Find the Good News with Oran Parker

Find the Good News with Oran Parker

By findthegoodnewsNewsReligion & SpiritualityArts
Download on the App Store

Find the Good News with Oran Parker episodes

  • Ep. 113 - The Recovery Defense - Ft. Scotty Higginbotham - Find the Good News with Brother Oran
    You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 113, “The Recovery Defense,” featuring Scotty Higginbotham, Business Development Outreach Coordinator with American Addiction Centers
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    One of the great gifts that the Find the Good News podcast has given me is a platform to reconnect with people. We all meet people in our lives through businesses, groups, events, and other gatherings, and if you're like me you may never get that opportunity to connect again outside of those collectives.
     
    Find the Good News has opened old doors and made seats at the table of conversation, and I feel lucky to have this resource to reconnect in a meaningful way. My guest in episode 113 —Scotty Higginbotham, the Business Development Outreach Coordinator for American Addiction Centers—is one of those people.
     
    It had been almost a decade since I'd met Scotty and almost as long since we'd spoken. At first blush, his job title and professional affiliation indicated that he was the type of guest that listeners would appreciate. What I discovered in taking this conversational journey is that the path he has tread to his role with American Addiction Centers was not without his own addiction challenges and ongoing recovery practices.
     
    What Scotty shares is honest and undiluted, a true portrait of what addiction looks like, how it affects human beings on the ground, those that love them, and the true face of those that meet our brothers and sisters, offering a hopeful hand in what is often their greatest moment of despair. He tells his story without pruning the details, leaving the thistles and thorns that sting. In my opinion, he must tell it this way so others, those he helps through his role, understand that he sees them because he has been them.
     
    This visit is a reminder for me that there are people, like Scotty, who are on call and ready to help those in the stranglehold of addiction, no questions asked.
     
    Now, take some time to really let your heart and mind consider the power addiction has over so many of those we all love, remembering that even in their darkest moments there are helpers in recovery that are reaching out, then press play on a little good news.

    ==========

    SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS — https://www.findthegood.news/donate/ 

    ==========

    LEARN MORE ABOUT AMERICAN ADDICTION CENTERS — https://americanaddictioncenters.org/ 

    ==========

    CONTACT SCOTTY HIGGINBOTHAM  — 337-352-1527

    ==========

    FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com  

    ==========

    1 hr 22 min
  • Ep. 112 - The Fist Switch - Beacon Series Ft. Paula Lazarz - Find the Good News with Brother Oran
    You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 112, “The Fist Switch,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Paula Lazarz,  Shaolin martial artist, Soto Zen Buddhist priest, and head instructor at Healthkick Kung Fu in Chicago, Illinois.
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    For most of my adult life, I've been looking for fixed truths, constants that can be identified over and again, no matter the unique circumstances and shifting forces in play. What I've found on this search is that the only fixed constant is that there really is no solid truth. Reality is made up of bumps, cracks, twists, and bends, and when all those nuanced layers come together we feel we've found a truth, or a way. If we sit with that perception long enough, we might be blessed to see that fixed thing dissolve or change before our very eyes.
     
    I share this perspective because it feels very much linked to the conversation I had with Shaolin martial artist and Soto Zen Buddhist priest, Paula Lazarz. Paula Lazarz is the lead instructor of Healthkick Kung Fu in Chicago, Illinois, a school that has been teaching the traditional arts of the Shaolin Temple to children and adults for over two decades.
     
    As someone that claims to practice Buddhism to some degree, I have been fascinated by the juxtaposition of the physicality of Shaolin Kung Fu with the seemingly docile meditation practices encouraged by most schools of Buddhism. In our conversation, Paula provides useful, grounded insight into how these two dance together.
     
    The truth is, she helped me better understand the relationship between the two, and make peace with my personal struggles of using firmness or force situationally. I left this conversation with a better grasp on how to wield the elements of passivity within me situationally, realizing that those gentle features are not always the right tools for a given moment.
     
    She reminded me that circumstances are always shifting and that it is very important to have eyes to see the changes, and diverse practices at the ready for whatever may arise.
     
    Now, I invite you to listen to a Shaolin teacher with a true gift for bringing insightful and powerful practices down to earth, then tune your attention to this Good News Beacon, and press play on a little good news.

