I agree here! It’s imperative. My hope is that more Black people in general become more comfortable with our indigenous practices. So many people would benefit from shadow work, somatic therapy, etc.
I'm not Black or Brown, but I'm trying to understand this issue. And some of what you describe in this essay applies to me too. Would it be alright for me to do this course?
Shadow work is for everyone. We all carry wounds that block our creativity. The framework I'm teaching (nervous system safety, inherited patterns, building sustainable practice) is universal.
What makes this journey specifically designed for Black and Brown writers is that I center our particular experiences: ancestral silence from literal danger around literacy, wounds from white publishing systems, code-switching exhaustion, racialized trauma in the body.
But the tools work for anyone willing to do the excavation.
What I ask of non-Black and non-Brown participants: approach with cultural humility. If a teaching names experiences you haven't personally lived, witness that truth for others without centering your own reaction. Learn from what doesn't directly apply to you. Take what serves, honor what's not yours.
Welcome to the underworld. I appreciate you joining the course.
Lissennn… I know our people don’t want to hear it, especially you think about all the stigma surrounding shadow work, but they NEED to hear it. We need to do the shadow work to write from a more liberated place. I stand ten toes down in this!
“For Black and Brown writers specifically, shadow work is about excavating what survival taught you to bury.” Yes and yes!
I learned about polyvagal theory after med school AND residency training.. in an attempt to understand how trauma lives in the body and blocks people from healing on so many levels. In addition to the books you mentioned I’m now reading “my grandmothers hands” which puts this approach to trauma in the context of racism..
You are so welcome! I really feel we as Black and Brown writers need to be doing shadow work regularly as a practice. It’s the only way to truly undo the bs and the conditioning. I go a little deep into polyvagal theory in Write From the Wound cuz I realized that nervous system work isn’t talked about a lot in our community.
I agree here! It’s imperative. My hope is that more Black people in general become more comfortable with our indigenous practices. So many people would benefit from shadow work, somatic therapy, etc.
It’s so imperative! And my hope is the same. Going back to our indigenous practices is how we free ourselves.
I was especially moved by the section about folks ONLY reading black authors. When we limit or intake we limit our reach.
Yes, I believe in reading widely. Take what serves and leave the rest.
I'm not Black or Brown, but I'm trying to understand this issue. And some of what you describe in this essay applies to me too. Would it be alright for me to do this course?
Yes, you're welcome to join.
Shadow work is for everyone. We all carry wounds that block our creativity. The framework I'm teaching (nervous system safety, inherited patterns, building sustainable practice) is universal.
What makes this journey specifically designed for Black and Brown writers is that I center our particular experiences: ancestral silence from literal danger around literacy, wounds from white publishing systems, code-switching exhaustion, racialized trauma in the body.
But the tools work for anyone willing to do the excavation.
What I ask of non-Black and non-Brown participants: approach with cultural humility. If a teaching names experiences you haven't personally lived, witness that truth for others without centering your own reaction. Learn from what doesn't directly apply to you. Take what serves, honor what's not yours.
Welcome to the underworld. I appreciate you joining the course.
I can't seem to join. The button takes me to a page blank except for a Kit logo
That's odd. I will check the links in the post. But try this direct link to the page: https://the-story-temple.kit.com/products/write-from-the-wound
Try refreshing your browser as well. I got the same blank page when clicking. But once I refreshed, it came up.
Did the link work for you?
Nope. Still get that page, even clicking the new link.
That’s really odd. What browser are you using? Perhaps using a different browser might solve the problem.
I use Firefox and don't trust any other browser.
Somebody had to say it!!!
Lissennn… I know our people don’t want to hear it, especially you think about all the stigma surrounding shadow work, but they NEED to hear it. We need to do the shadow work to write from a more liberated place. I stand ten toes down in this!
“For Black and Brown writers specifically, shadow work is about excavating what survival taught you to bury.” Yes and yes!
I learned about polyvagal theory after med school AND residency training.. in an attempt to understand how trauma lives in the body and blocks people from healing on so many levels. In addition to the books you mentioned I’m now reading “my grandmothers hands” which puts this approach to trauma in the context of racism..
thank you for this offering and education! 🙏🏾🖤✨🪴
You are so welcome! I really feel we as Black and Brown writers need to be doing shadow work regularly as a practice. It’s the only way to truly undo the bs and the conditioning. I go a little deep into polyvagal theory in Write From the Wound cuz I realized that nervous system work isn’t talked about a lot in our community.
Indeed.. and somatic work was naturally woven into traditional communal practices that we need to find our way back to..