CIIS Public Programs

It is well known that mental healthcare and therapy are not systems that are readily accessible to everyone, especially those from marginalized communities. Created and maintained by white men, most traditional therapeutic practices do not address systematic oppression, ancestral trauma, LGTBQIA+ mental health and wellness, and the general mental, emotional, or physical plight of BIPOC and marginalized communities. Psychologist and CIIS alumni Dr. Jennifer Mullan has spent much of her career addressing these inequities and providing spaces for healing through the use of decolonizing practices like centralizing historical and intergenerational trauma, which she identifies as ancestral trauma. In this episode, educator and sexologist Bianca Laureano joins Dr. Mullan for a warm and powerful conversation exploring how we can tend to our emotional and mental health while also holding systemic oppression accountable. This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 11, 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 CIIS Integrative Health Studies Professor Megan Lipsett’s conversation with mindfulness teacher Sister Dang Nghiem recorded in January 2021. Megan talks with Sister D about her work, which brings together her experience as a survivor, certified MD, and ordained Buddhist teacher to offer a body-based, practical approach to healing from life’s most difficult and painful experiences. 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 includes a brief guided meditation led by Sister D. It also contains mentions of abuse, trauma, and violence. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

The field of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy has been growing rapidly in recent years with decriminalization efforts moving forward on local, state, and federal levels. Ketamine was first developed in the 1960s as a surgical anesthetic for humans. In recent years, it was discovered that ketamine also has rapid acting anti-depressant and anti-obsessional properties. In this episode, clinician and CIIS professor Gisele Fernandes-Osterhold has a conversation with psychologist Raquel Bennett about her experience working as a ketamine specialist over the past 19 years and the exploding field of therapeutic ketamine. This episode was recorded during a live online event on March 4, 2021. A transcript and additional reference materials mentioned in this episode are 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 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.

Born in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, mindfulness teacher Sister Dang Nghiem (Sister D)is an inspiration for anyone who has ever suffered from abuse, life-changing loss, severe illness, or the aftermath of war. Her work brings together her experience as a survivor, certified MD, and ordained Buddhist teacher to offer a body-based, practical approach to healing from life’s most difficult and painful experiences. In this episode, CIIS Integrative Health Studies Professor Megan Lipsett talks with Sister D about her life, her work, and her newest book to learn how the practice of mindfulness can help us access our strength as survivors and tap into the joy of being alive. This episode includes a brief guided meditation lead by Sister D. It was recorded during a live online event on January 21, 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. CONTENT ADVISORY: This episode contains mentions of abuse, trauma, and violence.

Considered one of the leaders of a current generation of Buddhist teachers, Lama Rod Owens is a Buddhist minister, author, activist, and an authorized Lama—or Buddhist teacher—in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. Through his writings, teachings, and travels Lama Rod invites everyone into his life intersections as a Black, queer male who was born and raised in the South, and heavily influenced by the church and its community. In this episode, Lama Rod is joined by Executive Director of the Counter Narrative Project, Charles Stephens, for a conversation about how unmetabolized anger—and the grief, hurt, and transhistorical trauma beneath it—needs to be explored, respected, and fully embodied to heal from heartbreak and begin to walk the path of liberation. This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on January 14, 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.

Chef extraordinaire and popular TV host Martin Yan has spent decades promoting Chinese and pan-Asian cuisines on his popular TV show Yan Can Cook. Passionate about cooking as well as its benefits for health and wellbeing, Chef Yan is known world-wide for celebrating Chinese and Asian cuisines and cultures, encouraging home cooks to explore these important and delicious foodways. In this episode, clinical medical anthropologist Dr. Meg Jordan joins Chef Yan for an entertaining and illuminating conversation and cooking demonstration exploring Traditional Chinese Medicine, food, and wellbeing. This episode was recorded during a live online event on January 12, 2021. A transcript as well as recipes described by Chef Yan in this episode are 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.

Five years ago, author and journalist Lauren Martin had a good job in New York, an apartment in Brooklyn, and a boyfriend she loved, but she was wrestling with feelings of inferiority, anxiety, and irritability. She began to figure out why she was having these negative emotions and how to control them by posting her thoughts and questions online, a project which soon became the popular online platform Words of Women, a space for women to share their experiences and advice. Ultimately Lauren discovered how to take all her moods, the highs and lows, and regain control. Her research into these negative emotions culminated in her latest book, The Book of Moods. In this episode CIIS faculty Christine Brooks talks with Lauren about learning to move through negative emotions and embrace all moods, good and bad. This episode was recorded during a live online event on December 8, 2020. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

This week, we are revisiting an episode originally recorded early in the COVID-19 pandemic during one of our first live streaming online events on April 23rd, 2020. In this episode, CIIS professor and renowned scholar Richard Tarnas shares astrological insights into the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, which he describes as “a time in which there are volcanically intense evolutionary pressures for the radical reconfiguration of all life’s structures.” Richard will be joining us live online again this year on February 5th for a sequel talk on the current state of our world and the planets in 2021. For event details and registration, visit our online winter season brochure at ciispublicevents.com. A transcript of this episode is available at ciispod.com.

