Talks

Harvard University, Work & Flourishing Executive Conference
Date: 2024
Are we losing the art of wonder about what it means to be human? Are we sacrificing our humanity in pursuit of measurable results? In this talk, I challenged executives to rethink the role of "datafication," and performance metrics. While numbers and metrics certainly drive progress, they must serve people, not reduce them to cold data points. I reminded them that humans are not formulas waiting to be calculated; we are stories and wonders beyond any algorithm’s reach. The heart of my message was this: let’s rekindle the art and science of human flourishing in our companies and communities. Let’s create workplaces that foster not just productivity but purpose, where connection, care, and humanity come first. 

Ambassador Enterprises, Learning Time
Date: 2022
How might our gratitude transform the very fabric of our shared human experience? In this interactive talk, I traced the fascinating evolution of gratitude in the history of ideas —how it was bond to duty in the hands of Aristotle, how it found new life in Adam Smith’s philosophy, and how modern neuroscience catches glimpses of its warmth in the brain. We explored its nature not only as an idea but as a living, breathing force in our lives. I led the audience through a gratitude assessment and introduced two perspectives: Gratitude as Repayment (where gratitude is bound by justice, an exchange of debts owed and settled) and Gratitude as Recognition (where gratitude is based on love — untethered to any notion of repayment, freely given, freely received). In the history of ideas, it was Jesus who radically shifted gratitude out of the economy of justice and into the economy of love —where God gives to all, to both the good and the evil, expecting nothing in return, and we respond not out of obligation, but out of joy. Gratitude, then, becomes not a ledger of what’s owed, but a recognition of the beauty that comes when we give without expecting, and receive without feeling bound. It’s a way of living that doesn’t place others in debt but instead acknowledges the goodness in the giving itself. All in all, my talk was a call to rethink how gratitude—born not from duty but from love—can shape the shared history we write together.

Yale University, Graduation Ceremony, Pennington Center
Date: 2022

And when you walk across that stage to receive your degree, you’re standing at the pinnacle—having carved your way through long nights, hard work, stress, and tears. But what lies ahead? There’s a space between the you who stands here now, filled with a sense of triumph, and the unknown figure of who you might become tomorrow. In my address to Yale graduates, I discussed that very space—the paradox where every ending folds into a beginning, where finality is nothing more than a threshold into something new. Weaving together insights from history, philosophy, biology, and art, I traced how moments of closure are never simple endings. They are steps of progress. From the collapse of ancient empires, which gave rise to eras of innovation, to the way nature itself uses decay to fuel life’s next cycle, I argued that what feels like loss is actually the birth of reinvention. It’s in this gap, where revolutions of thought occur, where scientific discoveries crack open new understandings, where the old falls away to make room for the new. It’s what the economists call "creative destruction"—a breaking down of what was, so that something entirely fresh can take its place. And in that middle zone, that space between what’s done and what’s possible, lies the true magic of what’s next.

Princeton University, Currents & Perspectives in World Christianity
Date: 2021
What happens when interfaith worship, meant to unite, instead muddles the clarity of belief? What if, in the pursuit of harmony, the essence of faith begins to blur, dimmed by the radiance of well-meaning pluralism?  In this talk, I argue that each faith tradition, like a small, distinct civilization, stands on its own pillars, shaped by histories and convictions far deeper than a mere surface glance reveals. Interfaith worship services, for all their noble intentions of fostering inclusion and diversity, can strip away the finer lines of belief, blurring those cherished distinctions that shape a religious identity—especially for those rooted in monotheistic faiths like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Instead, what if we focused on interfaith friendship, on the deep work of relational engagement—those moments of connection formed not through theological convergence but through shared human experience? It is here, in the space of mutual understanding, that genuine interfaith dialogue blossoms. Rather than force a unity of belief, universities could cultivate civic connection and foster real, tangible relationships that respect the integrity of individual traditions. In these spaces, understanding grows not through the blurring of identities but through the strengthening of them.

Yale University, Good Friday, Chapel Service, Pennington Center 

Date: 2021

From the dawn of civilization and as long as humans have sought meaning, they have searched the skies and the earth for signs of the divine—powerful, majestic, miraculous. Every civilization, in its own way, has imagined divinity as something that controls the fates of humanity, something that rules the heavens, a force that stands above nature. And yet, in the Christian crucifixion, something entirely different is revealed. What if divinity is revealed not by power but by giving up power? Building on the work of Jürgen Moltmann's The Crucified God, this talk explored the radical redefinition of divinity through the lens of the crucifixion. No longer is divinity about power or dominance; it is about weakness, about vulnerability. The cross tells a story not of victory in the way the world understands it, but of profound defeat, of a God who chooses to lose in order to win something far greater—solidarity with humanity. The Crucified God challenges every idea we hold about authority and strength. It invites us not to subjugate, not to dominate, but to lay down our power, to serve, to surrender. And in that surrender, we discover a unity we could never have imagined—a unity that builds through the very act of giving up control. It’s in those moments of vulnerability, when we open ourselves up, that we find the true power to connect, to unite, to become one.

Harvard University, 13th Academic Conference on Social Sciences, Virtual 
Date: 2020
Think democracy and religious freedom, and their offspring, pluralism—and all the complexities and conflicts inherited when these ideals intersect. In a world of increasingly polarized discourse, can they coexist and work together for the common good? In my research, drawn from fifty colleges across the U.S., I have seen how university programs that force theological consensus among students, all for the ideal of diversity and inclusion, fail to achieve the intended outcome. I have also seen how, on the flip side, interfaith friendships enhance social cohesion and promote personal and communal well-being without compromising identity. There are moments in university life when friendships formed across lines of belief seem to shimmer with a light that transcends the everyday polarized discourse. In those friendships, something vital breathes—a human spirit lifting students beyond the divisions of religion, politics, and identity that can so often divide them. Friendship works, not by erasing religious identities, but by strengthening them through respect and understanding. These connections invite students to engage without seeking to force consensus, to listen without the need to agree, and to create space for growth for a better tomorrow.

