Coming Home to Liberation: A Daylong with Palestine for White Practitioners
Jewish, non-Jewish, and all self-identified white people welcome
with JD Doyle, Ream, Allison Shore, and Bernadine Mellis
Sunday, June 23rd 2024
12 – 4PM PT (Time Zone Converter)
HYBRID on Zoom and in-person at EBMC
Closed Captioning Provided on Zoom
The center is fragrance-free and wheelchair accessible
N95/KN95 masks required
We hear the call to Free Palestine and respond from our hearts. We know legacies of settler colonialism and racism are being undone by this freedom movement. How are we as white people willing to be changed by this call, and what is needed now in our spiritual practice, our work and lives, in this time of rising up for land and liberation by people across the world, inspired by Palestine.
As white people we know we have a responsibility to end the occupation of Palestine, as we do to move in relationship to Land Back, to the Movement for Black Lives and to all liberation movements that undo the legacies of supremacy. In this sacred time together we will explore what freedom feels like at the level of the body for people committed to Palestine, who benefit from whiteness, even as we act against it in the world. We will nourish our sense of intention, belonging and capacity to hold contradictions as we act to be a force for good in this undoing.
As Jewish and non Jewish practitioners we will work with mindfulness, embodiment and circle sharing to call in the protection and support of the buddhas, elements and our ancestors for this work. There will be dharma reflection and sharing, stationary and moving meditation, and community support.
We welcome you to join us as you are, with your broken heart, your anger and your longings for a home in liberation.
This daylong holds the values of calling for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, that anti Zionism is not anti Semitism, and that white people in the US have a role to play in ending the occupation of Palestine and that we need each other to do that.
NOTE: There will be a 45-min break from 1:15-2:00 PM PT.
All registered participants will receive a link to join us via Zoom with their EventBrite confirmation email.
Cost
The teachings are regarded as priceless. So they are offered without a fee. You are invited to support the teachings and our efforts by contributing voluntary donations (the practice of “Dana”) for the expenses of the meditation center and the support of the teachers.
To make a gift to sustain the work of East Bay Meditation Center, please do so via Paypal: paypal.me/eastbaymeditation or our website: eastbaymeditation.org/dana 100% of our programming is sliding scale and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds. Thank you for the gifts of your generosity and for supporting the work of East Bay Meditation Center and our beloved teachers who have volunteered their time.
For in-person participation:
For those wishing to practice in person, space will be limited to 40 people to allow ample space for social distancing. Participants will be asked to wear N95 or KN95 face masks. (N95 face masks will be available at EBMC.) Please note: The teacher may be unmasked while teaching.
To attend in person, you need to be completely free of fragranced body and clothing products — more information and a list of fragrance free products, including those that are especially good for people of color, appears on our website.
East Bay Meditation Center is a scent free / fragrance free space and is wheelchair accessible.
For Zoom participation, these are our Universal Access Guidelines:
– Please do not use virtual or blurred backgrounds
– Please keep your camera still when it’s turned on
– Please say your name when you speak
– Facilitators will attempt to read any comments in the chat out loud
– Please mute when you’re not speaking.
Teacher Bios
JD Doyle (they,them) co-founded the East Bay Meditation Center’s LGBTQIA+(Alphabet) Sangha over 15 years ago and co-lead the first Buddhist meditation residential retreats for transgender, nonbinary and gender expansive people. While JD is based in Oakland, CA, they offer meditation retreats and classes for many Buddhist Centers. Their training includes: Spirit Rock Meditation Center’s retreat teacher training, Community Dharma Leader training and the Dedicated Practitioner program. They’ve practiced Buddhism since 1995 in the U.S., Thailand, and Burma. For over twenty years, they worked as a public school teacher. JD identifies as genderqueer. They are committed to celebrating the diversity of our human sangha, addressing the impact of racism on our communities, expanding concepts of gender, and living in ways that honor the sacredness of the Earth.
For more info: www.heartmindteaching.
Ream, pronouns: They. Ream is a queer organizer and somatics practitioner of European ancestry on unceded Ohlone Land, working for over 25 years in the labor movement, currently as the Strategic Campaigns Director for the United Domestic Workers’ Union. Ream is a co-founder of EBMC’s Social Justice Sangha, and the Deep Refuge Group “Racial Justice Skills for White Practitioner’s” and graduated from Spirit Rock’s Dedicated Practitioner’s Program in 2016. Ream is a teacher and practitioner with Generative Somatics. They began practicing in the Western Insight Tradition in 2006, and with Generative Somatics in 2011.
Allison Shore. Pronouns: She/Her. Allison has been practicing mindfulness meditation since 2003. A graduate of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Teacher Training Practicum at El Camino Hospital, she also trained at the Sati Chaplaincy Training Program, and is a graduate of the Community Dharma Leader Program at Spirit Rock. Allison has taught in a variety of academic, clinical, and community settings, and volunteers at a local hospital as an interfaith chaplain. Part of the Every Body Every Mind teaching team, she is passionate about social justice, and making dharma communities accessible for everyone.
Generous Giving
In lieu of financial gifts to the teachers, please consider donating to this event’s $150 fundraiser to support the Middle East Children’s Alliance.
Thank you!
Learn more about Middle East Children’s Alliance here.
