As I'm getting in the rhythm of these newsletters, sometimes it’s nice to focus on a topic in a longer, themed post. Other times, I encounter things that don’t necessarily share a common thread, but feel worthy, thought-provoking, timely, or simply amusing enough to share. Hopefully, both formats provide value.
Now for the latter: on to a random collection of June finds, beginning with this season's fabric – linen.
Style Guide
Worth a Listen
Is the Natural Wine Movement at a Crossroads?
While we’ve touched on natural wine here, importer Jenny Lefcourt, of Jenny & François Selections, is uniquely equipped to share oh-so much more. Lefcourt and her company have been integral in the natural movement importing European wines as early as 2000. In this episode, she shares some history on the category describing the wines as:
“…alive, aromatic, pleasurable, good acid, great with food. They’re what we’ve come to call natural wines… which even at the time… the late 90s, did not have a name yet, did not have a movement yet per se.”
She provides insights on a recent EU regulation mandating that each bottle sold include a QR code linking to ingredient and nutrition information (similar to food labels). Regulations have also evolved in the US. Lefcourt comments on the USDA's new requirements on organic agricultural products and examines the implications for producers, especially small family vineyards.
Neuroscientist Dr. Tara Swart - Mysteries of the Universe & the Science of the Brain
The title of this podcast was seemingly intended as catchy but didn’t do the episode justice. I’ve taken creative license with a new one from the show notes that better reflects the interesting science packed alongside the spiritual tidbits shared.
Dr. Swart, a neuroscientist with 30 years of experience, delves into neuroplasticity and the science of manifestation, highlighting key points such as:
Cortisol is contagious: there’s a physiological impact of someone else’s cortisol on your stress levels
We’re more likely to be attracted to people with a different immune system pattern than ours because of the reproductive benefit for potential children
Unpacking the “psychic” phenomenon of, for example, thinking of someone and then they call you. Scientific and spiritual explanation:
Scientific: based on Carl Jung’s psychological theories about the collective unconscious. On an unconscious level, there’s a connection between all of our psyches
Spiritual: time as linear is a man-made construct, we don’t actually know how time works. Some indigenous cultures believe time exists in a spiral. As you progress through life, you pass by time/people you’ve encountered by before. No such thing as coincidence or serendipity
Near-death experiences and consciousness
In Tibetan Buddhism - dark retreat to simulate a near-death experience
Greeks and Egyptians burying people for days - they would become mystics and seers for the community
Third dimension vs. fifth dimension (angelic realm)
Signs, signals, synchronicities - as a reminder you’re being guided; you’re safe, and protected
You meet people on the same level of psychological wound level as you and leave those people when you expand beyond
Sexual bonding - the role of oxytocin and other hormones and the different effects sleeping together quickly has on men and women
“genetics and receptors will load the gun, but sexual activity will pull the trigger”
Discussion of psychedelics and their use while acknowledging everything can be achieved “by sleeping right, eating right, breathing right, and meditating”
Widow Clicquot
After watching the trailer for Widow Clicquot, I immediately wanted to see the movie. I subsequently realized I didn’t know anything about the history of champagne or the Veuve Clicquot house.
The movie, coming to theatres July 19th, is based on the book, The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It. Determined to study up before seeing the film, I’m halfway through the broad biography of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin (not much personal information exists on the champagne’s namesake).
Widowed at 27, Barbe-Nicole took over the family wine business and eventually became the "grande dame of Champagne." A skilled blender, she pioneered techniques that revolutionized the modern movement and contributed to the delightfully crisp drink we now recognize as champagne.
Final Thoughts
The entire interview by Bari Weiss with Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, is worth a read, but I found this quote within a quote powerful.
“Perhaps you’ve heard this quote from the writings of Alexander Solzhenitsyn: ‘Human nature is full of riddles. And one of these riddles is this: how is it that people who have been crushed by the sheer weight of slavery and cast to the bottom of the pit can nevertheless find strength to rise up and free themselves, first in spirit, then in body, while those who soar unhampered over the peaks of freedom suddenly appear to lose the taste for freedom, lose the will to defend it, and, hopelessly confused and lost, almost begin to crave slavery.’
Why is it that the people who have benefited the most from freedom, the most from the enlightenment, the most from the progress of the West, take it for granted? And is there a way for us, short of catastrophe, to recover the hunger that you so clearly feel for freedom?”
As this hobby develops, I’d welcome any comments below on topics or content you’d find useful. I’ll do my best to incorporate it going forward.
Take care, friends.
- BB
I just bought a linen top from DISSH! I had never heard of the label before this article - gorgeous stuff. They should be giving you a promo code (ehhhm)