Keeping Company Meira Greenfeld

After a hiatus that was much longer than I anticipated, I am hopefully back in the swing of things with an episode about the general malaise that many involved in diversity efforts, social justice or anti-oppression work appear to be experiencing.  It was hard not to get caught up in the momentum of what seemed like a pivotal moment for permanent change after thousands took to the streets to protest the death of George Floyd.  Time will only tell what the sustained
progress has been.  There are so many ways that one might measure such progress. 


The protests seemed diverse with people of different ethnicities throughout the world taking a stand in support of US protestors.  Still,
those who have kept up the work seem to share a concern that in many ways, it’s back to business as usual because people are exhausted. There as so many things competing for our attention:  Financial issues, unemployment, a war in the Ukraine. 


So, I propose that we slow down to explore how we can continue to keep our focus on anti-oppression in a way that sustains action without being, well, oppressive. 


Some highlights:· Learning about oppression is a real downer.  It isn’t always energizing and can result in feelings of guilt, shame or defensiveness.

·  Figuring out the right course of action isn’t always so simple if you’re exhausted, not terribly inspired to help “others” with a problem that’s “over there” and distant from immediate and personal concerns.

· Oppression is often internalized and ubiquitous so it’s hard to recognize when we’re not perpetuating oppressive forces.

· Slowing down can help build presence and help us shift from autopilot.

· How to do anti-oppression work with humility without feeling like a wimp.

 

 

Interactive Workshops

My workshops are designed to be interactive with time in between sessions for participants to integrate their learning.  You may participate anonymously
and/or submit your questions ahead of time to incorporate your concerns or interests into the workshop.  They are compassionately priced so you can attend as many or as few sessions as you would like in a series.  Here’s where you can find my current workshops where you can continue to do this work with
others who (are also tired), but wish to keep the momentum going:

http://bit.ly/3JPp0Y2
Where You Can Stay Involved

If you would like to hear more, be sure to subscribe to this podcast, if you haven’t already, so you    don’t miss upcoming episodes and also join our
community so you can tune in and participate in live events.

You can learn more about restorative justice and decolonization by following me on social media on Instagram, on Facebook in an online supportive community for anti-oppression advocacy or on my website providing education, marketing and racial trauma training for individuals who wish to explore racial bias, reflect and seek guidance or support in these areas.






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Welcome to Part #1 of my coffee chat with my wonderful guests Ella and Jade who join me in table-talk regarding our thoughts about mixed-race experience. We really had no firm idea about what we might discuss. It was an exhilarating experience to give voice to our collective thoughts as they evolve.  In this episode, we share our experiences growing up with a multicultural background that includes some shifting of identity as the numbers of multiracial individuals has increased. We also touch on the impact of protests following George Floyd’s death on self-identity, privilege and colorism. What makes the discussion particularly interesting is our span of generations and also background.

Jade Ecobichon-Gray is the founder of Mindset Matters UK, a social wellness consultancy that works with organisations to embed wellness programs based on social justice principles. With a career spanning addiction recovery, mental health, reducing reoffending and organisational change, Jade is a straight-talking social wellness advocate. As a mixed-race woman Jade is passionate about anti-racism work and is currently working with the Government of Jersey and Jersey heritage regarding the decolonisation of education, history and the arts. She lives in the Channel Islands where she was one of only a few mixed-raced children on the Islands.

She can be found on  @mindset_matters_uk – Instagram and her website
https://www.mindsetmatters.uk. One of her more recent blogs discusses “unpacking mixed fragility.”

Ella is twenty years old and in her second year at Oxford University, where she studies English and German. She also works for a magazine called Onyx which was created by Black Oxford students and which features only Black creatives, when she isn’t modelling, studying or painting! I encountered Ella on her very popular Instagram account @ella.lebeau where she was passionately advocating for more Black students to apply to Oxford University.

Interested in experiential learning and discussion on raising mixed-race children? Check out my new workshop Raising Mixed-Race Children that guides you through support for your children’s identity and a deeper understanding of issues they may face in today’s changing racial climate: https://bit.ly/3rzLj7z

You can learn more about restorative justice and decolonization by following me on social media on Instagram, on Facebook in an online supportive community for anti-oppression advocacy or on my website providing education, marketing and racial trauma training for individuals who wish to explore racial bias, reflect and seek guidance or support in these areas.


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Welcome to Episode 9 of Keeping Company where I continue discussion with my guest is Christhmus Presence. To recap, Christopher is an advocate for restorative justice and practices in the Bay area. He is the founder of Therapists of Color for Social Justice, a collective of Bay Area therapists of color who are committed to supporting social justice & BIPOC Community healing via mental health. He also runs a number of Black-Indigenous-People-Of-Color (BIPOC) Telehealth Groups for adults and also 7th and 8thgraders. He also facilitates Asian Pacific American therapy groups.

You can find out more about what Christhmus Presence is doing at  www.christhmuspresence.com or follow Therapists of Color on Instagram.

In this episode, we continue to discuss decolonizing therapy and exploring ways to be human. We delved into intuitive ways that were part of ancestral history that are very liberating to BIPOC individuals and help them heal.

Chris notes we are born with high sensitivities and then this dampens over time so that we are not overwhelmed. In many ways so much of our existence is disavowed and in so many contexts. We can’t begin to talk about healing without discussing what is considered normal and how mainstream ideas of normal disavow the experiences of so many.

