mindful moments

In Episode Two Heather tries to recreate an experiment from her favorite podcast Armchair Expert by inviting her husband Erik to the show as her first guest.  Let us know how you think it went (Dax Shepard and Kristin Bell ain't got nothing on us).

Listen in as Heather and Erik speak candidly about rest and society, theater as a platform for teaching self-compassion, the importance of trust and connection, Improv as a model for coping with uncertainty, creating mindful moments through our daily choices, nature, art, creative spaces, the power of giving and the magic of Yes, And.

If you are enjoying Minding the Gaps: Finding Magic in Life's Messy Middle please follow, share and download!  

End of year stress got you down?  Join us next week for a mini-sode where Heather will explore her Holiday Thrive Guide and the 5 components of: saying no, creating sacred space, being present, remembering that everything is temporary (especially uncomfortable emotions), and treasuring this time as an opportunity for rest and renewal.

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey
https://www.npr.org/2022/10/19/1129907651/improv-can-build-confidence-heres-how-to-apply-it-to-your-everyday-life
Improv Wisdom: Don't Prepare, Just Show Up by Patricia Ryan Madson
Sun Walker World on Facebook
Melver Art on Instagram and Facebook

Minding the gaps: Finding the Magic in Life's Messy Middle is an affiliate of Minding the Gaps Coaching and Mindfulmess LLC.

Please explore Heather's website at https://minding-the-gaps.org/.

This mindful moment focuses on healing your relationship with money. This practice is based on episode 29 with Rachel Bubb and work from Nicole Cardoza.

• 01:53 meditation begins

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Episode sponsored by Connect Wellness. Connect Wellness empowers people with tools to connect with themselves, others, and the present moment.

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Slow down and bring the energy of mindfulness to your daily life with a cup of tea. Poor a cup of your favorite tea and sit amongst the trees for this mindful meditation.

• 01:49 Meditation begins

Join the ~*Dream Team*~ to support the podcast!

Follow @howthewiseonegrows and @hollyzajur on Instagram for more and check out more offerings online.

Episode sponsored by Connect Wellness. Connect Wellness empowers people with tools to connect with themselves, others, and the present moment.

Be wise-- sign up to be the first to know what's next!

I'm probably showing my age...but some of you might remember the routine of "defragging" your computer to allow it to work more quickly and efficiently. It was once described to be as allowing your computer to take some time to put files away and "clean up" it's desk. This was it was able to work better. Well, wouldn't it be nice to defrag your mind on occasion? Just to put away the loose ends and clutter that we tend to accumulate and bog down our brain and sap our energy? Well, you can defrag your mind with a simple process called meditation. It's not a "new age" phenomenon or a fad. As a matter of fact, it's now pretty much mainstream in Western society and is used to improve people’s lives from boardrooms to locker rooms. From grade schools to grad schools. And to help overcome emotional as well as physical pain. There's no costly equipment to buy, no deep philosophical concepts to master and not even any specific right way to do it. Our new series on practicing mindfulness, called The Mindful Minute will help you defrag your mind and hopefully also help you improve your outlook on life, love, work and the common everyday stressors that plague the lives of people living with disabilities and the people they love. I hope you enjoy The Mindful Minute! 
Be well and be kind, 
Steve
 

Thank you for listening to our podcast and for your continued support!

We're taking a break to recharge and plan some exciting new things for the show. We'll be back with a fresh season featuring more in-depth explorations of disability issues, along with new segments and interviews.

If you'd like to learn more about NLAWKI please visit our facebook page and if you'd like to support our program more directly, stop by our Ko-Fi and make a contribution! But the most important way you can help our program is by sharing NLAWKI with someone you know!

Description:  It is important to understand that being in the present moment is not a constant state but a place to continually return to. Dr. Donna Rockwell will lead us in a mindful breath meditation, guiding us on how to return home, to the present moment, to now.

Description: Dr Cliff Smyth guides you through a meditation practice using imagery of a lake – to help you explore equanimity, even as the lake passes through many moods.

Description:  In this guided meditation, Dr Valerie Worthington leads us to quiet our minds and reflect on a progression of affirmations on knowing and living our priorities.

In these unsettling times, it's nice to know you have a friend to go to who understands the importance of not only helping others identify and share their own feelings, but the freedom that comes from asking for support when needed.  On our very special walk, Dr. Maurice Elias shares how this applies not only to the field of education but our every day lives and overall mental health.

Whether you are a teacher, counselor, para-professional, parent or caregiver, this episode will  provide powerful insights as to the significance of mindful moments, strength breaks and self-care.  If you are a school interested in learning more about SEL programming, a teacher or administrator seeking SEL certification, orsimply ramping up your school's current SEL curriculum, you don't want to miss this episode.

