Ep.59- Transforming our bodies with compassion, a weight loss journey with Jessica Campbell
In this episode, I chat with my own sister, Jessica, about her weight loss journey. She lost 100 pounds and shares her wisdom on how to lose weight while honoring yourself. We talk about society’s view of weight, about her journey in losing the first 20-30 pounds, and how being radically honest with herself, got her on track to living her best life. Most importantly, we talk about the role of compassion in helping Jessica transform her body.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:03 — 81.1MB)
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Ep. 58- Returning to Ourselves through Mindfulness with Ashley Williams
In this episode of our podcast, I speak with the incredible Ashley Williams, who was voted top 40 under 40 about the power of mindfulness in helping us return to ourselves. We talk about how the systems we have created are crumbling, about how mindfulness can positively impact children in the school system, and the about the importance of creating mindful spaces where BIPOC people are welcome!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:52 — 74.0MB)
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Ep. 57- Conversation with Ben Painter on the power of mindfulness in the school system
Currently students and teachers seem to be struggling more within the school system. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was something that the school could be doing to support students, teachers and administrators regarding their daily issues? Well there is! Introducing mindfulness into the school system can go a long way to help support student well being, mental health, education and more! Join me as I speak to Ben Painter who is leading the implementation of mindfulness in the school system. We speak about his perspective on what the schools of the future should focus on, as well as why it is important to have a mindfulness Director on site at every school. If you are a teacher, student, parent or administrator, don’t miss this episode.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:38 — 72.3MB)
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Ep.56- Conversation with Christophe Mbonyingabo: How can we love our enemies?
Martin Luther King Jr, said “love is the only power able to transform an enemy into a friend”, but how does love do this? How do we embody Jesus’ teaching of love thy enemy when other’s behaviour is often so hurtful? Listen to my conversation with Christophe Mbonyingabo, Executive Director of CARSA Ministries. CARSA brings together Tutsi and Hutus who have been impacted by Genocide, in order to practice forgiveness and reconciliation. Listen to Christophe’s wisdom around how people are conditioned to hate and the innovative approach his organization is using to bring people together in love. Do not miss this episode!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:46 — 79.3MB)
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Ep.55- Conversation with Kara Cosby: Compassion in the School System
Do you wish there was a way to help young people regulate their challenging feelings and emotions in the school system. Do you desire more compassion in how we manage school based behaviors? Do not miss my enlightening chat with Kara Cosby on the power of compassion in the school system. In this conversation, she talks about her work with the Compassionate School Project (CSP) and how it is helping young people in the US have better personal and professional outcomes.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:08 — 66.1MB)
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Ep.54- Conversation with Tina O Hoang: Addressing people pleasing with Compassion
Are you a people pleaser? Do you say “yes” when you mean “no”? Do you believe that saying no to someone means they will no longer love you, or that they will leave you? If yes, then this episode is for you! Listen as I chat with Tina O Hoang about people pleasing, what historically led her to people please, and how she talks to herself now to address those tendencies. We also talk about how the other extreme of being confrontational, is not as different to people pleasing as some may think.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:50 — 72.6MB)
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Ep.53- Conversation with Holistic Life Foundation: The power of mindfulness in helping young people flourish!
