http://www.sevenof.com“You can’t use a Western mind to understand Eastern philosophy. To really understand it, you have to change your mind.” ~ Dr. Nan Lu, OMD
Dr. Lu used this quote to close his talk about Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium earlier this month. It reminded me of how often we try to understand a new concept based upon our past learning. Of course, this is entirely logical. Our experience gives us a language and lens by which to process novel ideas. Though just because this pattern is logical, doesn’t mean it always serves. What’s perhaps more powerful, and yet more difficult to do as we get older, is to just take a learning as is without trying to compare it to what we already know.
This is how children learn. They’re little sponges. No prejudices, no judgements, no nagging voice in the back of their minds that is chattering away. They take a new lesson as just that – new and to be appreciated in its own right.
What if we could do that as new situations and experiences come into our lives? What if we could set aside that chattering, monkey mind, and just take in the new information for all the glory it has in its own right? If we could do that then I am confident that there isn’t a single challenge in all the challenges our world now faces that we wouldn’t be able to solve.
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
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4 thoughts on “Beginning: Let New Experiences Be New”
Christa – I am re-reading a book that you might like that kind of links to this topic: How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, M.D. It’s a well-written look at cognitive errors doctors make, how and why, and ways for patients and doctors to be aware of these tendencies to minimize their effect on care. Both times I’ve read it, it’s made me think about how to make improvements in my own approach to analysis and problem solving, medical or otherwise.
The East tends to value direct, intuitive experiences.
By contrast, the West tends to favor rationalism.
Guatam Buddha left family and kingdom to find himself.
He wanted to discover the inner state of being, to be sure.
It was not based on cold, logical analysis, but it was a way of being instead of becoming. That’s why “the wisdom of the East” has become such a stereotype in the West today.
The West celebrates Bill Gates, while the East reveres its holy men, who give things up in the pursuit of mysticism.
Thanks for sharing a wonderful post. Cheers to your life.
Hi Archan,
It amazes me how different cultures shape a person’s thoughts and actions. Despite all we have in common, I’m always intrigued by what makes us different and all that we can learn from those differences.
Christa – I am re-reading a book that you might like that kind of links to this topic: How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman, M.D. It’s a well-written look at cognitive errors doctors make, how and why, and ways for patients and doctors to be aware of these tendencies to minimize their effect on care. Both times I’ve read it, it’s made me think about how to make improvements in my own approach to analysis and problem solving, medical or otherwise.
Happy Wednesday!
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Hi MJ! This is awesome adding it to my queue! Thank you so much for passing on the recommendation.
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Christa,
The East tends to value direct, intuitive experiences.
By contrast, the West tends to favor rationalism.
Guatam Buddha left family and kingdom to find himself.
He wanted to discover the inner state of being, to be sure.
It was not based on cold, logical analysis, but it was a way of being instead of becoming. That’s why “the wisdom of the East” has become such a stereotype in the West today.
The West celebrates Bill Gates, while the East reveres its holy men, who give things up in the pursuit of mysticism.
Thanks for sharing a wonderful post. Cheers to your life.
LikeLike
Hi Archan,
It amazes me how different cultures shape a person’s thoughts and actions. Despite all we have in common, I’m always intrigued by what makes us different and all that we can learn from those differences.
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