Stress is our environment’s way of telling us change is needed. The most responsible thing we can do when we encounter stress is to examine ourselves and not rely on our same old rigid approaches. It’s about more than just eliminating stress or practicing good self-care. It’s about meeting stressful situations as opportunities to grow. Modeling appropriate growth in ourselves is a powerful way to encourage change in others and the systems around us!

We at a Single Tree Podcast want to share with you the people, writings and ideas that have shaped our thinking and who we are. The podcast exists because of these powerful influences, and we hope some of these ideas have been helpful for you in your journey. We’d love to hear about what has shaped your thinking and ways of being!

Life is not just about getting all our needs and desires satisfied. There is something important about being dissatisfied and frustrated when we don’t get what we want or need. It helps us move to a different place, to greater awareness, learning and creativity. We can put ourselves in (and are probably already in) situations which produce dissatisfaction and we can use that very human experience for growth. Thanks for listening!

We are constantly moving toward things that regulate us and give us a sense of security. And we are consistently discovering the need for something deeper. Ultimately, we find a full sense of security in the Presence, God or the Beingness. There are many ways we can discover and rediscover this, and we can see them as successive doorways to finding wholeness. Thanks for joining us!

We have two innate desires: to be our own individual selves and to be connected with others. We long to be different and unique, but also want to be accepted and received in relationship. These may seem to work in opposition to one another, but they can actually work in concert. The goal is to develop awareness of and sink deeply into both our separateness and connectedness. Thanks for listening!

Finding a sense of value is not about attaining that based on some arbitrary set of criteria. You have inherent value, as do all the other people and matter in the universe. Experience your worth is opening yourself to that truth and to connection with everything around you. It is about receiving rather than achieving. We are thankful to be connected with you!

The value of anything is dependent on the context in which it exists. There are certain “rules” or criteria that define value in any context. This makes the very idea of self-worth a relative and relational construct. In the largest context, we are not made valuable by what we offer or do, but by our inherent “being-ness” and “belonging-ness.” That is to say we are valuable solely because we are and because we belong. Thanks for listening!

Finding value in ourselves is more than just thinking positive thoughts about ourselves. It is necessary to encounter and move through guilt and shame to be able to accept our "shadow-side" and shortcomings. If we can enter that work, we can find humility, unity and compassion. Those are the things that lead us to self-love and self-acceptance. Thanks for being on this journey with us!

We experience difficult emotions when we encounter trauma, but then we further confound the process by judging our experiences as wrong or bad. Judgment and shame inhibit the natural process of working through our difficulties. If we can learn to have less thoughts of ourselves and how we should be, we can adapt to stress and trauma in a more natural way. Glad you are listening!

To be human is to be creative. Fostering and cultivating beauty in our lives is a way to process our experiences and make something of our pain. The tensions we experience are the birthplace of our creativity. Everyone is doing this in their own way and people who have been resilient in trauma have a lot to teach us about a creative response to pain. They show us we can find beauty in the bleakest of circumstances. Thanks for joining us. We look forward to hearing from you!