posts on social media about it all.
 
In this email, I’m sharing the process and my journal entries - the messages from the bridge - to see if it is resonant or helpful to anyone else in transition.
 
With love, Kay

Personal practices, collective action & communities of belonging, meaning, connection & purpose which focus on humanitarian action, humane conduct & human welfare are the future.
This is #embodimentspirituality
​

The humanity in me sees the humanity in you
HOPE

Yes to new structures of spiritual, moral & meaning-making education & communities of connection & belonging in society - free, statutory & community-based provision, for these basic human needs & rights.
 
 
Interconnection - seeing our common humanity creates a resonance of goodness
HOPE

#educateevolveembody #inandthrough #fleshyknowing #tangibledivinty #spirituality
​

​Transactional communities are business-like; based on buying & selling & are full of people seeking connection for individual gains.

Members of such communities (implicitly or explicitly) ask
'what can I get or take from these other people & how can I benefit from them?'

Connection is based on extraction.

Belonging in such communities is based on how 'useful' we are - usually to the leaders & currently in the 'spiritual & wellness industry' for the business or retreat owner that's based on the money, skills, networking, or ego massaging we can give them.

So, what's the alternative?

True communities of connection, meaning, belonging & purpose are relational & collaborative; focused on long-term visions of collective purpose, meaning & values.

At the heart of #neuroqueerlearningspaces (@autisticrealms & @stimpunks) is the golden thread of #embodiededucation (Kay & Dan Aldred) in which individuals are happy, curious, full of wonder & free to learn in a way that suits their body mind.

#educateevolveembody #embodiededucation
 
More about this later but if you are already interested find out more clicking here or https://stimpunks.org/
​

Dan & I are speaking on why #selfregulation is vital for #educators & about our book Embodied Education at the end of April at this year's @the_pdaspace #pda 2024 summit
To join click here or https://www.thepdaspace.com/summit-2024
​

During this recorded event, you’ll journey into the violet spectrum of Goddess – activating your crown and sovereignty. 

This 1.5 hour workshop will offer trauma-informed somatic and energy medicine practises that support you to anchor into your embodied Sacred Womanhood.

​To complete you will do a short Somatic Shamanism journey to soul retrieve your inner Queen. 

Rainbow Goddess: Celebrating Neurodiversity

Rainbow Goddess lives within the full spectrum of the human mind. There is not one way of thinking, learning, or behaving that she does not inhabit fully and sanctify. This carnival and inclusive Goddess celebrates the gifts of those whose minds exist and operate outside the box of society’s ‘norms’ – and she trumpets the creativity, visions, and uniqueness of these humans. Rainbow Goddess protectively arcs around those who encounter the struggles of patriarchal expectation and judgement of neurodiverse women.


This Girl God anthology showcases the voices and art of women as they express their experiences of neurodiversity. It is a thanksgiving for the creativity, imagination, self-awareness, super-power sensitivity, problem-solving, planning abilities, resilience, and new ways of seeing the world that these women offer.


It is a reclamation, call for change, and ‘outing’ of systemic and insidious sexism.
With art and writing contributions from:
Arlene Bailey, Arna Baartz, Barbara O’Meara, Beth Rees, Claire Dorey, Deborah A. Meyerriecks,  Geneviève Labonté, Helen Langdon, Holin Kennen, Jen Wallace, Jenny Beech, Jessica Huff,  Jessica Penot, Kat Shaw, Kathy Barenskie, Katie Bee, Kay Crowder, Kay Louise Aldred, Kim Crowder, Lucy H. Pearce, Lucy Pierce, Lynn McIntosh, Molly Remer, MSW, D.Min, Schuyler Witman, Dr. Stephanie Mines, Sylvia Hatzl, Tamara Albanna, Trinity Shea Thomas, Trista Hendren and Wakanda Rose

"This vital book addresses neurodiversity, the creative coping skills women have developed to survive, and a call to normalize difference. This broad spectrum of responses is itself a refraction of the light, the illumination possible through understanding after deconstructing phallacies (patriarchal fallacies) of impossible standards and celebrating lived experiences. Full of fierce and feisty voices, this is not your standard anthology; Rainbow Goddess is a compendium of creative testimony begging your attention." -April Heaslip, PhD


"How refreshing and liberating to hear from the voices of the neurodivergent as they also delve into the nature of the human spirit! Rainbow Goddess: Celebrating Neurodiversity gives an empowering space for those who have felt exiled or othered by their own divinity, and sheds a light on how we may embrace and lift up their gifts instead."
-Ora North, Author of I Don't Want to Be an Empath Anymore: How to Reclaim Your Power Over Emotional Overload, Maintain Boundaries, and Live Your Best Life and Mood Magick: Wellness Spells and Rituals to Find Balance in an Uncertain World

