Published in An Idea (by Ingenious Piece)·Aug 22, 2021“Not Anymore.”I Cannot Unlearn Story — by Rev. Joey Bear Armstrong, MDiv. (she/her/hers) One of my first Buddhist teachers probably doesn’t realize I consider her a teacher. Her name is Karen Maezen Miller, or just Maezen, and she is a Zen Buddhist priest in the San Francisco area. It was October of 2015 and, while doing…Storytelling10 min readStorytelling10 min read
Apr 20, 2021Joey’s Pink Glittery Rainbow Unicorn Diary I: “She”Tuesday, April 20, 2021 — Intro: Since coming out as Joey (they/them/theirs) in August of 2020 and then coming out again as Joey (she/her/hers) after Easter of April 2021, I have felt an unimaginable mix of grief, pain, despair, joy, freedom, and integration. My spouse of nearly seven years and I have decided to separate…Transgender4 min readTransgender4 min read
Feb 21, 2021Love is Complicated: A Brief MeditationUnlearning What I’ve Learned About Love — As read on the Earth Makers podcast, Season 3.6. Love is complicated. Now, as I write this, it is Valentine’s Day in the year 2021 and I am thinking about the many layers of what we might call, in the English, “love.” Love, according to the Ancient Greeks was of…3 min read3 min read
Published in An Idea (by Ingenious Piece)·Jan 9, 2021A Fish and Her ShadowIn the Valley of the Shadow of Gender Dysphoria… “Even though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death,” the Psalmist writes in the oft quoted Twenty-Third Psalm found in the Hebrew Scriptures, “I fear no evil for You are with me.” Much of my career as a pastor, clinical chaplain, and spiritual counselor, I have focused…Transgender12 min readTransgender12 min read
Nov 7, 2020Earth Makers: Making Space for Addiction and Authentic Spirituality, Part OneThe following is the proposed introduction to a book I am writing on spiritual care and addiction recovery. I do not give a shit what you believe. Now, I wrestled with how to start this Introduction and the best I could settle on was to sum things up in a…Spirituality11 min readSpirituality11 min read
Jun 16, 2020A Writer Living with an Eating Disorder Writes A Letter to Mindy KalingDear Mindy, Hi! I’m Joey and I’m a queer, white, cisgender male who really admires you. I have watched most, if not all, of the content you have had a hand in creating, writing, producing, and/or starring in, and I must say, your style of humor is totally my thing! …Eating Disorders8 min readEating Disorders8 min read
Mar 22, 2020Story time: the robot & his catIt was morning and the horizon looked pink and blue through the cracked window. The frozen lake was grey that morning. The birds were cold and quiet. From under the blankets, the robot stirred and noticed a fresh quilt of snow covering the ground. He peeped out through the frost-bitten…Storytelling6 min readStorytelling6 min read
Nov 11, 2019Making My Podcast: Season 1, Episode 3: Empathy, pt. 1: The Elusive Nature of IntegrityHere is the full transcript for Season 1, Episode 3 of my podcast, Manly: Reframing Masculinity: Welcome back to Manly: A Podcast About Reframing Masculinity. I am the grateful creator and host of this podcast and today, I am going to share some of my thoughts on Empathy and Integrity: …Leadership7 min readLeadership7 min read
Oct 21, 2019Making My Podcast: Season 1, Pilot and Episode 2I have been hemming and hawing about making my first podcast for some time. …LGBTQ10 min readLGBTQ10 min read
Dec 29, 2018“I Did Not Make It For You.” Lars von Trier’s Antichrist (The Criterion Collection, pt. 1)“Hell is other people.” ~ Jean-Paul Sartre The Criterion Collection advertises itself as “a series of important contemporary and classic films.” That is an understatement. It’s more accurate to describe Criterion as a move-able museum, containing films from all over the world, preserved in gorgeous detail, containing essays written by…Criterion Collection8 min readCriterion Collection8 min read
