Shift Happens...Cultivating Calm Amidst Great Change: Recent Episodes
Shift.happens.Cultivatingcalm
Hi! We are Cori Gracheck and Jenna Cotton, two psychotherapists in practice in Philadelphia, PA. who are privileged to work with wonderful people in our practice. We noticed trends in the issues that come up in sessions and thought that others might also benefit from hearing about the tools we use with our clients to manage these issues. So we decided to do a YouTube show/Podcast. The first series is focused on managing life in the pandemic, cultivating the tools for calm amidst great change. Each episode begins with a short meditation, then we cover a psycho-social topic (such as managing space, emotions, media during the pandemic, how to be in service to the Black community and people of color) and then end with the same meditation. The meditation is short and can also double as a mindfulness break tool to be used throughout your day and is appropriate for beginner through advanced meditators. We both practice and teach meditation and it is one of the central tools that we use with our clients.
In this episode we discuss the issues that we face individually and as a country this holiday season and the ways in which we can create the best holiday season possible in these uncertain times.
In this episode we talk about an increased internal fire with regard to activism, overt and covert racism, white privilege, and how to live in an anti-racist way.
Links:
Overt and Covert Racism Examples
https://www.r2hub.org/library/overt-and-covert-racismIbram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo Discuss Race in America
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POnUfzVP5uI&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1TDfQ96Do4pKpPbafnKrAFVx-JAJKxczJhBr2F1BkXpnfrmQs07756wOk
Washington Post- Resources to Understand America's Long History of Injustice and Inequality
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/06/08/understanding-racism-inequality-america/?arc404=true&fbclid=IwAR1gdR7Laz57kP__oWOV_mLhDtqiQQzvEHbpxXjqvOfWxdpS6iL4pM0phQU
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh
https://www.racialequitytools.org/resourcefiles/mcintosh.pdf
Youtube Video Systemic Racism Explained
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrHIQIO_bdQ&t=3s
Black Owned Bookstores to Support Now Throughout the US
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/bookselling/article/83495-black-owned-bookstores-to-support-now.html
In this episode we discuss the causes of the deep well of self-criticism integrated into America culture, it's potentially crippling effects and approaching it with a practice of gentle awareness that makes us more available to ourselves, the people we love and our larger community.
Jon Kabat-Zin Heartscape Meditation
https://youtu.be/0H20wUUo2-c
Pema Chodron Mastrine Heart Meditation
https://youtu.be/PRhkrQFbERs
Reverend Angel Kyoto Williams Making Friends with Discomfort
https://youtu.be/WH7kh2F-0YQ
In this episode we discuss why so many of us are feeling traumatized by the current state of our country, how that can bring up past trauma, the various ways that trauma can impact your life and how to address this impact with awareness and gentle self-care.
Links:
Joe Biden Ad-
https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1307491919384260609?s=20
Nadine Burke Harris Ted Talk- https://www.ted.com/talks/nadine_burke_harris_how_childhood_trauma_affects_health_across_a_lifetime?language=en
We very rarely devote time to cultivating Joy. In this episode we discuss various ways to notice the Joy that already exists in your life, how to expand upon that Joy and how to cultivate new ways to experience Joy. In these turbulent times this is essential to having the best quality of life possible.
Cultivating Joy Links:
Roller Skating in the Black Community
https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/united-skates/about
Moxi Skate Team: Body Positive Badasses
https://youtu.be/EERdJdlUP0M
Cutest animals ever
https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/too-cute/
Best Show Ever:
https://www.eater.com/21439588/netflix-announces-great-british-bake-off-season-11-2020-us-premiere-date
In this episode we process feelings and experiences related to Tuesday night's Presidential Debate involving President Trump and Former Vice President Joe Biden.
In this episode we discuss how to manage when you feel shut down or experience "conversation stoppers" when communicating with someone, and how to take up more space in communication.
In this episode we discuss managing communication with the people you love who are voting for Trump: Do you want to have a conversation? If so, exploring how to do so with kindness and respect. If not, how to avoid be bated into a conversation, and how to take care of yourself and the people you love while communicating about the charged and multi-layered topic of the 2020 political season.
Links:
Protest Data-https://acleddata.com/2020/09/03/demonstrations-political-violence-in-america-new-data-for-summer-2020/?fbclid=IwAR1n_sdaDH4RTKhGON8DoRjFXef-VB-dfFqLBy5ss79WmRXxPs0SZlsCHtU
Welcome to the second season of Shift Happens...! This season is called Leaderless Nation. In this season we will be focusing on managing life during COVID 19 in the 2020 Political season. In this first episode, also called Leaderless Nation, we talk about common feelings people are experiencing with the upcoming election, ways to lead ourselves while living in a leaderless nation and how to care for ourselves and one another during this intense time.
