The Living Jewishly Podcast Living Jewishly

“Since I've acknowledged PTSD and what's going on, and accepted the facts, and stopped seeing it as a sign of weakness, I've made some progress.”
— Wilson Taguinod


Facing our challenges is the first step to healing, according to guest Wilson Taguinod. On this episode of What’s In Your Toolbox: An Honest Discussion on Mental Health, host Bobby Koven has a deep conversation with Wilson about his challenges with PTSD and depression, as a veteran of the Vietnam war and a person who lives with cancer. 


Wilson has developed several coping tools to manage his mental health struggles, including fly fishing, reading, woodworking and puzzles. But he also relies on his family, specifically his wife, who helps him to reframe and put into perspective, the thought processes that lead him towards depression. Wilson has developed intuitive strategies to notice negative thoughts, and reset, and has begun learning how to manage anger based on cause and effect.

Tune in to learn what Wilson’s advice is for anyone who is struggling with mental health, and learn how he developed his coping strategies so that you can apply his learnings to your own experience.


This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌


✔ PTSD as a war veteran
✔ Strategies to reframe negative thoughts
✔ The power of acknowledging the thing that is challenging you, to work towards recovery
 ‌  
Highlights:‌ ‌
00:01 Intro


02:34 Meet Wilson Taguinod


04:28 Wilson’s experience with PTSD


10:40 Fly fishing as a tool to manage mental health


16:22 How Wilson managed his anger


18:11 Obtaining a university degree despite mental health challenges  


22:02 How Wilson’s tools have helped him
 
25:45 Wilson’s Amazing Support Team  


27:58 Wilson’s advice 


29:13 Wrap up


Links:‌ ‌ 
To get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:  
Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.org  
Follow us on Instagram: @living.jewishly  
Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzw   
or send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org.  
  
Shalom!

Tu B'Shvat is a Jewish holiday that celebrates the renewal of trees in a yearly cycle. Elliott notes, the timing of the holiday on the Jewish calendar is weird, falling out in the middle of winter. If we really wanted to get into the spirit of the day, we'd send everyone out into the middle of nature, "into the wild," to experience the trees. Rabbi Yossi points out that the winter is also a cool time to think about trees, because it is when the sap starts to run. The trees are starting to come alive, on the inside, where the sap is starting to build. Really, this is symbolic of the inner growth that takes place inside of us as human beings. Yossi adds that maple syrup is an ancient food but you have to get rid of the excess foam, which is a great metaphor for what people have to do - to keep the sweet parts of ourselves and get rid of the excess. As Yossi says, "whatever your winter looks like" you have to learn to go through the dark nights and come out on the other side.


Elliott also notes that educationally, Tu B'shvat should teach us to "throw out the playbook." Jewish schools could plan a trip, throw away the books for a day, and take students out into nature to experience renewal and the miracle of creation. The holiday of the trees shows us that religious education can be found as much in nature as in textbooks. Yossi says there should be "Outward Bound" program for Tu B'shvat. This holiday represents the environmental ethic of the ancient rabbis and their view of the ecosystem, exemplified in the discussion of rain in the second paragraph of the Shema prayer. God gives human stewardship over the earth and it is up to us to make sure we treat that as a sacred trust. In an age of climate change, this is a powerful message.Shout out to the late great Neil Peart of Rush and his wonderful song "The Trees!"

This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌
 The importance of Tu B’Shvat How to use this time of year to cultivate renewal in oneselfThe history of Tu B’ShvatEmail us at hello@livingjewishly.org, 
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Links:‌ ‌ 
To get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:  
Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.org  
Follow us on Instagram: @living.jewishly  
Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzw   
or send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org.  
  
Shalom!

“We age with success when we are in connection with others, it's relational.”
— Sue Lantz 


On today’s episode of What’s In Your Toolbox: An Honest Discussion On Mental Health, host Bobby Koven has a conversation with Sue Lantz, a boomer who is hoping to live a long and healthy life, and founder of Collaborative Aging. Sue is passionate about sharing her healthcare, housing, and caregiving expertise in a way that helps her peers – along with the people who will be supporting them – to envision and fulfill their best possible aging transitions and experiences.