    ==========

    SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/ 

    ==========

    LEARN MORE ABOUT HEALTHKICK KUNG FU >> https://healthkickkungfu.com/ 

    ==========

    LEARN MORE ABOUT WARRIORS PATH BUDDHIST ACADEMY >> https://warriorspathacademy.com/ 

    ==========

    FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com  

    ==========

    2 hr 13 min
  • Ep. 111 - The Butterfly on the Battlefield - Ft. Justin Roberts - Find the Good News with Brother Oran
    Find the Good News, Episode 111, “The Butterfly on the Battlefield,” featuring Justin Roberts of Echo Bravo Productions and the Do Good web series

    ==========

    Tragedy has a way of bringing people together and producing durable bonds, often shaping and directing people to new missions. Over again we see survivors of extreme situations and events take on news roles with great fervor, reentering the fray with a resolve to help others find hope as they make their way through difficult times.
     
    In this episode, I have the privilege of sharing my conversation with one such individual, former Army Chaplain Justin Roberts of Echo Bravo Productions and the co-host and producer of the web series Do Good. Do Good is a new web series focused on telling the stories of real people and real helpers who put their resources to work for the hurricane-battered citizens of the Louisiana Gulf Coast.
     
    As I sit to reflect on my conversation with Justin, it's not lost on me that Memorial Day is approaching, which is also a sign for many weather-weary that hurricane season is upon us once again. Normally, these two things would have no relationship with each other, but the trauma and remaining PTSD of war and natural disaster have come together in a unique way in Justin Roberts and his documentaries.
     
    In our conversation, Justin shares candidly the pain and beauty of his experiences as a wartime Army Chaplain in Afghanistan and reveals how a meaningful encounter with a fellow soldier, his co-host for the Do Good series, created a durable bond that helped each find ways to find hope again, offering the veterans a clarity of purpose in a shifting culture, and open space to speak truthfully and freely about their experiences.
     
    It was clear in our visit, and from watching the Do Good series, that Justin has found great value in connecting people to something good, something hopeful, something that reminds them of the best side of humanity. Justin goes so far as to say he has become an expert in finding hope, which he deems critical to his mental health and survival. Considering what Justin and his co-host have witnessed—a microcosm of war and despair that those of us living in safety, comfort, and abundance can barely imagine—it is an inspiration to bear witness as they use their skills to make peace and grow personally while not deleting or repressing some of the most painful experiences humans can endure.
     
    This conversation is a timely Memorial Day reminder that there are servicemen and women, right now, living in the churn, and many won't come home. It is also a reminder that many of my fellow citizens along the battered and blue-tarp-covered Louisiana Gulf Coast are holding their breath, watching the radar, hoping and praying for a reprieve that may or may not come this hurricane season.
     
    It would be my advice to watch Justin Roberts right now, and his Do Good web series and look for a reminder of that hope, that good news, that everyone is holding out for.
     
    Now, it's time to forget about all the things that divide us and tear us apart, and pay attention to people that, in spite of burdens, pain, and odds, turn their attention to helping others, then press play on a little good news.

    ==========

    LEARN MORE ABOUT THE "DO GOOD" DISASTER RELIEF SERIES >> https://dogoodarmy.com/ 

    ==========

    SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/ 

    ==========

    FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com  

    ==========

    2 hr 9 min
  • Ep. 110 - The Best We Can Be - Beacon Series Ft. Kristi Hugstad - Find the Good News with Brother Oran
    You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 110, “The Best We Can Be,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Kristi Hustad, author of "Be You... Only Better: Real-life Self-care for Young Adults (And Everyone Else)" published by New World Library
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    I don't really know what it was like for my mom and dad to raise a family, trying to keep their kids entertained, happy, and healthy with all the supplies it takes to provide shelter, education, and some type of security. As hard as they worked—and I do know they worked hard—I know we still ended up being parents ourselves, each with childhood traumas and fears to pick through, tripwires and triggers that have affected the way we each made our way forward into adulthood.
     
    I can easily imagine that this is a story that's repeated over and again, and for all my sweat, blood, and tears, I am sure that I'm making mistakes right now that my children will have to work through.
     
    So, if our parents are doing their level best, and their parents did their level best, and we are doing our level best, what else can we do to help our young people gain firm footing as they move forward into this messy world—much messier than the one we came from—and try to piece together an adult life filled with hope, happiness, stability, peace, and success?
     
