Express Yourself!

Nihal Gill and Diya Hituvalli cohost a program about the intersection of science and fiction. They interview the delightful storyteller, physician, and author, Dr. Susan McCormick about her newest book, The Antidote. With her unique perspective as a doctor, mother and writer, McCormick combines her knowledge of medicine and her storytelling skills to craft a one-of-a-kind adventure about disease, darkness, and deception. She intersperses Easter eggs about scientific facts throughout her fictional writings for young readers. Nihal talks about how we use science daily and how science benefits humanity. Diya focuses on good and evil while discussing the difference between a psychopath and a sensitive person. Science and fiction live on the same planet offering us superpowers. Trust the science. Enjoy the fiction.

"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did." Are you inspired by entrepreneurs and changemakers in today's world who come from humble beginnings and through hard work, persistence, and sacrifice reach their dreams? Host Diya Hituvalli admires individuals who persevere against all odds and shares stories of a few remarkable people. Our guest is Jean Kanokogi,PHD who published her mother's memoir post-humously about Rusty Kanaokogi, the Mother of Women's Judo. The book, Get Up & Fight,follows the fifty-year uphill battle that Rusty waged on behalf of women's rights on and off the mat, a journey that ultimately led her to the Olympics. Jean discusses her childhood and what it was like growing up and how her mon taught her to fight for what's right. Jean emphasizes the importance of tenacity, dedication, diligence, and sacrifice to achieve any level of expertise. In the final segment, Diya reads The Gift of Persistence from Cynthia Brian's book, Be the Star You Are!® for Teens. The overall message is to never quit and to know that whatever you want in life you can have if you are willing to work long and hard to achieve it. "Persistence prevails when all else fails. Never ever give up on your dreams!"

Since childhood host, Andrea Smith, was drawn to the ocean. It's mystical presence, its infinite size, its deep blue waters dazzling underneath the sun enchanted her. Oceans inhabit 72% of our Earth. The sea provides over half of the world's oxygen and absorbs 50 times more carbon dioxide than our atmosphere. It is home to over 230,000 species and scientists predict that there are up to two million species that we haven't discovered as 80% of the oceans remain unexplored. Yet our oceans are in deep trouble. In segment two, she interviews attorney turned psychic Michelle Welch about her book, The Magic of Connection, which teaches how to embrace spiritual connection to live a more empowered life. In lively discussions, Michelle teaches us how empathic abilities can help you heal your inner wounds while staying connected to your community. She shares information of her time as an attorney and instructions for using crystals, meditations, and affirmations. In the final segment, we'll find multiple ways to enjoy our oceans and feel connected to Mother Earth. Protect our oceans and connect to our soul.

Hosts Maggie Campione and Diya Hituvalli travel the world, sharing where they've been and where they want to go as soon as pandemic restrictions are lifted. The hosts interview Julie Lusk about her book, Yoga Nidra Meditations which offers deeply restorative rest and relaxation that feautres fourteen of the best Yoga Nidra experts in the world. Providing amazing insights on yogic sleep and how to build your own practice, Yoga Nidra Meditations helps you foster spiritual development, improve stress management, and enhance wellness. Yoga Nidra is an empowering meditation done lying down rather than sitting, and it gives you the calm and focus to work through a variety of physical, mental, and emotional issues. One of the techniques of Yoga Nidra is visualization which , with guided imagery, helps us travel mentally. The body can't tell the difference! Decrease stress, become more balanced, and travel through yoga nidra! Where do you want to travel when restrictions are lifted?

Host Diya Hituvalli interviews Neale Lundgren, PhD about his fascinating life and new book, Meditations for the Soul. The book guides you on a journey through accessible meditations to help you experience the deep joy and fulfillment that comes when we live in the immediate now. Included are 30 awakening exercises designed to help you activate your soul's senses, become more present to your life and learn to bring soulfulness to your relationships. During the interview, Dr. Lundgren helps you reconnect to your soul and strengthen your personal sense of purpose in life through breathing techniques, visualizations, and more. Diya expands on the benefits of meditation, a practice that originated in India and has expanded throughout the globe. Meditations connects us with nature and helps us to be healthier. Diya then shares her journey of developing the app, KeepMeSafe. The app, available for FREE in the iOS app store, incorporates voice-recognition with location tracking to offer assistance to women, children, or anyone who feels they are in danger. She is still working out the bugs and invites everyone to download KeepMeSafe and report any bugs. The app has already won several awards.

