Updates: About My Substack
"Organize Your Mind" & "The Nullge"
For a long time, I hesitated to bring together two very different parts of my work in one place. On one hand, I have my practical guides on lifelong learning—carefully crafted resources designed to help people develop new skills, adapt to changing circumstances, and embrace continuous growth throughout their lives. These guides cover a wide range of topics, from effective study techniques and time management strategies to cultivating a growth mindset and staying motivated in the face of setbacks. They are the result of years of research, experimentation, and reflection, aimed at empowering individuals to take control of their own education beyond traditional classrooms.
I am also a nullo and a bottom surgery doula, having personally undergone genital nullification surgery. So far, I have supported more than a dozen people through every stage—from initial exploration and decision-making to surgery and recovery.
This is my life's work. It represents both solidarity and resistance, grounded in community knowledge that is rarely documented in such detail. Through my stories and resources from and for the altersex community, I share intimate experiences, challenges, and successes that are often misunderstood or overlooked. By sharing these narratives, I aim to raise awareness and foster empathy and connection among readers unfamiliar with these perspectives. For those with whom this work strikes a chord, I’m here to help. It takes a village. I’m happy to channel the collective wisdom of my community to keep paying it forward for the next person needing this.
It took a great deal of courage to put these two seemingly disparate aspects side by side, especially given the current social and political climate in the United States, where discussions around identity and education can be fraught with tension and misunderstanding. In a time when conversations about gender, sexuality, and personal identity are often polarized and politicized, openly sharing stories from the altersex community can invite criticism, misunderstanding, or even hostility. Similarly, advocating for lifelong learning and self-directed education sometimes challenges established norms and can be met with skepticism. Yet, I realized that keeping these parts separate was a form of self-imposed limitation, a way of hiding pieces of myself out of fear of judgment or backlash. By compartmentalizing my work, I was inadvertently reinforcing the very barriers I hoped to dismantle—barriers between knowledge and lived experience, between the practical and the personal. But I’m done compartmentalizing my life and living in fear. I have nothing left to lose by simply being myself—sharing all facets of my journey openly and honestly, all in one place online, where I can connect with others who might find strength, inspiration, or solidarity in my story. This integration not only enriches my work but also creates a more authentic space where learning and identity coexist, inviting others to embrace their whole selves without apology.
My Substack is now organized into two distinct sections:
Organize Your Mind
This is where I share my practical, human-centered guide to lifelong learning. Here, I explore how to manage information, make sense of it, and turn it into skills you can use. The mission is to democratize learning by sharing systems, tools, and mindsets that work in real life. This content is designed for self-learners, students, professionals, and neurodiverse readers who want systems that reduce overwhelm and amplify strengths.
Expect weekly essays and practical notes on tools like Obsidian, Logseq, Notion, and Anki. The full archive of these posts is free to read for everyone, now and always. I also offer two book-length manuscripts — one about Obsidian, and another a comprehensive guide to bottom surgery — as paid subscriber exclusives, reflecting the hundreds of hours of research and writing they represent.
Who this is for
If you create and build and are tired of living inside a hundred open tabs, this is for you. If you’re neurodiverse and want systems that reduce overwhelm and amplify strengths, you’ll feel at home here.
Your digital philosophy, on purpose
Together we’ll choose an approach that fits your life. You might adopt AI as an ally to remove friction, accelerate drafts, and get unstuck faster. You might prefer a local‑first sanctuary where you own your notes, keep them private, and work offline when you want. Or you might build a hybrid, a custom stack that feels powerful, flexible, and future‑proof.
From information to understanding, with the right tool
We start with projects so there’s always a destination, then learn only what the work requires. As you capture and connect ideas, your notes begin to compound, resurfacing when you need them. Along the way, a growth mindset turns friction into useful feedback rather than a reason to stop. To support this process, choose the tool that fits your needs: explore Obsidian or Logseq if you want a local‑first, networked thinking space you fully own, or use Notion when you need structured knowledge, collaboration, and shipping velocity. When durable memory matters, add Anki for low‑friction spaced repetition. I encourage you to try one of the three—Obsidian, Logseq, or Notion—depending on your goals, and evolve from there.