Listen to this inspiring episode on how mindfulness can help young people flourish in life and in the school system. Listen to three incredible men share their 20 year journey of teaching mindfulness in schools and the impact their work has had in helping children become more peaceful, compassionate, loving, healthy and balanced. Their work has been featured in CNN, Oprah Magazine, Good Morning America and so much more.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:04 — 82.5MB)
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Ep.52- Conversation with Savio Clemente: Healing cancer with forgiveness, determination and compassion
If you are going through a difficult moment, right now, this conversation is for you. On this podcast episode I speak to Savio Clemente who survived stage 3 cancer, through determination, forgiveness and compassion for himself. We talk about how he was able to overcome treatment symptoms, and how his journey lead him to completely change his life for the positive. We also discuss emotions in boys, vulnerability and shame and of course, the importance of self compassion during a healing journey.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 45:41 — 62.7MB)
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Ep. 51- Alexis Donkin: Alchemizing our Challenges with Compassion
Listen to Alexi’s story of overcoming lung COVID during a time when little was known about the virus. Listen to how she was able to alchemize this difficult moment into something greater with gratitude and compassion. We also talk about psychic powers, listening to our bodies, self-care, and the power of compassion.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:21 — 70.5MB)
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Ep.50- REMASTERED Conversation with Lara Naughton: Compassion and Sexual Assault
Listen to this remastered version of my interview with Lara Naughton on compassion during and after a sexual assault. In this conversation Lara shares how love and compassion saved her life after she was kidnapped while on vacation. She talks about how compassion changed her, and shares her ideas on how to change systems so that they can work better for both men and women who are involved in SA.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:00 — 46.7MB)
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Ep.49-Conversation with Geraldine Crane: Healing the Mother Wound
Almost everyone I know, has a mother wound. What is that? an unresolved issue with their mother, or mother figure. On this call, you will learn how being compassionate towards ourselves and having boundaries, can help us address our mother based traumas and can help us step into forgiveness. We also discuss the importance of unconditional love, as well as self-care.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 56:31 — 77.6MB)
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Ep.48- Conversation with Jill Schultz: Treating Shame with Compassion
***Trigger warning***
Listen to this compassionate conversation about shame and sexual abuse from the perspective of a person who hurt others. In this chat, you will learn about what causes some individuals to hurt others, how shame shows up in our lives, and how loving and being compassionate towards ourselves, can help us shine light to the darkest aspects of humanity.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:16 — 75.9MB)
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Ep.47- Chat with Mariah Kimball on Compassion While Parenting
A must listen! On this episode, we talk about parenting, vulnerability, difficult feelings, and the power of compassion in helping us become better parents. In this conversation, we get real about challenging emotions we may feel as parents and how to approach these difficult feelings with curiosity instead of judgment. If you are looking for some support in being more authentically you and dealing with the challenges that arise, then this episode is for you.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:20:22 — 110.4MB)
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Ep.46- Let Your Dog Lead! A Conversation with Michael Overlie
Do you desire to learn from a zen master? Well, you may have one in your own home. On this podcast episode, learn how your dog may hold the key to unlocking your own compassion, peace and joy!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:58 — 65.9MB)
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Ep.45- Healing with Love after a Loss. A conversation with Coach Lovemore.
Listen to this wonderful chat about life after loss, gratitude, joy, self-love and self-compassion and living from our God-self!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:08 — 74.3MB)
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Ep.44- Creating a Magical Life with Diana Wentworth
Are you looking for more magic in your life? Do you desire to live a life of synchronicity where you are guided towards your best and most exciting life? Listen to my conversation with Diana Wentworth who has worked with some of the most well known authors/speakers in the world. From Jack Canfield to Louise Hay, her breakfast meetings launched many careers. Now she’s being guided to surrender it all and begin a new journey in this next phase of her life. Do not miss this incredible chat about living from magic and the flow.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:10 — 64.8MB)
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Ep.43- With Georgie Holbrook On Love and Healings
Listen to this inspiring story of healing from Georgie, who shares her experiences with rosacea and how by addressing her most complex inner feelings, she was able to heal herself. In this episode she shares how her thoughts and feelings created illness in her body and how she was able to find healing from something doctors labelled “incurable”. If you are looking for inspiration, do not miss this conversation.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:00 — 42.1MB)
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Ep.42- Conversation with Paul J Nadeau on the Power of Compassion
Does love have the power to save your life? Listen to the incredible tale of Paul J Nadeau whose compassionate approach helped save his life when he and his colleague were face to face with terrorists in another country. As an experienced criminal interviewer, Paul shares his ideas on how to use compassion to get people to feel safe enough to open up and tell the truth. Do not miss this inspiring conversation on the power of love.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:12:22 — 64.6MB)
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Ep.41- Conversation with Echo on how to increase your compassion through Yoga.
