Author Archives: adventurerliberated

It’s 3:30 in the morning and I’ve been awake for over an hour. I woke up to pee, as often happens during the night, but then I haven’t been able to get back to sleep despite my tiredness and the guided meditation to help me relax.  The feelings from my KAPT sessions are still lingering,Continue reading “There’s so much love — it’s overwhelming”

Sometimes you get an email that makes your day.  That just happened to me now.  This upcoming Saturday there will be a charitable 5K run in my neighborhood: I saw it posted in the Open Space where I often go for my walks or runs and decided to try and participate — as a non-binaryContinue reading “Go You, non-binary runners!”

For a while now, when I think of myself as an animal other than human, I’ve been feeling like a Big Cat, specifically, a combination of a lion (male, the one with the mane), a mountain lion or cougar (maybe female), and a cheetah.  Yesterday, I discovered that I am a peacock — also aContinue reading “The Lion & the Peacock”

[Flow of consciousness processing & “integration” after my second psychedelic experience (Ketamine-Assisted Psychedelic Therapy) from this morning] “I’m a mountain” — as I grew up out of the earth with it all.  “I’m a river” — as I let go and flowed with it all.  “I’m in the earth” — I felt that I wasContinue reading “There’s so much Love! — I know”

[Flow of consciousness processing — “integration” — after my first psychedelic experience (Ketamine-Assisted Psychedelic Therapy) from this morning] “Why words?” Indeed, why words?  And yet, that’s what I’m using right now, right now, writing words. Writing words.  Why words?  Because they define us…? Maybe…?  Because sometimes they’re all we’ve got, all we’re allowed to haveContinue reading “Why words?”

Another sad, concerning, infuriating reminder that the battle for trans people (& their allies) isn’t over, yet, and is actually getting worse in many places: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/05/11/1172589936/as-conservative-states-target-trans-rights-a-florida-teen-flees-for-a-better-lif

How people (mis)gender me and react to my appearances & my being openly/explicitly queer still affects me a lot — often too much.  The cashier at the cafe where I went to get lunch today misgenered me with a colleague, referring to me as “she”, and it basically ruined my day. In my head I’mContinue reading “Burning points”

On Sunday I did my first multi-pitch trad climb with a friend, i.e not with a professional guide (& it had been nearly two years since I’d done a trad climbing multi-pitch route anyway).  I went with one of my closest climbing buddies, someone with whom I climb almost every single weekend — we basicallyContinue reading “Turning point”

I love this feeling of belonging. Of belonging here, here and now.  I belonged in the Acroyoga class on Monday night where, although I’ve been there only a couple times, some people remembered me from the previous two times I had gone — and it’s just a warm, welcoming, respectful, and affectionate community anyway.  IContinue reading “I belong”

One last moment of hesitation and then Arys did it. He walked into the men’s changing room at the climbing gym.  It was a new space for him. He didn’t know where to expect the stalls and wash basins, didn’t know where the lockers and towels would be. And he didn’t want to look aroundContinue reading “Hey man, what’s up?”