Let the Verse Flow: Personal Growth Thru a Creative Lens

This city girl is deeply connected to nature. Mindful walks in nature are a core way to add richness and “right thinking” to your life. In this episode, I talk about an early, profoundly moving natural experience that shaped my deep love of the ocean. This life-changing event would connect me to the ocean for the rest of my life. From Cape May, New Jersey to Oahu, Hawaii, I share how my experiences swimming near and around ocean an...

With over 53 million caregivers in America, we are likely to face caregiver challenges at some point in our lives. As Rosalynn Carter reminded us: “There are only four kinds of people in the world: those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.” 

Caregiving can be thrust upon us, or it can build up over time. We may take on the role with...

Have you struggled to be present in your life? Perhaps you’ve been on autopilot for so long that you haven't been experiencing your life in a meaningful way. I understand; I’ve been there too and mindfulness has helped me become more invested in my life’s purpose. It has helped me enjoy the good things that come into my world each day. But where do we begin? 

In this episode, I show you where to start and answer this question: ...

Hope is an active state of mind that doesn’t negate the sadness, unjustness, or challenges of the world, but seeks to help us persevere to affect the world positively. One of the most important avenues for facilitating and cultivating hope is creativity. 

Our creativity connects us to hope by offering a conduit to the special talents we have to offer the world as we connect (one person to another). When we give to ourselves through ...

This affirmation meditation accompanies episode #23 on overcoming overthinking. Along with tools like journal writing, affirmation meditations can help you engage calmly with gentle thoughts meant to return you to more reasoned thought patterns. This may take time, as the mind has to be redirected to these ideas repeatedly. Return to this meditation often to help allow the power of affirmation and positive self-talk to silence the ...

This episode is on overthinking, those patterns of automatic and often negative thoughts that drain our energy with mostly lies and what-ifs scenarios that never happen. I’ll discuss the differences between rumination and worry (those twin overthinking processes) and touch on automatic negative thoughts as well. Once we can define them and identify our unique patterns of overthinking, we are ready to utilize tools such as writing a...

This affirmation meditation accompanies episode #21 on cultivating creative flow. 

Creative flow, that wonderful feeling of innovation, freedom and creativity, is the ultimate self-care activity. More than that, it is a pathway to finding purpose and meaning in your life, and supports your journey to know yourself and your interpretation of the world around you. 

In this affirmation meditation, I've organized...

This episode is about what we know as children: that play and creativity are the building blocks of a joyful soul. It’s also about what we should carry forward as we live our “grown” lives, an understanding that the impulse for play and creativity still lives inside us, waiting to be unleashed through creative flow. 

I’ll explore what creative flow is, how it works, and why we need it, and then lay out a 5-step process for...

This affirmation meditation accompanies episode #18 on keeping your dreams alive. 

I believe strongly in the power of setting intentions as a guidepost for taking action to work toward goals and dreams. First, we speak our dreams into existence through visualization and by setting an intention; then, we take action to move toward our dream. 

Along the way, we have to adapt, pivot, and grow, but keeping our dreams ...

During my trip to Morocco this past summer, I expected some culture shock; I expected beautiful landscapes, incredible food, and curious interactions with strangers. What I hadn’t thought about was how awakening my spirit and mind to these new experiences would return me to my deeply-held beliefs. That travel to North Africa would reaffirm the way I see the world, and help me contemplate those things in myself that I most believe. ...

This episode is about giving our dreams space to grow and take shape. Dreams can come alive, if we feed them like fires, stoke our internal flames. We keep our dreams alive by:

·   Cultivating a positive mindset

·   Taking small actions consistently to work toward goals

Knowing we need these two ingredients is one thing, and doing them is another. In this episode, I'll inspire you to cultivate these two essential dream-builders. ...

So you've decided to journal or resume a journaling practice. You may be a beginner or an old pro, but you're finding yourself in need of some inspiration. Perhaps some structure and tools to get your journaling off the ground. Why do a 30-day challenge? Because writing in a journal is a practice and practices are built on habits. We need to make time and space for our journaling, built with daily (or near-daily) practice...

In today's bonus episode, I'm making a case for journaling. This simple, timeless act of writing down our feelings and thoughts is one of the most authentic reflective tools that humans have as they think their thoughts, love their loves and build their dreams. 
Journaling never goes out of style, because journaling is the human condition in words. Your words. Journaling is flexible and completely customizable to your...

Grief and gratitude can be two sides of the same coin. They do a sort of dance, especially as we contemplate the loss of a family member or loved one during the holidays. 

Find out how a simple fingertip pulse oximeter box sparked great sadness in me, and then deep gratitude. As my mom transitions into advanced dementia, I’m struck by how often my sadness turns to gratitude. For if we love deeply and have been loved deeply, we are p...

What do I mean by a personal growth practice? What are the components of self-growth and how do we build our capacity for it? Personal growth is not a one-and-done, it's a practice that we build over time and in stages. In this episode, we’ll think about where we are in the journey to knowing ourselves, dealing with our struggles, and taking those first steps to look for better days. Those better days start with single better ...

Dealing with a loved one’s dementia, or handling other difficult transitional times in our lives requires that we give ourselves some grace -- and create a formidable community of support. We may have to handle the logistics of moving our loved ones out of their home, arranging for care, managing finances, and caregiving. This is adulting with a capital “A.” Here are some inspirational tips and resources to help you handle this hea...

Comparison, especially comparing ourselves to the images we see on social media, can rob us of the ability to hold court with our personal strengths and abilities. We compare ourselves to a facade of perfection and find our lives lacking. While small amounts of comparison may help motivate us or provide a standard of sorts with which to reflect our growth, most times, it makes us feel less than. We’ve got better things to do. Liste...

As we talk about all things aging, let’s remember that while research shows that we may experience a mid-life dip in happiness, there are benefits to getting older that are valuable in the way they can lead us toward our purpose. 

Mid-life can be a time when we’re burdened by caregiving, health problems, and financial worries. It sounds all “doom and gloom,” but there’s also a “flowers in bloom” side to aging – and that’s what I wan...

This episode is personal and passionate, as I explain the core beliefs behind this show – how to build resilience and inner strength as you increase your capacity and internal resources to call forth a more joyful life.

Finding brighter days and cultivating positivity is more about building resilience than fooling yourself into “happy thoughts.” In this episode, I break down why I use the tagline “May you stay on the bright side of ...