Join me as I chat with Echo on the amazing power of yoga to help us heal not only our bodies but our minds. We talk about the power of presence, perfectionism, what unconditional love really looks like, coming to love the aging process and how to be truly present in life. Don’t miss this wonderful conversation about how to connect better with our bodies.
Chapters 0:00 Promo Ad
1:08 Episode intro
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:33 — 49.6MB)
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Ep.40- Chat with Krisanna Sexton and Dana Croschere. Can Loving Ourselves Help Us Heal Our Bodies?
Do you believe your body has the power to heal itself? what role do unaddressed emotions have in aligning us to illness and disease.
In this podcast episode, I chat with Krisanna and Dana, creators of the incredible film, Love Heals. Love heals is a documentary on the body’s ability to heal itself after addressing our own trauma with self-love and self-compassion.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:39 — 52.5MB)
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Ep.39- Joe Atkinson: Compassionately Addressing Our Children’s Challenges
Are you having a hard time dealing with the challenges of parenting? could you use greater compassion for yourself and for your children when handling difficult moments? Tune in for my conversation with Joe Atkinson on compassionate inquiry with parents. On this episode I share the challenges I have faced as a parent as well as some of my successes while Joe shares his wisdom on how to have an easier time with tantrums.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:01:28 — 48.9MB)
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Ep.38- Tony McAleer: Addression Hate with Compassion
Do love and compassion truly have the power to positively impact hate? Listen to this inspiring conversation between former White Supremacist, Tony McAleer and Gissele, about the power of love in transmuting hate into compassion. Tony McAleer, author of the book The Cure for Hate, shares his amazing story of leaving violent extremism to work on ending racism and discrimination.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:31 — 48.1MB)
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Ep.37- Greta Pontarelli: Living an Unlimited Life.
What is preventing you from living your dreams? Do you hold limiting beliefs about your own abilities, your lack of experience or degrees or even your age? Join me for this incredible conversation with Greta Pontarelli, who is a a 67 year old 5 time world champion pole dancer and is the oldest in her field to compete at the world level. She and I talk about what it takes to become unlimited and to fully live your dreams.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:10:48 — 47.9MB)
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Ep.36- Conversation with Scott Goyette: The Power of Surrender
Join me for this amazing conversation with Scott Goyette on the power of surrendering and letting go. Scott Goyette and he is, former chairperson for educators for the National Speakers Association. He’s also a podcast host, author, college professor, and personal development coach. He empowers his audiences through memorable stories, impactful lessons and tools that help you become more mindful and more deeply tuned into your senses. He’s also the founder of the Go Love movement
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:11 — 53.1MB)
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Ep.35- Dr. Marnie Hill shares her Spiritual Journey
Listen to a great conversation with Dr. Marnie Hill, author of God came to my garage sale. In this chat, she discusses leaving a traumatic relationship, as well as having a spiritual awakening and connecting with God. We also discuss unconditional love and what we think God is.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:57 — 43.1MB)
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Ep.34- Amy Joy: Let Go of Fear and Live your Dreams
Can we live extraordinary lives after trauma? How do we find the gifts in the chaos? In this conversation, Amy Joy shares her experiences being a missionary child, escaping an abusive relationship, and fleeing to Mexico to start a new life with her children. She shares the mindset shift which helped her find freedom and live her best life. Tune in to find out how self-love and self-compassion helped her finally forgive those who hurt her and see everything in her past with a new perspective.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:50 — 39.7MB)
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Ep.33- Emily Thiroux Threatt: Overcoming Grief with Compassion
What helps us grieve? Join me in this conversation with Emily Threatt, as she shares her story about losing, not one but two of her husbands and how grief lead her to find compassion for herself and others. She has now established a community to help others through their grief.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:35 — 34.1MB)
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Ep.32- Hitu Jugessur: The Power of Breathing
