Hope. Strength. Courage. Loving moms whose kids are fighting for their lives!

This episode features my interview with David Ekram as we discuss how to bring self-love and self-compassion into your life. I really appreciate all the content David shares with us from the summary of positive psychology to David Hamilton’s three stages of self to the description of Martin Seligman’s Perma of Authentic Happiness. He covers so many important topics and ideas from the importance of gratitude, spirituality to breathwork and meditation. This is our longest episode in the Hope Strength Courage podcast series.  David does a phenomenal job of covering the huge topic of positive psychology and distilling it down to the a few key topics.  This 26th episode in the Hope Strength Courage Podcast is our final episode for the series but I invite you to check out all the other episodes if you haven’t already. I highly recommend starting at episode #1 for my interview with world renown pediatric surgeon, Dr Bernie Seigel as we discuss how to talk to our children when they are ill.I hope you will enjoy all the interviews in the Hope Strength Courage series as much as I did. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode which features my interview with Natalie Ledwell as we discuss how to focus on the positive through affirmations and vision boards.  Natalie is a colleague of mine through the Evolutionary Business Council and I am thrilled to share with you the work she has done to understand how we create our own affirmations and for both ourselves and our families that can help each one of us through challenging times. I really appreciated Natalie’s honestly and down to earth explanations of how Mind Movie affirmations and other tools like gratitude can help us to stay positive everyday. I hope you will take her up on her offer for access to the free tools on her website. I know from experience how beneficial they can all be. I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now for today’s episode which features my interview with Whole Food Nutritionist Tina Jo Stephens as we discuss how we can use diet to heal our lives.  Last week was part three of my interview with NLP Practitioners Ed Olvera and Jacquie Nagy and we spoke with then about using cognitive behavior therapy to help us become more hopeful. This week Tina Jo talks with us about how the food we eat makes a difference in how we feel. And the importance of finding foods that heal and sustain our bodies. Both for our children and ourselves. She talks about how to marry nutrition and how to make really good food taste good, in her words to make it taste scrumptious. What I loved about this interview is how Tina explains that this is a family adventure. And she reminded me about things I had forgotten to do myself for our family. I appreciate all the great pieces of advice she shares throughout the interview from her experiences caring for her younger brother. Everything from letting go of guilt to remembering to ask for help. Such great reminders that stand the test of time. They were helpful when my daughter was in treatment and continue to be helpful years later. I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Now for today’s episode which features my interview with Psychologist Dr Wendy Ulrich as we discuss how cognitive behavior therapy can help us become more hopeful. Last week we spoke with NLP Practitioners Jacquie Nagy and Ed Olvera about how to take time for selfcare and relaxation and I love that this week’s conversation with Wendy picks right where they left off. She shares an amazing definition of hope and talks about how we can find meaning in the most difficult situations. When we retrain our brain to look at things differently, we can calm our brains to find peace and override the negative thoughts we generate when we become depressed.  I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode features part 3 of my interview with NLP Practitioners Jacquie Nagy and Ed Olvera. In part 1 and 2, Jacquie and Ed gave us an overview of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and we discussed how to use NLP and Breathing to manage daily stress. Jacquie shared her four steps to shift from overwhelm to intentional resourceful living and three of her ten daily habit to start her day. This week Ed continues the conversation about what we can do when we are in overwhelm, how to move from one state to another, and he shares an amazing, guided mediation with us. I really love the guided meditation or visualization combined with the reminders both Jacquie and Ed give to take time to practice the tools we have learned and of course hugs, get lots of hugsI hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s episode feature’s part 2 of my interview with NLP Practitioners Jacquie Nagy and Ed Olvera. In part 1, Jacquie and Ed gave us an overview of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) and we discussed how to use NLP and Breathing to manage daily stress. This week’s interview was packed with steps, habits and resources we can use as parents. Jacquie goes into detail of her 4 steps to shift from overwhelm to intentional resourceful living. One of the things I loved about Jacquie’s 4 steps was when she explained how breathing can be used as a mechanism to shift ourselves from one state to another. From fear to calm or from inaction to action. When she also talked about the 10 habits of her morning and evening self care routine, it was a reminder to me to get back into my habits as well. I hope you will take Jacquie up on her offer, if you send her an email, she will send you a copy of all 10 habits. I really appreciate that after Jacquie’s four steps, Ed brought this back to what we can do when we are in overwhelm, again how to move from one state to another, and that leads us into part 3 of the interview when next week Ed will be sharing an amazing, guided mediation with us. I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode features part 1 of my interview with NLP Practitioners Jacquie Nagy and Ed Olvera. Last week we spoke with Kevin Hall, bestselling author of Aspire as shared his deep insights he learned when his own daughter Summer was diagnosed with a brain tumour. He talked about how he and his family only wanted positive people surrounding her as she went through her treatment and recovery.  