(Happy Dumpling by sudowoodo, Adobe stock image licensed by Ravi Chandra. From "The Dim Sum Dialogues" - a podcast and blogpost at Psychology Today.)

Hi all,

If any of you are interested - I am speaking at Tadaima on Monday night at 6 pm PT (Oct. 2, 2023) (sponsored by Japanese American Memorial Pilgrimages. (The talk should be on YouTube soon after, and I will send a link to that next month.)

Title: “Treating America’s #1 Addiction: Abusive Power”

Blurb: Modern psychiatry recognizes that addictions result from frustrated, traumatic, and diverted belonging. Since the time of colonization to the founding of the American republic to the current day, there has been a drive to declare dominance and subordinate others. Megalomania, the belief in one’s superiority and the drive to control and manipulate others, lives on in conscious and unconscious forms. Dr. Chandra will map out megalomania and the addiction to abusive power, and provide alternative examples of power in service to the greater good.

Register at: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYod--qpzorHdEm908AxpYe04s0yhWa88-9#/registration

This talk will end up as part 4 of my 4-part series on trauma and healing. The first part just went up - a talk by Dr. Satsuki Ina, Japanese American psychologist, survivor of JA incarceration, and all around amazing human. She did a fantastic film in 1999 called Children of the Camps, which taught me so much about compassion and being really present with people who have suffered and are suffering. I provide links to the film in this article.

Dr. Satsuki Ina on Japanese American Trauma and Healing (Psychology Today, September 26, 2023)

Psychologist Satsuki Ina discusses trauma, the specific trauma of Japanese American incarceration and aftermath, and healing circles.

I also recently put up a podcast on emotional closeness and Asian American community, in particular. It's linked in this PT post:

What Do We Feel When We Feel Close? The Dim Sum Dialogues (Psychology Today, September 19, 2023)

What emotions do we feel when we're close to others? And how might feeling close help us with our difficult emotions, such as anger?

And I FINALLY put up a post and video for a panel discussion on the film TRY HARDER! I did 2 years ago. I hope you'll enjoy the YouTube conversation. There's also lots of great references here - I learned so much thinking about the challenges of High School students. Youth mental health is in crisis right now, and we just all need to be aware and compassionate, I think.

3 Top Goals for High School, College Admissions, and Life (Psychology Today, September 7, 2023

The documentary “Try Harder!” puts a spotlight on the college admissions journey for seniors at an elite San Francisco public high school.

Tune into my socials if you want quicker updates about my writing. Otherwise, I'll see you next month with the rest of the series on trauma and some special essays I'm working on for East Wind eZine.

Warmly,

Ravi