Do you know that you have everything you need available to you at any moment? By focusing on the breath, you can remember that you are always being supported. Join me as I chat with Hitu Jugessur on the power of the breath in helping us stay grounded, calm and peaceful. She shares her stories of helping high conflict groups remember their power through breathwork.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:52 — 32.4MB)
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Ep.31- Avital Miller: Healing Ourselves with Compassion
Join me as I chat with the wonderful Avital Miller about her journey in healing herself from a chronic condition using natural methods. In this conversation we talk about her journey in learning about her diagnosis, and hearing stories of individuals who healed themselves in magical or miraculous ways. Avital shares the key themes she discovered while chatting with survivors as well as discusses how compassion and love fit within healing.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:34 — 53.2MB)
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Ep.30- Rhonda V Magee: Compassion in Race and Equity Conversations
Can we use compassion to have difficult conversations about race? Can compassion help us lean into one another and witness each other’s stories, without judgement? Join us for this inspiring conversation with the wonderful Dr. Rhonda V Magee on how to use compassion and mindfulness to discuss race and equity issues so that we may come together to co-create a more loving, inclusive and compassionate world.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11:57 — 66.0MB)
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Ep.29 Jody Urquhart – Following our bliss.
Join us for a fun chat with Jody Urquhart about how to create a life full of bliss and love. We are not meant to live a life of suffering and unanswered dreams…we are born to thrive!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:17 — 57.5MB)
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Ep.28 Sandi Daly – How gratidute changed my life.
Do you believe in the power of gratitude? Do you think it has the power to completely transform your life? Join us for an incredible conversation with Sandi Daly, as she shares how courage and gratitude completely transformed her life from one where she experienced domestic violence to one where she is thriving personally and professionally all in 21 days. Do not miss this inspiring conversation.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:23:53 — 59.1MB)
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Ep.27 Conversation with Kendra and Alison -Joy at home and at work.
Desire more joy in your life? Listen to Kendra and Alison talk about how joy can positively impact your personal life and your work life. We talk openly about some of the barriers to joy in this joy-ful conversation.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:05 — 22.4MB)
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Ep.26 Conversation with Rukiye – The Power of Forgiveness
The video of her hugging her son’s killers, has gathered over 34 million views worldwide. She chose to forgive rather than to sit in hate, anger and revenge. Rukiye Abdul-Mutakallim, sits down with Gissele to chat about how she was able to forgive those who killed her son. She talks about the impact of trauma and how addressing it is the key to the survival of our species. She shares her wisdom on how to create a more loving and compassionate world. Do not miss this inspiring episode.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:31:02 — 64.6MB)
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Ep.25 Conversation with Harry Potvin-Loving our Bodies
Join us for this amazing chat with Harry Potvin, host of the Mental Corner Podcast, as he discusses his mental health struggles, body dysmorphia and how compassion helped him on his journey to being more loving and accepting of himself and his own emotions.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:59 — 114.4MB)
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Ep.24 Emmanuel Dagher-Compassion for those we deem hurtful
This is the perfect time for a conversation on how to love those we deem unlovable. Listen to this amazing chat between myself and the incredible Emmanuel Dagher, who has presented at the United Nations, as well as the World Congress about peace love and healing.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:13 — 137.8MB)
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Ep.23 Dr. Danielle Law-Addressing bullying with compassion.
Listen to Dr. Danielle Law’s wisdom on why bullying happens and how we can positively influence bullying with compassion! We talk about her research on bullying and find out some surprising things about cyberbullying and physical bullying. This is a must listen for anyone interested in having a greater understanding why bullying happens.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:06 — 135.3MB)
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Ep.22 Tanya Memme – Creating a love filled home environment.
