In August 2022 I had the opportunity to give at a keynote address at the International Convention Of Core Energetics in Mexico regarding the need to unpack our systemic conditioning and to make our Core Energetic spaces spaces for ALL people to be themselves fully and completely and not have to adapt to the dominant culture. Here are to-do lists that I presented to the organization. These are the things we are striving towards in our school. (For more information on our current status, go to the tab “Core Energetics Revolution”.) Following the list I answer some specific questions.
To- Do Lists For Unpacking Bias Based Approaches
For groups, classroom & workshops:
Acknowledge that our lack of racial/ ethnic competency in our practices and classrooms is an act of exclusivity and an ethical issue
Acknowledge Core Energetics’ appropriated teachings (much of John Pierrakos work is unidentified eastern philosophy/ thought and needs to be credited)
Center decolonization in every class.
Hire BIPOC experts on systemic oppression to be present in every class even if they don’t have core energetics experience; center the topic over and over again. Do this regardless of the the diversity present or not present in the class to add a continual social justice component- we must begin to collaborate in order to effect real change-
Always have BIPOC leadership representation (even if not ce trained) especially in mixed classes to support nervous system regulation for BIPOC people by allowing them to have the experience of seeing others that look like themselves
Create ongoing training for practitioners, teachers and leaders in the community and create support for them to do their personal work around racism as a basic requirement
Create a system of accountability/ responsibility for practitioners, teachers and leadership in CE community in the same way we do for other ethical issues
Center social justice in the International Association of Core Energetics and individual program’s policies beyond standard politically correct verbiage
Rewrite/ update our materials to incorporate an all- culture inclusive antiracist perspective; when we need to use old materials, which we do, warn people in advance of specific racial or other prejudice based slurs or offenses they will be encountering.
Incorporate already created BIPOC somatic voices and texts into class materials (example My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem) since they are there and they are good; use them to (expand our repertoire) and to teach the difference between the other approaches and core energetics until we get our own Core-centric resources written.
Get training in how to disrupt on behalf of people of the global majority (BIPOC, also referred to as POGM)/ marginalized people and DO IT in classrooms (and the world)
Teach from macro to microlevel to incorporate BIPOC life experience and use this approach in sessions as well. For example, in therapeutic work don’t start immediately with the conditions of the child, start with the systemic conditions occurring in the world when the child was at the time of the issue at hand; what was happening politically in the world, and in their country, how did it impact their community; then moving to the neighborhood, then the family’s conditions, then to the individual experience. The results will encompass a much more accurate lived experience for students outside of the dominant culture.
because they have been so erased, sometimes it is appropriate to encourage BIPOC people to speak first in groups
Skillsets For All Environments For Those Who Benefit From White Supremacy:
Make sure you have ongoing accountability to someone/ community that knows more than you, preferably a professional
Focus on impact NOT intent; Watch your fragility
Do not compare/ equalize your trauma to people of the global majority (BIPOC, also referred to as POGM)
Learn how to be in the questions and to vulnerably be in the conversations rather than trying to fix something
Reduce/ do away with race related trauma that happens before we stop and listen to people’s experience in class/ session
Do not expect POGM to teach you, learn to discern your own impact
Always pay when a Person Of The Global Majority is in a teaching role, their labor has historically been exploited
DON’T AVOID TALKING ABOUT RACE, listen well
Look at your reactions and do your work on your feelings of being blamed/ guilt/ anger/ frustration
Watch how you use words like, “safe” and “home”, explore the images and meaning behind them for both clients/ people in class
Respect a person’s felt identity (ie you might think someone is a person of color but because of their conditioning they might not have that experience)
Be aware of BIPOC innate need/ conditioning to take care of privileged people with power
Be aware that some people may not be aware of/ understand this when you name it too directly
Be aware that there is racial hierarchy where certain groups need to get more attention at different times; note and address its cost to the other groups when this needs to happen. Use it to demonstrate the importance of focusing on the systemic issues
Understand that light skin represents the oppressor which puts the client of color in a bind in regards to trusting/ learning from us and still maintaining their full individuality
Unpacking Bias On The Personal level:
Absorb anti-racism content in your personal life every day, even when you don’t want to
Join ongoing spaces where you can learn to see your conditioning and take responsibility for it without someone telling you how to do it. Form communities that focus on dismantling the system as an ongoing part of your everyday life
Understand this is a lifelong journey that requires will/ action: John Pierrakos(1): “Inspiration comes, creativity comes and then ”execution naturally requires intense effort and laborious work. Both the spontaneous feeling (creativity) and the execution (will) must occur to achieve the fullness and joyousness of living.”
