SINCE THE LAST INFOLDing...

Last month, I focused on sending unprompted notes of appreciation or encouragement to my friends and family (see the last issue for details on the Empowerment Experiment). Every few days, I'd let someone know why they inspire me or why I appreciate them for existing.

During the experiment, I noticed:

• Spreading love never gets old: It feels great to spread love. It feels amazing to send detailed notes of appreciation regularly. After a few days, I turned some of my notes of appreciation into prayers. (You know me, always experimenting with new ways of doing things... even in the middle of an experiment.) It was powerful to send these voice notes of empowerment laced with praise to God for their existence and prayers for more abundance to enter their lives.
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• Connecting with Strangers: I started complimenting strangers more often. Throughout my days, I'd have the urge to tell people how wonderful they are or how great they look in their outfits. I had a trip to New York last month, and there were many opportunities to meet amazing new people, from my Uber drivers to wonderful people I met while exploring the city and museums.
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• Reciprocation: More often than not, people said lovely things to me in return. The reciprocation didn't take long, and the empowerment was given back to me. This allowed me to practice receiving.
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  At the top of the trip, my friend Staci and I set an intention of 'pleasure and adventure' and the mantra 'I receive'. So my response to compliments was, "Thank you, I receive." I'm taking this on as my new response to compliments. It's a powerful way to acknowledge and affirm the gift I was just given.
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• Receiving Empowerment: I started getting more unprompted compliments from others. Over these past few weeks, I was poured into by multiple friends and strangers. The love overflowed and filled me up. I'm so thankful for each person who spoke into my life.
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  ​Giving praise didn't just increase my chances of getting it returned at the moment; it added more love to my life experience.

The experiment helped me realize the following:

• The Power of Appreciation: I love, love, love appreciating people. I knew I enjoyed it, but now I know I love it! It's one of the easiest ways to share love and it helps to create a mini bond with the person you're complimenting, even with strangers. In a world where sometimes strangers don't look you in the eyes, a thoughtful and detailed compliment can shout, "I see you, and you're wonderful!"
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  I complimented one of my Uber drivers, and he told me that many people don't treat him like he's human. Some people are very rude and insulting. It hurts my heart to hear that someone who is providing a service is being treated poorly to the point of dehumanization.
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  ​Let's be an opposite force in the world! Let's remind people that they are valued by simply being kind.​
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• We are Mirrors. As I listened to the compliments coming from my mouth, I began to realize that many of these things are true about me, too! I've been on a journey of growing in my confidence most of my life. In the past two years, I've grown greatly in my love and appreciation for everything about myself. I can see even more goodness in others because I see that same goodness deeply within myself.
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  I recently made a video on TikTok about this concept. Every person you attract is a reflection of your practiced vibration.
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  ​After I realized that "we are mirrors," I wanted to remind everyone who complimented me of this. Stating this was an easy way to amplify the moment's joy and send that love back to them. I would say to their compliment, "Thank you, I'm just your mirror, you are _______ as well." Seeing their faces light up and being thanked for this message was beautiful.
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• Empowering others gets me out of my head: If I'm being self-critical, empowering others is a beautiful antidote. Complimenting others gets me out of my head and brings my focus to something I appreciate outside of myself. Because I know that person is a mirror, the act of expressing love becomes a powerful tonic of self-love that helps ease my anxiety and self-criticism.

⭐️ I give the Empowerment Experiment five stars! I plan to continue sending unprompted messages of empowerment, praise, and prayers. This is a life practice that will never grow old for me.

Upcoming Austin In-Person Event!

I'm thrilled to share with you all that I have launched a new community project called Free People, Free People.✨

In the wake of two transformative sessions of Queer Black Yoga, led by Yogi Venus Davis and myself as Meditation Facilitator, a powerful vision emerged. Recognizing the profound need for a space where Austin's BIPOC community can connect with a focus on emotional, mental, and spiritual liberation, we created: Free People, Free People.

This monthly gathering is more than just a space; it's a movement rooted in the belief that true freedom comes from within. With a mantra of "Embrace what it means to be community-made," Free People, Free People is dedicated to uplifting voices, honoring the wisdom of the body, and continuing the legacy of resilience and empowerment.

Each gathering will be held on the last Sunday of the month and will incorporate meditation, yoga, and community dialogue on liberation text from a BIPOC writer, activist, or leader.

Join us as we embark on a journey of self-discovery, authenticity, and collective liberation; follow Free People, Free People on Instagram (@freeppl.freeppl) for updates and inspiration.

Our inaugural event is inspired by Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Maree Brown and Audre Lorde's essay 'Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power'. These works focus on connecting to our innate power through pleasure as a tool for liberation.

