The Hopeful Humanist Cafe

Episode 66 - ”I don‘t have enough time for self-care” and other constraints to Inter-Being Wellness

Welcome to another episode of the Hopeful Humanist Cafe.  In episode 66, I will talk about some obstacles, barriers, and constraints to our ability to take care of ourselves.  The invitation will not be to despair about such a reality but to sit with it and "notice" what is happening in our inner world when we are mindful of certain thoughts and feelings that get in our way of taking care of ourselves.  In addition to exploring the ABC's of Self-Care, I will also introduce the idea of a "Presenting Moment" as a possible first step to nurturing a self-care mindset.

T-shirt Idea: "Somatic Palliation's best friend is Action Plan; after a soothing bath, they get things done!"

Orientating Quote: "Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy."

Anchoring Concept: Self-care = "Inter-Being Wellness"

Show Case Resource:

1) Below is a link to my coaching website called, "Soundcare Life Coaching."  I offer it as an option for your self-care toolkit. You can access links to free on-line resources, access a link to The Hopeful Humanist Cafe, and for my Canadian audience reach out for virtual coaching sessions.  Click here to access the  https://soundcarelifecoaching.com/.

Related Episodes:

1) https://www.hopefulhumanistcafe.com/e/episode-58-self-care-self-assessments/

 

A Parting Salutations:

Please email me at hopefulhumanistcafe@gmail.com to share your cool tool resources for others to consider for their spiritual tool boxes and/or any activity that you think can nurture the human need for creativity.  

 

Thank-you for joining me for a blithering tip-of-the-iceberg conversation about life.  The conversation is ongoing and continuous!

Peace, take care, be well, and share

Episode 65 - Blithering Thoughts about Generations

Welcome to Episode 65 of the Hopeful Humanist Cafe.  In this episode, I hope to provide a definition of generations, share a cautionary note about the limits and dangers when talking about generations, and raise some questions about the benefits of continuing to talk about these socially-constructed things called "Generations."  

 

Video Resource Library for our discussion Generations:

1) "The Generations:" The creator of this You Tube channel has created a comprehensive series about the generations spanning from the Lost Generation to the new kids on the block, Generation Alpha (coined by Mark McCrindle).  Click here to supplement your current understanding about the generational continuum - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPDm91SferM

2) William Strauss & Neil Howe:  These two thinkers are the authors of "Generations: The History of America's Future 1584 to 2069" (1991) and "An American Prophecy: The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America's Next Rendezvous with Destiny" (1997).  I was fortunate enough to access the books at my local library.  If you not interested in directing a lot of time and energy to such a significant reading project (and learn about peer personality, generational constellations, generational archetypes and eras), you can click her to a summary video of their pulse-rate theory about generations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-qXpE1bCJs

3) Karl Mannheim (1893-1947) was a German Sociologist who wrote an essay in 1928 called, "The Problem of Generations."  Terms he used to talk about generations included social location, generations in actuality, and fresh contact.  He defined a generation as a group of individuals of the similar age and a shared social, economical and political experience who share a noteworthy historical event in a specific span of time.  Watch this You Tube video for a summary account of his ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjlmYCAL7Cs&t=5s

4) Are Generations Real? The History, The Controversy. I very much enjoyed this You Tube video as it looks at the discussion of generations through a critical thinking lens.  Click here to learn about the difference between a "pulse-rate" theory of generations compared to the "imprint" theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Cj5PJPsEI

5) Looking forward with Mark McCrindle and Generation Alpha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0Cj5PJPsEI

6) This interview with Gabor Mate and the host of Sunday Magazine, Piya Chattopadhyay is a must listen to. Gabor Mate gives us a fuller look at the challenges we are currently facing.  We are not just in a pandemic - we are trying to stay a float in a convergence of pandemics called a syndemic.  Click this link for a soul with an amazing mind: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/the-sunday-magazine-for-june-20-2021-1.6070909

 

Books worth reading:

1) "Generations" by Strauss and Howe - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjlmYCAL7Cs&t=5s

2) "The Fourth Turning" by Strauss and Howe - https://www.amazon.ca/Fourth-Turning-History-Americas-Rendezvous/dp/0767900464/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3KMRCBPS7DFP5&dchild=1&keywords=the+fourth+turning&qid=1626030889&s=books&sprefix=the+fourth+turn%2Cstripbooks%2C233&sr=1-1

3) "Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture" by Douglas Coupland - https://www.amazon.ca/Generation-X-Tales-Accelerated-Culture/dp/031205436X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=douglas+copeland+generation+x&qid=1626030989&s=books&sr=1-1

 

Please email me at hopefulhumanistcafe@gmail.com to share your cool tool resources for others to consider for their spiritual tool boxes and/or any activity that you think can nurture the human need for creativity.  

