A case for friendship as a radical practice of love, courage, and trust, and seven strategies that pave the way for profound social change.
Grounded in the Buddha’s teachings on spiritual friendship, Radical Friendship shares seven strategies to help us embody our deepest values in all of our relationships. Drawing on her experiences as a leading meditation teacher, as well as personal stories of growing up multiracial in a racist world, Kate Johnson brings a fresh take on time-honored wisdom to help us connect more authentically with ourselves, with our friends and family, and within our communities.
The divides we experience within us and between us are not only a threat to our physical and emotional health—they are also the weapons and the outcomes of structural oppression. But through wise relationships, it is possible to transform the barriers created by societal injustice. Johnson leads us on a journey to becoming better friends by offering ways to show up for our own and each other’s liberation at every stage of a relationship. Each chapter ends with a meditation or reflection practice to help readers cultivate vibrant, harmonious, revolutionary friendships. Radical Friendship offers a path of depth and hope and shows us the importance of working toward collective wellbeing, one relationship at a time.
ISBN-13: 9781611808117
Media Type: Paperback
Publisher: Shambhala
Publication Date: 08-24-2021
Pages: 232
Product Dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)
KATE JOHNSON teaches classes and retreats integrating Buddhist meditation, somatics, social justice, and creativity at leading meditation centers, universities and cultural institutions around the country. Kate also works as a culture change consultant, partnering with organizations to help them achieve greater diversity and sustainability. She's a graduate of Spirit Rock Meditation Center's four year teacher training, as well an utterly unprofessional dancer and performer who earned a BFA in Dance from The Alvin Ailey School/Fordham University and an MA in Performance Studies from NYU.
Table of Contents
Practices ix
Introduction 1
1 Friendship as Freedom 19
2 Give What Is Hard to Give 41
3 Do What Is Hard to Do 65
4 Endure What Is Hard to Endure 97
5 Tell Secrets 117
6 Keep Secrets 139
7 Don't Abandon 161
8 Don't Look Down 179
Conclusion 207
Acknowledgments 211
Notes 215
About the Author 221
