*March 5: Decolonizing Mindfulness for People of Color

Decolonizing Mindfulness: Teachings for Emotional Trauma

With Vimalasara (Valerie) Mason-John and Shahara Godfrey

Open to self-identified people of color

This daylong retreat will take the participants on an exploration of negative mental states and how we can begin to transform them. The day will unfold with meditations to help soothe our internalized trauma due to the racism and other suffering that we experience. There will also be interactive meditation and reflective exercises held in a realm of Metta (loving-kindness).

Vimalasara (Valerie) Mason-John is the author of the new revised edition of Detox Your Heart - Meditations For Emotional Trauma published by Wisdom books in 2017. She is co-author of the award-winning book Eight Step Recovery – Using The Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction. She is a TEDx speaker and is the author of eight books including her award winning novel Borrowed Body. She is the curator of Teachings in Uncertain Times, an online retreat by Teachers of Color for Tricycle Magazine February 2017. She is a leading African Canadian voice in the field of Mindfulness for Emotional Trauma and Addiction.

Shahara Godfrey, Ph.D. is a graduate of the UCLA Mindfulness and Awareness Research Center program and holds a MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University with a Ph.D. in Transformative Learning from California Institute of Integral Studies. She has been in recovery for over 20 years and practices in the Theravada Buddhist tradition. In addition, Ms. Godfrey has completed Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leadership and Dedicated Practitioner’s programs. Shahara also contributed a chapter on Aging and Illness in the book, Real World Mindfulness for Beginners.

The East Bay Meditation Center operates using a generosity-based, gift economics model. This means we charge no set registration fees to attend our events and instead rely on the generous giving of our community. All classes at the Center do come with a financial cost. Class participants are offered an opportunity to make a voluntary gift to EBMC during the registration process or at an event itself.

Please note that no one will be turned away for lack of funds. If you would like to explore any EBMC volunteer positions, please send an email expressing your interest to admin@eastbaymeditation.org

EBMC TEACHERS ARE NOT PAID BY THE CENTER and and you can offer a voluntary financial gift to them at the class.

In order to protect the health of community members with environmental illness, please do not wear fragranced products (including natural fragrances) or clothes laundered in fragranced products to EBMC.