The Pacific Heart

This sonnet is also available in my book "Guns Are Not Our God! The NRA Is Not Our Church!" https://ravichandramd.com/portfolio/ganog/

"Word to the Universe" is a poem I wrote in 2003, and which is in my book "a fox peeks out - poems" - available on Amazon. "If it ain't all about poetry - why is it called the Uni-Verse?" :) https://www.amazon.com/fox-peeks-out-poems/dp/061553337X/

This is the podcast version of Dr. Ravi Chandra's talk at Tadaima 2023, "Treating America's #1 Addiction: Abusive Power." That presentation is available with the visual Keynote slides at https://youtu.be/9q4jQdb4jYg?si=gvvVbFFMhN9XkWTC. Associated blogposts will be published at Psychology Today and East WInd eZine on October 9, 2023. Abusive Power and Megalomania Perpetuate American Trauma | Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pacific-heart/202310/abusive-power-and-megalomania-perpetuate-american-trauma and MOSF 18.10: Treating America’s #1 Addiction: Abusive Power https://eastwindezine.com/mosf-18-10-treating-americas-1-addiction-abusive-power/ More about Dr. Chandra at https://linktr.ee/ravichandramd

This episode of The Pacific Heart Podcast features the host, Dr. Ravi Chandra's, conversation at Tadaima 2022. Tadaima is the online Japanese American Pilgrimage held each October. Our discussion, titled “Speaking Out and Calling In with Bravery and Humility: A Conversation with Dr. Ravi Chandra,” was moderated by organizer Julie Abo, and included her mother, Mary Abo, who was incarcerated as a child, and Mike Ishii and Rikio Inouye, both activists and scholars in the Japanese American community. I was invited to be on the panel because of my long history with the Japanese American community, and because of two articles I’d recently written. The first, on Psychology Today, was about humility, and was recently republished by The Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. The second, at East Wind eZine, questioned the “good heartedness” of Trump supporters and their opponents. Our YouTube conversation is linked below, and all these articles are linked in the associated Psychology Today blogpost, published October 5, 2023. Creating Transitional Spaces to Heal Intergenerational Trauma https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pacific-heart/202310/creating-transitional-spaces-to-heal-intergenerational-trauma

A conversation and commentary on feeling close, feeling angry, and finding belonging, particularly for the Asian American community, but for everyone. With Dr. Ravi Chandra, psychiatrist and writer in San Francisco. Companion blogpost at What Do We Feel When We Feel Close? The Dim Sum Dialogues | Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pacific-heart/202309/what-do-we-feel-when-we-feel-close-the-dim-sum-dialogues . More details at https://linktr.ee/ravichandramd

Dr. Ravi Chandra of SF Love Dojo (https://sflovedojo.org) offers a teaching and meditation about allyship. Included in the meditation is a version of the Mindful Self-Compassion break, part of the MSC program pioneered by Christopher Germer and Kristin Neff. More on Ravi Chandra's work and writing at https://RaviChandraMD.com. East Wind articles at https://eastwindezine.com/tag/memoirs-of-a-superfan/

July 30, 2020. This edited video contains only Dr. Ravi Chandra's remarks at a 90 minute Mindful Self Compassion Teacher' Forum, sponsored by the Center for Mindful Self Compassion (https://centerformsc.org). The last segment includes the poem 'mudfire', written about one month after the police murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020. 'mudfire' was supported by a Individual Artists Commission grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission. Note: I did accidentally leave out one example of our international philosophies of interdependence - the Ubuntu proverb from Africa, "people become people through other people." Video at https://youtu.be/j1AjD22JSlo May all merit from these remarks go towards the alleviation of suffering, and to the transformation of the web of trauma into a web of healing. Words: Jeong - 'just as the mind is not separate from the body, so the self is not separate from other selves' (Korean) (also imbued with a sense of permeating love, compassion and connection for and with all beings) Han - a deeply felt sense of collective suffering and oppression (Korean) Umami - the fifth flavor, making food more tasty and delicious. (Japanese) Here, the "extra ingredient" of love, friendliness and compassion that make inner life and relatedness more "tasty and delicious". I continue to cultivate umami with Mindful Self Compassion, Compassion Cultivatiion Training (https://www.compassioninstitute.com) and practices from the Buddhist tradition. More on Ravi Chandra at https://ravichandramd.com, and more on his compassion organization at https://www.sflovedojo.org

Tokyo Crows. See the movie Tokyo Waka by John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson http://www.stylofilms.com/tokyowaka.html and the book Facebuddha: Transcendence in the Age of Social Networks for more on crows. https://www.facebuddha.co

A recording of birds in Usuki, Japan, on repeat.

