Welcome back to the second phase of the Attention Residency, a free DIY artistic residency where the act of creation is your attention.

(In case you missed it, the inaugural residency is all about paying attention to the in-betweens.)

In this phase, we’re experimenting with story & sensation.

Here are some highlights:

* What in-betweens teach us about being human

* Experiments for paying attention to embodied in-betweens

* How our communal ‘field notes’ are shaping the direction of the Residency

* The impacts of before and after on in-betweens

* How metaphors and stories help us experience liminal spaces in new ways

* (The vulnerability of this new format!)

Phase II: EXPERIMENTING WITH STORY & SENSATION

After starting off the Residency by noticing the different in-betweens in our daily lives (more here), we’re moving into a more experimental phase.

Here are your invitations:

* Notice the in-betweens you move through in your body over time.

* The pause between breaths, a bridge over a river, the sunlight of the autumn equinox, caring for an aging parent…

* Experiment with these embodied in-betweens by observing their sensations and stories.

* What is your relationship with before and after in this place? What stories are you telling yourself about what it means to be in-between?

* What happens when you transpose the sensations and stories of one in-between onto another?

* What if a waiting room was like a museum visit? If a career change was like a leap? If grief was like a bridge?

* What metaphors are the most interesting, helpful, challenging, transformative?

* Can story and metaphor act as what Isabella Bruno calls “overlay experience” — a lens that helps shape the meaning we make of lived experience?

As you experiment, share your field notes in our communal sketchbook. Find metaphors to borrow. Let yourself get messy.

This is a collaborative project. Attention Residencies are more interesting when we come together to point out what we see. Share your experiences in this newsletter’s chat, come to a Live call, discuss your findings with your friends.

🌿 Resources for embodied in-betweens:

The Body Is a Doorway: A Journey Beyond Healing, Hope, and the Human by Sophie Strand

“A Bridge is a Place” - my essay in KHÔRA

Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey

When the Ache Remains: Lessons on Tending to the Unfixable and Finding Beauty Anyway by Lisa Olivera

A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

(* If you shop with the Bookshop.org links above, I receive a small affiliate payment. Thanks for supporting my work!)

Know another reference (book, article, poem, movie, artwork, song…) that speaks to the experience of the in-between? Let me know and I’ll put together a shared bibliography!

In summary, here are the invitations in this next phase of the Attention Residency:

* Experiment with embodied in-betweens by observing sensations and stories

* Get messy in our communal field notes

* Join me Monday, September 28 at 3pm ET / noon PT for our next Attention Residency gathering on Substack Live (where I’ll be joined by a special guest: the dissertation formally known as THESIS.DOCX)

This Residency is a labor of love. As I mentioned in our first call, the idea came to me on a walk in the woods, fully formed, all I had to do was say yes. I’ve only had that experience a handful of times, and I’ve learned that it’s an important voice to listen to.

I’m paying attention, and I’m curious.

Know someone who would make a good lab partner for attention experiments? Send them this episode so you can explore the in-between together.

Our next community attention theme is looking at the in-betweens, which will be the heart of our inaugural Attention Residency.

What is an Attention Residency?

Think Artistic Residency, but the creative act is your attention.

Like Lenka Clayton’s An Artist Residency in Motherhood, the Attention Residency is no-cost, self-directed, and takes place in your ordinary life. There are no exclusions; this is a residency for anyone who feels called to it.

Here’s how it works:

* We pay attention. I’ll offer invitations for different modes of engaging with the residency’s theme. You experiment with your gaze in your daily life, with complete autonomy in deciding how to create with your attention.

* We collaborate. Attention Residencies are more interesting when we come together to point out what’s attracting our gaze. Share your experiences in this newsletter’s chat, come to a Live call, discuss your findings with your friends.

Who knows, we might even have a gathering at the Residency’s end to share our ‘creations.’

The first phase of this Attention Residency is noticing.

As we begin exploring our relationships with in-betweens, we’re going to ease in in by simply noticing where we encounter these liminal spaces and moments in our lives.

How many in-betweens do you go through in a day?

Are they places, moments, phases, literal, metaphorical, quick, lingering?

What happens when you fully inhabit the in-betweens - framing them as their own place?

Let’s compare (field) notes.

One of the things that most excites me about this Attention Residency is the opportunity to collaborate as a community.

We’ll be using this newsletter’s chat as a repository for our shared field notes. Think of it like a communal sketchbook. Let yourself get messy.

Check out the section on Noticing to see what in-betweens other people are experiencing—and share your own:

I am always energized and inspired hearing how other people interpret the attention themes in our Slow Looking workshops, and I’ve been wanting to extend that sense of shared discovery beyond those gatherings.

Community is especially important for exploring the in-betweens.

As I talk about in the recording, these liminal spaces can sometimes feel isolating. There can be a lack of adequate language. I’m curious about what will happen when we come together to share our experiences.

That was a lot of information!

Here’s a summary:

* We’re paying attention to the in-betweens in the first Attention Residency

* First step: Notice the in-betweens in your life…

* …and then get messy in our communal field notes

* I’m experimenting with using my voice ~

* Watch (or listen) to my introduction to the in-betweens Attention Residency

* Join me this Friday, September 18 at noon ET / 9am PT for live attention experimentations

Thanks for being part of this community. I’m looking forward to diving into the in-betweens with you.