 Think Tech Away, Civil Engagement Lives Here. Aloha, I'm your host Winston Welch and delighted you're joining us today for this out and about show where we explore a variety of topics, organization, events, and the people who fuel them in our city, state, country, and world. As a disclaimer, any views or opinions expressed by me are strictly my own and not connected with any organization. That said, I am delighted today to have Vivian Best to join me in the studio to talk about her amazing and wonderful experiences creating community and more in her years here in Hawaii. Vivian came here originally as an exchange student in college and then came back to live after that. She's been involved in creating community, health and wellness, awareness of ourselves in the larger community, and has been at the, really the core of what Vivian is and exemplifies. So for example, in 2009 she started GIFT, Give It Fresh Today, which collects donations of fresh local produce at farmers markets for use in meals that feed the hungry, and was featured in a TED Talks Honolulu on the same topic. She's been recognized by Honolulu Magazine as one of six people making a difference in Honolulu by Pacific Business News as one of Hawaii's 40 under 40, and by the Honolulu Star Advertiser as one of 10 who made a difference for her work and community among other honors. So today we're going to touch on a few things that Vivian has created, enjoyed and fostered since she came here, like being active in swing dance, a teacher of the gifted and dyslexic, starting a school garden at Kahala Elementary, her work in forming gift, starting a group called Pico Pals and her work in that with healthy mothers, healthy babies, her own Felden Christ practice, and being a community builder using an interesting, we'll call it a game called Spark, which deepens connection and contact with people. And now most recently launching Women's Speak Circle to support women to hone their authentic voices in the community. So that's a lot to introduce you with and welcome to the show, Vivian. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate you being here. Like I said, you've done so much and I've been personally just inspired by you over these many years, and I've known you probably what, maybe a dozen years or 15 years or something like that. Something like that. A long enough time just to see this amazing progression of you as a human being coming along and inspiring me and other people. So as you got here, tell us a little bit about your background. Where did you grow up and how did you actually, why did you decide to come to Hawaii? So I grew up in New York City and I spent the first 18 years of my life there and then went to college for four years in Connecticut. And while I was in college, I spent one semester at the University of Hawaii as an exchange student. And I did it because I wanted to experience something different than the East Coast. I wanted to validate my experiences as an Asian American. And when I got to Hawaii, I realized that being an Asian American wasn't even so important in a way because of all the extra layers of indigenous issues here. I took a really potent class with Hanani K. Trask during that semester. And I also just had little experiences where I would bump into older, senior Asian Americans and I would talk really slowly and articulate myself really well. And I realized that it wasn't something that I needed to do when the janitor at UH was happy to give me instructions and spoke back to me in perfect English. I was like, oh, cultural difference. Yes, I'm understanding that when people ask me silly questions when I was in college about if I was a citizen, they just, they really didn't know any better. And I was making my own innocent, seemingly innocent mistakes here. And so Hawaii gave me my first taste at just being comfortable in my own skin as an Asian American, feeling more comfortable in just embracing my culture. However, I wanted to embrace it. That's so interesting. And especially because we think of New York as this amazing, diverse, multicultural place. But actually, Hawaii is 75% was an Asian broader sense, mostly East Asian. But I suppose, yeah, when you come here, you kind of look and seem like everybody else here in some way, just on the external level. And it must be, yeah, it is different than other parts of America, isn't it? I think one of the most special things for me was meeting multi-generational Asian Americans. Asian Americans that have three and four generations in their background of living here. And in New York City, it was only ever one or two generations deep. So most of the seniors I met didn't speak English the way I do. And so Hawaii was that first taste of like, oh my gosh, this is what I grow into. This is what I get to be. This is sort of deep roots here. Yeah. So and your parents were immigrants then? My parents are immigrants from China and Taiwan. And they immigrated for work and for school. Okay. And then when you got out to Hawaii for the first time, did you feel like I did where you think, oh, I'm going to live here one day? Or did you already know well in advance like I have to go to Hawaii? Was there some burning desire inside of you that just sent you out here? Or beyond the obvious that it was an Asian majority state? Was there something that peaked your interest? Maybe a book you read as a kid or somebody you talked to? I think I had been