Sue discovered early in her career that designing systems and tools for various populations requires an immense amount of collaboration - not just from individuals but from organizations as well. She took this wide breadth of experience with collaborations to develop Collaborative Aging, a platform that offers educational and consulting services to help individuals, families, and communities, to prepare the way for healthy, empowered aging and balanced caregiving.


Tune in to hear how Sue’s journey with elder care crossed over with various mental health experiences, and for some inspiration to plan your future as you age, collaboratively.


This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌
✔   Forming teams of care providers to age on your own terms
✔   The effects of aging on our mental health
✔   The importance of planning for care and support as we age
 ‌  
Highlights:‌ ‌
00:01  Welcome


02:29 Meet Sue Lantz


05:10 Collaborative Aging  


09:17 How Sue’s path led her here


14:02 Sue’s career journey 


23:01 What’s in Sue’s toolbox 


26:01 Sue’s journey with mindfulness
 
27:40 Aging and mindfulness


29:01 Sue’s Amazing Support Team 


31:10 Sue’s advice for collaborating with aging parents 


34:40 Next episode teaser 


Links:‌ ‌ 
www.collaborativeaging.com 
https://optionsopen.org 
https://instagram.com/optionsopenguide 


To get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:  
Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.org  
Follow us on Instagram: @living.jewishly  
Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzw   
or send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org.  
  
Shalom!

TRIGGER WARNING: This episode contains content around self-harm and suicide and brief mention of sexual violence against children.
“They tried to ‘fix’ my stigmas to make me like everyone else, rather than leveraging my gifts. I said, ‘screw that, I'm gonna manage my gifts.’ And I started developing my gifts and ignoring the stigma.”
— Tim Nelson
In this episode of What’s In Your Toolbox: An Honest Discussion on Mental Health, Bobby Koven interviews Tim Nelson about his mental health journey. This conversation is raw and authentic, and at times may be triggering to some listeners. We have noted the timestamps for the triggering content.
Tim Nelson is an expert problem solver, but he wasn’t always able to use his dyslexia and dyscalculia to his advantage. Tim was diagnosed in his early twenties, but through the lens of stigma. And his late diagnosis prevented him from integrating into the mainstream school system.
But as a creative problem solver, Tim chose to see his diagnoses as little annoyances rather than burdens, and followed the path of his dyslexia as a gift. 
In his youth, Tim developed seven skills that helped him navigate his childhood through learning disabilities and other mental health challenges. The skills are creativity, coaching projects, running programs, improving people, knowing oneself, understanding interactions and defining standard work. Developing these consistent skills was key in overcoming the challenges of dyslexia and dyscalculia, and the consistency has paid off, putting Tim in charge of some of the largest projects in the world. 
Tim has also put his RECOVER system into practice to recuperate from life events that had a massive impact on him.  RECOVER is an acronym; R is receive help, E is exhibit compliance, C is care, O is outline a schedule, V is venture out, E is establish purpose, and R is reach for the stars.
This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌
✔ How dyslexia and dyscalculia impact learning and education and self-esteem
✔ The seven skills Tim developed to overcome dyslexia and dyscalculia challenges
✔ Tim’s RECOVER acronym
Highlights:‌ ‌
00:01  Intro
02:53 Meet Tim Nelson
09:10 Tim’s Gifts
11:33 Growing up
12:48 Tim’s seven skills
15:08 Diagnosing dyslexia and dyscalculia
20:55 Leveraging gifts
22:57 Bipolar diagnosis and mania
23:52 TRIGGER WARNING: Self-harm and suicide
26:42 Tim’s RECOVER acronym
28:30 TRIGGER WARNING: Sexual violence towards children
30:59 Tim’s Amazing Support Team
33:28 TRIGGER WARNING: Suicide
35:18 Tim’s advice to others
About Guest:
Tim Nelson is an expert problem solving coach, change agent, global diversity and inclusion ambassador and author and inventor.
Links:‌
Connect with Tim:
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/tim-nelson-0270526
Website https://onefivefifty.com/
To get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:  
Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.org  
Follow us on Instagram: @living.jewishly  
Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzw   
or send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org.  
Shalom!

