The Rising Awareness Journey
Healing The Human Race from racism and related social constructs one person and conversation at a time.
The Rising Awareness Journey is a global, multiethnic movement dedicated to educating, training, and empowering corporate, business, and institutional leaders, as well as professional trusted advisors, to confidently navigate challenging and uncomfortable conversations about racism and related social constructs and issues.
Kintsugi (golden joinery) is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum, a method similar to the maki-e technique. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object rather than something to disguise. The results often being deemed more beautiful than the original "unbroken" item.
“If Inclusion, Healing, and Belonging is deliberately and intentionally practiced by everyone within one’s business, organization, and institution, then one will have genuine diversity, equity, inclusion and all the other letters following the acronym DEI.” – Perry Rhue
The Rising Awareness Journey is an international multiethnic collective movement dedicated to educating and equipping Corporate, Business, and Institutional Leaders with the skillset, tools, and resources to effectively navigate the “messy and uncomfortable conversations about racism and related social constructs.”
OUR VISION - Actively mending (repairing), knitting (interlocking) and healing, like a fractured or broken bone, The Human Race from racism and related social constructs one person and conversation at a time
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OUR MISSION - Empowering our clients with non-status quo cutting-edge thought leadership, indispensable tools, and unparalleled expertise to facilitate transformative conversations and drive positive change.
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OUR CORE VALUE – Agápé (ah-GAH-peh), the ancient Greek word for “unconditional love.” A love for fellow humans that's more a behavior than an emotion.
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We will achieve our goals by building an international community of like-minded critical thinking allies and accomplices who share our vision, values, and already doing the work of inclusion, healing, and belonging.
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The Rising Awareness Journey Five A's
AWARENESS
The continual raising of consciousness and acknowledgment that racism has been and continues to be a part of our story worldwide.
ALLYSHIP
The continued public supportive association with another person or group, specifically with members of a marginalized or mistreated group.
ACCOMPLICE
The continued use of one’s privilege to challenge existing conditions at the risk of their own comfort and well-being.
ACTIVISM
The vigorous act of campaigning to bring about social change by co-creating relationships to connect first as humans and then heal, conversate, etc.
ACCOUNTABILITY
The “moral obligation and mandate” to speak up, say something, or do something when you see something that’s not right, fair, or just.
“When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have a moral obligation and mandate to speak up. You have to say something. You have to do something”​
The Late Honorable U.S. Congressman John Lewis
The Rising Awareness Journey
Core Competencies
Co-Creating the Relationship to Connect First: Human to Human - First and foremost, creating psychological safety, mutual trust, and a designed alliance for conversations.
Activism & Accountability - Developing action plans for transformational change and executing with a method of accountability.
Conversational Vital Sign # 1 – The neuroscience, “whole brain thinking,” and execution of effectively navigating through challenging conversations.
Conversational Vital Sign # 2 – The examination of our cognitive thinking and the attitudes of the heart that underpins and motivates what we say and do.
The Socratic Method of Critical Thinking – Improves conversations about all types of hard topics, which includes asking and receiving questions fearlessly, saying what you think, not getting hot when others say what they think, loving The Truth.
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The Rising Awareness Journey
Connection Circles
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The Rising Awareness Journey Connection Circles process draws directly from the traditions of the Talking Circle, common among indigenous people of North America. It is an ancient, indigenous tradition that creates space “to solve problems, to support and connect at a deeper level with one another.” Such processes still exist today among indigenous people globally.
The Rising Awareness Journey Connection Circles create space for restorative vs. punitive justice work, i.e, tearing down walls and barriers, deep active and empathetic listening, sharing experiences and stories, building trust, love (agápé), healing and peacebuilding via activism.
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The Rising Awareness Journey Connection Circle offers its circle members a deeper exploration of The Rising Awareness Journey’s core competencies, philosophy, and methodologies.
Our Connection Circles are thoughtfully designed to provide a dynamic, collaborative experience where circle members engage as:
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A Mastermind Group: Facilitating peer-to-peer mentoring and coaching.
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An Incubator: Nurturing and piloting innovative ideas for lasting impact.
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An Accelerator: Supporting each other in launching pilots and proof-of-concept initiatives.
RAJ Connection Circle Members Will:
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Elevate Conversations: Gain insights to consistently transform conversations from transactional or positional to deeply transformational exchanges.
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Integrate New Strategies: Adopt relational and conversational strategies grounded in The Rising Awareness Journey's principles, practices, and methodologies.
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Navigate Complex Topics: Build skills to effectively engage in meaningful conversations about racism and related social constructs, prioritizing connection before engaging in facilitation, coaching, or dialogue.
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Master the Five A’s: Develop expertise in The Rising Awareness Journey's core pillars—Awareness, Allyship, Accomplice, Activism, and Accountability.
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Reinforce Learning: Deepen their understanding through hands-on activities and collaborative exercises within the Connection Circle.
Please contact us to discover how the Rising Awareness Journey Connection Circle methodology can help you cultivate transformation, foster collaboration, and drive meaningful change.
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Experience the Bespoke Journey
The Rising Awareness Journey is committed to educating, training, and empowering Corporate, Business, and Institutional Leaders to navigate the difficult and uncomfortable conversations about racism and related social constructs/issues. To empower our clients with non-status quo cutting-edge thought leadership, indispensable tools, and unparalleled expertise to facilitate, drive, and sustain transformative conversations and positive change.
Bespoke Invitation
Our bespoke service is designed to meet the unique needs of each client. We begin with a blank sheet of paper and a fresh approach, taking into account your specific objectives and challenges. Through close collaboration, we gain a deep understanding of your situation and develop a personalized strategy to overcome any obstacles. Leveraging our wealth of experience, we provide you with the resources and tactics necessary to achieve success.
Coach-sulting
Our coach-sulting service combines expert thought leadership, mentorship, and partnership to guide you through the complexities of addressing racism and related social constructs in the corporate and business world. We offer in-depth analysis, strategic recommendations, and hands-on implementation support, empowering you to drive meaningful and sustained change within your organization, institution, and community.
The Rising Awareness Journey Supervision
We provide personalized education, supportive supervision, and actionable feed-forward to Professional Trusted Advisors, as well as Corporate, Business, and Institutional Leaders, empowering them to strengthen their human connection skills. Our primary focus is on fostering personal growth by identifying strengths and areas for improvement, while raising awareness of factors that influence performance in client interactions and interpersonal relationships. We emphasize building self-awareness, exploring factors that shape how you present yourself, and developing solutions to enhance self-efficacy and personal agency.
Perry Rhue
Founder
Executive Coach-sultant & Professional Thought Partner
Ken Sawyer
Advertising Executive, Media Planner, Consultant & Professional Thought Partner
Get more insight into the "genesis" of The Rising Awareness Journey by ordering a back issue of choice Magazine From Inclusion to Belonging issue.
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This issue showcases articles contributed by four of The Rising Awareness facilitation team members (Perry Rhue, Bonita Mackey, Dr. Yvette Alex-Assensoh, and Gavin Shaskolsky).
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Click here to order and enter coupon code Ekklesiachoice to receive 10% off everything.
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