THAT WHICH CANNOT BE DIVIDED & TOWARDS BEING ANTI-RACIST
“For in meditation, debate has no place.”
I teach Vedic meditation. Some might say I’m part of the “wellness industry.” The practice I teach is a technique where we are able to experience transcending our thoughts, our senses, the sense of touch, taste, smell, time, location even the sense of who we are. Our identity. It’s very healing, restful, refreshing and so much more.
And when I transcend I experience pure consciousness. In the Vedic world view that’s who or what we really are. That place of pure consciousness beyond thought or sensation is me, you, everyone and everything. It is whole, oneness. Some ancient Vedic seers and philosophers don’t even call it oneness, they just say it’s something that cannot be divided. And this is the truth of us. The whole truth and nothing but the truth.
And when I have a really deep meditation where I disappear, I open my eyes and come to and it’s the same old me. A white, straight, college educated, liberal, Gen Xer, middle class, married with children, cis, American male. And though the feeling of wholeness may remain, I live where there are two Americas. One for Blacks and one for whites. One for the oppressed. One for the privileged.
I live in America and a time where it’s very divided and racist. I cannot “other” those I disagree with. I cannot hate them. Hate doesn’t overcome hate. And I cannot control who hates and who doesn’t. I love how President Biden calls for unity. I can look and act for unity, compassion and tolerance. And I believe I always should. But I cannot unify with hate and those who wish to deliberately harm. If I were to tolerate intolerance, only intolerance remains.
The events over the past few weeks have once again reminded us of the need for social justice and collective wellness. Wellness isn’t really wellness until we are uplifting those around us, dismantling oppressive systems and imbalanced power dynamics.
It starts with me. Look inside and ask myself some big questions. Where’s my racism? Where’s my harm? And when I meditate, my actions can be informed and led by the truth within. The truth of what I am. A great reality that cannot be divided.
Here are three books on anti-racism I highly recommend. If you haven’t read them, I believe they’re a great place to start.
Skill in Action By Michelle Cassandra Johnson
How to Be an Antiracist By Ibram X. Kendi
My Grandmother's Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies By Remaa Menakem
“As we come to recognize that our individual liberation is tied to the liberation of those around us, we may experience more purpose to do our actions to the best of our ability, knowing that no effort, no matter how large or small, is ever wasted in the process.”
