/ To ask and be asked /

My Beautiful Alien is a space to explore a new conversation around truth, growth and possibility. This space is one for us all to show up to examine the previously unstated and unimagined together. There is an emphasis on together. My Beautiful Alien is a reciprocal conversation. You ask me the questions. I will share my answers. We started with the first 99 questions and will continue from there. I know that my answers will generate more questions for you, and so we will continue our chat in this space.

Let’s go further with our personal and interpersonal inquiry than we have previously allowed ourselves. Let's talk about the things that we have been told to shy away from or hide. Let's talk about the parts of ourselves that we love, see and honor for the ways they are unique, or perhaps even “alien” to the cultural norms and standards. Ask me anything. Anything. I will answer with full transparency and openness as I always do. I invite you to do the same.

I could say that My Beautiful Alien is about embracing the truest version of ourselves, and it is. However, more than anything else, My Beautiful Alien is an opening of ourselves to the opportunity of who we can be when we step into the untapped beauty of who we are beyond the known. We are products of our environments, our families and our beliefs, and we are also the emanation of something far greater. When we hold onto a false perception of control or particular definitions of self, we block our access to our own possibility as beings and communities. This community welcomes the unknown as possibility and asks us to trust in the beauty of asking and being asked. It’s one of humility, openness and exploration. It is one of newness and growth. Through My Beautiful Alien, I call you into this realm of unknown and exploration. Let's work together to imagine and create new spaces that allow us to fully be ourselves.

What do you want to talk about that you have yet to consider or ask? What do you know to be true that you have yet explored? What would the conversation look like if we opened to the possibilities outside of our own judgment and/or society’s?

BIO

I am an artist, writer, teacher, parent and so many more nouns and verbs. At my core, I have always been one who questions. I have not always known the right questions to ask, or where to look for the fitting answers. Like everyone else, I have gotten lost along the way. I still do at times, and those moments are usually the ones that lead to beautiful growth and deeper embodiment of self. When my connection to my inner truth has felt disconnected, I have turned to inner inquiry. Over time, I have learned that the questions that resonate most are often the ones that ring an inner bell—a knowing, or remembering. I love the process of asking and being asked.

My latest growth edge has invited me to engage in active dialogue with self, family, lover, friend, child, co-parent, work and world. I am learning to create trust and deeper presence while also pursuing new ways of being and doing. I am discovering how to approach everything as observer, questioner and collaborator. I am humbly asking and being asked to grow through the change within and around me. The grounding force through it all has been raw, honest conversation that allows for openness to possibility and newness while also firmly honoring the knowing inside of me that I call “My Beautiful Alien.” My Beautiful Alien is the ever present tie to the part of myself who has been there from the beginning—the part of self who has been waiting to be rediscovered and honored all along the way. Join me in discovering your beautiful alien, as I awaken mine. Let’s remember together.

I live on stolen land originally and still inhabited and cared for by the Chumash, Tongva (Gabrieleño) and Fernandeño Tataviam peoples in Los Angeles, California. I honor and pay respect to their elders and descendants ─ past, present, and emerging ─ as they continue their stewardship of these lands and waters. I commit to decolonizing myself and my work with ongoing dedication.

You can read more about my personal story and my previous work.

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Sam
(they/them)