As discussed in this episode, here are links to things that cultivate joy, represent current events, and also things that may validate what you are feeling or experiencing right now:
- Adaptive Halloween Costumes for Disabled Children https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/disney-adaptive-halloween-costumes-36814265
- HULU’s Woke, Lamorne Morris from New Girl. https://news.yahoo.com/true-story-behind-hulus-show-164700043.html
- Pherell Williams & Jayze Entrepreneur https://youtu.be/bTOoY5MIkvM
- Pro Wrestling Icon Mick Foley Has One Scathing Question For Trump Supporters
- Jim Gaffigan speaks out about Trump https://www.vulture.com/2020/08/jim-gaffigan-discusses-his-trump-rnc-twitter-reaction-rant.html
Feeling like everything is coming to a head? You are not alone. In this episode we discuss how the restrictions shaping our life during the pandemic create an environment that almost forces us to look at ourselves and examine our lives. Many people are reckoning with one or more major areas in their lives: Love, family, career, life direction, quality of life, specific relationships, past traumas. This reconing may have begun before COVID-19 but it seems to be resolving now and can be incredibly painful. We discuss what we are hearing and ideas about how to approach this great reckoning in our lives in ways that ultimately lead us to greater freedom.
As if dating isn’t hard enough, now we are coping with finding love within the parameters of a world wide pandemic. In this episode we discuss the unique issues that are related to dating during the time of COVID-19, providing tips and solutions to address these issues.
In the time of COVID-19, life shifts so rapidly and slowly at the same time. In this episode we explore the range of emotions people are experiencing about reopening, tools for safely navigating the difficulties we encounter and while also celebrating the joy that we notice. From staying home for two weeks to being quarantined for four months, and now our states reopening, there are so many mixed emotions, responses, and experiences to navigate in this unprecedented environment.
Hello! Welcome to Shift Happens...
This episode is about developing ways to manage news and incoming information, so that you can feel informed without feeling inundated. During a time when we feel as if we need to be constantly plugged into social media and the news in order to stay safe, combined with our ability to access news on a 24 hour cycle with the touch of a button, many of us are feeling incredibly overwhelmed by the constant flow of information.
During this time in our country we might feel the most out of control that we have ever felt in our lifetime. This episode is about developing awareness around the ways in which we attempt to regain control in our lives that do not work for us and developing healthy ways to feel more grounded in our lives during this time of great uncertainty.
Hello. Welcome to Shift Happens...
We are existing in unprecedented times. Our entire way of living changed in the matter of a week, not only in our country but all over the world. In this episode we discuss the theme of cabin fever, tools to manage our lack of both emotional and physical space, during a time when our usual amount of space is so greatly diminished.
Resources and Links:
David Kessler-6th Stage of Grief
https://brenebrown.com/podcast/david-kessler-and-brene-on-grief-and-finding-meaning/
Hello! Welcome to Shift Happens...
We are releasing this first episode, Resting in Revolution, on Juneteenth in honor of the Black Lives Matter Movement. Black people in our country have been profiled, harassed, murdered, lynched, since the inception of our country. In this episode we discuss themes of what people are experiencing during this (hopefully) revolutionary time, and how to develop tools, mindfulness as activism, to care for yourself so you can be in service to black people and people of color in America.
Resources And Links:
Radical Dharma: on Race, Love and Liberation https://youtu.be/HgseuSMiL6E
Reverend Angel Kyodo Williams. Meditation In times of crisis
https://youtu.be/YiF7w8nOW7w
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/06/20/arts/read-it-ibram-x-kendi-how-build-an-antiracist-movement/
Stephen Colbert interviews Cory Booker
https://youtu.be/Ayizzcv-NCE
Beautiful, affordable custom couches, support Black owned businesses!
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Hello! Welcome to Shift Happens...
We are existing in unprecedented times. Our entire way of living changed in a matter of a week, not only in our country but all over the world. In this episode we discuss ways to develop tools to cope with the difficult emotions during COVID 19.
Resources and Links:
Annie Pema Chodron discusses loving kindness practice in these unprecedented times https://youtu.be/RUtUpUlSQUE
Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief
Yoga With Adriene shows us legs up the wall
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OQEIiZLY-0
Some Good News
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOe_y6KKvS3PdIfb9q9pGug