Hi all,

Keep reading for details on my self-compassion workshop and my new book on gun psychology! Please share both on social media, and help me spread the word on these labors of love  It appears that the FB algorithm has taken a dislike to me, perhaps because I am barely on FB, or perhaps because I'm a FB dissenter - so now more than ever I depend on other people to share my work. Please post the links and tag me if we're friends, or tag "Ravi Chandra, Writer and Psychiatrist." (Or @going2peace on Twitter.) Ironic, I know...

Thanks,

Ravi

I have just released a longform essay on gun psychology and gun identity, including how race impacts gun ownership. It's the length of a nice New Yorker article, and I think it offers a lot to the current debate.

Interesting fact: 50% of white males in the U.S. own guns, as opposed to only 25% of non-white males and white females. And only 16% of non-white females own guns. You'll read my take on this and more in the book. How does this fact make you feel?

My book is available right now as an e-book for 99 cents on all platforms, and will shortly be available as a paperback for $6.95. (If you'd like a copy of the paperback, reply to this email and I'll stockpile copies from the first printing for you, for pickup from my office in Japantown, SF.)

Guns Are Not Our God! The NRA Is Not Our Church!
In Support of #MarchForOurLives and #NationalSchoolWalkout

Amazon for Kindle 
iBooks for Mac
Kobo
Nook

Please download and share! A portion of proceeds will go to gun control and mental health organizations. I really hope this essay can help this debate - but I depend on you to read and create buzz by writing reviews and sharing. (Cover by Việt Lê.)

     "The steel of a gun is the coldest thing in the world. Even when silent it shouts a threat. But it has never been silent, never in the history of the United States.
     But there are other voices. There are the screams of millions dead. More have died by gunshot than in all our country’s wars combined. Are these millions louder than the gun?
     Only if we join their cry. We must speak for the dead. We must speak for the living. We must speak, or be silenced by death itself, seeping out of the barrels of our guns, 350 million and counting."

Mindful Self-Compassion Workshop, April 21

I think many would benefit from my 2.5 hour workshop on Mindful Self Compassion on Saturday, April 21, 2018 at 10 am. I would really love to spread these transformative principles developed by psychologists Drs. Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer to as wide an audience as possible. If you're plagued by self-critique, or are driven to perform highly but are hard on yourself when you fall short, MSC will help you develop a kinder attitude towards yourself and achieve your best. Self-compassion is integral to happiness.

I will be explaining the principles and science behind MSC, as well as leading workshop participants in exercises designed to develop the heart space we all need. (Sliding scale available for financial need.)

"You may as well like yourself. You'll be spending a lot of time with you." – Jerry Lewis

TICKETS AT EVENTBRITE!

Also, ICYMI, here are some recent articles from my blog on Psychology Today:

Vietnamese American Refugee Stories Win Acclaim - Bao Phi and Thi Bui's books are fantastic!
Is Facebook Destroying Society and Your Mental Health? - the latest research on well-being and Facebook
Is Facebook Making us Narcissistic? - the latest research on narcissism and Facebook
2018: The Year of the Dog, The Year of Living Doggedly - a philosophical and political look at the Year of the Dog

Facebuddha still is going strong! If you haven't picked up a copy, here are the links:

Amazon Kindle ebook and Hardcover
iBooks
Nook
Kobo
Barnes and Noble Hardcover
IndieBound

Photo by Toni Zernik