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— Sounds True Presents —
10 Days to Activate Revolutionary Love
January 22–31, 2021
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Day 1
The event begins in:
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Daily sessions will unlock as they become available, and will be accessible for the duration of the free 10-day event.
Content available in:
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
Daily sessions will unlock as they become available, and will be accessible for the duration of the free 10-day event.
Wonder
Teaching and practice with Valarie Kaur
Today’s teaching and guided inquiry invite us to draw on wonder as the building block for love and justice. We’ll learn how the practice of wonder is a way of being and explore how it acts as an anti-racism practice based on the premise that “You are a part of me I do not yet know.”
Home Practice
1. With every face you encounter today, say in your mind, “Sister, brother, sibling, aunt, uncle, grandfather, daughter,” and just notice what happens in your body and the succession of thoughts that follow. You don’t need to do anything. You’re just practicing being.
2. Write in your wisdom journal and reflect on what you noticed. Was it hard to practice wonder? What parts felt easy? What do the words “You are a part of me I do not yet know” mean to you?
Note: People who are difficult for us to wonder about are considered our opponents. We’ll get to opponents later. Keep your focus on the natural world, people around you, or people you don’t know.
Interview and live Q&A
with Baratunde Thurston and Simran Jeet Singh, and Allie Young: “Wonder”
Wonder is the practice of cultivating an awe-filled, reflective openness to others’ thoughts and experiences, their pain and joy. Wondering about others also helps us to wonder about ourselves: What stereotypes have we absorbed? Where do they come from? In this conversation, Baratunde Thurston, Simran Jeet Singh, and Allie Young join Valarie to discuss how wonder has been a prism through which to examine their own lives and the experiences of others from disparate cultures and communities.
Moderated by: Melissa Ann Canlas, EdD
Session Highlights:
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Why wonder is the wellspring of love
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Seeing others, even strangers, as a part of ourselves we do not yet know
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The importance of having nurturing conversations and connections with others
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Immersing ourselves in stories outside of our own and our community
Baratunde Thurston
Baratunde Thurston is an Emmy-nominated host who has worked for The Onion, produced for The Daily Show, advised the Obama White House, and wrote the New York Times bestseller How to Be Black. He’s the executive producer and host of two podcasts, How to Citizen with Baratunde and We’re Having a Moment, which CNET called “the most important podcast of 2020.” He’s also the creator/host of Live on Lockdown. In 2019 he delivered what MSNBC’s Brian Williams called “one of the greatest TED Talks of all time.” A rare leader at the intersection of race, technology, and democracy, Baratunde is using his unique blend of insight, humor, and empathy to help us understand this revolutionary moment.
Simran Jeet Singh
Simran Jeet Singh is a writer, teacher, scholar, and activist. He holds numerous fellowships and currently serves on President-Elect Joe Biden’s AAPI Faith Advisory Committee and Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Interfaith Advisory Council. Professor Singh hosts a web series titled Becoming Less Racist: Lighting the Path to Anti-Racism, as well as Spirited, an interview-based podcast that explores diverse perspectives on faith and justice. He is the author of the bestselling children’s book Fauja Singh Keeps Going: The True Story of the Oldest Person to Ever Run a Marathon—the first from a major publisher to feature a Sikh story—and is currently writing an adult nonfiction book entitled More of This Please: Sikh Wisdom for the Soul.
Allie Young
Allie Young is a citizen of the Diné (Navajo) Nation from the Northern Agency of the reservation in northern New Mexico. She is a storyteller and writer on a mission to increase authentic representation of Native Americans in TV, film, and mainstream media by sharing the stories and traditions of her people that helped and continue to help them persevere in a world where they are largely invisible, underrepresented, and misrepresented. Recently, she founded Protect the Sacred, a project powered by Harness, that focuses on educating and empowering the next generation of Diné (Navajo) and Indian Country leaders, promoting the Indian Country Hero Challenge and spreading the “Stay Home” message to protect tribal nations from COVID-19.
Melissa Ann Canlas, EdD (Moderator)
Melissa Ann Canlas, EdD, is the director of education at the Revolutionary Love Project and a full-time faculty member in the School of Education at the University of San Francisco. Dr. Canlas’s research and teaching focus on issues of educational equity and human rights. As a lifelong educator, Dr. Canlas believes that education should be directed toward learning to love and care for one another as we build systems where every person can live in wellness and dignity.
People’s Inauguration Symbol © Obey Giant Art Inc.
© 2021 SOUNDS TRUE · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
© 2021 SOUNDS TRUE · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Beautiful teaching Valerie 💕 it has touched my heart deeply. Looking forward to hearing more about revolutionary love.
I don’t understand why only people of colour are allowed to speak about racism and the fact that white people are victims of racism is ignored.
I wonder w
hat are you thinking of when you say white victims of racism?
With all love and respect, I need (as a white American) to say that white people can’t be “victims of racism” in America, other than the inherent suffering that comes from the unconscious biases created by white supremacy which permeate our whole society and affect us all in such soul-damaging ways . Only those who experience the daily oppression of structural racism are “victims of racism” in America.
When I hear statements like this I see them as throwing shade on systematic racism. Absolutely some white may have experienced racism. But let’s be clear African Americans are and have been marginlized here in America by white America since slavery.
what time does the Valerie give her talk?
Just click the image above and you’ll see and hear Valerie guide you thru the experience of WONDER.
Thank you…. you are so right, the last time I WONDERED for or about was more so when I was childlike. It truly makes sense to wonder about how the other feels, thinks or is. From today I’ll be more aware of it. Thank you for the beautiful mantra… You are a part of me I don’t know yet 🙏🏽🌸
Beautiful! This is SO important. So thrilled to be a part of this.