The Importance of the Personal Essay

Dear listener,Welcome to our last episode of Common Shapes for the year! We will return with new episodes every Wednesday starting January 8In today’s episode I share a series of practices, systems, and rituals I am doing in place of using Instagram.Make sure you grab the free Creative Ideation Portal : A three day email guide to help you vision your projects and put them out into the world.ALL MY GUIDES :Creative Ideation PortalWeaving in Our Values ToolkitNote Taking Tools + PossibilitiesDaily Writing TrackerSublime - You can also subscribe to Sublimeon Substack - grateful to Alex Dobrenko`for folding me inAre.naOTHER THINGS I MENTION:Tiego Forte’s PARA methodhow a photo and video-sharing social networking service gave me my best friends, true love, a beautiful career, and made me want to die - on sale for $5!LIST MAKING PROMPTS :Make a list of five things you’re grateful forMake a list of ten things you can do instead of reaching for your phoneMake a list of five friends to call in the next weekMake a list of your seventeen favorite words - hang these upMake a list of the ten blessings social media gave you and then make a list of ten places where you can replace thatWAYS TO SUPPORT THE SHOW :Leave a review on Apple PodcastsLeave a five star review on SpotifyWHO MAKES THIS SHOW POSSIBLE :Editing and support by Softer SoundsPodcast art by Lukaza Branfman-VerissimoMusic by Saltbreaker

In this week’s episode I bring us through both the process of creating a new suite of business offerings as well as presenting to you my very own.I bring you through how I invented these and where I started and how I worked back from that space. A little glimpse inside of my brain.But first : Make sure you download the free Creative Ideation Portal : A three day guide for visioning and planning your own work.Want to go straight to the booking links : Go here. This includes a free 15 minute call you can book if you want to see if any of these are the right fit for you! I am always open to finding exchanges that are right for us together.

Welcome to another episode of Common Shapes. I am delighted today to share this interview with Nic Antoinette where we talk about doing business differently, unhooking from the loops of social media, self publishing our books, anti capitalist business frameworks, and so much moreYou can find more of Nic’s work by subscribing to Wild LettersYou can check out her website hereAnd her hiking memoirs hereDon’t forget to download the free three day Creative Ideation Portal to vision all of your beautiful projects as well as the new Daily Writing TrackerThanks for listening!

Dear listener,SEASON THREE OF COMMON SHAPES IS UPON USIt is my absolute pleasure to be back on the microphone and in your ears. Talking about all things business, art, values, deactivating social media, systems, rituals, and practices!Links mentioned :Landscapes : A writing group for all genresCreative Ideation Portal : Free three day guide to visioning your projectsDevon Price's essay about burnoutWriting The Personal : A three week class to bring the poetic, personal, and political together for essays of self discovery and service starting Dec 8Taught by Cody Cook-Parrott with guest teachers Anna Fusco and Fariha Róisín

Hello Common Shapes listeners. 🔸 I wanted to pop in with a little mini-episode to check in between seasons and share a few updates. Take a few minutes to hear why I changed my name and how you can join us in Flexible Office this spring. 🔹LINKSGet the Creative Ideation PortalSign up for my weekly newsletter, Monday MondayFind all these links & more at codycookparrott.com/commonshapes

This week on Common Shapes podcast, I’m deep in conversation with poet, teacher, and my dear friend, Jacqueline Suskin.Jacqueline is a poet and educator who has been teaching workshops, writing books, hosting retreats and creating spontaneous poetry around the world since 2009. She’s published eight books, and her most recent one, A Year In Practice, was just released with Sounds True press.Together we talk about seasonal practices, radically reconnecting with the Earth, Fern Gully, writing multiple books, having multiple calendars, and choosing to remember.Tune in to learn about—The radical nature of connecting to the Earth’s cyclesHow to tap into seasonal rhythmsJacqueline’s daily & weekly planning practicesWhat’s our work & what’s not our workHow to hold nuance in your writingLinksVisit Jacqueline’s websiteOrder Jacqueline’s new book, A Year in PracticeSubscribe to Jacqueline’s Substack newsletterGet the Creative Ideation PortalSign up for my weekly newsletter, Monday MondayFind all these links & more at codycookparrott.com/commonshapes

