Intercultural Belonging
Honoring Identity and the Wisdom of Our Lived Experience
Cultural Humility
Committing to a Way of Being:
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Human Dignity - Every person deserves an innate sense of profound respect, decency, and kindness, regardless of race, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation, nationality & faith.
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Awareness of Power Imbalances - Cultivating the individual and collective awareness, naming of, and dismantling of present and historical hierarchies and power dynamics stemming from centuries of colonialism and oppression.
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Everyone Has Unique Wisdom - Embracing that every person and culture has deeply unique knowledge from their life path and heritage to offer, and for others to learn from.​​
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Continual Willingness to Grow - Walking a path without end: there is always more we can learn about the identities and cultures of others, regardless of our own experiences.
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Courage to Be with Discomfort - The recognition that intimate shares about identity will naturally bring up difficult emotions. To be in cultural humility means to stay, be with, and practice navigating hard emotions skillfully. ​
Storytelling Circles
Where All of You is Welcome:
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Intercultural Community Building - Storytelling is a powerful way to create connection and trust in diverse groups. We all have an innate need to share and feel heard. Stories have a unique ability to illuminate both individual and communal identity, becoming a catalyst for deep relationship.​​
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Empathy in Action - Rather than passively intake information through books or film, sharing in circle creates active engagement, vibrant emotions, and a direct way to experience the thoughts, feelings and realities of others.
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Courage & Intimacy - Sharing life experiences requires great vulnerability and trust. Each time a story is shared, it provides a holistic way to lower emotional walls and barriers, and gives permission for others to share bravely in kind.
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Deep Listening (not debating) - Rather than debate theory or topics, sharing personal stories invites participants to enter a listening role. Receiving the offering of another cultivates honor and respect, rather than fomenting division.
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- Honoring Identity & Lived Wisdom - Intentional and direct story sharing about our cultural heritage and identity provides a path of healing and human wholeness by celebrating the very tapestry of who we are. It dismantles the suffering communities endure when forced to bypass, hide, or silence their identities in schools and workplaces.​​​​​​​​​
Cross-Cultural Dialog
Sharing a Sacred Journey:
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Deepening Understanding - Expanding our knowledge about the beliefs, history, and perspectives of other cultures, and a space to ask questions to deepen cultural awareness.​​​​​​​
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Honoring Differences - A mindset of being aware of and present to differences between cultural beliefs and perspectives, without needing to fix or change them.
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Discovering Shared Humanity - Learning to identify shared humanistic needs, hopes, fears, joys, and grief that build bridges between different cultural heritages and identities.
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​Empathy - Cultivating the awareness to feel with a full heart, and to see with clear eyes, the experiences, feelings, and perspectives of other cultures and identities.
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Intentional Facilitation - Skillful guidance that embodies the level of awareness, attunement, presence, and patience needed to navigate the complex emotions that arise when sharing about identity. Creating collective ways of being that allow diverse communities to build trust.
The Art of Inquiry
Growing Skills that Unleash Connection:
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Belonging
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Skillful questions innately allow someone to have their uniqueness feel heard, honored, and seen.
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​To be asked a question communicates: "You matter."
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To be given space to share means: "We value your heart, your mind, and your spirit."
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Deepening Stories & Intimacy ​- Skillful inquiry allows communities to move beyond surface level shares and access deeper, more intimate wisdom and feelings present.
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Reclaiming Voice & Visibility - In a world where centuries of colonialism and oppression have silenced voices and truth-speaking, skillful questions become powerful tools that:
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give voice to communities who have been silenced
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bring visibility to what is often bypassed and left unseen
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reclaim the agency to share deeply and authentically
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liberate the freedom to share without fear of reprisal
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​​Curiosity - Cultivating a continual and genuine willingness to learn more about the people we are in community with: their beliefs, feelings, history, life stories, and perspectives. ​​​​​
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A Skill to Grow and Nurture - Schools and workplaces rarely frame inquiry as a skill. We believe the ability to ask skillful, intentional questions is a critical healing-practice, and deserves to be studied, grown, and nurtured. Skillful inquiry allows embodied liberation of human empathy & belonging.​
Listening as
Healing Presence
Coming soon!
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Mindful Awareness
Coming soon!
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