[CRNMC] Decolonization of Mind - Discussion Group - Meeting Notice

[Charles Cresson Wood]

DECOLONIZATION  OF  MIND 

Lunch-Time Discussion Group Announcement
Event Title: Opening A More Meaningful Conversation About Racism
Time & Date: Tuesday, August 11, 2015, at 12:30PM (second Tuesday of month)
Location: Downtown Ft. Bragg (see directions below)

Event Description
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Our culture and surroundings have trained us to see the world and our position in it through a certain set of lenses. Those lenses are largely a function of a cruel history, defensive instinct, taught prejudice, incomplete information, and among some, the desire to dominate and exploit others. Before we can enter into a deeper and more meaningful conversation about racism, and how to heal the rifts between us, or for that matter before we can seriously enter any topic related to the decolonization of our minds (such as militarism and the default use of force as a conflict resolution method), we must encounter the blocks that keep us stuck where we are now. This thought-experiment event will involve an identification of some of those conceptual and psychological blocks, a taste of what it would be like to move beyond those blocks, and a sense for the potential freedom and liberation that is possible when we let go of those blocks. Racism hurts us all, and it is a central building component of our oppressive and controlling culture, and the default mindset that the culture gives us. All are welcome to join in at this exploratory conversation party.

Facilitators
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Charles is a law school student and a professional writer. Among his books is a frame-shift meditation book called “Opening To Abundance,” which can be found on Amazon.com. Charles will talk about psychological strategies for self-emancipation, including letting go of racist viewpoints, and the opportunity to be in truth by stepping outside of those cultural beliefs that enslave us (some call this the “matrix”). Also facilitating this meeting will be Susie, a teacher and local community activist, who was born and raised in a Latin American country. She will address the words we use, and how these words set us up to think about topics in a certain way. Susie will pay particular attention to the language of oppression and how that works on our psyches. Also helping with the facilitation will be Cecile, the daughter of Russian Jew immigrants, who is a retired yoga/tai chi instructor. She has been working hard to be a citizen and quit role-playing. Cecile who will start our meeting with a meditation to provide an opportunity to feel our oneness -- our connectedness with each other.

Location & Directions
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The location of this meeting will be Linda’s house in Fort Bragg. Consistent with the nature of our discussions -- which are not approved or endorsed by any government or corporate entities -- there's no official address that you could look up on Google maps, since Linda lives in an alley. To get there, drive east on Oak Street for about a mile from Hwy 1. Wall Street is on the right side and her house is in the alley right after Wall Street (between Wall and Sanderson). There's a fire hydrant at the alley. Make a right into the alley (you can't make a left) and her house is the first (and only) house you come to. The house number is 139-1/2. 

About the Decolonization of Mind Group
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An outgrowth of Mendocino Coast Transition Towns and the Community Rights Network of Mendocino County, the discussion group was a spin-off from a weekend workshop that activist Paul Cienfuegos facilitated in February 2014. That workshop, dealing with community rights, and the powers of people versus those of corporations, included a challenge from Paul that the participants not only understand how their minds have been colonized, but how they could escape from that colonization. In keeping with Paul’s challenge, the decolonization of mind group has, since that time, sought to go beyond the propaganda from government, the indoctrination of the public school system, the brainwashing from corporate advertising, and also the myths created and perpetuated via movies, TV, newspapers, Facebook, and other modern media. The discussion group meets monthly and seeks to empower its members to be able to emancipate themselves from all that, so that they may come back to their own personal power to live the life they feel called to live. For further information, contact Charles at ccwood at ix.netcom.com.