By Lama Rod Owens — 2017
How mindfulness has helped Buddhist teacher Lama Rod Owens live as a Black queer man in America.
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CLEAR ALL
In the wake of the death of George Floyd, a black man killed by police in Minneapolis, dharma teacher Larry Ward says we have to “create communities of resilience,” and offers his mantras for this time.
My story differs from many others who grow up with a developmental disorder, because at the same time, I was also finding my way as a young gay man.
Kwanzaa was instituted as a means to reaffirm the human agency and cultural dignity of people of African descent. This agency was disrupted during enslavement as persons who owned enslaved Africans, influenced a displacement of practices that were intrinsically African.
Black people should not deny themselves spaces where we find joy and wonder—they are too rare in our lives.
Out pro wrestler Logan Black found the response to his coming out ‘overwhelming in the best way.’
Being able to safely affirm one’s gender identity and sexual orientation is crucial to mental and physical well-being. Yet many LGBTQIA+ people face enormous challenges in owning their true identities.
I know that my biracial children will experience racism, sexism and intolerance. But I want them to be bold enough to not push people away and instead seek to understand through education. This is how we bring radical change through our children.
Lama Rod Owens on taking care of your own needs when you don’t see yourself represented in those around you.
Barber makes clear his belief that the role of Christians is to call for social justice and allow the “rejected stones” of American society—the poor, people of color, women, LGBTQIA people, immigrants, religious minorities—to lead the way.