United States Social Forum 2007 Proposal Form for Programs

2. Give the title of the event you are proposing.
Liberation Spirituality: Strengthening our struggles through spiritual practice and principles.

3. How many…

* __7__ identify as women
* __3__ identify as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, trans-gendered, queer)
* __8__ identify as people of color
* __1__ are young people 25 years old or younger
* __0__ are immigrants (not born in the U.S.)
* __4__ are artists/cultural workers
* __0__ are disabled
* __0__ are 65 years old or older

4. Which day does this event best fit into (choose one):
* Friday, June 29th (Visioning – Envisioning another world)

5. What format(s) will you follow (panel, small group discussion, Power Point presentation(s), story circles, slide show, role play, etc.)?

In an effort to create a powerful experience that will be accessible to different styles of learning we will be using a range of modalities during the workshop. There will be large and small group discussions, paired dialogs, large group experiential learning [a la theatre of the oppressed], meditation, yoga, journaling and other reflective practices.

6. How many people do you anticipate participating in this event?
We expect to have 100-250 people in attendence.

Describe your planned event, using no more than one page. Note that a blog site will be available on the USSF website where all proposals will be made available so that organizations can collaborate if they find that their proposals overlap.

Liberation Spirituality:
Strengthening our Struggles through Spiritual Practice and Principles

stone circles, in collaboration with colleagues in the field of liberation spirituality, propose to design and facilitate a 4-hour workshop entitled, “Liberation Spirituality: Strengthening our struggles through spiritual practice and principles.” The workshop will incorporate a wide range of modalities and perspectives relating to the theme of the integration of spiritual practice and social justice work. The main ideas that we hope to convey to participants are:

• The work of liberation has both internal and external dimensions;
• There is a dynamic relationship between individual and collective freedom; and
• Effective leadership and partnership requires a set of “spiritual” skills and capacities that all people and communities have the ability to develop.

As spiritual activists, we recognize that the suffering and injustice of the world is grounded in the mechanisms of greed, hatred, and delusion- both individually and systemically. The neglect of our spirituality and our inner lives in progressive strategies has resulted in a culture of activism fueled by overwork, burnout and bitterness. We propose an embodied exploration of an activist culture that is grounded in the sacred- in practices of ritual and reflection; in principles of interconnectedness; in ideologies of compassion, clarity and wisdom. We feel that incorporating such methods and practices into movement work will both support the lives of activists and strengthen the effectiveness of the work. Economic models based on generosity rather than greed; training the mind, heart and body to negotiate the needs of the world with the needs of the self; radical confrontation with and withdrawal from the mechanics of oppression in the world and in ourselves; developing the ability to take socially-oriented risk: these are a taste of the ideas and possibilities that the field of liberation spirituality is trying to understand and explore.

Participants will be engaged in large and small group discussions, paired dialogs, large group experiential learning [a la theatre of the oppressed], meditation, yoga, journaling and other reflective practices that directly address all of the crosscutting themes of the USSF. Through the primary lens of spiritual practice and principles, we examine the dynamics of suffering and liberation in our communities, our work, our world, the earth, culture, spirit, power, and our bodies. Participants will be introduced to liberation frameworks as they relate to a range of spiritual practices and beliefs and will be invited to explore the ways in which their own inner lives and spiritual directions can provide the base of wisdom and strength that they need to continue the work of justice in a revolutionary way. Here is a basic draft outline of the workshop:

• Opening circle
• Overview of liberation spirituality framework
• Individual reflection/writing
• Meditation
• Small group dialogs [possible- organizing, healing, org culture, etc]
• Experiential learning practice
• Body-based practice
• Large group report back and discussion
• Closing circle

The workshop will be conducted in English with Spanish translation if necessary. We expect 200 participants. Handouts will be provided in English and Spanish. If we get requests for workshop translation and handouts in other languages we will be happy to find the resources to make this possible.