In this episode of Sacred Tension, producer Dante and I take questions from the audience on Satanism, sexuality, porn, the pandemic, and much more.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: Satanism, Porn, and Surviving the Pandemic”
Like everyone else during this plague, I’ve been struggling to find ways to survive and stay sane. I’m an essential worker, and life has been somewhat fraught with existential dread. Some days, I feel good – balanced, mostly happy, and relatively centered. Other days, the existential despair crushes me. I don’t know how we will get out of this, how we will create a better world, how we will survive intact.
Many of the previous avenues of leisure are closed to me, now. Podcasts are often too stressful. Youtube is too stressful. Social media is too stressful. I’m already maxed out trying to stay safe and responsible at the front lines of the food industry. My brain just doesn’t have as much capacity as it used to.
The only place I can go, then, are books, primarily sci-fi and fantasy. I’ve devoured a huge number of books since the beginning of the pandemic, as books feel like the only safe place I have left.
Continue reading “How Reading Sci-fi and Fantasy Gives Me Hope”
In this episode of Sacred Tension I’m joined by Lucien Greaves, co-founder and spokesperson for the Satanic Temple. We discuss the challenge of maintaining a religious community during the COVID-19 pandemic, common misunderstandings about the Satanic Temple, and why nontheistic religion is essential.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: Why Nontheistic Religion is Essential, feat. Lucien Greaves”
Welcome to the new, stripped down, unedited Sacred Tension. Due to the incredible stress I’ve been under in recent weeks, I’m now releasing chill, unedited conversations for your listening pleasure. In this episode, I’m joined by longtime friend and occasional Sacred Tension co-host Danielle, who interviews me about what it’s like being an essential grocery store worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a word, it’s terrifying.
Continue reading “Sacred Tension: Being An Essential Worker During COVID-19”
I’ve been quiet on my blog and podcast for the past few weeks, and that’s because I’ve been coping with being an essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic. I co-manage a small family-owned grocery store in Appalachia, and the past few weeks have simply been harrowing.
When the panic first hit, it felt like the worst hurricane in history was coming for North Carolina. Our sales more than doubled, and I felt destroyed just trying to keep up, while also keeping staff and customers safe from invisible death dots that could strike anyone without notice. Eventually, as the craziness at the store settled down into a manageable level, my fatigue turned to crippling anxiety. I was crying myself to sleep, and having horrible panic as I drove to work.
It felt like all my structures and support systems were just swept away by the flood. I’ve spent the past few weeks picking up the pieces, and now here I am, well enough to get back to creating.
Continue reading “Self Care During COVID-19”
Stephen Bradford Long 