to California already. And so I wanted to be a state in America and still have an Asian American experience. But I came here and I really just learned a lot about Native Hawaiian experiences. And I was really humbled by my experiences within that, within that. Like going to learn about what Native Hawaiians have gone through, which I hadn't been exposed to in my education in New York City and Connecticut. Yeah. The deep sense of host community is what really is so appealing on some level in Hawaii. It's a basic reason maybe why we're all drawn here is, and I think Hawaii has an outsized voice in the world with the concept even of aloha. And which is why we have this sort of people got angry about that restaurant that opened up in Chicago because they felt it was in here. And I understand that because it is all based in the local community here that has been so accepting of people from other places. And I know when I came here myself, I wanted to come to a place after living in Asia that felt comfortable in both places. It was, it was, it was diverse and it felt very rich. And yet there's this deep, deep connection that's spiritual really. And I think people, I've heard that Hawaii either embraces you or chews you up and spits you out. And I think I've seen both. But when you, when you got here then and you, you sort of, did you get a degree in teaching? Is that, is that how you got a starter? No. When I, when I got here, it was just for one semester at UH. And then I went back and I finished my degree in art history. I always knew that I wanted to do museum work and teach. And so when I first moved here, I worked at HPU libraries, sat in a cubicle by, you know, working with one other person for a chunk of years. And now you know me. And so it's one of these things where it's like, it's a horrible thing for me to think about now. But I needed those years sitting in a cubicle to realize, no, no, no, your gifts are really being with people. Yes. Sometimes you need to live in a house without enough closets to know that you want more closets. Absolutely. So I think after, after working at HPU libraries, I moved on to teaching. And so I was lucky enough to be hired by asset school, where I was working with dyslexic and gifted. And that steered me toward working on my master's degree and gifted education, which steered me toward just thinking about what, how to develop the strengths and talents of all learners. And I started asking myself, well, what are my strengths and talents? What am I here to do? And it sort of ties back to just when I decided to stay in Hawaii, I knew I didn't want to just be like a settler colonizer, you know, I, I knew that if I was going to stay, I would make, make an impact and make a difference while I was here that, um, yeah, that I didn't just want to take from this place, that I really wanted to leave something of myself. And you obviously haven't been rightly recognized by, by so many of the official designations, but a lot of individuals where you made a real big difference in their lives from students to, you know, these different programs. So when you start down these paths that you had, were you drawn naturally to your gifts? Or was it just areas that you didn't know anything about? Was it pure serendipity that brought you to different things? Or, um, how did you discover what was important and unique for you as, as time has gone by? And how do you still continue to do that? Oh, wow. Um, I think when I first moved here, I was thinking about studying massage because I was interested in the body. I was a dancer and thinking about, well, how do we care for ourselves? And so I studied traditional Hawaiian Lomi Lomi because I thought, you know, if I'm only going to be in Hawaii a limited amount of time, then this is what's special that I can take advantage of while I'm here. And, um, studying Lomi Lomi, um, grounded me. It really, um, learning about Ho'oponopono, learning about, um, just clearing practices, learning about, um, or just having that idea that when we feel good, we do good, I feel like that's really helped to steer a lot of my experience here. And so, um, I think when I worked at HPU, that was sort of a job. Um, when I worked at the contemporary museum was because I was interested in museum work because I had a degree in art history. Um, but there, there wasn't enough, um, uh, there weren't enough hours, you know, and so I made some practical decisions. I loved the idea of education being transformative. And so classroom teaching was sort of a natural next step. Classroom teaching led me to this masters, which led me to thinking about, well, what, what are my strengths and talents? And the, the one random strength that I have that I learned while I was in college through a random interview was that I can hold paper and feel the, the direction of the grain and that I have a sensitivity in my hands that I, um, and I'd always been curious about that. You know, I'm like, wow, not everybody can do this. Like feel which way the paper grain goes. And the woman that had interviewed me had said, no, like this is, this is something special. And I was like, oh, I feel like we don't tell people what they're good at sometimes. And so it's taken me time to hone and figure out, but Feldenkrais method came from just sort of remembering that that was a strength. And I think that some of these other, some of these other things unfolded because of just