Energy and consciousness, innit?
In the last issue, I made passing mention of energetic work I’d been doing recently. I feel it would be remiss of me to not expand on it in the event that even one person reading may benefit.
On 3 October, I commenced an 8-week journey with my chiropractor Jayne Andrews’ Group AlChemE Mentoring sessions. The sessions were based on the work of Donny Epstein. Fortnightly on a Friday, in a pretty setting in Hepburn, Jayne let us in on some of the magic she does on the table.
My life during, and since, the sessions has felt more expansive. I have found myself entering many collaborative projects, making new, energetically-aligned friends, and being in awe of the beauty of life while simultaneously bearing witness to pain and suffering.
The foundation of the teaching is that everything is energy and information.
We were guided through the various energetic states. There’s the low neutral state, where most people spend their lifetimes (synonymous with being caught in the ‘matrix’ or in gaming parlance, navigating life as a non-playing character). And then there are higher states with greater awareness, the holding of multiple, concurrent perspectives, and the ability to impact ‘the field’ of energy around us.
In the teachings, there is a strong emphasis on the collective and the need for any ‘individual’ pursuit to be about something greater than the individual, with the following question front of mind in the art of living:
Is what I am binding (bringing into the material world) liberating (unbinding energy) for more than just myself?
For example, I may desire publication of my novel-length magical realism manuscript (hit me up if you’d like to publish it), and while that desire has obvious benefits for myself, what is it about my manuscript that can contribute to the collective? That was one of many question I pondered throughout the 8 weeks, and funnily enough, I received an answer by way of my uni teacher’s feedback on my major project: ‘The world needs this book.’ And so I shall keep on writing it.
While participating in the sessions, I was struck by how much the concepts were a coming together of so many ideas I had already been drawn to:
the narrative subverting story structure I’ve been obsessed with since earlier in the year, kishōtenketsu, which provides a framework for an awakening or a deviation from the status quo
the phrase ‘sharpening contradictions’ that is used in revolutionary theory to describe a tipping point where the collective consciousness shifts
the understanding I now have of the joy, resistance and liberation found in the collective, and the words of the Aboriginal artist, activist and academic Lilla Watson, which I quoted at a recent Free Palestine Central Victoria rally: ‘If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together’.
There was even synchronicity between my learnings and the concepts explored in my book club read at the time: Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (2022), which I review in this issue.
I haven’t been deliberately obtuse in my description of AlchemE; it really is an experience and you have to experience the experience to get it. But, to leave you with something tangible, should you be interested in seeking more, I’ll explain a process referred to as ‘AAA’ — an abbreviation for ‘awareness, acknowledgement and acceptance’.
The AAA process is a simple, quick way to shift into a higher energetic state or celebrate a moment of being in a higher state. It is similar to mindfulness and no doubt many spiritual and philosophical teachings for the pursuit of an enriched life. The steps are:
Awareness — pay attention to what is happening and who you are in the moment, e.g. when I feel this way, I become resentful
Acknowledgement — voice what is true, e.g. right now, I am people pleasing, or, if hard to define, ‘right now, I am in a low energy state’
Acceptance — do not try to change, fix or understand the situation, but accept that the way you are feeling is due to the energy state from which you are observing the situation.
Book review
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Gabrielle Zevin’s best-selling novel Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow explores friendship, love and gaming. It follows the lives of friends Sam and Sadie and the misunderstandings and insecurities that mar their friendship both in childhood and later as adults with greater skin in the game.
Read beyond the exposition-heavy narrative that takes up a considerable portion of the book and you'll be rewarded with a meditation on life and the multitudes we hold, and an understanding of the difference between a non-playing character (NPC) and a main character.
Zevin displays inventiveness and an incredible narrative slight of hand part way through the book when she redefines (or refines) the lens through which the reader views one of the characters. The set up and collapse of bias toward that character paves the way for the beauty and emotional depth in the closing chapters, which in turn add new meaning to what came before.
This novel provides pleasurable escape; that, coupled with Zevin’s mastery of narrative tension, will keep you reading.
Raptorial Writes
A monthly writing prompt
Set a timer for 10 minutes and write. Think of an interaction you recently had with someone you don’t know well (think pharmacist, barista, train conductor). Write the scene from their POV, infused with their back story and interior thought as they interact with someone (you) they don’t know well.
I’d love to know how you go! Post your writing to Instagram using #RaptorialWrites, or feel free to share it in the comments here. Happy writing!
Raptorial Bites
A monthly short story book club
Another month, another zine! This one, called ‘One Week of Action’, is a bite sized, accessible guide that provides one tangible action for each day of the week.
You can read the zine in four easy steps:
Download the zine
Print in landscape, double sided
Follow this Sticky Institute video tutorial and fold it
Respond to the daily calls to action
The zine is Australia-specific and mostly applicable for all states and territories with the exception of some Victoria-specific actions. Let me know if you’d like one tailored for your location or if you’d like an editable version.
If you are keen to get your craftivism on, create multiple copies and distribute in your neighbourhood. Together, we can create the world we want to live in.
A gift for you!
I have so much to be grateful for this year. I have made new friends, embraced community, found my voice as an activist, extended myself creatively, taken risks with my manuscript, and braved a whole new creative trajectory in comic making and comic workshop facilitating.
Thank you to all who have been part of my journey, either directly or, just as importantly, on the sidelines cheering me on.
As an expression of my gratitude, I am offering Raptorial readers a discount on my 2024 comic workshops at Sac’O’Suds Launderette in Castlemaine.
Receive 24% off when you book before 11:59 pm on 31 December 2023 using promotional code Raptorial24.
I hope to see you at one, two or all workshops!
Have a safe, playful and restful end to the year and a 2024 full of all that your heart desires.