The Tarot Card of Death signifies change and transformation. This is from the Asian American Literary Review's "Open in Case of Emergency" tarot deck and box set, available at https://www.aalrmag.org

It certainly feels like the world has turned towards the wheelhouse of medicine, public health and psychiatry during COVID-19 and the more visible surfacing of racial trauma since March, 2020. I’ve been using the time to be with my feelings, and also helping others with their feelings, thoughts, hopes and suffering. Emotions are central to our humanity, and compassion is how we do human. Our individualistic culture, and the way we prioritize ‘reason’ over ‘mere feelings,’ sends us messages that we must completely regulate our own emotions, but that is in contradiction to biology and reality. We have open limbic loops, and influence each other’s emotions and biology with presence and relationship. We are who happens to us, and what we make of the happening. There’s so much sadness and anxiety in the air, but we can only ground ourselves in relatedness and the present moment. The future is uncertain, and our survival brains can throw us curve balls. My favorite motto right now is ‘don’t throw in the towel, and don’t throw in the kitchen sink! Keep fighting for compassion and justice!’ I’ve started a blog series at East Wind eZine, written at the intersection of Black and Asian lives. Posts are about the silencing and blaming of Asian Americans during COVID, self-centered delusions of white supremacy and religion (specifically American Christianity), and the importance of anger and expression to work through and clarify our emotional worlds. Much to my surprise, this has been some of the most popular writing I’ve ever done.

Blog posts at East Wind Ezine - 5 so far! 2-7K words each!
These have taken a lot of time, thought and emotional labor. I hope they are helpful to you on your journey.

My most recent post is titled:

MOSF Vol. 15.5: Queer and Black, Asian and Young; Drama Del Rosario, Tchoupitoulas and Ocean Vuong

Here is the abstract:

Subordination, silencing and scapegoating are central traumatizing processes. Regaining our power lies in breaking silence, and in gaining receptive and collaborative capacity with our own emotions and narratives. This article focuses especially on the needs of Black, Queer, and Asian American youth, who have all experienced dramatic increases in suicide rates in the last decade or more, but suicide rates are also high for older Asian American men and women, and Pacific Islanders, among others. We need to make space for all of us to be heard and supported.

I was also recently interviewed by a Canadian radio station regarding the psychology of Facebook, and a Cambridge, Ontario Facebook group that was initially started to spread messages about community safety, but devolved with posts advocating violence against the homeless and substance abusers (the 10-minute interview starts at minute 20:55).

Also...

I moderated a panel discussion for Stanford's Asian Pacific Alumni Summit (SAPAS) on September 26, 2020. The panel begins with a 7 minute introduction by me, and then an amazing panel of women working in health and policy talk about their work and their journeys of identity as Asian American women, facing discrimination and other obstacles. We need to affirm who we are and who we are to each other in times of difficulty, and these women truly inspire. The whole panel runs about 50 minutes. Thanks to the SAPAS team for running a great event! Also see this Keynote by Rep. Ted Lieu about COVID response.

SAPAS Panel on Health, Society and Our Community in the Time of COVID-19

Stanford Asian Pacific Alumni Summit panel moderated by Ravi Chandra, MD ’96, and featuring Wilma Chan, MA ’94, Alameda County Supervisor Alice Chen, MD ’96, Deputy secretary for policy and planning and director of clinical affairs, California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) Holly Wong, ’80, Vice President, Global Health Advocacy Incubator.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to hear from you! Please forward and share if you like.

Warmly,

Ravi