Thank-you for joining me for a blithering tip-of-the-iceberg conversation about life.  The conversation is ongoing and continuous! 

Peace, take care, be well, and share

 

 

Episode 64 - Reclaiming Your Lens: A Presenting Moment During Another Covid-19 Lockdown

In this episode, I take the "Ten-Word Description" podcast activity from Eric Nuzum and take it to make my own to "Reclaim my lens for a journey toward my authentic self." Entering into another lockdown during a third wave assault from covid-19 where everything is fixated on a one-pointed conversation about the pandemic, I felt a need to "bee kind" to myself and expand my centre of identification to more than infection rates, ICU admissions, and vaccination passports.  

Quote: "Just because you're right doesn't mean I'm wrong, you just haven't seen life from my position." - Anonymous

T-shirt Idea - "Bee Kind" & "Reclaim the Lens" and "Shifting & Resequencing"

Dedication: I would like to dedicate this episode to the bees and the dandelion.  What is your perspective on "No Mow May?"  Check out this article and see if it inspires you to "BEE kind" - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/no-mow-may-toronto-1.5568446

Ten-Word Description Example for Reclaiming the Lense Courtesy Danielson: Daily intentions accountability exercise to sharpen focus on life-affirming activities.

Resources:

1) In the spotlight - "Make Noise: A Creator's Guide to Podcasting and Great Audio Storytelling," by Eric Nuzum.  Reading this book and discovering the "Ten-Word Description" activity for launching a podcast inspired the idea for this episode. I would highly recommend this book for anyone thinking of creating a podcast.  Even with over 700 000 different podcast shows, the world still has room for your voice! Click here to access it on Amazon if your local library does not have in on shelf: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Noise-Creators-Podcasting-Storytelling/dp/1523504552/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2RKQJPZNTBT6L&dchild=1&keywords=eric+nuzum+make+noise&qid=1621684176&sprefix=eric+nu%2Caps%2C192&sr=8-1 

2) The following article provided me an opportunity to practice "perspective taking." It reminded me that there is no "total solution" for everyone even when we are struggling with a common problem like covid-19.  What is your perspective on this article: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/pandemic-frustrations-boil-surface-b-231831291.html

3) My image google search for perspective-taking brought me to a comic graphic in this article. Is it a six or is it a nine? Check-out my avatar image for this episode and then read the article for some thoughts about perspective-taking.  Here is the link: https://everydaypsych.com/dont-understand-advice-for-perspective-taking/

4) Check out this YouTube for a fun hand percussion grounding activity.  Click here -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-MpzjxEVBU

 Special Thanks - Thank-you Danielson for sharing your lens reclamation thought! 

Please email me at hopefulhumanistcafe@gmail.com to share your cool tool resources for others to consider for their spiritual tool boxes and/or any activity that you think can nurture the human need for creativity.  

Thank-you for joining me for a blithering tip-of-the-iceberg conversation about life.  The conversation is ongoing and continuous! 

Peace, take care, be well, and share

 

 

 

Episode 63 - Is Critical Thinking Critical: Another Just Two Ones Discussion

Welcome to another "Just Two Ones" episode where Danielson and I talk about a bunch of thoughts connected to Critical Thinking with a short special appearance from Woodrow.  Let's blither ...

ORIENTING THOUGHTS:

1) “Moving beyond I don’t know” (Danielson)

2) Memorizing is not learning. (Danielson)

T-SHIRT IDEAS:

1)"Read Widely" & "Imagine the Unimaginable" both by Danielson

2) "Just Two Ones Among 7.9 Billion" by Steve The Hopeful Humanist. Click here to discover the changing world population ... https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/

QUOTATIONS:

1) "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution" - Einstein 

2) "Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action" - The Foundation for Critical Thinking. Click here for a deeper dive into a definition for critical thinking ... https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766

RESOURCES:

1) Penn Jillette: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/tuesday-march-23-2021-harry-connick-jr-penn-jillette-and-more-1.5959037

2) Stephen Brookfield: https://www.amazon.ca/Power-Critical-Theory-Liberating-Learning/dp/0787956015

3) Micheal Patrick Lynch: https://www.amazon.ca/Know-All-Society-Dogmatism-Arrogance/dp/1631493612

 

Thank-you for joining me here at the Hopeful Humanist Cafe for on-going conversation about mental health, happiness, and the good life.  Together, creatively we can try to make our lives healthier and more meaningful.  

