We continue our conversation about making ideas into reality with a guest who regularly brings new thinking to her family business, invigorating it with fresh ideas and opportunities.  Kara Kading has focused her passion for local organic food  into an exciting new development:  an indoor farmer’s market!  She will speak with us about about how the idea for the market came to be, and how she helped to make it a reality.

Kara Kading has been running through the greenhouses of  Milaeger’s, a family-owned home and garden store, for her entire life.  In 2014, Kara spearheaded the development of a lettuce and microgreen program. Kara wanted to do something good, something big, something that would connect the store more with the community, and something that would benefit everyone on all levels.  The store currently delivers to many fine restaurants and cafes, local grocery stores, and a home delivery produce business called Brewers Organics.  Milaeger’s has 92 greenhouses, chiefly used for bedding plants, specialty annuals, hanging baskets, perennials, and seasonal pot crops. Kara enjoys continuing to build and develop relationships with more restaurants, farmers, and people who are as passionate about food as she is!

For more on Kara and Milaeger’s, go to www.milaegers.com.

In our daily lives, we are surrounded by relationships…with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers. It has been said that people come into our life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime, but we don’t always know what the meaning of those relationships are in the moment.  This week we’ll explore the dynamics of our primary relationships, the stages and transitions they can go through, and how we can make the most of what those relationships have to offer us.

Our guest this week has extensive experience helping see what the relationships around them are there to teach.  Michelle DeLaRosa is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who has worked with parents, children and families for over seventeen years.  Michelle also sees adults and couples in her counseling practice.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology at Roosevelt University in Illinois.

Michelle has worked in numerous settings including a residential treatment center, a crisis intervention agency, numerous community family service agencies, in clients’ homes and is now in private practice.  Her practice is located in Palatine, IL, a suburb northwest of Chicago.  She has a special interest in working with grief and loss as well as anxiety and depression.  Michelle often works from a cognitive behavioral perspective that helps parents and children change the way they think about things or respond to things to help reduce anxiety, depression, frustration and other negative feelings.  With young children and even some teens she frequently use play therapy as well as art therapy techniques.  In therapy sessions she likes to incorporate mindfulness exercises that allow one to quiet and calm the mind and learn to relax and focus on the present moment and inner quietness.

Michelle is a parent of two school-aged children.

For more information about Michelle, go to http://www.michelledelarosatherapy.com/.

We all have plans and dreams for the future.  Have you ever considered if you’ve allowed yourself to really think big in dreaming those dreams for yourself?  Consider taking a fresh perspective and look at your future with no limits…..silencing the judge and editor in your head that keeps you from seeing your full potential.

This week we begin a series of shows about dreaming and creating from a blank slate.  What  is it like to chase a dream…..to create something from nothing….to make an idea or vision a reality?  We’ll be talking to people whose lives and careers have included  a leap of faith, and taking a risk to see an idea through.  Our guest this week is Markus Kasunich, who often provides the opening thoughts in our discussion series.

Markus Kasunich is a frequent guest on the Mind Body Spirit Living show and we welcome him back this week to inspire us with his perspective on having limitless thinking.  Markus is a holistic life coach, speaker and healer and  speaks often on issues related to personal growth, and works with clients to help them access their own potential.  Markus is also an artist and has been a featured artist in gallery showings and sells his own line of greeting cards featuring his art.

For more information about Markus, go to www.markuskasunich.com.

Parenting is not a role that everyone automatically understands or embraces, so we often need guidance on navigating through the transitions inherent in the journey.  This week we take another look at perspectives on parenting, and we also discuss the experiences of the child as they go through changes of their own as they mature.  Being prepared with guidance and information before the transitions occur can help us move through them more smoothly.

Our guest this week has extensive experience helping see what the relationships around them are there to teach.  Michelle DeLaRosa is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who has worked with parents, children and families for over seventeen years.  Michelle also sees adults and couples in her counseling practice.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed her Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology at Roosevelt University in Illinois.

