by Rahshaana Green
When I think of summer, I think of Juneteenth. As a young girl growing up in Houston, TX, I remember it fondly as part of the festivities of summer. Like all summertime holidays, it felt like an extended celebration of the break from school and a celebration of long days waiting to be filled with joyful activities. The smell of barbecue, the sound of upbeat music that made you want to dance — it was a time to gather with friends and family, to eat great food, play games, laugh and enjoy the feeling of togetherness that deepened in the warmth of the sun. I always knew it was “our” holiday. (more…)
by Richard Williams
As a person living with a diagnosis of severe mental illness, in a Black body, and with a queer heart, the lack of belonging, community, and connection has been normalized. Early in life and in a child’s mind, a survival decision had to be made, to search for belonging or function. I chose to function, however empty that functioning was. I suspect this is a shared experience in a society that determines humanity and value based on our contributions.
by Joe Loizzo, MD, PhD
Today’s confluence of breakthrough neuropsychological research and diverse methods of mind/body health and well-being has coalesced in a new multi-disciplinary consensus and a historic confluence of distinct therapeutic approaches. Centered around a positive new science of human nature and a radically optimistic framework of plasticity, learning and change, this watershed has prompted a dialogue about mental health and well-being that not only crosses the lines between distinct schools of psychotherapy, but also the lines between Eastern and Western, ancient and modern, scientific and spiritual approaches to mind/body healing. Nowhere is the promise of this watershed more apparent than in the surprising convergence of the latest neuropsychology and embodied approaches to trauma with the timeless embodied contemplative psychology and transformational arts of the Tibetan Buddhist Tantras.