What is Contemplative Social Action?

Contemplative Social Action encompasses a range of ways to engage others from within the view of contemplative practice. We begin with self-examination of the ways we carry our story lines regarding the world. Unexamined, these narratives can operate as ignorance and aggression or bloat our ego at the expense of the well being of others. Contemplative practice provides the space to understand the motivation for our actions more carefully before we dive in. Are they motivated by love or fear, generosity or selfishness?

Contemplative social action engages from the heart. Using that light, we aspire to manifest justice on the spot.

Developing ways to really know and respect our own power and creativity is vital to this approach. It allows us to avoid recreating the same power abuses and imbalances we see in our social institutions. How do we manifest justice in every thing we do, in all of our relationships, in our care for the planet? Using contemplative practices to answer these questions is not new. The Heart Light approach contributes to multiple wisdom lineages and contemporary conversations about creating a just, sane and loving society.

Images from a Diaspora Identity Exercise created by participants from Contemplative Action and Social Change workshop offered in Halifax, 2022

What people are saying about

Heart Light Action

  • Care was taken to ensure that everyone felt heard and valued. Really enjoyed the structure of learning, contemplating and then creating. I think working on the personal poster gave me time in a more body-oriented, sensory way of letting the info I was processing sink in, Also helped relate the issues to personal experience more directly.

    Anonymous

  • I enjoyed [sic] mostly everything. I felt that many of the exercises did a very good job of giving us an experiential feeling for many truths--white privilege, white dominant society, ignorance of the structures and history of oppression of both black and indigenous peoples (past and present). I will really remember the feeling of experiencing these truths.

    Mandelker

  • Visual/arts based learning allows for different types of learning/integration ... I’m not sure how I will use this but I'd like to figure out how to apply similar methods (but different content) in my own teaching. The recognition of intergenerational trauma of settlers was profound - I could see the cycles that had happened in Europe repeating itself in North America... this can be used to help create connections rather than differences.

    Heidi Lauckner

Heart Light Action Founder Damita Brown

Dr. Damita Brown is a community-based educator and consultant specializing in the application of contemplative practices to problems related to racism. Dr. Brown studied the relationship between social justice and racial identity at the University of California, Santa Cruz, earning a doctorate in History of Consciousness. She then taught at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Mills College.

A seasoned activist, she worked in different social justice movements for many years before turning her energy to a balance between contemplative practice and alternative community building. Her experience as a student of the Dharma and meditation instructor, enrich her dedication to providing compassionate solutions for people of all backgrounds. She is also trained in restorative justice facilitation and non-violent communication.

Through workshops, personal training and consulting she helps people address institutional racism and other forms of oppression. Dr. Brown’s goal is to help people develop guilt-free, sustainable, and effective action plans for addressing racism at any level.

Advisory Council

The advisory council makes recommendations, gives feedback that guides and supports successful outcomes for projects.

  • Laura Gray is passionate about Restorative Circles, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

    She is a product of Chicago Public Schools and has 20 years of experience in education where she has served as teacher, assistant principal, building principal and educational director. Laura is an experienced Gray Space Thinking executive coach, facilitator, motivational speaker, published author, Restorative Circle Keeper, trainer, curriculum designer, educator and consultant.

    She has a BA in English Education from Loyola University Chicago and a MA in Educational Leadership from Concordia University Chicago. She has over 300 contact hours leading and training others in restorative circles. Laura currently serves as the Executive Director of Diversity and Cultural Responsiveness for the Iowa City Community School District. She is also the founder of Restorative Community Partners, LLC, Captivate Diversity Conferences, and Cofounder of R&R Equity Concierges.

  • Nandi Seboulisa is an inspired world traveler, activist, thinker, ceramics worker, mother and longshoreman. Over the years she has been an activist in social justice movements dealing with racism, transphobia, police brutality, inequality and more. As a trauma survivor, she also leads workshops and support groups that help people find alternative coping skills in dealing with trauma and other problems. Currently she is active in her union to help overcome racism in the shipyards of the Northwest.

  • Michael Speraw is a retired entrepreneur from Long Beach, CA. I Grew up in a white suburb where until 1965 homeowners had deeds with racially restrictive covenants requiring them to sell to “Caucasian only.” In my high school of 4,000 kids, there was one or two black kids. I am interested in exploring and facing the deep and unconscious racial bias I have internalized as a result of my upbringing in a white supremacist world. Damita’s work is a great support for this exploration.

  • Emily Waters is honored to join this class as an assistant teacher. She has a Bachelor's Degree in Buddhist Studies, and has been a serious practitioner of the dharma since 2019. She is passionate about education, work, and action that bring greater compassion and sanity to the world, especially in the areas of racial justice, social justice, and climate action. Emily has been a teacher, assistant teacher, and volunteer for various Buddhist organizations including Westchester Meditation Center, Profound Treasury Retreat, and Rime Shedra NYC. She currently works as an editor and research assistant for dharma-related projects, as well as managing social media and providing transcription services for the Chögyam Trungpa Institute