Fearless Heart: Self Compassion for 2SQTBIPOC folks

FREE Full Moon Anti-colonial Mindfulness Workshop

Cultivating a fearless heart does not mean the heart ceases to feel fear. A fearless heart is one that is unafraid to turn towards fear with kindness, which is the heart of compassion. This mindfulness workshop introduces practices of self-compassion to befriend and attend to fear through the direct experience of thoughts, emotions, and sensations. Mindfulness is offered by centering embodied traditional knowledges for the liberation of ourBlack, Indigenous and POC (BIPOC) Two-Spirit, Queer, Trans, Gender non-conforming and Gender non-binary communities, and all oppressed communities, and all oppressed communities. 

To Register:

1. Read the Detailed Description below to see if this workshop series meets your needs.

2. Email or call Lu to request a spot. Space is limited.

3. If you have any questions, Lu would be happy to set up brief phone call with you.

Lu: lu AT lulam DOT ca, 416-876-8135

Workshop Date, Location & Access Info:

Date: Tuesday, December 13 from 6-8:30pm

Location: Centre for Women and Trans People UofT, 563 Spadina Ave, Room 100, Wheelchair access via Bancroft Ave.

Access Info: Light vegan dinner included. Wheelchair accessible space. Single-user, wheelchair accessible, all-gender washroom. Tokens available upon request.

Facilitator: Lead Facilitator, Lu Lam, M. Ed, CCC, is a trans-identified, Chinese-Taiwanese Counsellor and Mindfulness Consultant. He is trained in mindfulness and critical diversity counselling practices. Lu has 8 years of daily meditation practice and is in continual mindfulness study.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Fear can be carried in our cells through the impacts of colonization, historical trauma, and ongoing systemic, interpersonal, lateral violence of the everyday-even scientific research has caught to this truth. Instead of denying, disciplining, concealing fear, what if we honoured fear? What would be known we view fear a respected teacher? How could we be curious about fear-based insecurities like thinking we are too f*cked up to be loved in order to re-member our inherent wholeness and reclaim a deep sense of belonging.

When we begin to pay gentle attention to fear, we radically change our relationship to difficult or scary experiences. Our brilliant, once life-saving ways to push away, numb, ignore the stress of fear in the long-run impacts our holistic personal and community health. And every one of us has the capacity to heal our soul wounds with a fearless heart. When we become first, aware that fear is present, we can then greet fear with deep self-compassion. This radical act of noticing taps into our intrinsic potential to grow resiliencies to the hardships in life. When we grow resiliencies, we also grow our possibilities to live with more trust in ourselves, more ease and wonder which ripples out into all our relations, offering power and sustainability to our liberation movements.

This workshop will be facilitated from an anti-oppression approach, which means that experiences of Indigenous and traditional ways of knowing will be privileged, lived experiences of intersectionality and oppression are welcomed with respect, humility and sacred understanding. A critical perspective on mainstream mental health which promotes the medical industrial complex and white supremacy will be woven throughout.

Is this workshop for me? Take a few moments to reflect on these questions:

Do I have an interest to meet my own direct fear experience (feeling, thought, sensation), whatever that may be, with facilitative support?

Do I have a readiness to practice a little bit every day for 7 days.  Daily commitment to practice is the intention – even a few minutes a day; length of practice is not the focus.

Am I looking for a non-judgmental non-pathologizing space where my whole being and the wholeness of my life are welcomed?

How many people will be in this workshop?

Approximately 8 participants.

What happens in this workshop?

In the first part, information will be shared on how self-compassion from a mindfulness paradigm may benefit us and our collective well-being. Psychoeducation on how fear activates our heartmindbody systems will be integrated. Poetry is also used to illustrate mindfulness and compassion concepts. A mindfulness practice will be introduced and we will engage in this practice.  In the second part, the facilitator will open the workshop for any questions or reflections on the mindfulness and compassion practice.

What can I expect from attending this workshop?

This is a practice based experiential workshop. You can expect to experience practices in a supportive environment which encourages you to directly explore your feelings, thoughts, and sensations.  You can expect to have time and space to ask any questions related to your experience of the mindfulness practices.

You can expect to learn how mindfulness based practices and paradigm can benefit our well-being in order to strengthen our social justice, anti-colonial activist work.

Can you provide an example of a mindfulness and compassion practice?

An example of mindfulness practice could be being mindful of the breath or sounds. Self-compassion practice, you bring your awareness with kindness; to whatever you are experience with an allowance for the experience, with kind acceptance, no rejection, no changing, no pushing away what is present.

Facilitator

Lu Lam, M. Ed. C.C.C.  is a Counsellor in Private Practice and a Mindfulness Consultant. He finds joy and is skilled in creating spaces for people to make contact with who they truly are in order to re-inspire and strengthen our social justice work.  Lu brings over 18 years of front line counselling and facilitation experience to his work and is trained in mindfulness and critical diversity counselling approaches. He has a daily mindfulness practice of 8 years, is in continual mindfulness study, and regularly attends meditation retreats. www.lulam.ca