By: Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC This winter, after an extended period of personal and profound loss and grief, I decided to do something I had never done before: I bought a one-way ticket to the southwest for a three-month silent retreat in a Zen monastery. That was one of the hardest things I’ve ever […]
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Radical Rest
The Big Reset: What Can Two Months in Silence Teach You? by Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC Like many people and perhaps like you, the last two years with the global pandemic, the immediacy of climate crisis, the murder of George Floyd and countless others, and now the war in Ukraine has made me realize […]
Women Empowerment through Pilgrimage
By Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC Many of us, especially women, are in a state of ambiguity and depletion from COVID. We have spent years caretaking others, supporting family, friends, co-workers, and raising kids, all of which has brought tremendous joy into our lives, and we’re wondering: ‘When will there be time for me?’ Some […]
From Exhaustion to Self-Empathy & Self-Compassion: What You Need to Know About ‘Black Fatigue’
Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC The emotional, physical, and psychological toll of racism, whether in the form of implicit bias, microaggressions, racialized trauma, structural and systemic racism, is the unrelenting lived experience of many Black people. Racism, whether experienced directly or vicariously through the traumatic video footage of the murder of George Floyd and other […]
‘The Journey Itself is My Home.’
Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC ‘The journey itself is my home.’ Basho About this time of year for the last several years, I lace up my walking shoes, pack my bags, and head off to Spain, taking with me a small and select group of pilgrim seekers on one of the most transformational life journeys: […]
The Two Percent
By Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC In the 1940s, psychologists Kenneth and Mamie Clark designed and conducted a series of experiments known colloquially as “the doll tests” to study the psychological effects of racial segregation on African-American children. Drs. Clark used four dolls, identical except for color, to test children’s racial perceptions. The children between […]
How to Fight Without Hating: Lessons in Power and Love
“Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter. As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love.” Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Get in trouble: good trouble, necessary trouble.” Congressman John Lewis Valerie Brown As Black and Brown people, we are in […]
A River’s Response to the Global Pandemic
The good news of a river’s comeback amidst a global pandemic.
Mindfulness: as ‘Good Medicine’ in the Age of Global Pandemic
The alarming spread of COVID-19 in the world and in local communities has up-ended daily routines, with mind-racing fear and anxiety. Social distancing, while a critical response to slow or halt the virus, may have you perplexed about how to stay safe and well, and continue your own growth and learning. This isn’t the time for […]
Shifting Seasons: Imbolc, a Celebration of Coming Spring
By Valerie Brown, JD, MA, PCC “Still, the profound change has come upon them; rooted they grip down and begin to awaken. . . .” —-William Carlos Williams Imbolc or Cross Quarter, January 31 to February 7, is a time in ancient Gaelic traditions of celebrating the shifting season, from winter’s darkness to the slow, […]
