Episode 5: Liminal Space
“Like caterpillars making their way toward their cocoon, we have crawled our way through endings. Yet it is unclear what we are becoming” - Octavia Raheem
What I’m Thinking About
Last week my friend Jasmine wrote on her substack about the liminal space and I was inspired to share pages from my personal journal when I wrote about the same thing last year on February 16, 2022 (I titled and dated all of my journal entries lol).
Through practicing yoga via peloton with Dr. Chelsea, I came to know of and began to follow Octavia Raheem. Octavia is an award-winning author, rest coach, yoga nidra, meditation teacher, and speaker in Atlanta. If you know me well enough, you know rest is something I’m always talking/preaching about, so it was an easy follow.
In 2022, I started reading “Pause, Rest, Be” by Octavia Raheem and I also joined L’Oreal Thompson Payton’s book club for the book where we would meet, meditate, discuss the book, journal, and practice restorative yoga, which is used to promote rest. The book is divided into three parts: The End, The Liminal Space, and The Beginning.
Our first session discussed “The End”, and though I hadn’t read it yet, it felt timely for this point in my life. In just a few weeks, I would be ending my 8-year tenure with INTech and moving out of my Philly apartment. I was in an extremely liminal space and was grateful to finally have the words for what I was experiencing at that time in my life (before reading this book, I had no idea what liminal even meant lol).
I remember being frustrated by the “what’s next?” questions from people once I announced my INTech resignation. I was excited that I could start telling people that I was in a liminal space - an in-between - and I’m not rushing into the new beginning just yet (if you’ve read my other entries - this sounds familiar, right?).
How fitting was it that Octavia joined our last session on the same day that I moved out of my apartment in Philly, which was the end of my time in the apartment where I did A LOT of healing and the beginning of me exploring a new neighborhood in Philly? While I should have been packing up the last few things in my apartment, I went and got a haircut, grabbed brunch, and came back for the book club session. It was amazing to share space with Octavia, an author and rest coach who gave me words and the permission to rest that I needed at this time in my life.
Quotes from the book that I wrote in my journal:
“We have been deconstructed in order to put ourselves back together in a way that not only heals us, but also our families, community, and world”
“Beloved, as we drop beneath the surface of what is known, we enter a place of possibility. A place where the one thing I am sure of is this: I do not know what this part of the path holds. I do know that we are held. Everything and nothing exists here.”
This quote really hit. I’ve claimed a lot of titles (Dr., CEO, PR Chair, DJ, etc.) and a lot of distinctions. As a result, people have maintained that these titles and distinctions shall always remain. In our society, changing and pivoting seem to confuse folks. It’s as if we have to stay the same and on the same path forever, when we do not. I hope people are able to get the free feeling of a pivot at some point in their lives. I am excited to see my authentic self emerge as I continue to purge and shed layers of old KB (this paragraph is written exactly as I wrote it on 2/16/2022, and I can not wait for y’all to read my birthday reflection next week!).
In May of 2022, I ended up moving to Cary to live with my line sister Joi while I searched for a full-time job. In the meantime, I traveled a bit and started working on my dissertation. I got the job offer in August and moved to Atlanta.
Since being laid off, I am back in a liminal space, and it feels great knowing that I made it out of this space before and I have the language and the tools to navigate my new beginning.
Amen.
What I’m Reading
For National Hispanic Heritage Month, it felt appropriate to highlight two books I read with LatinX characters! Last year, I read a lot of fiction books that centered on other heritages (LatinX, Indian American, and African) and I truly enjoyed them.
“A Lot Like Adios” & “You Had Me at Hola” by Alexis Daria
I give them both 4 stars.
These two books are part of a series by Daria called “Primas of Power”. You’ll learn that I love a good book series.
Unfortunately, I do not remember what I loved about these books because I didn’t leave a review for them on Goodreads, BUT I do remember reading them pretty quickly because they were so good. I also remember them being VERY SPICY VERY FAST lol
So if you’re looking for a light fiction/romance read, these two books are it!
What I’m Watching
Last week I wrapped up this documentary on OWN about the history of Essence Magazine. I learned SO MUCH, like the fact that Essence was founded by four Black men. They even got funding early on from Hugh Hefner (yes, from Playboy lol). I also didn’t realize that after Katrina, Essence Fest took place in Houston before returning back to NOLA. Also, does anyone remember an Essence Awards show? I have no recollection of this, but apparently, it went on for a few years.
I highly recommend checking out the documentary if you’re into learning more about Black media/entertainment.
PRO TIP: If you have Max (formerly HBO Max), you can watch all OWN shows commercial-free!
What I’m Vibin’ to
Baby, This is Keke Palmer
This week is a little different. I generally focus on music, which I can do for days, but today I want to tell you all to add Keke Palmers podcast to your rotation! I am not a big podcast girlie, so that’s even more reason for you to take heed of my suggestion!
She often starts each episode talking to her mom, Ms. Sharon, and/or her best friend Max, and they’ll dive deeper into a topic. I love that she’s able to talk to her mom like a homegirl, and her mom is JUST as funny as Keke!
I’ve recently started trying to watch the podcast episodes on YouTube, but I generally listen to them while driving.
Some of my favorite episodes are:
The Art of Pleasure with Janelle Monae
What Kind of Friend Are You? with the cast of Harlem
Bringing Back the Sitcom, with Quinta Brunson
AI & Music and Prince vs. Michael Jackson with will.i.am - LIVE from Cannes
Vice President Kamala Harris on the Maternal Health Crisis (watch this on YouTube!)
Behind the Mask with Ruth E. Carter
The Instagram Effect with Therapist Nedra Glover Tawwab
Listen wherever you get your pods: Spotify | YouTube | Apple
Bonus Track:
No bonus track this week - but I gave you three book recommendations AND a tip that you can watch OWN shows on Max commercial free…..sooo yeah, until next week!