Nice to Meet You

Hi, I’m Amanda.

I’ve been screaming into the void (writing in my journal) basically my whole life. The fact that you’re willing to be on the receiving end of that feels like the greatest gift I can imagine.

Thank you for being here.

Writing has always been my favorite way to untangle the knots of my life. It helps me make sense of what feels too vast to hold. I write when I am angry, devastated, hungry, and happy. The only thing I like more than writing is talking. I come from a long line of oral historians — I was raised in a storytelling milieu. My first words were “have you heard the one about…” 

The gift of gab has led me to the thing I love most of all: the art of listening. I can’t get enough of hearing about what others can’t get enough of. A well-considered question can light up the most reserved person and I think “tell me about yourself” is a spell when cast correctly.  

I humbly offer the belief that humans are divine and hold the secrets of the universe inside them and if you ask well, most people would love to tell ya. I’m interested in it all. Would you like coffee or tea and also what medicine can only you bring to the world? 

This curiosity has started to take shape as something more intentional. I’m building Soma as a practice that embraces the magic of a good question. 

Right now, that looks like creating spaces where people can come together—gatherings, conversations, workshops, things that feel a little more like a salon than a class. It looks like writing, like this. It looks like visual work, and finding ways to make those ideas tangible.

Some of it will be in rooms with other people.

Some of it will live online.

Some of it might turn into things you can hold or take with you.

I don’t have a perfect structure for it yet. I’ll probably send something out a couple times a month.

I care a lot about creating spaces—both in real life and here—where people can slow down, think a little deeper, and connect. I invite you to consider these musings as questions. I’d love nothing more than for you to share your answers.