Season of Gratitude 2024: Kinshasa Bennett’s EBMC Story

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Today as part of our Season of Gratitude, we’re honored to share Kinshasa Bennett’s journey at the East Bay Meditation Center—a story demonstrating how mindfulness and compassion can create a ripple of change in the world.

Kinshasa is an EBMC’s Spiritual Teacher and Leadership Training (STL) graduate and currently serves as an EBMC teacher. Check out the video below to learn how EBMC’s teachings have deeply influenced both her personal relationships and her role as a professor in a graduate program. 

Check out Kinshasa’s video here. 

Through being a part of the EBMC community, Kinshasa saw the power of mindfulness to foster compassion, resilience, and connection—not just for herself but for her students and community as well.

“Being with EBMC has really helped me to deepen my ability to be with what is and to be with others …to offer hope and perspective and resilience for things that we can do to support each other and support ourselves in the practice and in the world …to make the world a better place for all of us.”

Kinshasa’s story is a beautiful reminder of how EBMC’s teachings ripple outward, creating change far beyond the walls of our center.

This is what your support makes possible.When you give to EBMC, you ensure that mindfulness teachings and programs remain accessible to everyone.

Donate Today

Thank you for being part of this community and for helping us continue this vital work.

Season of Gratitude 2024: Mini Verna’s EBMC Story

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Meet Mini Verna, a member of EBMC’s Leadership Sangha and the CEO of Macon Street Ventures. With a demanding career in fundraising, Mini found refuge at EBMC—a place she calls her “spiritual home.”

In this video, Mini shares how attending the Intro to Meditation class for BIPOC individuals provided her with a safe and transformative space to connect deeply with her practice and community.

“I really feel like when I donate to EBMC, it makes a huge difference. I know that it’s not just for me and my community, but for anyone who wants to come here and doesn’t have the funds. They can still find the resources, the joy, the community, the connection, and the practice they’re looking for without being turned away.”

Mini’s story is a powerful reminder of EBMC’s mission to create a radically inclusive spiritual home for all. Your support helps ensure our programs remain accessible to everyone, regardless of financial ability.

🎥 Check out Mini’s story and join her in supporting EBMC’s Season of Gratitude 2024 campaign. Together, we can create a future rooted in care, connection, and liberation. Watch the video here.

You can donate here today.

Season of Gratitude 2024: Dre’s EBMC Story

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At EBMC, we often hear stories about how this community serves as a vital refuge for connection and belonging. Today, Dre shares their journey—a heartfelt reflection on the importance of EBMC as a place we can all call home.

Dre first came to EBMC over a decade ago, shortly after moving to the Bay Area. Having previously lived in a homogenous area that felt unwelcoming to people of color, they were searching for a BIPOC and queer Buddhist community—a place where they could feel safe and truly seen. At EBMC, Dre finally found the refuge and belonging they had been seeking.

Check out Dre’s video here. 

Over the years, EBMC has been a consistent source of grounding and community for them. Now, as a member of our Development team, Dre feels deeply honored to give back to the community that has given them so much.

EBMC is so much more than a meditation center. In these times of profound social and political uncertainty, it serves as a radically inclusive spiritual home for marginalized communities, organizers, healers, and frontline workers. It is a sanctuary for restoration, fellowship, and solidarity at a time we need when we need it most.

Please join Dre in supporting EBMC’s Season of Gratitude 2024 campaign. Together, we can ensure our Beloved Community remains a spiritual home for all who seek it now and for future generations.

Donate Today

Thank you for being part of this journey and supporting the vital work of EBMC.

Season of Gratitude 2024: Sylvia’s EBMC Story

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At EBMC, we often hear stories about the ways this community has been a sanctuary for grounding, growth, and connection. Today, we’re honored to share Sylvia’s journey—a story that beautifully reflects the heart of EBMC.

Sylvia first came to EBMC as a teenager seeking refuge. Through Dharma talks, mindfulness training, and community, they found a space that offered grounding and clarity during a pivotal time in their life. Now, post-college, Sylvia has returned—not just as a participant, but as a volunteer, excited to contribute to EBMC’s mission of creating a refuge for everyone who enters our doors.

Check out Sylvia’s transformation from teen participant to EBMC volunteer in this video. 

