One of the primary reasons I started this podcast was because of challenges we humans have in being able to have peaceful conversations when we have differences of opinion, especially when those differences are around topics about which we care a great deal, and therefore have high emotion around. We lack these skills because they were never taught to us! In this episode, “Teaching Civil Dialogue as a Tool for Peace”, Episode #140 of Co-creating Peace, I have an intriguing conversation with C...
Trauma is a part of life, as the world we’re living in continually shows us. Yet we don’t have to carry that trauma throughout our life. Welcome to “EmotionAid® – 5 Steps to Reduce Trauma and Deactivate High Emotion”, Episode #139 of Co-creating Peace, a series about conscious communication and conflict transformation. Join me for this enlightening episode as I welcome back Jeffrey Goldstein to discuss the transformative power of EmotionAid®, a set of five practical tools create...
In Episodes #20, #76 & #77, I had some great conversations with guests about boundaries. Today’s guests, Jan & Jillian Yuhas, twin sisters who are both psychologists and mediators, have a unique take on working with boundaries that emerged from their 20 years of experience in interpersonal psychology and mediation. Welcome to “Boundary Badass: A Powerful Method for Elevating Your Value and Relationships” Episode #138 of Co-creating Peace, a series about conscious communication and con...
Welcome to “Energy Ball for Peace Ceremony". In this episode, Jeffrey Goldstein and I embark on an intriguing exploration of how each of us can harness the natural energy within us to foster peace and healing for ourselves and others. Jeffrey guides us through forming an energy ball, a technique using the healing energy within each of us. Join us as Jeffrey describes the transformative peace ceremonies he has been using and teaching in Israel and Palestine for many years. Energy ball ceremoni...
Welcome to "From Conflict to Collaboration: The Art of Mediation”, Episode #136 Have you ever felt trapped in a web of conflict, unsure of how to untangle the emotional threads of anger, fear, and confusion? This week, we're joined by mediator Michael Fraidenburg, co-author with fellow mediator Terry Teale, of the recently published book, “The Art of Mediation” to explore the transformative journey mediation offers in guiding individuals from impasse to insight. We discuss some of the emotio...
Welcome to “Don’t Believe Everything You Think”, Episode #135 of Co-creating Peace, a series about conscious communication and conflict transformation. If you listen to “Co-creating Peace” on a regular basis, you’ve probably recognized that many of the recent episodes have been related to ways that each of us can bridge the divides that exist between individuals, groups, and countries. Clearly, it is essential to our survival as a specie that we learn to co-habitate this planet in peace, whi...
Welcome to “Lessons on the Road to Peace”, Episode #134 of Co-creating Peace, a podcast series about conscious communication and conflict transformation, where we bring you insights and wisdoms from experts in mindfulness and peacemaking from around the world. As the world wrestles with chasms of division, John Noltner and his wife Karen, set out to traverse the American heartlands, a journey that would span 93,000 miles and countless narratives. Their quest, part of his project "A Pea...
Welcome to "Unlocking Harmony, Compassion, Balance, and Growth in a Divided World", Episode #133 of Co-creating Peace, a podcast series about conscious communication and conflict transformation, where we bring you insights and wisdoms from experts in mindfulness and peacemaking from around the world. In this episode, my guest, Constantin Morun and I discuss how to transform your internal monologue into a powerful tool for positive change. We delve into the art of self-forgiveness and un...
Welcome to “The Graceful Confrontation Guide to Empowered Communication”, Episode #132 of Co-creating Peace, a podcast series about conscious communication and conflict transformation, where we bring you insights and wisdom from experts in mindfulness and peacemaking from around the world. Today, Rebecca Whitman, bestselling author of 3 books on business mindset, an award-winning coach, and the host of the Balanced, Beautiful & Abundant podcast, joins me to talk about the importance...
Welcome to “Empathy is Needed When Things Get Heated”, Episode #131 of Co-creating Peace, a podcast series about conscious communication and conflict transformation. I have a great story to share with you, told by the three men who lived it, about how an unattended fire that could have been a catastrophe at multiple levels, instead became a powerful wisdom opportunity and a relationship-strengthening experience. Highlights you won’t want to miss: how – with the right perspective...
