Happy Thoughts Podcast

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 59

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This episode features the wonderful Vivian Williams Kurutz! I met Vivian during my time at Omega and I knew immediately I'd like to learn more from her. She radiates love while doing the hard work of following the nudges to go where she'd meant to go. She's gone some amazing places and I'm so honored y'all get to learn from her on the Happy Thoughts Podcast. Thank you Vivian!

How liberating it is to pursue wholeness, instead of perfection.  Morgan Harper Nichols

Vivian Williams-Kurutz is a vision-driven founder and executive director of Harlem Wellness Center, health activist, community organizer, speaker, yoga and meditation teacher, writer, and business owner based in Manhattan. Through her two decades of work at the intersection of racial, health, and environmental justice, and as co-owner with her husband of Plowshares Coffee, she is committed to contributing to the vibrancy, health, and stability of her community and the world.

Vivian draws on her training in mindfulness, psychology and the arts, to lead initiatives that amplify healing, race, identity, equity, belonging and joy. In the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream for a beloved community, she delights in bringing diverse groups of people together in ways that foster understanding, connection, empathy, personal healing, and social change.  

Prior to her current areas of focus, Vivian maintained a career in the arts that encompassed performance, direction, stage management, producing, writing, music, and teaching. She is a longtime union member of SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity. A 2016-2019 Columbia University A'Lelia Bundles Scholar, Vivian has maintained her scholars project by continuing to build bridges between Columbia University and the Harlem community. Vivian is a proud member of the Omega Women’s Leadership Center’s Juno Leadership Collective. In February 2021, she was awarded a proclamation from the New York Senate, in recognition of service to her community and the city of New York.

Find more from Vivian!

Full Workshop link https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cultivating-and-strengthening-spiritual-wellbeing-tickets-1964363199208?aff=oddtdtcreator  

Harlem Wellness Center (HWC) IG: https://www.instagram.com/harlemwellnesscenter/

HWC Racial Healing Hub IG: https://www.instagram.com/racialhealinghub/

Vivian Willliams-Kurutz Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/vivianwilliamskurutz-825262191

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Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 58 https://www.kristitchin.com/shop This final episode from my season at Omega Institute features Diana Benz, Barbara Jones, Christie Mar, and Anjali Tangirala!

Today we have our first on air Happy Hang!  I love a Happy Hang to cut to our similarities and differences so concisely. Listen in to hear more about these amazing ladies and the humanity that shows up when we take off our armor and hang as our messy sweet selves!

Diana Benz is the founder of Block and Breathe and a big believer in following whatever helps you feel awake and alive — which for her looks like breathwork, fascia release, and the occasional skydive with friends she adores. She creates warm, grounded experiences that help people reconnect with themselves and the world around them, one breath (and one adventure) at a time. Find her on Instagram @blockandbreathe, or explore all she’s up to — classes, breathwork, adventures, and more — at blockandbreathe.com or hoo.be/blockandbreathe

Anjali Tangirala is goofy, happy, and endlessly grateful. She is a computational scientist/artist studying how complex systems- biological, cognitive, and environmental- emerge from pattern and perception.

Christie Mar is an intuitive coach, guide, writer, and Omega staff member. Her work invites you to slow down, deepen emotional sobriety, and cultivate the steady, unwavering self-trust that allows your most honest and expansive expression to emerge.

Barbara Jones lives a “residence free” life, working seasonally at the Omega Institute and then traveling, exploring, and connecting to the magic of the natural world in the off-season.

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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING! #thehappythoughtproject #happythoughtspodcast #happythoughts #happythoughtsbykristin #thehappythoughtproject #happythoughtscarddeck #vanlife  #affirmationdeck #affirmationcards #dailyaffirmations #positiveaffirmations #selflove #selfcare #mentalhealth #goodvibes #giftideas #spreadpositivity #inspirationalquotes

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 57

"Dreams are necessary to life." -Anais Nin

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This episode features Christina Cicci! Christina and I met at Omega Institute working as seasonal staff. In this episode, we chat about how stopping, stillness, and dreaming are some of the simplest and quickest ways to find direction when life gets hard. Christina has battled anxiety as well and shares some great insights on how to move through hard feelings with love and care. She also emphasizes the importance of play in her work as an artist! Play and dreaming have been hacks to following my own path in life- it's wonderful finding more people accessing the same things.

Thanks for joining Christina!

Find Christina!

IG: @christina_cicci_artlife

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 57 is out now!!

