#29 Leading by example: compassion and mindfulness with Kim Thai

01/24/21 • 71 min

This episode, I’m joined by Kim Thai, founder of ganeshspace, an organization dedicated to making mindfulness a more equitable space. We chat about the current politics of America, how we can show up with compassion in activism, understanding ourselves before helping others, and her journey of finding her queer identity after marriage. Enjoy!

Kim Thai is a writer, Emmy-award winning producer, and the founder of ganeshspace, a community organization dedicated to pursuing equity through mindfulness. She is a proud daughter of Vietnamese refugees and is currently living in NYC with her partner and two cats.

In this episode we talk about:

Advice on managing this pandemic for extroverts
What politics of today say reflect what is happening deep down inside of America
How to hold compassion for those we don’t agree with
Why we need to first assess our own bandwidth before we give
The truth behind humor when it appears during traumatic conversations
Her journey coming out of a marriage to discover her queer identity
How to show up for oneself to bring change to others around us
Ganeshpace and creating equity and collaboration in the mindfulness space

Show notes:

Roque Rodriguez

You can find Kim Thai at:

ganeshspace: ganeshspace.com
ganeshspace Instagram: @ganeshspace
Instagram: @kthai6

You can follow me at:

Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
Weekly Newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

In this episode we talk about:

Advice on managing this pandemic for extroverts
What politics of today say reflect what is happening deep down inside of America
How to hold compassion for those we don’t agree with
Why we need to first assess our own bandwidth before we give
The truth behind humor when it appears during traumatic conversations
Her journey coming out of a marriage to discover her queer identity
How to show up for oneself to bring change to others around us
Ganeshpace and creating equity and collaboration in the mindfulness space

Show notes:

Roque Rodriguez

You can find Kim Thai at:

ganeshspace: ganeshspace.com
ganeshspace Instagram: @ganeshspace
Instagram: @kthai6

You can follow me at:

Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi
YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi
Weekly Newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

Previous Episode

#28 Storytelling and the richness of our Asian history with Randy Kim

On this episode of Yellow Glitter, I’m joined by Randy Kim, a queer, second-generation Viet-Khmer American from Chicagoland and podcast host of The Banh Mi Chronicles, highlighting uplifting important Asian voices. We chat about the Asian diaspora, how to heal the trauma of our parents, coming out, the importance of storytelling history of Asian culture, creating inclusive spaces, and why the slogan “representation matters” needs updating.

Randy Kim is a queer 2nd generation Viet-Khmer American from the Chicagoland area. Randy currently serves as a board member with the National Cambodian Heritage Museum. He is the co-producer with founder Ada Cheng for TALK Stories: An Asian American/Asian Diaspora Storytelling Show in Chicago. He is the producer and host of “The Banh Mi Chronicles” podcast which can be on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast. Randy is currently working on his Master's in Non Profit Management at DePaul University.

In this episode we talk about:

How he started his podcast, The Banh Mi Chronicles
His relationship with Ada Cheng and creating space for Asian diaspora
The creative process of focusing on need over entertainment
Importance of inclusive and diverse spaces in storytelling
The issue with “representation matters”
Randy’s story of his heritage, coming out, and finding a community
How to help our parents heal and process their trauma
Why Asian history is paramount to our growth and activism

Show notes:

You can find Randy Kim at:

Facebook: @banhmichronicles

Instagram: @banhmi_chronicles

You can follow me at:

Instagram: @stevenwakabayashi

YouTube: @stevenwakabayashi

Weekly Newsletter: mindfulmoments.substack.com

Next Episode

#30 Stop Asian Hate and addressing rise in anti-Asian hate crimes with Derek Tran

Derek Tran and I chat about the rising anti-Asian hate crimes and what we can do to keep ourselves safe and sane during this time.

In this episode we talk about:

COVID and where we are at with vaccinations
Issues with performative social media activists
How allies can show up - with more actionable steps
The intersection of mindfulness and activism
Struggling to find our voice as Asian-Americans
Standing up within our romantic relationships to microaggressions
Why addressing cultural issues in Asia, by denigrating Asian-Americans don’t work
Our social media feeds full of trauma porn
Why we both still hate Chick-fil-A
How can keep ourselves safe from hate crimes and attacks

You can find Derek at: