We are here at the portal of the world we had wished for At the lintel of the world we most need. We are here roaring and singing. We prove that we can not only make peace; we can bring it with us.
--Maya Angelou
Download your copy of the Spiritual Healing Toolkit below
During the winter season of 2021 the Albuquerque Center for Spiritual Living launched its third Black, Indigenous, and People of Color SpiritGroup. These BIPOC gatherings have served as a space for reflection and expression during some very tumultuous times. We saw each other through social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the growing awareness and reaction to police brutality and systemic racism, day- to-day macro- and micro-aggressions, a contentious presidential election cycle, and the subsequent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Through these unsettling circumstances, BIPOC came together to pray, build community, inspire hope, provide sanctuary for one another, and draw on our strengths. Yes, we expressed our anger and sadness regarding all the inequities and aggressions bombarding our psyches, but we also laughed and celebrated our resiliency.
This guide is our community service project. As we have taken our journey together, we have found that certain activities and resources have been invaluable:
Turning up our activism – being part of the change we want to see
Engaging in self-care by attending to our bodies and spiritual practices
Becoming more “racially literate” by learning about communities outside of our own
Frequenting businesses that celebrate diversity and inclusion
Learning and finding inspiration through books and movies that challenge, educate, and inspire us
Finding solace in nature
The toolkit is a collection of all the above we have personally found useful. It is by no means a complete list of all the resources currently available, but it is a start. To that end, we want your suggestions on expanding and augmenting this toolkit. This will be a living document that will be revisited and updated with your submissions. In the footer on each page of the toolkit, you will find a link—just click and complete the online form with suggestions for additional spiritual healing tools.
Initially, we envisioned that this would serve as a toolkit for BIPOC. It did not take long for us to conclude that it can serve anyone who is taking the same journey towards enlightenment and well-being that we all are on. Enjoy, and may these ideas serve you in some way.
With Love and In Community, The Black, Indigenous, and People of Color SpiritGroup of Winter 2021:
Deborah Schoenbaum, Rosa Celorio, Valerie Gilliam, and Kelly Saindon
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