Meditation for Anti-Racism: How We (As White People) Can All Listen, Learn, and Do Better

The Breathe Like A Badass Podcast

In the past two weeks, there has been only one topic on the agenda, and one important question on my mind: Racism - and how can we - as white people - listen, learn, and do better?

In this episode, I explain why I chose not to take part in #BlackoutTuesday and why I have not been silent on what some may see as a difficult or divisive issue. Not because I'm trying to "show" how anti-racist I am. That's performative and unhelpful.

But because I truly believe in the power of meditation as a tool to offer insight into our lives and minds, even when it’s hard, or uncomfortable.

I truly believe that meditation has a serious role to play in helping us all to get quiet, to get still, to listen, to learn, and to sit with the discomfort that many of us (white people) are feeling this week, about our role and accidental complicity in what is still an inherently racist society.

Meditation is, at its core, a practice in getting still, getting quiet, in recognising our own biases and prejudices, our flaws and weaknesses - as well as our strengths and using our compassion, yes - and using that practice to retrain and rewire the brain, so we can identify those unhelpful mental patterns, and choose a better, more helpful, happier, compassionate path.

This is exactly what we, as white people, need to do now. That's why, in this episode, I also share some of the best resources I have found to start doing the work, listening, and learning.

I also share my Anti-Racism Values and how I am committing to continue to doing this work long after the news cycle has moved on.

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Resources + Show Notes

Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
Sebene Selassie, meditation teacher and author, @sebeneselassie
JoAnna Hardy, meditation teacher, @JoAnnaHardy65
Light Watkins, meditation teacher and writer, @lightwatkins
Osheta Moore, anti-racism encourager, @oshetamoore on Instagram
Rachel Rodgers, business coach, @rachrodgersesq

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“In a racist society, it is not enough to be non-racist. We must be anti-racist.” - Angela Davis

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Thanks for listening, Hannah x