I have increased self awareness regarding the extent of my own prejudices…The extent to which I view “otherness” was brought strongly

home to me last week as I was watching the film A Time to Kill, when the Black defendant (on trial for killing his daughter’s rapists) said to his White lawyer: You're white, and I'm black…. But the fact is you're just like all the rest of them. When you look at me, you don't see a man, you see a black man.

Upon hearing this, I reflected that I, too, see a Black man. And when I look at a White man, I see only a man. I will not have achieved my desired state of multicultural competence until I see only a man, regardless of race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, ability, etc.

I have gained increased cultural knowledge regarding First Nations personsI am inspired to attain greater insight into the indigenous

healing practices of First Nations persons, and also to understand more fully the concept of learned helplessness and the impact it has had on generations of First Nations residential school survivors.

The music that I hope you are listening to right now is O Siem by Susan Agluklark . The title is an Indian exclamation of joy at seeing friends and family, and the artist has described the song thusly: “…..a line in the song 'siem o siyeya', means all peoples, all cultures and races, all people rich and poor. The song talks about watching the walls come tumbling down, and by that, I mean the walls of racism and prejudice, of hate and anger…”

I have learned the concept of a cultural audit, and the importance of bringing this lens to each counseling interaction

I am fully onboard with the view that every counseling interaction is multicultural in nature. As I gained an awareness of the extent to which my own culture has influenced my perceptions, values, and views so to have I come to understand that the same will always be said for my client. Understanding where the client is at is critical to effective counseling, and I can not achieve this understanding without knowing where they came from.

A meaningful organizational development competency