(Before heading into the bullet points below, remember that Gender Identity is Improv Jazz, not Classical music. We don't play by recipes. With that said, these bullet points are purposefully open ended to "plant seeds in your heart, to be watered by discovery, then harvested by the brain." Sorry, I cannot give you any specific answers. But, you knew that, right? *Jazz Hands*) * Write down all of your questions! One good question is worth more than 7 good answers. And they should bring up new questions.
* Being Transgender is NOT something just for others. It can happen to anybody. Possibly you?
* Not every point in life is ideal for transitioning or even asking/answering these questions. For me, I wasn't able to healthily approach this topic until 8-9 months ago. A decade ago when I had my first life-shattering dysphoric episode, I was NOT ready for the questions even though dysphoria was doing damage to my life. I am glad I waited. But depending on where you are and your gender-conclusion, you may not have to wait like I did.
* Sometimes you have to be brought so low that you don't have the energy to deny the questions anymore. That's what happened to me. And I'm actually glad the bad things happened to encourage me to march into the good.
* When considering the transition process, do your best NOT to view the entire thing as one centralized, congregated, intimidating, impossible beast of a thing ... which leads me to ...
* Transitioning, if you decide to embark, involves only ONE little thing at a time. Seriously, transitioning has been MUCH easier that I thought it would be.... and a shitton more enjoyable, too! * However, ... the transition process IS indeed difficult and possibly excruciating...Yes, it's been excruciating at times, but it's a pain you're willing to endure!!!
* VISUALIZE! How do you feel when you visualize as your possible gender identity? Both being that (inner), living as that (outer), being treated as that (social), feeling and expressing as that (emotional), experiencing life as that (spirituality & heart).
* Gender fluidity is a thing! Non-binary, androgyny, etc. Do not feel that you MUST be either/or. Remember, that's a construct of society.
* Embrace the questioning process. A very rare few get this far, and you are among them! Even if all of this amounts to nothing, you have that satisfaction of having faced the questions head on.
* A "Yes" answer to one question doesn't mean it's a yes to all. There is no score you have to achieve to be on the transgender spectrum. You'll have to FEEL it all-encompassing, or simply feel that identity enough to be confident that is who you are!
*(If you haven't realized yet) There is no set of questions for this journey. You have to forge your own in the Flames of Discovery. There are questions that others like me have to share, but these are questions that only worked for a percentage.
* It's okay to be nervous & scared! (I started to talk about this then slipped up a bunch.) If you're terrified of where these questions are leading you, it's okay to take a step back. Or it is okay to keep marching forward into the Flames of Discovery. Fear is NOT the decider of gender identity! Repeat... do NOT let fear control you at ANY point of this process. I did, and it made things really bad for 2 weeks!!!
* Gender Euphoria! When you visualize, make note of how it makes you feel (not just emotionally, but deep within!)
* Being transgender is not a yes or no to a single cerebral question. You will find the ultimate answer conversely in the heart (or "core" or "id/identity"). Everything will - out of awareness - point to an eventually logical conclusion. I cannot logically say "I am female" just because I logically determined that; I can only say I am female because I processed information received from the heart to see that everything lines up to me being female!
* Dysphoria can feel like a "brain virus". If you have dysphoria, you will be hard-pressed to approach these questions! But you do NOT need dysphoria!!! I found my gender identity with the help of gender euphoria through visualization.
* Email me (JainaPyro @ G!) or comment below if you have any questions or want my crazy perspective!
View the Just Jaina series playlist:
0 Comments