Episode Thirteen // I became a parent when I was twenty years old. I had no idea what the fuck I was doing, I had zero mental awareness, and, honestly, I was very much still a child myself. I’ve grown up a lot since those first few days of parenthood 13 years ago and, while I haven’t always been the best example for mental health, I like to think I’m better now than I was before… and that’s good enough for me.

On Episode 13 of IWP my kids, Sebastien, Kami, & Evie, joined me in the closet for a discussion about mental health. Now, we aren’t experts, but my kids had some really important things to say about this week's subject, so you’re gonna want to listen up. Especially, if you’re someone who isn’t quite sure about how to talk to about mental health. We all have mental health and it’s good for all of us when we can share openly.

This week, let my kids guide you.

As always, you can wear whatever you want, but we’re wearing pajamas.

If you are in need of mental health support, please contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), (also known as the Treatment Referral Routing Service) or TTY: 1-800-487-4889 is a confidential, free, 24-hour-a-day, 365-day-a-year, information service, in English and Spanish, for individuals and family members facing mental and/or substance use disorders. This service provides referrals to local treatment facilities, support groups, and community-based organizations. Callers can also order free publications and other information.

EPISODE 12 // Have you ever dreamt something, only to eventually watch your dream play out in the real world? Have you ever seen someone in a dream, only to meet them later in real life? Have you ever experienced lucid dreaming? An experience of being aware in a dream and using that awareness to sometimes manipulate the dream itself. Have you ever woken from a dream that was so intense and real that it took you some time to shake it off? Or maybe it impacted you in such a deep way that you were forever changed?

On Episode 12, I want to fall down the rabbit hole and land in the dreamworld.

Dreams fascinate me and I don’t really know much about them, other than I mostly enjoy having them, so I thought I’d invite my friend and fellow dream enthusiast, Dr. Maggie Schein, to the podcast to talk with us about dreams.

You can wear whatever you want, but we’re wearing pajamas.

She has just completed her tenure as the first writer in residence at the Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University, a position supported by a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. In that role, she completed a book about cruelty and humanity that is hopefully both useful and provocative (Cruelty: A Book About Us). During her tenure at Prindle, she also consulted with educators and practitioners on moral development curricula, assessment in ethics and humanities, corporate management strategies, and will maintain a consulting role with the Democratic Knowledge Project at Harvard (where she was the Research Director for the Humanities and Liberal Arts Assessment Lab, 2012-2019).

She is a member of the advisory programming board for the Pat Conroy Literary Center,  was a Coordinating Principle Investigator for the National Ethics Project (NEP) and Chair of Education Special Interests for The Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) . She is most interested in conversations that bridge philosophy, psychology, literature/story-telling, and naturalistic virtue ethics.

She tries to give alligators their space, has reverence for turtles, loves feathers and possums, is fascinated by snakes, and believes that humans, collectively and individually, are intriguing and inscrutable. She lives with her Husband and artist of all sorts, Jonathan Hannah, along with their menagerie of rescued pit bulls, cats, and the occasional drop in owl.

Bailey Guilloud - Sleep Consultant to entrepreneurs, high achieving creatives, and insomniacs who want to sleep but can't. https://www.baileyguilloud.com/

EPISODE 9 // One of my first ever jobs was rewinding VHS tapes at the appliance and video rental store where my dad worked for most of my childhood. Outside of my rewind work, I grew up creating, crafting, and selling artwork alongside my mom and grandmother, both artists, at any craft show we could get in. By 15, I was an independent contractor, teaching jazz and lyrical classes for a local dance studio.

I’m an artist, I grew up in small business, and I’ve been in independent contracting work for 18 years, so even after years of professing that I would never own a business, it will be no surprise to learn that I own and operate a few businesses today.

On Episode 9 of I’m Wearing Pajamas, we’re Demystifying Entrepreneurship and we are again visited by my very best friend, my fiancé, Cesar Clavijo (USMC Veteran, former professional musician, martial arts instructor, and founder of Stillness Academy).

We want to share what’s helped us walk the entrepreneurial path, practical tools for reaching farther in your field, and ideas on how to pull in the reigns when you inevitably begin to wear yourself too thin.

Entrepreneurship is defined as “developing, organizing, and managing a new business”, so for the purposes of this episode, even if you don’t own an actual business business - let’s view your life as the business you’re running!

Because you’re either running your life or its running you. As always, pajamas are highly recommended, but not required.