“The first step of moral deliberation is to realize that ‘I don’t know exactly what the suffering is of people who I cannot see’, and listen, listen, listen. Discussion and storytelling are key elements of conflict prevention, and we can do this as a part of a moral awakening – an awakening to acquire a vision of something that we never have seen. Have the courage to be humble and recognize that we don’t know about everyone around us and we might be wrong in our preconceptions.” – Dr. RothbartOur society is faced with a multitude of ethical dilemmas stemming from the COVID-19 crisis, from the loss of life, economic recession, needs of healthcare workers, and social disconnection. In this week’s episode, Dr. Gopin interviews Dr. Dan Rothbart, professor of conflict analysis and resolution at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University and co-director of the Program on Prevention of Mass Violence. Dr. Rothbart assesses the current state of politicization of the COVID crisis and outlines an ethical process for a moral discussion and moral thinking. By listening to the suffering of others and learning about the different experiences around us, we can reach a state of balance to meet the needs of others with our own involvement. Humility is the path to wisdom. For more information on Dr. Rothbart, click here: https://bit.ly/2NJvmKqFollow us on Facebook: fb.me/MakingChangePodcastFor questions and comments, please reach out at makingchange.crdc@gmail.com

Making Change

Successfully Facing The Ethical Dilemmas Of The Covid Crisis

“I planted a rose bush near my mailbox several years ago. I thought it was a good idea at the time. It grew and got bigger, but when mail carriers would come by, the rose bush would prick them. So I eventually realized I had to take the rosebush down. I cut it down, but it came back. And every time I cut it down, it continued to come back. After time, I realized to cut down the manifestation of the rosebush, I had to get to the root. This is what we have done in America. We planted the issue of race, years ago, in the American psyche, and we utilized that to support the issue of slavery. Over time, the issue of race grew back, through slavery, the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the 1960s Civil Rights movement, and the prickly rose bush of race came back again and again. These bushes continue to prick us today and erode equality and justice for all. The solution is to solve the problem at its root.” – Rev. SadlerWe are at a moment in time where we can recreate our future. In this episode, Dr. Gopin interviews African American scholar, theologian and activist Reverend Dr. Rodney Sadler on transforming our racialized America. With personal insight and words of wisdom, Dr. Sadler reviews the past with America’s history of slavery and the present with protests sparked by the death of George Floyd and others. But he provides a hopeful outlook on the future with solutions to our racialized society, starting with the reimagination of the ideological issue of race itself.This conversation is meant for listeners of all backgrounds.For more information on Rev. Rodney Sadler, please visit https://bit.ly/2zOTbNEFor more information on U.S. massacres, visit https://bit.ly/2NuG7k1For more information on five other race massacres, visit https://bet.us/2YYUNNxQuestions and comments can be sent to makingchange.crdc@gmail.comCheck out our other episodes in Making Change: https://apple.co/2xF9bkdFollow us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3cwnDd8

A Conversation With African American Scholar, Theologian And Activist Reverend Dr. Rodney Sadler On Transforming America

Does it make the world a better or worse place when we attempt to truly understand people who do terrible things? We explore this with two contrasting examples - a reviewer who cannot stand a former extremist who is trying to live out a life against racism, versus the mind and creativity of the immortal James Baldwin and his portrayal in 1965 of brutal white racists who were tormenting and torturing innocent victims. Follow us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3cwnDd8For questions and comments, please reach out at makingchange.crdc@gmail.com

Is Empathy for a Bad Person a Good Thing or a Bad Thing?

“You don’t deny those regrets, but instead, you can take those regrets as an individual, as a community and as a country. Once you put them back into the past, and you imagine what you could have done if you had made the right choice, you take that wisdom into the present. You can change your destiny. We can say who we are and who we could be.” Regret, while painful at times, is a key part of positive change. By using psychological and neuroscience studies and an excerpt from the film “Shawshank Redemption”, Dr. Marc Gopin shows us how the method of looking at the past shifts the thought pattern away from a place of anxiety, anger and depression, to instead the learning, optimistic, and adaptive part of the brain. For questions and comments, please reach out at makingchange.crdc@gmail.comFollow us on Facebook: https://bit.ly/3cwnDd8

Taking Memory In A New Direction: Rerouting Neural Pathways of Regret

“Gratitude gives us a vision of the world that starts to spell optimism and happiness even in the midst of extraordinary circumstances.”In this time of quarantine and social distancing, it’s up to us to decide how to create our community. Dr. Marc Gopin discusses how gratitude can help us when we may feel like we have lost everything, from loved ones being affected by the virus to our own isolation and separation from everything we hold dear. Gratitude shows us and the people around us that we are not alone, and through gratitude, kindness, love, and compassion can persist.