The Focus of our Pleasure Activism Gathering:

• recognize that pleasure is a measure of freedom

• notice what makes you feel good and what you are curious about

• create more room for joy, wholeness, and aliveness (and less room for oppression, repression, self-denial, and unnecessary suffering) in your life

(focus points are from Pleasure Activism)

If you are a member of the BIPOC community in Austin, we invite you to us in creating a space that goes beyond healing. It's a collective journey towards empowerment and liberation. Your presence would contribute significantly to the richness of our community.

​Register visit our Eventbrite page. Space is limited
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If you are an ally, please share this with any of your BIPOC friends you think this may resonate with.

This is a donation-based gathering; all support is greatly appreciated!

​Support us on cashapp: $freepplfreeppl​

This newsletter is evolving! 😄

As my work evolves to include an in-person community aspect, I'm choosing to align each future issue of the INFOLDing to the core topic or an aspect of the upcoming Free People, Free People gatherings. This newsletter serves as a support tool to engage with individuals outside of Austin and our core demographic.

The transformational topics we explore are quite universal because they focus on freedom. While capitalism reigns and injustice exists worldwide, "Nobody's free until everybody's free" (Civil Rights Activist, Fannie Lou Hamer).

I'm looking forward to using this newsletter to share my thoughts and interpretations of what I'm learning and to create an experiment that allows you to engage in practices that will support your embodiment of these concepts.

THIS ISSUE'S INTENTION: PLEASURE

Activate this intention by repeating the mantra often and trying the experiment below.

PLEASURE EXPERIMENT GUIDE

Awaken your senses, it's time for pleasure!✨

As I mentioned, throughout my New York trip, I prototyped the intention of pleasure and the mantra 'I receive' and ya'll my trip was a DREAM!

Now, I highly doubt it was repeating the mantra alone that made this possible. For years, I've been studying the law of attraction and recently intensified my practice (my series on TikTok) and I'm currently reading Pleasure Activism by Adrienne Maree Brown. This new information, combined with my years of mindset training, collided into quite the pleasurable adventure.
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Learning about Pleasure Activism has:

• Encouraged Prioritization: It's encouraged me to notice and prioritize the things that make me feel good. Every form of pleasure that helps me access joy, happiness, and satisfaction is vital. This includes fashion, humor, sex, passion work, connection, reading, cooking, eating, and more.
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  Feeling good helps me be more present in my life. My thoughts move beyond my life's struggles, and I create ideas that are aligned with how magical and wonderful my life is.

• Recognition of Power: It introduced me to the power of the erotic and how it has been devalued in Western culture. After reading Audre Lorde's essay, 'Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power,' I can't unsee how Western society has been designed to suppress the connection of the erotic and women.
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  From the expectation of purity that is placed on young women to the simplification of the erotic to just the pornographic ("sensation without feeling."), I recognize that many women don't indulge in the deep creative power that resides in themselves. It's startling to think that this erotic power that has been villainized in women is one that we could have been using to create change in the world.
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  If more women and feminine people of all genders were able to live and express themselves freely, what would our world look like?

Becoming a Pleasure Activist: It's helped me become a pleasure activist! We all need and deserve pleasure, and those most impacted by oppression must prioritize pleasure in their life. Allowing ourselves to enjoy the fullness of our human experience consciously will help raise the bar of what we desire from each area of our life and fuel our passion and action for change.

A Pleasure Experiment

For the next month, let's raise our awareness and intentionality about pleasure by documenting it and integrating our discoveries.
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1. Make three new notes on your phone titled:

• Pleasure Words
• Pleasure Activities
• Pleasure People

2. As you engage with your life, take note of the following:

• Pleasure Words: words or phrases that you feel deeply when you hear them
  • examples: a powerful quote, a word that is fun to say, a comment that made you say "hmmm."
• Pleasure Activities: actions and behaviors that bring you joy
  • examples: a long walk, hugging a friend, playing a game with a child
• Pleasure People: people who light up your life or someone who may be a stranger but just lit up your day

3. At the end of each week, review your lists and journal about what stands out to you and what you enjoyed the most.

4. In the new week, see if you can incorporate some of the words into your conversations and activities while still keeping track of your new discoveries.

As for the pleasure people, be sure to appreciate them and let them know how wonderful they are (yes, let's keep the Empowerment Experiment alive!)

5. Repeat your review, journaling, and application the following week as well.

MY HOPE
​My hope is that we realize the great importance of pleasure in our lives. May we learn where we have areas of repression and tend to those spaces with care. We deserve to feel free and to experience a reality that reflects that liberation. May we no longer see our longing to feel good as a frivolous desire but as an essential aspect of what it means to lead a harmonious life.
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Change starts with healing ourselves and feeling good is free medicine for our soul.