Hi,
This is the mid-month post, where I share a few recommendations, links, readings, and whatever else is on my radar. I hope you're breathing on the other side, finding ways to stay in your body somehow. I hope you're finding reasons to smile.
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One Mini Morning Playlist
One Reflection
I recently rewatched this interview and felt like sharing it here. Báyò Akomolafe—philosopher, (recovered) psychologist, professor, and poet—has an incredible ability to craft language that makes our souls feel larger than our bodies.
One Movie
If you haven’t seen it yet, please go watch I’m Still Here—a beautiful Brazilian film. It’s not only worth watching for its breathtaking cinematography and the impeccable performance of Fernanda Torres but also because it tells the story of a family during the dictatorship years—an era Brazil is still grappling with. It’s a story of loss and injustice, but also one of love and becoming.
One Thought
I’ve been reflecting—from my Southern Hemisphere/Latin American perspective—on what it means to live in America now. It seems that what we are being called to do, or to learn to do, is to live in the brokenness. There is an ingrained idealism in American culture that hinders us from truly facing reality as it is—not as it used to be or as we wish it to be.
Coming from a place that has always known how to exist in brokenness, I feel compelled to share this: there is resistance in standing in your dignity and joy, in your beauty and aliveness, in your grief and despair—even in times like these. Especially in times like these.
One Interview
Anna Lembke, a psychiatrist and author of Dopamine Nation, shares insightful perspectives in this interview. I found it both personal and helpful for all of us navigating digital addictions. Listen here.
We need to stay curious about how we use our attention. I know we’re all tired of hearing this, but it truly matters where we place it as we move through this chaotic craziness. You’re being alienated from your own attention
One “Speaking Of”
One Practice
One Quiet Life
simone de beauvoir, in the ethics of ambiguity, argues that meaning isn’t something we stumble upon—it’s something we actively create. it’s not handed down or bestowed by external forces; it’s forged through the choices we make and the way we move through the world. a little life, in all its simplicity, doesn’t seek validation from the outside. instead, it crafts its own meaning in the quiet, deliberate acts of everyday living
One Breathing Practice
This has been one of my favorites lately. As always, you can do just a few rounds of this breathing exercise during the day or incorporate it into the beginning of your meditation practice.
Inhale slowly for a count of 5, 6, or more.
Exhale slowly through the nose for a longer count.
Hold the breath for 2 or 3 seconds after the exhale before beginning your next inhale.
Repeat 5 to 10 times.
*You can access a collection of free meditation recordings here.
One Wisdom
Jorge Luis Borges was one of the most important writes in Latin America, and these words are ingrained in me.
“Time is the substance I am made of. Time is a river which sweeps me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger which destroys me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire which consumes me, but I am the fire.”
―Jorge Luis Borges
More thoughts on time, here
One Speed
Rosalía always serving the hot tea!
“I don’t feel I am late, if I’m going on my own rhythm”
One Question
Which begs the question:
WHAT IS YOUR INTERNAL RHYTHM?
With Love,
Mariana