Opening to Connection

How do we keep our hearts open when our differences make us want to pull away? Leading researchers and clinicians Barbara Fredrickson, Kamilah Majied, and Myriam Mongrain will examine how everyday moments of joy, love, and contemplative practice can disarm defensive habits, restore compassion, and build the enduring psychological resources needed to heal deep societal divides.

Free

Insight & Action: The Compassion Science Series

This is the fourth event in our 2026 series exploring the hindrances to compassion, curated by Myriam Mongrain, PhD, Chair of the Global Compassion Coalition’s Science Committee.

In this quarter’s talk, we’re exploring how we can strengthen the inner capacities that support openness, connection, and compassion across difference.

• What We’ll Explore

Through dialogue and practical insights, we will explore how to:

• Move Past Division: What helps us step out of “us vs. them” habits and reconnect across difference.

• Build Inner Resilience: How contemplative practices bring grounding and courage during social friction.

• Open the Heart: How micro-moments of joy and curiosity replenish our emotional capacity when we feel closed off.

• Explore Wider Possibilities: Ideas for both personal and collective changes that support everyday compassion.

• Our Expert Speakers

Kamilah Majied, MSW, PhD is a mental health therapist, clinical educator, researcher, and internationally engaged consultant on building inclusivity and equity using meditative practices. Drawing from her decades of contemplative practice and leadership, Dr. Majied engages people in experiencing wonder, humor, and insight through transforming oppressive patterns and deepening relationships toward ever-improving individual, organizational and communal wellness. As Professor of Social Work at California State University, Monterey Bay, she teaches clinical practice to graduate students employing psychodynamic, cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness-based, and artistic approaches to well-being. She is the author of Joyfully Just: Black Wisdom and Buddhist Insights for Liberated Living (Sounds True).

Barbara Fredrickson, PhD is Kenan Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (https://peplab.web.unc.edu/). She is most known for her Broaden-and-Build Theory of positive emotions, foundational in both affective science and positive psychology. Having published 175 peer-reviewed articles, she is among the top 0.05% of scholars in terms of career-long productivity and impact. A recipient of numerous awards for her research and teaching, Dr. Fredrickson has authored three books, Positive Emotions (Oxford University Press), Love 2.0, (PositivityResonance.com), and Positivity (PositivityRatio.com). Her free online course on the Coursera platform has reached >370,000 learners worldwide.

Dr. Myriam Mongrain is a clinical psychologist and Full Professor of Psychology at York University. She is an active clinician, researcher, and teacher whose work examines positive psychology interventions to boost resilience and promote well-being. She currently serves as Chair of the Science Committee for the Global Compassion Coalition.

• Details for Joining

• Date: Thursday, 29th October
• Time: 1pm PT / 4pm ET / 9pm UK (check your timezone here)
• Duration: 60 mins (45 minutes of dialogue followed by audience Q&A).

If you can’t make it live, don’t worry! All registrants will receive a link to the recording.