Peace, take care, be well, and share!

Episode 62 - Xanadu Relaxation Manoeuvres - Soaking in Vulnerability, Mindfulness, and Waxing Poetic about Critical Thinking

Welcome to a glimpse into a snippet of a private sharing from myself to Captain Jack.  From the outside, I must say, this episode is definitely unconventional and hopefully it will not prove to be a slippery slope (haha!).  The flavour of this episode is reminiscent of my "T-shirt ideas, novel first sentences, and et cetera moments" concept piece. Here, literally,  I am soaking in some thoughts about a quote, share a T-shirt idea, and instead of a novel first sentence offer a stream of consciousness outpouring on critical thinking.  I hope you enjoy it! 

Orienting Quote: "There is nothing certain except that nothing is certain, and nothing more wretched than Man nor more arrogant." Pliny ... Taken from page 12 of "KNOW-IT-ALL-SOCIETY," by Michael Patrick Lynch.  What do you make of the quote? 

T-shirt Idea: How is your big left toe? (Body Scan activity)

Concluding Question: What did I miss?

Resources:

1) Get critically reflective by reading "Know-It-All-Society," by Michael Patrick Lynch.  Hopefully, you can access it at your local library or click here to buy it from Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Know-All-Society-Dogmatism-Arrogance/dp/1631493612/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QPP5VH7T2PG0&dchild=1&keywords=know+it+all+society&qid=1617469743&sprefix=know+it+all+society%2Caps%2C184&sr=8-1

2) Interested learning about Logical Fallacies, click on this website: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/common-logical-fallacies

3) Curious about the other book I am reading?  It is called, "Happiness," by Darrin M. McMahon.  I am sure I will have more to say about this book in the future.  Here is the link to Amazon - https://www.amazon.ca/Happiness-History-Darrin-M-McMahon/dp/0802142893/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=happiness+by+Darrin+M.+McMahon&qid=1617474237&sr=8-1

Lock-Down Activity:

For those of you like myself, who will be going into another lock-down, after reviewing the above information about logical fallacies, you can listen to the speech I have attached to see if you can spot any of the fallacies.  It is an activity to flex one's critical thinking muscle.  Click on this You Tube video to listen to the speech - https://www.wsj.com/video/trump-full-speech-at-dc-rally-on-jan-6/E4E7BBBF-23B1-4401-ADCE-7D4432D07030.html.  

Please email me at hopefulhumanistcafe@gmail.com to share your cool tool resources for others to consider for their spiritual tool boxes and/or any activity that you think can nurture the human need for creativity.  

Thank-you for joining me. This episode is a preamble to my upcoming episode with Danielson where we will talk a whole bunch more about critical thinking and the critical thinking mindset.  

Peace, take care, be well, and share

------The Hopeful Humanist

Episode 61 - One last look in the mirror of Hesse's "Siddhartha"

This episode is the unexpected part two to episode 60.  Danielson and I continued to explore our respective relationships with the book "Siddhartha," a book we both initially picked up in early adulthood and have revisited a number of times over the different chapters of our unfolding lives.  The first order of business was to provide a synopsis of the book, an important task overlooked in episode 60.  We both shared how our most recent "look into the mirror" has changed the manner in which we relate to the book -- how the book speaks to us. Finally, Danielson concludes the discussion by asking me two self-stretching questions.  

Related Episode(s):

1) Episode 6 - Standing up to Anxiety and Confronting the Absurd (hopefulhumanistcafe.com)

 

Please email me at hopefulhumanistcafe@gmail.com to share your cool tool resources for others to consider for their spiritual tool boxes and/or any activity that you think can nurture the human need for creativity.  

 

Thank-you for joining me for a blithering tip-of-the-iceberg conversation about life.  The conversation is ongoing and continuous!

Peace, take care, be well, and share

 

Episode 60 - Just Two Ones Blithering about Hesse's "Siddhartha"

In this historic episode, I am joined for the first time ever with a guest - the one and only Danielson - for an unedited, in-the-moment, blithering conversation about Hermann Hesse's classic novel, "Siddhartha."  Although we initially intended to start the conversation off by providing a synopsis of the story, we never actually got around to it and just dove into a back and forth discussion about impressions and personal reflections.  As such, I would recommend one first read the novel before listening to our humble analysis of Hesse's work.  

