We seek to avoid that which resembles death: pain, trauma and the darkness within us. Our nervous systems alarm us of what seems dangerous, but our bodies are built to move us through potentially traumatic events adaptively. Life is full of mixed experiences: life and death are happening at once. We can accept them both.

We’re back with our first episode in a while, so of course, we’re talking about death! Without having a death wish, we can learn to accept and facilitate the little deaths that are happening in our lives all the time. It is useful to learn how we can die these little deaths well - sometimes on purpose, like in self-sacrifice and non-violence.

Dr. Scott joins us for a discussion about his approach helping people rewrite their stories using Narrative Therapy, as well as the connection between our stories and spirituality. He also does psychological testing to help people grow a deeper awareness of their strengths and places to grow.

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Amber Girrens joins us for a discussion about healthy eating and how our nutrition and physical health affect our mental and emotional well-being. We all know we need to make healthy and balanced choices when eating, but it’s difficult to know where to start. There’s a lot of misleading and confusing information out there. Amber is here to help!

Therapist Jenny Helms returns to discuss her work helping people with Eating Disorders and body image issues. She talks more in-depth about our relationships with food and developing a healthy view of food and our bodies, treatment options and what you can do if you or someone you know may be struggling with an Eating Disorder.

Therapist Jenny Helms joins us for a conversation about shame and shame resilience, ideas taken from author Brené Brown. Jenny specializes in treating eating disorders and has significant experience working with females (and males) struggling with eating issues, body image issues and shame. She shares part of her own powerful journey from which she draws courage to inspire and walk alongside others.

Our default motivation is to protect and promote ourselves. If we are going to make decisions based on not just what is good for ourselves, we will have to take a look at the values we espouse and consider becoming self-sacrificial. This has powerful implications for our personal and corporate lives, but can help us achieve a balance of energy that is beneficial for both those around us and ourselves.

We all reach points in our lives when we are confused or conflicted about what to do. At these times, we likely need to employ a deeper form of decision-making we often call discernment or intuition. More than just evaluating pros and cons, discernment/intuition involves letting the decision work on us, which can make it take on a different meaning! This also involves some tolerance of discomfort, but allows us to be directed by a deeper sense of self in connection with the Larger Self. Happy listening!

Bringing about the "life energy" in our own and others’ lives seems to be one of the irreducible phenomena that gives our lives a sense of meaning. We contribute to growth and creativity which transcend the things we can see and touch. We all have access to this life energy in our will to live and keep moving forward in hope. We are glad to be with you on this journey!

There are many ways to influence others, not focusing on changing them, but on being our authentic selves in relationship. We can also have influence on those around us is by practicing trust and acceptance. If we are responsible to pay attention ourselves and trust and support others as they find their way, we just may find ourselves being able to affect our environment more than we ever thought possible. Thanks for listening!