It’s MLK Day, so today we are going to explore gratitude for influencers and change agents. Look up the term “change agent” on the Google and you’re likely to first see a lot of discussion about an individual who creates change within an organization. That is certainly one interpretation of a change agent. However, I’m taking a broader approach to the term, viewing it more in terms of someone who is using their skills, confidence, power, relationships, and personal courage to make a positive difference in any avenue of life or corner of the world. There’s the key word – positive. Loads of influential people have made a difference, not all of them positive. Who do you think of when you consider the concept of positive agent of change?
In today's podcast, we begin with a very brief meditation - and then examine a bit our willingness to play in the light or default to low vibration feelings of anxiety or fear. The choice is ours, and we can take great strides toward the positive by controlling what we take in via social media and traditional media. Feed the joy and hope, not the fear and darkness!
Music and voiceover by Mickey Clement - used with gratitude!
This is my first podcast in a while - first since coronavirus has sidelined the world. How can we remain grateful and lift our own spirits during these challenging times?
Some things to look at:
Music and voiceover by Mickey Clement - used with sincere gratitude.
Never one to shy away from an enormous subject – too big to do more than just touch on – I want to use to today’s meditation to explore gratitude for the internet.
What do you think of when you hear the word internet? There’s a famous – and now rather funny – 1996 clip of Katie Couric and the Today Show gang trying to understand and explain what the internet is. Think about it – how would you explain it to a Martian, or a two-year-old?
Original music and voiceover by Mickey Clement, used with sincere, heartfelt thanks.
RESOURCES CITED IN THIS EPISODE
https://www.today.com/video/-what-is-internet-katie-couric-bryant-gumbel-are-puzzled-62308421624
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/09/10-ways-the-web-and-internet-have-transformed-our-lives.html
I’m going to go out on a limb here and venture that you didn’t know today – January 21st – is National Hugging Day. That’s right – hugging. Like you do with a romantic partner, dog, or favorite stuffed animal. There are many benefits to hugging you may not be aware of – so today, we’re going to celebrate hugging and find reasons to be thankful for the hugs in our lives.
Original music and voiceover by Mickey Clement, used with sincerest, heartfelt thanks.
RESOURCES CITED IN THIS EPISODE
https://bethrogerson.com/build-better-you-8-hugs/
https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-2000-01-13-0001130751-story.html (vague reference to the bunny cholesterol story)
https://peaandthepodchiropractic.com/articles-tips/page/3/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6169869/
https://www.thehealthy.com/mental-health/benefits-of-hugging/
It’s MLK Day, so today we are going to explore gratitude for influencers and change agents. Look up the term “change agent” on the Google and you’re likely to first see a lot of discussion about an individual who creates change within an organization. That is certainly one interpretation of a change agent. However, I’m taking a broader approach to the term, viewing it more in terms of someone who is using their skills, confidence, power, relationships, and personal courage to make a positive difference in any avenue of life or corner of the world. There’s the key word – positive. Loads of influential people have made a difference, not all of them positive. Who do you think of when you consider the concept of positive agent of change?
Today's podcast meditation focuses on names.
The definition of the word name is fairly simple – a word or group of words by which a person, place, or thing is known or referred to. The concept of naming, however, is so complicated and far-reaching that it’s not even known how far back the tradition of giving individuals names actually goes. In this podcast, we’ll consider all kinds of names – and our gratitude for them.
Original music and voiceover by Mickey Clement, used with sincerest, heartfelt thanks.
RESOURCES FROM TODAY'S PODCAST:
https://heraldry.sca.org/names/namehist.html
https://www.kabalarians.com/cfm/what-does-my-name-mean.cfm
https://www.behindthename.com/
https://seattlebridemag.com/expert-wedding-advice/history-behind-maiden-vs-married-names
https://www.genealogy.com/articles/research/35_donna.html
https://pocketcultures.com/2011/04/13/children-naming-traditions/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2013/03/04/how-does-the-pope-choose-his-pope-name/#c04595148aed
https://didyouknowboats.com/why-are-boats-called-a-she/
https://earthsky.org/earth/how-do-hurricanes-get-their-names
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/502251/funniest-town-name-all-50-states
https://www.fastcompany.com/90156104/2017s-best-and-worst-names-and-3-naming-trends-for-2018
Today our podcast meditation focuses on communication. There are many, many ways to communicate. We are probably decent enough at at least one of them. Some of us are better at multiple forms of communication. Some of us may not be as good at communicating as we’d like to be. The point isn’t to rate yourself or evaluate yourself. The goal is to examine reasons you are grateful for whatever form communication takes in your life and for the messages that come to you through it.
https://www.vitalsmarts.com/resource/crucial-conversations-book/
http://tomvangelder.antrovista.com/sense-of-speech-133m50.html
Original music and voiceover by Mickey Clement - used with sincere, heartfelt gratitude.
Today our podcast meditation focuses on gratitude for travel. The most frequent answer given when people are asked what they’d do if they ever won the lottery is TRAVEL. Yet recent surveys indicate that the average American has only visited 12 out of the 50 United States. Eleven percent claim never to have traveled outside the state where they were born. So are people really interested in traveling? If they wanted to do it, wouldn’t they have traveled more by now? Maybe money is holding them back – but a day trip or weekend excursion to the next state probably isn’t going to break the bank for most people – yet so few of us do it.
Today we’re going to explore where we’ve been, gratitude for those trips, as well as places we might one day like to visit.
https://www.pointswithacrew.com/this-is-how-many-states-the-average-american-has-been-to/
https://nypost.com/2018/01/11/a-shocking-number-of-americans-never-leave-home/
Original music and voiceover by Mickey Clement - used with sincere, heartfelt gratitude.
We've all received some - maybe given more. Today is a conversation about advice. Who gave us good advice - and the importance of keeping our own counsel, along with an exercise that might help you when it comes to accepting and acting on anyone's advice.
I reference my own novel (still in progress) in this episode. Learn more at StanTravels.com.
I also mention the work of Dr. Ellen Kreidman. Find more about her here: DrEllenKreidman.com.
Original music and voiceover by Mickey Clement - used with sincerest and heartfelt thanks.
In today’s meditation, we’re going to explore the idea of closure. We come up against this need when relationships end, people die, we lose a job, or some other big – often sudden and unexpected – change occurs in our life. Letting go of something that was once important can be difficult, and many people seek closure in doing so. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes searching for it is a lost cause. The question today is whether or not we can find gratitude for whatever degree of closure we’ve had for situations seemingly left unended.
RESOURCES CITED:
http://theconversation.com/the-psychology-of-closure-and-why-some-need-it-more-than-others-104159
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-flux/201104/5-ways-find-closure-the-past
Original music & voiceover by Mickey Clement - used with sincerest, heartfelt thanks.
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