Join Tanya Memme, host of A&E’s Sell This House, as she and I discuss being in Hollywood, how to bring greater love into our home environments, finding the strength to rebuild after a failure, and the importance of finding our voice.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:12 — 114.9MB)
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Ep.21 Justin Court-Spread the love
Join us for a great conversation with Justin Court, founder of Spread the Love Movement, as we chat about unconditional love, becoming our God self, and so much more!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:52 — 61.6MB)
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Ep.20 Susan Pollak – Compassion and Parenting
Parenting can be challenging! It is one of the most challenging jobs we will ever do. But it is also greatly rewarding. In order for us to have compassion with our children, we need to begin with ourselves. When we hold space for ourselves, we have more to give others. In this podcast interview I chat with Susan M. Pollak, Author of “Self-Compassion for Parents”, on how to nurture our children by caring for ourselves. It is a must listen!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:35 — 43.6MB)
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Ep.19 Edgard Gouveia Jr.- Playing games can change the world.
Tune in to hear Edgar’s story of how his desire to help others, turned into a global movement of play and social justice. In this podcast he shares how he, with the support of 5 other people, lead a movement which mobilized over 200,000 people to assist Santa Catarina in Brazil, after a devastating flood that led to the destruction of 9300 homes. In this podcast we talk about compassion, joy, and how playing games can help us address some of our world’s biggest challenges.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:33 — 54.9MB)
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Ep.18 James W. Jesso – Psychodelics Mental Health and Compassion
Join us for this amazing chat with James W. Jesso on how psychedelics can assist in mental well being. In our discussion we talk about common misconceptions of drug use, how psychedelics assisted in his journey of healing as well as how psychedelics may bring greater compassion into our consciousness.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:23 — 48.9MB)
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Ep.17 Ken Honda’s – “Happy Money”: The key to greater abundance
Tune in a listen to International Best Selling author, Ken Honda, also known as Japan’s Zen Millionaire, share his wisdom on how to have “Happy Money” and attract greater abundance into your life.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:13 — 54.5MB)
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Ep.16 Jamie Lynn Tatera – Compassion in divorce: A personal story
Tune in to hear Jamie Lynn’s story of how compassion assisted her in facing divorce, owning her truth, and how it helps her everyday in her current relationships. Stay to the end to listen to a wonderful meditative practice.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:36 — 40.3MB)
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Ep.15 Steve Farber-How Love is Good for Business
Are love and business mutually exclusive concepts? Is love only reserved for customers who love your products or can you love the people you work with and for? Tune in to hear Steve Farber author of Love is Just Damn Good Business, as he shares stories from his clients who have incorporated love as a foundational value in their organizations. He shares stories about the power of love in increasing organizational success, joy, inspiration and passion.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 53:56 — 49.2MB)
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Ep.14 Kosu Boudreau – Exploring Compassion with a Cancer Survivor
Tune in to hear Kosu’s story of overcoming cancer, supporting others and how compassion can assist individuals during and after an illness.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 57:05 — 47.8MB)
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Ep.13 Dr. Steve Hickman – Compassion in those who identify as men
Tune in to hear Dr. Steve Hickman and Gissele discuss compassion work with Men. In this interview, we talk about toxic masculinity, the messaging men have received about self-compassion and self-love.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:17 — 44.8MB)
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Ep.12 Michael Braithwaite – Compassion in Homelessness
Tune in to hear Michael Braithwaite discuss the importance of compassion in homelessness as well as redefine how we look at individuals experiencing homelessness.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:26 — 43.1MB)
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Ep.11 Barbara Klein – Self Love and online Dating
Tune in to hear Barbara’s wisdom around the importance of loving yourself while finding and maintaining a healthy relationship.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:04 — 23.3MB)
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Ep.10 Kara Latta-The Power of Play in Awakening our Inner Child
Are you thinking of adding more play to your life? Do you think playing as an adult is childish and indulgent? Listen to Kara Latta share her story of how through adversity she was inspired to reconnect with her inner child. Find out how by tapping into the “Power of Play”, you can begin your journey of coming home to yourself.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:29 — 21.0MB)
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Listening to those who oppose our views: What I learned from Trump supporters
Listening to those whose views differ from ours is important for us to learn how to come together in dialogue
Why it’s so challenging to love ourselves!
