Leading for Liberation: Ecosystems of Belonging
Learner Journey Resonance Question:
What if we had shared rituals and practices that reminded us of the
future world we so deeply desire?
Do you stand for diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging? Are you looking for a brave and nurturing space to make your own meaning and balance all of the lifelong learning, growth and complex change that comes with this ever-evolving stance to more truth and love?
Well, what you are seeking, seeks you! We know that moving from commitment to action is not an easy process. It can be hard to talk about oppression in a culture that strives for perfection and refers to"feelings"as obstacles to production. These distorted views about reality only perpetuate harm to your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health and wellness. Oppression impacts you on all of these levels, therefore, a holistic approach to what leading for liberation looks like for you is integral to your evolution process. Equity and Liberation are embodied and to embody a new way of being, becoming or belonging takes practice. It goes beyond words that you add to your mission statement, strategic plans or social media posts. It requires a life-long commitment to unlearning the oppressive paradigms passed down from generation to generation. Too often, we ignore the historical, systemic and institutional factors that manifested our current reality.
An effective way to have courageous conversations about the impacts of internalized oppression and how it textures your relationship to self, others and the world, is through a community that practices the exploration of privilege and power in a non-shaming learning environment that honors the innate dignity of all people.
“There is cognitive dissonance caused by holding on to oppressive narratives given to us by larger Western Imperial culture stories and a task of liberation is learning to read the stories of self and others with complexity that may lead to editing and retelling of those stories.”
-Daring Compassion: Movement Chaplaincy course
Path I: Self Discovery: April - May - June
Theme: Refresh & Renew
The Ecosystems of Belonging learning journey focuses on how to bring holistic change at the personal, community and systemic levels. The first part of the learning journey focuses on building your skills to connect to your social and emotional capacity. We will then practice what it looks, sounds and feels like to integrate this unique emotional intelligence with your leadership style.
The attention given to this part of your leadership pedagogy allows you to explore the values, beliefs, and behaviors you emulate as a leader in a brave and nurturing learning environment. It offers you space and time to release and renew mindsets, beliefs and actions that perpetuate oppressive realities. If these important facets of your identity spectrum go unchecked, then you risk unconsciously regenerating the oppressive ways of being and belonging that have manifested in our collective reality. This part of the journey also gives you the space and time to learn more about your unique expression and the regenerative practices that aid you in feeling resourced, balanced and grounded through any life experience.
Side bar: We invite you to expand on your definition of what a leader is. There are a multitude of ways to express leadership. You can be a leader in an organization, in your family, community, a program, most importantly, we want you to own that you are the leader of your life. This journey is for the leader within all of us.
Learning Path 1 Offerings:
-
April:
-
Enlightenment Session: Social Emotional Wellness and the Identity Spectrum
-
Collective Care Circle: Anchoring in Breathe
-
Monthly Community Meeting
-
-
May:
-
Enlightenment Session: Regenerative Rituals: Social-Emotional Tools for Wholeness
-
Collective Care Circle: Anchoring in Affirmations
-
Bonus Workshop: Guest Teacher Nathaniel Wilson from I AM IMPACT
-
Heart-Minded Protective Factors: Liberatory Coaching
-
-
Monthly Community Meeting
-
-
June:
-
Enlightenment Session: Heart-Minded Intersections: Leading from the Inside Out
-
Collective Care Circle: Anchoring in Movement
-
Monthly Community Meeting
-
Path II: Conscious Action: August - September - October
Theme: Evolve & Expand
The offerings in the second part of our learning journey help build your capacity to create with and for equity from the inside out. We will learn and experiment with how we weave equity, healing and justice into all the spaces, resources, structures and systems we create as we move deeper into our current reality of repair and renewal.
Sidebar: Participation in the first part of our learner journey is not required but strongly encouraged because it offers you space and time to release and renew mindsets, beliefs and actions that perpetuate oppressive realities. If these important facets of your identity spectrum go unchecked, then you risk unconsciously regenerating the oppressive ways of being and belonging that have manifested in our collective reality.
Learning Path II Offerings:
-
August:
-
Enlightenment Session: Ecosystems of Belonging: From Hero to Co-Creator
-
Collective Care Circle Anchoring In Meditation
-
Bonus Enlightenment Session: Guest Teacher/Topic TBD
-
Monthly Community Meeting
-
-
September:
-
Enlightenment Session: The Power of Collective Healing in Social Change Work
-
Collective Care Circle: Guest Facilitator/Practice TBD
-
Monthly Community Meeting
-
-
October:
-
Enlightenment Session: Dream Spaces: Co-creating for Abundance
-
Collective Care Circle: Anchoring in Reflection & Meaning
-
Monthly Community Meeting
-
The Learner Journey Experience
Members of this learning community will be invited to engage in a journey of self-exploration, discovery, healing and conscious action in a community of like-hearted people practicing what it means to lead with and for equity, healing, and justice. This year’s learner experience will be filled with heart-full gatherings that include monthly Enlightenment Sessions (workshops), Guest Speakers, Focused Conversations Circles, Collective Care Circles and Empowerment Resources that fill you with the joy, vitality and hope needed in the journey to bridging and building a beloved community of belonging for our future descendants.
The Eco-Systems of Belonging Journey welcomes & supports the participation of LGBTQIA+, BIPOC, Youth and People with disabilities.
The Learner Journey Purpose and Practice
This learner journey honors the precious practice of cultivating the Radical Imagination we each have that serves as a bridge to the values, visions and conscious actions we need to build future societies of equity, healing and justice. Alex Khasnabish describes this bridge to futuristic realities of liberation as follows, “At its most superficial, the radical imagination is the ability to imagine the world, life, and social institutions not as they are but as they might otherwise be. It is the courage and the intelligence to recognize that the world can and should be changed. Radical imagination is not just about dreaming of different futures. It’s about bringing those possibilities back from the future to work on the present, to inspire action and new forms of solidarity today.”
We honor this learner journey as a brave and nurturing space of purpose that allows us to learn, reflect and unite with others through joy, vitality and hope as we co-create solutions that will end racism, inequities and hate in all its forms.
We honor this learner journey as a form of practice that connects us all through the intersections of:
Healing Justice
Aesthetic Force
Belonging
Radical Imagination
Joy, Vitality & Hope
Centered Accountability
Each offering of this journey is rooted in a theme with spaces that connect to the purpose and practice of co-creating empowered communities of belonging.
Empowerment Tools for the Journey
Every journey needs tools and resources that remind us of our inner wisdom and regenerative power. JVH Empower has intentionally co-created the following empowerment tools for this year’s learning journey.
Empowerment Boxes:
-
Release & Refresh for Path I
-
Evolve & Expand for Path II
The intention of each learner journey Empowerment Box is to bring you the power to engage in reflection, learning and uniting with others through joy, vitality and hope during each interconnected space of the journey. Boxes contain a journal, pen, sensory objects, central nervous system regulation products, custom affirmations & motivational stickers. Each product in our empowerment boxes was created by a BIPOC small business.
Monthly Empowerment Guidebook:
-
Each monthly guidebook contains empowerment practices and resources that deepen your understanding and connection to our learner journey's theme and focus areas.