Mindfulness Session

with Mr Jesse Frechette

Mindfulness gives us time. Time gives us choices. Choices, skillfully made, lead to freedom.
Abhayam made its international launch with a session in association with Mr. Jesse Frechette, Founder & Director of Centre Mindful in the state of Philadelphia, the United States of America.
Mr. Jesse Frechette spoke about ‘Challenging Gender Stereotypes in the 21st Century: A Mindfulness Approach’ which he initiated by inviting us to a sublime state, making us wholly aware of our surroundings and asking us to embrace them open-heartedly.
Jesse commenced then by stating that how all of us, irrespective of the varied forms of backgrounds we come from, have an array of dialogues and conversations around us on certain issues of importance. One of them is the aspect of gender equality, which includes dialogue about the spectrum of gender, gender stereotypes and intersectionality existing therein. Jesse stated how such an issue of pivotal concern is something that all of us are a part of.
Certain factors like our past conditioning, culture, traditions, ancestral customs, generational behaviors, etc. often make us perceive things in parochial and narrow-minded attitudes. He mentioned how rather than cherry-picking upon “who gets to fit inside the set norms”, we should contemplate about how we can “normalize it for everyone to fit in”.
He stated how gender as a spectrum is variegated and every individual is entitled to their own characteristics, choices and roles. Jesse observed that whoever supposedly determines the hierarchy in a society and the norms, gets to decide societal standards which arise purely from a place of bias and with due course of time, we are conditioned into believing that we must follow these norms with due accordance. This is what provides an inoculum for discrimination. A better norm, according to Jesse, would be to normalize the entire range of human existence. He stated, for instance, “in order to support the LGBTQAI+ community, be a comrade and not just an ally”.
There won’t be another perfect way to culminate and sum up this conversation than quoting the expression of Jesse himself, “may we always come home to remembering our own true worth. And may we all support each other, rise up, and move forward together”.
For recording of the session, please feel free to visit