Minerva's Muse Vol. 26

Minerva’s Muse is a column of inspiration named after the Roman goddess of creativity, wisdom, medicine, and craft. I believe that inspiration and creativity are regenerative, so, from my corner of the world to yours, let us share in a mutual offering to Minerva.

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Listen…

I shared this podcast episode on Instagram a few weeks back, but it definitely deserves more than one recommendation. As a result of holding my own podcast to such high standards, I’ve set the bar pretty high for other podcasts as well. The truth is, I don’t listen to many.

I’d heard of The Emerald, hosted by Josh Schrei, at least a few times over the past year, and decided to finally give it a go. Wow. To be fair, this Embodiment episode is still the only episode I’ve listened to, but it seems pretty representative of the rest of the show, and I’m impressed. Josh chooses fascinating, complex topics, and presents them with an insane amount of forethought, editing, and original, music composed specifically for each episode. What?! It’s clear he puts A LOT of work into these, and I am grateful to stumble upon someone else who seems to share my level of dedication to discussing nuanced topics, albeit with far more patience for editing than I’ll ever have!

Read…

I’ve officially become a paid subscriber to Bari Weiss’ Free Press. From current events presented with wit, humor, and nuance, to a great podcasting and writing from a well-curated group of writers, this Substack publication is well worth the investment. There’s also a ton of free content as well, including this thoughtful piece written by Amanda Fortini about the disconnect between the stories we’re told to believe vs. what’s really going on in the world.

Real Life Does Not Fit The Narrative

Another great piece from another Substack publication, Kinspirit. Daje is a beautiful writer and thinker. This piece speaks to the ways “healing” has become co-opted by linearity and mechanistic thinking, and encourages us to prioritize “wholing” instead.

to: a generation of self-tweakers.

Watch…

This might not be a popular opinion, but the most thought-provoking TV series I’ve watched all year has been HBO’s The Vow. The documentary follows the in-real-time unraveling of Keith Raniere and his company NXIVM — a corporation that ran expensive, long-form self-improvement seminars, but that also dabbled in the business of complex, sexually explicit power dynamics, and the branding of female “slaves” who reported to their female “masters” in a company-affiliated “secret society” masterminded by Raniere called Dominus Obsequious Sororium, or “DOS” for short. (Dominus is a Latin word meaning “owner” or “master”, obsequious means “obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree,” and Sororium refers to a sorority or a group of sisters).

This interview with one of the show’s directors, Jehane Noujaim, reflects a lot of why I found this series compelling. Despite the insta-success of click-bait-friendly “Sex Cult” documentaries, the creators of The Vow resisted the urge to push any one narrative on the audience, and instead leaves them to judge and discern the truth for themselves.

The two-season series gave voice to stories and opinions of individuals who firmly believe that Keith is a predatory, pedophilic, narcissistic sex-cult guru, but it also gave voice to stories and opinions of individuals who still stand by Keith Raniere to this day, even after he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, and who insist that everything he did was legal and consensual.

Keith Raniere was both brilliant and psychotic. Cults can be both good and bad for their members. Power dynamics can be enacted with both good and bad intentions, sometimes simultaneously. The Vow encompassed all of this nuance and more.

To be honest, this show triggered the hell out of me. I had to stop watching the first season a couple years ago half way through, but eventually, I came back to it, and I’m really glad I did.

If you’re interested in social psychology, the art of discernment, and the endlessly complex dance between sex and power, I highly recommend watching both seasons.

Look…

I have recently become enamored by Jessie Makinson’s art. It upends, reconstructs and reroots narratives in ways that delight and inspire me. I highly recommend giving her a follow on Instagram, visiting her website, and checking out this interview where she talks at length about her process, and about what inspires her.

“Come on lets find another nightmare”

“Don’t Bite Anyone Else”

Drink…

Last fall, on an overcast, rainy day in Antigua, Guatemala, I ordered an “infusión de cacao” at a café by our apartment. I honestly wasn’t sure what I was ordering, but it said “cacao,” so how bad could it be? What arrived was a little sachet of dried cacao shells, hot water, and a bit of milk. Aha! Cacao tea. It was delicious.

I’ve been drinking some of this with some heavy cream and stevia almost every day since we arrived in Crestone. Unfortunately, my supply is dwindling so I’m going to have to order some more online. Not ideal, but unless someone wants to traffic bagfuls of dried cacao shells from Guatemala for me, I’m going to try this brand and see how it goes.