We are all born beautiful and perfect little babies. Full of unconditional love and compassion as well as joy and curiosity about our world and our fellow human beings. Unfortunately we have learned a lot of messaging that has taken us away from our inherent feelings of love, compassion, joy and abundance. Thus, the journey back to loving ourselves is about unlearning.
Many of us, were born to human beings who may have had insecure, or disorganized attachments to their parental figures. They may have been taught conditional love. For those of you who do not know what conditional love is, here is an example: “I will love you if you do X, and I withdraw my love via attention, or respect, if you don’t”. The messaging may not have been as clear as this, but the energy behind the behavior was crystal clear. I have to earn the love I receive.
This messaging made many of us internalize messages about our own worthiness to receive this love. Some children will internalize these messages because it gives them a sense of control. “Perhaps if I change, I can receive love.” Other young people will feel that no matter what they say or do, they will not get their needsmet for love and will feel “unlovable”.
Parenting with Compassion
Recently David and I had the opportunity to attend the Ask Sharifa show as guests on a panel. The topic of conversation switched to parenting teenage children, especially during the pandemic.
As parents of two teenagers, David and I know the parenting challenges that can arise at the different stages of our children’s lives. As we have all heard, kids aren’t born with a manual, and even if we did have one, no one-size strategy can fit all the needs of young people. Today, on the surface it may appear as though the needs of our children are not the same as they were when we were young. We didn’t have social media to contend with, or have the pressure to be constantly “on” social chats so you can score points and not lose your rank. Some young people are dealing with increased social isolation from COVID19, increased focus on electronics, and/or may find home is not a safe (physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual) place to reside in but have no other options due to closures. However, at the core, all children have the same needs: to be loved and to love, to be seen, to be heard, to feel safe and provided for, to have agency in their lives, to experience things, to live their dreams, and to flourish and grow. Nevertheless, as parents it may feel at times as though we have no idea how to support our kids or that the needs of our children supersede or conflict with our own needs or desires. However, there are ways to ensure a more harmonious relationship with our children.
Here are 10 reasons why Ted Lasso is a compassionate leader:
The Ted Lasso show has become a hit worldwide. It has been nominated for multiple Emmys and has won numerous awards. What has been most surprising about the hit show is people’s reaction to Coach Lasso’s compassionate, collaborative, generous and positive outlook. Many are calling his approach a breath of fresh air in leadership.
**Warning: spoilers ahead**
The show follows a small time football coach who is hired to coach a professional soccer team in England despite having had no previous experience. He gets hired by the owner Rebecca in an attempt to hurt her ex-husband who loves soccer. Eventually though Rebecca is charmed by Ted’s easy going and thoughtful approach (plus his baking!) and due to his people skills, the team begins to do very well under his leadership.
Upset about the vaccines? Try a little compassion
COVID19 has brought a number of challenges and opportunities. From the chaos, greater clarity has arisen over what is working and not working in our world. Although we are seeing greater and greater calls for compassion and kindness in our society, there is still a great deal of division among people. One of the topics which is currently dividing people is the issue of vaccination. Although Canada has one of the highest vaccinations rates in the world, with 67% of people being fully vaccinated (80% have received 1 vaccine) there are still a reported 3-5 million people who are not vaccinated even though they can be. Worldwide vaccination rates range from 60% to 6%. The new variant, the Delta variant, is causing a great deal of strife and adding to the divide between those who are adamant that everyone be vaccinated and those who feel their rights are being violated by being forced to vaccinate.
I am lucky enough to have friends of both sides so I can hear their different perspectives. My friends who are vaccinated tout the research shared with them, the minimal side effects and the fact that the vaccine has been shown to decrease the potential of hospitalization and death. The majority of my friends have been vaccinated without much ado. These friends are shocked that anyone would not want to get vaccinated and feel it is irresponsible not to get vaccinated. Even Jennifer Aniston has decided to cut ties with “friends” who are not vaccinated due to the fear that those who are vaccinated are spreading the disease to others and are responsible for keeping the Delta variant alive.
