No Impact Journal: Final Reflection
Shea Adelson
Pass or Fail? Before the week of the No Impact Experiment, I stopped focusing on the game. Basically: I got sucked into the vortex for attending to my sick children,
Pass or Fail? Before the week of the No Impact Experiment, I stopped focusing on the game. Basically: I got sucked into the vortex for attending to my sick children,
Last week I wrote of my introduction to metta, and I asked, “Do I really need a love practice?” I have found that the answer is a resounding yes. Within
Metta is a Pali (the language the Buddha spoke) word that most teachers translate to English as Loving-Kindness. In Sharon Salzberg’s book of the same name, she translates it is
Sufficiency is so not a right or wrong thing. It is a declaration and a practice. It is elusive and concrete. It is a paradox, a box for Pandora to
Here’s a look at how standing inside of sufficiency can look: I like to call it our deconstructionist decorated Christmas tree. We are an interreligious family – we light Hanukah
“The whole purpose of existence is to bring love into existence where it is needed.” ~Barry Long What is the relationship between time and love? I began to wonder about
Because sufficiency is a lost art in living and business, we are constantly experimenting on ourselves. Everything we offer to our clients comes from the laboratories at Seven Stones and
Being on vacation has gotten me thinking about being on vacation. Like anything, it can be an empowering and strengthening experience, a ritual of coming together for the shared purpose
What is it, I thought, that has someone react with such venom when someone else is clearly under enormous stress? Isn’t that stress, or distress, the source of their erratic and disturbing behavior in the first place? I think that our sense of knowing each other, our sense that each person is doing their best at any given moment, that we are somehow in this together, is hidden from our view and missing in our hearts. This hole in our social fabric, this fraying of our knowing each other, of our sense of deep and real connection to all living being, permits us not to notice, or to even assume the best. This tear in the social fabric makes it ok to beep and yell and gesture in ways that only cause more harm.
In our punitive, righteous culture, where there must always be a loser and the game is Zero Sum, her act of love is radical. Impossible for some of us who could not imagine having the clarity and sense of self – or the tools and knowing – to pull it off.
And what did she pull off? They stay together and the family of four moves forward, together. He gets to be gotten and known in the ugliest of times and loved anyway. (How healing is that?) The kids get to keep their childhoods intact. She gets her best friend and lover back, and a published book. We get to be inspired. The end of suffering is possible. Love is the way.
For this learning path, you will participate in the 4 virtual learning sessions and be enrolled in one of three Racial Affinity Groups:
1) People who identify as People of Color (Black, Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic)
2) People who identify as Bi-Racial or Multi-Racial
3) People who identify as White
*More specific affinity groups may be formed upon the completion of course registration
We believe that it is important to do our own work with people with similar racial experiences to build capacity for cross-race dialogue that supports authentic relationships and deep belonging for everyone. We will ask you to self-select into the group that best aligns with your racial identity. We recognize that for some this is not a simple choice and we are available to have a conversation with you to support your selection.
Together we will:
Where: Online Zoom Sessions
Time: 11am-12:30pm ET/8am PT/4pm GMT*
When: 5-Sessions scheduled between Sept 28, 2023 – Jan 26, 2024 (see below)
*All sessions will run from 11am-12:30pm ET.
| Racial Affinity Group Schedule | |
|---|---|
| Thurs, September 28, 2023 — 11am-12:30pm ET | Kick-off/ Authentic Communication |
| Thurs, November 2, 2023 — 11am-12:30pm ET | Unpacking Our Racial Autobiographies |
| Friday, November 17, 2023 — 11am-12:30pm ET | Self-Compassion |
| Thurs, December 7, 2023 — 11am-12:30pm ET | What is Sustainable Abundance? |
| Thurs, January 25, 2024 — 11am-12:30pm ET | Inclusive Leadership |
Upon registration, you will be directed to our online community space, where all aspects of your program will live, including: pre-work, event links, and a space to connect with fellow participants.
These four learning sessions will provide you with a new view and innovative framing of the problem as we see it. Below is a brief description of what will take place in each session:
Where: Online Zoom Learning Sessions
Time: 11am-1pm ET/8am PT/4pm GMT*
When: 4-sessions scheduled between Sept 21, 2023 – Jan 18, 2024 (see details below)
*All sessions will run from 11am-1pm ET.
| Learning Session Schedule | |
|---|---|
| Thurs, September 21, 2023 — 11 - 1pm ET | Why Context Matters |
| Thurs, October 26, 2023 — 11 - 1pm ET | Unpacking Trauma |
| Thurs, November 16, 2023 — 11 - 1pm ET | Global Anti-Black Racism: A History Lesson |
| Thurs, January 18, 2024 — 11 - 1pm ET | Understanding Power |
Upon registration, you will be directed to our online community space, where all aspects of your modular program will live, including: pre-work, event links, and a space to connect with fellow participants.