Badger Talks Quick Picks
How You See It Makes It Matter
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Talk description
Seeing the glass half full is associated with a longer and healthier life. Let’s explore how the mind has been conditioned and how it can change. Doing our own work can lead to a shift in perception that changes the type of neuropeptides the brain makes. Experiencing pro-social emotions like gratitude, not only narrows divides among people but influences the cells that determine health throughout the body. How you see it, makes it matter!
About the speaker
David Rakel, MD is a professor and chair of the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine and Community Health. Rakel founded the integrative health program (now known as the Osher Center for Integrative Health at University of Wisconsin-Madison). He is an author of both academic and popular writings and his 2018 book The Compassionate Connection focuses on how relationship-building can influence health outcomes.
Five Tips for Cultivating Happiness
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Talk description
Combining recent insights from the science of happiness with ancient wisdom, this talk will lay out the fundamentals of enduring happiness: what it is, what it isn’t…and how each of us can take simple steps to cultivate this most important life skill.
About the speaker
Pelin Kesebir is a social and personality psychologist specializing in the psychology of happiness.
She received her Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009, and has since published dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles on topics such as happiness, virtue, and existential psychology.
In her talks and workshops, Pelin aims to familiarize her audience with state-of-the-art scientific knowledge, while giving practical tips on how to apply that knowledge to achieve more satisfaction and well-being at home, at work and in one’s relationships.
Badger Talks Podcast
Easing eco-anxiety through guided meditation with Dekila Chungyalpa
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Podcast description
Buzz Kemper speaks with Dekila Chungyalpa, Director of the Loka Initiative, about utilizing meditation to ease climate and eco-anxiety.
About the speaker
Dekila is the founder and director of the Loka Initiative. She is an accomplished environmental program director, with 20+ years of experience in designing and implementing global conservation and climate strategies and projects. Known as an innovator in the environmental field, Dekila has expertise in faith-led environmental and climate partnerships, biodiversity landscape and river basin strategy design, and community-based conservation. She began her career in 2001 working on community-based conservation in the Eastern Himalayas and went on to work on climate adaptation and free flowing rivers in the Mekong region for the World Wildlife Fund in 2004. In 2008, she helped establish Khoryug, an association of over 50 Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and nunneries implementing environmental projects across the Himalayas under the auspices of His Holiness the Karmapa. In 2009, Dekila founded and led WWF Sacred Earth, a 5-year pilot program that built partnerships with faith leaders and religious institutions towards conservation and climate results in the Amazon, East Africa, Himalayas, Mekong, and the United States. She received the prestigious Yale McCluskey Award in 2014 for her work and moved to the Yale School of Environmental Studies as an associate research scientist, where she researched, lectured and designed the prototype for what is now the Loka Initiative. Dekila is originally from the Himalayan state of Sikkim in India and is of Bhutia origin.
Building a Gratitude Practice (Just in time for Thanksgiving!) with Dr. Mick Miyamoto
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Podcast description
Buzz talks with Dr. Mick Miyamoto, Former Interim Associate Dean of Students and Student Affairs Special Projects about how to build a gratitude practice and be present.
About the speaker
Dr. Mick Miyamoto recently retired following a 37-year career in student affairs that took him to several UW System campuses, including UW–River Falls, UW–La Crosse, and the University of Dubuque, where he spent nearly nine years as vice president and dean of student life. For the past four years, he served at his alma mater, UW–Madison, most recently as special projects coordinator for Student Affairs. A former football coach and art educator, Miyamoto earned his bachelor’s degree in art education and a master’s degree in college student personnel from UW–La Crosse and a Ph.D. in higher education administration from UW–Madison in 1993. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his warmth, compassion, and dedication to helping students grow into responsible and caring adults. Miyamoto’s philosophy centers on building relationships and helping young people through their psychosocial development. He has facilitated restorative justice circles for students, promoted mindfulness practices across campus, and emphasized the importance of being present and genuinely listening. Inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Hall of Fame in 2016, he has continued to mentor and inspire students, colleagues, and future Student Affairs leaders. In retirement, he plans to volunteer, create pottery, and spend time with his family.