A Living Practice of Belonging
Belonging is not just a word we use—it’s something we feel in our bones. And for so many women, true belonging has been hard to come by.
We know that women’s gatherings—especially those centered around healing and spirituality—have not always been spaces where every woman feels truly welcome.
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Whether spoken or unspoken, there are barriers that can make a space feel like it wasn’t built with you in mind.
Maybe you’ve felt like you had to shrink or adapt in order to belong. Maybe your body, your lived experience, your race, your role as a mother (or not), your chronic illness, or your way of moving through the world has made you feel like an outsider in spaces like this before.
We don’t want to be another space that says we are for everyone but doesn’t feel that way in practice. We are building something different—something that actually lives up to the name “The Temple of Belonging.”
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What That Looks Like Here
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A Space for Every Body
You don’t have to fit a certain mold to feel at home here. This is a space for bodies of all sizes, abilities, and needs. A space that honors motherhood in all its forms, acknowledges chronic illness and disability, and welcomes each person as they are.
Belonging is a Feeling
True belonging isn’t about just being in the room—it’s about feeling safe in it. We create shared agreements around respect, listening, and honest participation. We also acknowledge that even conscious spaces aren’t harm-free, which is why we have structures for accountability and repair.
Spaces of Rest & Recognition
Sometimes, healing means being with people who just get it. That’s why we offer dedicated spaces for those who need them—whether that’s a BIPOC-only circle, a gathering for mothers, or a space to simply rest.
Making It Accessible
Healing spaces should be for everyone, not just those who can afford them. We offer scholarships, sliding-scale options, and work-trade roles that allow real participation, not just service.
Honoring Lineages & Learning Together
The practices shared here don’t belong to any one of us. We’re committed to honoring their roots, ensuring integrity, and staying in the conversation when growth is needed.
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A Space Where You Don’t Have to Hold Your Breath
Too many of us have walked into spaces where we instinctively brace ourselves—where we scan the room to see if we will be the only one of our kind. The only Black woman. The only mother. The only plus-size body. The only one who can’t sit cross-legged for an hour. The only one exhausted by the weight of chronic illness. The only one who doesn’t fit the image of what these spaces have looked like before.
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We don’t want you to have to hold your breath here, and we're all (including you) ready and willing to slow down and soften into safety together.
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We want you to arrive fully as you are, to take up space, to exhale, to rest, to ask for what you need without hesitation.
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If you’ve ever felt like wellness and community spaces weren’t built with you in mind, know this: we see you.
We are building something different. And if there’s anything we can do to deepen this work, we’re here for that dialogue.
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With love, humility, and ongoing commitment,
The Temple of Belonging Team
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If you have questions, thoughts, ideas or ways you'd like to support us and this gathering in deepening it's integrity, please don't hesitate to reach out and send us an email!
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Thetempleofbelonging@gmail.com
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Please do review and understand our DEIA Agreements for gatherings and our organization as a whole
Ongoing Allyship & Inclusion at The Temple of Belonging
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At The Temple of Belonging, we are committed to making this a space where every woman feels truly safe, seen, and celebrated—not just in words, but in real, tangible ways. Our ongoing allyship work is centered around deep listening, continuous action, and ensuring that historically excluded voices are not just included, but prioritized.
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Here’s how we are actively weaving these values into TOB:
Dedicated Affinity Spaces: We are nurturing intentional spaces within the gathering for and by BIPOC women to gather, create, rest, and share in community. These spaces are tended with care and intention, offering a place to exhale, reconnect, and be held in kinship.
Commitment to Ethical Facilitation: Every instructor, staff member, and volunteer participating in TOB’s structure is required to engage with our DEIA & Facilitation Guide to ensure that the spaces we create are rooted in awareness, accountability, and inclusivity.
Herbal & Wellness Support: Herbalists and practitioners in our Wellness Den create and donate tinctures, teas, and healing remedies each year to support our community care initiatives.
Financial Accessibility & Ticketing Equity:
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A number of attendee tickets are reserved each year for BIPOC participants at a sliding scale price.
