Race and the Spiritual Journey

By Milagros Phillips
 

What does it mean to be spiritual? Why do we embark on that journey? To me, the spiritual journey was a path to wholeness. It was a way to move from the shattered self, who lived in a world of segregation, to an inner place of conscious connection to self, everyone, and everything.

I came of age spiritually among a dedicated, group of people who were passionate about their spiritual path. It was the mid-nineties. The specialty book stores carried titles like The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield, Anatomy of the Spirit by Caroline Myss, and Essential Reiki by Diane Stein. I read constantly! It felt as if I couldn't get enough information in me. We were learning how to channel, do past life regressions, and we did “breath-work” and meditated regularly. 

At the time, I was rediscovering my voice after silencing my singing for more than 20 years. A "MeToo" experience with my manager in New York led me to stop singing. I was just a teenager, and I remember thinking, "If this is what it takes to be a singer, I will never sing again.” Yet here I was, reengaging with the sounds within me. I began to use my voice for healing and to transform the frequency of my environment. I had not trained in sound therapy, yet, I seemed to have an uncanny knowledge of sound. Soon I began teaching, and one morning, as I was preparing for a sound-therapy concert, I started to sing in a strange language.

All the while, I was the only black person in these groups in central Massachusetts. Whenever I spoke about race, my friends would look at me as if I had slipped through the looking glass. These people were kind, caring, intelligent, and spiritually grounded. They believed they were too “spiritual” to be racist. While they would readily show up for spiritual parties, dinners, and celebrations, none of them ever showed up for a race conversation. 

Until recently, I could count on one hand the number of my "spiritual" friends who attended my race healing seminars in the past 20 years. They all believed that their spirituality had raised them above the fray. They didn't realize that it was their racial privilege. I remember one woman saying, "that's your journey, not mine." I remember thinking, “all that spiritual knowledge and power could transform our world.” Blinded by their unconscious supremacy, they had confused manifestation with access, opportunity, immunity, and innocence, which is the very essence of supremacy: a world fixed in their favor with unearned privilege for their racial group at the expense of others. 

A spiritual being in a human experience cannot cut themselves off from the human part of the experience. All the great spiritual teachers have warned us against this temptation. For many, racism seems too big to tackle, even from the non-linear, spiritual perspective. Many still see it as other people's problems and don't see it as part of their spiritual path. And yet, we have been prepared for these times. All that seeking, finding, meditating, and learning to work with energy was preparation for what is here and now. Social causes are part of the human experience. This is why we are here! This is why trained; this is why we came!

How can you use your awakened spiritual power, knowledge, and wisdom to be a part of this grand transformation? How can you assist your clients, family, and colleagues struggling with the effects of racism?

If you're genuinely committed to racial healing and transformation, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Being spiritual doesn't save you from being racist
• We all can become racially awake, aware, and racially sober
• Racism is not about being good or bad; it's about being conditioned
• Racial conditioning is based on historical trauma
• We naturally internalize the systems we live under
• We live under a racial caste system
• Being unconscious doesn't keep you from being racist
• Racism is not your fault, but it is your responsibility to heal from it 
• History has a role in healing
• The soul never forgets
• The memory of our ancestor’s lives in our bodies
• Healing family trauma enhances personal power
• We are one human family- what affects one group affects us all
• Racism is a human-family problem, the kind of family drama that causes some people their lives
• Race is America's spiritual journey, complete with dark night of the soul
• Regardless of the color of your skin, the healing of racism is part of your spiritual journey
• Love is the reason for our earthly sojourn
• Internalized, unconscious racism blocks the flow of love

No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, you have been prepared for these times.
 

Milagros Phillips has been facilitating seminars on race for more than three decades. Working with diverse groups, including corporate leaders and members of Congress, she facilitates race literacy programs that inform, transform, and lead to inspired action. These programs are presented at educational institutions, corporations, and through public seminars. 

Her work comes from lived experience and is backed by historical and scientific research. It comes from walking through the shadow to find her light, and, in the process, helping others find theirs. She brings to this work great compassion, a deep understanding of race, and an awareness of our individual and collective power. 

In her 20 years facilitating seminars, she found that people often lacked the information with which to transform. Without the systemic and institutional background of race and racism, it is difficult to get beyond the personal. The missing information associated with race keeps all of us in a loop of endless repetition. However, we are not stuck. Race literacy and awareness puts us in the driver's seat of our lives and allows us to choose differently.

Milagros’ program on race, RACE Demystified, walks participants through the healing process. Her background uniquely prepared her to do this work. Her indoctrination began early as a Black Latina; having spent her formative years living under a dictatorship in the Caribbean, she understands the various forms that oppression takes. She has experienced racism and prejudice in two languages, and understands the impact of both racism and colonization. She is committed to compassionate transformation.

Click here to join Milagros every Monday at her Racial Healing Lunch & Learn event.

Click here to visit Milagros’ website. Click here to email Milagros.