The values and goals of our organization are inextricably linked to the values and goals of Ukrainians and the state of Ukraine. The activity of the Ukrainian Mindfulness Teachers Association (UMTA) exists within the framework of Ukrainian culture and is directly focused on the development of Ukrainians in the area of mindfulness practices.

 

We understand that this war for the freedom and independence of our country is not the first, and it may not be the last, unless its main causes are neutralized. 

The Russian Federation, like its predecessor states, such as Moscovia, the Russian Empire, and later the Soviet Union, has consistently pursued a policy of genocide against the Ukrainian people, seeking to destroy Ukrainian statehood and culture. The Russian Federation and its citizens must go through a process similar to that of Nazi Germany after World War II. 

 

Culture does not exist separately from its state and its politics. For centuries, the aggressor country and its citizens have been using culture as a means of propaganda, aggression, justification of atrocities, and whitewashing their country's image in the international arena. 

 

Mindfulness practices are part of the cultural information space and an effective tool for human recovery and development. Today, contemporary Ukrainian culture is finding itself after decades of conscious, unconscious, or forced coexistence and dissolution in the Russian cultural space, and is eradicating murderous invasive narratives. 

 

UMTA supports this pro-Ukrainian vector, and therefore

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• does not recommend that Ukrainian teachers refer to Russian sources or Russian teachers in any materials or in their teaching activities. 

• recommends referring to Ukrainian or non-Russian sources and assists in finding these sources

• expects members of the Association to be able to teach mindfulness practices in Ukrainian.

• does not recognize diplomas of Russian teaching programs or programs currently being conducted by citizens of the Russian Federation;

 

We share the values of the international community of mindfulness teachers and practitioners - humanity, kindness, compassion, which fuel an active civic position. We hope that Ukraine's complete and just victory in the war against Russia and the rethinking of the world order will allow us to join forces in the future to build a healthy society and a culture of awareness around the world without exception.