Professor Maurice J. Elias lectures nationally and internationally to educators and parents about students’ emotional intelligence, school success, social-emotional and character development, and youth purpose.  He is a professor in the Psychology Department at Rutgers University, director of the Rutgers Social-Emotional and Character Development Lab, and co-director of the Academy for Social-Emotional Learning in Schools, which offers certificate programs in direct instruction and school leadership relating to SEL and character development for educators and student support professionals in school and out-of-school settings.

An author of many successful literary works including two highly acclaimed books for young children, he is also a pioneer and  Founding Member of the Leadership Team of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (www.CASEL.org) and currently directs the Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab (www.rci.rutgers.edu/~melias/).

You can reach Dr. Elias via e-mail at secdlab@gmail.com.

What a wonderful way to wrap up Season 1.  See you on the path!

Thank you to our Sponsor, Hardenbergh Insurance Group.  Visit their website at https://www.hig.net or reach out to them in the Delaware Valley at 856.489.9100.  They also operate in 42 states across the country.

Finally, as Founder of Empower Kids, LLC, I love showcasing young talent.  I want to thank and recognize our musicians that take care of the musical Podcast Intro and Exit music.  Liam Graham is the guitarist, and Anna Yannessa, is a junior vocal major at the University of Missouri who plans on continuing studying voice performance at the graduate level.  She can be reached on Instagram @annyannessa19, on Twitter at @annayannessa and on FB at Anna Yannessa.

For more information about my heart our mission at Empower Kids LLC visit me on social media:

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/lisa.ozalisgraham and https://www.facebook.com/EmpowerKidsLLC

Twitter https://twitter.com/EmpowerKidsLLC

Linked In  https://twitter.com/EmpowerKidsLLC

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/empowerkidsllc

Every Sunday we revisit one of our favourite tips and tricks from the week. In this episode we refresh you with some handy hints to avoid feeling overwhelmed from baring all.

For more on this episode and to join a community of like-minded people online head to @thespace_podcast on Instagram and The Space Podcast on Facebook.  

Credits

Host: Casey Donovan @caseydonovan88

Content: Amy Molloy @amy_molloy

Executive Producer: Elise Cooper

Editors: Elise Cooper, Hannah Bowman, Shetu Bimpong

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Season 3, Episode 4:  In this practice Dr Cliff Smyth leads you through a process, from the Sounder Sleep System, which uses guided natural breathing, coordinated with gentle, inhibitory pressing of the thumb into the opposite palm to promote a deep calming.

Season 2, Ep. 41: This meditation, a Raja Yoga Meditation Spiritual Perspective, led by Dr Kanishtha Agarwal, Saybrook alumna, is based on the most ancient form of yoga. It focuses on connecting with our inner light, the Supreme Light and the light that exists within each human being on this planet...in that order. Through the awareness of the self as a wise King (Raja), the secret of the harmonious and happy inner kingdom can be unveiled as the soul is reminded of its sovereignty.

Season 2, Ep. 34: In this time of intense pressure from all spheres of influence, it can be helpful to create space where we can. In this guided meditation, MBM doctoral student Jenny DeDecker uses the body and the breath to dive into our own microcosm of experience, allowing even a minute opening to feel as expansive as the universe.

Season 2, Episode 32: Dr. Valerie Worthington guides us through a meditation that invites us to find positions and paces hat are most comfortable to us individually to find inner stillness.

Season 2, Episode 30: MBM doctoral student Casey Applegate-Aguilar guides us in this meditation. She leads us in an experimental imaginative practice focused on offering attention to the biofield and utilizing the power of the mind to regulate and soothe. This meditation reminds us to cultivate awareness of ways we become energetically drained and the importance of taking some time to replenish.

Season 2, Episode 29: In this practice Dr Cliff Smyth leads you through a practice of awareness of hearing sounds from the world, the body, and the mind, and invites you to find ways to quieten the listening, so as to gather oneself to be ready to listen again.

Season 2, Episode 28: MBM doctoral student Sophie Archibald guides us to follow our breath through body and mind. Her prompts of evocative words let us conjure up images of restoration and growth.

Season 2, Episode 26: Dr. Shannon Sims leads us to acknowledge our continually changing world, internally and externally. 

Season 2, Episode 25: In this mindful moment, Dr. Gina Belton shares the wisdom of Jack Kornfield and her Indigenous Elders, with an invitation to explore a simple intention: “No matter what the hurt within us, we can seek to be reconciled.” 

Season 2, Episode 24: Saybrook Mind-Body Medicine doctoral student and mindfulness teacher Jenny Dedecker leads us in a meditation to explore embodied intention, guiding us to deeper awareness in ead, heart, and hara.