“We say we want peace in the world, yet we’re not peaceful ourselves.” Shri Shiva Rudra Balayogi.

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About this Event

Interested in the practice of mindfulness as a path to social change? Willing to take a look at your own capacity for change and peace? Join us for a workshop exploring mindfulness as a practice of Just Transition. In order to dismantle the systems of oppression that exist in the world we must face the systems of oppression that live within us. This requires heartfulness, mindfulness, and the cultivation of internal peace.

GWI is focused on Just Transition (JT) in the Hudson Valley. Mindfulness is a tool of JT. In order to achieve Just Transition we need to start with ourselves. This requires mindfulness – paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, without judgement. We will explore what this means, how it shows up in ourselves, and how others are weaving mindfulness into their work of changing the world. And most importantly we will practice.

More than ever, the world needs your aliveness. Spend 7 weeks learning and practicing to relate with energy, skill, and effectiveness.

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About this Event

We want to know that our collective efforts to bring about needed changes and work toward Just Transition will be fruitful. When we pour ourselves into the things we care about, we want to know it matters. Especially in times such as these, how exhausting to see our hard work melt away as conflict slows down, stalls out, or, worse yet, dissolves our collaborations.

The legacies of a domination paradigm (capitalism, patriarchy, white supremacy, to name a few) have left us without the skills we need to lean in to interdependence. This makes it incredibly hard to collaborate effectively. It makes it harder still to find generativity in conflict.

But it doesn’t have to be this way! Nonviolent or “Compassionate” Communication (NVC) offers us a toolkit to deepen our own embodied self-connection,build our capacity to reach out for support, and relate to ourselves and one another with empathy so that we can show up more fully to our work in the world. And as we begin to unpack the way that domination culture has shaped our very language, we can learn new/old ways of communicating that bring us more deeply into alignment with our values, our purpose, and into connection with one another.

During this 7-week, online course, we will explore practical strategies for undoing domination in ourselves, our communication, our relationships, and our collaborations. Each two-hour session will include interactive content and practices to engage with real-time examples from your life. You will have the opportunity to be paired up with a buddy for practice in between sessions. This course will support you to:

• Identify patterns of domination culture and develop a needs-based orientation that can enable you to undo domination
• Explore NVC as an embodied mindfulness practice and grow your capacity to tune into body sensations as valuable feedback from your nervous system pointing you towards what matters to you
• Grow your awareness of and vocabulary for resonant language including “feelings” and “needs”, and your understanding of the brain science behind why this kind of language works
• Develop an empathic listening practice with a buddy between sessions as a foundational tool for resourcing yourself to show up better in conflict and collaboration

One in a monthly series of explorations of motivation and means to attend to social equity in the spaces we create in our work and lives.

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About this Event

Self-proclaimed “sit-down” comic, Verna Gillis, shares true stories from her one older woman’s show,”Tales from Geriassic Park–On the Verge of Extinction.” In the piece, she explores family, relationships, addiction, cancer, carbs, and navigating life as a 79-year old.

There is a vast difference between stating that your institution or organization is “welcome to all” versus “this space is intended for you.” The former lets people know anyone can come through the doors, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the principles, policies or mission will be inclusive to them. The latter clearly states that if someone does come into the space, there was attention and intention in its creation to take into account the needs of the array of human identities too often relegated to the margins, whether Latinx, Black or other people of color; LGBTQ+; people with accessibility needs; immigrants; elders; etc.

This online workshop will braid strands of mindfulness; particular media, fiction, and—most importantly—personal stories; and reflections prompted by these stories and by questions on your own experiences. This weave of considering the universal aspects of narrative, focusing our attention in the present moment, and tuning into our thoughts and questions, will spur our exploration and dialogue of what is; what it could mean to create spaces intended for all of us; and what it would mean for our own good work to commit to taking action to get there.

This offering is one in a monthly series of online workshops featuring story curators and tellers from different marginalized groups sharing their personal stories in order to provoke listeners to ask “what changes can I make within my life, communities and organizations to truly make the spaces created intended for all?”

“We say we want peace in the world, yet we’re not peaceful ourselves.” – Shri Shiva Rudra Balayogi

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

About this Event

In order to dismantle the systems of oppression that exist in the world we must face the systems of oppression that live within us. This requires heartfulness, mindfulness, and the cultivation of internal peace. Practicing mindfulness supports us in our commitment to drive racial justice and social equity, which is in turn central to Just Transition.

This workshop starts with your interest in the practice of mindfulness as a path to social change and willingness to take a look at your own capacity for change and peace. Mindfulness is paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, without judgement. Woven in with opportunities to practice, we will invite you to explore the meaning of “radical” and “mindfulness” and how they offer a means of recognizing the oppression that lives within, and to see how mindfulness serves as a foundation for others who are working to change the world.

GWI is excited to offer this opportunity to support you in becoming engaged as an ally and empowered as a partner in creating social equity!

