Past Events
Deep Replenishment and Connection:
Meditations of Loving Communion and Presence for Social Justice Activism and Service
with Lama John Makransky
July 18-20, 2008
Garrison Institute, Garrison, NY
Shifting Metaphors: Activism as a Path to Awakening
with Rev. Ryūmon Hilda Gutiérrez Baldoquín
June 13-15, 2008
Smith College, Northampton, MA
Awakening the Heart: A Winter Retreat for Activists and Organizers
with Nghia Trung Tran
January 16-19, 2008
9 Mountain, Plainfield, MA
Consciousness-in-Action:
Toward an Integral Approach to Liberation & Transformation
An Introductory Workshop with Raúl Quiñones-Rosado, PhD, author and founder of ilé | c-Integral
October 20, 2007, 10 AM - 2 PM
Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
Awake to This Moment: A Zen Retreat for Activists and Organizers
with Rev. Ryūmon Hilda Gutiérrez Baldoquín
July 28-29, 2007
Smith College, Northampton, MA
Transforming Organizing Culture: A Gathering for Emerging Leaders
April 17-20, 2007
Trinity Conference Center, West Cornwall, CT
Sitting in the Fire with Integrity
March 3, 2007
The Center for Contemplative Mind in Society, Northampton, MA
Transforming the Culture of Organizing through Contemplative Practice: A Gathering for Emerging Leaders
October 12-15, 2006
Menla Mountain, Phoenicia, NY
Opening to the World:
Transforming Anger into Compassionate Action
a one-day retreat with Rev. Ryūmon Hilda Gutiérrez Baldoquín
Saturday, August 19th, 2006
Nourising Deep Being:
A day for Activists to Reflect, Renew and Regenerate
a one-day retreat with Terri Nash
Friday, July 14th, 2006
Transforming Organizing Culture through Contemplative Practice
May 31-June 2, 2006
Menla Mountain Center, Phoenicia, NY
Our Community Meets Raúl Quinoñes-Rosado:
Toward an Integral Approach to Liberation and Transformation
Sunday, April 2nd, 2006
Raúl Quiñones-Rosado, author of Toward an Integral Approach to Liberation and Transformation led a discussion drawing from liberation psychology, integral theory, and thirty years of community work, anti-oppression organizing and spiritual practice.
Our Community Meets Faith Adiele
On February 25th, 2006, Faith Adiele, author of Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun, shared her experiences as a community activist and diversity trainer.
SpiritHouse Gathering
On November 17, 2005 women of African ancestry gathered at the SpiritHouse Project in Washington, DC to analyze the current status of Black female leadership and activism as well as to develop concrete strategies to unify and strengthen Black female leadership, activism, and our common connections. Rose Sackey-Milligan, the Center’s Social Justice Program Director, was among 16 who participated in this daylong dialogue. Ruby Sales, Founder and Director of The SpiritHouse Project, puts it clearly when she says,”Ultimately, our mission is to cut across our differences and build a solid community of sisters and women, who work collectively with each other and our allies to create a common vision and agenda that build up our lives and the lives of our families and communities.” The SpiritHouse Project is a national organization that uses research, action, the arts, education, spiritual reflection, and analysis to bring diverse peoples together to build a just and nonviolent movement that moves us toward a beloved community.
Storytelling Workshop with John O'Neal
There are perhaps a hundred approaches to storytelling, and the Center believes in the power of story to transform lives and society. We also value storytelling itself as a contemplative act, composed of both deep listening and heartful sharing.
On December 4, 2005, the Center’s Social Justice Program (in collaboration with New World Theater, University of Amherst, MA) hosted Story Circles: Community Dialogues with John O’Neal, Artistic Director of Junebug Productions. Working with a group of 13 local activists and organizers, John O’Neal led the group through a 3-hour step-by-step experiential process called Story Circles. Junebug Production’s storytelling model uniquely combines three relational contemplative practices ―storytelling, deep listening, and council circle. The experience was an enriching relationship building experience for everyone in the group, and at every turn, each saw the benefits of using storytelling as a tool for building and organizing communities on a range of social justice issues. Story Circles is the foundation of Junebug’s artistic and activist work, often dealing with issues of systemic racism. John O’Neal is a dedicated organizer through the Civil Rights Movement to the present day.
Transforming Organizing Culture through Contemplative Practice:
A Gathering for Emerging Leaders
September 22-25, 2005
Garrison Institute, Garrison, NY
Refugio Training
SJP accepted an invitation to conduct a daylong workshop in the Refugio Training Series, a newly formed training cooperative run by New York city-based organizers. SJP staff co-facilitated a daylong fun-filled experiential workshop titled Mind Over Matter in collaboration with Akim Funk Buddha, who took the group through a variety of contemplative exercises such as meditative throat singing, meditation, freestyle movement exercises, and drumming. We look forward to working with this blend of the spiritual and urban again real soon! A total crowd pleaser!