Speaking of vowing to keep learning, I thought I more or less understood what Stonewall was, but a new documentary from PBS showed me how much I had to learn. 

You can stream it now for free: Stonewall Uprising: The Year That Changed America. 

As infuriating as it was to watch (and it is deeply disturbing to see how we treated gay and trans people only one generation ago), I actually ended feeling really amazed at how far we've come. Part of ally-ship is educating ourselves. Give it a watch!

The Moth is the best podcast on the planet. (I'll fight anyone on that.) 💪It's an incredible diverse selection of stories told by real people, in front of a live audience, about their own lived experiences. Here are three episodes I am obsessed with:

Juicy Lessons From 'The Place' – A woman shares about how she decided to lose her virginity in what must be the most empowered way possible. I had Nika listen to this when she was 12 because it is truly that inspiring.

California Gothic –  By the end of this story, I was laughing so hard I had to pull the car over. It's truly indescribable, but I will say that there is an exotic pet involved. And some very famous people.

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times – A heartbreaking, searingly human tale of a comedian who gets his big break at exactly the same time that the biggest heartbreak of his life is unfolding. 

For centuries (maybe longer?) when scientists didn't have "proof" for the stories that sailors told, their go-to way of dismissing them was by saying that they must have been drunk.

100 foot waves? Impossible! Gravity would pull them down, you lush. (They are real and it's possible they have even been surfed.)

An almost entirely submerged 8th continent? Preposterous! (Oh wait, there it is.) 

Giant squids? Go home, you're dru–oh, oops. 

Anyways, not only do we now know that giant squids live in US waters, video footage was made of one within sight of Shell's largest floating oil-drilling platform. Think about that. *shudder*

Also: a half hour after scientists captured the footage, their ship was struck by actual lightning. ⚡What a day. Read the article.

One of the practices in EFF This! book is to spend the entirety of a song letting yourself be completely immersed in the music.

So I was delighted when fellow meditation teacher Susan Piver released a video called, "We listen to music to try to learn how to listen to ourselves." It's a great short practice to try, or try this on your own:

Pick a beautiful song, put on some headphones, and close your eyes. Listen fully to the music. When your mind wanders, just bring it back to the music. (Do this as often as your mind wanders.)

That's it. It's a music meditation. 

(ps Not sure what song to start with? Peruse our collaborative summer playlist for one that speaks to your heart.)

IMO, there is nothing better than beach read season.☀️

I was in the middle of reading this book called Out East: Memoir of a Montauk Summer and I kind of stopped and asked myself, "Am I really reading a book about a kind of bro-ish guy who summers in a Montauk share house and goes to the trendiest bars?" . . . 

. . . and then I was like, "Yeah, I am, because it is an unexpectedly beautiful coming out story and this author both has a magical way with words and shows super keen insight into people's interior lives." Read it!