Identity, Homophobia, and Obsession

November 8, 2023 ~ Stephen Bradford Long ~ 2 Comments

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One day, when I was a college student on a conservative Christian college campus, I found myself hurrying to the college therapist’s office fighting back tears. The therapist’s office felt like the one haven where I could freely talk about my life without judgement. Once I reached her office, I broke down and sobbed. I could not make them stop. She sat with me quietly as I wept, a gentle presence who accepted me in a community that felt menacing and unforgiving.

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I Am Not a Pride Gay

June 6, 2022 ~ Stephen Bradford Long ~ Leave a comment

I am not a pride gay. I don’t get Pride. It isn’t that I don’t see Pride’s historical and cultural significance. I do. And it isn’t that I haven’t shared in the collective suffering that makes Pride so necessary. I have. It’s more that I just don’t feel much of anything in regards to the symbolism and pageantry of Pride month.

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There is Only Consciousness: On Minority Experience and Universal Humanity

July 7, 2021August 3, 2021 ~ Stephen Bradford Long ~ 2 Comments

Several months ago, I had a meditation experience the likes of which I’d never had before. The instructor advised me to take note of the feeling of being a subject looking at an object. He then said, “look for the one who is looking. Turn awareness upon itself, and look for the subject who is perceiving the object.”

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