Was weiße Menschen nicht über Rassismus hören wollen (What white people don't want to hear about racism) by Alice Hasters

My former school mate Alice wrote a book. And I'm so proud of her that she did it. It's important, it's eye-opening, it's great work.

Why is it so hard to talk about racism?
"Can I touch your hair?", "Can you get a sunburn?", "Where are you from?" People who ask questions like that usually don't mean any harm. But still: They are racist. Why, white people often don't want to hear that.

Alice Hasters explains it anyway. She describes vividly and patiently how racism shapes her everyday life as a black woman in Germany. It becomes clear that racism is not only a problem on the right wing of society. And confronting one's own racism is painful at first, but the only way to overcome it.

Now Is the Way by Cory Allen is an accessible guide to your mind — and life — to feel more fully present and alive, even if you’re not the “the meditating type.”  

With concise advice and profound simplicity, Cory manages to cut through the jargon and speak to people where they are, giving them the tools to live in the moment.

In this accessible and supportive guide, Allen walks readers through the basics of mindfulness — not as something you should do, but as a tool to achieve greater peace of mind, dial down anxiety and stress, and truly feel like yourself. Informed by a lifelong personal journey, as well as insights gathered through podcast interviews with leaders in mindfulness, neuroscience, and philosophy, Now Is the Way is a simple user’s manual for living the life you want, one present moment at a time.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is a 1999 crime film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. Forest Whitaker stars as the title character, the mysterious “Ghost Dog”, a hitman in the employ of the Mafia, who follows the ancient code of the samurai as outlined in the book of Yamamoto Tsunetomo’s recorded sayings, Hagakure. Critics have noted similarities between the movie and Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1967 film Le Samouraï.

This movie is a classic for me and also one of the reasons I used to wake up early to swing my wooden Katana sword (I was practicing Aikido and Kendo at that time) in my courtyard and listening to Wu-Tang on repeat while reading "Bushido", the way of the warrior. Good times!

The Discipline of D.E. by Gus van Sant

DO EASY is a discipline that seems similar to Zen Buddhism or Toaism, and yet has a flavor all its own. It was conceived through a poem written by Willaim S. Burroughs and brought into vivid monochrome through a video created by the avant garde filmmaker Gus Van Sant in 1978.

Although Burroughs’ poem and Van Sant’s film are irreverent, humorous, and subversive, there is a deeply therapeutic quality to this approach, which mainstream psychology has sadly overlooked. If there is such a thing as spiritual behaviorism, this could be it.

The Call to Courage by Brené Brown
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This 2019 documentary directed by Sandra Restrepo depicts American professor and author Brené Brown as she discusses with humor and empathy what it takes to choose courage over comfort in today's culture defined by scarcity, fear and uncertainty.

Bonus: In her talk The Power of Vulnerability Brown shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.

PS: Brené was first recommended to me by the great Tricia Jones, contributor for PRESENT Issue 1!