Mindfulness Meditation · Healing Ourselves, Healing Our World
This week’s meditation session is led by Kate Johnson and the theme is Healing Ourselves, Healing Our World.
Image credit: Illuminated Manuscript depicting a Cosmic Man, Nepal, 18th century, Paper with ink and pigment, Closed: 7.25″ x 3.5″ x .5″ Opened: 122″ l. Collection of Arnold Lieberman.
In the face of tragedy, self-care is not an indulgence but a way to cope and prevent reaching mental and emotional limits. Mindfulness is an effective tool for managing stress, anxiety, and the overload of images on the news and social media. And by slowing our thoughts and actions, a mindfulness practice can help us examine our own implicit bias, grapple with profound difficulties, and take compassionate action for the health of our communities. As Audre Lorde wrote, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”
Kate Johnson works at the intersections of spiritual practice, social action, and creativity. She has been practicing Buddhist meditation in the Western Insight/Theravada tradition since her early twenties and is empowered to teach through Spirit Rock Meditation Center. She holds a BFA in dance from the Alvin Ailey School/Fordham University, and MA in performance studies from NYU.
Kate is a core faculty member of MIT’s Presencing Institute, and has trained hundreds of leaders and change-makers in using Social Presencing Theater, a mindfulness and dance improvisation methodology used to inform strategic planning and systems change in our complex world.
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