Be CHANGED
Change happens in the body before it travels to the mind
Welcome to our world, where we believe and we have witnessed that change does not occur in the mind, but has to be metabolized in the body. If we are going to change our world, we must first examine ourselves comprehensively. In The Be Changed Book Club, we confront challenging issues. We eradicate what keeps us from having hard conversations. That requires bodywork. We won't just ask you to think, we are asking you to feel and know on a cellular level.
The Book Club
Books clubs are a fun way to be together with others wanting to discuss books. This book club is different. It is designed for us to be together in new ways. To take hard conversations, reflect on painful emotions, and evolve to a higher order. As helping professionals, we shift to better serve others.
The Process
The PREMISE
Cognitive Learning is limited. True knowing, and thereby change, occurs in the body. As Dr. Bessel van der Kolk professes, The Body Keeps the Score. This Book Club is designed to guide participants to find bias and racist tendencies in their bodies, and harness them from a somatic perspective.
The PROCEDURE
Large Group: Participants meet biweekly in our large group setting to discuss concepts from the assigned book and to process emotions and narratives that result from readings and discussion.
Affinity Groups: Group members will be offered spaces of their choice to process what they observed and felt in the group meeting.
Partners: Participants meet with chosen partners every other week to practice and process real life in integrating wisdom gained in the book club.
The PROMISE
You Will Be Changed. By learning to engage in hard conversations through non-judgemental recognition and regulation of your body and mind, you will be able to bring your anti-racist awareness into your work and world. You will change. You will create change.
Our Story
Two years ago, in the aftermath of George Floyd's death, I had a vision for a book club to combat racism. Not just a reading club, but an action experience. I have long subscribed to the theory that healing occurs on multiple levels, not in the mind. My plan was to incorporate yoga techniques to help people be open to the hard conversations ahead.
I desired to support my white friends in understanding the myriad emotions Black people felt every time an injustice against people of color occurred. I was fearful. I was off put by unfavorable responses. So I held the idea in my heart instead of sharing it with the world.
Fast forward to new friends. I shared my idea with Rebekah G, who is a seasoned warrior in the restorative justice world. She helped me see my little idea as a big deal. Together, we're cooking up an experience that is not just for casual learning, but what we hope will change how people address racism in their service work.
We both utilize somatic experiences in our work. Be Changed Book Club is designed to help participants metabolize (I love that Rebekah uses this term) and fully embody anti Racism.
If you would like to embark on this pivotal journey with us, sign up here.
