In this episode, I talk to my guest, independent pet store owner and advocate Toni Shelaske about wellness for our dogs and cats. We discuss the benefits of getting a pet from a rescue organization, different types of feeding practices, pet emotional health, the importance of exercise and more. Learn more about Toni and listen to her podcast at toniunleashed.com.

Music is not only a treat for your ears, but it can also be therapy for the soul. Many of us have memories that are unlocked when we hear one of our favorite tunes. My guest on this episode is David “Vito” Gregoli, producer, composer, artist, and multi-instrumentalist. The episode features two of Vito's pieces. The first is “On the Road to Windham" (with Jim "Kimo" West). The second one is a newer track called “Hope," with (with Jim Gelcer). We talk about why all music, even popular music, can be healing to us, because of how it connects to our hearts. In this way, healing comes from how we receive it, rather than from the music or lyrics themselves. For example, what were we doing when we first heard a specific song? Does it remind us of a broken heart? A wonderful, nostalgic memory? Vito talks about his background in music and playing rock n roll, as well as working in production and studio work. He also talks about how his interest in transcendental meditation, Buddhism, and heart-centered practices led him to compose and produce new age music. Vito describes how the music industry is evolving, how AI is affecting it, and shares tips for new musicians. Listen to Vito's music here: https://www.youtube.com/c/VitoGregoli This episode is the first of several episodes coming in future months, with musicians who have an interest in heart-centered practices or have experienced profound healing through their music.

My guest on this episode is Fredric Schiffer, MD, psychiatrist, assistant professor at Harvard, and author. Many psychiatric issues and addictions stem from past traumas. Dr. Schiffer has researched and developed a theory of psychology called “dual-brain psychology.” This theory suggests that the brain is made up of two minds, which compete for dominance. Trauma is stored in one of the two brain hemispheres, and that each of those hemispheres can support an entire mind. When Dr. Schiffer treats the troubled side of the brain with a technique he developed, he states that it can successfully curb anxiety, depression, PTSD, and addiction. In this interview, Dr. Schiffer guides me through one of these techniques! You can also try this at home to discover which side of your brain stores trauma. We also discuss how he uses this and other techniques to help people who are addicted to fentanyl and other substances. He is the author of the book “Good-bye Anxiety, Depression, Addiction & PTSD: The Life-Changing Science of Dual-Brain Psychology.” Visit his website at dualbrainpsychology.com.

Brain fog is something that affects a lot of us. Brain fog includes feelings of confusion, forgetfulness, loss of focus and a lack of mental clarity. While there are many potential root causes of brain fog, research shows that changes to nutrition and lifestyle may help alleviate symptoms. This short (13 minute) episode is a solo one featuring yours truly! I am a registered dietitian and have worked with clients struggling with brain fog and other conditions, such as digestive health, weight management, and emotional eating. In this episode, I talk about what brain fog is, a few root causes, and some lifestyle and nutrition changes that may help you feel better. You can learn more about me and the services I offer at True Harmony Nutrition. Read a blog post about this topic at https://www.trueharmonynutrition.com/blog

Did you know that medical error is a leading cause of death in the United States? In this episode, you will learn some tips on how to protect the health and safety of yourself or your loved ones during a hospital stay. My guest is Dr. Julie Siemers, registered nurse, patient safety consultant, industry nurse leader, and educator. She is the founder of Lifebeat Solutions and the author of “Surviving Your Hospital Stay: A Nurse Educator’s Guide to to Staying Safe and Living to Tell About It.” We talk about: * Discovering the safety ratings for your local hospitals (https://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org) * The top medical errors that can happen in the hospital * The best way to communicate with the health care team * Why having a loved one or friend advocate for you is vital * Your rights as a patient * How to use AI/ChatGPT to translate medical terminology Find out more about Julie, her book and Lifebeat Solutions at drjuliesiemers.com or on TikTok, Instagram, or Facebook at @drjuliesiemers. Check out her Patient Safety Guide here: https://drjuliesiemers.com/patient-safety-checklist Dr. Julie's TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbWkt2P7SKI 

Do you struggle with emotional eating or a negative body image? Are you working toward a healthy lifestyle but feel at odds with food and your body? Learn how to embrace your body and find freedom with food in this episode. Discover how to break free from emotional eating and “unlearn” negative self-talk about your body. My guest, Marla Mervis-Hartmann is a coach, Reiki master and TEDx speaker. She is the author of “BE-Friend Yourself – Finding Freedom with Food and Peace With Your Body.” With her spiritual approach, Marla helps people counteract negative self-talk about their bodies, heal their relationship with food, and break free from emotional eating. Marla also personally healed from a dysfunctional relationship with her body and food. We talk about: * Breaking free from emotional eating * Finding peace with food and your body * Using self-compassion to heal your inner critic * Making healthier choices without feeling shame about your body * How dietitians, nutritionists, and other health professionals can help clients achieve their health goals while fostering a positive relationship with their bodies Learn more about Marla at https://www.loveyourbodyloveyourself.com/