I open the episode asking Chris how he might describe people who connect in ways that are beyond the use of words and follow their emotions.

You can learn more about restorative justice and decolonization by following me on social media on Instagram, on Facebook in an online supportive community for anti-oppression advocacy or on my website providing education, marketing and racial trauma training for individuals who wish to explore racial bias, reflect and seek guidance or support in these areas.  


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This week, I really had my work cut out for me with spelling. Do you find sometimes that there are just some words you perpetually have to keep looking up? One of mine is Presence. Yes, it’s one “s’ followed by a “c.” I mention this because this week’s guest is Christhmus Presence. And I can’t spell that either. There’s an “h” after the “t.” I’m embarrassed to say that it took me a while to realize that my guests name rhymed with seasonal gifts.  Christmas Presents?

Anyway, you’ve  perhaps heard of a Renaissance Man, well, Chris is one. Not in that debonair or arrogant way, but in the literal sense of someone with a vast number of talents and areas of knowledge.

He’s definitely absorbed a ton of wisdom in his years, but you’ll probably not find anyone as humble. Though we recorded this last season, his gentle spirit still casts a warm and fuzzy glow. Christopher is an advocate for restorative justice and practices in the Bay area. He started Therapists of Color for Social Justice.

I would be remiss if I didn’t highlight that he runs a number of Black-Indigenous-People-Of-Color (BIPOC) Telehealth Groups for adults and also 7th and 8th graders. He also has Asian Pacific American groups. These are donation based groups that run ten weeks run by clinicians of color.

You can find him on his website as Christhmus Presence at  www.christhmuspresence.com.

In this episode, we discuss ways in which to decolonize behavioral health and open up ways of healing that go way beyond talk therapy and are particularly restorative for people of color. Chris notes that there is no text book on how to decolonize the white institution of therapy.

When we allow our own DNA to resonate in a way that is not titrated though English, the language of the oppressor of many BIPOC individuals, it allows us to put other things into the frame of our healing beyond traditional therapy. We discuss how there’s something beyond English that’s held in our bodies which non-traditional healing can help us access.

You can find me on social media on Instagram, on Facebook in an online supportive community for anti-oppression advocacy or on my website providing education, marketing and racial trauma training for service providers interested in self-reflection regarding implicit bias or understanding BIPOC perspective.


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I’m all for evolving in our identities, but I wasn’t done processing Hilaria Baldwin’s strange response to being called out for some rather bizarre inconsistencies that come across as….manipulation?? I wish she had entertained dialogue about it instead of defensiveness.

I’ve also been curious about why the violent individuals who attacked the Capitol Building and sought to harm our leaders brought excrement into the picture. Other than just being plain disgusting, was there some intended message of symbolism? Apparently, it was quite the effort and seemed strategic.

Are you tired? Everyone seems fatigued. This was the reason for my recent retreat. It felt like the only decent thing to offer community. I have been wondering why in the middle of a pandemic, we are still hearing so many external messages that appear to promote burnout. I know the hustle is on to find income and perhaps replace it, but we also need to heal. So many people are stressed and anxious. The chaos seems relentless, notwithstanding a new administration.

In this episode, I offer insight into my new meditation that I hope you’ll check out.

History of excrement
https://www.dailynews.com/2016/12/25/santa-monica-synagogue-entrance-smeared-with-feces-food-on-hanukkah

https://www.vice.com/en/article/wd7n8z/a-brief-history-of-people-protesting-stuff-with-poop-197

Retreat
https://pages.meiragreenfeld.com/rememberwhyretreat

Facebook Community

https://www.facebook.com/groups/comingbacktocenter/

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/meiragreenfeld


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Yes, it’s been a while since I've produced an episode.  Hope and I had this discussion in October!  Well, you know that time in 2020 did not run under the same laws of nature.  In an upcoming episode I will share why I dropped off the globe for a month in 2020. I’m back with gusto to do my part helping us all get out of survival mode.

In Part II of my interview with Hope Eden, I continue our discussion of interdependency and Hope expounds on what she calls “sacred geometry in action.” We discuss how the internet is expanding connection on a biological level.

When I last spoke with Hope, she shared her work helping therapists get organized with trainings and helpful assets. She is trying to make the admin work therapists have to endure easier to automate into everyday practice. Which therapist wouldn’t want that? In addition to her three Facebook groups for therapists, she has a new app that provides some of the features of Facebook, but in a more therapist friendly environment. Hope also has the credentials and skills to help therapists get organized in the macro political sense which is right up my alley.  After all, the personal is political and the political has a much larger impact on our understanding of mental health than is openly acknowledged.

In today’s episode, Hope shares her "foundational work" in which she engages with every single client.

You can discover more of what she has to offer in her new app Organized Therapist App that is alternative to Facebook. You can also find her here: Facebook: The Organized Therapist.

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I help individuals transcend feeling like cogs in the machine, stand strong in their own power and  choose the path forward that will lead to the most fulfillment.  You can find out more about that if you SIGN UP for our upcoming FREE RETREAT.  At least, check it out!


You can find me on social media on Instagram, on Facebook in an online supportive community for self-discovery and values-based living or on my website providing anti-racist advocacy, education, marketing and diversity training for professionals wishing to navigate corporate and personal without giving up self or values.  The next diversity training  is January 24, 2021.  This will be on Cultivating Advocacy and Inclusivity in Healing Spaces.


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