 

T-shirt Ideas: 

1) Danielson - "Hear the river" (Not - "Here, the river)

2) Hopeful - "Limited View" (play on the idea of ``Right View`` - a step on the noble 8-Fold Path) & "Lost Opportunities"

Resources:

1) Here is attached Danielson's short essay about "Siddhartha," by Hermann Hesse accessible at Goodreads.  In this essay, Danielson explores the theme of getting out of time to wake up to the eternal in the moment one finds oneself.  Click here to access the essay: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3433268299

2) For those that might need to read the novel first before listening to the blithering back-and-forth between me and Danielson, this free click-able link can help you get started: https://www.apnamba.com/Ebooks-pdf/Siddhartha.pdf

Related Episode(s):

1) Episode 1 - The Happier Quest (hopefulhumanistcafe.com)

 

Please email me at hopefulhumanistcafe@gmail.com to share your cool tool resources for others to consider for their spiritual tool boxes and/or any activity that you think can nurture the human need for creativity.  

 

Thank-you for joining me for a blithering tip-of-the-iceberg conversation about life.  The conversation is ongoing and continuous!

Peace, take care, be well, and share

 

 

Episode 59 - ”Audio Sound Blot” - Lot#1 Growing Old & Sardines

This is my creative take on a psychometric tool referred to as the "Rorschach Test." Subjects are presented with ambiguous inkblots and invited to share their perceptions/interpretations with clinicians to analyze.  The goal is to discover underlying personality traits.  My goal is not so lofty.  It is simply to share something creative that might cause for the listener a "moment of reflection" about self or the world. While this episode is primarily a tribute to creativity, it is also simultaneously a "covid-19 sound capsule" about the concreteness of my here-and-now moment.  I think we need creativity more than ever at this unique moment in our shared history.  I invite you to create your own "audio sound blot" or "covid-19 sound capsule."  Tapping into our creativity opens the door for some nonsensical fun, imaginative connection, and a chance to feel good during these hard times.  

T-shirt Idea: Sound Blot

Special Thanks: Special thanks goes to Captain Jack, Danielson, Blazing Phoenix, and Woodrow for their contributions to this blot creation.  Wooodrow played a piano piece from Eiffel 65 called "Blue (Da Ba Dee)."

Comical Resource:

1) Whenever I need to laugh, I listen to this little clip of Captain Jack accidentally eating a bug.  For a slight guffaw click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdJsc0WoIgE

Related Episode(s):

1) Episode 32 - An Imaginative (naive?) Glimpse into a Post-Covid-19, 2030 World Featuring Janus and Sparky (hopefulhumanistcafe.com)

Please email me at hopefulhumanistcafe@gmail.com to share your cool tool resources for others to consider for their spiritual tool boxes and/or any activity that you think can nurture the human need for creativity.  

Peace, take care, be well, and share

Create, laugh a little, share a compliment, breath & smile

 

Episode 58 - Self-Care Self-Assessments & Inter-Being Scaffolding

Quote: "Right now the world is entirely focused on people's physical health, and for good reason. But I urge everyone to take mental health just as seriously as you do your physical health. Use preventative measures and learn to spot the signs when you are struggling. Reach out to family, friends or medical professionals."    - Natalie Romero from her  article, "I Am Struggling With Low-Grade Depression."

T-shirt Ideas:

1) Remember, don't forget what you know

2) Somatic Palliation's best friend is action plan, she gets things done

My Self-Care Self-Assessment Inventory Questionnaire:

1) Have I been feeding my mind? (livehappy)

2) Have I been minding my thoughts (livehappy)

3) Have I been watching my words? (livehappy)

4) Have I been keeping good company? (livehappy)

5) Have I been engaged in my daily practice of gratitude, accomplishment, goal?

6) Have I participated in a family game over the past week?

7) Have I done anything physical? Have I exercised?

8) Have I done my morning recitations or engaged in moments of mindfulness?

9) Have I directed energy to a personal learning project?

10) Have I expressed in some fashion my love to those most dearest to me?

