CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE, INNER WORK & HEALING

As much as work on social systems change and equity are important, for our efforts to be deep and sustainable, we also attend to the “inner dimensions” of healing, well-being and compassion. By contrast, depending on how we focus on inner work, we may or may not develop the social & relational awareness, skills and knowledge to be of our greatest benefit to the world. Too often, we neglect these inner dimensions, and our attention or inattention to them shape who we are and what we bring to every engagement and activity in our lives, including how we structure organizations and social systems. How present (or not present) we are; our degree of clarity, receptivity, flexibility and openness; our resilience; our creativity and our dynamism; our compassion for ourselves, one another and the earth, etc. — is all shaped by our internal state of awareness, and is supported by the health of our physiological, energetic/emotional, and cognitive selves. There are individual, collective & systemic dimensions to healing, clarity, and fierce compassion.

Many draw on training and support from a number of arenas:  meditation; yoga, tai chi, other martial arts and physical practices; breathwork, grounding and centering practices; various somatic fields; mindfulness and compassion training; spiritualism; mantra, sacred song and call-and-response; mudra, sacred dance and movement; visionary experience; engagement with the natural elements; and formal training and initiation in sacred traditions such as Buddhism, Christianity, Sufism, Judaism, and African, Latin American and Native, Indigenous traditions from around the world.  

My work in these areas draws on my experience as a practitioner and priest in Lucumi, an African-based spiritual tradition (from the Yoruba people) for nearly 30 years; a two-and-a-half decade practice and Ngakma ordination in yogic (non-monastic), Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana (Nyingma lineage); authorization to share methods based in Bön Buddhist Dzogchen (from the Indigenous tradition of Tibet); a master’s degree in Systematic Theology from Christian seminary; a yoga asana practice (vinyasa, hatha) since the 1970s and Kripalu yoga teacher certification; and work with individuals and organizations on social systems change, peace, justice, equity and the role of deep listening, healing and authentic compassion in our ability to transform the world. (See the Tree of Contemplative Practices from the Center for Contemplative Mind in Society for examples. See also the Hidden Leaf Foundation’s Awareness Practices for Social Change resources.)

Movement Tapestries provides:  1) comprehensive transformation support on the integration of deep equity & inner work in institution-wide and field-level change; 2) spiritual coaching, life coaching and mentoring; 3) presentations, public speaking and publishing on the intersection of inner work, equity, and social systems change; and 4) design and co-convening of field-building strategies and gatherings with change agents across roles, backgrounds, sectors and institutions to vision, link, learn and transform ourselves and our collective life.

Sheryl Petty, Ed.D. is also the Founder & Spiritual Director of OCHA DHARMA, an emerging, international community of practice at the intersection of African-based and yogic Buddhist wisdom. 

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 “I have recently been working with Sheryl on the intersection between contemplative practices and social justice in education but it seems we've known each other for a much longer time. Sheryl is an incredible combination of warm, open and joyous along with brilliant, analytical and insightful. It doesn't get better than that in a colleague!"

— Rona Wilensky, PhD, Director of Mindfulness Programs, PassageWorks Institute, Boulder, CO; Founding Principal, New Vista High School
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 Sample Work: 

*March 23, 2024: RE: Recent Lion’s Roar article  — To those who have read the recent Lion’s Roar article I was asked to contribute, I want to apologize for the inaccuracies that were introduced into the article without my approval. In addition to the photo and caption — (which I did not see in advance, nor was consulted on) — there was language which was added, changed or deleted contradicting my final edits. I’ve reached out to the editors to request that they correct the language, and include a photo and caption that are in keeping with my lineage and practice. I hope for more accurate representations of African-based traditions in such mainstream publications. May the greatest benefits result.