Minerva's Muse Vol. 28
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 belong to the collective, and are meant to be shared, so if any of the following inspires you, please feel free share it with others!
Listen…
In the last edition of Minerva’s Muse, I shared Megan Phelps-Roper’s TED talk. Megan grew up in Westboro Baptist Church, aka the “God Hates Fags” Topeka, Kansas-based church that flew its members all over the country to protest at the funerals of fallen soldiers and school shooting victims, blaming their deaths on the sin of homosexuality. Ultimately, Megan left the church, was exiled by her family, and has since dedicated her life to questioning the nature of truth and belief. How can we really know we’re right? How can we really trust ourselves to know we’re on the “morally just” side of things? In an effort to explore these questions, Megan decided to write a letter to J.K. Rowling. In the letter, Megan asked Rowling if she’d be would be willing to have a conversation with her about the recent comments Rowling made regarding gender, and the backlash that’s been unleashed by members of the far left, many of whom had previously been avid Harry Potter fans. Rowling, impressed and intrigued by the letter, agreed, and the conversation ultimately became The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, a seven-episode podcast series that delves into a myriad of complex topics with nuance and humility.
In addition to exploring discernment, self-awareness, and the evolution of identity politics and division in the United States and abroad, the podcast also does a wonderful job at illustrating the unique nature of the 1990s and early 2000s, which is when the Harry Potter books were first released. As someone who came of age in this era alongside the Harry Potter books, I felt incredibly validated by the podcast’s portrayal of Millennials and Gen Z, and was impressed by its illustration of how our generations’ mythology was shaped by the political and cultural uniqueness of that specific period of time.
If you’re into nuance, critical thinking, gender politics, and generational explorations, you should definitely listen to The Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling if you haven’t already…
Read…
“The Crack-Up” by Peter Hughes, discusses the fragility of individual and collective identity, and how understanding what provokes collapse at both a personal and societal level, can help us prevent both.
A beautiful piece by Jeffrey Eugenides about why we should all write posthumously…
Watch…
I recently discovered Anderson and Brenda, two well-known Zouk dancers. Zouk, which originated in Brazil, is a partner dance that emphasizes connection, fluidity, and sensuality. I could watch these two dance for hours and hours…
Look…
Photos of Crestone seem to be the vibe for this section of Minerva’s Muse lately, but can you blame me? I captured this vortex-like storm situation from the porch the other day, and it’s still blowing my mind.
Speaking of things that blew my mind, here’s another photo I found in the archives that I took of Metropolis, a ghost town in northern Nevada. Chris and I spent the night here in the van in early 2020, and the whole collapsed civilization vibe felt a little too close to home. I recommend reading the story behind this place, and visiting if you can.
Attend…
The Sex at Dawn retreat is back!
Five days, beautiful Montana scenery, healthy food, martial arts, dance, deep conversation, and an exploration of sexuality, relationships, empowerment, communication, and much more.
Last year, myself,
, and Cameron & Melayne Shayne had so much fun leading the first Sex at Dawn retreat, that we knew we had to do it again. I’m looking forward to connecting with more of you in real life, and helping to connect more of you to each other as well!Questions? Feel free to reach out or comment on this post, and click here to learn more and apply.
There’s still space, but spots are filling up quickly as we can only accommodate twenty or so attendees. If you’d like to join us, I recommend signing up sooner rather than later.
yes . i was in Aprils conversation
hi Anya: when will the book club gather this month?