White & Awakening: Mindfulness Practices for Exploring and Disrupting the Impact of White Conditioning
The journey of white awareness involves deep connection and growing freedom.
with Crystal A. Johnson, PhD
In this course, we will use mindfulness practice, mindful dialogue, and the teachings of the Buddha to investigate the ways in which the conditioning of whiteness creates a barrier to our own freedom, alienating us from ourselves and others. We will seek to uncover the deep nourishment and connection that arise from sustained practice, inspired not just by the urgency of the moment but by our shared commitment to the long journey to freedom.
Reflections from Past Participants
What You'll Practice
- Practices to explore racial conditioning with honesty, care, and resilience
- How whiteness was historically created and how it continues to shape systems and relationships today
- Reflective exercises, guided meditations, and real-life applications you can practice on your own or with peers
- Mindfulness based strategies to work with discomfort, defensiveness, and other difficult emotions
This Course is for You if:
- You are looking to deepen your anti-racist involvement through a Buddhist perspective
- You identify as white or whiteness is a meaningful part of your lived experience
- You want to deepen your understanding of racial harm and your role in healing it
- You’re looking for an anti-racist learning space grounded in compassion, awareness, and accountability
- You are curious about, a Buddhist approach that honors both personal and collective liberation
- You’re ready to move beyond defensiveness and into thoughtful, sustained engagement
What You Receive
10 hrs of video teachings
4 hrs Guided meditations
Readings, Self-Inquiry, and Integration Practices
Live Community Question & Response sessions
Interviews with Founding Insight Meditation teachers
Lifetime Access to Course
Course Syllabus
- Welcome and Introduction
- Land Acknowledgment
- Practice: Mindfulness of Intentions
- Inquiry: Reflection on Intentions
- Guidelines for Group Discussions
- Things Are Not As They Seem
- Practice: Agreements for Multicultural Interactions
- Inquiry: Applying the Agreements for Multicultural Interactions
- The Story of Whiteness
- The Story of Whiteness: Slave Trade
- Learning to be White
- Inquiry: Reflections on Whiteness
- Practice: Personal Stories of Whiteness
- The Four Levels of Systemic Racism
- Systemic Racism Defined
- Inquiry: Privilege
- Practice: Introduction to RAIN
- Practice: Guided RAIN Meditation
- Ways We Defend the “Good White Self”
- Components of Experience
- Inquiry
- Intro to Self-Compassion
- Practice: Self-Compassion
- Turning Toward Suffering
- A Framework for Freedom / Values in Action
- Inquiry
- Intro to Microaggressions
- Unpacking Microaggressions
- Practice: Pause, Relax, Open
- How to apologize
- Inquiry
- How to Respond When You Are Called Out
- Calling Other White People In
- What now?
- Inquiry
- Practice: Takeaways & Commitments
- Closing & Dedication of Merit
Meet The Teacher
Crystal A. Johnson, PhD
White & Awakening
This is a self-paced, on-demand course for self-identified white folx and those for whom whiteness is a significant part of their identity. The course walks the learner through the historical creation of whiteness and how it operates systemically and offers exercises, techniques, and mindfulness practices for working with the difficult emotions that arise when exploring racial conditioning. The course offers learners an opportunity to reflect on their own experiences of whiteness and offers a framework and strategies for addressing the harm that arises through microaggressions and other types of interpersonal interactions. The course is designed to offer an introduction or a refresher for white people to strengthen their knowledge and skills for building relationships in diverse communities.
Participants may take the course on their own or with a group of peers and do the exercises and discussions together.
The course includes recorded videos with related readings, video resources, meditation instructions, and prompts for journaling, discussion, and other suggested exercises. The course is taught from a Buddhist perspective, though it makes use of other frameworks as needed. Material is presented in language that is designed to be accessible to those who are not familiar with Buddhist teachings. Key Buddhist teachings include the Four Noble Truths, ethical conduct, non-self, impermanence, and compassion.
Select Your Rate
Payment Plan
- Guided meditation sessions with master teachers
- Hear inspiring stories from decades of teaching
- Apply mindfulness to daily challenges
- Insights from Buddhism's influential teachers
- Live Q&A with teachers
- Lifetime access to recordings
11 weekly payments of
$99
Full Payment
- Guided meditation sessions with master teachers
- Hear inspiring stories from decades of teaching
- Apply mindfulness to daily challenges
- Insights from Buddhism's influential teachers
- Live Q&A with teachers
- Lifetime access to recordings
.