This week, we are revisiting an episode from our archives featuring a conversation with neuroscientist Matthew Walker about his groundbreaking exploration of sleep and its transformative power to change our lives for the better. This episode was originally recorded live with an in-person audience on October 9th, 2017. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

This week, we are revisiting an episode from our archives featuring a conversation with astrologer Jessica Lanyadoo about self-compassion, astrology, and why you should never look at your crush’s chart. This episode was originally recorded live with an in-person audience on March 20th, 2019. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

This week, we are revisiting an episode from our archives featuring a conversation with journalist Celeste Headlee exploring ways to have meaningful conversations in a politically and socially polarized time. This episode was originally recorded live with an in-person audience on February 22nd, 2018. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

What exactly is sexual attraction and what is it like to go through life not experiencing it? What does asexuality reveal about gender roles, romance and consent, and the pressures of society? In her latest book, Ace, journalist Angela Chen set out to further understand her own asexuality by examining the perspectives of a diverse group of asexual people. In this episode, Angela is joined by journalist Sabrina Imbler for a conversation about 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. This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 29, 2020. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

One of the most distinguished voices in American literature, Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and poet N. Scott Momaday has devoted much of his life to celebrating and preserving Native American culture, especially its oral tradition. A member of the Kiowa tribe who was born and grew up on Indian reservations throughout the Southwest, Dr. Momaday has a deep attachment to the land he knows well and loves deeply. In his latest book, Earth Keeper: Reflections on an American Land, Dr. Momaday reflects on his native ground and its influence on his people and the person that he is. In this episode, Indigenous scholar and activist Melissa Nelson talks with Dr. Momaday about his life, his work, and the importance of remembering that the Earth is a sacred place of wonder and beauty; a source of strength and healing that must be protected before it’s too late. Dr. Momaday reminds us that we must all be keepers of the Earth. This episode was recorded during a live online event on November 12, 2020. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

This week, we are revisiting an episode from our archives featuring a conversation about food, family, and more with author and chef Nik Sharma originally recorded on December 4th, 2018 in front of a live audience at CIIS. We recognize that our university’s building in San Francisco occupies traditional, unceded Ramaytush Ohlone lands. If you are interested in learning more about native lands, languages, and territories, the website native-land.ca is a helpful resource for you to learn about and acknowledge the Indigenous land where you live. Visit ciispod.com for a transcript of this episode.

Rick Doblin, founder and executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), has been a relentless advocate for developing legal contexts for the beneficial uses of psychedelics paired with psychotherapy for decades. In this episode, licensed psychotherapist and CIIS assistant professor Gisele Fernandes has a fascinating conversation with Rick about the future of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Diving into his vast knowledge of the science of psychedelics, Rick discusses how drugs such as LSD, psilocybin, and MDMA affect your brain. He shares how, when paired with psychotherapy, psychedelics could change the way we treat PTSD, depression, substance abuse, and more. This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 23, 2020. A transcript is available at ciispod.com. CONTENT ADVISORY This episode contains references to the existence of traumatic events such as assault, rape, and suicide.

As a body justice advocate and leader Dr. Joy Arlene Renee Cox believes that the spaces carved out by third-wave feminism and the fat liberation movement fail at achieving true inclusivity and intersectionality. She believes that fat Black women need to create their own safe spaces and community—instead of tirelessly working to educate, chastise, and strive against dominant groups. Dr. Cox’s latest book, Fat Girls in Black Bodies: Creating Communities of Our Own, breaks down the myths, stereotypes, tropes, and outright lies we’ve been sold about race, body size, belonging, and health. In this episode, educator and sexologist Bianca I. Laureano talks with Dr. Cox about rejecting the myths and lies that hold back fat Black women, and ways for their communities to flourish. This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 7, 2020. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

Both science and philosophy have traditionally conceived of the self as though it were separate from the world. Italian philosopher, psychologist, and AI engineer Riccardo Manzotti asks us to consider consciousness in a radical new way: Our conscious experience is actually one and the same with the external world. In this unique conversation, philosopher Abre Fournier joins Riccardo as he offers an exploration of the nature of consciousness and our everyday life through Spread Mind Theory. This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 17, 2020. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