Why is sensitivity a strength? If you're a highly sensitive person (HSP), you have an enormous amount of empathy for others, heightened perception and intuition, and feel things deeply. You're probably a natural healer and are creative. Highly sensitive people have a lot of empathy for others, are often highly creative, feel things deeply, have a strong intuition or gut instinct, and have heightened perceptions. However, being highly sensitive can be detrimental if you don't have strong boundaries in place.

Have you ever “known” something without evidence to back it up? Have you felt “off” about a situation or person, but couldn’t pinpoint why you felt that way? That’s your intuition talking to you. What is intuition? Basically, it is the subconscious part of your brain sending you “hunches” based on its analysis. It’s a second kind of intelligence, but one that is unfamiliar to most of us. Trusting our intuition can be difficult for those of us who are logical, trained in the sciences, or who spend a lot of time in our heads.  How do you tune into your intuition? Listen and find out how!

Are you a recovering people pleaser? If so, you aren't alone! While it's okay (and great!) to be a little bit of a people pleaser - most of us want to keep harmonious relationships with friends and family - research shows that being too much of a people pleaser can contribute to added stress. If you find yourself having difficulties saying no, standing up for yourself, and articulating your own beliefs and wishes, you will find some tips on how to break these habits! This is something I have personally had to get better at, so these are some steps that have helped me in my life. I hope they will help you, too!

As Thanksgiving rolls around in the United States, we often think about what we are grateful for. But of course, gratitude is something we should try to practice every day. Gratitude brings us to the present moment, makes us feel better, and there is even evidence that it reduces depression and anxiety! Read more about the benefits of gratitude on this blog post. This was originally recorded in 2021.

In this podcast, I talk about Veterans Day and a little about my grandfather, Richard Morris, who fought in World War 2, was captured by the Nazis and escaped. He was also a very creative person, a prolific writer, and always took a stand against corruption and hypocrisy. He was also a descendant (as I am) of one of the original signers of the Declaration of Independence, Lewis Morris. My grandfather was a very unique soul. He was very empathetic and had a disdain for hypocrisy and grandiosity. His story differs from most veterans. I often wonder what he would think about our current social climate. This episode is the audio version of the blog post: Honoring Our Veterans - and my Grandfather. You can read the blog post or listen to this short episode, which I recorded in 2021.

Hi! This week's episode is being re-released from 2021. It's a short little episode (audio only) about holiday traditions, and specifically about Halloween traditions. It's a departure from my normal content which will return soon. I talk about the Halloween activities I did as a child, invited listeners to share theirs, and talked a little bit about the origins of Halloween. I also talk about how holiday traditions connect us to our history and past generations. Enjoy! Here is a blog post about the same topic.

Learn why healing your inner child wounds is essential to removing harmful patterns in your life and in your relationships! My guest is Paula Smith, an intuitive healer who specializes in inner child healing. Paula shares her powerful story of how she left a narcissistic, abusive relationship of 15 years. We talk about what narcissistic abuse is, what a trauma bond is, and how to gather the strength to leave a relationship like this. We also discuss how helpful mindfulness and meditation can be during this process. Paula helps people examine their triggers, identify inner child wounds, and heal these inner blockages that can prevent them from forming stable, healthy relationships. Find Paula on Instagram @mindfuladventurecoaching Show timeline: 1:54 What is narcissistic abuse? Trauma bonding? 5:55 Paula’s relationship with a narcissist and how she left 11:35 Why we feel that we have to prove our worth to narcissists 12:50 How to identify our inner child wounds by examining our triggers 18:05 Why even 5 minutes of meditation a day can help you become non-reactive & more present 25:00 Why toxic individuals seek out strong people and why people often blame themselves for abuse 33:30 Paula's sessions and how to contact her

My guest on this episode is Alicia Rodriguez, writer and storyteller. Join us as Alicia shares her compelling story about her relationship with a shaman that turned toxic, and how tuning into her intuition enabled her to reclaim her self-worth and leave the relationship. This led her to heal her inner wounds to become able to enter into relationships and navigate life as a whole, healed human being. After a divorce, Alicia met a shaman named Napo and, being a spiritual person, moved to Ecuador to work with him and open a spiritual retreat center. They eventually developed a relationship and Alicia lost herself in it. She recounts her story about how she began to trust her body’s “alarms” and intuition to find her power again, leave Ecuador, and heal. Her advice can help women or men who are in toxic, codependent situations, so they can tap into their courage, enforce boundaries and reclaim their power. Alicia wrote a memoir about her experience which is called “The Shaman’s Wife, A Mystical Journey of Surrender and Self-Discovery.”