circumstance. So like, uh, give it fresh today came when I was at my Feldenkrais training. I'm in Chicago. I'm in a new place. I can see great ideas as they're happening. I had already been sitting with the question of how do we get more local food into people's mouths, you know, and how can we support our farmers in meaningful ways. And when I saw this woman collecting fresh produce donations at a farmers market in Chicago, I, you know, I, I noticed it as a good idea because I had the time to pause. I was away from my life. I was seeing something that was happening in another city and I said, oh, I can, I can bring that project back. And I, and I've just been rolling with projects, I guess. I mean, after I had my daughter, um, Pico Pels came from that experience because I recognize how hard it is for new parents to build friendships in, you know, just in society right now. We don't have villages the way we used to. And even if we feel like we're a part of communities and we have friends, they all go through these phases at different times and trying to figure out ways to connect and bring people together at a very important and, you know, moment in their lives, I think, helped kind of bring Pico Pels together. And that was with friends that I had made when I was, um, when I, when I had my daughter postpartum. Yeah. Okay. So it's a combination of serendipity and being aware and then taking advantage of what you've already known and somatic, uh, learning and just, and all of this together makes for a rich stew and a rich soup. And we're going to talk about some of those experiences that you've had when we come back from our break. And, uh, as always, our time is so short and we are going to take a short break on Winston-Wilts. This is out and about on Think Tech live streaming network series. We're talking with Vivian Best. We'll be back in a minute. So stay tuned for more of the story. Hi, I'm Pete McGinnis-Mark, and every Monday at one o'clock, I'm the host of Think Tech Hawaii's research in Munna. And at that program, we bring to you a whole range of new scientific results from the university, ranging from everything from exploring the solar system to looking at the earth from space, going underwater, talking about earthquakes and volcanoes, and other things which have a direct relevance not only to Hawaii, but also to our economy. So please try and join me one o'clock on a Monday afternoon to Think Tech Hawaii's research in Munna. And see you then. Hi, I'm Bill Sharp, host of Asian Review here on Think Tech Hawaii. Join me every Monday afternoon from 5 to 5.30 Hawaii Standard Time for an insightful discussion of Contemporary Asian Affairs. There's so much to discuss and the guests that we have are very, very well informed. Just think we have the upcoming negotiation between President Trump and Kim Jong-un, the possibility of Xi Jinping, the leader of China remaining in power forever. We'll see you then. We're live. I'm Winston Welch, and this is out and about on the Think Tech livestreaming network series. Vivian Best is our guest today, and welcome back, Vivian. Thank you so much for being here again. You've talked about all these, a few of these great programs that you started and how it was a combination of serendipity and your own interest and your own ability to feel inside of your own body, which I suppose led you to Feldenkrais on some level. And tell people, what is Feldenkrais? Because I don't think people may have heard of this before. Sure. So the Feldenkrais method developed sort of in conjunction with many other things as part of the human potential movement. People have often heard of Pilates and Rolfing and Traeger and different other modalities. And so Feldenkrais, Moshe Feldenkrais, was a man who was developing a way to help train the body to develop its potential. And so I help people who are in pain or who want to live in their bodies more fully and to participate in their daily activities in a more embodied way. So if people wanted to find out about Feldenkrais, where would they look or where would they go to find information about that? Sure. So there's a Feldenkrais website. So they can go just on, I think it's Feldenkrais.com. And locally in Honolulu, the Still and Moving Center has regular classes and there are a handful of practitioners. So it's Google. It would probably be fastest. Now, when you have obviously had some teachers down the path of life, what people or books or or institutions have stood out for you most? If there's anybody that comes to mind about things that you might point to other people to have them develop a sense of awareness or community? Sure. I think Hawaii has so many amazing spiritual teachers and leaders. I think I have most benefited from resonance repatterning with Lynn Morgan. I think that it's been a mostly constant group in my life. Lynn helps to guide people through transitions in just a really beautiful way and has just a whole array of tools that I think she really successfully shares with others. She's an amazing lady. And how would you describe resonance repatterning? It's a unique healing art and modality and I agree Lynn is the most talented healer, practitioner and loving being that I've probably ever met on the planet. Their tagline is quantum change made easy. But I usually just tell people that resonance repatterning turns obstacles into opportunities. It's a very holistic way of looking at challenges