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The Road that Teaches: Lessons in Transformation through Travel

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The Road that Teaches: Lessons in Transformation through Travel

Not your average travel guidebook, this book explores some of the world’s great pilgrimages, mindfulness and transformation through travel.

10/31/2024

Latte art....Hint: Not Starbucks.

10/06/2024

What a delight teaching at Omega Institute for Holistic Studies last week....a place I truly love. And after a transformative week of 'Braving Your Way through Life Transitions', the folks at the bookstore snapped this photo of me with my books...Thank you Omega!

09/17/2024

Yesterday I was so touched by being part of a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging program on anti-oppression, abuse of power, and boundary violations designed especially for dharma teachers in the Plum Village tradition founded by Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh.

One of the beautiful offerings from our facilitator, Emily Nakamura was this powerful centering practice by Prentis Hemphill.

I am very ready for a conversation about how the dharma intersects with contemporary yet perpetual issues of othering and belonging, with power over and power with, and with what it means to be a global citizen of our beautiful and broken world.

Here's Prentis...
https://www.instagram.com/prentishemphill/reel/CBjcr9_gED3/

09/12/2024

In about one month, I'll return to the Pilgrimage of El Camino de Santiago, Spain with 12 remarkable pilgrims.

Leading this pilgrimage is an act of creating a community which involves working with people to learn and relearn social skills, like disagreeing without annihilating the relationship; revealing vulnerability at the appropriate pace; being a good listener; knowing how to ask for and offer forgiveness; and knowing how to see things from another’s point of view.

These are skills cultivated slowly on the pilgrim's path, which is a journey not of miles but of meaning.

Follow me as we walk the last 100k of this sacred path.

Here's where you will find more information....www.valeriebrown.us

09/10/2024

One of the most challenging parts of making a life transition is learning to find your own true voice.

Recently I was working with a team of women and all of them are successful in their chosen career and yet they each said they struggle to find their voice, to make themselves heard even on the simplest things.

Navigating transitions requires bravery and courage to be quiet enough to hear and still enough to feel your own true voice, to connect with an inner alignment of values and purpose, your being.

I am reminded of the words of Lao Tau....

'Always we hope someone else has the answer.
Some other place will be better,
Some other time it will all turn out.
This is it.
No one else has the answer.
No other place will be better.
And it has already turned out.
At the center of your being,
You have the answers.
You know who you are,
And you know what you want...."

Let's explore braving your way through your life transitions. Join me at Omega Institute. Register now.

09/08/2024

Last month I volunteered at a camp for children affected by HIV/AIDS. The two hour drive brought me through hilly and bucolic Chester County, Pennsylvania. I arrived at camp just in time for lunch and as I walked up a steep hill to the dining hall, I was stopped by Big Al, a camp counselor and go-cart driver. He asked me if I wanted to hop on the back of his cart for a ride up the hill, and I said 'yes'.

After lunch, I led a group of 15 Black and Brown teenagers and their camp counselors in an interactive session on what it means to be a leader, what are the qualities of leadership within themselves, and why does this matter.

After lots of great discussion with the teens, Big Al walked up to me and pulled a book out of his bag. He was reading my book, Hope Leans Forward, Braving Your Way through Simplicity, Awakening, and Peace. Big Al had no idea that I would be at camp and I had no idea that he was reading my book. As it turns out, Big Al is a prominent lawyer in NYC who passionately volunteers at the camp to support children affected by HIV/AIDS.

The moment felt magical. Clearly, I was in the right place at the right time, for the right purpose.

02/02/2024

This Black History Month, I’m incredibly excited to announce with co-authors and friends Kaira Jewel Lingo and Marisela B. Gomez, the release of our latest book, Healing Our Way Home: Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation by Parallax Press.

In nine accessible bite-sized chapters, the book combines insightful, roundtable-style conversations on the tenets of Plum Village Buddhism and how they intertwine with the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) experience with grounding meditation and mindfulness exercises to create an immersive reading journey. No subject is off-limits in this approachable pursuit of BIPOC empowerment, liberation, and what it means to discover a firm sense of self and belonging.

Other call-to-actions examined include:
- BIPOC Ancestry and Heritage
- Home, Place, and Belonging
- Intimacy and Sexual Healing

Put what you learned into practice with:
- An index of all the book’s mindfulness and meditation practices
- Curated music playlists to stimulate your mind
- Culinary recipes designed to replenish the soul

Get 20% off now with your preorder at www.parallax.org. and code: HOME20.

01/09/2024

Is walking El Camino on your ‘bucket list’?

Are you celebrating a milestone life event?

I am so excited to offer Walk in Beauty Pilgrimage again October 11-19, 2024.

Combining the stunning beauty of northern Spain with spacious time for you to reflect individually and with a caring, supportive community on your inner capacity to lead a more authentic, meaningful, and resilient life. This pilgrimage is about travel that touches your soul and strengthens your body, mind, and spirit.

Join us and learn more at https://valeriebrown.us/events/el-camino-de-santiago-pilgrimage2024/

12/26/2023

So excited about the release of my new book in February by Parallax Press....yes...a new book written with my friends, Kaira Jewel Lingo and Marisela Gomez, entitled, Healing Our Way Home, Black Buddhist Teachings on Ancestors, Joy, and Liberation.

Joined by these friends, Black women, all teachers in the Plum Village tradition founded by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh, we engage an intimate conversation, touching on the pain and beauty of our families of origin, relationships and loneliness, intimacy and sexuality, politics, popular culture, race, self-care and healing.

The book is real talk on coming home to ourselves—with reflective self-care practices to help us on our interconnected journeys of liberation.

Preorder your copy today. https://www.parallax.org/product/healing-our-way-home/

12/12/2023

It's been awhile since I've posted on SM mainly because of the 'fire' of being pulled in too many directions. Celeste Ng is so right. Sometimes the best thing to do is scorch everything to the ground and start fresh, from the ground up. So as I turn toward winter's light and the New Year, that feels just right. Chose the fire that clears the clutter. Chose the silence that illuminates toward clarity. Chose the space that restores equanimity.

11/17/2021

Join my session on The American Purpose with the Interfath Alliance, which celebrates religious freedom by championing individual rights, promoting policies that protect both religion and democracy, and uniting diverse voices to challenge extremism. Join: http://ow.ly/uxhz30s0qsO

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