Sylvia’s story is one of transformation, connection, and the enduring power of community. It’s a reminder of why EBMC exists—to provide a space where all are welcome, seen, and supported, no matter their age or life stage.

This is what your support makes possible.

Your generosity keeps EBMC’s doors open to teens like Sylvia, to parents and caregivers, to social justice organizers, to frontline workers—and to anyone seeking refuge, healing, and liberation.

As we begin our Season of Gratitude 2024 campaign, we invite you to join us in building a future rooted in care and connection. Together, we can ensure that EBMC continues to be a place of transformation for generations to come.

Donate Now

Season of Gratitude 2024: Rooted in Love, Growing Together

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In these extraordinary times, the need for spaces like East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC) has never been greater. For almost 18 years, EBMC has been a sanctuary for healing, resilience, and liberation, welcoming over 50,000 visitors to practice, connect, and grow together.

This coming year, amidst political and social uncertainty, your support will help us:

  • Expand accessibility: Continue offering hybrid, in-person, and online programs, ensuring everyone can connect and practice wherever they are.
  • Strengthen practice groups, deep refuge groups, affinity groups, and intergenerational connections: Expand spaces for collective healing, resilience, and liberation, ensuring everyone has a place to feel supported and seen.
  • Foster community bonds: Create spaces for meaningful gatherings, joyful events, and opportunities for connection and solidarity.
  • Build systems of mutual support: Deepen our commitment to mutual aid and collective care, providing resources and refuge for all who seek healing and liberation.

Looking ahead, as we prepare to move into our permanent home in 2025, we are ready to expand our reach, deepen our impact, and create a space that reflects our values—sustainable, accessible, and radically inclusive.

Your Support is Essential

Together, we are creating a refuge for healing and liberation that will serve generations to come. Donate today!

Link Here to the Beautiful Digital Program for Love, Power and Liberation

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From left to right, Lama Rod Owens, Angela Davis, and Prentis Hemphill against a multicolored background

We are honored to share the digital program from Love, Power and Liberation and offer deep bows to our sponsors and supporters, without whom the program would not have been such a tremendous success!

Click here to view the digital program.

COVID-19 Safety Protocols

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To come to EBMC in person, please be fully vaccinated and wear a mask. More information HERE.

Photo by Vadym Lebedych on Unsplash

Agreements for Multicultural Interactions

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Agreements for Multicultural Interactions at EBMC 

Created by  © VISIONS

Try It On: Be willing to “try on” new ideas, or ways of doing things that might not be what you prefer or are familiar with.

Practice Self Focus: Attend to and speak about your own experiences and responses. Do not speak for a whole group or express assumptions about the experience of others.

Understand The Difference Between Intent & Impact: Try to understand and acknowledge impact. Denying the impact of something said by focusing on intent is often more destructive than the initial interaction.

Practice “Both / And”: When speaking, substitute “and” for “but.” This practice acknowledges and honors multiple realities.

Refrain From Blaming Or Shaming Self & Others: Practice giving skillful feedback.

Move Up / Move Back: Encourage full participation by all present. Take note of who is speaking and who is not. If you tend to speak often, consider “moving back” and vice versa.

Practice Mindful Listening: Try to avoid planning what you’ll say as you listen to others. Be willing to be surprised, to learn something new. Listen with your whole self.

Confidentiality: Take home learnings, but don’t identify anyone other than yourself, now or later. If you want to follow up with anyone regarding something they said during a session, ask first and respect their wishes.

Right To Pass: You can say “I pass” if you don’t wish to speak.

 

To download a PDF Version of the Agreements for Multicultural Interactions, please click here. 

Got a question about EBMC? Input? For the EBMC Directory, click HERE.

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I Vow Not to Burn Out

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EBMC Core Teacher Mushim Patricia Ikeda writes in the August issue of Lion’s Roar magazine about the “Great Vow for Mindful Activists”

Aware of suffering and injustice, I, _________, am working to create a more just, peaceful, and sustainable world. I promise, for the benefit of all, to practice self-care, mindfulness, healing, and joy. I vow to not burn out.

Image: “Superman Buddha, Force Within” by Elisa Insua.

I Vow Not to Burn Out