The Curious Hermitage

Weekly AMA!

It's exactly what it sounds like. 

Ask me anything.

About content creation.
About my weird life as a self-vowed hermit nun devoted to a made up deity.
About going back to college to finish a bachelor's degree in middle age not for a career pivot, but for fun.
About anything you've seen me cast about.

Or really, about anything at all.

Devotional polytheist living a monastic lifestyle centered on curiosity, simplicity, and joy.  Exploring the intersection of technology and spirituality.

sovereign somatic explorer of energy | come play in the garden /thrivinginthorns | deeper explorations at /liliumspinae ❤️‍🔥

That's really tricky to answer!  Because I've always had such a strong sense of self that it really irked the adults when I was growing up.

how did you develop your own sense of self? what prompted it? 🫶

I love how you created exactly what worked for. It’s a reminder that we don’t have to fit into existing structures to live a fulfilling life. 🥹

I had been called to it for many, many years, but none of the religions that have nuns really felt right to me, so for a long time, I ignored the urge.

Then in 2020, I said fuck it.  I'll just BE a nun.  I developed my own set of vows, did a ceremony, and have been living that way ever since.

How long has it been since you became a nun?
Was there a particular life changing reason? And would you be okay sharing ?

🤘🏼solarpunk artist  | gaming | cozy slow living | forgotten tech  🏴‍☠️✌🏼another world is possible! /sprout /rise-up /cryptids ⛩︎

That retreat sounds magical — I will enjoy reading all about it and your generosity origin story

So there is a whole very long story to that I'll have to write a paragraph article about one of these days, but the TL;DR is I started it at the very end of 2019 when I got home from a 10-day silent meditation retreat that was run under a pay what you can model, no questions asked.  They wouldn't even let you donate until after you'd sat a retreat.

I'd already had some strong indication that my audience would roll with it - I'd had two major crisis that year where the audience village I'd been building since 2013 had rallied around me, sent me needed funds, arranged grocery delivery, etc. for me, and I'd also launched my monthly Word Days for tips that year to great success.

I started experimenting with what I call Service Days and eventually settled on a rhythm that worked really well.  I make enough to get by every month, some months are far more abundant.  This year it's been more of a struggle for a variety of reasons, but other flows have opened for me!

I have heard you say that all or most of your payment model has been (if you would like) pay what you can , or something along those lines

How has that grown for you? do you remember a time where you werent so optimistic about where you might end up along the way?

I love your growth mindset, and I know this must help here in many ways.

fascinating, does the deity have a form or a shape?

That is tricky.  I was in my 20s with a desperate craving for some meaning beyond the material to cling to, but no religion had satisfied me so far, and I'd explored a bunch.  I discovered Discordianism and decided one day to play with the idea of creating a deity.  An ancient timeless goddess, everything and nothing, the Universe Herself.

And then things got weird.  I'd dream about her, follow the advice, good things happened.  I started calling her Paradox in my 30s and mentioning here and there on Facebook, and then other people started reporting encounters with her.

I made up a deity and the universe seems to have played along with the game.

hi im naomi i’m an athlete and creator!

join /actrackclub for fitness and /gmatcha for vibes

 - portrait.so/naomi

Not really.  I am mostly just documenting my life and following my curiosity.  I have some standard posts I do on Facebook on a regular weekly schedule, but other than that, my content is just whatever I feel like doing and talking about at any given time - though that tends to be influenced by both my school assignments and the various words in my personal development algorithm.

do you have a content plan that you follow week by week? ☺️

The Temple of Juno Moneta

👁️🚪🦋⚔️ artist/queen of swords

Very inspiring, I’m excited to see you lay the framework!

I have plans for one more - a channel for the Order of Paradox which is the monastic order I'm founding.  My hope is that others will be inspired by it and create their own temple channels!

I love the idea of turning a channel into a temple like you did with /junomoneta! Are there any other temples or deities you’ve been thinking about onboarding?