Enlighten: Uplift & Inspire

My guest today is Jimmy Lambert, actor, director, dramatic arts educator. I met Jimmy 7 years ago in Vancouver, BC when he was on the road tour of Mamma Mia. He comfortably became an extended member of our family. Born and raised in California, Jimmy studied acting at UCLA after turning down an offer to play baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays. He is grateful for all the values he learned from working with Gary Marshall, as well as the lessons learned from his parents. Sadly, his mom died 3 years ago, and as much as he misses her physical presence on a daily basis, he is grateful that he feels her spiritual presence in his heart and even in the audiences of his performances. Although Jimmy’s relationship with his dad is tumultuous, Jimmy says that no matter how much struggle you have with your parents, he believes there is still love to be found. Jimmy has performed in regional theaters or national tours with the musicals: Hair, Mamma Mia, Legally Blonde, Big River, and now is currently on the road tour of Beautiful, the story of singer/songwriter Carole King. When Jimmy teaches dramatic arts or coaches children in acting, he loves instilling meaning and depth to the process; he cares about sharing a philosophy of art that inspires enthusiasm, wonder and joy. Jimmy knows that the more we share of ourselves, the better we help each other, and as we help each other, the better our lives can be. Enjoy the podcast! Links: Instagram-@tcbjim Beautiful The Musical

My guest today is Jennifer Mancuso along with Laura Boyd. Jennifer is a restorative justice advocate, community organizer, massage therapist and founder of Rockland Prison Justice Project. Rockland Prison Justice Project is a local grassroots advocacy group, organizing events, panel discussions, restorative justice circles, and workshops to raise awareness about mass incarceration, explore issues in the criminal justice system, by asking who is in prison, why are they there and for how long. Laura Boyd is a criminal defense attorney, specializing in appellate cases, and as a community resident, became an instrumental member of the Rockland Prison Justice Project, helping with the petition for clemency for Judy Clark, the getaway driver in the Brinks Robbery. Jennifer and Laura share personal stories of what lit a passion in them to help the most vulnerable in our society and why being involved in restorative justice is so crucial. The United States has the highest incarceration rate by far, of any other country in the world, imprisoning 700 people for every 100,000 citizens.  56% of people in prison are people of color, even though people of color make up 32% of our U.S. population! In addition to institutional racism in the prison system, Jennifer and Laura point out the role of poverty, gender (more women have been imprisoned at an alarming rate in the last 40 years) and substance abuse as determining factors in who ends up in prison. I encourage everyone living in the Rockland County, NY vicinity to attend the next event that Rockland Prison Justice Project is hosting, called “Parole in NY State: False Hope and Death Behind Bars” this Sunday, September 30th from 6:30-8:00pm at Grace Episcopal Church 130 First Ave. Nyack, NY. Please visit their website listed below for details on this event as well as a follow-up event October 28 at the MLK Center in Spring Valley, NY to learn hands-on skills to assist prisoners in preparing a packet to the parole board. I hope this conversation inspires you to get involved, do what you can do to take a stand about mass incarceration. Links: www.rocklandprisonjusticeproject.org www.paroleprepny.org www.rappcampaign.com M.A.D.E. Transitions

