Sniff Your Pencils - What A Pencil Can Teach Us About Presence

What if one of the most powerful mindfulness tools isn't an app... ...but a pencil? In this playful and surprisingly moving episode, Alexander explores the unexpected wisdom hidden inside a freshly sharpened Blackwing pencil. Beginning with a little pencil ASMR (yes, really), he reflects on creativity, presence, handwriting, grief, sobriety, technology, and the growing need for an "analog renaissance" in an increasingly digital world. Drawing inspiration from the Blackwing Manifesto, Alexander asks what happens when we intentionally step away from our screens and return to slower practices that reconnect us with our own thoughts, imagination, and inner life. Along the way you'll hear stories about teaching Harvey Rose to draw, writing haiku together, preparing for his birthday piano recital, living with HIV, navigating grief after the loss of his father, and why he believes pencils may be one of the healthiest "gateway drugs" available. This isn't really an episode about pencils. It's about remembering how to pay attention. Details about my upcoming birthday virtual piano recital! Friday, August 14 - Sunday, August 16. Three different recital times to choose from. Four ticket prices, including complimentary access.