BLACK LIVES MATTER MEDITATIONS

As a counseling psychologist, a healer, and a Black woman with a love ethic to my activism, this project is one of my contributions to the Movement for Black Lives. I was trained to use guided meditation and loving kindness to reduce stress at Emory University in their counseling center’s Stress Clinic, and recently I had the idea to couple that skill with the sole purpose of healing racial trauma. I’ve been writing about Black Lives Matter, doing group healing work on the University of Kentucky’s campus, and doing educational work in various venues. All of that has value to me, but I wanted to do more. I wanted to create something that was accessible and had reach.

Racial trauma exacts a psychological and physiological toll on people of color, and those involved in the Movement for Black Lives are especially vulnerable to hourly personal, emotional, and physical racist attacks. Guided meditation is one way to assist in calming a heightened state of distress, affirming one’s value and humanity, and recentering with love for Black people. I’ve used guided meditation, especially those created by Mary and Richard Maddux at MeditationOasis.com, to sleep well, heal, increase gratitude, and cultivate more patience. Their gracious provision of the music for this meditation is greatly appreciated.

A 17 minute guided meditation using mindfulness, affirmation, and metta (loving-kindness)

For SoundCloud listeners: CLICK HERE

For iTunes listeners, it’s on How to Love a Human iTunes page (CLICK HERE).