Seeing the Subconscious: Mindfulness, Psychology, and the Road to Healing Racism

** Proceeds from this Olio will go to Black Lives Matter **

Colonization, beginning as early as the 15th century, involved a global business venture in capturing, selling and using other human beings as property to build personal, corporate and institutional wealth and power. This required a “buy-in” of heart, mind and soul that dehumanized all non-European humans, which has coalesced in the mindset of American racism. We are still paying the price for this separation and loss of personal humanity. So, how does a 500 year old globally ingrained and enforced mindset become undone? Can it be?

In this Olio, we are going to explore the power of ancient Taoist and Buddhist mindfulness practices blended with western Social Psychology to find that the answer to the aforementioned question is yes! Social environmental conditioning that has been imprinted on our brains can most certainly be undone. We will explore a mindfulness-based racism reduction practice that was created by Darryl in 2015 and has been used with various groups, organizations and individuals to begin the process of observing and undoing this social disease of the mind. The method is not a magic bullet but it is the beginning of a process of illuminating the mind and creating a daily lifelong practice of self-awareness, inner healing, and outer transformation of attitudes, behaviors and social responsibilities. This is a chance to tap into the deep and unconscious patterns of thought around race that have been embedded in our society and begin the process of having real and authentic conversations about race with people of other racial groups.