Trymaine Gaither, Special Assistant to the Provost for Inclusive Excellence, will join us over the next 3 months to provide his Mindfulness-based Anti-Racism Training Series. A description of the 3 sessions can be found at (https://provost.wsu.edu/equity-and-inclusion-training/mindfulness-based-anti-racism-learning-communities/). We will offer continuing education contact hours for faculty attending. His invitation to this training is below. Please note there will be 3 interactive sessions on:
- November 5th 2-3:30
- December 3rd 2-3:30
- January 14th (2022) 2-3:30
Trymaine’s Message:
This will be a learning community focused on Anti-racism using skills and techniques of Mindfulness and grounded in MBSR (https://news.wsu.edu/news/2021/03/04/gaither-leading-mindfulness-anti-racism-training/). It is a wise response to the question: “What is called for now?” The MBAR learning community allows us a way to grow together while also staying safe and contributing to the health and safety of others. In this learning community, you will be contributing to the value, learning, and integration of this training.
In preparation for the November 5th session, please have a journal and/or writing materials for you to capture your thoughts. There will be multiple opportunities to reflect, write, and/or draw, and having a place to capture those will be valuable.
In addition, here is the pre-training homework to complete before the first session:
Reading
Neff, K. (n.d.). The 5 Myths of Self-Compassion.www.psychotherapynetworker.org/magazine/article/4/the-5-myths-of-self-compassion. (see pdf)
Media
- The Space between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion Kristin Neff explains how self-compassion improves our well-being while emphasizing interconnection and shared humanity. (19 minutes)
- How ‘white fragility’ reinforces racism Dr. Robin DiAngelo explains what white fragility is and how it functions. (5 minutes)
Please do your best to complete the homework before the first session.
Reflections. As you prepare, reflect on both your mindfulness practice journey and your journey to be an anti-racist:
- What has been the most powerful and meaningful for you in these two domains?
- How do they connect (if they do)?
- What intentions are you bringing to MBAR? What wonderings?
Learning Community. I wanted there to be a way for participants of the Mindfulness-Based Anti-Racism Training Series to connect, share resources and converge. So I set up a Slack workspace for the learning community. If you would like to participate in the Slack workspace, you can join at this link. Currently, over 45 faculty from across the WSU system have joined this Slack workspace. Slack is very user friendly, but if you would like to join but are unfamiliar with Slack, feel free to reach out to me, and I can help you.