Michelle has worked in numerous settings including a residential treatment center, a crisis intervention agency, numerous community family service agencies, in clients’ homes and is now in private practice.  Her practice is located in Palatine, IL, a suburb northwest of Chicago.  She has a special interest in working with grief and loss as well as anxiety and depression.  Michelle often works from a cognitive behavioral perspective that helps parents and children change the way they think about things or respond to things to help reduce anxiety, depression, frustration and other negative feelings.  With young children and even some teens she frequently use play therapy as well as art therapy techniques.  In therapy sessions she likes to incorporate mindfulness exercises that allow one to quiet and calm the mind and learn to relax and focus on the present moment and inner quietness.

In addition to her professional training, she is also a parent of two school-aged children, so well understands the challenges of every day parenting.

For more information about Michelle, go to http://www.michelledelarosatherapy.com/.

The challenge of transitions can sometimes be overwhelming, and it can seem like it might be easier to just throw aside everything and start over…….to “reboot” your life.  Often, that kind of total refresh could seem appealing, but we are afraid of the potential for so many unknowns in our life.

This week we explore the idea of a “Life Reboot”……the opportunity to cast aside all of the known factors in our life and begin again in a new place, with a new job and new friends.  Would you consider it?  Our guest this week has done it not once, but many times in his life, and will help us explore the healthy and unhealthy approaches to beginning life again.

Markus Kasunich is a frequent guest on the Mind Body Spirit Living show and we welcome him back this week to share his amazing stories of restarting his life over.  Markus is a holistic life coach, speaker and healer and  speaks often on issues related to personal growth, and works with clients to help them access their own potential.  Markus is also an artist and has been a featured artist in gallery showings and sells his own line of greeting cards featuring his art.

Markus and host Chris Kann have presented at conferences and webinars on the topic of Creativity.  They also are partners in And One Insights, LLC, a company that provides consulting services as well as a suite of self-awareness mobile apps.

For more information about Markus, go to www.markuskasunich.com.

One of the most significant life transitions is having a child enter your life.  It can be a wonderful blessing, but also an overwhelming change to your routine and your priorities. And it can be no less of a significant transition when children go on to the next phase of life and parents face an “empty nest”.  This week we’ll discuss how to successfully ride this roller coaster of fun and emotions that is parenting with therapist Mary Steege.

Mary Steege is a licensed marriage and family therapist, a certified Internal Family Systems therapist, and a pastor in the Presbyterian Church, USA.   Currently in private practice at the Therapy House in Racine, WI, she has also served as a parish pastor and a hospital and hospice chaplain.  Mary is a member of the AAMFT and author of a book on psycho-spiritual healing called:  “The Spirit-led Life: A Christian Encounter with Internal Family Systems.”   She conducts her own workshops on healing and has been a presenter at the International Internal Family Systems conference.

You can learn more about Mary at http://www.thetherapyhouse.org/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=22554.

We so often live our lives carrying hurts and wounds from the past into our daily life.  We can intellectualize our perception of past events in order to cope, but the pain of unresolved feelings remains, and holds us back from living the life that we desire.  Making the decision to transition out of past into present thinking can be transformational, and can clear the way for a refreshed outlook on life.  Join us as we discuss how you can integrate this new way of seeing events unfold.

Our guest is experienced in assisting hundreds of clients in their journey to knowing self and making this transition to living in the present.  Stephanie Delmore is a Psychotherapist who uses many cognitive behavioral strategies in therapy.  She holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology and a School Counselor Certification from Mount Mary College.

Stephanie’s theoretical orientation comes from a belief in a strengths focus. and  identifies herself as a Solution-Focused therapist. She believes that our thoughts are powerful and that by learning to identify when our thoughts are distorted and causing anxiety or depression, we have the power to change those thoughts in an effective way.

Stephanie is married and the mother of two school-aged children. In her free time she enjoys traveling, entertaining, exercise, and volunteering at school and church.  You can learn more about Stephanie atwww.stephaniedelmore.com. or on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/StephanieDelmoreLPC.

