Summer Offering 2021

Hey hey!  ♥ if you’re on the fence, hop on over to the fun side 😀 (Of course, we keep it real, so ‘fun’ isn’t always the most apt word– but we can assure you, it will definitely be a space of juicy ALIVEness. We’d love to have you join us!)

 

We (all beings, and here addressing white bodied folx) were born into a system of oppression that wants our unconscious consent and complicity– and we can choose to break the patterns that lock us in formation. Integrating our piece of the collective shadow is the work that is upon us, as people incarnate in white bodies at this time.

It is so important that we acknowledge and hold space for the trauma that we inherited, and it is imperative that we develop capacity to take responsibility for the trauma that we perpetuate.

We were born into legacies of harm and disconnection. We can choose to be the ones to begin the healing, for ourselves, our ancestors, and all the ripples our healing will create in the collective fabric of society.

 
 

“Trauma breaks relation. Within a person, trauma fractures the relation to the self and sabotages connection to the other. At the scale of the collective, traumatic dysregulation is cultural and generational; it is a feedback loop.”
– Thomas Hüebl

 

 

 

 

In this Upcoming Course

We will use music, movement, art, journaling, and sharing in small groups to explore and practice the following themes:

  • Inflation & deflation within our psyches, attitudes, and actions
  • How to practice and embody a “regular sized” approach to relating to ourselves, others, and our activism
  • How to release our obsession with being a “good white person” and embrace our dynamic and paradoxical nature as humans who are capable of deep love, as well as causing harm
  • How to drop into presence, into authenticity, how to pause and be in our hearts and bodies so that we can be more attuned to the relational nature of all life, and fully awake to all our relationships

 
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We can disrupt the concrete of whiteness that seeks to be plastered over our spirits.
We can be the grass that comes through the cracks.
Remember that you do not have to push, as a single blade of grass–
it is not your might nor mass that lets you rise;                                                                         
it is the water that lifts us.
There is something inside you that wants to be free of the muck
of this conditioning under white supremacy.
You can listen and heed its call.
Come do it with us.

 

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 Register here!

 


COST

Three options ~ based on access to resources

(Redistribution of funds: 20% of ALL donations and course fees go into our equity fund, which goes to local Folx of Color.)

1- $300 if you are comfortably able to meet all of your basic needs. This will help support participants who have less access to financial resources.

2- $200 if you sometimes stress about meeting your basic needs, but still regularly achieve them. This covers the costs of this course.

3- $100 if you frequently stress about meeting your basic needs, and don’t always meet them.

*If these amounts are unattainable to you, you can complete the scholarship application here.

 

DATES

We will be meeting via Zoom once a week for 4 weeks during the following dates and times:

  • July 7, 14, 21, 28 from 5:15-7:15pm (Wednesdays)

 

MATERIALS

  • Paper and writing tools for writing and/or drawing.
  • Access to WiFi is preferable for video capabilities on Zoom.

 

 Register here!

 

 

Want more detail . . . ?
         . . . Keep reading 🙂

 

 

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This Course Might be for You if:

  • You identify as white or white-bodied.
  • You’d like to move past shame around your whiteness.
  • You find yourself pushing away or harshly judging other white people, and would like to develop more capacity to “see yourself in them” with humility.
  • You’ve done a fair amount of reading, researching, podcasting about racism and white supremacy, and are eager to go deeper into the more personal accountability and internal work.
  • You’d like to engage with other white folx around this challenging self-reflection work in a way that welcomes vulnerability and imperfection.
  • You’re interested in examining the way your own personal shadows are connected to white supremacy culture, and want to move towards developing the antidotes to unconscious thoughts and behaviors, so that you may deepen your resiliency and clarity around what and how you are choosing to be in the world.
  • You want to become more integrated/connected in your heart and body, release the fear that keeps you feeling rigid, and instead be pulled by a vision for the future that is more liberatory for everyone.

 

 

Themes We Explore

⇒ Sound edgy ?

If the non-linear components (music, movement, etc.) scare you— please know that we will always respect your agency and boundaries. See “COMFORT / STRETCH” section below for more on this.

“[…to white folks:] “stop letting people lie to you and tell you you are not of the Earth… And walking around apologetic with your head between your legs— so much apology that you can’t stand up straight. We need you free! Because you know what, white folks, when you’re not free, you’re dangerous.”
– Reverend angel Kyodo williams

GET FREE

What is the notion of being “free” that Rev angel is speaking about here? Are you curious about the possibility of who you might be without the constriction of whiteness around your body, mind and spirit, so that more life-affirming energy may flow through you and your actions? Where do white people authentically fit into a vision for collective liberation?

INFLATION

You might have noticed that white folks doing anti-racist work, or those seeking to “dismantle white supremacy” can also perpetuate a lot of arrogance, hierarchy, rigidness, and controlling behavior that reeks of whiteness. Perhaps yourself included..?

DEFLATION

On the flip side, you might have noticed the “head between your legs” that rev references above — where we are cowering in shame, lacking a sense of dignity or sense of self-love or trust in our inherent goodness. This quality of deflation seems to be common among white bodied folks who have begun to wake up to their conditioning under racism.

EMBODIED RACIAL TRAUMA

Resmaa Menakem has helped to share and spread the truth that racism and white supremacy is not just in the mind, but rather in the body– and even soul. If we have begun the work, we have seen the way that white dominant culture and the lies of white supremacy have seeped into our bodies and spirits. For those of us who consider ourselves radical, leftist, or anti-oppression political activists— these lies are not often conscious thoughts of supremacy. Which means.. that it is ever more insidious! The way colonization, supremacy and all forms of separateness have been woven into us requires our deep and honest exploration and commitment to transformation.

 

 

What to Expect ~ FORMAT

We use different configurations to process the course material, including:

  • discussion: in dyads, small and large group discussion, as well as occasionally time to journal on your own
  • inner space: we lead short meditations / visualizations that will always be framed in a way that encourages your autonomy to customize to your own needs, or opt out.
  • audio: we occasionally include short segments from different teachers and educators to contextualize a theme, or inspire a prompt.
  • somatic: guided embodiment exercises, body sensation tracking
  • creative movement exploration: free-form, impulse driven, space for authenticity, releasing and moving energy
  • sound/ silence: We use music! At times we encourage humming or guttural expressions that help to regulate/ground/ metabolize energy ~while on mute;) ! We also welcome silence, and invite frequent pauses to support greater integration and presence within liminal space.
  • visual art: drawing ~ painting ~ crafting ~ for non-linear processing and integration

 

 

COMFORT / STRETCH

We strive to strike a balance between respecting people’s natural comfort zones, while also encouraging folx to lean into growth edges and take risks in a brave space. For more non-linear/creative components, it will be up to the participant to choose how they engage.

We will always respect the autonomy and agency of each participant, taking care of their needs and boundaries. Having camera’s off is always welcome during movement/ drawing/ solo process oriented portions. 

 

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Feel free to email us at info@riseup-rooted.org if you have any questions or concerns.