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Happy Thoughts can be found at:

❤️ thehappythoughtproject.com

💚 faire.com/kristitchin

🩵 amazon/happythoughtsbykristin

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

#thehappythoughtproject #happythoughtspodcast #happythoughts #happythoughtsbykristin #thehappythoughtproject #happythoughtscarddeck #vanlife  #affirmationdeck #affirmationcards #dailyaffirmations #positiveaffirmations #selflove #selfcare #mentalhealth #goodvibes #giftideas #spreadpositivity #inspirationalquotes

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 56

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This episode features Tunde Wey! He is a Nigerian social practice artist using food, finance, and investment capital to address economic disparities across geographies and demographies. I met Tunde at the Hearth Summit at Omega Institute where he addressed social and global disparities and opportunities for change; I gave him Happy Thoughts and now here he is on the podcast! Tunde is an extremely curious person with an ability to confront disparities confidently and delicately; he got a lot of info out of me and he's gone some amazing places!

Tunde's work engages systems that create material disparity, focusing particularly on how economics and finance impact working class Black people globally. He uses performance and installation, film, food, writing and finance to confront disparities in material conditions and attempt interventions to address these socially constructed inequalities.

His work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, GQ, The Washington Post, VOGUE, Black Enterprise, Food and Wine, and his writing has appeared in the Oxford American, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Roads & Kingdom and a couple cookbooks/ anthologies. His docuseries is a 2024 CANNESERIES Official Selection. He is a recipient of the Monroe Fellowship from Tulane University (2023) and the Ford Foundation Just Films Grant (2022). He is currently working on a book of essays to be published with MCD (a division of Farrar, Straus & Giroux).

Find Tunde!

https://www.fromlagos.com/

IG: @from_lagos

"In a gentle way, you can change the world." -Gandhi

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 56 is out now!!

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Happy Thoughts can be found at:

❤️ thehappythoughtproject.com

💚 faire.com/kristitchin

🩵 amazon/happythoughtsbykristin

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

#thehappythoughtproject #happythoughtspodcast #happythoughts #happythoughtsbykristin #thehappythoughtproject #happythoughtscarddeck #vanlife #affirmationdeck #affirmationcards #dailyaffirmations #positiveaffirmations #selflove #selfcare #mentalhealth #goodvibes #giftideas #spreadpositivity #inspirationalquotes

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 55

"Take time to do what makes your soul happy." -Jeremy McGilvrey

This episode features Alejandra Garza, senior manager at The Wellbeing Project! I met Alejandra when Omega Insitute hosted The Hearth Summit- an event created with The Wellbeing Project and The Harlem Wellness Center to bring people together to express/find common ground for social change with the arts. It felt very Happy Thoughty the whole time and I'm so honored to have Alejandra on the podcast! This episode gives a wonderful overview of what The Wellbeing Project is doing all over the globe. We could learn a lot from how they function! More about Alejandra below 🙂

Ale is from a mountain filled city called Monterrey, in the North of Mexico. She started her career in strategic process consulting and project management. She studied Mechanical Engineering, and then worked 5 years in process consulting (mostly supply chain cost-efficiencies and logistics). In 2017 she launched a web platform for connecting volunteers with social causes in their city. This project came to life after launching a pro-bono consulting initiative in the consulting company she was working at, and this was what pivoted her consulting career into the social sector.

To this day, her work and projects have provided the opportunity for her to experience how things work and how people operate in the social sector (in Mexico specifically). She firmly believes that great things happen through collaboration and loves brainstorming ideas to get things done. Ale actively searches for new ways to improve and learn about herself and has taken 2 certifications on logotherapy by Centro OCCRE in Monterrey, Mexico. She is proud to call herself a Viktor Frankl advocate. She sees wellbeing as balance and unity, starting with herself so that that can lead to spreading the experience of wellbeing for all. She enjoys spending time with her family in nature, reading novels and admires horses for the deep empathy they share with people.

From The Wellbeing Project website:

What does inner wellbeing mean to you?

Ale: I see wellbeing as balance, unity, and living with ease. Wellbeing means being responsible for myself, for what I am, think and do. Starting with myself, so that that can lead to spreading the experience of wellbeing for all.

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 55 is out now!!

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Happy Thoughts can be found at:

❤️ thehappythoughtproject.com

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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

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Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 54

This episode features Atlas Flynn, another co-worker at Omega Institute! Today's episode is a wonderful conversation with Atlas talking about the different twists and turns our lives have taken, how we've found moments to define them, and how we're leaning into the extreme not knowing this life brings. Learn more about Atlas below!

Daniel "Atlas" Flynn is a dedicated life coach, hypnotherapist, and educator based in Old Greenwich, CT. With a diverse educational background and a passion for helping others, Atlas guides individuals on transformative journeys through his work at "This Thing Called Life, LLC." He offers personalized coaching sessions and group workshops aimed at overcoming personal barriers, reducing stress, and fostering positive change through mindfulness and hypnotherapy.

Atlas pursued a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health at Johns Hopkins University, where he also served as the President of the Lambda Chapter of Chi Sigma Iota, an international and professional academic honor society for counseling students and professionals. He holds a Master’s degree in Epidemiology and a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health Science from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Additionally, he is a certified Hypnotherapist through the National Guild of Hypnosis.