    This is where the work of my guest, Kristi Hugstad comes in with some answers in the form of her new book "Be You... Only Better: Real-life Self-care for Young Adults (And Everyone Else)."
     
    I'll be 47 years old this year, and while this book may be targeted to young adults, I found myself consuming it with shocking excitement. In this new book, Kristi Hugstad offers a holistic approach to prepare young people for the world their about to entire, offering useful, practical information and real-world scenarios related to the subjects of diet, sleep, money, time, mental health, exercise, gratitude, and mindfulness. It all added up to one that thing, an important thing that I find sorely lacking in the world today, and that is hope.
     
    In our visit, I learned that Kristi is full of hope, but it has been hard-won. Early in our conversation, you will discover what I discovered in reading her book, that it has been in journeying through great personal loss and deep grief that she has brought forth a message of self-betterment and healing.
     
    Even as I approach 50 years on this earth, I find that I need to encounter teachers like Kristi. She reminds me of the teachers and mentors that touched my life as a young person, and how their lessons are durable to this day. While this particular work may be for young adults, I found that I fall into the category of everyone else, and perhaps you will discover this as well.
     
    I left our conversation feel refreshed and even more motivated to offer my children the best version of me, a self that I am still crafting.
     
    Now, it's time to consider that you, like me, may still have some things to learn about living well, then tune your attention to this Good News Beacon, and press play on a little good news.

    ==========

    SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/ 

    ==========

    BUY YOUR COPY OF "BE YOU... ONLY BETTER" >> www.FindTheGood.News/BookShop 

    ==========

    FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com  

    ==========

    1 hr 28 min
  • Ep. 109 - The Law of Change - Beacon Series Ft. Margaret Meloni, Ph.D. - Find the Good News with Brother Oran
    You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 109, “The Law of Change,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Margaret Meloni, Ph.D., host of the Death Dhamma podcast and author of "Carpooling With Death: How Living With Death Will Make You Stronger, Wiser, and Fearless"
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    There is a small note tacked to a piece of corkboard near my desk, the letters stark white against an inky black square. These words, "CHANGE IS THE LAW," have stared back at me from this small slip of paper for almost 20 years, serving as a reminder of the Buddha's teaching on impermanence, reminding me that everything that comes together eventually falls apart.
     
    At first blush, this may seem like a dismal outlook, encouraging nihilism, and a glass-half-empty perspective that could be quite depressing. While I understand this, that has not been my personal experience with teachings on impermanence, change, nor death. The truth is that in accepting this trinity of decay as a natural, ever-present part of life, I have found a luminous jewel in life that tends to shine brighter when juxtaposed with death's looming presence.
     
    In many ways, death is a door to life unfolded, be it minutes or years. At the very least, death is a tool that can be used to appreciate every precious, life-giving drop in a half-full-glass of water. This is the door in which my guest, Margaret Meloni, operates.
     
    Margaret is the host of the Death Dhamma podcast, a unique series of conversations about death from a Buddhist perspective, and the author of "Carpooling With Death: How Living With Death Will Make You Stronger, Wiser, and Fearless." Having lost many of her dearest, treasured loved ones, Margaret is no stranger to death.
     
    Through her book and her podcast, she has created a unique space and resource of practical wisdom, perspective, and comfort for those who may be navigating the difficult terrain of grief and loss. Margaret doesn't make promises, or outline some mystical formula to follow that will remove death's painful sting, and I think that is what I found most appealing. Instead, what I found was an honest approach to looking at the sting itself, understanding that death's painful shock is normal, but ultimately it too is in the throes of the great law of impermanence, fleeting just as it arrives.
     
    Her personal Buddhist practice provides obvious, tactile teachings that have been a great vehicle through her own experiences with life, death, and grief. She has the lovely ability to share those lessons in textured, nuanced ways, making them more approachable to those in the throes of misfortune.
     
    It is my hope that you will find our conversation useful in your own life, but more, if you have experienced the loss of a loved one, I would encourage you to seek out her podcast and her book.
     
    Now, it's time to look directly at the visage of death, to know its imprint on the world of time, to accept change as a natural—even fruitful—part of life, then tune your attention to this Good News Beacon, and press play on a little good news.

