As kids (and teachers) head back to school, what if they started focusing on subjects like gratitude, kindness and empathy? This week’s guest, Ash Manuel, left his teaching career after discovering positive psychology and set out on a mission to change how children learn. Now, his Growing with Gratitude program is a global positive education program that helps build and protect children’s mental wellbeing.  

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How Ash became interested in positive psychology.

This is a special week at Live Happy Now because we’ve reached an important milestone — and we truly could not have done it without you. This week, host Paula Felps sits down with Live Happy CEO and Co-founder Deborah Heisz for an important announcement and to talk about the future of the podcast.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What led to the launch of Live Happy Now.

Bullying is a huge issue for kids today, and as we go back to school, many children are dreading having to face that challenge every day. This week’s guest, Jennifer Fraser, PhD, is author of the powerful new book, The Bullied Brain: Heal Your Scars and Restore Your Health. Jennifer is an award-winning educator whose online courses and workshops teach the impact of neuroscience on personal development and culture change. In her latest book, she breaks down how bullying affects our brains and, more importantly, she tells us how to help our brains heal from that trauma.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What happens to our brains when they are being bullied.

As the world opens up to traveling again, can you make your travel experiences more meaningful? This week’s guest will show you how! Jessica Blotter is a speaker and journalist who specializes in sustainable and regenerative tourism. After witnessing extreme poverty on a vacation to Belize, Jessica launched a movement in 2016 called Kind Traveler, which allows travelers to positively impact the communities they visit — and enjoy incredible experiences as well. In this episode, she explains why it’s so important to travel kindly, and every trip you take can make a difference.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What sustainable and regenerative tourism is and why it matters.

Music education typically focuses on teaching students who want to be musicians or music teachers, but this week’s guest sees it as a vehicle for teaching an entire spectrum of social emotional learning skills. Nadine Levitt is a mother, former opera singer and the founder of WURRLYedu, which uses music to teach children about things like empathy, collaboration, impulse control and so much more. In this episode, she explains how music can help change the way young learners look at the world and broaden their understanding of complex emotions.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How her career as a performer led Nadine to create Wurrlyedu.

Laughter and humor feel good, but have you thought about how much good it can do? This week’s guest, Dr. Shepherd Siegel, is a musician turned educator whose recent research has centered around the idea of play, playfulness and humor as a driving force of change. His latest book, Tricking Power into Performing Acts of Love: How Tricksters through History have Changed the World, looks at the trickster archetype and the role it plays in social change. On this episode, he talks about the importance of finding fun and humor in our lives — and how to reclaim those habits as adults. 

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why it’s important to explore fun and playfulness.

It’s summertime, and that makes it a great time to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. But this is about more than working on a killer tan; this week, Laura Allen and Courtney Crim from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, talk about the amazing power of nature. Laura and Courtney developed the course The Natural Environment and Well-being, and on this episode, they explain why it’s so important to get outside every day and what nature is doing for your mind, body and spirit.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The mental, physical and emotional benefits of spending time in nature.

Summer is all about fun and happiness, so this week, we’re looking at how to make this your family’s happiest summer yet.  On this week’s episode, educator and children’s emotional health expert Maureen Healy talks about how to do that! Her new book, The Happiness Workbook for Kids, looks at how to navigate the difficult times we’re in and create fun, positive experiences for children. In this episode, she talks about some of the things we all can do to make this summer happier – and healthier – for the whole family.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• The importance of teaching emotional health to children.

We all want and need relationships — but you might be surprised to find out how little we actually know about them! This week, bestselling author Eric Barker joins us to talk about his newest book, Plays Well With Others, that takes a deep dive into friendships, marital relationships and every other kind of relationship to explore what we’re doing right, where we could improve and how the pandemic has changed the way we look at our relationships.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why friendships are the most important relationships we have.

If you’re one of those sensitive people out there, congratulations – you’re about to learn what an incredible superpower it is. This week’s guest is Katie Abey, author of the new children’s book We Feel Happy, which helps children explore their feelings. As a sensitive person herself, Katie is aware of some of the challenges that can bring, and her book is designed to help children learn more about their feelings and how to embrace them. And the great new is – it works for adults, too!

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why it’s important for children to learn to identify and embrace their feelings.