July 22, 2020. Dr. Ravi Chandra is interviewed by graduate student Maud Hu on whether racism should be considered a mental illness. The corresponding blogpost in Psychology Today is "After Charlottesville: Is Racism a Mental Illness?" from August 15, 2017. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pacific-heart/201708/after-charlottesville-is-racism-mental-illness For more on Dr. Chandra, see www.RaviChandraMD.com and www.sfpsychiatry.com, and for more on his compassion organization, see www.sflovedojo.org

July 16, 2020. Dr. Ravi Chandra leads a guided meditation on working with the distress of these troubled times, from the grief and distress of COVID-19, to the surfacing wounds of racism. Working on these with the tools of mindfulness, compassion and relationship. For more videos see www.sflovedojo.org. For Dr. Chandra's writing, see www.RaviChandraMD.com. Leave a comment and please share if you like. @going2peace on Twitter. “We’re all on our own journeys in life. May our journeys touch in fruitful ways.” — Ravi Chandra, M.D.

July 11, 2020. Dr. Ravi Chandra speaks at an event organized by the Oakland Asian Cultural Center and Eastwind Books of Berkeley. More at https://ravichandramd.com and https://www.sflovedojo.org/videos/. This video presents only Dr. Chandra's portion. The complete panel should be available at Eastwind Books website or YouTube channel soon.

Dr. Ravi Chandra discusses some psychological and historical reasons racism particularly impacts Asian Americans, and some possible remedies. For more on Dr. Chandra and to subscribe to his newsletter - https://ravichandramd.com For more videos - https://www.sflovedojo.org/videos/

Dr. Ravi Chandra discusses some psychological and historical reasons racism particularly impacts Asian Americans, and some possible remedies. For more on Dr. Chandra and to subscribe to his newsletter - https://ravichandramd.com For more videos - https://www.sflovedojo.org/videos/

April 25, 2020. Dr. Ravi Chandra discusses coping with loneliness during COVID-19. For more on Dr. Chandra, see https://ravichandramd.com, and for the video versions and more publicly accessible material, see https://www.sflovedojo.org/videos/

April 25, 2020. Meditation session with Dr. Ravi Chandra (https://ravichandramd.com). For video, see https://www.sflovedojo.org/videos/

April 11, 2020. Dr. Ravi Chandra leads a brief lovingkindness meditation. More videos at https://www.sflovedojo.org/videos/. More on Dr. Ravi Chandra at https://ravichandramd.com.

March 28, 2020. What's the difference between empathy and compassion? How to work with the contagious anxiety that health care providers might feel when treating patients? Also, a description and guided meditation for active compassion, or tonglen (Tibetan). For more videos and to sign up for future Zoom or in-person sessions, go to https://www.sflovedojo.org

March 28, 2020. A brief discussion of using the vulnerability and uncertainty of these times to develop compassion. Includes a mindful self-compassion break and a framing of exploring emotions with kindness to understand needs. Sign up for a newsletter to hear about future Contagious Compassion Zoom Sessions or in-person compassion workshops at https://www.sflovedojo.org

March 28, 2020. A brief guided meditation on settling the mind and transforming the breath. Sign up for a newsletter to hear about future Contagious Compassion Zoom Sessions or in-person compassion workshops at https://www.sflovedojo.org

Dr. Satsuki Ina was born in the Tule Lake Segregation, a maximum security American concentration camp during WWII. She says she was born "doing time." She has dedicated her career to understanding and healing the effects of this collective and historical trauma on Japanese Americans. She is a co-organizer of Tsuru for Solidarity (https://tsuruforsolidarity.org and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/TsuruForSolidarity), which is working to end detention sites and to support front-line immigrant and refugee communities that are being targeted by racist, inhumane immigration policies. The vulnerable people in detention sites are likely to be heavily affected by coronavirus, and Dr. Ina also reflects on how infectious disease affected incarcerated Japanese Americans. She was interviewed by Dr. Ravi Chandra (https://ravichandramd.com) by Skype on March 25, 2020. (Photo credit: Kiyoshi Ina.) Related blogpost at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pacific-heart/202004/dr-satsuki-ina-migrant-detention-racism-and-covid19

The Brown Club of Greater San Francisco hosted Professor Rose McDermott on March 4, 2020 to discuss “Leadership and the Strategic Emotional Manipulation of Political Identity.” McDermott is the David and Mariana Fisher University Professor of International Relations at Brown University and a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She works in the areas of political psychology, and has published many research articles and three books, on political psychology, risk-taking by leaders, and the effects of presidential illness on decision-making. Ravi Chandra, M.D. moderated a Q and A after her talk.

September 16, 2019. Dr. Ravi Chandra speaks about maintaining compassion in difficult times. "Compassion is how we do human!" Video of lecture series at https://ravichandramd.com/portfolio/sf-love-dojo-2019-lecture-series/ Anyone can be a friendly, compassionate neighborhood webslinger to turn the web of trauma into a web of healing.

