Jewish Mindfulness Retreat for Social Justice Leaders
A Jewish Mindfulness Retreat for Social Justice Leaders
April 2 - 5, 2009
Co-sponsored by the Institute for Jewish Spirituality, Jewish Funds for Justice and the AJWS-AVODAH Partnership
Can activists be still? Why should we try?
This retreat provides an opportunity for a small cohort of leaders to come together in a place of natural beauty to focus on the critical work of weaving together our spiritual and social justice lives in order to become more balanced, healthy and sustainable leaders. The retreat will be predominantly silent with a handful of talks and interactive training sessions.
This is a retreat for compassionate Jewish activists. It is a retreat for those of us who, aflame with the cries of the innocent and the hurting in the world, may be ignoring or neglecting the needs of our own bodies, hearts and minds. It is a retreat about listening to and responding to the pain in the world and remembering that we are also part of that world.
We will create a container of safety, silence, presence and trust. We will invite intimacy with our own lives, looking honestly at the truth of our experience. We will explore perspectives, tools and practices to connect spiritual and social transformation, recognizing that they, in essence, are one.
A sample of the questions that will frame our work together include:
- How do we find balance in a world that is off balance?
- How do we integrate our personal spiritual lives and our public lives?
- How do we allow ourselves to know how good life is and how bad life is at the same moment?
- What are the inner work and the outer work that grow faith?
- How do we summon the courage to face the other in ourselves and ourselves in the other?
- How do we become willing to risk being uncomfortable?
- How do we learn to rest in the unknown?
- How can Jewish spiritual practices nourish our lives as activists, and help us be more effective in our work?
We hope that each of you will discover responses to these questions and more.
This retreat will be based in mindfulness meditation within a Jewish framework, and will be held in silence, including most meals, though there will be one-on-one consultations and small group conversations. In addition to meditation and yoga, there will be nourishing vegetarian food, incredible landscapes and time to be on your own amidst the beautiful New England landscapes.
This practice will work for beginners as well as those with ongoing meditation or yoga practices. We only ask that you bring a commitment to being present and open to what transpires.
Jews United for Justice shares information about events & opportunities sponsored by JUFJ allies, or information about local Jewish or inter-faith events and opportunities which concern local social justice issues, local anti-poverty work, or religious teachings about social justice issues.
It is up to our discretion whether or not to list a particular event or opportunity. No events will be listed which take place outside of the greater DC area, or which focus primarily on international issues. We may choose not to publicize events which take place on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath - from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday), or on Jewish holidays.
To submit an event or opportunity for consideration to be listed on our website please email us a one-paragraph description.
