sanctuary
love. loss. growth. and the art of becoming.
brianne patrice’s motherhood journey shows why we should un-romanticize maternity— kristen jeré
A large part of the rose-colored world view of motherhood, Patrice believes, is due to the prevailing narrative around mothering. “Motherhood is often talked about like it's the best thing you could ever possibly do with your life [as a woman]. And more often than not, when we as Black women, specifically, enter into parenthood…we realize that those stories or those experiences that we were led to believe about parenthood are often fairytales not reflective of our actual [Black] parenting experiences,” said Patrice.
devi maisha of sensual energy alchemy talks the wonders of offering yourself your own erotic energy in every season of your life— kristen jeré
“i loved the Kama Sutra. I wanted to do yoga because I wanted to have better sex. i was always interested in that. but combining it with meditation and breath-work, learning that while sex and orgasms are great, when bodies come together it can become this magical experience beyond the pleasure of the moment, that it can heal and expand your mental capacities, that’s what got me into [sacred sexuality].”
wheel throwing and activating sensual playfulness — kristen jeré
i turned my palms into little bowls, pouring handfuls of water on top of the clay to reduce its’ natural stickiness, to make it moldable and changeable. i’d press my pointer and middle fingers into the center of the clay to make a single hole that forms the basis of all ceramic creations. my left hand would serve as a guide, stabilizing the clay and giving it something to push into.
finding softness in chosen family — faith
as a Black woman, sisterhood is essential to our livelihood and survival. it’s what makes our days lighter. it’s what helps us raise our children. it’s what heals us. it’s community. it’s love. it’s a village of our own making, and whether that village is small or large, it’s still a village.
honoring our foremothers through revolutionary self care: leaning into softness — mariah maddox
black women have become the framework for strength, expected to carry the weight of this pitied world with grace. but in actuality, this has led to generational curses, tendencies, and patterns. this has taxed us to our very core.
unraveling the thread of generational wounds — faith
when you think about the vessel that carries you through this lifetime, what are the thoughts that form around it? “living within this vessel means picking up that unraveled fabric and sewing myself back up as many times as i need to.”
the body after birth: navigating sensuality in motherhood — mariah maddox
our bodies are our resting place. the one space that holds it all—our emotions, our desires, our tendencies, our sensuality. it grows and it changes with us throughout the seasons, over the years, through trial and error, through victory and defeat. and for that, our bodies should receive our utmost praise.
creating a sensual self-care toolkit with afrosexology — kristen jeré
the founders, dalychia and rafaella, of the virtual and in real-life black sexual intimacy education space, afrosexology, are finding sensual self-care in everything from gut feelings and deep breathing to cinnamon rolls and roller skating.
the body as a portal — kristen jeré
i’m not sure if the mantras stuck but overtime my orgasms changed. instead of the buzzy vibration of a clitoral orgasm, i now experienced a deep pulsation like the base of a drum, steady and grounding. i noticed how these root chakra orgasms continued even during sessions when i wasn’t using the crystal or any other type of penetration.
removing the lens: moments of self-betrayal and living more boldly in my truth – faith
there are days that i forget that the only gaze that i should cater to is my own. but most days, i am hyper aware of my own brilliance. of my own light. of my own beauty. of the God within me. of my own power to make my life whatever i want it to be.
finding my enjoyment: pleasure as an act of liberation – marlo w.
how could i truly center my own pleasure when i didn’t know who i was, what i liked, and what i truly desired? i thought i had an understanding of what i liked, but noticed that i was enjoying less and less the sex i was having, the men i was encountering, and the way i was being treated.
what is eroticism? — brianne patrice
there are many truths to be discovered about the erotic. it is breath, movement and joy. it is love, lust and desire. it is power and mystery; imagination and fantasy. it is collaboration through our minds, bodies, hearts and senses. and it is compassion, boundaries and self-prioritizing. the erotic (or eroticism) is the intricacy of our sensuality, sexuality and our human experience divinely coupled together, charging and powering one another so that we may live in cosmic flow.
01. about this issue — brianne patrice
when we release our trauma identity we are giving into the unknown. we allow ourselves to be more open and less triggered possessing the capability to self-soothe and self-advocate. we become more aware of our needs and the boundaries that we need to create.
editor’s note: you are your own healing tool — kristen jeré
for too long the language around revitalization has often made a lot of us look to products and other expensive self-care “tools” as the guiding foundation of our healing journeys.
healing through the five senses — brianne patrice
our senses are almost always with us and the whole of us possess such power that allows us to tap into them almost instantaneously, connecting us to their healing powers and calming waters. there is a likeness about the way we are allowed to heal ourselves from the inside out. about offering ourselves groundedness through gentle movements and subtle breaths.
survival mode, sensuality, and regaining control — brianne patrice
by definition survival mode is an adaptive response of the human body to help us survive danger and stress. so many of us are all to familiar with this trauma response as we have learned to go through the motions of life, doing what we need to do just so we can ‘get by’. survival mode is when our flight-or-fight response is activated and living in this state of being can exist for days, weeks, months and even years at a time.
embracing joy through queerplatonic intimacy — kevanté ac cash
my chosen family has taught me that this joy i longed to experience through them and communing, was buried deep in my soul, and i had to do the work to uncover it, to heal the wounds that layered on top of it, and like a hand waiting at the bottom of the well to be pulled up, salvaged. they have taught me that my joy had to be salvaged, and then, at all costs, and by any means necessary, protected. even if that protection comes at the cost of upsetting biological family.