Take your meditation practice to the next level and optimize performance in your life with some of the techniques on this episode! My guest is Jeff Patterson, martial arts and meditation teacher. He owns a martial arts academy in Portland, Oregon. Jeff is the author of “The Yielding Warrior.” Jeff talks about different types of meditation practice: ritual, meditative, and philosophical, and how to incorporate each of them. He also talks about how meditation and the practice of “yielding” can be used to optimize performance in many areas of your life, including athletics, interpersonal relationships and your career. You can get his book at theyieldingwarrior.com/book. Find out more about Jeff’s programs at theyieldingwarrior.com

Learn about the different attachment styles in relationships, and join my guest and I for a discussion about anxious attachment in this episode. My guest is Jennifer Nurick, clinical psychotherapist, couples therapist, energy healer, and author of “Heal Your Anxious Attachment.” Some of us have a secure attachment style, while others have a type of insecure attachment style: anxious, avoidant, and/or disorganized. Attachment styles develop in childhood. People with anxious attachment need a lot of closeness in relationships, because their caregivers were only sometimes available. Avoidants learned to rely on themselves because their caregivers were not available, and need a lot of distance in relationships. Disorganized attachment, caused by a trauma background, have the need for both closeness and separation. Jennifer talks about how people with the anxious attachment style can become secure in relationships. We also talk about why anxious attachment styles are attracted to avoidants, how to make a relationship like this work, and why women are often attracted to unavailable or avoidant men. Learn more about Jennifer and her book at psychotherapycentral.health.

How can our own personal healing lead to collective and societal healing? How does activism and finding our purpose help with this? My guest on this episode, Dr. Paul Zeitz, and I talk about these topics and more! Dr. Zeitz is a preventative medicine physician, epidemiologist, author and award-winning champion of global justice and human rights. He is the author of Revolutionary Optimism: 7 Steps for Living as a Love-Centered Activist. We talk about how healing, taming our “inner dragons” and harnessing optimism can help us rise to the task of helping to heal the collective and lead from a place of love. Paul also goes into detail about a few of the steps in his book, and we talk about how to find our purpose to spark a peaceful revolution. When we feel anxious about our lives and the future, we lose touch with our power and the connection to our purpose. When we reclaim our power and unify with others on the path of love, this is when we can start to make a difference in the world. Learn how to break free from feelings of confusion and cynicism and step into self-empowerment, resourcefulness and inspiration. Dr. Zeitz is the host of the “Revolutionary Optimism” podcast and the organizer of unifymovements. Find out more about Paul and his work at drpaulzeitz.org and find the book at revolutionaryoptimism.com.

On this episode, I chat with an eclectic and creative guest, Susan J. Farese. Susan is a public relations professional, a registered nurse, a military veteran, author, and actor. She worked as a nurse in the military, and in general nursing, and is a poet. Susan is the author of the book “Poetic Expressions in Nursing: Sharing the Caring.” Susan reads a few poems from her book, which is dedicated to nursing and recounts some of her experiences working in the field. She talks about the haiku poetry workshops she hosts and the healing power of creativity. Writing or experiencing poetry and the literary arts can help reduce stress, reduce anxiety and depression and promote a positive mindset. She also reads a few poems from her book, which is dedicated to nursing and recounts some of her experiences working with veterans and other hospitalized patients. Find out more about Susan at sjfcommunications.com.

In this episode, I chat with Claire Uncapher, intuitive and transformational life coach. Claire helps people uncover the root causes of their depression and anxiety by helping clients tap into the subconscious mind. Healing the beliefs that cause depression and anxiety can help us step out of the darkness. Claire shares a little bit about her 28-year journey with depression and anxiety, and how medication and therapy didn’t work for her. She talks about how she helps people access their subconscious mind, so they can examine and release unprocessed traumatic events from their past. A former mental health nurse, Claire talks about why depression and anxiety show up as symptoms of past, unhealed, traumatic experiences. And how validating people’s experiences and helping them process the trauma, can help them truly heal. We also chat about the importance of self-acceptance and why it is normal to “backslide” during healing. Find out more about Claire and how to work with her at claireuncapher.com or on Instagram @claire.uncapher