My guest today is Stefanie Dunnigan. Stefanie has been an outstanding elementary school teacher for 17 years, who intuitively incorporates mindfulness into the classroom.  Well before the current trend of mindfulness, Stefanie was an educator who naturally tuned into her students. From first hand experience, Stefanie understood that students can’t absorb academics if they are mentally distracted, emotionally triggered, or traumatized, so she experimented with all sorts of strategies to engage her students, validate their feelings and guide them to calm down in order to be open for learning. Stefanie began to translate consciousness skills and meditation techniques she learned through her personal journey of readings, therapy, and research to make tools accessible for her students.   I wish you could see all the props she brought with her, but I asked her to describe them so listeners could imagine these creative, simple items that make mindfulness practices so tangible. The more Stefanie honored her own inner resources, the better able she modeled for her students to trust in their inner resources. In the less than 2 years I have known Stefanie, she has taken steps, actually leaps into manifesting mindfulness into not only her classroom, but publishing children’s books, with supplemental exercises, created websites with resources for educators, provided professional development workshops for faculty and most recently ran a group for adults called “Mindfulness, Mediation, Mindset, and More!” I imagine it won’t be long before the world wants to learn more and more from this humble, compassionate, wise teacher, Stefanie Dunnigan! Shining light on Stefanie this week, coincides beautifully with World Gratitude Day on 9/21/18. I encourage you to check out her book "I Choose Gratitude", available on Amazon. Enjoy the podcast!     Links: www.traveltailsbooks.com www.classroomscarenow.com FaceBook: @TravelTailsBooks @IChooseBookSeries @Classroomscarenow Instagram: TravelTailsBooks I Choose Book Series Books: (available on Amazon) "Travel Tails: All Bark and No Bite" "I Choose Gratitude"

My guest today is Collin Hauser. Collin is a musician, photographer, travel blogger and spiritual seeker. After years of dedication to his music (saxophonist, singer/songwriter, guitarist), Collin began to see the box he had created for himself - as if he wasn’t allowed to be anything else but a musician. With the help of his beloved wife, Tennessee, Collin experienced a re-calibration of who he was; his identity expanded to be more than a musician. Collin has embraced photography, videography, writing, and even exploring what it means to be an entrepreneur!     I had the privilege of officiating Collin and Tennessee's wedding and their love is palpable! They don’t take their healthy, vibrant marriage for granted, in fact they know what they have is precious, so they invest time, energy and mindfulness into their marriage. Collin attributes the foundation of their relationship to the wisdom they learned from Brene Brown’s book "Daring Greatly". You’ll hear from his reading of their wedding vows how they care for one another tenderly, reverently and joyfully. You’ll learn about a whacky game called “Bite the Bag” that I taught Collin 4 years ago. Collin skillfully mastered the game, until he was outdone by Tennessee! That’s when I knew they were a perfect match for each other! The image that comes to mind when I think of Collin is seeing him with out-stretched arms, embracing life with an enthusiastic YES! Enjoy Collin’s curiosity, vulnerability, and authenticity! Instagram: @collinhauser @hauserphotography @thebird.and.thebear @theculdesackids @cancun.com Links: Alan Watts Kenny Werner Michael Singer Malcolm Gladwell

My guest today is Shawna Emerick. Shawna is a dancer, gifted yoga teacher, retreat leader, and although we didn’t talk about it in this conversation, she is also a Thai massage practitioner and life coach. We first met dancing together in the performance company Moving Mantras, which blended modern dance and yoga. I soon discovered Shawna’s unique gifts as an outstanding yoga teacher. She utilizes her knowledge of anatomy, with verbal cues that are expressed like poetry, she embraces yoga philosophy, while modeling vulnerability and authenticity, she blends a childlike curiosity with her mature spiritual groundedness, making Shawna one of my all time favorite teachers. Shawna was a treasured participant in a group I ran 6 years ago, called “Cultivating Sacred Activists” which culminated in a 2 week volunteer trip to Malawi, Africa to support Anna Msowoya-Keys’s organization Maloto, which addresses the needs of AIDS orphans. (Please check out Anna’s podcast conversation with me - episode #9 in your podcast feed).  Shawna beautifully describes what that experience meant to her. Soon after our return, her boyfriend Geoffrey proposed to Shawna - I guess distance DOES makes the heart grow fonder! She lists all that she admires and loves in Geoffrey and what it has been like to raise their sweet 3 year old, son Max. Shawna openly shares the heartache from her miscarriage, having discovered that miscarriages are one of life’s silent sufferers. She has bonded with other women and found great supports in the grieving and healing process. I know you will be inspired by Shawna’s empathy and wisdom. Enjoy the podcast! Links: ShawnaShakti.com ShawnaEmerick.com FaceBook Instagram Twitter