BLUE LIGHT DISCUSSION- Election Connection, Wednesday, November 13, 630p

This will be a space for us to come together, support each other, and reflect on the recent election. We'll focus on finding hope, compassion, curiosity, and reconnecting with ourselves. I hope you will join us.

For our October book club, we will read Mind Magic by James R. Doty, MD. 

A deep exploration of the neuroscience behind manifestation, with a six-part plan for realizing your dreams

For decades the practice of manifestation has been widely dismissed as self-involved, materialistic pseudoscience. But as neuroscientist and recognized compassion leader Dr. James Doty reveals, manifestation introduces us to different possibilities, and it lays the groundwork for a kinder, better world.

For our May book, we will read Somehow: Thoughts on Love by Anne Lamott. 

In Somehow: Thoughts on Love, Lamott explores the transformative power that love has in our lives: how it surprises us, forces us to confront uncomfortable truths, reminds us of our humanity, and guides us forward. "Love just won't be pinned down," she says. "It is in our very atmosphere" and lies at the heart of who we are. We are, Lamott says, creatures of love.In each chapter of Somehow, Lamott refracts all the colors of the spectrum.

BLUE LIGHT DISCUSSION- Synchronicity Wednesday, April 24, 630p

For our April Discussion will explore synchronicity, the "simultaneous occurrence of events which appear significantly related but have no discernible causal connection."  Do you think of synchronicities as coincidences, or as signs from the universe, or something in-between?  We'll gather together to share personal stories of synchronicities/coincidences, and contemplate the value of seeing them as chance happenings versus assigning meaning to them in our lives.

Let’s face it: Recent years have been tough on optimists. Hopes that the Internet might bring people together have been crushed by the ills of social media. Is there a way back?

As head of TED, Chris Anderson has had a ringside view of the world’s boldest thinkers sharing their most uplifting ideas. Inspired by them, he believes that it’s within our grasp to turn outrage back into optimism. It all comes down to reimagining one of the most fundamental human virtues: generosity. What if generosity could become infectious generosity?

BLUE LIGHT DISCUSSION - Failure is Feedback
Wednesday, February 28, 6:30pm

We will discuss the idea that failure is feedback.  We will share an experience of perceived failure and discuss how the experience affected our life in the moment and in hindsight.  We will consider what we would have done differently, and how we might approach our next "perceived" failure with greater wisdom.  

For our January Book Club we will read The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen.

When the Rosens moved to New Rochelle in 1973, Jonathan Rosen and Michael Laudor became inseparable. Both children of college professors, the boys were best friends and keen competitors, and, when they both got into Yale University, seemed set to join the American meritocratic elite.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A practical, heartfelt guide to the art of truly knowing another person in order to foster deeper connections at home, at work, and throughout our lives--from the author of The Road to Character and The Second Mountain

As David Brooks observes, "There is one skill that lies at the heart of any healthy person, family, school, community organization, or society: the ability to see someone else deeply and make them feel seen--to accurately know another person, to let them feel valued, heard, and understood."

BLUE LIGHT DISCUSSION - Hey, America, Grow Up.
Wednesday, Oct 18, 6:30pm

We will discuss the recent NY Times Opinion by David Brooks titled Hey, America, Grow Up.

For our next book club on Wednesday, September 27, 630p, we will read The Lost Sons of Omaha: Two Young Men in an American Tragedy by Joe Sexton.

On May 30, 2020, in Omaha, Nebraska, amid the protests that rocked our nation after George Floyd's death at the hands of police, thirty-eight-year-old white bar owner and Marine veteran Jake Gardner fatally shot James Scurlock, a twenty-two-year-old Black protestor and young father.

For our next book club on Wednesday, 6/28 at 630p ET, we will discuss The Urge: Our History of Addiction by Carl Erik Fisher.

Even after a decades-long opioid overdose crisis, intense controversy still rages over the fundamental nature of addiction and the best way to treat it.

Our next discussion will be a workshop.  We will take an hour to identify the values that shape who we are.  If you've never sat down and identified your core values, you don't want to miss this opportunity--being able to easily articulate your core values will make you a better partner, friend, parent, worker, and decision-maker; and it will bring clarity to why you like or don't like certain people, places and things.    

For our April book club on Wednesday, 5/3 at 630p ET, we will discuss Awe by Dacher Keltner.

Awe is mysterious. How do we begin to quantify the goose bumps we feel when we see the Grand Canyon, or the utter amazement when we watch a child walk for the first time?

How are our standards and expectations shaped and held?  What role do they play in our lives?  What would our lives look like without them?  Do expectations and standards change over time?  Why or why not?  How do standards and expectations affect our realities and experiences?  Are your expectations/standards high or low?  

For our February book club on Wednesday, 2/22 at 630p ET, we will discuss An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us by Ed Yong

We will start the new year with a discussion on introspection on Wednesday, January 28, at 6:30pm ET.  We get so caught up in setting goals and resolutions for the future; instead of looking ahead, let's take an hour together on Wednesday January 18 at 630PM ET to look at our past and what we learned in 2022.  Please come with a journal and pen, ready to reflect.  Let's use our experiences to help us make good choices in the year ahead.

For our December book club on Wednesday, 12/14 at 630p ET, we will discuss The Choice: Embrace the Possible by Edith Eva Eger:

On 11/16, we will discuss The Dimensions of Gender: An Evolving Discourse

For our October book club on Wednesday, 10/19 at 630p ET, we will discuss Paul Kalanithi's memoir When Breath Becomes Air.

On 9/21, we will discuss the importance of movement in our lives--why we move and how movement enhances our lives rather just improving them.

For our July book club, we are discussing The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World by Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, July 18 at 630p ET.

What stories do you believe about your body? How have these stories changed over the years? What narratives are yours truly? Which stories did you inherit? Which stories hurt? Which stories feel good? What evidence do you need to uphold/bust your stories?

For our May book club, we are discussing The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman.

In this Blue Light Discussion, we will discuss Brene Brown's 2-part discussion with James Clear about his book Atomic Habits.

For our March book club, we are discussing The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson.

In this Blue Light Discussion, we will gather together to check in with our mental health in these ongoing difficult time. I hope you will join us.

FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR NONFICTION

This evocative memoir of food and family history is "somehow both mouthwatering and heartbreaking... [and] a potent personal history" (Shelf Awareness).

In this Blue Light Discussion, we will discuss the Huberman Lab podcast in which Dr. Huberman interviews Dr. Anna Lembke, MD, Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Lembke is a psychiatrist expert in treating addictions of all kinds: drugs, alcohol, food, sex, video games, gambling, food, medication, etc. Dr. Lembke is also an expert in the opioid crisis and the author of Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence.

In our next Blue Light Book Club, we will be discussing the book Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It will be held on Wednesday, November 17, at 6:30pm.

In this Blue Light Discussion, we will dive into the feeling guilt. We will consider how feeling guilty is healthy as well as when the emotion gets in our way. We will touch on how the emotion is different than shame and why; and we will consider the role guilt has played in our lives since the pandemic began.