Yes I will fucking freak out. The planet is on fucking fire, people can’t afford basic groceries, species are dying - and some idiots insist in spending water, using energy and stealing people’s works using some fascist tech-bro’s doombot because AI is supposedly fun or convenient. I hate AI with a passion for all the reasons reasonable people keep explaining again, and again, and again: the environment, the copyright, the dark fascist agenda behind it. Soon enough I’ll lose patience with stupid AI bros who are going ‘but it’s just harmless fun’ and just screech into their ears at full volume in a last desperate attempt to wake up their shrinking GPTchat-fucked brains.

No, it’s not just a trigger. It’s just really that bad.

I believe a lot of the wellness stuff is to keep us functional in a sick world (I have used mindfulness to be more productive before and it has driven me into burnout), so I really don’t want to get obsessed about the wellness or fitness game. I also don’t want to be a fucking wreck at 55. Not always as chill as it seems. 😅

I’ve been looking into local plants as coffee substitutes, and made my own malt coffee once by sprouting and roasting grain. At the moment these are too time consuming for me, but I might get there at some point. I really don’t like being addicted to this colonial stuff, it’s wrong on so many levels, not just health.

I’d say it’s a solid 50/50 these days. If I force myself to follow ambitious plans, anything to do with what others might think of me, or socialize too much when I actually should be resting I will certainly regret it. I try to access my feelings and find out what really matters to me. Those are the things that make me feel more alive. Hard to find the difference but I’m getting better at it. Most FOMO can go fuck itself these days.

Not very well, to be honest. I have replaced one or two of the many coffees I drink every day with herbal infusion because my joints have started rattling in the last few years. I add vegetables to my food often, and also use the herbs I grow on my balcony. I pray to the goddess that she permits my coffee habit for another few years. But also, I very rarely touch ultra processed foods, don’t drink soda or any other sugary drink, avoid stress (even most stuff considered ‘fun’ stress, like holidays and events) and try to not pollute my mind with too much bullshit. I don’t like being obsessed or make myself feel guilty about living in a very healthy way. Most of my wellness practice consists of doing whatever I feel like doing without worrying too much about it.

Oh it looks a bit hopeless in this thread, I’m so sorry it is so hard for you all!

Here’s a bit of hope, maybe it nudges someone in a brighter direction (or if you are not spiritually inclined at least me having lost it completely might entertain you):

I’m finding hope in my animist faith. Ever since I’ve started talking to the landscape a few years ago, and overcame the fear of being a complete nutter sliding into psychosis, I have had guidance about what I can do next to make things better - it sometimes arrives in the shape of an animal visiting me, or the wind picking up as I entertain certain thoughts, or a book with relevant information.

This week I’m visiting friends and in their library I found a book about landscape healing by connecting to nature spirits, a lot of which corresponds to what I’ve experienced myself when trying to reconnect. The landscape around us has not given up on us yet, and wants to re-balance things, and we are invited to help. Destroyed water sources, sad forests, forgotten mountains can be helped not just by fierce activism, but by extending our love towards them and connecting with them as friends and neighbours.

I believe the real revolution is already happening in the hearts of millions of witches, who start connecting with each other and with all the life out there, and this movement is becoming more powerful every day. Finding back towards balance is the work of many generations, so in our current incarnations we might not see the end of it, but the work towards it is something we can do today, even in the bleakest of times. So I guess go hug a tree or speak to a rock, and I really wish that things get better for you soon!

Do you expect some longer term benefits? Are you planning to repeat the experience?

@klemptor@startrek.website @LadyButterfly@piefed.blahaj.zone What a day! Not a single donkey pic was taken today - there’s one very old donkey and I didn’t meet him (yet). I did meet a very nice person who I immediately got along with. I had no idea she was actually looking for someone to share the place, and how beautiful the place is! A running stream where I can mount my ram pumps, trees with lots of fruit to harvest and process, and plenty of space to have my own piece of soil to care for - looks like a place I would like to call home and where my skills are needed and welcome. Very excited now and still recovering from the surprise. Car had to get towed on the way back (again) after losing all its water, but who cares - most probably it’s a quick fix and nothing serious got damaged. I’ll return there next week, to hopefully meet the donkey and agree to a longer stay for next month to see if we get along, wish me luck!