Mastering Obsidian: The Ultimate Guide to Building an Interconnected Knowledge System
If you want to transform how you manage information, think deeply, and create lasting knowledge, Mastering Obsidian is the guide you need. This comprehensive, evolving manuscript distills years of experience into a practical roadmap for building your own "second brain" using Obsidian—a powerful, local-first note-taking app designed for networked thought.
Inside, you’ll discover how to tame information overload by capturing atomic notes, linking ideas seamlessly, and visualizing your knowledge with Obsidian’s graph view. Learn how to leverage Markdown for clean, future-proof notes and extend Obsidian’s capabilities with community plugins that multiply your productivity.
Whether you’re a student, researcher, creative professional, or lifelong learner, this guide will help you:
Organize your thoughts and research into a dynamic, interconnected system.
Build workflows that support writing, studying, planning, and creative projects.
Use advanced features like backlinks, transclusions, and metadata to deepen understanding.
Integrate Obsidian with tools like Anki for effective spaced repetition learning.
Harness AI-powered plugins to supercharge your note-taking and idea generation.
Mastering Obsidian is more than a manual—it’s a companion for anyone ready to take control of their knowledge, boost creativity, and work smarter in a complex digital world. It’s the playbook I wish I’d had when I started, now available to help you build a knowledge system that grows with you. As I post individual chapters beyond Chapter 1, they will be available for paid subscribers only.
The Nullge
This is a more personal and intimate space where I share stories from my life as a nullo and resources I’ve created to support nonbinary, trans, agender, and altersex communities. These posts include candid essays on navigating dysphoria, health, relationships, and work, as well as plain-language guides and directories for those following similar paths.
Because of the sensitive and personal nature of this work, posts from The Nullge are not included in the main post archive. [EDIT: This made the section impossible to view from the Substack app, so those posts in the archive now too.] To access them, please click on "The Nullge" at the top of my homepage.
Why the Genital Dysphoria Survival Guide Matters
The Genital Dysphoria Survival Guide is the distillation of everything I wish I had known at the very beginning of my surgery journey. It’s a deeply researched, compassionate, and practical resource designed to illuminate the complex, often overwhelming path of genital dysphoria and gender-affirming care.
Navigating this journey can feel isolating and confusing—medical information is scattered, clinical, or simply doesn’t speak to the nuanced realities of non-binary and altersex experiences. This guide fills that gap. It offers clear explanations, honest reflections, and actionable advice drawn from my lived experience and years of community leadership.
Whether you’re contemplating nullification, vaginoplasty, phalloplasty, or simply trying to understand your own feelings and options, this guide is your companion. It empowers you to make informed decisions that honor your unique identity and embodiment goals.
By investing in this guide, you’re not just gaining knowledge—you’re joining a community that values authenticity, bodily autonomy, and radical self-love. This is the playbook I wish I’d had, and it’s crafted to support you every step of the way. The first two chapters will be freely accessible to everyone, providing foundational understanding and support. However, the remainder of the guide—containing detailed, sensitive, and deeply researched content—will be available exclusively to paid subscribers.
Bringing these two bodies of work together has been a long journey. It’s about honoring all parts of myself, my corpus of work, and offering a space where practical learning and radical self-love coexist. I hope this integrated approach helps others feel seen, supported, and empowered to live authentically.
Thank you for being here and for supporting this mission.
That said, there will continue to be plenty of shorter, practical, and educational content available for free subscribers as well. I’m committed to sharing valuable insights, tips, and guides regularly so that everyone can benefit from accessible learning and support, regardless of subscription status. This balance allows me to sustain the deep, specialized work while still fostering a broad community of learners and allies.
~ Axl