Hi all,

I've been fortunate to be teaching my Mindful Self Compassion course since the end of September. Cultivating community and self-care at this time of stress and transformation has been really great. Here are some of the resources I've used so far - hopefully they will help you too!

1. Langston Hughes epic grand visionary poem “Let America Be America Again” in words and as a YouTube Video

2. Gwendolyn Brooks on vulnerability and the need for big poems and big ideas.

3. Again, Langston Hughes - a blog on his “A Dream Deferred" and the importance of dreaming and keeping on (Dreams), and “Mother to Son” (Video narrated by Viola Davis)

4. Lama Rod Owens, Black Buddhist Teacher, with a gratitude practice focused on reducing inner psychological violence Lama Rod Owens - Reset & Refocus With Gratitude

My blog series at East Wind continues. These are big bites of thought and channeling the inner life on some major topics. Please enjoy when you can!

 
Image on left by Barnali Ghosh (c) 2020

MOSF 15.7: Bruce Springsteen, Clarence Clemons, Marlon Riggs, and Brotherhood after the Donnybrook   

Great and deep questions have been unveiled in the last five years. We must engage with ardor. We cannot avoid how queer, lonely and emotional the American journey is for anyone falling outside the mainstream, and even for many within it; and how terrifying it must be for some – simply to meet someone new. Both left and right are meeting each other anew. A new experience generating more safety and trust is essential for continuing our pursuit of American democracy. (Nov 2, 2020)

Adobe stock photo licensed by Ravi Chandra

MOSF 15.6: On Retiring Donald Trump and White Supremacy Without Losing Either Our Aloha Shirts or Our Aloha Spirit  

What’s up with White Supremacy, aloha shirts and tiki torches? None of it really makes sense, but it’s caused at least a few people to clutch their pearls and declare “No More Aloha Shirts For Me!” as if we must retreat from what we love because jerks love the same things. Hawai’i is the most Asian American, the most multiracial, arguably the most beautiful state of our Union, and the aloha spirit is a Pacific wave that continues to wash away the suffering of the world. I’m not giving up on aloha or aloha shirts. (Oct 19, 2020)

I've also published at Psychology Today:

Affirming Identity, Relationship, and Compassion During COVID (Oct 10, 2020) my remarks at the recent Stanford Asian Pacific Alumni Summit along with a video of that panel discussion with Wilma Chan, M.A. ’94, Alameda County Supervisor; Alice Chen, M.D. ’96, Deputy secretary for policy and planning and director of clinical affairs, California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS); and Holly Wong, ’80, Vice President, Global Health Advocacy Incubator. 

Authenticity, Compassion and Overcoming Propaganda (Oct 26, 2020) The U.S. seems to be a very polarized nation in the run-up to the election next week, with heated all-or-nothing, and even dehumanizing, rhetoric from political leaders and their most extreme followers. Research indicates we are not as polarized as some leaders and media indicate.

You might also like these interesting and inspiring articles:

On the Campaign Trail with Remi Yamamoto, Joe Biden’s Traveling National Press Secretary (Vogue, Oct 30, 2020)

Yasuke: The mysterious African samurai (BBC News, 2019)

I know many of you are going down to the wire helping out in whatever ways you can. Thank you for caring for the country's future and the well-being of all. 

Warmly,

Ravi