redefining success and value
reshaping how we approach our work to create a better world
this week in double gemini:
~ rethinking how we value and do work
~ inspiring podcasts for redefining success and how we create
~ fall session of virtual co-working begins sept. 24
~ i love dick book club on oct. 2 now oct. 16!
~ communications as a sacred act zine for shifting how we experience the online sphere
pictured above: a photo of myself, hugging the tree who held the “temple of earth” installation i shared at this summer’s outer roominations on table bluff in humboldt county
Lately I’ve been exploring how to approach my work and structure it, especially as I try to break away from the ineffective, unhealthy, extractive systems, values and structures that I have been conditioned in as a human person living and working in the U.S.of A for the last forty-odd years. Let me tell you, it’s been QUITE the wild ride.
This summer I had an intuitive sense of things slowing down, and the slowness being OK as fall would bring more activity. I knew this to be true in my being, and as one of my main desires for the last couple years has been to deepen my trust in myself, my intuition and the universe, this notion—that summer would bring less work and fall would bring more—was something that I really wanted to heed. Even so, I’d still find myself questioning this knowing and slipping into places of scarcity, constriction and fear around not doing enough, not being strategic enough and *gasp* the worst of the worst notions in late stage capitalism functioning under the lie of meritocracy: being lazy.
Despite these moments, I held on to this knowing…and have been blown away by how much it has come into being.
It has been wild how much has been opening up in the last couple weeks, in connecting with folks around the work I’m doing. Suddenly, after a season of travels, socializing and being in nature, people are ready to tackle work that has been on the back burner. I too, am feeling more energized in getting shit done, which is another relief, as the fear that I had “lost my motivation” also often bubbled up over the past few months.
This shift has not only shown me how powerful my intuition is when it comes to my work; it is also a stark reminder of how, despite what the overculture wants us to believe, work and business cannot function sustainably in a state of never-ending, constant growth and productivity. This doesn’t occur in nature, and pushing one’s self to reflect this false notion is much more likely to lead to burnout, deep unhappiness and disease than it is to bring the riches that we are told is the “natural” consequence of buying into it.
As I find myself once again entering into conversations with folks around sharing their work with the world, it has been striking, how much people find marketing their work to be awful and constrictive. A direct result of an industry borne out of corporatism in exhalation of dominator culture, this distaste for promoting one’s work, especially when it is near and dear to someone’s heart, makes total sense.
Despite the narrowness through which we are told we must operate to do and share our work, one thing that has been consistently exciting to me is the idea that the tools and actions of communicating about our work do not have to reflect the dominator culture within which we operate.
As I have found with listening to my intuition, however, it can be really hard to trust that we can do things differently when it goes against the grain. I’m grateful for folks whose work continues to support people working in small business, and as healers, social change makers and artists, in helping to normalize concepts of looking at our work in different ways, and trusting that we can break away from the systems that we’ve been conditioned to believe are natural and inescapable.
A few podcasts which have helped me feel affirmed in redefining what success and work looks like for me include:
“Sacred Labor, Small Business & Anti-Capitalism — with Megan Leatherman” from the Off the Grid podcast by
“7 Ways to Establish and Protect a Pleasurable Creative Practice Amidst Life’s Possibilities and Responsibilities” from the For the World Builders podcast by
“Making Six Figures in Alignment with Your Values with Hannah Demuth” from the Business Witch podcast by Cara Kovacs
share your magic co-working & support
a virtual container to tackle your marketing
One offer I am continuing, to support sharing your work in a way that is reflective of your values, and in alignment with your needs, is a fall session of Share Your Magic Co-working and Support.
This virtual container is here to give you accountability and encouragement in working on your marketing tasks through a supportive space with other like-minded folk. Co-working meets every other Tuesday evening from 5-7 p.m. pst over zoom from September 24 to December 3. AND it is offered at sliding scale to make it affordable to receive direct support and feedback on your communications!
If you’re interested in learning more or to join us this fall, check it out here. And if you have any questions about if this container is right for you, please let me know by commenting below or email me directly at stainedghost@gmail.com.
Share Your Magic Co-working & Support Fall Session
every other tuesday (sept. 24-dec. 3)
5-7 p.m. pst over zoom
sliding scale pricing: $33-$55 (as a thank you for your support, paid subscribers of Double Gemini receive $11 off with code here!)
I believe that we can create a better world for all with honoring the gifts and visions that we’ve been sent here to create. If you struggle with getting your work out into the world because of all the toxic ideology and realities of late stage capitalism and marketing, you are not alone. Join us for this affordable community container in exploring how to feel more aligned with sharing your work with the world. Hope you will be part of it!
october book club: i love dick by chris kraus
Yes! After much excitement about last month’s look at Miranda July’s excellent All Fours, the Double Gemini Book Club is back Wednesday, Oct. 2 postponed to Oct. 16! from 6-7 p.m. pst to dig into Chris Kraus’ I Love Dick (yes, the same one as the show set in Marfa, and just as excellent though different on many levels).
To join in the fun Oct. 2 Oct. 16, please use the zoom link below!
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86441886404?pwd=EIFvShk8z0BxvE1XNdCnkRzZvxBpfW.1
reframe your relationship to the online space
communication as a sacred act is here to support the shift
A zine exploring ways to approach the digital space that minimize harm and support your expansion, growth, enjoyment & connection
In this publication, I offer simple reframes and tips to support you in living into the magic of communication, moving from domination, extraction and exploitation of ourselves, others and the planet into the sacred exchange that IS possible—even through technologies built upon those destructive aims.
Learn more about how Communications as a Sacred Act can support you in shifting into feeling good in the online space (and snag a copy for your very own!) here!
Thank you for being here! Know that I believe in you, your magic and visions and that your labor is, as Megan Leatherman says, sacred. Here’s to crafting a world to honor it!
xo—Holly
let’s connect!
interwebs: stainedghost.com
ig: @stainedghost