Resources:

1) Have you lost your spark? Many of us have and we are not along. Check-out this article from Natalie Romero by clicking here -  I Am Struggling With Low-Grade Depression | Learning (cbc.ca)

2) "livehappy: Ten Practices for Choosing Joy," by Deborah K. Heisz. This books offers "stories and wisdom of Everyday Happiness."  I found reading this book helpful in terms of coming up with ideas for my Self-Case Self-Assessment questionnaire (Feed your mind, Mind your thoughts, Watch your words, Keep good company).  Pick up the book at your local library or get it on Amazon by clicking here - Live Happy: Ten Practices for Choosing Joy eBook: Heisz, Deborah K.: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

3) "Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization," by Scott Barry Kaufman.  This book is a personal favourite as it builds upon the foundational thinking of Abraham H. Maslow, who for me, was a grandparent of Positive Psychology.  I have always been drawn to the hierarchy of needs as the necessary infrastructure for good mental health.  Scott offers a new "Sailboat" metaphor for capturing the essence of Maslow's thought.  The new discussion includes a discussion of transcendence in the framework of security and growth needs.  Hopefully soon, one will be able to find the book at one's local library, but if not, you can click on this link to Amazon: Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization eBook: Kaufman, Scott Barry: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

4) Scott Barry Kaufman also hosts his own podcast called "The Psychology Podcast," where he explores the depth of human potential.  On the most recent episode I listened to with special guest Sharon Salzberg, the conversation was about the benefits of incorporating mindfulness into our lives as we struggle collectively with experiences of anxiety, grief, anger and utter exhaustion (one culprit being decision fatigue).  Click here to access the podcast - Homepage | Scott Barry Kaufman

5) To learn "How to Write Your Own Prescription for Self-Care," click here: How to Write Your Own Prescription for Self-Care (winniepalmerhospital.com)

6) Check out this article entitled, "When feeling lonely and unhappy veers into depression: challenges of these pandemic holidays," from CBC news to explore ideas, links and videos about how to stand up to depression.  Click here - When feeling lonely and unhappy veers into depression: challenges of these pandemic holidays | CBC News

I hope you find the various resources helpful and perhaps you might add some to your spiritual toolbox.  Here my invitation stands: What 10 things would you include on your weekly self-care self-assessment?  

Related Episodes:

1) Episode 34 - Seriously? Oh my G.A.A.D! - A Sanity Quickie … (hopefulhumanistcafe.com)

2) Episode 36 - One Word (hopefulhumanistcafe.com)

3) Episode 41 - Morning Prayer to Start Off the Day (hopefulhumanistcafe.com)

Please email me at hopefulhumanistcafe@gmail.com to share your cool tool resources for others to consider for their spiritual tool boxes and/or any activity that you think can nurture the human need for creativity.  

Peace, take care, be well, and share!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Episode 57 - BOOMPF ..."It's Create a Word Day!"

Join me as I talk with Captain Jack and Danielson for over 30 minutes  about a word - BOOMPF -  we collectively brought into existence merely with the socially constructed wags of the tongue - this is the power of the declarative speech act!  To prevent confusion, note that we are birthing the word "BOOMPF" to be distinguished from the words boomp, boomf, and whoomp (feel free to perform your own investigative google searches to flesh out the differences).  After listening, perhaps it might be your turn to invent a word, define it, and share it with the world? 

T-shirt ideas: 

1) Everyone has a book to write (at least one, right?)

2) Ith (cosmic pronoun)

Our New Word:

Boompf (noun, adjective, onamonapia-interjection): a surprising and sudden "there it is" completing experience of a pondering thought; an abstraction being realized and manifested in the dynamic now.

Side thoughts: altogetherswish, drift-lift (Danielson), covid-sigh (Danielson), druffle (??)

Show Case Resources:

1) Need some help inventing some new words, go to DeGraeve.Com to invent some combination words:  Click here: https://www.degraeve.com/invent-a-word/

2) "Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture." Interested in discovering some more of Douglas Coupland's creative additions to the English language go to your local library or buy it on Amazon by clicking on this link - https://www.amazon.ca/Generation-Canada-Reads-Accelerated-Culture/dp/031264678X/ref=sr_1_2?crid=383DYHJL0UGTV&dchild=1&keywords=generation+x+douglas+coupland&qid=1606063635&sprefix=Generation+X%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-2

Related Hopeful Humanist Café episodes: 

1) Episode 45 - Fostering Creativity - Generation Alpha and Driver-less Cars (hopefulhumanistcafe.com)

2) Episode 27 “Feeding and Extinguishing the Fire of … Dot, Dot, Dot” (hopefulhumanistcafe.com)

Please email me at hopefulhumanistcafe@gmail.com to share your DIY words, cool tool resources for others to consider for their spiritual tool boxes, and any activity that you think can nurture the human need for creativity.  

 

Thank you for joining me for another tip of the iceberg conversation at The Hopeful Humanist Café.  Peace, take care, be well, and share!!