    ==========

    SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/ 

    ==========

    BUY YOUR COPY OF "CARPOOLING WITH DEATH" >> www.FindTheGood.News/BookShop 

    ==========

    FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com  

    ==========

    2 hr 7 min
  • Ep. 108 - The Prisoners - Beacon Series Ft. Venerable De Hong - Find the Good News with Brother Oran
    Find the Good News, Episode 108, “The Prisoners” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Venerable De Hong, Co-Founder of the Engaged Buddhist Alliance
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    My father was a United States Marine that served as a combat engineer in the Vietnam war. On January 21, 1968, he was on the Marine base at Khe Sahn getting a short reprieve from the horrors of war. It was the Lunar New Year and the beginning of the Tet holiday. A cease-fire was about to begin, or at least that's what he thought. Instead, it was the beginning of a massive attack on United States forces by the communist forces of North Vietnam. He spoke of it often and as a young boy, I could barely enlarge my imagination enough to encompass what he shared.
     
    The siege finally ended in July the same year. The miseries of the Vietnam war would leave a lasting impact on my daddy, the United States, and citizens of Vietnam who were soon to live under the iron boot of a North Vietnamese communist regime.
     
    My guest and I did not speak about this during our visit. Instead, what I heard was his account of being a 5-year-old boy living in the shadow of the Vietnam war. During the holiday of Tet, while my father was fighting in a foxhole at Khe Sanh, my guest—only 5 years old—was being rushed from his bed in the middle of the night by his mother and father, pillow in hand, the evening sky illuminated by thunderous munitions, the sharp cracks of gunfire, and the circadian hum of helicopters flying overhead. These sounds would leave trauma in the minds of both him and my father, and it would lead them both down completely different paths.
     
    In this episode, I am honored to share my conversation with Venerable De Hong, the co-founder of the Engaged Buddhist Alliance, a Buddhist organization that works with individuals in the California prison system, helping them to cultivate mindfulness and meditation practices.
     
    De Hong's journey from Vietnam to California is difficult to fathom as I was born with some degree of privilege. At the age of 18, escaping communist Vietnam with his younger brother, De Hong became a refugee. At the mercy of strangers, he navigated the difficulties of immigrating to the United States. With no working knowledge of English and only $10 to his name, he eventually graduated college, became a U.S. citizen, and acclimated to American life, and it is there that it seems his Dharma path began. Like many of us in the United States, he became overworked and overwhelmed, eventually finding refuge in Buddhism, the religion of this homeland, taking the ordination vows and training of a Buddhist monk.
     
    Informed by the teachings of the Buddha, Venerable De Hong was drawn to enter the prison systems and serve those that society has deemed irredeemable. His tools are direct and simple but have had a profound impact on the lives of those he serves. De Hong feels strongly that the Dharma—the teachings of the Buddha—is a bell of mindfulness that reminds us to look directly into the suffering of the world and offer a way out of the suffering, to apply the great medicine of compassion.
     
    With letters, books, meditation training, and the gift of presence, De Hong and the Engaged Buddhist Alliance helps turn the wheel away from unspeakable trauma, helping prisoners find their original good nature, and allowing them to begin the process of touching the world with more loving hands, hearts, and minds. One day at a time, one being at a time, the Venerable De Hong transmutes and transforms the old migratory trauma of war-torn landscapes into pure lands of joy.
     
    Connected across space and time by war and religion, I am happy to call him my friend, and my true brother.
     
    Now, it's time to learn how trauma passes through cultures, across borders, into bloodlines, over oceans, and takes root in prisons, understanding that no matter what pain we've experienced, there is always hope for change, then tune your attention to this Good News Beacon, and press play on a little good news.

    ==========

    SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/ 

    ==========

    LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ENGAGED BUDDHIST ALLIANCE >> https://engagedbuddhistalliance.org/ 

    ==========

    FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com  

    ==========

    1 hr 41 min
  • Ep. 107 - The Hinge Moment - Beacon Series Ft. Reverend Shannon Fleck - Find the Good News with Brother Oran
    Find the Good News, Episode 107, “The Hinge Moment,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Reverend Shannon Fleck, Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    Take a good look around you, at the people in your community, the leaders, the ministers, the people in positions of authority or power, and pay attention to what you see? Do they look like you, think like you, and generally believe the same things you believe?
     
