How Thinking About Your Ancestors Can Help You Thrive
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\n\nhttps://ggsc.berkeley.edu/podcasts/habits
\n\nWe explore how contemplating our heritage can make us feel more belonging, gratitude, and confidence in what we're capable of achieving.
\n\nLink to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/5djerhbj
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Episode summary:
\n\nOral historian Mi'Jan Celie Tho-Biaz knows the profound impact the past can have on the present. For our show, Mi\u2019Jan tried a lab-tested writing practice that took the historical facts she knew about her own family further \u2013 by way of her imagination. She journaled about her great-great grandmother Emma, the last enslaved person in her family, and her late father, Njoroge , imagining what they might say to her today.We also hear from psychologist\xa0 Susan Moore about how learning about your ancestors can help you feel a sense of self-knowledge, gratitude and belonging.
\n\nPractice:
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Imagine an ancestor in your family lineage. It can be someone you have known or someone from centuries ago.
\nSpend the next 5-15 minutes writing about them. If you don\u2019t know the details, imagine how their life would have been. Write down anything that comes to mind such as their way of life, their profession or what they looked like.
\nNext imagine what they would tell you if they were alive today. What specific insights, advice or feedback would they give you? Write down your reflections.
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Today\u2019s guests:
\n\nMi'Jan Celie Tho-Biaz is an artist, documentarian and oral historian.
\n\nLearn more about Mi\u2019Jan Celie Tho-Biaz\u2019s work: http://tinyurl.com/5e8t9ha7
\n\nFollow Mi\u2019Jan on Instagram: http://tinyurl.com/mr3yp3kz
\n\nSusan Moore is a psychology professor at the Swinburne University of Technology.
\n\nFollow Susan on Twitter:http://tinyurl.com/mr3vsr2k
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Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:
\n\nHow Teens Today Are Different from Past Generations: http://tinyurl.com/y5ffwavr
\n\nDon\u2019t Be So Quick to Stereotype Generations: http://tinyurl.com/mrxx7xfj
\n\nHow Collective Trauma Can Hurt the Next Generation: http://tinyurl.com/2vunsm2z
\n\nFind Purpose by Connecting Across Generations: http://tinyurl.com/h4yyjesh
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More Resources on Connecting with Ancestors:
\n\nNPR- 8 listeners share the powerful ways they keep in touch with their ancestors: http://tinyurl.com/48kjmenk
\n\nHarvard - How Family History Can Inspire Accountable Reparations and Foster Ancestral Healing: http://tinyurl.com/ta24x773
\n\nTED - How to be a good ancestor: http://tinyurl.com/54zvkzsv
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How do you connect with your family history? Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
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