Online Retreat

BIPOC Grief: Naming the Unnameable and Exploring the Many Faces of Grief and Loss

“There is a price in not expressing one’s grief...There can be so much grief that we grow numb from the unfelt and unexpressed emotions that we carry in our bodies. Unexpressed hurt and pain injures our souls.” – Sobonfu Somé, author, teacher, and activist During this daylong retreat for the BIPOC community, we’ll explore the many faces of grief and loss, including individual, collective, and systemic. How do we learn to be with, even embrace, grief without either bypassing it or being overwhelmed by it? Participants are invited to co-create a safer container in which to practice meditation, engage in small and large group sharing, attend Dharma talks, and give our grief a space to exist and be expressed. Together, we will practice bearing the unbearable and naming the unnameable.

Teaching Team

Mushim Ikeda

Mushim Ikeda

Teacher

Mushim Patricia Ikeda is a core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center and has taught BIPOC meditation retreats and classes for 20+ years in California, New Mexico, and online. Her justice-centered writing has been published in Lion’s Roar, Tricycle, and many socially engaged Buddhist and arts anthologies.

Damali Robertson

Damali Robertson

Teacher

I am an artist, mindfulness practitioner, facilitator, and emerging filmmaker guided by three values: Love, Liberation, and Compassion. I began telling stories on film in 2014. I launched my YouTube channel in 2019 and have talked to incredible people about activism, racial equity, and mindfulness over the last several years.

You Might Also Like

Retreat Online

Saturday, August 3 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

How to be a Bodhisattva: Zen Insights on the Way of Compassion 

In this daylong retreat, we’ll explore teachings about the Bodhisattva path—the way of friendliness and compassion—and we’ll study a short text of Dogen, the 13th Century founder of Soto Zen, called “The Bodhisattva’s Four Methods of Guidance.” This poetic text offers four practices designed to awaken the bodhisattva spirit: generosity, kind speech, beneficial action, and identity action. Together, we’ll spend time experiencing Dogen’s words through meditation and writing.

Norman Fischer

Norman Fischer

Retreat Online Hybrid

Sunday, August 4 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Faith in Yourself: Compassion Practices for Cultivating Freedom from Self-Doubt

5 CE Credits. Many of us find it hard to believe that we have what it takes to do this practice. Seeing into this doubt with compassion and wisdom can not only help us be free from the pain it causes, but it can open us to the possibility of trusting ourselves and all aspects of our experience. This day of practice is an invitation to understand and find freedom from self-doubt and tap into the fullness of our potential in this life.

Matthew Brensilver

Matthew Brensilver

Cara Lai

Cara Lai

Retreat Online

Sunday, August 11 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Everything Is Practice: A Guide for Insight Meditation Retreats

Join us for an inspiring evening with our beloved Gil Fronsdal, who will share his insights from decades of experience teaching silent meditation retreats, as well as guiding others in retreat practice. With roots in both the Insight and Zen traditions, Gil will draw on teachings from his latest book, Everything is Practice: A Guide for Insight Meditation Retreats. Our time together will include a brief guided meditation, reflections, and Q&A.

Gil Fronsdal

Gil Fronsdal