ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I use examples from my published work to discuss the three iterative phases in my writing process. I highlight the criticality of shadow work, expansive awareness, compassionate detachment, and interconnectivity in my writing as I work to imagine an oppression-free future while navigating the current forces of oppression that play out in my life and the lives of many others. I discuss how the rhetorical devices I use in my writing change based on my emotional proximity to the narratives I share. Mostly, I emphasize and explain how my writing has more boldly integrated spirit-informed ways of knowing and being inspired. I conclude with reflections on detachment: Once I release my writing into the world to function in myriad ways, I do not judge readers whose reading differs from my intentions as a writer. Through this and other acts of forgoing expectations, I describe how a process of compassionate detachment unfolds, enabling me to understand complex forms of interconnectivity.