In addition to his work with adults, Atlas is passionate about teaching Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and mindfulness to children and adolescents. He is committed to fostering emotional intelligence and resilience in young people, equipping them with the tools they need for personal growth and well-being.

Atlas is also deeply grateful to be in recovery from drugs and alcohol, and he actively supports the recovery community whenever possible. His lived experience allows him to connect with others on their own journeys of healing and transformation, offering guidance and encouragement with compassion and authenticity.

Throughout his career, Atlas has held significant roles in mental health and counseling at esteemed institutions such as Johns Hopkins Medical Institute and MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center, where he was honored as Counselor of the Year in 2022.

"You get to define the terms of your life." -Cheryl Strayed

Find Atlas!

ThisThingCalledLife.center

IG: @this_thing_called_life11

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 54 is out now!!

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Happy Thoughts can be found at:

❤️ thehappythoughtproject.com

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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

#thehappythoughtproject

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Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 53

This episode features Shawn Mott and Donicia Cook, two of my co-workers at Omega Institute! Today's episode is so wonderfully chaotic where we talk about our experience at Omega, the different challenges we face with taking care of ourselves, and the ways we're attempting kindness to ourselves along the way. Shawn goes through a hilarious journey accepting this thought, Donicia brought us all together to make this chat happen, and I'm always just trying. I'm so grateful for this experience getting to chat Happy Thoughts with people I've met along the way- this is why the podcast started two years ago!! I think we actually recorded this the day I started it all back in 2023. What a wild ride it’s been!

"Take care of yourself like you're the most awesome person you've ever met." -Jen Sincero

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 53 is out now!!

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Happy Thoughts can be found at:

❤️ thehappythoughtproject.com

💚 faire.com/kristitchin

🩵 amazon/happythoughtsbykristin

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

#thehappythoughtproject

#happythoughtspodcast

Life Update! Today we talk about basic needs and relentless participation in our blessings 🙂 It's been a wild year and I've landed for a few months in New York. Life can be relentless in it's challenges, but it's up to us to find our blessings and create our lives.

"You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestation of your own blessings." -Elizabeth Gilbert

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 52 is out now!!

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Happy Thoughts can be found at:

❤️ thehappythoughtproject.com

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THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

#thehappythoughtproject

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I got to talk with the women of Emerge Surf Therapy and Wilder Wellness, Kristin Mathes and Kristen Ales, about so many different aspects and perspectives on perfectionism!

Perfectionism is something we have all experienced as human beings on this planet. On this episode, Kristin, Kristen, and I (three Kristi/ens!) discuss the different ways perfectionism has shown up in our lives and how we've battled, challenged, and found acceptance for it.

Perfectionism is just fear in fancy shoes and a mink coat." -Elizabeth Gilbert

Kristin Mathes, LCSW is a licensed therapist working with women recovering from trauma, ptsd, anxiety, and panic through somatic healing, brainspotting, and surf therapy. She owns Emerge Surf and Somatic Therapy where she offers surf therapy retreats and programs for beginner and new surfers to reclaim power and self love through surfing and Mother Ocean.

More on Paddling with Perfectionism Retreat here:

www.emergewithfreedom.com

Instagram: @emerge_surftherapy

Kristen Ales, LPC is a licensed therapist, specializing in body image and eating disorders. Her business Wilder Wellness has offered wilderness therapy, adventure retreats, courses, and workshops for the past 10 years helping women heal their relationship to food and their body while finding confidence on and off the trail. www.wilderwellness.co

Happy Thoughts Podcast:

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Happy Thoughts can be found at:

❤️ thehappythoughtproject.com

💚 faire.com/kristitchin

🩵 amazon/happythoughtsbykristin

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING!

#thehappythoughtproject

#happythoughtspodcast

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 50

I met Elizabeth Gilbert! I gave her Happy Thoughts and my heart is so so full. Also, I have no idea what I'm doing now and have been planting seeds like the most dedicated farmer you ever did see.

One of those seeds is this next episode! We're tackling the three things I've noticed while sharing Happy Thoughts over the years- we want to be loved, we want to matter, and we want to connect. Today's podcast is all about how we want to connect! None of us want to be alone and we're all deeply connected. We feel the same feelings, making us so much the same, and we have vastly different experiences, making us unique little butterflies!

The methods I've used to find more connection with Happy Thoughts, (apart from sharing them like they're candy on Halloween), are Friendly Compliments and Happy Hangs. The science of giving and receiving more compliments is the cutest thing ever and gathering in a group to be our human selves with the support of Happy Thoughts has been the sweetest reminder that we're truly all going through this human experience together.

"Set your life on fire, seek those who fan your flame." -Rumi

Happy Thoughts Podcast: Episode 49 is out now!!

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