Incarcerated Students Struggle During Lockdown I miss their shy smiles, their hugs, the way they loosen up and get a little goofy during mindful movement. Most of all, I miss the peace on their faces and the tangible sense of ease in their orange-clad bodies after a guided meditation. It is a visceral experience that anchors me to a unique sangha: the men and women incarcerated in the DC Department of Corrections.... September 24, 2020By Sheryl Stratton SocialJustice, teachings
Black Lives Matter: A Call to Awareness for Non-Colored Practitioners of Mindfulness Like a child grabbing for a treat, white people and white institutions reach out to black people they barely know or have forgotten about over time. I am a crone, and was around the last time black people were feared and thus brought into white awareness. As a crone, a Buddhist, and a practitioner of mindfulness, I choose to understand this as reaching out rather than reaching in. Reaching in is the first obligation of practice. It is by this practice that I have found space and freedom. I have found a space -- not afforded to me as a black, female body in this world -- to discover my body, my breath, and for the purpose of this writing, the contours of my life.... August 12, 2020By Ayesha Ali SocialJustice, teachings
Waking Up through Lived Experience: What Dis/ability and Deafness Can Teach Us If mindfulness means to be awake, what wakes us up? Practice, certainly. What else? It may surprise you to know that living with a chronic illness or biological challenge is also very effective way to wake up and stay awake. If attention is required to take every step or if severe pain is your constant companion, being asleep or distracted from this moment is very risky. We who are known as “dis/abled” or “hearing impaired” (whether or not we identify with these labels) live the daily experience that while the challenges with which we live can use enormous amounts of energy and concentration, they are also moment-to-moment opportunities to practice.... July 30, 2020By Alison Shapiro Affinity, SocialJustice, teachings
Racial Justice: What Can I Do? Over the years, the hateful killing of black Americans at the hands of police has been shocking, heartbreaking, and paralyzing. Why does this keep happening and what can we do to stop it...what can I do to stop it? And to stop other horrendous acts of hatred toward minority communities and individuals in our country? The heinous murder George Floyd (a horizontal lynching, actually) has galvanized much of America. Modern social media tools have shown a spotlight on this cancer of hate and have broadcast it to the entire world. This is what America has become? July 24, 2020By Catherine Brousseau SocialJustice, teachings
IMCW Stands in Support of Black Lives Matter Our nation, and the world, grieves the continued violence against Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC). The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery represent but a fraction of the brutality at the hands of police and other authorities. While we’re heartened by the many expressions of solidarity and calls for action, so much work remains to be done... June 8, 2020By Trisha Stotler announcement, SocialJustice