This week on Common Shapes podcast, I’m joined by my dear friend Fariha Róisín for a conversation at the intersections of writing, politics, care, and liberation.Fariha is a multi-disciplinary artist born in Ontario, Canada and raised in Sydney, Australia. As a Muslim queer Bangladeshi, she is interested in the margins, liminality, otherness, and the mercurial nature of being. She’s the author of five books and writes the Substack newsletter, How to Cure a Ghost.In this episode, Fariha shares her experience telling the truth amidst propaganda and channeling righteous rage into writing. She explains how she approaches writing about Palestine during the genocide in Gaza and how she embeds the depth of her feelings and beliefs in her work.Tune in to hear about—Feeling the responsibility to speak outFariha’s process for working on two books at oncePouring your feelings into your writingDemystifying spiritual practiceThe importance of surrenderWhere the personal meets the politicalHow Fariha writes her weekly newsletterLinksVisit Fariha’s websiteOrder Survival Takes a Wild ImaginationSubscribe to Fariha’s Substack newsletterFollow Fariha on InstagramMentioned in the episode: James Baldwin, Mother Country RadicalsGet the Creative Ideation PortalSign up for my weekly newsletter, Monday MondayFind all these links & more at codycookparrott.com/commonshapes

I’ve been writing personal essays for over a decade, and I believe that my personal essay practice allowed me to leave social media.So in today’s episode, I share how I blend the personal, the poetic, and the political in my writing. And I unpack how that supports me in speaking up and sharing my work without shying away from what’s happening in the world.I hope this episode inspires you to share your writing with the people. Tune in to learn about—The importance of your life storyHow to share your political valuesFacing fear when we don’t know what to sayBeing willing to get it wrongWhy you should choose a container for your writingHow personal essays can help you leave social mediaLinksGet the Creative Ideation PortalSign up for my weekly newsletter, Monday MondaySign up for Writing the Personal, Dec 3 -17Mentioned in the episode — Body Work by Melissa Febos, 69herbs, Sister Spinster, Lukaza’s Substack, Fariha’s Substack, Friendship Village book, Bear Hebert, Off the Grid podcast, Ayana Zaire Cotton SubstackFind all these links & more at codycookparrott.com/commonshapes

Welcome to season two of Common Shapes! Since last season, I took a big step in my life and logged out of Instagram for good.So in this episode, I’m going to share why I left and how I did it. Not from a place of knowing-it-all, but by asking the question, “what does it actually mean to be done with social media?”I hope this episode inspires you to take supportive steps that are right for you. Tune in to learn about—What it’s like to leave InstagramThe portal of the validation loopA big business success moment since leavingIs Substack social media?Weaving the personal, poetic & politicalLinksGet the Creative Ideation PortalSign up for my weekly newsletter, Monday MondaySign up for my Skillshare class, Success on SubstackListen to Off the Grid podcast — especially the 5-step Plan to Leave Social Media & this conversation with Melissa WordFind all these links & more at codycookparrott.com/commonshapes

Making this podcast brought me into a business ecosystem crisis. Very little of my output changed, but my inner understanding of my work needed to shift.So in today’s episode, I’m sharing how my job description has changed since I launched this show. And I’m exploring how shifting your job description can transform your relationship to your work.Tune in to learn about—How to discover what you’re devoted toWhat are the themes of your jobWhat is not your jobHow to write your job descriptionAligning your job with your values & interestsWhat’s next for Common Shapes podcastLinksGet my mini-workshop Your Everchanging JobBook a Creative Advising SessionsGet the Creative Ideation PortalSign up for my weekly newsletter, Monday MondayFind all these links & more at codycookparrott.com/commonshapes🔶 Interested in finding out more about placing an ad for next season? Fill out this form!