The Challenges of Being Authentic

Dear Seekers,

In every Spoke Circle we partake in a journey of 3 paths: social and cultural analysis, self-observation (not self-blame), and embodiment (experiencing not thinking). Much of psychology attempts to root our struggles in our personhood--blaming the individual for her mental and emotional ills, rather than sharing responsibility with the systems and institutions that have worked hard to keep her sick. This is convenient because if she is waging an internal war against herself, she is not going up against patriarchal and racist structures that benefit from her staying small. In our recent Nourishment: Food, Body Image and Hunger series, we, women and other marginalized identities, contemplated how powerful we must be to have so many forces work hard to dilute us.