Following the events and racial awakenings of the summer of 2020, the Board of Insight San Diego initiated a process to gain a better understanding of how racism and exclusionary practices may influence the operations of Insight San Diego. With a vision of “offering a path to freedom from suffering and the causes of suffering for all beings seeking liberation through direct experience” we sought to understand our own barriers to engaging “all beings.”

We have embarked on a process to encourage diversity and inclusivity as we aspire to welcome all peoples to our community. Our ongoing work is unfolding as a sequence of study, reflection, and discussion activities each followed by actions within our organization.

We believe that growth comes from shared experience and a variety of perspectives . This is particularly true when building inclusiveness, equity, and diversity into our community. We are interested in hearing about your experiences at Insight San Diego or elsewhere.

Click the button below to share your experience with Insight San Diego, offer suggestions about how we can progress in this area, or to join us in creating a Diversity and Inclusion committee that will continue to work on this issue.

Our journey began with readings and discussions to better understand the role and impact of racism, personally and structurally in our society (including How to Be an Antirascist by Ibram X. Kendi, and Mindful of Race by Ruth King). Only after we felt the Board had begun to deepen our understanding of these issues did we consider what actions we could take to move toward achieving an environment of equality, dignity, inclusion and belonging. This is an ongoing engagement and exploration. We see this as the beginning, and it is our intent to use this page to share what we learn and what we put into practice.

Initial actions taken:

• Defined writing guidelines to ensure use of inclusionary language

• Expanded on our Values & Guiding Principles with more explicit Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) language

• Presented offerings from a more diverse group of teachers 

Future steps the Board is planning:

• Seeking input from our community on D&I

• Seeking input from outside sources to guide our D&I actions 

• Revisiting our D&I strategy annually

• Ensuring all Insight San Diego leaders participate in D&I learning or training activities