With the holidays coming up, we often have high emotion, covering a wide range from love and joy, to anger & frustration, celebration of blessings and grieving for lost ones, old family wounds & grudges, and political tensions – you name it! I want to provide you with as many tools and understandings as possible to bring peace and harmony to your holidays... and to your life. Welcome to Part 2 of “Holding the Calm”, Episode #130 of Co-creating Peace, a series about conscious communic...
Ever find yourself feeling stuck in an increasingly tense situation, perhaps with someone you find difficult to deal with, unable to find a resolution, and unsure of how to diffuse the growing tension? Welcome to Part 1 of “Holding the Calm”, Episode #129 of Co-creating Peace, a series about conscious communication and conflict transformation. As a follow-on to the last episode of this podcast – Episode #128, “Navigating Family Tensions”, I want to continue the theme of how to navigate...
Picture this: You're at your family's holiday gathering, and suddenly a heated argument breaks out. The festive atmosphere quickly turns tense, and you find yourself wishing you had a mediator on speed dial. For a wide variety of reasons, holiday family gatherings can sometimes feel like ground zero for conflict. Welcome to “Navigating Family Tensions: Lessons from Mediation”, Episode #128 of Co-creating Peace, a podcast about conscious communication and conflict transformation. ...
What does one do to co-create peace in times like these? Are we powerless to alter the direction and momentum in which humanity seems to be propelling itself helter-skelter into the abyss of mutual destruction? Are we destined to drown in the tsunami of hatred that threatens to wash away all that is good and beautiful in the world? Or, could we somehow, some way, transcend the tsunami of hatred, help others to do the same, and alter the dark & terrifying path we are heading down? We...
If ever there were a need for empathy, it is now. Listening to the news about what’s going on around the world, it feels as though humanity is fragmenting right before our eyes. Empathy is the glue that holds humanity together. Empathy reminds us to nurture life through connecting with one another in kindness and compassion. Empathy is one of the most powerful tools we have to transform conflict into harmony. Welcome to "Scaling the Empathy Wall”, Episode #126 of Co-creating Peace, a podcast ...
Imagine a world where a simple circle can create a profound sense of belonging, shift confrontational conversations to collaborative explorations, and emphasize connection and inclusion. That world exists today in Peace Circles. Because of the work of Black Women for Positive Change, and other groups such as the Listen First Coalition, Braver Angels and Living Room Conversations, dialogue circles are happening across our nation and around the world. Enjoy “Co-creating Peace in Circles”,...
Among the most vulnerable times in a person’s life are those times when they are ill or injured and have to put their wellbeing – sometimes their very life – into the hands of healthcare professionals. We feel scared, vulnerable, alone, even when surrounded by loved ones. In many ways it is a very solitary, often terrifying journey. More than anything in the world, we need to feel nurtured, safe, and truly cared about. Melanie Sears, a retired nurse, as well as a practitioner & teac...
Our greatest power tool for building relationships, and our most devastating weapon for destroying them is our use of words. It’s not only the words themselves, but how and when they are delivered that can make the difference between the construction and the destruction of positive connection and harmony. In Episode #122, I spoke with Terre Short, author of “The Words We Choose” Your Guide to How and Why Words Matter. To continue the theme of speaking mindfully, I am joined today by Melanie...
Have you ever noticed how much chatter is going on in your head? You know what I mean – that internal narrative I spoke about in Episode #8: “Don’t Believe Everything You Think”. Sometimes that internal narrative, which today’s guest calls our “personal podcast”, can lead us down a detrimental road, one that causes us pain, upset, and conflict, and which can have that same effect on the people in our life. Join me for “Peace is an Inside Job”, Episode #122 of Co-creating Peace, a podcast seri...
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic gave us our first experience of health-related lock-downs in the US in current times, isolation and loneliness have been a growing problem for many people. It's gotten to the point that the U.S. surgeon general published an advisory outlining his concerns about the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection in our country earlier this year. Disconnection fundamentally affects our mental, physical & societal health. Fortuna...