PiTA7 APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!
DEADLINE IS AUGUST 6TH, 2016.
Now in its fourth year -- an award-winning yearlong program of East Bay Meditation Center for social change and social justice activists, community workers and volunteers, transformative thought leaders . . . open to all, with a special invitation to People of Color to apply. PiTA4 trains participants to take practices of inner awareness into their spheres of activity.
Guiding teacher: Mushim, EBMC core teacher
assisted by Bri Barnett, with guest presenters at some sessions
Sept. 25, 2016 – July 9, 2017
>>Deadline for applications for the 2016-2017 yearlong program is August 6, 2016.<<
>>Email PITA@eastbaymeditation.org for application form and more detailed information.<<
For PITA 4 flyer, please click here.
"The PITA 2 program was invaluable to me as a future physician. Before the program I was meditating off and on for about 10 minutes where now I find myself pushing 20 minutes at 5 days a week. This program has given me the confidence to share this stress reduction tool with my future cohort this upcoming year. I am involved in a program designed for physicians of color who are dedicated to provide care to underserved communities in California. This tool has helped feel more calm and confident in the day to day demands of a rigorous journey. I have gained a deeper awareness with my body regarding fatigue and responding appropriately in dealing with burnout." -- Alejandro
Fully alive. Seeing clearly. Training in mindful awareness practices. Deep listening and respectful interaction in multicultural community. Reducing stress, increasing joy. Opening to what is new. Transforming ourselves, transforming our communities and the world.
Practice in Transformative Action (PiTA 4) is aimed at supporting individuals to foster transformative inner and outer change by bringing mindfulness awareness practices into their work with progressive social change organizations, coalitions and social movements. Both seasoned social justice activists, and people who may not think of themselves as activists, but who are agents of change nevertheless, are invited to apply.
We’ll spend a year together, with 11 monthly meetings, learning and practicing a variety of inner awareness practices, in stillness and in movement, designed to inspire a radical understanding of what mindfulness really is, then learning how to extend its benefits and practices to those around us. Guest teachers are invited in order to bring fresh viewpoints and expertise in applying mindfulness to social change work. Program enrollment will be limited to 20 – 30 people, with a special invitation to people of color.
Those who apply to PiTA 4 must commit to making a sincere effort to deeply understand and acknowledge their own and other people’s experience, background, cultural expression and dimensions of privilege and power. This program will support an environment of empowered exploration rather than debate, and we will practice developing spacious awareness in which transformation can occur, as new ways of being and doing, seeing and understanding, are offered and exchanged. This deep receptivity is the foundation for wise, courageous, and strategic action that comes from a profound inner clarity when the intimate realization of interconnection spontaneously arises.
For more about the context of East Bay Meditation Center’s vision, goals and its theory of transformative social change, click here.
How much does this program cost? In order to provide access to people of all income levels, Practice in Transformative Action4 is offered on a gift economics basis. No upfront fees are required and the guiding teacher receives no payment from EBMC for teaching this program. (Guest presenters will receive a small stipend, thanks to a supporting grant for this program.)
Program applicants are asked to make a strong commitment to financially support the teacher and the meditation center according to their ability and to reflect mindfully and pragmatically on how they can contribute to creating a financially viable program. If you request an application form by emailing PITA@eastbaymeditation.org, you will receive information about EBMC and this specific program’s generosity-based economic model, which aims toward sustainability for everyone involved: the program participants, the guiding teacher, and the meditation center.
The first PiTA program in 2013-2014 and Mushim were awarded the Gil A. Lopez Peacemaker Award from the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California.
About PiTA’s guiding teacher: Mushim (Patricia Ikeda) is a nationally recognized socially-engaged Buddhist teacher and author, and a core teacher at East Bay Meditation Center in Oakland, where she lives. She has practiced mindfulness and meditation for 30 years, in North America and in Asia, and she has a long track record of diversity and social-justice activism in Buddhist-based, interfaith, and public education communities. Mushim has taught mindfulness meditation retreats nationally for people of color, social justice activists, and women. Her approach to mindfulness as a tool for transformative social change encourages creativity, embodiment, and cultivating humor, equanimity, and a resilient and stable mind. See www.mushimikeda.com for more information about Mushim.
Apprenticing with PiTA 4 is Bri Barnett, a graduate of the third PiTA program. She has experience organizing for labor, environmental, housing, and racial justice. She is currently employed as the Development Associate at the San Francisco LGBT Center and is interested in working with mindfulness and movement in the trans* community.
Fragrance-Free Policy:
Out of respect for people with environmental illnesses, we request that everyone attending EBMC please not wear fragrance or scented products when attending events at EBMC. This includes clothing that has been laundered with fragranced detergent or softening products. We greatly appreciate your efforts to make EBMC accessible to those with MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivities). Please view our list of fragrance-free products and related resources that can assist you in keeping EBMC fragrance-free.
