Before the Parlor — *There is always a seat at the table for you.*

Join us 2 pm, Saturday, May 10th at the Anacostia Arts Center for the second salon of 2025. The CommuniTEA Salons are a mix between conversation, dreaming, memory making and a playdate. In our May 2025 salon, Mēlani N. Douglass and our guest Joan McGoy of The Managed Mind will lead a series of activities that explore motherhood and birth as a community practice.

Give Birth to the Dream

A message from Mēlani...

We all have one thing in common...we were born. We exist because we were born. There was a point of conception that led to our existence.We may never know the FULL story of our birth. However, we can learn a lot from the process of giving birth, witnessing birth and assisting in making birth happen.

Join us, Mother's Day eve as we learn from the the timeless creative process of giving birth. We will explore how we can apply this wisdom to giving birth to ourself and our dreams. I will be in conversation with my doula - a trained facilitator of meditation and scripting. She is the perfect person to explore how we use the wisdom of birth to help us give birth in all areas of our life.

This event is for EVERYONE regardless of gender or age. Anyone born is welcome. Anyone born should come. Anyone who wants to give birth to their dreams and desires to expand their perspective on how to do so needs to be there. Birth is not women's work alone and women's worth is not tied to birth. Let's be a life affirming community who participates in creating and supporting all we give birth to.

It's time to reconnect to birth wisdom as a community. Join us and bring the fam.

And...
Bring your journals. Bring your sketch pad. Bring your favorite mug. Bring your voice. Come comfortable. Come cozy and let's get into birthing this dreamt reality.

Pillows, back jacks, and other comforts are provided. CommuniTEA is served.

This is a phone free event. Put the nightmare on mute.

The cost?

Courage and care and a love for community. Monetary donations are welcomed. If you make a donation, please select a ticket as well.

This one is going to require you to be brave. You are going to need to believe in yourself and others. Sounds like a lot? No worries. Come because you care. Come because you care about what exists after the fall and you need care while it's all changing. If you have just enough courage and/or care to show up - that is all that is required at the front door.

Mark your calendars for the next CommuniTEA Salons:

June 14 - Fathering Wellness

June 22 - Dreaming Reality - Summer Solstice Edition - details loading!

About our Guest Joan McGoy

Meditation. Just saying the word conjures up images of cross-legged practitioners with their eyes
closed working to blank their minds. It’s just that, that is not what I am promoting. Not at all.
My name is Joan McGoy, and I am an Applied Meditation Script Coach. I use a revolutionary
meditation technique that trains the brain to face and address maladaptive mental, emotional and
behavioral responses to life circumstances commonly called “stresses.” Applied Meditation
Scripting programs peaceful, positive and productive responses that are “prehearsed” in the
meditation state to be lived in the real-world circumstance.
The company that my husband and I co-founded is called: The Managed Mind, Inc. Our clients
include professionals in all walks of life, as well as everyday people working to find meaning in
the situations and events in their lives. Our group workshops and one-on-one trainings assist
clients to prepare for challenges by searching for and learning to appreciate the character
development value of those life events. With this shift in perception, these events are
transformed from being stressful into opportunities to be and do better in life.
I have been a meditation practitioner and instructor for over 35 years. Companies and Institutions
with which we have worked include American University Life Pieces to Masterpieces Summer
Staff, D.C. Child and Family Services Social Workers and Nurses, One World Center for
Autism, Health Care System for Child Services, DC Healthy Babies and the NAACP’s Health is the New Wealth, and GW University as a substitute teacher for their Stress Management Course. I taught meditation to both instructional staff and middle school students in a DC public charter school. Since 2012, I have been implementing The Managed Mind’s Applied Meditation Scripting program clinically, as well as facilitating meditation workshops in the DMV with outstanding results.

About the CommuniTEA Salon Series

This immersive gathering blends meditation, tea, art, and conversation to create a space for deep reflection and collective wisdom. We begin with a guided meditation to quiet the mind and invite stillness, followed by a soothing tea ceremony to center the body. Through thoughtful discussion, we will explore how peace of mind is essential to building a thriving home and a strong community.

Inspired by the salons of the Harlem Renaissance, the soul gatherings of Combahee River Collective, the strategizing of The Colored Conventions, and the legacy of Black organizers using the home and community centers as places for transformation. This salon is a modern gathering rooted in history, wellness, and empowerment. Together, we will listen, share, and co-create a vision for a more mindful, peaceful and collectively beneficial future.

This event is made possible by the Washington Area Community Investment Fund and Carter Farms.

Event powered by the Family Arts Museum and MĀK Apothecary.