Table Of ContentLiving in the Compassionate Presence of Life:
Spirituality & Care for Multi/racial Experience(s)
A Dissertation
presented to
the Faculty of
Claremont School of Theology
in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Philosophy
by
Aizaiah G. Yong
May 2020
Copyright © 2020 by Aizaiah G. Yong
All Rights Reserved
NT S C HOOL OF
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This Dissertation completed by
Aizaiah G. Yong
has been presented to the
faculty of Claremont School of Theology in
partial fulfillment of the requirements of the
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Faculty Committee
Frank Rogers, Jr., Chairperson
Nicholas Grier, Committee Member
Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook, Committee Member
Dean of the Faculty
Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook
May 2020
ABSTRACT
LIVING IN THE COMPASSIONATE PRESENCE OF LIFE: SPIRITUALITY AND CARE FOR
MULTI/RACIAL EXPEREINCE(S)
by
Aizaiah G. Yong
Claremont School of Theology
May 2020
Mysticism, Compassion, and Multi/racial Experience(s) (MCAM) is a spirituality and care
program founded in the disciplines of mysticism, spiritualities of compassion, critical mixed race
studies, and pastoral theology and care. The goals of the program are to cultivate increased
awareness of inner resources and capacities within people who identify as multiracial in order to
compassionately tend to the devastating effects of racism and racial oppression in the United
States, both internally and externally.
In this project, I rely heavily on the wisdom of multiracial, multicultural
(Spaniard/Hispanic and Hindi/Indian), and multireligious theologian, philosopher, and spiritual
teacher Raimon Panikkar, as well as a spirituality known as the Compassion Practice, created
by practical theologian Frank Rogers Jr. Mysticism and spirituality are central to the work of
both, seeking to identify paths toward human liberation and freedom from oppression. I have
integrated their insights to innovate a new spirituality and care program which centers the lived
narratives and experiences of self-identified multiracial people with the hopes of uncovering new
movements and possibilities of wholeness. My hope is to destabilize racialized ways of being,
knowing, and acting that are in accordance with white normativity or anti-blackness and in doing
so to discover ways of being that enhance a person’s receptivity to experiential wholeness even
amidst conditions of racial oppression.
The last part of this dissertation evaluates how MCAM was received by multiracial
students at predominantly white institutions and how their stories open up possibilities that both
expand and challenge the fields of mysticism, spirituality, pastoral theology and care, and critical
mixed race theory. My research uses qualitative methods based in phenomenology and include
interviews with each participant alongside coded analysis of their written reflections. I
approached this study with the conviction that my method and writing should be grounded in
spirituality itself (since that is what this work is about) and therefore my own spiritual practice
was a primary methodology that grounded and informed this entire work (including the findings
as well as the adaptations that were made) as new insights emerged in the process.
Keywords: Practical Theology, Spiritual Formation, Pastoral Theology and Care, Critical Mixed
Race Studies
DEDICATION
I would like to dedicate this work to my lifelong partner, Nereyda (Neddy) and my children:
Serenity Joy, Valor Amoz, and Río Joseph. You each fulfill the reason of my being and are my
greatest inspiration! Thank you for the laughter, joy, surprise, and endless love you bring to my
life. Without each of you, this would not and could not have happened. Te amo con todo mi
corazon. To my children, as you continue to live out and bear witness to the beauty, mystery,
and diversity of the multiracial milieu, may you be guided by the ever-present Spirit and
grounded in the compassionate presence of life.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the vast community of people who have supported this work.
Starting with my family. To my parents who are the living example and embodiment of the truth
that in and through love all things are possible. May your legacy of love and compassion be
continued through this work. To my siblings—Alyssa and Anna, who put life on a pause to care
for me while I was recovering from a severe car accident during my writing, you both are
treasures in my life and I cannot imagine being here without you.
I am also grateful to the Claremont School of Theology and my dissertation committee—Dr.