and there are just so many ways that we can approach healing and in rethinking and in reframing and it's just a very direct way of being able to access many, many, many, many, many, many different modalities and lots of knowledge. And I feel like Lynn has given me lots of tools, everything from like EFT and tapping to using essential oils on different meridian points. And it was often unexpected I think when I was younger and I was in the group. Many things would come up and she would suggest something and I was like, this is a little strange and actually I feel better. And so each time I would experience the modalities I would be a little more convinced that how potent the whole process was. And I think it leads us to a question of that you have to have a pretty deep level of self-awareness or at least self-curiosity to get where you've been or to get where any of us need to be in this day and age. So much is coming out of so fast from all levels, whether it's personal, interpersonal, societal, where then the internet just bombarding us with things every day. And so we're all sort of in this amazing dance together. And when you're looking at the self-reflection and interaction with others and awareness, obviously resonance repatterning is a great help for that and other things as well. As far as that goes, do you like doing individual work on self-reflection, self-awareness, or is a group a process better for you or both? And how do those balance with each other? I think I can't help but have my own self-reflection. But for me as an extrovert, it's been very important to have opportunities to build community and grow in community with others. So in Hawaii, I've also been deeply touched by my experience with PSI seminars and participating in that community. I went through the basic, the PSI 7, the leadership, PLD, the women's leadership seminars. So I've done all that. And I started playing Spark. And that's personal development for me. So it's a conversational board game, but it also just brings people together for self-reflection, for sharing stories. And I feel like anytime we're in community with others, when we have that opportunity to speak our truth and to feel heard, there's the opportunity to grow. There's the opportunity to deepen. There's the opportunity to make change and connect with others. And the Spark, it's a board game. I mean, that's the mode of it. How do people, where would they go? Is it sparkexclamationpoint.com? Where would we find out about this game? Or do you have a website where they could go to to find out more about it? Sure. I started a Facebook group called Sparkton Honolulu, so people can look there. And I was thinking about you because the women that are staying on island are actually going to launch men's games as well. So like coed, coed. So it's been a women's, basically I've been running it as a women's game night, but they're going to be expending it to be coed as well. And I've played with men as well. So Sparkton Honolulu. Sparkton Honolulu is the Facebook page. On the Facebook page. Okay. And you know, viewing up an interesting point is that I think a lot of maybe what you've participated in or these awareness, self-awareness and societal awareness, women tend to be really good at wanting to share and being able to share, even in a group setting. I don't know if men or we just have been taught how to do that well, or if we're just sort of catching up to where women have are naturally better, maybe not naturally better, but maybe they're naturally better. I'm not sure about that. But whatever it is, I think men need to really get much more deeply connected with themselves as well, the planet with each other in ways that maybe women are doing. Is that sexist or is that true? I'm just feeling like men are a little bit behind in a lot of these things. And maybe it's just a different way of learning or being. But I think men are finding their way back into vulnerability. And I think that that's probably the biggest keystone in that. For me, from my experience with men and with women, I think that women are more willing and able to connect with their vulnerability and that men may not be. And so the more willing men seem to be about being vulnerable in front of others and in sharing of themselves, the more possibilities that space holds for them. And so my husband participated in a group called Mankind Project in Honolulu. And they have actually expanded many times over, I think, in recent years. And that's a great resource, I think, for local men. I think that's a great way to put it, is that men need to be able and willing to be more vulnerable. And I think we're seeing this more with the younger generation and that everyone's sort of on a similar page. And especially as people live their lives online, I'm seeing just, wow, just the stuff that people are able to put out there. I'm sometimes taken aback at how open and vulnerable people are. But it may be a vulnerability in a way that they're out there, but they're not having the requisite tools than to deal with that vulnerability. So we all just sort of need to up our game. And some of these ways that you've been talking about, like joining a community, like playing a game like Spark, like getting involved with any organization that's interesting for you. And what advice would you have for someone who's out there and they're like, gosh, this lady sewed together. She started all this