Come Alive: Tending To Self Weekend for BIPOC Leaders

Belonging: To Ourselves and the World

A DHARMAKAYA CENTER STILL PROGRAM

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Let’s face it: Implicit and explicit racism is draining. Soul depleting. And in some cases, life threatening.

At this juncture in history, the time for change is more than ripe.  We need to find creative and meaningful ways to support the leaders who bring this critical work forward.

Our response: The Soul Spa Weekend, led by two fabulous BIPOC presenters.

Join us as we sponsor 12 BIPOC Leaders who must not only navigate their own racialized trauma, but who also hold, support and offer inspiration to the communities they serve. We want to support you in strengthening your resiliency so you can stay the course and show up for the bold and compassionate work ahead. The program focuses on:

• Identifying stress factors that impact healing, activism and service work using the lens of systemic constellations, ancestral healing work and nature-based practices, expressive arts, and ritual as healing
• Cultivating mental, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing
• Developing sustainable self-care strategies

“Brilliant, moving, creative, and healing. The best workshop I have experienced in my life—and I am almost 70!”

“Absolutely incredible!…Amazing and eye opening…Deep Blessing…Can this go on forever? Breathtaking experience…It’s rare that I feel so welcomed in retreat spaces… radical permission to return home…. “

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

—Howard Thurman

Over the course of the weekend retreat, we invite you to explore:  What does it mean to come home to ourselves and tend our spirits?  How and where do you find aliveness in the day-to-day? And how do you tend this precious ember, your inner fire?

Theologian Howard Thurman suggests that each person carries an inner truth-tone and core vitality — a deep authenticity that brings us into direct contact with our inner aliveness. He suggests that suffering often arises from living unaware of, or against, this innate impulse.

Using guided meditation, group processes, ceremony, sacred writing, play, and embodied connection, each element of the weekend will explore this theme and identify ways we can re-kindle and tend this essential and critical inner fire, so it radiates our core beauty, power, and vitality.

The weekend will blend a variety of restorative experiences that invite play, gentleness, spaciousness, connection, and depth as we gather in community.

Create a Living Altar

Bring something of meaning to be imbued with the energy of the weekend as we all create a Living Mandala Altar to honor what has meaning and aliveness.  We will also co-create community agreements which will guide how we each show up in the shared space.

Sound Bath, given by Ben Brown, LMT

Sound encourages more space, rest, and resilience in the body and nervous system—and the experience of deep listening provides an opportunity to connect more deeply with ourselves, to access our higher consciousness, to create a sanctuary within our bodies, and to deliver a path to the present moment. Sound practitioner Ben Brown will facilitate this experience through singing bowls, gongs and various other instruments.

Sacred Poetry with Sushmita Mukherjee

Seasoned Practitioner Sushmita Mukherjee will invite sacred inquiry and inner process using gentle but powerful writing prompts that help to unlock obstacles to presence.  She will introduce the surprisingly “easy to use” French Pantoum as a vehicle for taking the aliveness journey deeper.  What emerges is always a delightful surprise and the group sharing naturally creates a ritual of deep soul listening.

Ancestral Presence with yvette shipman

We each carry those who came before us — ancestors of blood, of spirit, of deep belonging. In this session, yvette will create a gentle space to turn toward those ancestors who are well, who are healed, and whose presence may offer something quietly sustaining for where you are right now. Come with an open heart. There is nothing you must feel or receive. Only an invitation to remember, and to rest for a moment in service of your aliveness and vitality.

Closing Ritual and Ceremony

How will we honor what has arisen?  The beauty, the teachings, the guidance? Our closing rituals and ceremonies are designed to go beyond words so we can capture the archetypal inner landscape of aliveness in whatever way that aliveness has shown up for you.  Stay tuned for more details!

APPLICATION

This program is free of charge, but requires an application, which you can access here. Please note: We are only able to accept one applicant from any single organization.

SCHEDULE

(subject to change)

Friday, July 17

Saturday, July 18

Sunday, July 19