WARNING: This opening article is longer than most - and there’s this video to enjoy the ride with me!
Summer 2022 will be one for the books! I got a beautiful lesson from My Higher Self in transformation, growth, and healing AND I’ve had one of the most fun-filled summers that I can recall - even before the pandemic. MY SOUL NEEDED THIS SUMMER. While I thought I needed rest, I got a far deeper lesson that supports rest: BALANCE. I am grateful that our collective-narrative is turning to rest, yet you know me: I’m gonna be that leader that goes deeper into the root cause of the issue. This lens has helped me to solve problems and situations at their core, not the symptom. This means that I look for the CONDITIONS that create the issue and then do my best to replace them with conditions that alleviate the issue.
So while I deeply needed rest, I needed to look more deeply into WHY I needed the depth of rest that a simple vacation or weekend of downtime wouldn't cure. As I rested and unplugged, I learned that I was generating conditions in my life that left me exhausted: overscheduling, too much technology (including TV), too much clutter, and creative-boredom (who knew?!?! More on that later…still processing - whew!) This summer, I learned to create conditions of balance. I set out to start my summer in the final days of June in Leavenworth, WA at the Sleeping Lady Resort. It was gorgeous! I had the pleasure to serve over 80 private school leaders from NorthWest Association of Independent Schools and then I parlayed that into 3 days to spend solo time in nature glamping at the resort. BALANCE: work, play, rest. From there, I returned home to a very intentional week off of work and some forest-bathing, self-care appointments, including Kaiser. I also reconnected with three friends. BALANCE: spaciousness, connection, and tending to self. Also, I was downright lazy - my “to-do” list had been pushed aside, completely!! A true highlight of my summer was taking a week at an AirBnB in New Mexico, where my Racial Healing Allies Team met to support me in designing a certification program that’s been in my dreams for several years. Guess what? It launches next week - stay tuned! My 70-year old Uncle Ken met me in New Mexico for our 2nd Annual hiking extravaganza!!! (Last year was PCT!) I was not “tent-minded” this year! LOL So, we day-tripped all over NM and slept at the AirB&B after great dinners to repeat the day bright and early! BALANCE: connection, work, play, purpose. And then we road-tripped back to Oakland on a 17-hour trek for me to transition from Summer into supporting leaders this school year and beyond from a more grounded, wise, and balanced place in my heart. And while all of this was happening, my soul got clearer on its desires, purpose, and some pretty awesome manifestations that we all get to be blessed with. From Summer 2022, my heart is full, my leadership is clear, and I have a renewed commitment to BALANCE in my life.
I hope these reflections on balance will encourage you to explore the power of balance in your own life - and to create the conditions that give you greater balance.
I know this opening article was longer than most, thank you for listening and sharing the journey with me.
Excited for us all!
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CH-CH-CHANGES!
If you’re an older leader, you can’t help but see “ch-ch-changes” and then sing David Bowie’s song, right?!?! 😁 And if you’re a younger leader, maybe you need the version from Shrek! 😂 Okay - I digress! BIG CHANGE! My Team. I’ve onboarded a new Sacred Support Leader, Tracy Heilers. I’m excited to announce that Tracy is joining my team as the key Sacred Support Leader. She is the founder of Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully (COSEM) and we’ve worked closely together the last three years during my term as the nonprofit’s president and board chair. COSEM has grown significantly and is now transitioning to a multi-person operational team, freeing Tracy up to do other work that aligns with her gifts. We’ll both stay intimately involved with COSEM, me as the Director of Equity and her as an integral member of the operational team. I’ve also onboarded JoAnna Bullock, but I’m saving deets on that until September! ❤️
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New Offerings - Save These Dates! Embodied Allyship™ In partnership with Search Inside Yourself Global Tuesdays, 4-6:30 PT in October & November EI² & RHA Facilitator Certification First Session Jan 26 - 29…stay tuned for a detailed email by August 10! This one is a BIGGIE, ya’ll!! In-Person 3-Day Dare to Lead Training Seattle, WA, Feb 23 - 25
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LEADERSHIP MEDITATION RETREAT ONLY 3 SPOTS LEFT! “The Sacred Pause: A Leadership & Meditation Retreat to BE More” October 7-9, 2022 in Menlo Park, CA The great leaders know that retreats serve their leadership. We take this time “in service of” those we serve. We are never our best leadership selves when we are not clear or not energetic. Retreats energize, retreats provide clarity. Retreat.
This will be an intimate weekend with a maximum of 10-12 spots. Folks are courageously claiming them! We will learn together, meditate together, and rest together. As of now, there is still room for YOU! REGISTRATION CLOSES SEPTEMBER 1, 2022
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DARE TO LEAD INTENSIVE
A Three-Day Exclusive Courage-Building Experience Dismantling systemic racism in our organizational cultures requires us to innovate and stay in the discomfort of problem identification and solving. The Dare to Lead: Leadership Intensive Program delivers the empirically-based Dare to Lead™ program with an inclusion and equity lens. "This course holds the key to make our academic institutions and mission-based organizations more courageous and equitable." -Caroline Simard, PhD, Managing Director Stanford VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab Now is the time to get Dare to Lead Trained with me! Send your staff and colleagues too! October 13 - 15, 2022 3 Full days from 8 AM - 4 PM PST Live Via Zoom
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New! TrUTH E-Course - 90 min!
How do we create better conditions now to mitigate the effects of trauma for ourselves and for our students? How do we welcome our children into healthy, healing learning spaces?
Tovi along with Shawn Nealy-Oparah, both dynamic equity leaders, share key concepts of their trauma-responsive approach through an equity lens in this new e-course. Come away with a framework full of actionable strategies to help create schools and classrooms designed to thrive, in spite of the post pandemic impact we are working hard to navigate.
Education professionals will discover new capacities to improve their own pedagogy and improve outcomes for teaching and learning. Expected outcomes for this learning include:
understand the interconnectedness of trauma, social emotional learning, and equity
understand what trauma is and how it impacts students on cognitive and physiological levels
understand the racialized and educational trauma many students of color and their families have experienced
learn immediate strategies to create a trauma-informed school and classrooms
learn resilience-building tools and strategies to use with students
expand their equity lens and increase cultural-responsiveness
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Mindful Magazine, "10 Powerful Women in the Mindfulness Movement: 2021" Tovi C. Scruggs-Hussein is an innovative visionary, healer, and award-winning educator whose career in education began over 25 years ago. She is also the visionary behind the new movement of Racial Healing Allies™. From her lived experience, Tovi teaches on what the future of successful, resilient leadership will require: emotionally intelligent consciousness, connection, and courage. Connect at beingwithtovi@gmail.com.