Emotions On Our Side with Mavis Karn

Mavis Karn is one of the OG Three Principles teachers. It was such a joy to talk to her about how she came across this understanding, how it resonated with her even though she couldn’t explain it at first, her work with incarcerated youth and their impact on her, and her latest venture – being a published author and audiobook narrator.

Mavis Karn is a counselor/educator/consultant in private practice in St Paul, Minnesota. She is also a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.

Over the past 45+ years, she has spent her time working with individuals, families, schools, businesses, hospitals, agencies, prisons, athletes, and athletic teams, as well as mentoring and training other professionals.

You can find Mavis Karn at MavisKarn.net.

You can listen above, on your favorite podcast app, or watch on YouTube. Notes, links, resources and a full transcript are below. 

Show Notes

* The power of calm

* What happens when children wake up to who they are

* Finding our kindness

* How our feelings are always feedback about our thinking

* How our feelings are always on our side, guiding us back to who we are

Resources Mentioned in this Episode

* Mavis’ original letter to the kids she worked with is on the home page of her website

* Find Mavis’ book, It’s That Simple, in ebook and paperback wherever you buys books. Or ask for it at your public library. Coming soon in audiobook.

Transcript of Interview with Mavis Karn

Alexandra: Mavis Karn, welcome to Unbroken.

Mavis: Thank you very much. Good to be here.

Alexandra: It’s lovely to see you. 

Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to find the three principles.

Mavis: Okay. Well, this is horrible to say, but about 45 or 50 years ago, I was working at a place called The Bridge for runaway youth in Minneapolis. I was a family counselor. And one day my boss said he had been invited to the graduate school at the University of Minnesota to hear three PhD psychologists from Florida talk about what he said was something or other. He couldn’t go and did what I go in his place, and then come back and tell him whatever it was. 

I said, sure, because I got two days off work, and I don’t care what he wanted me to do, I would have done it. I didn’t know what I was going to get to. But sure enough, it there were three PhD psychologists from Florida, who had been spending some time with a man named Syd Banks. And they wanted to talk about that. So I thought, Oh, great. 

I got to the part where they said something about all human experience originates with individual thought. I thought the top of my head was going to come off. I don’t remember much else what they said for the next two days. I do remember that. And I, I really felt like I had, it’s kind of like having brain freeze only there’s one thought left. And it was that. 

I came home that day and I told my daughter I had heard the best thing I’ve ever heard in my life....