Brown University, Metcalf Auditorium 

Date: 2019

Has there ever been a force more central to our existence than love? It courses through the veins of every human, threading itself into every culture, every age, every heart that’s ever beat. And yet, we never really stop to study it—not in any meaningful way. Sure, we have our Freud, our Romanticism and evolutionary psychologists, our labs with electrodes and charts, but that’s not the whole of it, is it? Love is lived, not studied. And all of us have lived its power. We search for it, sacrifice for it, and suffer for it, without ever pausing to ask: What is it, really? In this talk, I posed that very question to the audience—collected their responses, their definitions—and in the end, the answer seemed to be just this: LOVE IS. No conditions, no qualifiers. Simply that—love is.  It is the force that pulls us toward one another, that compels us to see another as they are, in all their complexity and contradiction, and still say yes. It’s a way of accepting, of affirming, of valuing someone just as they are—human, flawed, complicated, and, in that humanity, worthy. And if love is beyond our emotions, a way of affirming or ascribing value to others, imagine how different our world would be if we started to love more people—even those who are nothing like us, even our enemies. Love is a way of being in the world. It allows us to transcend the boundaries of who’s in and who’s out, to see the human beneath the labels. It’s messy and beautiful, capable of transforming the course of our race. Because in the end, to love someone is to say: You matter. You are seen. And that’s enough to start building a flourishing future.

Brown University, Weeekly Leadership Lecture Series, Metcalf Auditorium 

Date: 2019

You know, every now and then, we all find ourselves lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, and pondering those profound existential questions: “Who am I?” “Why am I even asking this question?” Well, in this talk for my weekly leadership lecture series at Brown, I dived into what sets us apart as a species. I explored key theories from philosophy, linguistics, biology, and psychology—because, let’s face it, nothing says “fun” like discussing Descartes’ concept of mind-body dualism with students developing their self-image. Descartes believed in free will and the power of reason. So, while it might feel like your choices are limited to choosing between caffeine or more caffeine during finals, you actually have the unique ability to reason and decide. Then there’s Chomsky’s idea of the Language Acquisition Device (LAD). Apparently, we humans come equipped with this innate ability to learn complex language. So, while other animals are busy barking and meowing, we're out here debating everything from philosophy to the best toppings on a pizza. Thank you, LAD! Davidson and Hauser take this further, arguing that our ability to generate new concepts across disciplines is core to being human. Then there’s Carroll’s work on how we create meaning through art, literature, and culture. We’re the only species that can brushstroke like Van Gogh and rap poetry like Kanye West.  And according to Corballis and Suddendorf, our ability to mentally time travel—to reflect on the past and imagine the future—gives us a sense of continuity that lets us learn from our mistakes and dream up new possibilities. That’s how Edison invented the light bulb and Steve Jobs enlightened our lives with the iPhone. Yalom reminds us through his philosophy that mortality makes us human and is exactly why we seek for meaning beyond ourselves through spiritual connection and love. All in all, I argued for a more integrated view of human flourishing—where our rational, emotional, spiritual, and physical sides work together to help us thrive.

Harvard University, Leadership Lecture, W.S. Fong Auditorium 

Date: 2019

Did you know that the figures of speech known as metaphors do more than just color our language—they shape our very perception of reality and influence our actions within it? Across every discipline, from cognitive science to computer science, medicine to music, metaphors are essential tools for understanding and engaging with the worlds of belief and behavior. In this interactive talk, I explored how metaphors not only reflect our thoughts but also shape them—transforming the way we experience life. For instance, what if we shifted from viewing arguments as “war” to thinking of them as “dance”? According to Conceptual Metaphor Theory, such a change in language could foster more constructive dialogues, leading to deeper connection rather than conflict. Think through Picasso’s Guernica as a metaphor for the chaos and suffering of war, Robert Frost’s "The Road Not Taken" as a metaphor for life choices, and metaphors in quantum mechanics and cosmology that translate abstract concepts into understandable images – all doorways into making sense of the mysteries of our existence. Midway through, I invited audience members to identify their personal identity metaphors—those inner narratives that frame how they see themselves—and to share them with others. This exercise revealed how metaphors influence their relationships with themselves and those around them. Drawing from insights across disciplines, I argued that when we recognize and thoughtfully engage with the metaphors that define us, we unlock new possibilities for human flourishing, shaping not just our language but our future.

Harvard University, Leadership Lecture, Harvard-Yenching Library 

Date: 2018

Standing before the audience at Harvard for the first time, I found myself drawn to the question etched high above the entrance to Emerson Hall: "What is man that you are mindful of him?" It’s a question that has echoed through centuries, silently pressing on all who pass beneath it. My talk was an exploration of the minds that have attempted to answer it—Descartes with his insistence on rational thought, Rousseau who believed in the innate goodness of humanity, Darwin who placed us in the unfolding of evolution, Freud who revealed the turmoil of our inner conflicts, Marx who critiqued the structures that bind us, Maslow who mapped our needs and aspirations, and Derrida who dismantled it all with postmodern doubt. These thinkers, each in their own way, have framed how we see ourselves and others, how we measure our existence. Yet, beyond their theories, I urged the audience to affirm a deeper truth: that our dignity and significance are not mere accidents of history or thought. We are beings made with purpose, reflecting something far greater than ourselves. And in understanding this, we come closer to understanding what it means to be truly human.