Self-Compassion During Difficult Times
Read about my experiences with self-compassion when someone important to me ended up in the hospital and how I welcomed all my emotions to have tea with me.
Why forgiving others is important for you!
How forgiving others can be an act of self-love!
Loving our looks!
Have you ever looked in the mirror and imagined what you would look like after plastic surgery? Well I have. I used to put my finger over my nose, and imagine what it could look like if I had a nose job. I grew up as a “cute” kid. I received compliments on what an adorable baby I was. My barometer for my attractiveness was based on my model of beauty which was my mother who was/is a beautiful woman in all traditional sense of the word. She had the perfect nose and beautiful face. As a kid, my house of self-love was built on compliments from external people. And like any house not built on a solid foundation, it was so fragile it would collapse under the wind of anything that did not align with the image of cuteness I had built. One day, such a wind blew in the form of an indirect compliment, “you know” someone said to me, “you would be so much prettier if you had a nose job.” “What’s wrong with my nose?” I thought. Turns out, I didn’t have the conventional cute, straight and pointy nose. In fact, when I looked at it, my nose look more like the witches noses in kids movies. In fact, I remember going to the movie Rapunzel with my little girl and her commenting how much I looked like Mother Gothel. When I was younger, I would look at myself in the mirror and say, “maybe if I could fix my nose, I would be perfect” and would actually imagine how men would stop in the streets to look at me. This makes me chuckle now but back then the struggle was real or at least it felt real. This fascination with my nose, soon lead to my noticing other things that weren’t like other people. Most of the people I knew, didn’t have big puffy hair, and crooked teeth. No wonder rhinoplasty and orthodontics are billion dollar industries. As I started looking to examples to validate my own beauty in the environment around me, I discovered that a vast number of women in the movie industry had nose jobs, facelifts etc. and these were the examples I was using to measure myself. I wondered what those individuals looked like originally and why they felt they had to change everything about themselves. Thinking back, not finding other examples of people who looked like was actually a blessing. If you ask my parents, they would tell you that I’ve always been a non-conformist (defiant is more like it) so I decided to not fix my nose or teeth as a giant F*** you, to anyone who didn’t choose to accept me. I said to myself that my not doing so was my badge of honor that showed I loved myself. But the truth is, I didn’t. I still avoided all profile pictures and didn’t really think that I was attractive enough to be with someone. Really, when I reflect about this now, I realize that it wasn’t about my nose at all. It was about my perceptions that I had to be perfect to be loveable.
Matt Hawkins-Including Compassion in Politics
In this blog, Matt Hawkins, Co-Founder of Compassion in Politics, discusses how to create political systems that are founded on compassion and love for all people.
Re-imagining Child Welfare as a Loving and Compassionate Place: Creating Empowering Organizations
Can child welfare be a place where children, families and even workers feel loved? What is the role of compassion in the administration of child welfare? Can child protection be “re-imagined” as a service that truly empowers others?