Shot at by police as an 11-year-old child for playing baseball in the wrong spot, as an adult Larry Ward continued to experience racialized trauma when his home was firebombed by racists. At Plum Village Monastery in France, he found a way to heal with his teacher, Vietnamese peace activist and Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. Now a Zen Buddhist teacher and author, Dr. Ward's work examines the causes and conditions that have led us to our current state, and he finds—hidden in the crisis—a profound opportunity to reinvent what it means to be a human being. This is an invitation to transform America’s racial karma. In this episode, Women's Spirituality Professor Alka Arora talks with Dr. Ward as he shares what he has learned through his own life and work, and invites us to transform our society and heal our racial karma. This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 6, 2020. A transcript is available at ciispod.com.

We live in a world where entitlement, incivility, and narcissism are incentivized. How do we learn to negotiate a world that often gaslights us and empowers the loudest and most toxic voices? In this episode, CIIS Community Mental Health professor and psychologist Elizabeth Markle has a conversation with psychologist and narcissism expert Dr. Ramani Durvasula exploring the new normal of narcissism and incivility and how to stay sane in a narcissistic world. This episode was recorded during a live online event on October 2, 2020. A transcript of this episode is available at ciispod.com.

In these pandemic times, and times of racial justice uprising and reckoning, the failure of U.S. and global health care systems to meet human need or to even ensure the basic safety of health care providers continues to be revealed. How did we get here? In this episode, CIIS Faculty and multi-sector social justice organizer Mordecai Ettinger offers an exploration of the hidden history of white supremacy and colonization embedded in the Medical Industrial Complex(MIC)—a web of institutions—from hospitals, dialysis centers, and nursing homes, to health insurers, big pharma, and the corporate polluters that they are entangled with. Mordecai addresses the myriad ways in which the MIC generates, perpetuates, and upholds ableism—particularly racialized medical ableism—as among the most dangerously violent and destructive forces of our times. Finally, Mordecai offers a vision for hope, a path forward for transforming the MIC and creating alternatives for health and healing, a crucial part of humanity’s collective liberation in which we all have a role to play. Visit ciispod.com for the transcript of this episode as well as additional resources. This episode was recorded during a live online event on September 30, 2020.

Mainstream feminists rarely talk about meeting basic needs as a feminist issue, but food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. All too often, however, the focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. In Mikki Kendall's latest book, Hood Feminism, she takes aim at the legitimacy of the modern feminist movement, arguing that it has chronically failed to address the needs of all but a few women. Drawing on her own experiences with hunger, violence, and hyper-sexualization, she delivers an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux and issues a ferocious clarion call to all would-be feminists. In this episode, psychologist and CIIS Professor Danielle Drake talks with Mikki about writing Hood Feminism, her life, and the lessons she has learned. This episode was recorded during a live online event on September 23, 2020.

We all tell ourselves stories about who we are. Many of these stories are self-critical and disempowering. Through the practice of self-compassion, we can rewrite these stories and become more authentic and powerful versions of ourselves—transforming not only our own lives but also the lives of those around us. For author Marianne Ingheim the practice of self-compassion changed her life in ways big and small, helping her unlearn harsh self-criticism, survive multiple tragedies, and live more authentically. In this episode, Integral Psychologist Kendra Diaz-Ford talks with Marianne about her experiences unlearning self-critical patterns in order to live a happier, more courageous life.

This week, we are showcasing selections from three previous episodes featuring California-based voices for change. We begin with Kazu Haga joined in February 2020 by CIIS professor and restorative justice expert Sonya Shah for a conversation about his life, his experiences utilizing Kingian Nonviolence, and his book, Healing Resistance. The second selection features Boots Riley, the writer and director of the movie Sorry To Bother You, and lead singer of The Coup discussing creativity and activism with Bay Area writer Chinaka Hodge live on stage in September 2018. We close the episode with an excerpt of an inspiring conversation recorded live in San Francisco in November 2019 featuring Dolores Huerta. Latinx studies professor Maria L. Quintana talked with Dolores about her life and work as a revolutionary and inspirational leader dedicated to activism, feminism, and the future of America. This episode contains explicit language.

In this episode Kirah Tabourn, educator, creator, and astrologer of THE STROLOGY, talks with Bay Area astrologer and medium Jessica Lanyadoo about her life and work, her book Astrology for Real Relationships, and how her book—and astrology more broadly—can be applied to a diverse set of relationships and our current times. This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on August 27, 2020.

