Samara Gaev @truthworker is the founder of Truthworker Theatre Company and a prisoner rights advocate. "Working inside of a movement devoted to interrogating injustice," says Samara "it can be easy to abandon yourself in the name of caring for others. For those of us on the front lines of advocacy, social justice, and movement-building, if we don't practice mindfulness, we will undoubtedly burnout.
The STILL/WILD movement is predicated on the idea that a contemplative practice and cultural transformation are equally important and inexorably connected and that, for myriad reasons,
WOMEN ARE LEADING THE CHARGE.
GOOD NEWS IS COMING. BUT FIRST, A QUICK REALITY CHECK: Every day we are made more aware of unsustainable stress points on our planet and in our own lives. Around the globe, temperatures are climbing more quickly than expected.One child dies every five seconds due to malnutrition, ninety percent of war casualties are civilians (almost half are children), and over 50 countries recruit children under 18 into their armed forces. In this country, 16.7 million children live in food insecure households, inequality persists, the immigration debate rages, and political parties are increasingly polarized and unwilling to engage in civil debate. The list goes on and on.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THIS: In unprecedented numbers the world over, women are initiating a cultural (r)Evolution - quietly at home, loudly in the public arena, or both. They are doing so with a growing realization that one's commitment to interior transformation informs and sustains one's commitment to global transformation. The process of interior transformation has, at its core, the spiritual (if not religious) entry into the contemplative or meditative dimension of our lives. In addition to bringing about a transformed state of consciousness, the practice enables us to bear a clear and increasingly consistent witness to the values we hold in common. Interior transformation begins with a regular contemplative practice-20 minutes once a day, twice a day ideally.
STILL/WILD, in the name of cultural (r)evolution, heartily welcomes all women, all non-binary folk - and all men, for that matter - interested in a committed STILL practice along with a concurrent focus on social and environmental justice.
At STILL/WILD, we're paying particular attention to those individuals and organizations bent on improving the status of women the world over - not only for the sake of women, but for the sake of all of us. More Chalice, less Blade, please. (Riane Eisler, THE CHALICE AND THE BLADE).
STILL/WILD considers all women both artists and change-makers. No matter what you do for work (paid and not), if you do your work artfully, you are an artist, and there is a way to use your artistry to bring joy and healing to the world. Same with change-making. Whether at home, in the community, or on the world stage, women have a daily opportunity for radical change-making.
It is our deeply help belief that engaging in a daily contemplative practice is a radical act in and of itself. Begin one now.
Welcome to the STILL/WILD Movement!
“Genuine contemplative persons, centers, and movements are crucial agents of social change and cultural transformation – on individual, national, and global levels.”
Tessa Bielecki