Gratitude In The Time Of Corona

“The answer of the Buddy Bench in the time of corona is the intimacy that comes with relationships being victorious over the disease and caring for others across these physical boundaries. “The coronavirus (COVID-19) presents us with a new challenge of creating a sense of community, of belonging, and of responsibility to each other. Everybody needs to be loved and cared for during this pandemic. Dr. Marc Gopin discusses the Buddy Bench, a study conducted among elementary students, and how lessons learned from it can help us show compassion and be observant about the needs of people around us. For questions and comments, please reach out at makingchange.crdc@gmail.com

The Lesson of "The Buddy Bench" In The Time Of Corona

"A combination of love and intelligence is the key to our survival and recovery. Love connects us all in a common battle with death. Intelligence connects us with the use of our higher minds to fight for each other's lives."The coronavirus (COVID-19) has completely changed our way of life and our interactions with those around us. Join Dr. Marc Gopin in this week’s episode as he shares his insight on what you can do to combat this virus on your own in such a divisive time. For questions and comments, please reach out to Makingchange.crdc@gmail.com

Love And Intelligence In The Time Of Corona

"We can conquer the biggest challenges of our day with a deeper approach to the moral way that we think and we act.” In this episode of Making Change, we explore how decisions made by humans can change from inciting violence and corruption to instead promoting peace. Using the Prophet Isaiah’s metaphor of “turning swords into plowshares”, Dr. Marc Gopin discusses the impacts of the recent coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and its impacts on human interactions. Tune in to listen to Dr. Gopin’s take on how we can use our minds in a positive and healthy way to combat the implications of this virus. For questions and comments, please reach out to Makingchange.crdc@gmail.com

Can We Turn The Mind From A Sword Into A Plowshare?

What happens when empathy makes you feel miserable? How can you change the way you empathize with people in a healthier way that does not hurt you internally and does not blame other people? Instead of focusing on the negatives, channel those feelings into compassion and feeling love for someone. I hope you enjoy this episode, and I welcome comments, opinions, and reactions.

What Happens When Empathy Makes You Miserable?

Making Change: A Podcast on positive change, the art and science of what needs to happen to make ourselves better, to make society better, and make the earth better. For questions & comments, please reach out at: makingchange.crdc@gmail.com

Chess is the name of the game in conflict

Wisdom Can Change Minds

Making Change: A Podcast on positive change, the art and science of what needs to happen to make ourselves better, to make society better, and make the earth better. For questions & comments, please reach out at: makingchange.crdc@gmail.comRelevant Sources:https://www.bullying.co.uk/anti-bullying-week/choose-kindness/

Even a bully can form a circle- The anatomy of Healing

Making Change: A Podcast on positive change, the art and science of what needs to happen to make ourselves better, to make society better, and make the earth better. For questions & comments, please reach out at: makingchange.crdc@gmail.com Relevant Sources:- https://www.alz.org/nc- https://www.wvnews.com/news/wvnews/historic-breakthrough-wvu-rockefeller-neuroscience-team-first-to-use-ultrasound/article_cfe6fefc-eee9-5add-b853-23642a0a91a7.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwAR3LA3f02TdroL9Hv4fE_yhHFDSnkYLp__yUWfFfqVOUTzLrUPcTdLd3h7c

What in the world does a cure for Alzheimers have to do with global warfare?

Making Change: A Podcast on positive change, the art and science of what needs to happen to make ourselves better, to make society better, and make the earth better. For questions & comments, please reach out at: makingchange.crdc@gmail.comRelevant resources related to this topic:- https://www.npr.org/2018/09/24/651052970/how-a-rising-star-of-white-nationalism-broke-free-from-the-movement

Can love ever overcome hate?

Making Change: A Podcast on positive change, the art and science of what needs to happen to make ourselves better, to make society better, and make the earth better. For questions & comments, please reach out at: makingchange.crdc@gmail.comRelevant resources related to this topic:https://blacklivesmatter.com/resources/https://www.npr.org/tags/376083743/-blacklivesmatter

What's in a Name? Black Lives Matter

Welcome to Making Change: A podcast on positive change, the art and science of what needs to happen to make ourselves better, to make society better, and make the earth better.The human mind is the key to reacting in a more constructive way to current events and life's challenges. Not only can training our thinking help us understand what is happening, it gives us a path forward to change our lives, our communities, and our world for the better.Making Change is an exploration of neuroscience, ethics , politics, and best conflict resolution practices when it comes to the challenges and opportunities we have to build a better world.https://amzn.to/33qBKNc http://bit.ly/2pP6pF5 http://howtothinkandact.com/

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Making Change

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