compassion - Maitri Centre

Ep. 104 – How helping others can help us become happy when we are struggling

What does it take to become truly happy, joyful and at peace? we have heard that happiness is an inside job, but how often do we depend on external circumstances to to determine how happy we are. On this episode I chat with Karen Olson, who despite having an accident where she lost her ability to walk, she is one of the happiest people you will meet. She shares why she has always cared about others and how despite her inability to walk, she lives a full life.

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Ep. 103- Can We Truly Create a Community Where We All Care About One Another?

Podcast, Season 7

In this conversation I speak to the CEO of SIGN, Society for the Involvement of Good Neighbours, which focuses on caring for all members of their community, especially the most vulnerable. We talk about SIGN’s humble beginnings, and the impact of their services on their community. In particular, how free mental health has enabled men who haven’t previously access mental health supports to get what they need. After this conversation, you will be left wondering why we didn’t start these services sooner!

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Ep. 102 – Have We Really Changed? Love, Race, and the Prejudice We Still Refuse to Face

Podcast, Season 7

What happens when love challenges the prejudices of an entire family, and what can that teach us about the world we live in today? In this powerful conversation, Annie Waxman shares her experience of facing intense anti-Black racism from her family in the 1960s after falling in love with a Black man, and reflects on the pain, courage, and forgiveness that shaped her journey. Together, we explore what happens when societies choose to “let things lie,” why confronting difficult truths matters, and whether we have truly moved forward on race relations, or whether history still has lessons we have yet to learn.

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Ep. 101 – Can Authenticity Help Us Create a More Loving and Inclusive World?

Podcast, Season 7

In this amazing conversation with Alex Kopelman, we chat about how authenticity can help us be more accepting of others. We talk about how we have been programmed to conform rather than be authentically ourselves, and how belonging and authenticity can complement one another, and how learning to regulate ourselves during difficult moments can help us achieve true inner feelings of safety.

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Ep. 100 – Choosing Love After the Unthinkable

Podcast, Season 7

Would you be able to forgive your child’s murderer after a school shooting? would you be able to have compassion for the person who took your son away? In this powerful conversation, I speak to Scarlett Lewis, founder of the Choose Love Movement, whose son Jesse was killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting. Scarlett talks about why hatred doesn’t work, why forgiveness is so essential for healing, and why caring for her son’s killer and choosing love, is the only way we may finally be able to address school shootings.

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Ep. 98 – Are You Dealing with An Identity Crisis?

Podcast, Season 7

Have you lost trust in yourself? are you in the process of becoming but feel lost? Then this episode is for you. Natasha Ramlall works with high functioning women who have lost their old identity but have not yet embodied their new ideal. In this episode we talk about how to handle an identity crisis with compassion, acceptance, and patience.

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Ep. 97 – Can Surrender Help Us Heal Our Lives?

Podcast, Season 7

What power does surrender have in helping us be more authentically ourselves? In this conversation, I chat with Daryl Dittmer about what helped him address his addictions, the power of vulnerability, the need for boys to feel all their feelings, and how boundaries can help us be more compassionate towards ourselves and others.

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Ep. 95 – Finding Joy During Our Most Difficult Moments

Podcast, Season 7

Can you find joy when everything seems to be falling apart? In this conversation with Tony Stewart, we talk about how he and his partner found joy after her cancer diagnosis.

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Ep. 94 – Why Compassion is Needed in the Immigration Experience

Podcast, Season 7

With everything that is going on with ICE deportations, in this episode we talk to Andy Semotiuk on the importance of compassion in immigration. He clarifies the different types of people who immigrate into countries, talks about his own past with immigration, offers advice regarding if you are stopped by ICE and reminds us of the importance of kindness in helping us create a better future for all.

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Ep. 93 – Do Prisoners Deserve Compassion in Death? What One Man Saw, Will Change You

Podcast, Season 7

Sentenced at 16, Fernando Murillo spent decades in prison for gang related attemped murder, before caring for dying inmates in a hospice unit.
He shares what he learned about compassion, justice, and the true meaning of freedom.

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Ep. 92 – Are you grieving the loss of a pet? You are not alone with Aline C Davis

Podcast, Season 7

In this beautiful conversation with Aline, we talk about grieving the loss of our pets, we challenge the many misconceptions about love and loss, and discuss the gifts that loss can bring to our lives.

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Ep. 91 – Would you forgive your son’s killer? How one man got beyond revenge.

Podcast, Season 7, Uncategorized

In this powerful and deeply moving conversation, Dr. Jitmoud shares the unimaginable journey of forgiving the man who took his son’s life. Rooted in his faith in Allah, he reflects on the true meaning of forgiveness—not as weakness, but as a profound act of strength, surrender, and spiritual clarity. Together, we explore what it really takes to move beyond anger and separation, and to see even those who harm us as part of our shared humanity. This is a conversation about grief, faith, and the radical possibility of love in the face of the unthinkable.