At the Foundation for Self Leadership, we stand in solidarity with all of those across the United States and the world who are seeking equity and justice for all.

The events of this past week remind us that our Black sisters and brothers continue to experience the effects of inequality and acts of injustice at the hands of individuals, institutions, and governments. We stand in solidarity with you, fully aware that we can no longer look the other way. We recognize that the pain of generations has spilled over. We hold you in our hearts, empathize with your struggles, and mourn the many senseless deaths and the suffering that ensues and lingers. We respect and defend your rights to stand tall, march with purpose, express your concerns with audacity and nonviolence, and speak truth to power. In so doing, you give voice not only to Black people everywhere but also to every member of a minority community who lives in fear for being who they are.

We stand ever hopeful that you will be fully visible and fully heard; and that we, as a society, will find the Self-led courage to face our individual and institutional racism and our conscious and unconscious biases with humility, honesty and a commitment to change. We acknowledge that such change means, in the words of social scientist Dolly Chugh, moving from being believers in a just, fair and welcoming society into being builders of that new world.

We stand recommitted as an organization to our mission of promoting inner harmony to help create a more peaceful, inclusive world in which differences in gender, ethnicity, culture, race, sexual orientation or any other differentiating characteristic are welcomed and affirmed. Our board members and associates are committed to identifying and addressing our own unconscious biases as we seek to serve our community; and to expanding our board membership to ensure a wide diversity of representation, thought, perspectives, and sensibilities.

We stand with those who understand that it is often through suffering that wholeness and self-actualization may be achieved. We recognize that we can tap into our deep, inner wisdom and harness its qualities of courage and of compassion for self and others that will lead us through our suffering into a space of inner harmony. We know that this inner harmony can then source our contribution to a more just and peaceful world. We acknowledge that anger, fear, insecurity and outrage are also companions on our human journey. We notice them, we engage with them, and we allow our inner wisdom to lead them and to place their experiences in perspective lest they rob of us and the world of the peace, harmony and connection that we so deeply desire.

We stand with our community and with all people everywhere who believe that each of us holds the right, as a breathing human, to think independently, speak freely, and be treated with dignity. We stand with all those who proactively strive for equity, justice and peace and who desire to bring hope and be a light in the world that drives out the darkness.

We stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, of every color and creed, every background, identity and experience, who place love above hate and a strong desire to learn and understand before judgment and condemnation.

Foundation for Self Leadership | June 6, 2020