$999
- Scholarships are very limited and reserved for those who are truly experiencing financial hardship. Click here to apply.
Add-ons (Optional)
You can add during checkout
Continuing Education
10 CE Credits – $100
This program offers 10 CE credits for $100 for psychologists, California licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors, and may be applicable for other licenses. Please review our CEC information page for full provider information.
This program offers 10 home-study CE credits for $100 for psychologists and California-licensed MFTs, LCSWs, LEPs, LPCCs, nurses, and chiropractors. Please review our Continuing Education Credit information page to determine if your association or board will accept credits offered by Spirit Rock.
Teachings are appropriate for health care professionals as well as the general public.
White healthcare providers can benefit from this course by better understanding diverse perspectives and cultural sensitivities, ultimately enhancing their ability to provide inclusive and equitable care to patients from different backgrounds. The resources offered in this program support white healthcare providers to engage in self-reflection, explore biases, and develop strategies for fostering compassion and cultural competence in their professional practice. Incorporating Buddhist teachings, including the Four Noble Truths, ethical conduct, non-self, impermanence, and compassion, offers additional frameworks for healthcare providers to cultivate empathy and mindfulness in their patient interactions.
Learning Objectives for participating health care professionals-
At the end of the program, you will be better able to:
- Describe effective communication strategies for engaging with individuals from different cultural backgrounds, emphasizing active listening and supporting equity based on the guidelines for multicultural interactions.
- Describe whiteness as a social construction that has a wide-ranging impact on personal identity and interpersonal interactions.
- Analyze the systemic nature of racism and how it affects mental and physical health and well-being in personal and professional settings.
- Analyze the ethical implications of one’s behavior as it measures up to personal and professional values.
- Utilize mindfulness practices for working through the difficult emotions that get in the way of anti-racist action.
- Identify strategies for navigating the interpersonal impact of microaggressions in order to repair and strengthen relationships.
- Describe practices to engage other white people in personal and professional settings that interrupt the harm of racism and create more inclusive environments.
- Identify proactive strategies for continued learning and application of new knowledge and skills to one’s own work environment that will continue the work of disrupting the impact of white conditioning in both a personal and professional setting.
Continuing Education Content level: Introductory
Note:
- For full Provider information and additional CEC information, including attendance requirements, cancellation, and grievance policies, please visit our Continuing Education Credit information page.
- For those with a license different than the one listed above or with a license from a different board or association than the one listed on our CEC info page, please contact your licensing board or association directly to request pre-approval/acceptance of CE credits offered at Spirit Rock. Spirit Rock does not confirm the applicability of credit for those with licenses different than those listed.
- Spirit Rock is a provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP16905 for 10 contact hours.
- Credit is awarded for instructional time only and does not include extended silent meditation if offered.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I access my program on the Online Learning Platform?
Although our Programs are available on any device, we suggest using a computer (if possible) and Chrome or Firefox browser to log in: https://courses.spiritrock.org
To access the course:
• Use a computer and the Chrome or Firefox browser to log in at courses.spiritrock.org.
• Please note: Your login for the Online Learning Platform is separate from your Spirit Rock website login.
• Once logged in, your dashboard will display all your enrolled courses.
• Click on your program, then use the menu on the left to navigate through course sections.
How can I best view the content?
Although the Online Learning Platform works on mobile and tablet devices, for the best experience, use a desktop or laptop. This might be an easier way to find all the areas of the site as you are learning how it works.
What is the course format?
All of our on-demand courses are offered in a flexible self-study format, so you can access the materials whenever is good for you. Readings, video, audio, and all resources are structured for sequential access in our Online Learning Platform.
Can I participate from a different time zone?
Yes of course! We have students from all over the world participate in our courses. These self-paced study and practice courses are available wherever you are in the world, and whenever works best for you.
How long will I have access to the course?
You have lifetime access to the course and all materials.
I have more questions. Can you help me?
Yes! Please email us at courses@spiritrock.org with any questions that you might have.