October 28, 2019. Dr. Ravi Chandra delivers a talk on narcissism, relatedness, technology and power in the American psyche. Complete lecture series available as audio here, or as video on YouTube at https://ravichandramd.com/portfolio/sf-love-dojo-2019-lecture-series/

October 21, 2019. Dr. Ravi Chandra delivers a talk on cyberbullying and youth mental health. Complete lecture series available as audio here, or as video on YouTube at https://ravichandramd.com/portfolio/sf-love-dojo-2019-lecture-series/

October 14, 2019. Dr. Ravi Chandra delivers a talk on Internet Addiction. Complete lecture series available as audio here, or as video on YouTube at https://ravichandramd.com/portfolio/sf-love-dojo-2019-lecture-series/

October 9, 2019. Dr. Ravi Chandra delivers a talk on Narcissism in the American Psyche. Complete lecture series available as audio here, or as video on YouTube at https://ravichandramd.com/portfolio/sf-love-dojo-2019-lecture-series/

September 30, 2019. Dr. Ravi Chandra delivers a talk on Asian American women's psychology. Complete lecture series available as audio here, or as video on YouTube at https://ravichandramd.com/portfolio/sf-love-dojo-2019-lecture-series/

September 23, 2019. Dr. Ravi Chandra delivers a talk on Asian American Men's psychology. Complete lecture series available as audio here, or as video on YouTube at https://ravichandramd.com/portfolio/sf-love-dojo-2019-lecture-series/

September 11, 2019. Dr. Ravi Chandra delivers a talk on Mindful Self Compassion. Complete lecture series available as audio here, or as video on YouTube at https://ravichandramd.com/portfolio/sf-love-dojo-2019-lecture-series/

(Apologies for occasional buzzing on audio.) On October 9, 2019, the Brown Club of San Francisco convened a panel of local alumni experts on homelessness. Genevieve Herreria, Federal Compliance Officer with the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing (HSH) moderated a fantastic panel discussion on Homelessness for the Brown Club of San Francisco on October 2nd, 2019. Panelists included fellow Brown University alums Lindsay Haddix, (Principal Real Estate Analyst with the HSH), Michael Santos (Registered Legal Services Attorney with Bay Area Legal Aid's Housing Unit on Eviction Defense), Lara Tannenbaum (Manager of Community Housing Services, Human Services Department for the City of Oakland) and Cody Zeger (former Program Associate for the Chronic Homelessness Initiative at Tipping Point Community, and graduate student at UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy). Related blogpost at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-pacific-heart/201910/homelessness-in-the-american-psyche

At Marin MOCA through September 15th, 2019, is is Hungry Ghosts: Exploring the Intersections Between Chronic Heartache and Resilience Through Art, curated by A Place of Her Own art project founder Cynthia Tom and Maggie Yee. Here is the gallery talk by most of the artists, more information at www.aplaceofherown.org/current-exhibit. Image - detail of "Where the Light Enters You" by Frances Cachapero.

Former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim moderates a discussion with author Jeff Chang, filmmaker Bao Nguyen, showrunner Kimmie Kim, and community activist Isaiah after the screening of ITVS-backed web series WE GON' BE ALRIGHT at #CAAMFest37 in San Francisco. Watch the four episodes online, links at https://caamedia.org/blog/2019/05/14/memoirs-of-a-superfan-volume-14-7-caamfest-a-policy-makers-package-of-films-for-empathy/. Topics include homelessness, affordable housing, racism, affirmative action, media representations and identity.

Hao Wu sat down with Ravi Chandra during #CAAMFest37 to discuss his short documentary now on Netflix, ALL IN MY FAMILY, which deals with his connection and conflict with his family in China as he has children with his Chinese American husband. We explore gay rights and generational change in Mainland China among other topics. See the transcript at https://caamedia.org/blog/2019/05/16/memoirs-of-a-superfan-volume-14-8-director-hao-wu-on-all-in-my-family-and-gay-rights-in-china/

Susan Lieu's one woman show "140 lbs: How Beauty Killed My Mother" is touring, soon to be at #CAAMFest37 and at The Marsh in SF. Ravi Chandra sat down with her on April 22, 2019 to discuss the show, mental health, medical negligence and body image. Read an edited transcript at https://caamedia.org/blog/2019/04/29/memoirs-of-a-superfan-volume-14-2-susan-lieu-and-140-lbs-how-beauty-killed-my-mother/

Ravi Chandra, M.D. sits down with Sally Wen Mao to discuss her new book OCULUS, which explores the psyche and strivings of Asian and Asian American women across two centuries, from Afong Moy to Anna May Wong to Daul Kim, as well as addressing artists such as Nam June Paik. This is a must-read poetry book for the Asian American experience. Recorded March 15, 2019 in San Francisco. More at www.sallywenmao.com and www.ravichandramd.com. Transcribed interview at https://caamedia.org/blog/2019/04/02/memoirs-of-a-superfan-vol-14-1-sally-wen-mao-anna-may-wong-and-oculus/ #caamfest

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at https://ravichandramd.com/36-views-of-san-francisco-artists-statement/

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com

36 Views of San Francisco is a 2018 poetry and photography project by Ravi Chandra. The poems and photographs can be found on the blog at www.RaviChandraMD.com