Our Collaborators
Heart Refuge is a volunteer-run mindfulness community dedicated to cultivating love, courage, and healing for people of color, of all orientations, in Washington DC. Founded by co-intention holders, Ayesha Ali and Rashid Hughes, Heart Refuge offres an inter-generational understanding of the importance of embodied mindfulness practices for Black, indigenous, and People of Color.
Insight Meditation Community of Washingtonis a non-profit meditation organization guided by a vibrant teachers’ collective, an active board of directors, a small part-time staff, and a community of generous supporters and volunteers. IMCW holds over 150 in-person, online, and hybrid meditation events, classes, and retreats each month, offering supportive practice and friendship in community all over the Washington, DC Metro area, including nearby Maryland and Virginia, and online.
Bhumisparsha means "Touching the Earth". Just as the Buddha touched the earth and affirmed his right to be free, we honor the inherent worthiness of every being and seek liberation from suffering for all according to each being's own needs.
As a multi-faith collective rooted in lineages of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, we weave personal and collective liberation within the loom of our dynamic, multicultural world. We value emergent strategies while harnessing our virtual and in-person programs to embody diverse expressions of contemplative practice, deep commitments to social change, and the passionate cultivation of creative wisdom.
Additional Collaborators
Green River Zen Community
Delaware Insite
Clay Pots
All Beings Zen Sangha
Insight on the Inside
East Bay Meditation Community
Publications
African Americans are creating their own mindfulness spaces
Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post
July 4th, 2022
When There’s No Hiding Place
Ayesha Ali, September 24th, 2021
The Burden of Awareness
Ayesha Ali, April 29, 2021
Harriet Tubman: A Lesson in Moving Through the Unbearable
Ayesha Ali, November 5th, 2020
White People, It’s Time to Look in the Mirror
Ayesha Ali, August 13, 2020
Black Lives Matter: A Call to Awareness for Non-Colored Practitioners of Mindfulness
Ayesha Ali, August 12, 2020