Hi all, First the big news - the quirky, talky, decidedly non-journalistic documentary I made with poet/artist Truong Tran and psychoanalyst/artist QiRe Ching will have its virtual world premiere soon - and then will have its European premiere in July! It would be so wonderful if you would share the trailer and ticket link page with your community. The Bandaged Place: From AIDS to COVID to Racial Justice WORLD PREMIERE at the Queens World Film Festival on Sunday, June 27th, 2021 at 4 pm EST. Purchase tickets ...Continue Reading

Hi all, Thought you would appreciate this film premiering virtually at CAAMFest this Sunday, which I write about in this East Wind blogpost. I also spotlight a few films also involving Asian and Black relations. Most are available for free streaming. MOSF 16.2: AMERICANISH, a Rom-Com Window into Identity Formation for Asian American Women - East Wind ezine AMERICANISH is the must-see, groundbreaking debut feature from award-winning director/producer/writer and University of Florida Professor Iman Zawahry, one of ...Continue Reading

Hi all, It's been a trying time for Asian Americans. 4,000 incidents of verbal and physical abuse, five homicides, and then the Atlanta spa mass murder. The news of the latter hit me that Tuesday night, and I spent the first few days on social media, responding, being angry, learning and growing. By the weekend, I was floored and exhausted. It was hard to get out of bed that Saturday morning. I was in 'freeze' and 'avoid' mode, having been overwhelmed. My survival brain's buttons had been pushed and overwhelmed. I turn ...Continue Reading

Happy pandemic Valentine’s :) I hope you all are safe and well. This little box of chocolate covered memories, dreams and reflections comes out of my own life and our times. In the center, you will find some interesting themes of latency, and how racism affects the lives of children in often inchoate ways. Dedicated to all elementary school children, their parents and teachers, and all who treat the inner child. Written mostly as a letter to the girl whose heart I probably broke 44 years ago :( But who I remember to th ...Continue Reading

Ring in the New Year and ring out self-centeredness virtually at the Asian Art Museum this Thursday! Hi all, I'm offering a Short Course in Mindful Self-Compassion beginning January 13th. It's six weeks, one hour per week, and would be a nice boost to your year. Self-Compassion builds resilience and prevents burnout, among other qualities. 2 dozen participants benefited from my full workshop in the fall, but not everyone has the time to do the full course - so I'm offering this. It would be great if you could dist ...Continue Reading

Hi all, I'm just about to finish teaching my 8 week Mindful Self Compassion workshop. I modified the Center for MSC's program for the BIPOC community, and over 20 participants engaged and learned self compassion techniques. I'm very passionate about MSC, and am a member of the steering committee for the Self Compassion in Psychotherapy certificate program starting up next March. I offered this course for free or by donation, because there are many people who can't afford the going rate of $400-600. While I applied ...Continue Reading

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, Langsto ...Continue Reading

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 a ...Continue Reading

Check out: Memoirs of a Superfan Vol. 15.2: Lama Rod Owens and the Emotional Body of Asian Americans Lama Rod Owens is "a self-described “Black, queer, cisgender, and male-identified, fat, mixed-class, Buddhist teacher and minister, yoga teacher, and shit-talking Southerner.'" Dear all, So much of the news cycle is the same old same old. I'm putting myself in the growth zone with my writing. I hope my new blog series helps put you in a growth zone as well. Written at the intersection of Black and ...Continue Reading

Adobe stock image of Asian woman with mask, licensed by Ravi Chandra Dear all, Thank you for staying connected, and I hope this message finds you well. My creative work as a writer is coming together more fruitfully with my work as a psychiatrist, compassion educator and concerned citizen. Also, I'm trying to stay really basic. My favorite line in Ozu's film The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice comes from a husband who says to his wife, our relationship should be like ochazuke: "intimate, familiar, pri ...Continue Reading