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Let’s come together online to align understanding and action in support of effective, collective responses to the moment we are living in.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

A global pandemic has altered the fabric of our daily lives with so many threads of uncertainty woven in. A strong uprising and awakening to the necessity of overcoming racial injustice has been initiated and needs to be sustained. These – and other – realities of our current context only heighten the importance of connecting to explore a shared vision of Just Transition. What will it take to build systems centered on care for each other and our shared home? This core GWI workshop helps us align our focus on this in the Mahicantuck (Hudson) Valley. Join us online, in community, to deepen your understanding of the Just Transition framework and principles. Through video, reflection, story sharing, and small group discussion, you will:

• See people from across the country describing aspects of Just Transition
• Hear how other participants respond to the framework
• Connect your own experience to extractive and regenerative economic paradigms
• Gain a sense of the framework and principles, and where they come from
• Discuss how you are drawn toward weaving one or more Just Transition principles into your Good Work

Do you want to be engaged as an ally and empowered as a partner in creating social equity? Here’s support for moving forward.

Continue reading

A personalized online exploration of motivation and means to attend to social equity in the spaces we create in our work and lives

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

About this Event

Is gender a construct? What if a choice between male and female is a concept we choose to reject? Actor/Activist/Educator, Z Infante, discusses their experience as gender non-conforming person, and the way in which spaces historically cater to masculine and feminine stereotypes while leaving out those who identify as non-binary.

There is a vast difference between stating that your institution or organization is “welcome to all” versus “this space is intended for you.” The former lets people know anyone can come through the doors, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the principles, policies or mission will be inclusive to them. The latter clearly states that if someone does come into the space, there was attention and intention in its creation to take into account the needs of the array of human identities too often relegated to the margins, whether Latinx, Black or other people of color; LGBTQ+; people with accessibility needs; immigrants; elders; etc.

This workshop will braid strands of mindfulness; particular media, fiction, and – most importantly – personal stories; and reflections prompted by these stories and by questions on your own experiences. This weave of considering the universal aspects of narrative, focusing our attention in the present moment, and tuning into our thoughts and questions, will spur our exploration and dialogue of what is; what it could mean to create spaces intended for all of us; and what it would mean for our own good work to commit to taking action to get there.

This workshop is one in a series featuring story curators and tellers from different marginalized groups sharing their personal stories in order to provoke listeners to ask “what changes can I make within my life, communities and organizations to truly make the spaces created intended for all?”

Do you want to be engaged as an ally and empowered as a partner in creating social equity? Here’s support for moving forward.

Continue reading

A personalized online exploration of motivation and means to attend to social equity in the spaces we create in our work and lives

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

About this Event

What does accessibility look like? Do we take into account folks who may have physical limitations when we are creating our spaces? In Spaces Intended for Us: Reflecting on Barriers to Participation Experienced by People with Disabilities, guest presenter Sage Jobsis, co-founder of ThriveHV, shares her experience navigating life with Multiple Sclerosis – how having MS changed her view of the world as well as the way the world views her.

There is a vast difference between stating that your institution or organization is “welcome to all” versus “this space is intended for you.” The former lets people know anyone can come through the doors, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that the principles, policies or mission will be inclusive to them. The latter clearly states that if someone does come into the space, there was attention and intention in its creation to take into account the needs of the array of human identities too often relegated to the margins, whether Latinx, Black or other people of color; LGBTQ+; people with accessibility needs; immigrants; elders; etc.

This online workshop will braid strands of mindfulness; particular media, fiction, and—most importantly—personal stories; and reflections prompted by these stories and by questions on your own experiences. This weave of considering the universal aspects of narrative, focusing our attention in the present moment, and tuning into our thoughts and questions, will spur our exploration and dialogue of what is; what it could mean to create spaces intended for all of us; and what it would mean for our own good work to commit to taking action to get there.

This offering is one in a monthly series of online workshops featuring story curators and tellers from different marginalized groups sharing their personal stories in order to provoke listeners to ask “what changes can I make within my life, communities and organizations to truly make the spaces created intended for all?”

Let’s come together online to align understanding and action in support of effective, collective responses to the moment we are living in.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

A global pandemic has altered the fabric of our daily lives with so many threads of uncertainty woven in. A strong uprising and awakening to the necessity of overcoming racial injustice has been initiated and needs to be sustained. These – and other – realities of our current context only heighten the importance of connecting to explore a shared vision of Just Transition. What will it take to build systems centered on care for each other and our shared home? This core GWI workshop helps us align our focus on this in the Mahicantuck (Hudson) Valley. Join us online, in community, to deepen your understanding of the Just Transition framework and principles. Through video, reflection, story sharing, and small group discussion, you will:

• See people from across the country describing aspects of Just Transition
• Hear how other participants respond to the framework
• Connect your own experience to extractive and regenerative economic paradigms
• Gain a sense of the framework and principles, and where they come from
• Discuss how you are drawn toward weaving one or more Just Transition principles into your Good Work