Align Your Orbit #89 - All You Touch
Align Your Orbit is a series of philosophical and somatic experiments to guide intentionality and impact. Find delight in these journeys of exploration. If you would like to receive these offerings as an email on the new moon, sign up here.
There’s a sensation strangely familiar itching at the back of your mind. It’s sunshine and fire as the oceans crash against cliffs. It’s slow and potent. It’s raw and so essential that the mere noticing changes the gravity around it. This is you. This is your power. This is your core. Invite it closer, even and especially when it makes others nervous and uncomfortable. Your most feral creature is ready to play, participate, party. This magic doesn’t care about consensus reality.
Embrace the fullness of the life cycle. Bathe in the volcano of transformation. Allow your priorities to shift in this hard reset. You are not who you thought you were, and that’s perfect, crucial, essential. You feel the tendril threads of existence and braid them just for fun. Make the most of this malleability. This is history in the making. This moment may never come again.
Want to experience these experiments as a Tidal playlist?
New Experiments
1. alternative anarchy – The deterioration of what we thought would protect us only continues. Break free of the chains of what was normal and hold close the parts of you grieving the reality you thought we had. The attacks on every symbol are real and significant. The energetic landscape ripples through every earthquake. You are not alone, and you are not imagining it. This is the moment we were made for. We are the future we have been waiting for. We show up not with weapons but with an open hand.
Challenge Mode: Even democracy is not enough, and even if it were, the procedures have all gone out the window. Stop replicating the mistakes of the past and get curious about the alternatives. Peer governance and non-hierarchy are not just dreams—they exist right now, and there are resources to get you started. Level up your company, co-op, or non-profit with these templates and practices. Live into the new culture now.
2. you feel this before anyone else – When it comes to your body, you are eternally the authority. If you are fully tuned in, you are better than any medical device at sensing when something is off. Trust your body even and especially when others don’t. Our rational minds only catch a fraction of what is real—our ancestral minds know before we do. Speak up and name the sensation. Listen to your instincts. No one else can.
Challenge Mode: Sometimes, you need a mirror. Rather than seek out validation, look for people who are willing to give you that tough love. Switch mental health providers, see a physical therapist, give up on your defeatism. Contemplate the fullness of your life and legacy. You are living and dying all at the same time—act like it. You only have today and today and today.
3. sink in rather than shut down – With everything going on in the world, it’s tempting to reach for those numbing behaviors. When you have that urge, acknowledge the overwhelm. Find it in your body. Name the grief and feel it for a time limit. Open up and let it in. Trust that you’re processing your tiny piece of it all and let that be enough. There’s only so much one person can feel. Give yourself that grace and patience. Slow down.
Challenge Mode: Your family of origin and long-standing relationships come knocking, whether literally or through a re-exploration of past patterns. It’s difficult to tell the difference between love and familiarity. Unravel the harm from the love. Celebrate what’s real and grieve what isn’t. Find kinship in those who sing your songs, dance your dance, recite shared history, and use the same symbols. This is how we recreate culture and regenerate ourselves.
4. rest rest work rest rest – Refuse to get out of bed. Move slow and embrace the energetic movement of what can’t be seen. You don’t have to go anywhere to explore whole universes. You’re a portal to the great unknown, and you’re opening wider than you ever have before. Give yourself a day off. A week. A month. A year. And when you feel the call—really feel it—follow the flow. Give yourself the space to listen, the moment will scream your name.
Challenge Mode: Your imagination is calling for you. When the outer world is too much, your inner world will cradle, console, and challenge you. Create your own stories—make your own myths. Weave your thread into the tapestry of existence. Reality is and will forever be as malleable as you believe it to be.
andra’s Recap of This Fire is for You
The experiments for the previous moon cycle included choosing your own adventure (challenge mode: try the Dvorak keyboard), dance-move-stim (challenge mode: put on the tail), flaws as perfection (challenge mode: yes, they’re flirting), and taking on that next grand plan (challenge mode: make real-world change exactly the way you already do).
Honestly, I had a freaking blast with the experiments for this month, and I loved writing them. I felt extremely energized as I began storytelling my new professional journey and creating my website to match. I actually created my own choose-your-own-adventure game to match people up with virtual and local resources they might not know about, and I am so proud of it. There is almost nothing like the fugue state I get into when I am fully aligned with my technological tools. It has been so satisfying.
To be honest, I’ve been using the Dvorak keyboard for more than 10 years now, and I would never go back. I type with so much more ease and comfort, which has been especially important as a writer and editor. Sure, it’s a little awkward when I need to change computers, but the software/keyboard change is just a few clicks away, and to be frank, I love that it’s one more quirky thing about me. And, I also love that the keyboard was developed by a fellow Czech individual. Represent! The summer I spent learning it was so, so worth it. I haven’t had carpal tunnel symptoms since (except from too much crocheting).
There is nothing that clears the energy better than dancing or banging around on the handpan my household just went in on together. If I’m struggling to move something through, I know I have incredible failsafes to catch me. I’ve also been loving these somatic flows if you want to check them out.
My friendships have genuinely leveled up so much. I don’t know if it’s because we are about to have a baby or just that we’ve hit the required amount of time for the friendships to deepen, but I’m feeling it. I’m calling in my favors and feeling like that’s mutually beneficial. I’m also quicker to name when the friendship isn’t working, and honestly, the energy savings are off the charts. I’m done throwing my energy into a black hole. That’s not my role right now.
Wow, my flaws have been on full display lately from crying jags about the family trauma coming up around changing diapers to the weird time I couldn’t throw away a toy racket I picked up from the creek I’m doing restoration on. Treating these embarrassing moments and anxieties as opportunities to be vulnerable and ask for support has continued to deepen my relationships and let more people into my inner world. I feel more human than I ever have, and I’m done thinking of that as a bad thing.
Also, spoiler alert! I’ve got a new sweetheart in my life! They are a long-time friend, activist, and land-tending buddy who has really shown up for me over the past six months especially. I wasn’t sure it was ever going to happen, but they finally mentioned that they were curious about being more than friends, and here we are, exploring that possibility. They have been so sweet writing letters to future kiddo and spontaneously showing up to drop off groceries on their way home from work. The household loves to see them, and they have already fit into our life so well. I feel exceptionally good about how slow we are going and how curious we are being. Here’s to relationships that actually feel reciprocal and nourishing. They winked at me yesterday. -*giggles*-
Last new moon, I wrote “Your fingers are fire and electricity, every gesture a wild, primal prayer to every god,” and I almost want that tattooed on my body—it’s gorgeous. I felt that so much creating my website. It’s not just a professional statement and a CV; it’s a collection of all the resources, art, community, and hope for the future I can possibly think of in an easy-to-understand and fun format with neon rainbow colors. What’s not to love? I was shocked at how much I enjoyed learning CSS, JavaScript, and HTML code, at least enough to make aesthetic edits. What a joy. Big shoutout to the folx who made Twinery and Itch.io for the incredible hosting tools and visual decision trees. You have truly done the world a service.
Also, in terms of redefining culture, I am so proud of the ways that our baby showers were non-traditional, non-gendered, and fun as hell. We sang songs, did acroyoga, wrote notes, gave foot massages, offered blessings, and shared delicious food. Forget the scripts—let’s live how we want. We might only do this once.
I haven’t fully engaged with Metachysalis yet, but I am laying the groundwork for a Portland chapter! One of the collaborators on the game is moving to Portland in April, and we are ecstatic to connect. I can’t wait until this excellent community game is more available to our local area!
I hope you enjoy this moon’s experiments! See you after the birth!