You Belong: A Call for Connection


"If you read one book in 2020, make it this one." Tricycle, The Buddhist Review

“With grace, intelligence, and palpable compassion, Selassie weaves discussions of implicit bias, intergenerational trauma, and white supremacy throughout her coverage of more traditional spiritual topics, such as ego and conscious awareness. This is a powerful work of spirituality and anti-racism.” Publishers Weekly

“This debut from meditation teacher Sebene Selassie is a pure delight. Selassie’s style tells the reader: You belong in these pages, and her message tells us: You belong, period.” Mindful Magazine

You are not separate. You never were. You never will be.


We are not separate from each other. But we don’t always believe it, and we certainly don’t always practice it. In fact, we often practice the opposite—disconnection and domination. From unconscious bias to “cancel culture,” denial of our inherent interconnection limits our own freedom.

In You Belong, I reveal that accepting your belonging is the key to facing the many challenges currently impacting our world. I use ancient philosophy, multidisciplinary research, exquisite storytelling, and razor sharp wit (if I may so myself!). I lead you in an exploration of all the ways we separate (and thus suffer) and offer you a map back to belonging.

To belong is to experience joy in any moment: to feel pleasure, dance in public, accept death, forgive what seems unforgivable, and extend kindness to yourself and others. To belong is also to acknowledge injustice, reckon with history, and face your own shadows. In You Belong, I offer you practical advice and profound revelations and I make a winning case for resisting the forces that demand separation and invite you to reclaim the connection—and belonging—that have been yours all along.