A Day of Practice with Dharma Teacher Kaira Jewel

Strengthening resilience, joy and well-being
in our efforts for social justice and change

"It seems that an activism that emphasizes action to the diminution of reflection, that rewards outer effect and ignores inner awareness, that focuses on the other but occludes the self, that extols results (almost as commodities) without sufficient regard for the process of getting there, cannot succeed in following the actual complexities of social change. Ironically, it renders us onlookers rather than participants, and actually retards change. A delicate activism is truly radical in that it is aware of itself, and understands that its way of seeing is the change it wants to see. This heralds a seismic shift towards a more social and ecological form of activism, towards a future that supports life.” -- from A Delicate Activism: A Radical Approach to Change by Alan Kaplan and Sue Davidoff

How can we sustain a culture of self-reflection in our activism? How can we organize around a cause while still remaining open to the constantly changing nature of the issue? How can we nurture ourselves so we can avoid burnout? How do we avoid reinforcing the very systems of oppression we are working to change? How do we remain true to our deepest aspirations and intentions? Mindfulness can be successfully applied to our activism to help us cultivate a way of seeing that “is the change it wants to see."

In this day of mindfulness we will learn and practice tools for self-care and building community, for nourishing joy and healing our pain, so that we can sustain inner and outer transformation for the long-haul. There will be periods of sitting and walking meditation, a Dharma talk, a mindful lunch shared in silence, group sharing and InterPlay — a fun and creative improvisational, body wisdom practice.

Our Day of Practice will be led by Kaira Jewel Lingo and will take place in the Octagon at Blueberry Gardens in Ashton, Maryland.

Kaira Jewel Lingo teaches Buddhist meditation, mindfulness, and compassion internationally, with a focus on activists, people of color, artists, educators, families, and youth. Kaira Jewel was for 15 years an ordained nun in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing. She is now a lay Dharma teacher, leading retreats in the U.S., Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa, and offering mindfulness programs for educators and youth in schools. She edited Thich Nhat Hanh’s Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children and helped to start and develop Wake Up Schools, bringing mindfulness to education. She explores the interweaving of art, play, ecology and spiritual practice and is a certified yoga teacher and InterPlay leader.

The suggested dana (donation) for the day is $40-$70. Dana is a gift from the heart that supports the community and the teachings: please feel free to contribute less or more according to your circumstances.

Blueberry Gardens is about 13 miles from Crossings in Silver Spring and also 13 miles from the Columbia Yoga Center in Columbia. We will facilitate the formation of car pools to make the drive more enjoyable and to reduce gas consumption.

Register now. If you have questions, please please contact our registrar, Gene Klinger: gklinger@verizon.net or (301) 260-1635. 

We hope you can join us. Please pass this notice on to friends or groups you think might be interested in joining with us. 

Download a flyer.