Revisiting Sister Dang Nghiem: Using Mindfulness to Reclaim Your Power and Heal Trauma

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.