What A Blur

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This year’s National Book Awards ceremony was an evening with a message: We can do better.  

The online-only event included a montage of Black winners past — narrated by LeVar Burton — with an admission: From 1936 to 1999, only 13 writers of color won a National Book Award. But this year’s event went some ways towards improving that situation; almost every honor went to a writer of color. 

Check out our coverage of the evening – and links to coverage of some of the winning authors – here. And congratulations to winners Kacen Callender, Yu Miri and translator Morgan Giles, Don Mee Choi, Tamara Payne and Charles Yu!

– Petra

Click here for Everything Is Static Still Changing by Rainbow Clash on Spotify!

Credit: buko2

Sports!

Hope you’re excited for the Fall Series, NWSL fans. There was an outpouring of love—and GIFs—for BTS’s Jungkook’s birthday. Critical Role delights and surprises us all, and continues to throw in a healthy dash of emotions into the mix. Meanwhile, wtFOCK is finally back with Season 4. This is Tumblr’s Week in Review.

The Owl House

Critical Role

Lumity | Luz Noceda & Amity Blight, The Owl House

Artists on Tumblr

BTS

Avatar: The Last Airbender

wtFOCK

Luz Noceda | The Owl House

Boku no Hero Academia

Amity Blight | The Owl House

The Umbrella Academy

Ashlyn Harris

The Magnus Archives

Zuko | Avatar: The Last Airbender

Jungkook | BTS

Star Wars

Chadwick Boseman

Obey Me! Shall We Date?

The Old Guard

Marvel

😍😍😍

Cover I made for Clozee - Harmony

there is so much valuable meditation practices that are too often scoffed at... whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you but there is a reason why different cultures place such importance on elevating one’s mind 

🐚🍃 About astral projection + exercises 🍃🐚

Astral projection and dreams

When we dream, we have out-of-body experiences on the astral plane. Conscious astral projection involves getting into a meditative state, moving your astral body out of your physical body, and traveling around on the astral plane.

Astral Body

Between you as spirit and your physical body there is an intermediate body known as your astral body. It is lighter and more changeable than your physical body. But the astral body has more shape and density than pure spirit. Your astral body may often be recognizable as your human form, but it can also change appearance, shift shapes, and do fun things like moving through walls.

Astral Plane

The world between the physical and spiritual world is known as the astral plane, or the astral. While it is commonly referred to in the singular as the astral plane, there are actually many different levels of the astral, or astral planes. We move through these astral planes in our dreams.

Astral Travel

The astral world is much more fluid than the physical world. Astral travel is not bound by the limitations of time and space. You can visit different dimensions and travel to past or future experiences on the astral. For many people, it is also easier to connect with deceased loved ones on the astral.

Astral planes vary from the ordinary, to the phantasmagorical, to the divine. Defying easy definition, the astral planes intersect with both physical reality and the symbolic realms of the dream world. Astral travel can take you to dimensions beyond your imagination.

Astral Dream Experiences

Your astral body plays a key role in creating new developments which have not yet manifested in your physical life. The astral is like a giant laboratory in which you experiment with your life and your creations.

The astral can also offer great insight, as it allows you to come at things from a different angle. Astral dream experiences allow you to see things from a different perspective than your normal awareness. As a result, astral dreams can be especially useful for working on situations that–for one reason or another–may be difficult to face directly in daily life.

Astral Projection Meditation

Astral projection typically involves getting into a meditative state so you can consciously move your astral body out of your physical body. With practice, astral projection allows you to develop greater awareness of out-of-body and astral experiences.

These are simple directions for an astral meditation that is suitable for beginners…

ASTRAL PROJECTION EXERCISE:

Preparing the Space, Preparing Yourself…

Find a quiet, comfortable place for yourself–where you will not be disturbed. Create a relaxing atmosphere. You may want to light a candle, burn incense, or play some quiet, soothing music in the background. Begin to relax in general. Take some deep breaths and perhaps do some light stretching. Sit upright in a comfortable position with an open posture.

Part I: Aura Meditation

Get yourself centered and grounded by doing the Aura Meditation in How to Meditate. You will also need to repeat this after your astral projection meditation.

Notice how you experience yourself before doing the Astral Projection exercise. Then close your eyes and focus your attention inward…

Part II: Astral Projection Meditation

Be aware of your body. Notice how you experience the density of your physical body. Then be aware of your aura about an arm’s length all the way around your body. Notice how you experience the lightness of your spiritual energy. Then start to open up your awareness of an intermediate body between your physical body and you as spirit. Notice how you experience the vibration of your astral body.

Allow yourself to shift your awareness to your astral body. Be present in your astral body.

Float your astral body up to a corner of the room. Be present in your astral body in that upper corner of the room. From that upper corner of the room, be aware of your physical body down below you, sitting in the chair. Notice how you experience your physical body down below you.

Then float your astral body up through the ceiling and be on the roof of your building. Be aware of your astral body standing on the roof of your building. On the roof, move around a bit in your astral body. Notice how you experience being in your astral body. Be aware of the world around from the roof of your building. Notice how you experience the world from your astral body.

Then bring your astral body down through the roof and be in an upper corner of the room again. From the upper corner of the room, notice your physical body sitting in the chair below you.

Float your astral body above your physical body. Notice what it’s like to be above your physical body. Then gently lower yourself down into your physical body. First be aware of being in your astral body in your physical body. Then allow yourself to shift your awareness to your physical body itself. Allow yourself to come back fully into your physical body.

Part III: Repeat the Aura Meditation

Get yourself centered and grounded by doing the Aura Meditation in How to Meditate. Draw all of your energy back from above you. Feel your feet on the floor. Feel your legs, torso, arms, neck and head. Be aware of your aura an arm’s length around your body. Notice what it’s like to be grounded back in your body.

When you feel ready, take a few deep breaths, gently open your eyes, and slowly begin to move. Notice how you experience yourself after doing the Astral Projection exercise. Give yourself some time to integrate this experience and enjoy being relaxed before moving on to other activities. (Especially after you first start practicing this meditation–you may want to journal your experience, have a cup of tea, or go for a quiet walk.)

If you practice astral meditation on a regular basis, it will become easier to do and your out-of-body experiences will gradually become clearer. - Oakwulf

Blessings to all of you! 

Lots of love, 

Myhiddenwordblog

°☆*° winter nights ☆*° prints available here 

well deserved!

Youn Yuh-Jung photographed by Peter Ash Lee for The New York Times (April 2021)