In the Balance

Laurie Meadoff says "Connecting makes my heart sing!" Connecting people through the power of the arts - moving borders, dismantling barriers, dissolving prejudices - all this and more is at the heart and soul of Laurie Meadoff's life work.

"Be in control of social media. Curate your social media life. Change it from comparison and competition to inspiration and challenge." This is just one of the many valuable suggestions to come out of Susan's conversation with Liz Miles, a 26 year old "millennial" navigating her life in NYC. Incredibly bright and articulate, Liz talks about her beginning days as an 18 year old college student with anxiety who needed help. She got that help (listen in to hear how) and is now traveling with a tool box full of various practices, ideas, exercises and support. Find out what's in Liz's tool box and see what speaks to you!!

Jessica MacLeod, PhD, is the nurse practitioner who takes us inside the world we see in the documentary Invisible Patients ~ She talks with Susan about her five years working with the housebound - the elderly and those with grave illnesses. "We have a healthcare system and a culture that is neglecting those who need health care the most."

In a review of her writing,Beate Sigriddaughter was told she had "an infectious positive attitude," and this comes through in her conversation with Susan. She is a poet who is committed to "putting poetry into practice," taking her ideals of love, joy and gratitude into the world. What could be a higher mission than that?

Laura Harrington chats with Susan about her creative process, the need for beginner's mind, and her long career as a writer across many genres; award winning playwright, lyricist, librettist, and novelist. She wants to keep moving the bar so she's not repeating herself, but "Music is in everything I write," she says. "My ear is smarter than my eye."

Gabriele Schafer is an actor of film and theater, and co-director of the socially engaged theatre company International Culture Lab. Her mission is to make theatre and film that lets us know "we are not alone in the world," and helps "liberate us from the fear of not being enough."

Happy Hour was Gretl Claggett's first film. A short film born out of the desire to tell her own story, a story of childhood sexual abuse. "It's up to us to heal ourselves, and the collective, but we can only do that by healing ourselves first." Gretl has gone through her own deep labyrinth of recovery and is now poised to create powerful stories through the medium of film that entertain and transform consciousness.

Claude Kerven is a filmmaker, screenwriter, director and teacher of filmmaking. His skill is at taking seemingly complex ideas and expressing them in a way anybody can understand. Listen in as Claude and Susan talk about favorite films, storytelling, how to survive the ups and downs of a long career, and the importance of trying to find everyday joy and happiness.

Jett Psaris returns to speak with Susan on Midlife Awakening. "A part of us has to die to transform and a part of us dies if we don't. Which part will prevail - what has been or what will be?" Midlife is known as the old age of youth and the youth of old age. If we enter this passage as an invitation to learn about ourselves, we will find the deeper rivers of love, wisdom and caring. We will discover that "Everything is deeply ok."

Is your smartphone your constant companion? Do you turn to your smartphone when you're bored or in an awkward social situation? Do you fly into a panic when you can't find your cell phone? Is your smartphone undermining your self control? Dr. Roberts is an expert on smartphone and social media addiction and he is here to help. Listen in as he tells us how we can find a happier balance, the "digital sweet spot" of our technology use!