Diya Hituvalli and Siri Phaneedra host a fascinating program dedicated to technology and emerging technologies. Diya especially is fascinated by artificial intelligence with its unlimited possibilities to detect disease, eliminate world hunger, and make life easier through automation. She unveils the free app she developed, KeepMeSafe, a women's safety tool that utilizes voice recognition and location tracking to prevent sexual assault available in the iOS app store. The hosts interview author Michael C. Bland with his sci-fi title "The Price of Safety" which examines the dangers of data mining and the dark side of surveillance. An eerie depiction of the not-too-far future, the novel reveals humanity's dependence on both technology and family, and asks the question, where do our allegiances truly lie? Siri shares her experience managing and facilitating an entrepreneurship course at UC Berkeley for student entrepreneurs, where she orchestrates fireside chats, panels, and keynote presentations with startup founders. She identifies emerging technologies, from blockchain to 5G, in several industries and pinpoints the forces driving their awareness and adoption.

Happy Easter and Passover! Andrea Smith hosts a special spring show that focuses on the outdoors and gardening. She reads Cynthia Brian's Easter Parade article (https://blog.voiceamerica.com/2021/03/30/easter-parade/) that provides information on how to keep wildlife out of your garden. She then interviews Joann Calabrese with her book, Growing Mindful, a handbook on garden and green world mindfulness practices. It contains an abundance of activities rooted in sensing the wonder and magic of nature. Growing Mindful will help you deepen your spirituality and nurture a unique practice. (mindfulnessgardengames.com ) Andrea winds up the hour providing the health benefits of spending time in the natural world. Spending time walking among or simply looking at trees lowers blood pressure and reduces the stress-related hormones cortisol and adrenaline. She shares her own meditative experiences as a surfer, swimmer, ocean lover, and forest bather. Be mindful, Get into Garden, Happy Easter and enjoy the outdoors!

"You have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself, and see what happens" Louise Hay What does body image mean? Body image refers to a person's perceptions, beliefs, and attitude of their own body. Your body image is what you think and how you feel when you look in the mirror or when you picture yourself in your mind. This includes how you feel about your appearance; what you think about your body itself, such as your height and weight; and how you feel within your own skin. Host Diya Hituvalli and Nihal Gill have a conversation about what body image means to them as individuals. They share experiences, triumphs, and struggles. Am I too fat? Is my nose to big? Do I have big muscles? Have you ever noticed at times that you have asked yourselves these questions? Many people have concerns about their body image. They also read from Cynthia Brian's book, The Business of Show Business, a chapter called The Gift of Rejection which reflects on the life of an actor being told she is never right for the job. Diya and Nihal offer tips on how you can change your self-criticism into positive body affirmations. Be good to yourself. Compliment others. Know you are enough. Say thank you to your body for supporting you. You are beautiful just the way you are.

"Beauty is not in the face, beauty is a light in the heart" Kahlil Gibran What do you consider beautiful? Dermatologist and author, Dr. Debbie Palmer, talks with hosts Andrea Smith and Maggie Campione about her book Mindful Beauty, the all-natural antioxidant skincare collection that she created, Replere, and about combining her work as a medical doctor and osteopath to discover root causes of skin ailments. She gives a glimpse of her day as a busy mom and physician and encourages short spurts of exercise, stress relief, and forest bathing to eliminate stress and maintain balance. The hosts read the chapter, The Gift of Beauty, from Cynthia Brian's book, Be the Star You Are! 99 Gifts for Living, Laughing, Loving, and Learning to Make a Difference that points to the fact that beauty evolves from the inside out. In the final segment, Andrea and Maggie compare tips on make-up and skin care that as teens they are attracted to and enjoy experimenting with. When our souls, hearts, and minds are beautiful, that beauty will be expressed on the exterior where others can sense it. Authentic beauty, then, is our inner radiance shining outward. And when we have inner beauty, it opens our hearts to see more clearly, allowing us to observe the beauty all around us. Beauty is everywhere—in people and nature, in art, architecture, music, food, ideas, and in the world in general. You are beautiful.

What is your passion, and how can you access it? Your passion is unique to you. Andrea Smith and Diya Hituvalli host a program focused on finding our passion and storytelling. They launch the show with a reading of the Gift of Passion from Cynthia Brian's book, Be the Star You Are!® 99 gifts for Living, Loving, Laughing, and Learning to Make a Difference. They then interview Business Growth Strategist, Parul Agrawal, who discusses her teen years growing up in India, her arranged marriage, and how she found her passion to help people tell their stories by writing and publishing their books. Her Ted X talk, How to Engineer Your Passion, explains her journey and her process. Diya wraps up the broadcast with a reading of reading The Lion and the Mouse from Aesop's Fables and a discussion about the power of storytelling. Don't apologize for your God-given gifts. You are one of a kind, and your skills must be shared. Use your gifts in a life of passion.