    On reflection, and if I'm being really honest about it, that's what I've experienced most of my life. For the most part, I could easily fit in anywhere, especially if I kept my mouth shut and my thoughts to myself. As long as I behaved and didn't push the boundaries of the status quo then the unseen hand was generally welcoming.
     
    When we're not personally running into boundaries it's easy to think that everything is alright in the world for everyone, especially when our focus is dialed in on our own needs. What about everyone else outside that narrow tunnel, the people in our communities that don't see themselves represented in the positions of power or authority, those who can't easily slide on the rails of the system by simply playing along?
     
    For whatever the reason— religion, race, financial status, sexuality—we have human brothers and sisters that aren't invited to the table of privilege. Further, many in privileged positions have been curating the systems to keep it that way by perpetuating outdated secular norms. This is the precise territory that Reverend Shannon Fleck operates, and it's why I asked her to visit with me on Find the Good News.
     
    Reverend Fleck is the Executive Director of the Oklahoma Conference of Churches, a coalition of faith communities, Christian denominations, interfaith organizations, and secular nonprofits that work to connect society to faith-based communities.
     
    This mission and this conversation are personal for Shannon. She holds, as do I, that people are informed by what they see, and when they do not see themselves properly represented they are actually being held back from the fullness of humanity, effectively stunting their growth into their full potential, neutering communities from the enrichment that diversity and variety brings.
     
    Reverend Fleck is a Christian faith leader that is publicly addressing the very real and present issues that many Churches are not addressing. While she isn't a fan of the particularly partisan marriage of religion-and-politics, she does lean her Christian faith directly into restorative justice, as well as the avoidance of umbrella terms that simply placate and maintain old social norms.

     

    Shannon wraps her arms around a grace that is inviting, a grace of inclusion, and refuses to sacrifice people against the threshing stone of theology. Reverend Shannon Fleck and the coalition she represents are very concerned with how to represent people, ensuring that they can see themselves sitting at the table.

     
    Now, it's time to check our privilege, get informed, consider some personal actions and changes, then tune your attention to this Good News Beacon, and press play on a little good news.

    ==========

    SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/ 

    ==========

    LEARN MORE ABOUT REV. SHANNON FLECK >> https://www.facebook.com/shannonmfleck 

    ==========

    FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com  

    ==========

    1 hr 28 min
  • Ep. 106 - The Escape Pod - Ft. James Hiatt - Find the Good News with Brother Oran
    Ep. 106 - The Escape Pod - Ft. James Hiatt, Interim Worship Leader at University Methodist Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana

    ==========

    It wasn't hard to come up with a proper reflection for my conversation with James Hiatt. James and I met online in overlapping territory, and it was clear from the very beginning that I'd discovered a spiritual brother.
     
    While our personal stories are very different, we have somehow found our way to a common road wide enough to share, and there's plenty of space for others. What was clear from the jump is that James has opened his heart to wisdom, over and again, and in doing so he has expanded the boundaries of what we assume to know.
     
    This conversation has fibers of rebellion and doubt, bound up with the nutriments of healing and hope. More than anything, James and I talk about Jesus, which acted as a much-needed inhalation of clean, fresh, rejuvenating spirit.
     
    James comes from a place of recovery that has been infused with a mystical perspective and understanding that fuels his passion for inclusivity. The truth is that it is a very rare and healing pleasure to speak so openly and freely with someone about Jesus, God, and the Christ.
     
    James showed me a face of Christ that I am so fondly attracted to, and that is the face of Christ that I see planted firmly in the world, out in the wild, with us, not separate from us. He reminds me of the high value of being with the people of the world—in the world—as they are, instead of preparing some grand escape from the worries and woes.
     
    It leavens my heart to be able to share this intimate visit with you.
     
    Now, it's time to lay aside theology and preconceived notions, prepare to have the temple razed and built anew, then press play on a little good news.

    ==========

    SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/ 

    ==========

    FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com  

    ==========

    3 hr 3 min
  • Ep. 105 - The Dark Heart - Beacon Series Ft. Lisa Diane McCall - Find the Good News with Brother Oran
    You’re listening to Find the Good News, Episode 105, “The Dark Heart,” A Beacon Series conversation featuring Lisa Diane McCall, life coach and author of The Rhythm of the Soul: A Journey of Loss and Discovery
    - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
    Have you ever made a decision, with no hesitation, that you knew would change your life? A choice that was so clear, so pure, that you could almost perceive the path it would lead you down? That's precisely the type of decision Lisa Diane McCall made when she decided to go on a vision quest in the Sahara Desert under the ancient and experienced guidance of the Tuareg nomads.
     