This is a big part of the discussion as part of my interview with NLP Practitioners Jacquie Nagy and Ed Olvera, as we discussed this week how to use NLP and Breathing to manage daily stress. I really appreciated learning and properly understanding what NLP is all about and how we can use breathing as a leveraging point. Going from simply breathing to setting an intention on the state of being we choose to be in. Being in a state of calm rather than fear.  I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode features my interview with highly sought-after business consultant, speaker and coach Kevin Hall.  Kevin is one of my mentors and he generously wrote the foreword to my book Two Mothers One Prayer: Facing your child’s cancer with Hope, Strength & Courage. In this episode Kevin shares with us words that strengthen us as we support our families.  What impressed me most about my interview with Kevin, is his brilliant story telling and wisdom that he shares throughout the interview. I could listen to Kevin for hours. In fact, I have listened to him for hours as he has mentored me from a number of years. I am grateful that he talked about Passion and our willingness to suffer for what we love and just like Dr Setton, in our previous episode, he talks about Victor Frankl and most importantly Genshai – never treat another person in a manner that would make them feel small. I hope you will enjoy Kevin’s stories and wisdom in this interview as much as I did.  Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode features my interview with Fiz Anthony, Profession singer and songwriter. Fiz is a dear friend of mine whose music is featured in the opening and closing credits of the Hope Strength Courage Podcast and even closer to my heart, when my daughter Celeste found out that her cancer had become terminal, Fiz wrote a special song just for her called Angel on a Stage. You can watch the video for it on my Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdkE5wiZcvo  Last week, when I spoke with Dr Mark Setton about how to choose happiness habits to increase your daily wellbeing, we mentioned the importance of Flow – listening to, playing or dancing to music would all fall under the category of flow. That is exactly what Fiz is talking to us about in this week’s interview: the healing nature of music and how to bring more music into your child’s life.What I loved about this interview is not only hearing about the work Fiz has done to share his music with children in hospital but also his many ideas to help parents bring healing music into the lives of their children. I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode features part 2 of my interview with Dr Mark Setton, PHD in Philosophy, co-founder and CEO of Pursuit of Happiness, a non-profit organization dedicated to data driven research into the study of happiness and depression prevention. Last week we spoke with Mark about the importance of cultivating strong relationships and being caring towards others through Acts of Kindness and how caring for others can make a difference in our own happiness. This week we continue to discuss the next 5 of 7 Habits of Happy People and how to choose happiness habits to increase your daily wellbeing. I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode features part 1 of my interview with Dr Mark Setton, PHD in Philosophy D.Phil., co-founder and CEO of Pursuit of Happiness, a non-profit organization dedicated to data driven research into the study of happiness and depression prevention. This week our discussion revolves around what inspired Mark to co-found the Pursuit of Happiness Organization and the research that they focus on and the implications it has for helping us find happiness in our day to day moments. Mark shares with us the first 2 of 7 Habits of Happy People.  What fascinated me most about my interview with Mark was learning the importance of relationships and how acts of kindness can make such a difference in not only someone’s else life but in our own well being and mental health. These are two tools that bless both parties. These are two ideas I cover in Two Mothers One Prayer as well: the importance of reaching out and connecting and then finding ways to express love to those around you. I would say two universal truths. I would love to hear your thoughts on these ideas and what Dr Setton has shared so far. Share your thoughts in the comment section below.  I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode features my interview with Tattoo Tom Michell, founder and director of Still Brave Childhood Cancer Foundation.  Last week we spoke with author and cancer survivor Annie Pool about How to turn your child’s cancer journey into an adventure.  This week Tattoo Tom shares the work he is doing on a daily basis to support families and advocate for more childhood cancer funding through his creative and fun projects and slightly crazy Ultra Marathon adventures. Tom is an inspiration in how he lives up to his promise to his daughter Shayla to continue to support other cancer families the best way he can.  What impressed me most about Tom was his ability to recognize so many needs of cancer families and in the words of Mr. Bigweld from Robots “See a Need, fill a Need”, he stepped up to the plate to do exactly that. I think what he is doing with his organization Still Brave is amazing. If you currently have a need you are struggling to have met, please, please, reach out and ask for help. There are people and organizations that want to be there for you. People are amazing if only you will let them. The reason I do what I do, and Tom does what he does is because so many people helped us when we needed it. Let us do the same for you. This is the legacy of our own amazing, caring children. I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s Episode features my interview with international best-selling author and cancer survivor Annie Pool as we discuss how to turn your child’s cancer journey into an adventure.  