Episode 36 – One Word

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-twsvf-da377e

A two word title for a “One Word” podcast episode – possibly the shortest podcast episode ever!  In this episode, Blazing Phoenix takes centre-mic for another Sanity Quickie.  Before listening to the episode, I would like to invite you to join me in a creativity challenge.  Imagine you have been asked to create an episode for a podcast called, “The Happier Quest.”  Specifically, you have been given the task to broadcast only one word to your listening audience to elevate happiness and foster creativity.  What word would you choose and why?  Any guess what word I have chosen?  Try not to check-out the showcase resources below until after you listened to the episode as it will amount to a complete give away.  

Orienting quote: “Beauty is everywhere,” by Bob Ross

T-shirt Idea: #Ch.3.14 … a perfect place to share your one word idea for a podcast

Showcase Resources:

1) Read this Psychology Today article to learn about one kind of superpower at https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/changepower/201605/the-9-superpowers-your-smile

2 )Check out this Ted Talk by Ron Gutman for the science behind the superpower above at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9cGdRNMdQQ

Peace, take care & be well!

 

 

Episode 35 – Off-The-Cuff Thoughts About Stoicism and Fate with Captain Jack

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-ymkuc-da16cf

Welcome to another Sanity Quickie!  In this episode, I hand the microphone over to Captain Jack as he shares his off-the-cuff thoughts about a possible Stoic response to the question about how fate plays itself out in our lives. 

Peace, take care & be well!   

Episode 34 – Seriously? Oh my G.A.A.D! – A Sanity Quickie …

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-sgp45-d8ecd8

Welcome to an ¨S.Q.¨ moment, a Sanity Quickie, where I will share with you a daily practice I have incorporated into my days to stand up to the chaos thrust into our lives because of the covid-19 Pandemic.  The tile for this episode is both a description of the shared hardships of our collective reality and a sanity prescription to boost optimism, elevate levels of happiness (even if only by degrees), and combat intrusive automatic negative thoughts (ANTs) that currently plague many of us as we are struggling to figure out how to navigate the terrain of an uncertain and unfamiliar world.  The acronym is obviously a play on words and hopefully a refuge for the secularist, humanist, atheist or anyone whose tendency is to appeal to reason.  G.A.A.D stand for gratitude, acceptance (of the radical sort), achievement (or accomplishment) and a deliberate internal reflection about who or what we desire to embrace and bring into our lives so we can experience happiness and good mental and physical healthy.  I invite the listener to reflect upon the benefits (i.e. increased optimism) of finding a moment each and everyday (upon waking up, during a meal, going for a walk, getting ready for bed, etc.) to think about things to be grateful for, embrace a mental attitude of acceptance, consciously reflect upon daily achievements (check-mark moments), and setting goals motivated from an inward glance of enhancing desires as opposed to desires based on impulsive clinging and craving. 

The orienting tone includes:

1) T-shirt idea: “No Biggie”

2) Mantra: “Chip away at the stone”

3) Empowering quote by Emily Dickinson: “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.”  

Showcase Resource:

1) I would like to share a link to a podcast I recently listened to entitled, “How to take it like a Stoic” at https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/take-it-like-a-stoic-coping-in-the-time-of-coronavirus-1.5520846. Check-out the interview to discover some ways to hone the acceptance muscle and enjoy a discussion about the benefits of journalling like a stoic and the suggestion that “negative visualization” might help us to be more grateful for the moment(s) we find ourselves in.  

Thank-you for joining me for this sanity quickie, just a tip-of-the-iceberg conversation that is always on-going and continuous.  Until next time, peace, take care, and be well! 

  

Episode 33 – How to prepare for a counseling/therapy session

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-s557i-d7e370

In this episode (#33), we start off with a “germ-free” couple of clips from Danielson and then switch the discussion to explore four things a person might do to prepare for one’s first ever therapy session.  

The orienting framework includes the following:

1) T-shirt Idea: “Explore, Expand, Become”

2) A moment of free-association: Attitude, Awareness, Attention; Self-Compassion, Patience, Acceptance

3) Quote: “The Perfect is the enemy of the good” – and is explained by Danielson

4) Words of the Day: Cathartic & Process

5) Danielson’s re-crafting of the Novel First Sentence he shared in Episode 29:  “The mirror conjured a new testimony of age: evidence of a deeper parenthesized mouth that launched a regret-flavoured reverie as he scrutinized his altered face.”

Home Work Resources:

1. Learn about the “Stages of Change” by clicking this PowerPoint presentation at the CAMH website by clicking here – http://www.camhx.ca/education/online_courses_webinars/mha101/stagesofchange/Stages_of_Change_.htm
2. Again, by visiting CAMH, recognize the power of “Standing up to Stigma” – http://www.camhx.ca/education/online_courses_webinars/mha101/stigma/Stigma_.htm

Wondering, “What is therapy?” Visit – 

1. Check out what therapy is all about at Crash Course https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nEL44QkL9w
2. Interested in what the research says in answer to the question “Does Psychotherapy Work?” Go to SciShow Psych at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J44e8gpA7fk

Interesting Reading Material:

1.  Quotes about therapy by therapists – https://positivepsychology.com/best-therapy-quotes/
2. A revised response by David Byrne (former lead singer of Talking Heads) to the dialoguing memes between Huxley and Talking Heads: Huxley – “It’s a brave new world out there.”  David Byrne – “Yeah, life goes on.”  Read David’s recent article, “The World is Changing – So Can We” at: https://reasonstobecheerful.world/the-world-is-changing-so-can-we/
3. Check out Danielson’s short essay about the covid-19 crisis available on GoodReads called “Pandemic Lessons from Albert Camus” – https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2943385953

Listeners can now access the Hopeful Humanist Cafe on YouTube.  Please subscribe and share cool resources in the comment section.  

Be well & take care!