Drawing on her decades of clinical experience with couples, and incorporating spiritual practices, social justice perspectives, current news stories, and neuro-scientific findings, Dr. Molly Howes has developed an unsparing, accessible and ultimately optimistic model for apologies. In this episode, Artificial Intelligence scientist and a Buddhist teacher Nikki Mirghafori talks with Dr. Howes about her work, her latest book, and how we can all learn to craft an effective apology. This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 20, 2020.

Sherri Mitchell (Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset) is a Native American attorney, teacher, and award-winning activist who grew up on the Penobscot Indian Reservation (Indian Island), Maine, and is the author of Sacred Instructions: Indigenous Wisdom for Living Spirit-Based Change. In this episode, she is joined in a conversation with healer and movement builder Brenda Salgado. Together they explore Native American mythology and cosmology as a means of healing our collective wounds. This episode was recorded during a live online event on August 1, 2020.

Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, viewing art is a creative act that can be a catalyst for inquiries into our world. In this episode, writer, artist, and curator Cindy Shearer explains how viewing artworks from the vantage point of its makers allows us to experience art-making from the inside out—drawing from what undergirds art in all forms as information and inspiration. This episode was recorded live in person in the Desai | Matta Gallery at CIIS on November 15, 2018.

Fifty years after meaningful efforts toward civil rights, the US remains overwhelmingly unjust. Our current solutions to make the world more equitable and just—from desegregation to diversity and representation—are not enough. In this episode, somatic psychologist Sherri Taylor talks with author Calvin Baker about his book A More Perfect Reunion, in which he presents a profound, masterful reading of US history from the colonial era forward, along with a trenchant critique of the obstacles in our current political and cultural moment. It is also a timely call to action. Calvin and Sherri's conversation reminds us that we live in a revolutionary democracy and that we are at a crucial moment to finish the revolution. This episode was recorded during a live online event on July 23, 2020.

As the first Latinx person to direct national domestic policy issues, Cecilia Muñoz knows the difficulties of getting ahead without trailblazers to follow. In her latest book, More than Ready, she offers lessons inspired by both the challenges she faced and the victories she achieved in the White House. Cecilia’s own life and work taught her tactical tools, tools that women of color can look to, and be inspired by, to reach unprecedented levels of power and success—without compromising who they are. In this episode, Sonia Mañjon, Executive Director of LeaderSpring Center, talks with Cecilia about working through fear, overcoming injustices, facing down detractors, and more. This episode was recorded during a live online event on July 9, 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to more fully reveal injustices, inequities, and imbalances that contribute to climate change, ecological degradation, and economic instability that threaten our individual and collective well-being. This potent time invites us to consider questions like: How can we cultivate individual, collective, and ecological resilience in this unstable new reality? What lessons does the pandemic offer for addressing climate change and human health? This episode features Natalie Metz, CIIS faculty in Professional Psychology and Health, and Elizabeth Allison, CIIS faculty in Religion and Ecology, in a conversation exploring connections between human health and the health of the planet. They discuss the current global narratives in medicine and climate change, and how each narrative relates to human and planetary health. Natalie and Elizabeth explore the microcosm and macrocosm of embodied health and the emergence of a new consciousness that embraces collective well-being. This episode was recorded during a live online event on June 18, 2020.

When facing anxiety, we usually try to make it go away. But what if this emotion was actually trying to help? According to empathy pioneer and author Karla McLaren, when we ignore or repress our anxiety, it can overwhelm us, but when we learn to welcome anxiety, we can access its remarkable gifts. In this episode, Karla is joined by licensed psychologist Elizabeth Markle for an in-depth conversation on anxiety as an essential source of foresight, intuition, and energy. Drawing from her latest book, Embracing Anxiety, Karla shares practices for befriending your anxiety at any level and illuminates how this vital emotion—when engaged wisely—can help you focus, plan, take action, and fulfill your goals. This episode was recorded during a live online event on June 24, 2020.

As social distancing becomes a new way of life, connecting with friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors can be difficult and stressful. Suddenly we find ourselves in a new social landscape at a time when we need our communities most. Many are experiencing feelings of isolation and depression. All over the world, from balcony sing-alongs to Zoom graduation parties, people are finding new ways to connect to each other. What does this new normal mean for our mental health? How can we cultivate, maintain, and grow our relationships in these difficult times? In this episode recorded during a live online conversation on June 11, 2020, CIIS faculty and therapist Christine Brooks and author of Millenneagram Hannah Paasch explore human connection in COVID-19 and beyond. They talk about connection at this time, drawing upon knowledge of the enneagram and other tools for understanding yourself and those around you.

