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I am thrilled to announce that we have a special A Better Normal session which will be part conversation and part meditation practice for those who wish to participate. Our special guest is Sarah Peyton who is the author of Your Resonant Self: Guided Meditations and Exercise to Engage Your Brain’s Capacity for Healing. This event will be held on Tuesday, November 10th, at 12p.m. PST and 3p.m. EST. Registration link:...

The question he asked everyone was, "What is the opposite of hope?" Dr. Chan Hellman, a professor of social work at the University of Oklahoma and Director of The Hope Research Center, posed that question to the attendees of the Mississippi Commission on Children's Justice (MCCJ) the week of October 20, 2020. He had been invited by MCCJ and other state leaders to help Mississippi learn how to better engage people, especially children in foster care, with an attitude and expectation of hope.

With Covid-19 raging, the economy, civil unrest, public health concerns and fear votes won’t be counted are in the forefront. The resultant panic has contributed to a pressing need to vote and simultaneously for many, apprehension about going to the polls and the legitimacy of the election. The radical division in our country amplifies the urgency of Tuesday’s upcoming election. This year, for the first time, an unprecedented 100 million people took advantage of early voting by three days...

When The Dibble Institute released our Mind Matters curriculum, instructors in many settings told us they saw its positive impacts in participants, classrooms, families, and communities. Now the content is available in an all-new format known as Mind Matters Now , designed for professionals and caring adults to develop Mind Matters skills on your own schedule! Mind Matters Now is an on-demand, self-directed learning experience. Based on current neuroscience research, the content is designed...

2020 has been a completely different kind of year for many of us, most notably with the current Coronavirus pandemic. As we have been forced to adapt to the obstacles it has thrown our way, new routines have been established to try to maintain some semblance of normalcy and connection with one another. As it looks like this will be our reality for the foreseeable future, it seems prudent to check in and rehash some of the ways in which we can stay connected— particularly for those of us in...

Balance4Kids helps to engage and challenge children, teaching focus and relaxation to help them find their own personal strengths and help them develop confidence. The main goal of the workshop is to empower children and give participants an opportunity to express themselves through yoga and meditation.

Have you ever noticed how tough it is to be present? We spend so much time planning and worrying about the future or dwelling on the past. "We're in a trance of thinking. We're time traveling," says Tara Brach, a world-renowned psychologist and mindfulness teacher. "We're in the future, we're in the past." And all this ruminating gets in the way of enjoying life — we can miss out on the good stuff. If you reflect on your life, Brach asks, how often can you sense that the fear of failing or...

By Chloe Yang, 11/2/20, positiveexperience.org/blog The HOPE (Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences) National Resource Center has long held interactive workshops—made virtual during the pandemic—which teach participants about positive childhood experiences, the science of HOPE, the evidence-based Building Blocks of HOPE, how to translate HOPE into practice, and more. In this time of disruption and adversity, there is an especially urgent need for HOPE’s strengths-based approach. In...

Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) Pod cast https://www.blogtalkradio.com/naasca/2020/10/22/stop-child-abuse-now-scan--2513 "Tonight's special guest is Michael Skinner , a returning NAASCA family member from New Hampshire. Michael is an award-winning advocate survivor. Michael's non-profit, ' The Surviving Spirit ', offers a monthly newsletter addressing the issues of trauma, abuse and mental health concerns, public speaking and his music. He notes that these cover a wide variety of issues."We want...

By Phillip Hughes and Tabitha L. Ostrout, HCA Healthcare Journal of Medicine, November 1, 2020 Background: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have been shown to contribute to a litany of mental and physical health problems, including several chronic diseases and death, via a model known as the ACE pyramid. Many of the results of ACEs in the ACE pyramid are known contributors to poor perceived health, which has significant health implications. Despite these results, a possible link between...

By Krista Scott and Tina Kauh, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, October 8, 2020 While working from home and caring for our families as we wait out the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t always been easy, it certainly is a privilege that we value during these unprecedented times. We’re fortunate that our organization recognizes the importance of families and caregiving. In addition, the nature of our jobs allows us to work remotely and have flexible schedules. This helps us support our families during a...

By Kristen Hovet, Genetic Literacy Project, October 30, 2020 Kids are resilient. Kids bounce back. Tell that to Dave Brethauer , a performance coach in Chicago, who told Genetic Literacy Project that he spent the better part of his adult life “fighting to find” himself following the trauma he experienced as a child. “From the time I was five till 14 I had an abusive stepdad in my life,” he said. To cope, he found himself turning to alcohol, sex, overeating, and exercise addictions – anything...