CIIS Public Programs

On each Tuesday of this month, in celebration of Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander voices, we are revisiting conversations from our archives that feature AAPI writers, thinkers, artists, and healers. Today we are revisiting an episode recorded in October 2016 featuring author and hip hop journalist Jeff Chang in conversation with novelist and poet Adam Mansbach on the cultural history—and future—of race in America. Because CIIS' history and identity is indebted to the wisdom traditions of Asian cultures, we are particularly called upon to stand in solidarity with the AAPI community. We share in the feelings of helplessness and grief of this moment, and there is nothing that we can say or do that will change the loss of life or the historical legacy of anti-Asian violence in the United States. We hope that in hearing these episodes—again or for the first time—listeners are provided opportunities for connection and healing. This episode contains explicit language. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

Joy and resilience: we need both to thrive. But even though resilience is rightly buzzing as a self-care goal, we live in a world that makes it attainable to some and inaccessible to others. In her latest book, Joyous Resilience: A Path to Individual Healing and Collective Thriving in an Inequitable World, Pakistani American Clinical therapist Anjuli Sherin offers a culturally informed, body-centered model of healing accompanied by the compelling and diverse stories of Black, POC, LGBTQIA+, Immigrant, and other marginalized people, who found ways to thrive and embrace joy using this model to heal intergenerational and collective trauma. In this episode, Monique LeSarre, executive director of Rafiki Coalition joins Anjuli for a moving and joyful conversation about her work as a therapist and the lessons she shares in Joyous Resilience. This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 26, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.

On each Tuesday of this month, in celebration of Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander voices, we are revisiting conversations from our archives that feature AAPI writers, thinkers, artists, and healers. Today we are revisiting a conversation from October 2020 featuring journalists Angela Chen and Sabrina Imbler speaking about Angela’s book Ace, what it means to be asexual in a world that’s obsessed with sexual attraction, and what the ace perspective can teach all of us about desire and identity. Because CIIS' history and identity is indebted to the wisdom traditions of Asian cultures, we are particularly called upon to stand in solidarity with the AAPI community. We share in the feelings of helplessness and grief of this moment, and there is nothing that we can say or do that will change the loss of life or the historical legacy of anti-Asian violence in the United States. We hope that in hearing these episodes—again or for the first time—listeners are provided opportunities for connection and healing. A transcript of this episode is available at ciispod.com.

There’s much more to astrology than weekly horoscopes, personality types, and predictions for the future. For astrologer and transformational coach Jennifer Racioppi, it is a guide to living in sync with the natural rhythms of the universe to achieve optimal health and success. In this episode, Jennifer is joined in conversation with meditation guide and author Rebekah “Bex” Borucki. They discuss Jenifer's book, Cosmic Health, and explore how living in sync with the natural universe and understanding the connection between astrology, health, and evidence-based personal development practices, can support optimal health and personal transformation. This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 24, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.

In her work, racial justice educator Rachel Ricketts has developed heart-centered and mindfulness-based practices to dismantle white supremacy by addressing anti-racism from a comprehensive, intersectional, and spiritually aligned perspective. In this episode, A-Ian Holt, director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford joins Rachel for a conversation about her latest book, Do Better, an actionable guidebook and a loving, assertive call to do the deep—and often uncomfortable—inner work that precipitates much-needed external and global change. This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 18, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.

To create a world free from oppression, we have to come face to face with the beliefs, stories, and actions that maintain these systems within ourselves. In Indigenous cultures throughout the world, it's understood that true transformation starts in the body, with a change of heart. But how can we create a new story of transformation and liberation in the world if we haven't learned to heal our own stories? In this episode, author and shamanic healer Langston Kahn is joined by energy worker and spiritual practitioner Maryam Hasnaa for a deep conversation exploring how we can address the root of past trauma and heartbreak to reclaim our personal and collective power. This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on January 26, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.

Whether we feel unworthy, alienated, or anxious about our place in the world, the absence of belonging is the great silent wound of our times. In this episode, award-winning author, teacher, and dreamworker Toko-pa Turner and licensed psychotherapist and CIIS Faculty Rachael Vaughan have a nourishing conversation about what it means to belong and the power of our dreams. This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 9, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.

Author, Black feminist, and social justice activist adrienne maree brown has been talking, writing, and celebrating the intersection of pleasure and activism since her much-lauded 2019 book, Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good. In this episode, CIIS professor and restorative justice expert sonya shah joins adrienne for a powerful and joyful conversation exploring how to tap into the full spectrum of our sensual desires and emotional needs while organizing for justice. This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on February 12, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.

We all recognize we are living in the midst of a major threshold of transformation, a profound drama facing the Earth community with tremendous consequences at stake. What are the deeper stirrings in the collective psyche today? What is the current planetary situation, and which gods are now in dynamic motion? In this episode, CIIS professor and cultural historian Richard Tarnas provides a state of the world report on the archetypal context of our national and global moment. This episode was recorded during a live online event on February 5, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.

Like many Americans, social psychologist Devon Price believed that productivity was the best way to measure self-worth. Dr. Price was an overachiever from the start, graduating from both college and graduate school early, but that success came at a cost. After Dr. Price was diagnosed with a severe case of anemia and heart complications from overexertion, they were forced to examine the darker side of all this productivity. Dr. Price began a thorough examination of what they call the “laziness lie”—which falsely tells us we are not working or learning hard enough. Their in-depth research revealed that people today do far more work than nearly any other humans in history, yet most of us still feel we are not doing enough. In this episode, CIIS Integral and Transpersonal Psychology program director Kendra Diaz-Ford joins Dr. Price in a conversation encouraging us all to let go of guilt, become more attuned to our own limitations and needs, and resist the pressures to meet outdated societal expectations. This episode was recorded during a live online event on January 28, 2021. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. You can also watch a recording of this and many more of our conversation events by searching for “CIIS Public Programs” on YouTube.