So one part of the prepping is having a place to put some good work in and get some good food out. There’s no shortage of farms looking for volunteers around here, but not all of them are well run and have good conditions, so this is a very lucky find. The other part of prepping is the community networking, bringing people together who can support each other - so finding a place not far from the community I already know and have been connecting with is even more lucky. Goddess be blessed, it was so much more than I expected to have done by Tuesday. Wish me luck for this to work out!

Report back to us, I’m curious as to how that might feel!

That must be an emotionally heavy job, hope it’s just as rewarding as well!

Going to visit a new acquaintance on her farm tomorrow and there will be donkeys I think - I’ll brave the awful heat to scratch some long fluffy ears and I’m curious to get to know a new person. There’s a lake nearby and I might go for a swim. Someone was talking about a pool party happening later this week - I’m a bit panicked about the idea but apparently it’s supposed to be really small and quiet and only women I know.

It all fits nicely into my prepping for “more shit hitting the fan” community activities - networking with women and hopefully finding some land I can take care of. This is all new and exciting!

I’ll also be lazily trying to find more money making work, but not too worried about it this week.

I used to get along better with men when being a mom because my interests and those of my kid included a lot of men stuff. I was also living as a foreigner in a country with a lot of rather conservative expectations towards women and especially mothers and I didn’t really fit in. I’ve never been interested in ‘typical’ women’s topics with the only exception being textile art. Now I’m approaching menopause, kid is grown up, and I start identifying with the role of (extremely radical) grandmother. I seem to be meeting a lot of older women lately who try to be of service, work towards community and towards reconnecting with the natural world, and many are also some sort of witches and healers - so basically a congregation of crazy cat ladies. That makes for a lot of interesting stuff to talk about, I am really enjoying it - even the part where most guys and some younger women seem to think I’ve lost my marbles!

Mumbo jumbo sounds very defensive to me. It’s strange how people get quite angry or at least really dismissive when you mention anything that is beyond the commonly accepted mainstream science - even when there’s no direct harm done to them by people talking about it. It’s also strange when you find out how many actual scientists are animists or carry some sort of spiritual belief.

When you get deeper into indigenous philosophies (branded since the times of enlightenment as superstitious mumbo jumbo) you often find belief systems that are incredibly pragmatic and would solve many of the social and environmental problems our rationalist thoughtscape has brought about, but our Western supremacist education makes it difficult for us to accept how much we could gain by opening up to it.

I became an animist after reading about the concept of Wendigo, and then applying the scientific method to indigenous belief systems by just acting as if they were true and finding out what happens in my life. For a brief period after the landscape and my ancestors were starting to speak to me I wasn’t sure whether I was descending into psychosis, but ultimately the results of listening to these voices and taking their guidance were more sound than continuing to follow the un-guidance of Western rationalist culture. At the same time I met quite a few people who were going through the same changes of mind. There seems to be an interesting process going on that brings more and more people back into a connection and relation with non-human life (animals, plants, rivers, mountains, ancestors …) and those who open up to it are usually those who I consider working for positive improvements (social justice, environmental issues), so I consider them my family.

The very first opening up, even before reading about Wendigo, was by me being a pet owner and having some experiences with my horse that showed a depth of soul I could not continue to dismiss - so maybe you want to ask your dog about what they think about the mumbo jumbo? ;-)

As an animist I recognize and respect the sacredness of all that is, as a former skeptic this notion would have made me deeply defensive a few years ago, and even now I still find myself resisting to anything I perceive as prescribed group practice. My own experience makes me wonder how others who haven’t reconnected to landscape yet would perceive such an idea.

Fucked my way through Europe in my 20s. Quality: overwhelmingly bad. Regrets: none, how would I have found out otherwise?

I’ll be getting my freelancing back on track and apply for some translation work and register on some job portals. Might check out some Portuguese books from the library to become more comfy with my third language again and maybe score some local interpreting work (although having to interpret scares the shit out of me, so also I’ll need to get busy gathering all the courage I possibly can).

They care for their community and are kind to non-humans. Unpretentious around style and looks. Quiet, not a party person.

That’s when my followers arrive to worship me, can’t disappoint them.

Can’t, it’s the day I usually visit the Akashic record store