Child welfare has always been near and dear to my heart. Since I was 15, I wanted to work for an organization that helped children and their families have better lives. I was born in Peru, and even as a young child, I was witness to the many injustices endured by children. I now work for a child welfare agency, and for me it has been a dream come true. I am surrounded by truly loving and compassionate people, who got into the world of child welfare to help children and families. This commitment to the welfare of children and their families keeps workers engaged in the work especially when the work is the most challenging. The way child welfare is currently structured, though, I feel interferes with enabling workers to be truly compassionate and loving towards clients, to each other and even towards themselves. The system we have in Canada, nay the world, is one based on fear. Where fear reigns, love cannot flourish. This fear has arisen due to the way child deaths are managed by the media, the public, the ministry and even ourselves. What happens when we are in fear is that we contract, become afraid of doing the job, of being sued, of making a mistake, and we stop being willing to love and have faith in families in an open and transparent manner. We become controlling and afraid to share power. The Ontario Child Welfare system is based on ‘standards’ developed in order to measure the work as a form of accountability. On paper, it truly sounds good. Standard approaches for all people. However, child welfare is not the price club…if I was a client intersecting with child protection, I would want the work to be tailored to my own life circumstance. The structure we have in Ontario is based on the premise that as a worker my job is to “protect” children above all else, which is good but this is often where it stops. I remember having a conversation with someone from the Child Advocate’s office who said to me, “you know, in child welfare you spend all of your time bubble wrapping the kids until their 18 birthday…and then when they age out of care, you give them a bicycle and put them on the 401 and expect them to flourish”. This really stuck with me…because I had seen how the protection of children, at times, prevented children in care from truly living their lives. How sleepovers became a sudden potential for abuse, how ATVs were banned in case someone fell off. All of these “protections” were based on fear, not love. Love gives freedom to explore. Anyone who is familiar with the circle of security model understands that children need a secure base and the possibility to explore the world to build confidence in their own abilities to overcome adversity. The sponsoring thought of the “protection” approach is based on victim-hood. Children are “victims” that need to be protected from harmful parents instead of being regarded as resilient survivors. As stated in my interview with Erica Wright, (former youth in care) children in government care are often “pitied” for having experienced abuse (Podcast Episode 3: Creating Compassionate Places for Youth https://maitricentre.com/podcast/ep-3-how-can-we-create-more-loving-and-compassionate-systems-for-youth/). Pity is a dis-empowering emotion as it assumes the people do not have enough power to help themselves or know better. However, I have met many very strong, resilient and insightful children. When the victim mentality becomes a child’s whole identity, it prevents children from stepping into their full potential. Instead of having a child welfare system that focuses on youth’s empowerment and tapping into their resilience, we have a system that needs to “give” children and youth things in order for them to flourish. Of course it is important for us to meet the needs of the children…however, what are we doing to remind children that they have more power than they believe? That they are worthy of love and affection? How are we getting them to love and be compassionate to themselves? How are we getting them to feel inspired to achieve beyond their dreams? Additionally, do we do this for parents?
Livin’ in Lockdown: Venice versus the Virus
Gissele’s best friend shares her experiences living in lockdown in Venice for the past 2 months. “We are your future”…
COVID19: The belief in “not enough” is killing us!
Did the reaction to the COVID19 virus by some individuals cause you fear or anger? Did it lead you to frustration at the people who hoarded supplies or tried to benefit from the situation? In this blog, I write about how our “lack mentality” is negatively impacting our world.
Shame: I’ll be the first to admit it I’ve hurt people.
Have you ever experienced shame after you hurt someone? Have you ever questioned your own identity as a compassionate person? In this blog, I discuss how I used self-compassion to address my own shame and embarrassment after I hurt someone.
Love for our podcast...
"For anyone going through an emotionally challenging time, a period of life change or in search of self discovery, I highly recommend listening to this podcast. It's long but the fact that I listened to it from start to finish shows how good it is. We all have an opportunity to make our lives better and that starts within before looking outside ourselves."
I am enjoying your very interesting and generous guests that are sharing their stories and personal journeys to help us connect with ourselves. Every episode has given me something to ponder on or new to explore in my journey to learn to love and be compassionate to myself and transfer that positive energy into the world. Keep them coming!
"These podcasts are very relatable. They speak about how we can look at our own compassion, love and self-appreciation and even when we are broken, imperfect and most vulnerable. Easy to hear and be engaged in...bravo."
"Gissele is an amazing human being and her greatness shines through her podcasts! She has empowered thousands of educators, students, parents and everyday citizens to realize the power behind their story and celebrate their journey of healing through love and compassion! thank you Gissele for doing this incredible life work! Check her out!"
"Amazing podcast"