    Lisa has shared much of the magic and life-changing mysticism she experienced in the Sahara through her book, "The Rhythm of the Soul: A Journey of Loss and Discovery," an enchanting work of vibrant fiction—existing in a unique category she has called "Magical Realism"—which is informed by Lisa's very real and transformative Saharan quests.
     
    Lisa has tooled her personal longings and nomadic travels into good works for others, drawing on her diverse background and training in biology, anthropology, international health, vision questing, and shamanism.
     
    I felt a quickening in my visit with Lisa, a siblinghood that I seek and deeply long to experience more often. Worlds apart, I understood how in sharing this conversational space together we might invite others to seek out and experience a quest of their own.
     
    We spoke of wonderful, elevated, transformational things, and I feel I am better for having been invited into Lisa McCall's circle.
     
    Now, it's time to heed the call to visit far away, ancient lands. Allow your imagination to soar on warm Saharan winds. Rest your mind around crackling embers. Sooth your soul under the cool desert moon, then tune your attention to this Good News Beacon, and press play on a little good news.

    ==========

    SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/ 

    ==========

    BUY YOUR COPY OF "THE RHYTHM OF THE SOUL" >> www.FindTheGood.News/BookShop 

    ==========

    FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com  

    ==========

    SUPPORT CARE-HELP OF SULPHUR >> http://care-help.org/ 

    •••••••••••••

    1 hr 55 min
  • Ep. 104 - The Healthy Triggers - Beacon Series Ft. Laura Zam - Find the Good News with Brother Oran
    Ep. 104—The Healthy Triggers—A Beacon Series conversation featuring Laura Zam, Sexuality Educator, Certified Trauma Professional, and author of The Pleasure Plan: One Woman's Search for Sexual Healing

    ==========

    When I read Laura Zam's book, "The Pleasure Plan," I could clearly see how her work with trauma and its effects on human sexuality would be of great value to me personally.
     
    In her book, Laura opens up about her own traumatic experiences, sharing very candid details that created serious intimacy issues, not only with her partners but with herself.
     
    If you listen to this show often, you know that I advocate exploring our inner workings, going precisely to the pain to apply healing light. Laura, it seems, approves the same course of action. By taking this path herself, she has turned what she discovered into a source of wellness, pleasure, and sexual healing for others.
     
    I was surprised to learn that "The Pleasure Plan" was her first book in our conversation. She has a natural storytelling ability, a gift of drawing the reader into each situation, painting fine lines and fleshing out details, adding volume to the spaces and circumstances she shares.
     
    Laura cuts right through the noise by saying what needs to be said, even if the subjects seem taboo, and her comfort in sharing discomfort put me at ease. In this episode, I opened up and talked about things I've never spoken of before. I believe that is because Laura created a space of listening, love, and genuine care. She understands that for people to speak freely about traumatic experiences—particularly sexual trauma—they need to know they are safe and witnessed with eyes of non-judgment.
     
    Human beings are sexual creatures, and sex should be a source of joy and pleasure, not a fearful reminder of sorrow, shame, or pain. Thankfully, there are people in this world like Laura Zam that understand this, and more, they put themselves on personal missions to help others.
     
    Now, it's time to get comfortable—I mean, really, really comfortable—open yourself to the idea that there might be something just for you in this conversation, then tune your attention to this Good News Beacon, and press play on a little good news.

    ==========

    SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/ 

    ==========

    BUY YOUR COPY OF "THE PLEASURE PLAN" >> www.FindTheGood.News/BookShop 

    ==========

    FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com  

    ==========

    SUPPORT CARE-HELP OF SULPHUR >> http://care-help.org/ 

    •••••••••••••

    1 hr 46 min

About Find the Good News with Oran Parker

From the publisher's feed

Old news. Bad news. Fake news. Sometimes you want to shut down and get no news at all! I aim to change that by focusing on good people doing good works. I visit with artists, educators, civic &…