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Partial and full scholarships are offered annually to ensure financial barriers do not prevent access to this space.
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Prioritizing BIPOC Practitioners & Creatives:
We hold space for BIPOC practitioners, artists, and facilitators in all of our community hubs, including:
✦ The Healing Village (bodyworkers, energy healers, and holistic practitioners)
✦ The Adornment Area (tattoo artists, hair braiders, and sacred adornment practitioners)
✦ The Artist Village (makers, musicians, and storytellers)
✦ The Vendor Marketplace (craftswomen and business owners sharing their offerings)
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Our commitment to allyship is ongoing, evolving, and deeply felt.
We invite open dialogue, continued learning, and a shared responsibility in holding this space with care and integrity.
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To learn more about our DEIA initiatives, scholarships, and allyship commitments, read our organizations DEIA Agreements HERE
Honoring The Land
We humbly acknowledge that our programming is held on the traditional lands of the Molalla and Kalapuya people. We take this opportunity to offer respectful recognition to the Native communities in our region, and to those who have stewarded this land throughout the generations.
We recognize the continual displacement of Native people by the United States and are committed to work on dismantling the ongoing effects of this settler colonial legacy. Please join us in gratitude for ​the contributions Indigenous peoples have and continue to make to our community, country, and world.
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Establishing a practice of acknowledgment can be a powerful first step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase indigenous people’s history and culture.
Through this simple gesture, we move toward inviting and honoring the truth, and countering the “doctrine of discovery” that our country was falsely founded upon.
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Such statements become truly meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and sustained commitment. Let us therefore consider how to move beyond words into programs and actions that fully embody a commitment to indigenous rights and cultural equity.
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Each year we aim to give 10% of our profits towards local Indigenous Groups to persevere their life ways and culture.
In 2024, we were able to donate $800 towards a local Sundance Ceremony!
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Our Community Agreements
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Belonging Without Conditions
This is a space for all women—of every race, body, ability, motherhood status, spiritual belief and lived experience. True belonging means no one is left wondering if they fit in. We practice curiosity instead of assumption, and care instead of judgment.
Respect & Radical Inclusivity
We hold a deep reverence for one another’s stories, voices, and truths. Discrimination, hate speech, and harm—whether explicit or subtle—have no place here. We do not tolerate racism, body shame, ableism, or any form of exclusion.
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Listening Over Speaking
We approach one another with open hearts, seeking to listen before we respond. We hold space for different perspectives without the need to fix, correct, or impose our own views.
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Confidentiality & Consent
What is shared in sacred space stays in sacred space. We honor each other’s privacy and do not share personal stories, images, or experiences without consent.
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Support Over Comparison
We are here to uplift each other, not to measure ourselves against one another. This is not a space for competition, hierarchy, or unspoken expectations of perfection.
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Integrity & Accountability
We all make mistakes. When harm is done, we take responsibility, listen, and repair. We approach accountability as an opportunity to deepen our integrity, rather than as a punishment.
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Cultural & Spiritual Integrity
We honor the sacred traditions and practices shared in this space with reverence, consent, and respect for lineage. We do not appropriate or extract from cultures that are not our own.
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Accessibility & Care
We recognize that not all bodies move the same, not all nervous systems regulate the same, and not all life circumstances allow for full participation in the same way. We encourage rest, slowness, and personal agency in how each woman engages with this space.
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Responsibility for the Energy We Bring
Each of us contributes to the collective field. We bring awareness to how our words, actions, and presence shape the experience of others.
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Brave Space for Dialogue & Growth
We are here to grow, not to be perfect. If a concern arises, we commit to approaching one another with honesty, humility, and care. If harm occurs, we address it with grace and a willingness to learn.
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A Living, Breathing Commitment
This is not a rigid set of rules—it’s a shared practice of holding each other well. We invite feedback, ongoing dialogue, and the willingness to evolve as a community.
By being here, you are part of something sacred—a space where women gather in truth, in love, and in the radical act of holding one another with care.
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Thank you for being part of this living practice.