I wrote myself toward
a stronger version of myself
Group Dynamics Agreement
Centering BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Color) attendees: While we are a gathering of people of many races, we are here to center BIPOC experience and perspective. Let’s keep this front of mind as we create, listen and explore together.
On-Time Start & Full Participation: We begin our gathering promptly at 10:00 am. Please make sure to arrive on-time or early. Attendees are expected to attend the entirety of our event. If you are unable to attend for the whole day, it is recommended that you elect another year to attend.
Be radically supportive: Let’s give and receive generously. In order to create extraordinary community, let’s be deeply engaged. We’re here to push each other forward and lift each other up.
Platinum Rule: (Upgraded Golden Rule). Give more than you hope to receive. We will all receive exponentially more than we thought possible.
Be bold and curious: Allow yourself to evolve and grow. Find an energized balance between ease and effort.
Regard our time together as an engaged endeavor: Please close other tabs from your computer, and silence your phone alerts. Take bio breaks as you need.
Zero Tolerance for Abuse: Our community is designed to help you spread your wings. It’s not a place to bully anyone else.
Trust the Process, Try It On: Be willing to "try on" new ideas, or ways of doing things that might not be what you prefer or are familiar with.
Practice Self Focus: Attend to and speak about your own experiences and responses. Do not speak for a whole group or express assumptions about the experience of others.
Move Up / Move Back: Encourage full participation by all present. Take note of who is speaking and who is not. If you tend to speak often, consider "moving back" and vice versa. Endeavor to speak again only when all others have already spoken.
Practice Mindful Listening: Try to avoid planning what you'll say as you listen to others. Be willing to be surprised, to learn something new. Listen with your whole self.
Confidentiality: Take home learnings but don't identify anyone other than yourself. If you want to follow up with anyone regarding something they said in our time together, ask first and respect their wishes.
Antiracist Commitment: Our goal is to make our time together not only inclusive and equitable but also explicitly antiracist by standing with Fordham University in unequivocally supporting the vital truth of Black Lives Matter and its charge to all of us to recognize biases, confront privilege, and labor toward justice for all Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). During our time together, you can expect that we will discuss complex issues related to racial and other intersectional forms of social justice. The hope is that as we engage these issues, our gathering will become what Lucia Pawlowski calls a “brave space,” in which members courageously and respectfully navigate difficult topics.
Some of these guidelines are adapted from East Bay Meditation Center, Crystal Colombini & The Happy Startup School