Peace Seekers Anonymous: First Meeting

Peace Seekers Anonymous is a project of Empathy Bound that aims to create a safe, casual,  and supportive place for sensitive souls to explore and process modern topics. The group is based on three tenants:

• Mindfulness- Each meeting begins with a loving kindness meditation and a setting of intentions for the week. The goal of these exercises is to bring ourselves into the present moment, and to relieve pressure to explore every topic and thought, in favor of only speaking to the experiences of our "present self."
• Mutual Aid/ Community- Mutual aid, put simply, is the voluntary practice of caring for  our fellow humans in a reciprocal way that is  helpful  and impactful  for all parties . This practice allows for the creating of political and social change without neglecting our personal need for support and community and without traditional helper/recipient roles. Please see  our community  guidelines.
• Empathy and Common Humanity- In this community, we will sometimes discuss topics that are politically dense or complicated. The goal of the group is not to debate or seek to be  correct at any cost, but to practice curiosity and empathy for one another. This helps  encourage a state of common humanity. We ask that whenever possible, our participants choose to share stories and experiences  on these topics, rather than presenting political opinions or philosophies. This is challenging, and takes  time to adjust to. We can all figure it out together!

How it works

• Step one: Grab a hot drink (or a cold drink) and find a comofortable and private place to participate
• Step two: Grab the zoom link from your email, and quickly review the discussion content (usually tis will be a  well-circulated Facebook post or article from the week)  and questions for discussion
• Step three:  Log into the zoom meeting, and enjoy calm music while we wait for the meeting to begin
• Step four:  Experience in a brief, five minute loving kindness meditation led by the weekly group leader
• Step five:  Introduce yourself OR reflect on how your intention from the last meeting has been going
• Step six:  Participate in an open and empathetic discussion about the weekly discussion content
• Step seven: Set an intention you wish to practice for  the following week

Community Guidelines

• Please recognize that this is not a clinical or therapy group, and we don't claim to be professionals in any way! This is simply a safe space for sensitive souls from all backgrounds and communities to connect and  share in open dialogue
• To respect anonymity, please refrain from sharing the stories and experiences shared by other members outside of this community without their  consent.
• While it is okay to discuss difficult topics, please use appropriate trigger warnings if you are mentioning potentially activating topics like suicide, violence, or substance abuse. If you have questions about this, ask the group leader beforehand!
• We know that many sensitive and empathetic people struggle with empathy fatigue. Please know that boundaries and self-advocacy is 100% respected here. Feel free to take breaks from the meeting or ask for a "redirection" of topics if the discussion becomes overwhelming or  deeply upsetting for you. Honor your experience.
• You are encouraged to try to attend more than one meeting before deciding if you like the community! The topics, leaders, and discussions can vary.

Meeting One details: 

• Discussion Facilitator: Katie Dickey: 
• Katie is a social work student and co-founder of Empathy Bound. Katie enjoys spending time around most animals, mental health activism, and writing poetry. When asked what the term  "peace seeker" means to her, Katie said, "For me, it means being immersed in the process of learning from life and gradually letting go of my (sometimes overwhelming)achievement mindset."

Topic: Wholehearted living

Discussion Content: Brenee Brown's Facebook Post

This first meeting will be devoted to discussing Brenee Brown's recent Facebook post, reiterating her10 guideposts for wholehearted living from her book "The Gifts of Imperfection." These guideposts include making tradeoffs such as letting go of "exhaustion as a symbol of productivity and self worth" and cultivating "play and rest instead" Example questions that

could be used for discussion include:

• When was a time you struggled with or explored one of these guideposts?
• What does it mean to let go of what people think? How can sensitive and empathetic people keep our tendency to care deeply about others without necessarily caring what they think of us?
• What does the word "wholehearted mean to you?"