A Moment with Stephanie

"Racism is a heart disease. Many of us can live for a while with a heart disease without knowing it, and others of us know we have a heart disease but are afraid or even in denial about it. But racism is a heart disease, and it's curable." Ruth King

Mindfulness supports us in becoming more compassionate towards folks who are different than us.  Mindfulness can help us be more aware of our biases and then provide us with the regulation skills to sit with our discomfort and begin to minimize the impact of our biases in the world.

In the words of Dr. Rhonda Magee, mindfulness practices “create pathways—neural, emotional, and relational—to engagements that promote not merely personal, but relational and systemic changes that support real social justice.”  Awaken Pittsburgh is committed to this path and we hope this month you will explore that with us.

In honor of Juneteenth, and with the hope to promote our collective look deep inside to examine our biases, we will be exploring how mindfulness can help free us all of the hate and dysregulation that is showing up in our schools, our supermarkets, our communities, and our homes.

I invite you to pause with us this month and notice.  Pause and know that your thoughts, even thoughts that are judgmental, are not who you are.  Pause with us and offer love, kindness, and compassion to all humans on this earth, especially those who have been most recently impacted by the senseless loss of life we have all been witnessing.

From the journey,

Stephanie

We Welcome You to Join Our Upcoming Offerings!

June 5 Half Day of Practice

Join us for a half-day of practice where we will support one another in deepening our mindfulness-awareness practice.

In-Person Morning of Practice Sunday, June 5th from 9:00 am - 12:00 pm

This event will be held largely in silence and led with minimal instruction, so we encourage some familiarity with mindfulness practice in advance. We ask that your join only if you are fully vaccinated and we ask that you wear a mask while indoors.

Online Mindfulness Practice

Awaken Pittsburgh offers twice-monthly guided meditations open to anyone.  This month’s theme is How can mindful Awareness dismantle our Biases? so our guided meditations will focus on this.

Saturday, June 4 – 8-9 AM – guided meditation

Tuesday, June 14 - 7:00-8:00 PM – guided meditation

This is a chance to practice in community together. Each session follows the same format: introductions, a period of guided meditation, and then a chance to support one another, discuss how our meditations are going at home, and ask any questions we have about practice. We hope to see you there!

There is no charge for attending, but donations to support our work are appreciated!

Awaken in the Community

Be sure to stop by and see the team from Awaken Pittsburgh at the following two community events this month:

Wellness 4 Schools Summer Symposium – June 8 from 9 AM – 12:00 PM at the CCAC Allegheny Campus

Bike Pittsburgh’s Open Streets

Saturday, July 30 from 9:00 AM–1:00 PM (East End Loop)

Awaken Pittsburgh will be represented at the final round of Bike Pittsburgh’s Open Streets! We will have an information table and offer Mindful Walking. Please come!

Find more information here: https://openstreetspgh.org/about/
Or https://openstreetspgh.org/route/

Mindful Connections for Public Safety

In serving the public, our first responders can often encounter a great deal of stress. While helping their communities respond to and recover from a disaster, they don't usually have time to tend to their own needs. How can they prepare for the pressure they face? How can they help their own families?

As covered in a recent article by City Paper and Next Pittsburgh, We have joined together with Villiage Center for Holistic Therapy to serve those who work to serve our communities so well.

Be sure to read how our unique partnership is changing lives!