Are you a luna-tic and luna-lover?  Many of us at The Acorn are.  If you are not – read on with curiosity and see if this resonates.
​
The root of the word lunacy is ‘lunaticus’ (Latin) which translates as ‘moonstruck’ and there is clear evidence to show that in addition to influencing the water on earth, human bodily functions, behaviour and mental states also widely, and sometimes wildly, fluctuate with the moon cycles.  ​

A lunation, or lunar cycle, runs from new moon to new moon, and occurs every 29-30 days.  Oceanic tides are governed by the moon’s gravitational pull, going in and out every 12.4 hours.  Paying close attention to the ebb and flow of our own energy during a full lunar cycle helps us understand that like the moon we fluctuate, we wax, and wane.  This is knowing is incredibly empowering and reassuring and shows us that it is ‘natural’ to not be productive all the time and that it is a vital part of life to rest and recharge.  There is evidence of the moon impacting on humans statistically too.   Women are likely to birth and ovulate at full moon.  Violence and outdoor crime increase at full moon.  We sleep less at full moon.  Anecdotally libido increases at full moon and we can feel more sociable.  At new moon we feel can feel more tender, introverted and intuitive.

Harnessing the power of moon cycles is a useful wellbeing and spiritual practice.  Grandmother moon is the closest celestial satellite to earth and without her it is unlikely that life on earth would have evolved and been sustained.  She is a living giving, benevolent presence and working with her energies is transformative, as her cyclical gift to us is that with her we can continually evolve throughout our lifetime, shedding old skins, ways of being and behaviours, so we can expand and allow our authentic, soulful self to shine.  

This video to accompany this video outlining the two 5-minute practices you can repeat every month of the year; one for setting intentions at new moon and the other for giving gratitude, harvesting, and reflecting on what needs to be surrendered and let go of at full moon.  We are also offering you a downloadable PDF 2021 lunar calendar with this blog, so you know when the full and new moon is each month, and so you can calendar yourself when to create 5 minutes to do these rituals.  This offering to you is to support you to try these practices and experience your own moon magic.
​
We would love to hear about your thoughts, feelings, and wisdom in relation to all of this. 

​This winter has shown me that ..

• Noone - up there or out there - is going to save us ... and by us I mean humanity and the earth.

No earthly (or heavenly) father, patriarch in Westminster, psychiatrist, headteacher, banker, multimillionaire, celebrity, professor, guru or archbishop.

Neither is any earthly (or heavenly) mother acting as, enmeshed with, gaining from or co=dependent on such a father.

• No external institution or system - out there - is interested in changing ...

because change means challenge, deconstruction & change to those up there at the top who gain from them staying as they are.

Took me 50 years to get this and fully accept it.

So .... as I look to the horizon and new shoots of spring ..

I've made the commitment to exploring & sharing more about the alternative - in & through - in this next growing season.

​This winter ... I grieved. I raged. I despaired.

And in the absence of 'faith' in the external systems I found a mature spirituality - a tangible divinity - within the mundane, the pain, messiness & ordinariness of being human.

What did I do? I became a more humane human & a humanitarian - engaged with human life - focused on collective liberation from oppressive systems.

Revelations Awakenings Realisations

These end times are disorientating, fear filled & destabilising - especially because we are seeing globally & nationally, so clearly & well documented for the first time, that it is 'up there' & 'out there' (see previous post) - societal systems & institutions & their 'management daddies', 'leaders' (including their 'god/goddess' of choice) & the privileged who gain from how they are currently set up - who are the abusers, tyrants & origin of trauma & oppression.

And of course that feels terrifying.

But the systems (& privileged) can't (& don't want to) change themselves.

Only the #grassroots #bottomup solidarity & resistance of individual bodies can & will do that.

And a note about the Church of England ...

Having watched parts of the livestream of this year's @thechurchofengland Synod (which is kind of like Church parliament) with the particular focus of seeing responses to & handling of the institutions very public failings around responding to child abuse & inadequate safeguarding I echo again what I said at Winter Solstice ...

The Church of England is rotten at the core, has harmful theology, doctrine, administration & practices ...

& I will now add - based on the external safeguardinging review reports I've read & behaviour of Church leaders .. the Anglican Church is a dangerous & unsafe place for children & the vulnerable.

And speaking back to the power & influence this institution holds both in England & globally is where I am putting my energy this growing season.

Plus the vision of an alternative to it.  

Coming next ...

Embodiment and Liberation Spirituality and Community Spiritual Support

I have a lot of concepts and ideas for this coming spring and summer (see above) but I'll repeat what I said at the beginning...

Those of you committed to collective liberation and humanity ...

Please reach out, email or DM me ... what support can I offer you? what do you need to act? how can I offer spiritual and community care?

I'll be back in the spring with the next newsletter. 

Until then sending you best wishes,

Kay x