stuff. She just came here and she's just done all this stuff and she makes it look so easy. And they're just kind of struggling with the day in and day out and wanting to break out of that cubicle. What advice do you have for people on how to get involved or sort of find their passion of what might matter to them and make a difference? Okay. I think that for me, reading Shasta Nelson's Friendships Don't Just Happen book was part of the transformation of friendship and realizing that we make deep friendships when we have increasing time spent together and increasing vulnerability. And so joining communities where you have common interests and then you then also branch out and you make friends with these people and do other things outside of your interest, I think is also really important. And so I would encourage people not to think of their lives as like scheduling activities, but in thinking about their lives as joining communities. And even if it's only for a season, the idea of going out swing dancing for a night is very different than saying, hey, I'm joining the swing community for a season. And just sort of allowing yourself to be in an issue and to sit in that issue and to sit in that space or to sit in that activity and to treat it as your world for a while. I feel like we have this option now where, you know, events pop up all the time and we have this opportunity to do lots of things that we're interested in. But if we don't actually stop and invest some time within a community, it's hard to feel known. It's hard to deepen your own experience. And yeah, and it's just, it's hard to sense your own like contributions if you're not there for a little while. It reminds me of that line in Avenue Q or the song, there's life outside your apartment, but you'll never know who's around the bed and you could win the lot or make a friend, but you've got to get outside your apartment. And I would say also get offline, not that there's anything wrong with being online, but I think it gives us a false sense of community. It is real community, but also getting out there and I also think sometimes when people say somebody should do, they should do something about that. Well, you're the they, you know, so if you think they should be cleaning up the park, then you, okay, then form a little cleanup parking or just bring a bag of trash or whatever it is. And I think you did that with Pico Pals. You saw a need for creating an environment where new parents can get together and support each other because we don't have that, that village that's already there. So we have to create our own village and that was a perfect example of that. And I know some friends who've gone through that. And, and now although the original Pico Pals ended, they have all elected to continue as a group. And, you know, interestingly, the men actually have all, I heard all the, their cell numbers in each other's phones. So they have created that community. So something like that where you've created a spark to start that, then has so many blessings for other people. And I think you're going to continue to do that with Woman Speak, which is sort of the next page in this chapter here. And that's going to continue as you transition as well. Outside of Hawaii right now going to Austin, Texas, which is going to be a very new and exciting chapter for you. And I'm really excited to see what you're going to come out of that and what kind of new creative community you're going to build there and different types of community and how that's going to enrich you. And I will love to see how you're going to grow in five, 10, 15, 50 years. All the books that you've got in you and the things that you're going to write to help other people. Is there anything that we missed that you wanted to mention before we signed off? A last thought or anything? Just for me, I'm just so grateful. I'm so grateful for all the people and experiences and the love that I've experienced in my time here. And I just hope everyone enjoys and continues to appreciate it because I think there are so many blessings every day that we have here. And coming to the end of my Hawaii life, it's like really that moment of like, oh, I'm so, I'm just, I'm so grateful. And I just hope other people really continue to do the good and feel the good and to spread the aloha. Well, if they follow your example, they certainly will do that. And I know there's a lot of gratitude and love that's following you and surrounding you and just being very with you as you move to Austin. We're looking forward to when you come back to Hawaii and visit us. And as we create these cross-country connections and deepen and strengthen our communities. And so it's been a real pleasure to have you on today, Vivian. So thank you so much for taking time out of your very busy life to share a little bit with us on the community that you've created and how you've grown as a person here. Thanks so much, Winston. So we are unfortunately out of time. We have to wrap it up. I'm Winston Welch. It's been a very special edition of Out and About on the Think Tech Live Streaming Network series. We've been talking with Vivian Best and hope you've been inspired like we are with the community. Vivian is fostered here in Hawaii. We thank Brandy, our tech production engineer and Robert McLean, our floor manager, as well as Jay Fidel, who puts it all together. Thanks so much, and we'll see you next time here. Aloha.