About us
Club Human is a consistent and reliable space and time for being human in a world that increasingly encroaches upon this.
“Human beings are not machines; we are something more. We have feeling and experience. Material comforts are not sufficient to satisfy us. We need something deeper — human affection,” -Dalai Lama
At the club, we... move through practices borne out of the legacy of Joanna Macy, 'environmental activist, author and scholar of Buddhism, general systems theory and deep ecology'. That came to me via John Seed. You certainly don't have to be or convert to Buddhism to attend. These practices allow for a sharing of perspectives, knowledge, experience, and wisdom.
Club Human has arisen out of a wish for non-carceral, non-commodified, beyond-human care in community.
The practices at Club Human are ever evolving out of a mutual learning process.
At the moment they look like:
We re-member our wider body (10mins)
Asking questions like, Where do I land? What carried me here? Where am I at home? Where do I feel myself held? Where do I feel connected? A part?
-To ground.
-To counter anthropocentrism by reminding us of our sense of belonging and interconnectedness.
-To address the loneliness epidemic.
We honour our pain (10 mins)
A practice to honour whatever pain we carry that has not been allowed, or given enough space and time to be felt, seen, heard. It is a practice of fierce vulnerability. Both during the time in which we are honouring our own pain, an act of caring for ourselves, whilst being cared for by others. As well as when we are in the position of caring for others, honouring their own pain, whilst caring for ourselves. It is both an unlearning, and remembering of how to care without judging, fixing, solving, making better, saving face... etc., all forms of repression/suppression.
-To heal the epidemic of sickness, disempowerment and apathy.
-To counter the loss of how to be with each other in a world of technology.
-To counter the pathologisation of human experience.
-To counter the medicalisation of human experience.
-To counter the stigma of distress.
-To accept and embrace that which we would reject, repress, compartmentalise, numb through psych drugs...etc
-To re-associate with what it is to be human, to feel.
-To remember how to be real with each other.
-To rediscover trust and faith that no harm will come from expressing ourselves fully. To address the fear of vulnerability.
-To rediscover trust and faith that no harm will come from supporting each other sincerely. To address the loss of trust in each other.
-Honouring the truth that harm does happen. And learning how to be safe with each other, reducing harm, and, when we inevitably make mistakes, learning how to repair.
-To make space for experiencing community to come out of isolation.
-To do so without so-called 'experts', recognising each other's wisdom.
We cultivate mutual care (10mins)
A practice that welcomes being with stillness, being with silence. Cultivating a heart of loving kindness. So we can respond to pain with compassion and love.
Guided meditation is offered.
-To listen to our needs and respond with care.
-To extend this care beyond ourselves.
We collectively resource how we see with new eyes (10mins)
A time for both wise reflection. Looking into our recent experience to recognise how and when our view has shifted towards understanding and wisdom. As well as engaging in mutual aid and generosity. Pooling and gifting what we have come to know for the benefit of others' journeys.
-To participate in what Joanna Macy called the "Great Turning," a shift from a life-destroying society to a life-sustaining one.
We recollect the good qualities that allow us to go forth (10mins)
Giving space and time to recognise and celebrate the good qualities we have cultivated and developed. Giving rise to faith in humanity, the capacity to act responsibly, and out of love. Here we have the means to see our progress. And know that all is not lost.
We rejoice in others' welfare/ wellbeing (10mins)
Ajahn Nisabho, shared that the Buddha defined 'Mudita' as 'the cure for discontent'. I err towards altruistic joy as an English translation. Mudita is a practice of delighting in others' welfare. Others' well-being. Happiness that isn't based on getting something in a world that doesn't belong to us. Happiness that isn't based on someone's or some being's expense. An antidote to inequality.
-To uplift the mind.
-To counter misery, melancholy, desolation, etc.,
-To counter hyper-individualism, competitiveness, greed, and conceit.
-To grow communities of mutualism.
CLUB HUMAN is given freely. No one is required to pay to attend. It is non-transactional. Instead, everyone is invited to remember what it was like before everything became commodified. To remember what it was, to be in a reciprocal relationship that creates sustainability for all. To be part of a natural ecosystem of generosity. Therefore, giving in whatever form isn't disallowed. These practices cultivate and develop generosity. Generosity is supported, in whatever direction people choose. The purpose of these events is to grow wholesome qualities like generosity in the community. The purpose of organising these events is not the material gain of the organiser.
I have a policy of full financial transparency. Please feel welcome to ask to see my overall finances. What the costs are associated with hosting, I'm happy to direct you to those.
ACCESSIBILITY AND SAFETY:
I am trained in numerous mental health modalities. Alt2su, Emotional CPR, and Spiritual Care ('Mental Health Ministry' intro and CPE1'). I am an Autistic identifying trauma survivor living with complex trauma.
The Abbotsford Sea Scout Hall is wheelchair accessible, including the toilet.
This will be, for the most part, electricity-free, a no-bright-lights event.
There is a bus stop with bus no. 438x coming to and from the city regularly.
Abbotsford Ferry Wharf is outside with the F3 Circular Quay to Parramatta service.
Email mudita4all@proton.me for any further access needs, and I will do my best to accommodate.