Seek to understand (fuel for another talk) that social justice is inseparable from earth justice (which is different from climate policy and movements that seek balance in the name of capitalism). Work to become aware that all of life on earth is dependent on justice based collaboration.
For those of us to whom this applies, recognize that as colonizers the sin of colonization is ours to undo, period. Yours and mine, one act at a time.
(this list created by Aylee Welch with the help of many many voices)
Questions pertaining to Racial Equity and Social Justice
Since I sometimes get asked some version of the following questions, I am sharing in the spirit of demonstrating where I am in my learning process. This is a deep commitment and an evolving journey for me. I am still in the early stages, but willing and committed for the long haul.
Question: Because I note that the school utilizes Indigenous teachings I frequently am asked
if I identify as indigenous, and if not, in what ways am I giving back to the communities whose
ceremonies I am using.
Answer: Along with many of my lifelong teachers, I have current friends who are Native American who graciously invite me into aspects of their communities. I do not use their ceremonies directly in the school, but teach the principles in many different ways to focus on decentering human-ness which is a mission dear to my heart and reflects my unconventional life path. I make sure to acknowledge and attribute these principles to the appropriate people, tribe, or culture. I tithe to several organizations that support Native people and work to appropriate resources specifically for the Native community whenever I see the opportunity. My teachers have been paid to teach at SSBP and to share their knowledge and perspectives.
As a teenager I was taught and befriended by Native Americans and have always been surrounded by earth based rituals and teachings that have preserved my connection to the living breathing field of life force in which we are embedded. This motivates much of the work we do at Seattle School of Body-Psychotherapy. I have been blessed with many spiritual teachers from a variety of approaches that all help center the work we do here.
Question: How does your program honor and differentiate between the needs of white students versus the needs of BIPOC students when addressing embodied racism? How do you keep BIPOC students safe from “white learning spaces”?
Answer: All of the students of our new cohort, which began in winter 2022, are people of color and I have partnered with the organization Holistic Resistance for this adventure, fondly called the Core Energetics Evolution. Thus, Aaron Johnson, a long time anti-race activist co-facilitates the class in order to reduce the potential for harm from a white teacher, and to support and help explore and create an environment that is not centered in a perspective of dominant colonialistic cultural. Our overall goal is to certify Core Energetics practitioners that represent and will work with the multi-faceted cultures of our communities.
We are also providing white spaces for people to do personal work to confront biases and work through what is still preventing us from mobilizing change on behalf of BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized people.
Firstly my intention is to make this deep healing work to ALL people and not just people of privilege. And beyond that I hope that over time we can get enough practitioners trained, and to attract more mixed groups that will change the dominant culture here and in the Core Energetics world away from whiteness. I hope to have BIPOC assistants for the program so that when we need break-outs around race issues BIPOC won’t have to be with any white people.
Taking the issue of safety a bit further, I must note that I am still growing in my understanding and taking responsibility for my own ignorance so there are times things go over my head and micro-aggressions do happen. I am involved in learning how to hold spaces, both white and mixed with vigilance towards activism. I continue with other training opportunities to grow in this area, and it now comes up in most classes/ settings at the school as an ongoing conversation. The curriculum is constantly changing to address needs and to change the greater culture. And I know that I still have much to learn.
I am also advocating education and change in the larger Core Energetics community around issues of diversity.
Question: Is there a conscious effort to recruit/hold a class that has students that are both culturally and racially diverse? And are there scholarships or payment plan options available for underrepresented/marginalized folx?
Answer: SSSBP recognizes the hardship created for BIPOC that have been excluded from economic access. Scholarships are given to Black, Native or Latinx identified people in need. I would like to be able to extend this to Pacific Islanders as well. But I am a small mentoring program and still need a fair percentage of people to be paying students to allow me to offer scholarships. Since our new cohort is very small and the tuition fees received are not covering the expenses of the program, we are actively fund raising through grant writing. One of the alumni cohorts set up a gofundme to hep us get through this first year (donate here) . Payment plans are also always welcome.
Question: Do your teachings/facilitation include inclusive/decolonized language around gender? (ex: are teachings based in binary gender language? )
Answer: I am going through the long standing Core Energetics curriculum and seeing the insidious manifestation of colonization and the complexity of much of the material. I am working to edit it and refine my approaches, to note the damage that the old system has had on the non-dominant population and refine and decolonize the teachings so that all people can find their way in the work. I see this as an ongoing endeavor.