I had no idea from the inception of Liberation Practice Field that adrienne would come and share their work with us.
(Their session is LIVE tonight at 6 pm CET! Join the program now to get access to the live session + the recording.)
They have been one of my greatest sources of inspiration over the years that I’ve spent doing this work.
And years ago, before I did the somatic work of taking up space and being assertive about my beliefs in the world, I would have never imagined this to be possible (building a program based on my ancestor’s technology, the Kongo Kosmogram) and attract inspiring guest speakers, artists, abolitionists and liberation practitioners like adrienne maree brown, Prentis Hemphill, Patrisse Cullors, Richie Reseda…).
The way adrienne entered the program was kind of wild, and I would have never thought this was possible.
—-> They’ve been in the field longer than me.
—-> They’ve pulished multiple books that changed the way i work in organizations (and honestly the way I engage in my relationships).
—-> They’re a world-renowned speaker.
But here is the thing: I didn’t. Instead, I connected with Che Che Luna on instagram, built a friendship (still am!), and they told me adrienne would probably be interested.
When they advised me to reach out, my first reaction was: “you mean adrienne, as in, adrienne fucking maree brown?LMAO!”
But they were serious. LOL (have friends who require that you step up)
They reached out to them (they had built a friendship with them through liberation work) and adrienne immediately asked me to send an email to her team.
And there’s a couple important things to pay attention to, as you grow in your practice.
Whether that’s finding co-collaborators,
Advocating for folks being paid (a big issue in the work I do),
Speaking up about the way you are treated in the organizations you’re a part of.
Getting rid of the capitalist idea of “superiority” is paramount to our spiritual growth. Putting people on pedestals because of external “success” measures is part of celebrity culture. I see this in activist spaces too. We are all so hungry to be seen and validated that we end up playing the game.
Something I keep coming back to is:
“why would you be a star when you could be a constellation?”
Celebrity culture is how our movements become fragile.
It takes millions of people to change systems.
It has taken millions for you to breathe and read this email, it has taken millions for me to write it, too.
Un-learning the top-down approach to power, and learning to locate our own power within is a big part of our (un)learning in Liberation Practice Field.
No more leaving agency to external sources.
Building capacity towards living in our sovereignty (because we can’t demand it for Palestine, the Congo, Sudan and all Indigenous folks and then refuse to step in our own!), now. Not when we’ve done the thing, now.
Accountability is the real threat. Care is its weapon.
A community that requires that you erase yourself to fit in (instead of one that invites you widen for you to truly belong) is not connection, it’s just another form of control.
Folks in the program keep telling me they’ve joined because they’ve been completely devastated by our folks have used their power in community, organizing spaces. And honestly I am one of them.
That’s why I created LPF, and this is what we practice on the field.
Putting yourself in positions where you can ask for your desires and needs. That could be in a romantic partnership. It could also be at work. It could be within the community that you serve.
You will have plenty of opportunities to practice this in LPF.
Not just during our live somatic sessions, but also in the community calls facilitated by Nike Aurea.
And also in the regular somatic sessions with Esmat and Sonya Gracey.
This program (as long as you show up, even after the live when you catch up on the recording - aka take up space!) will equip you to use everything you learn in the spaces you organize (that includes family, chosen or not).
This is not just about giving you new vocabulary, or discussing ideas.
It’s about using this to deepen your relationships.
To deepen your practice and be able to serve and hold space more effectively for those in your care.
And an opportunity to finally overcome the patterns that have been keeping you stuck for too long. (Because you’re not a problem “to fix.” You just have to re-member your power and be able to access it when it matters the most.)
adrienne’s session will be live at 6pm TONIGHT.
The doors to the program close once we begin their session.
I’ll see you there.
Care
P.S. adrienne maree brown’s session is on Liberation, Pleasure, and Sustainability in our movements. This will be your chance to take away transformational information and tools for your own communities and your own movement.