Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out

Now, with gratitude, allow the image of the person to fade away, but maintain the essence of loving presence, that powerful quality of kindness and care.

can result through the practice of mindfulness meditation: regulating the body, attuning to others, balancing emotions, being flexible in our responses, soothing fear, creating empathy, cultivating more understanding, gaining awareness of our morals, and achieving heightened intuition.

Even with our best efforts, it can be messy. Primarily, we want to keep our fingers on the pulse of good intention, do our best, and never give up on the human spirit. Talking about what disturbs you is not a practice of perfection but a practice of humility that keeps us learning about what it means to be human. This practice is not meant to be li

If it feels appropriate, you may wish to ask this person for forgiveness for some way you may have hurt them in your thoughts, actions, or speech, knowingly or unknowingly. Take your time and, with all of your imagination and genuine kindness, ask for forgiveness. You could also thank the challenging person for something you genuinely appreciate ab

3. SEEK UNDERSTANDING Seeking understanding interrupts projections and cultivates empathy. You seek understanding by asking questions—one at a time—and then being quiet. When seeking understanding, slow down, check in, and breathe, as this supports stability and presence. Avoid interrupting when the other person is speaking. Be open to softening your

How do these generational traumas, and so many like them, impact the racial narrative we live in today? Might they have something to do with how we have become either desensitized or overly sensitive to racial harm? How might it help us understand the criminalization and mass incarceration of dark bodies in the United States and Australia?

Would you tell me what you heard me saying?

This is the true nature of awareness. When investigating our habits of mind, it can be helpful to open our awareness to include all that is in the mirror, without fixation or preferences.

Renouncing has a very real effect on the function of our brains. Every time we renounce cruelty, greed, righteousness, and hate, we strengthen neuropathways in the middle prefrontal cortex of the brain (for more information, see the discussion of the function of the prefrontal cortex in chapter 4). By intentionally choosing restraint and knowing it

Kindness is the water of humanity. Without water, we harden. Kindness is an attitude, an aspiration, and a practice.