Going Analog & Upcoming Offerings

When You Are Forced to Divorce Your Tech

A few days before my son Harrison and his aide Liz returned to the US, my Iphone screen started to bleed and get wonky. I figured out how to back it up to the iCloud and thought I had downloaded or screenshot all my important information before sending the phone with Liz for a replacement in the US. I was wrong. Every account, app, (including this Substack and my website) is tied to either my face, text verification, or a long list of passwords that were protected from my own efforts to export them. My ability to get normal work done has been seriously blocked. The universe was certainly sending me messages, though.

I figured out some workarounds and spent a lot of time with uber-patient Liz on the phone, so I could do the basics: pay bills, get into my work email and finally, today, log in here. There were many days, I just had to release my worry and loss of control over the situation, realizing how my sense of self worth is so deeply connected to my productivity. Other days, I had passing thoughts of never owning a cellphone again, —the freedom. Yet, that is not the reality I’m living in. I won’t get my phone back until likely the end of March or beginning of April, but I’m adjusting. In my meditations and journaling time, I’ve noticed themes of releasing thoughts and connecting more with my heart and my consciousness instead of flowing right into my to-do list.

It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.

– Albert Einstein

I love Einstein’s quote because it captures how (even though it was written several decades ago) the speed and accessibility of technology situates us in our thinking brain instead of our hearts and bodies, where I believe our humanity lives. Yes, I realize all the opposing arguments to this. But try not having your Iphone or access to your computer for a month, and observe how much and the quality of what you feel.

A Different Kind of March Madness

March has become an emotionally tricky month for me, so I don’t think it is a mistake that I’ve been relieved of my normal ways of keeping busy via technology. While one of my best friends has a March birthday, which is a joyous occasion, the month is also the anniversary of two friends who passed James Hober March 12 and Renee G Bell on March 16. And my Dad’s birthday was also March 12, who passed about 18 months ago. This month tends to bring a somber feeling, and one of dread. Yet, this year, I’ve decided to quiet my mind more and shift towards my heart feeling gratitude for the time I had with my friends and my father rather than court thoughts of fear that another loss will occur this month or that sadness needs to take the wheel.

As I move through this month, I’m feeling a little momentum and excitement for the events I have to offer and exciting things on the horizon.

Publication of a Chapter from My Memoir in Progress

As many of you know, I writing my memoir, tentatively entitled Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire. Through the Gateless Academy experience and lectures, I am realizing this dream I’ve had for many years to write my story. A few months ago, a Gateless sister-friend, teacher, and editor extraordinaire Meg McIntyre told me about a young literary magazine Hyssop + Laurel that is dedicated to the deconstruction of religious trauma, a theme that runs throughout my memoir. I sent a chapter in and today, the magazine’s issue is published. You can read my chapter on page 21 entitled. “The Baptism 1980” , and there are so many excellent pieces to peruse.

Gateless Writing Salon: Saturdays for the Month of April

For the month of April, I’m offering a series of Saturday morning Gateless Writing Salons online. These are generative workshops for all levels and styles of writers— great for producing new work. There are five Saturdays in April, so I’m offering drop ins for $35 or a series of five for $125. Since I’m still without a phone 🥴, please send an email to kimberlycescamilla@gmail.com or a direct message on social media (fb, IG, or Linkedin) if you are interested in joining us 9am-11am PST. We’ll start our zoom session with an overview of the Gateless Writing process, have a short meditation that flows into a prompt. Then, after 25 minutes of writing time, we will share our work and provide Gateless feedback with an eye on the parts that are strong. If you have never experienced a Gateless Writing Workshop, it is super supportive and often magic happens on the page or between writers.

Tranquilo: a Costa Rica Retreat for Neurodiverse Families

Kelley and I have a few spots left for our Costa Rican retreat June 19-22nd. See our wetravel website for all the details. Payment plans are available. One of the excursions we are planning is to my friend Gianni’s Indigenous Café, which highlights full immersion in nature in the buildings (all natural materials and made by hand) and in the cacao, which is grown by indigenous tribes and processed manually in-house. We’ll learn about the process of moving cacao from bean to bar or cup (for you hot chocolate lovers). We will taste yummy samples of everything from various cacao nibs, to bites of 65%-100% chocolate. Gianni uses funds from the café to support a Ngöbe tribe to build a school near the border of Panama. Elders from the tribe visit periodically and their handmade goods (purses and hats) are often available for sale—as are bars of chocolate.

I hope you are thriving and finding peace.

Big Love,

💜 Kimberly