As he approached his 30th birthday, Sopan Deb found comfort in his day job as a writer for the New York Times and as a practicing comedian. But his stage material highlighting his South Asian culture only served to mask the insecurities borne from his family history. Theirs was an ostensibly nuclear family without any of the familial bonds. In Sopan’s latest book, Missed Translations, he raises the essential questions: Is it ever too late to pick up the pieces and offer forgiveness? How do we build bridges where there was nothing before—and what happens to us, to our past and our future, if we don’t? In this episode, Alka Arora, Associate Professor of Women’s Spirituality at CIIS, talks with Sopan about the silence and ignorance that separate us, and the blood and stories that connect us. This episode was recorded during a live online conversation on June 3, 2020.

“Quit being a drop. Make yourself an ocean.” Rumi’s inspiring and deceptively simple poems have been called ecstatic, mystical, and devotional. For writer and activist Melody Moezzi, they became her lifeline. Melody’s latest book, The Rumi Prescription, follows her path of discovery as she translates Rumi’s works for herself, gaining wisdom and insight in the face of a creative and spiritual roadblock. In this episode, Professor and Co-Chair of CIIS’ Expressive Arts Therapy Program Shoshana Simons talks with Melody about her life and how the wisdom she found exploring Rumi can help us make sense of our modern lives. This episode contains explicit language. It was recorded during a live online event on May 20, 2020.

Activist and writer Kevin Powell has emerged as one of the most acclaimed voices in America today, tackling some of the biggest issues of our time through his writing and speaking. In this conversation with former CIIS School of Consciousness and Transformation Dean Kathy Littles recorded on October 15, 2018, Kevin shares his thoughts shortly after the publication of his most recent book My Mother. Barack Obama. Donald Trump. And the Last Stand of the Angry White Man.

What dreams might be taking root through this nightmare? How might works of cli-fi and other apocalyptic narratives help us prepare for our future and face our mounting anxieties? In this episode, therapist and cultural anthropologist Zara Zimbardo and narrative strategist and climate activist Patrick Reinsborough pose and explore questions like these and more as they deepen, sharpen, and expand upon their previous conversation titled Apocalypse Now. This episode was recorded on May 25, 2020 at Zara and Patrick’s home in Oakland, CA. While this conversation stands alone, it is a companion piece to their live online conversation recorded on May 13 2020. To hear that conversation, look for the episode titled Apocalypse Now in our feed or find it on our website at https://bit.ly/ApocalypseNowPod.

In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and #AmplifyMelanatedVoices, we are continuing to highlight conversations from our archives that feature black thinkers, activists, and writers. This week we are revisiting our first podcast, recorded on April 10, 2015, with public intellectual and world-renowned author of Race Matters, Dr. Cornel West. In this episode Dr. Cornel West is in conversation with former CIIS Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Denise Boston about the burdens black men carry in society. We hope that listening to this episode, and Revisiting Series as a whole, provides resources and connection in these transformative times. You can find all five of these episodes and more on the Recommended page at ciispod.com or by subscribing to this podcast.

In this episode recorded on February 8, 2019, world-renowned meditation teacher and New York Times bestselling author Sharon Salzberg is joined by AI scientist and contemplative teacher Nikki Mirghafori in a conversation on cultivating resilience, compassion, and clarity during difficult times.

In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and #AmplifyMelanatedVoices, this week we are highlighting four conversations from our archives that feature black thinkers, activists, and writers. Starting Thursday, June 4th through Sunday, June 7th, 2020 we are re-releasing conversations with Ijeoma Oluo, Damon Young, Joy DeGruy, and Angela Davis. We hope that listening to these episodes provides resources and connection in these transformative times. You can find all four episodes and more on the Recommended page at ciispod.com or by subscribing to this podcast. In this episode, activist, author, and former Black Panther Party member Angela Davis spoke with CIIS Professor Danielle Drake about her life and work at a live event recorded on April 13, 2018.

In solidarity with #BlackLivesMatter and #AmplifyMelanatedVoices, this week we are highlighting four conversations from our archives that feature black thinkers, activists, and writers. Starting Thursday, June 4th through Sunday, June 7th, 2020 we are re-releasing conversations with Ijeoma Oluo, Damon Young, Joy DeGruy, and Angela Davis. We hope that listening to these episodes provides resources and connection in these transformative times. You can find all four episodes and more on the Recommended page at ciispod.com or by subscribing to this podcast. In this episode, author Joy DeGruy was joined in conversation recorded on January 19, 2018 by former CIIS Dean of Diversity and Inclusion Denise Boston to explore how trans-generational trauma and systems of oppression influence race relations in America.