Annie is the international bestselling author of “Passport to Life, how I overcame incurable cancer through the power of travel”. In 2013, Annie was diagnosed with incurable cancer and she turned an insurmountable obstacle into an opportunity. Drawing on her life changing travels abroad, Annie daily visualized her cancer journey as an exciting travel experience. Within less than six months, she changed her incurable cancer diagnosis into a passport to life and became completely cancer free.  It’s such a fun interview, I’m sure you will be able to hear it in my voice. It is filled with great ideas you can implement with your kids right away. If you need any superhero ideas for your family, please reach out to me, I’d love to help you brainstorm ideas! I hope you enjoy it was much as I did. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s Episode features Part 3 of my interview with international Speaker and Transformational workshop leader Dr Sue Morter. In the last 2 episodes, Dr Sue introduced us to her work, taught us a belly breathing technique to help us get grounded into our core, our wisdom centre, to learn how to pull away from the fears and back into the core of our being, and a meditation technique to help us to tap into Spirit Essence to know that all will be okay. She then explained her Bus Stop conversation that gives families a deeper, bigger perspective on life which leads to spiritual healing and a sense of wholeness. This episode is the conclusion of that conversation where Dr Sue shares how we can create loving unconditional stability to help our children heal. I am so grateful to Dr Sue for all the wisdom she has shared with us. I love and appreciate the reminders of what this life is really about and how to refocus our thoughts, minds and hearts on the energies of love and gratitude to help us heal and help our children heal. I hope you will enjoy Dr Sue’s final bits of wisdom and advice as much as I have.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode features my interview with Reverend Kevin Kitrell Ross, senior minister of Unity of Sacramento. In our last episode with Dr Geoff McCowage we talked about the importance of accepting help from your child’s medical team, today we will hear Reverend Kevin talk about the importance of surrounding ourselves with a community and allowing them the opportunity to serve us. Kevin is such an amazing soul. I love his humble generous nature and his wisdom and insights about how we can look for and receive support from the community around us, be it family, friends, our church or spiritual community. I hope you enjoy learning about Kevin and his work as much as I did and tune in next week for part one of three episodes with Dr Sue Morter as she discusses how to support your child without being stuck in your own fear and grief.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s Episode features Part 2 of my interview with international Speaker and Transformational workshop leader Dr Sue Morter as she takes us through a meditation process that shows us how to tap into Spirit Essence to know that all will be okay. In last week’s episode, she introduced us to the belly breathing technique to get grounded into our core, our wisdom center, how to pull away from the fears and back into the core of our being. The continuation of that interview brings us straight into the Mula Bandha technique to help us to anchor ourselves into a heart centered feeling of love. In this episode, I love Dr Sue’s Bus stop conversation. It resonates with everything I have experienced in life. I truly believe that everything I have been through, the loss of my mother and sister in a car accident when I was 9, the loss of my daughter to cancer, difficult relationships, the heartaches and dark nights of the soul have taught me all the lessons I needed to become the strong spiritual guided woman I am today. Having that perspective had given me healing and a sense of wholeness. I hope you too can appreciate what Dr Sue is sharing in this conversation and enjoy learning these techniques as much as I have.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s Episode features Part 1 of my interview with international Speaker and Transformational workshop leader Dr. Sue Morter as we discuss how to support your child without being stuck in your own fear and grief. I met Dr. Sue back in 2013 while attending an event hosted by Janet Attwood. What struck me most about Dr. Sue and the concepts and ideas that she teaches is the way she describes the perfection of life and our abilities to embrace that life and find healing and wholeness no matter our circumstances. I love the way she describes how to bring that wholeness back into our being when we feel so fractured coping with life. I am so thankful for the beautiful wisdom Dr. Sue has to share with us. The reminder to stay focused on our wisdom center and stay rooted, grounded in the body through those deep breaths in the belly. This episode is just part one of three parts of my interview with Dr. Sue. I hope you will enjoy Dr. Sue’s stories and analogies as much I have.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this part of the interview, I had asked Dr. Geoff, what was his best advice for parents and he talks about the importance of resilience and patience and the fabulous resource he put together for his patient families by creating his podcast Understanding Childhood Cancer With Dr Geoff. I hope you enjoy this interview as much I did.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's episode features part 1 of my interview with Dr. Geoff McCowage, a Paediatric Oncologist at The Children's Hospital at Westmead in Sydney, Australia.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Jeff does a great job of explaining about the HeartMath institute, how we can access depth of heart and provides us with a daily reflective activity with we can do with our children – a hands on activity on how to create an inner weather report as well as heart centered breathing exercises. I hope you will enjoy this interview as much as I did. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/hope-strength-courage. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.