For Marta, joining Rwanda’s first female drumming troupe, Ingoma Nshya — a co-operative formed 10 years after the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi — has helped her cope with the trauma of losing her husband in the killings. Ingoma Nshya means a new drum or new kingdom. This link will take you to the full story: http://sdvoice.info/women-drumming-away-the-trauma-of-rwandas-genocide/
There is a new narrative of peace quietly and powerfully emerging around the world – one rooted in ancient wisdom and accelerated by modern science and technology. In the past few decades, there has been an exponential growth of personal and planetary peacebuilding initiatives, including: More people are meditating today to experience inner peace than ever before in the history of humanity. Scientists are validating the benefits of ancient meditation practices and are proving that humans are...
Even for the relatively self-aware and emotionally adept, struggles can take us by surprise. But learning healthy ways to move through adversity — a collection of skills that researchers call resilience — can help us cope better and recover more quickly, or at least start us heading in that direction. Here are 12 resilience practices (squeezed into five categories), which can help you confront emotional pain more skillfully. 1. Change the Narrative 2. Face Your Fears 3. Practice...
Chronic stress has long been linked to cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke. New research published in The Lancet suggests that heightened activity in the amygdala, the brain’s emotion processing center, may increase cardiovascular disease risk. This opens the door for new studies of alternative therapies including mindfulness meditation that are known to increase relaxation and stress resilience , and decrease known modifiable heart disease risk factors like hypertension, high...
This post is part of a CityLab series on wastelands , and what we squander, discard, and fritter away. There’s a difference in what President Donald Trump prescribes for restoring “ the middle class ” and fixing “ the inner city .” Each of those demographics are, respectively, stand-in terms for the white small towns and suburbs that voted for him , and the black urban neighborhoods that didn’t. In both cases, he calls for bringing back jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector, and...
For many survivors of childhood abuse, symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may re-occur, or never arise, until they become a parent. A significant number of parenting survivors do not recognize the increased depression, anxiety, or onset of flashbacks as symptoms of PTSD, weaving in and out their journey to raise a family. Instead, many will internalize debilitating shame and question their ability, and even their right to parent. According to the National Center for Victims of...
Join Us! Wednesday March 1, 2017 from 1:00PM - 2:30PM Location: Washington D.C.; Building & Room: TBA The National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives , First Focus and the Bennett Pierce Prevention Research Center at Pennsylvania State University will co-host a briefing with nationally recognized experts and legislative perspectives on child and intergenerational poverty. for more information: http://www.npscoalition.org/child-poverty-announcement
My saddest story is not the story of growing up in foster care, or losing a brother to HIV, or losing another brother to drug addiction. My saddest story is a simple one. One where I was a young girl, maybe around eight, and I loved everyone and everything. I loved my street, I loved my mailbox, I loved my teacher, I loved my hair, I loved clothes, I loved buses, I loved trees, and I assumed everyone and everything loved me back. But then one day I discovered that wasn’t so. Maybe someone...
Arms interlocked, dressed in black t-shirts, Lower Merion presented a united front as the national anthem played Tuesday night at Marple Newtown High School. “I am a Muslim,” the shirt worn by all members of the Aces boys basketball team read in white script. “I am a refugee. I am an immigrant. I am an American. I am an Ace.” Lower Merion forward Terrell Jones wears a t-shirt during warmups before Tuesday’s Central League final that shares a message of solidarity with immigrants and...
Earlier today, Congress confirmed Mick Mulvaney, President’s Donald Trump’s nominee for budget director. Mulvaney, a Republican from South Carolina, has, in the past, proposed dramatic cuts to programs like Medicare and Social Security. Judging by a new report from the the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a progressive think tank, those cuts would be especially detrimental to white, working-class Americans. [For more of this story, written by Dwyer Gunn, go to ...
Do you ever get the feeling that something is really wrong with your relationship — but can’t put your finger on it? Not all red flags are obvious. Of course, things like physical abuse or infidelity can be easy to recognize. But many signs of trouble are harder to spot. As a relationship therapist, I’ve seen a lot of serious problems. And they often have common underlying themes. Of course, partners can change, and therapy is a great place to start. Sometimes, though, it simply won’t get...
The Valley of the Moon Children’s Home, an emergency shelter for children removed from their homes because of abuse or neglect, is poised for a major transition that would dramatically reduce the number of days youths could be housed there. The change will limit stays to 10 days and require the shelter to respond more quickly and appropriately to a child’s trauma, with an emphasis on promoting physical, psychological and emotional safety. Each one of the shelter’s 93-member staff, from cooks...
After Donald Trump’s presidential victory, many left-leaning politicians and commentators started considering what sort of message would help them regain political power. Given the clear racial subtext to the 2016 campaign—Trump stereotyped Mexican immigrants and Muslim families , and Hillary Clinton spoke openly about systemic racism—and who ultimately won, some concluded that Democrats should stop using so-called “identity politics” to try to win elections. The argument went that this...
It began with a shocking text message that left the staff at DoSomething.org deeply shaken. The non-profit organization was originally created to promote youth volunteer and social action opportunities. It uses texting—the primary way in which teens communicate —to send thousands of daily messages alerting members to clothing drives, health fairs, park clean-ups, and more. Responses have been common. In addition to the usual sign-up requests, texters have also sought advice on how to handle...
Bryan Clement, Dovetail Learning, gave a compelling presentation to the ACEs Connection community coalition in Sonoma County, CA, in late January. He began with a video showing how kids are putting social and emotional skills into action in their school settings (English and Spanish versions embedded below): TOOLBOX clearly offers great tools for strengthening relationships between folks of all ages. It also provides the language and framework creating a strong relationship-based foundation...