Frank Rogers, Jr., Rev. Dr. Nicholas Grier, and Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook for your
influence in this work. Your grace, grit, and commitment to a world where all people flourish has
profoundly encouraged me as a theologian and fellow human being. Thank you for continuing to
help me to trust my own voice in theological reflection and to speak it in such a way that is in
solidarity with the suffering of the world.
To the Hispanic Theological Initiative for your love, support, presence, and resources. From the
writing weeks to the professional development conferences and countless conversations on the
importance of not doing anything alone! Thank you for being this example to me which I hope to
carry on for the sake of other Latino and Latinas in theological education. I am immensely
thankful for the leadership of Rev. Joanne Rodriguez and the community of scholars who took
time to listen to this work, in particular the editing expertise of Dr. Catherine R. Osborne, while
my research was still in the formative of stages and continue to pray for its success, even now!
To the Disciples Seminary Foundation and larger Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for
offering financial assistance, pastoral care, mentorship, and opportunities to connect my work to
real life ministry, I extend my heartfelt gratitude. I am excited to see how the vision of a shared
table, where all our equal, continues to ignite real change and healing in our polarized world.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS………………………………………………………………………..vi
TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………………..vii
LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………….viii
LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………………...ix
CHAPTER
1. INTRODUCTION: CATCHING OUR BREATH FROM RACIAL OPPRESSION ........... 1
2. PAYING ATTENTION & UNDERSTANDING EMPATHICALLY: A LONG LOVING LOOK AT
MULTI/RACIAL EXPERIENCE(S) IN THE US ............................................................... 38
3. LOVING WITH CONNECTION & SENSING THE SACRED: RESPONDING TO RACIALIZED
SUFFERING ................................................................................................................... 74
4. EMBODYING NEW LIFE: MYSTICISM, COMPASSION, AND MULTI/RACIAL
EXPERIENCE(S) (MCAM): A SPIRITUALITY & CARE PROGRAM TENDING TO
MULTI/RACIAL EXPERIENCE(S) .................................................................................. 99
5. DISCERNING NEW ACTION: AN EVALUATION OF MCAM ................................... 116
APPENDICES
A. Informed Consent Form ................................................................................ 175
B. Demographic Data Form .............................................................................. 178
C. MCAM Outline .............................................................................................. 179
D. Sample of Practice Used in MCAM .............................................................. 184
E. Semi-Structured Interview Questions……………………………………...……186
F. Project Recruitment Promotional Flyer………………………………………….187
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 188
viii
List of Tables
Table
1 Participants’ Demographic Information ............................................................. 120
ix
List of Figures
Figure
1 Biracial Identity Model .................................................................................................. 67
2 Ecological Mixed Race Identity Model ......................................................................... 68
3 Coding Scheme ......................................................................................................... 122
1
Chapter 1
Introduction:
Catching Our Breath from Racial Oppression in the United States
I have worked my entire professional career in institutions dominated by the forces and
histories of white supremacy and have endured multiple first-hand experiences of
systemic racial oppression. At times I have felt exhausted and at other times literally
suffocated by repeated events of dismissal, scapegoating, and exile from participation in
the life of community. As a multiracial person of color who is both Chinese and Chicano
(my parents are both immigrants to the United States), I have struggled to remain
grounded amidst the internal and external conflict I experience. However, within my own
journey and invitation to contemplative practices and spiritualities by spiritual teachers
and leaders, I have been gifted profound mystical insights revealing my own inherent
goodness, worth, and value despite the oppression I have faced.
These realizations have compelled me to become an advocate for racial justice,
even in moments that involve risk to my finances, psychological well-being, and social
community. I have come to realize, in moments of direct mystical experience with the
divine, that compassion is the primordial energetic force in the world and that it is indeed
large enough to overcome and transform the hatred, fear, and evil (both in myself and in
relationship to the structures and institutional forces present) that runs rampant in our
racialized society.
The spiritual practices that have supported my experience have provided me
safety and healing comfort, yet also call me to embody courageous nonviolent action in
racialized situations. While spirituality is often used as a form of coping and bypassing
the real issues of life, I have also found that spirituality can offer endless resources to
confront, transcend, and transform various manifestations of racial oppression. Through
