queer + trans spirituality

Transparency

Firstly, this is my way of flagging to you that I understand that exploring spirituality comes with risk and potential for real harm. Sadly, there are many organizations and individuals who would seek to gain power from your vulnerability. Institutional religion has traumatized countless 2SLGBTIAQ+ people, and has left many feeling robbed of spiritual connection. If you have any doubts or concerns that your religious or spiritual community does not understand, love, accept and affirm the fullness of your identity, please reach out.

Intersectional Lens

Secondly, this is my way of centring the spiritual experiences of 2SLGBTIAQ+ people. Most of “western spirituality” reflects the opinions of cisgender, heterosexual, European men (and occasionally women). It’s time for more balance. Therefore, I am interested in highlighting the poetry, art, music, theologies, philosophies, and spiritual practices of Queer folks.

My Queer lens is also intersectional. In other words, working to shift the cultural locus of power by prioritizing Black lives, Indigenous folks, and People of Colour. It’s long past time to decolonize spirituality.

And I work from the assumption that any valid spirituality must radically include the experiences of neurodiversity, and people living with visible and/or invisible disabilities.

Embracing the weird

Finally, when I say “Queer spirituality”, I recognize that all spiritual experiences feel a bit weird, odd, peculiar, strange (aka queer) at first. It’s often hard to know who to talk to when we’ve had mystical experiences, extra-sensory visions, psychedelic trips, mysterious dreams, spiritual encounters, or enter altered states of consciousness. In fact, spirituality can feel so strange that it’s often difficult to integrate back into “ordinary” life.

No matter how you’ve experienced (or not experienced) “spiritual stuff” is 100% valid, and I’m here to help you make sense of it. Don’t worry, I’m no stranger to strange.

As an un-invited, white, European settler on this land, I feel compelled to call out the problematic and harmful trend in many spiritual communities of cultural and spiritual appropriation. That’s why I stay in my lane. I only share from my own lived experience of spirituality — honouring keepers of wisdom and tradition in their original context. The forms and practices I use in all individual sessions, gatherings and meditations draw from my personal practice, which has been primarily informed by: (1) universalist, post-christian mysticism, (2) animistic, earth-based paganism drawing from my own eclectic witchcraft, (3) “western esotericism” via ceremonial magick, and (4) contemporary scientific research on techniques to calm the mind and ground the body (like Generative Somatics).

Humans have used psychedelic plant medicines around the globe for millennia, often under the guidance of a traditional wisdom keeper or spiritual companion. Nowadays however, many people experience substance-induced states or “trips” in the context of partying with friends, out in nature, or in the comfort of their own homes, which can be experienced as wonderful, transcendent, terrifying, reality-bending and/or just plain overwhelming.

If you or someone you love has had an overwhelming experience (whether positive or negative) and could use some help understanding and integrating it, don’t hesitate reach out. As someone who has experienced many altered states of consciousness personally (including hell-loops, ego disillusion, reality bending, apocalyptic visions, hallucinations, external entities, etc.) I know how unsettling some “bad trips” can be. Together we can heal and integrate psychedelic experiences to offer deeper connection to self, others, and the interconnected life of our planet.

The term “queer” has been used as a pejorative for centuries. Originally the word was used to refer to anyone/anything that was seen as weird, odd, peculiar, or strange. Over time, however, it became more commonly weaponized against anyone/anything perceived to be gender variant or deemed sexually “deviant”.

I acknowledge that some 2SLGBTIAQ+ folks don’t like or use the term “queer”. And some people still find its use offensive, which I understand and empathize with. To clarify, my use of the word comes from my own lived experience, and is intended to reclaim and empower Queerness for myself and the communities I’m part of. It’s a politically charged word, and I use it aware of its power.

Here are some resources to check out if you want to know more:
– “What does queer mean?” from LGBTQ Nation
– “What Does ‘Queer’ Mean? 9 LGBTQ+ People Explain How They Love, Hate, And Understand The Word ‘Queer'” from Them.Us

I see the world through a trans lens. I mean this in 2 ways: (1) transgender, and (2) social transgression

1. Transgender: I was assigned “male” at birth, and spent most of my life being identified by others as a “girly boy” who grew into a “feminine man”. I have transitioned my outward expression of gender (socially and hormonally) to better match my interior experience of gender. That’s the way I’m trans… however, there are many ways to be trans! Basically, I use “trans” as an umbrella term that is wide enough to include anyone who doesn’t conform to the gender expectations placed on them by others (whether they change name, pronouns, appearance, social behaviour, physical body, or not).
2. Social Transgression: For too long, human life and behaviour has been dictated by so-called social “norms”, as a way for patriarchal systems of power to maintain control over your body, mind, emotions and spirit. Therefore, I applaud and encourage gender rebellion, line-blurring, and wilful transgression against all patriarchal and colonial structures.

Nonbinary is an umbrella term used by many people whose lived experiences do not conform to the traditional gender norms of a society that only understands and values two, so-called “opposite”, genders. My personal history with gender conformity, like many other trans and nonbinary folks, was unnecessarily painful and complicated. Thankfully, humanity is beginning to wake up to see the limitations of strictly polarized thinking and we are beginning to embrace a wider spectrum of gender expression and identity.

I work with all kinds of people, including folks who identify as straight and cisgender. Although the emphasis of my work is journeying alongside people with 2SLGBTIAQ+ experience and their families or friends, I’m open to working with any earnest seeker.

Check out our resources page for additional resources, books, support networks, and accounts to follow!