For people trying to move beyond any form of addiction, the transition can be incredibly challenging.  Behavioral patterns, circumstances and people can all provide constant invitations to return to old habits, and inhibit recovery.  What does it take to make a healthy transition beyond addiction?  Our guest this week has personal experience, and now helps others in their transition through addiction.

Sammy Rangel spent most of his early years in mental institutions, foster homes, and detention homes.  He embraced violence at the age of 11, joining the Maniac Latin Disciples gang and spending long periods in prison. It wasn’t until a drug abuse program helped him rehabilitate that Sammy began to further his education and start working for a Safe Streets Outreach Program in Wisconsin.Today, he writes articles for Life After Hate and consults with law enforcement on addressing and curtailing gang behavior. Sammy is the author of the autobiography FOURBEARS: The Myths of Forgiveness.

In 2004 Sammy graduated from Gateway Technical College-Racine and from Carthage College with a Bachelors of Social Work Degree with a minor in Psychology, Cum Laude. In 2009 Sammy graduated with a Master of Social Work Degree, Summa Cum Laude, with a mental health focus, from Loyola University-Chicago.

Sammy has also worked at the Racine County Jail as a Clinical Substance Abuse Counselor helping men and women with addictive and criminal lifestyles.  Sammy contributes to the community by sitting on various committees that address race, homelessness, crime, gang activity or drug abuse issues among our youth and adults.  He is also the founder of Formers Anonymous, an organization with a mission to help people move beyond their addiction to street life.

Sammy is an in-demand speaker and has spoken about his story to audiences around the world.  He has just committed to speak at the TedX Conference in Hungary in 2015.

Most of us spend too much time doing our work to be unhappy, but many people are unfulfilled by their work.  Have you been thinking about making a career change, but you are finding that navigating the transition to a new path is overwhelming?  Or maybe you know that you feel stuck, but are not sure what to do to refresh your relationship with your career to be more energized by your work.   This week we’ll talk to a career coach who helped Host Chris Kann navigate her way through the decision to leave her corporate job and start her own business and gain an energized re-commitment to her career.  Our guest will help us see the key questions we can ask, and decisions we can make, to successfully identify how to make the transition to a more fulfilling life and career.

Karen Vernal is the President and CEO of Vernal Management Consultants, LLC in Milwaukee. She is a highly skilled, creative professional with over 20 years of experience working with C-Suite executives as an Executive Coach/Consultant.  Karen is a thought leader in leadership development, emotional intelligence and coaching for performance.  “If we can make a difference with leaders and organizations we can change the world,” says Karen.

Karen engages her clients in reflection, dialogue and custom designed activities that take them to deeper levels of awareness, resulting in renewed focus, passion and commitment for transformation. She regularly offers insights and reflections as a Biztimes Milwaukee columnist. Has also served on the faculties of Marquette University and West Virginia Wesleyan College, and is active in community and professional organizations.

For more information about Karen, please go to:  http://vernalmgmt.com/karen.html

From the first stages of a career to retirement, managing the transition between different stages of working life can go smoothly, but sometimes can feel abrupt and disjointed.  Our identity and sense of self can go through major shifts during these transitions, and the more you can be aware of where you are and what you are called to be, the more smoothly the transitions can go.

Join us when we talk about how to navigate these life transitions with productivity coach Beth Gilmore. Beth has been a successful productivity coach for businesses and individuals for over 15 years.  She holds a BA in Communications from Michigan State University.  Prior to starting her own coaching business, she had a record-breaking sales career that spanned radio, corporate sales, network marketing and private education.

Since 1992, Beth has coached thousands of clients including entrepreneurs, business owners, teachers and CEOs of multi-million dollar corporations.  In 2008, Beth was diagnosed with breast cancer and after an 8-month treatment course and a fresh perspective on her priorities, she reinvented her business as results. in Racine, WI. She believes that in order to harness your personal power in life, you must clearly identify your talents and dreams and find a way to contribute them to your community as a whole.

For more information about Beth, please go to www.ProduceAmazingResults.com.