“Anger can be illogical and it can cause a lot of harm. But it also can be righteous and it can be rectifying something that’s wrong.”
— Ganga Devi
What is the role of anger in our lives? And what can we learn from our sense of it?
This episode of Living Jewishly is an instalment of Scared Time, a podcast devoted to the healing art of the Hebrew calendar.
As we bid goodbye to Chanukah, we enter Tevet, the tenth month of the calendar. This is a time of cold and darkness, but one that evokes a fiery emotion. Its 10th day commemorates the onset of the siege of Jerusalem — no wonder that Tevet is associated with the sense of anger. 
Tevet is also connected to the story of Purim, as it is in the month of Tevet that Esther was taken to the King Achashverosh's palace to be chosen as Queen. 
Most of us are only aware of anger when we feel it or when others feel it toward us, but in these heightened states we are unable to reflect on and understand the wisdom and potential carried within it.
Tevet offers us the rare opportunity to examine anger from a place of peace. 
Through drawing on Kabbalistic themes and psychological tools, we may work intentionally with anger and see it with new eyes. This episode explores anger’s purpose — how it can point us to unmet needs and fuel us to make necessary changes in our lives, relationships, and social systems.
“That is what Tevet gives us to work with. It’s understanding: what is anger? What does it mean to play with the fire of anger?”
— Bluth
This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌
How anger can be used as a tool to create positive and necessary changeComparisons between ecological fire and the fire of anger, and how each plays a role in stripping away what no longer servesHow to differentiate between the needs and the strategies connected with our angerHighlights:‌
01:30  Welcome to Tevet
02:58  Purim & The Book of Esther
03:53  Chanukah & Purim
06:39  Tevet & anger
08:04  Comparison between anger & fire
10:46  Emotions as data points
 12:10  Regenerative anger & trauma
15:13  Empathic communication & reframing
19:58  Our needs v. our strategies
24:45  The Language of Emotions
26:51   Ganga Devi’s story
 31:41  The Work That Reconnects
33:10  Tools within & without us
37:31  Cultivating integrity
Links:‌
Marshall Rosenberg
https://www.nonviolentcommunication.com
Alexandra Paretta, Tantra practitioner
https://www.wovenyin.com
Karla McLaren, The Language of Emotions
https://karlamclaren.com/product/the-language-of-emotions-book
https://karlamclaren.com/understanding-and-befriending-anger
Joanna Macy, The Work That Reconnects
https://www.joannamacy.net/main
To get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:
Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.org
Visit our learning community: https://www.schooloflivingjewishly.com
Follow us on Instagram: @living.jewishly
Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzw   
Send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org
Shalom!

“That's where I really rely on our traditional teachings because it speaks to humility, and understanding that your gifts are valuable. And everybody has gifts.”
— Jillian Morris
Trigger Warning: This episode makes brief mention of self harm and addiction.


On this episode of What’s In Your Toolbox: An Honest Discussion on Mental Health, host Bobby Koven shares a deep and open conversation with his guest Jillian Morris which started at a chance meeting in New Brunswick. 


In this conversation, Jillian shares some of the tools that her community uses to heal the indigenous communities in Ontario, and further expanding into Canada. 


A member of the Feather Carriers, Jillian is committed to community mobilization that enhances mental health and addictions and suicide prevention through a culturally appropriate training. 


One thing is for sure, Jillian will absolutely inspire you to take up a practice of gratitude for every element of life, which is an excellent tool to manage mental health.


This‌ ‌episode discusses:‌ ‌
✔ The power and importance of storytelling
✔ Connecting to your own spirituality through healing
✔ Sharing your gifts as a way to contribute to a larger community


About Jillian:
Jillian is Kanien’kehaka, a member of Six Nations of the Grand River Territory, and Poet Laureate for Collingwood. Jillian is a former federal public servant and in addition to writing, she is a researcher, creator, public engager, mother, wife, and bridge builder. Jillian is also a member of the Unity Collective where she finds endless reward in volunteering and working to build relationships, capacity, and understanding.


Highlights:‌ ‌
00:01  Intro


02:54  Meet Jillian Morris  


08:35  The call to nature  


10:02  Spirituality  


11:21  Tools for healing 


13:01 Jillian’s path of healing  


15:15 Traditional teachings


24:45 The Feather Carriers


26:07 Jillian’s Amazing Support Team (JAST)


26:51 The power of listening  


30:17 Next episode 


Links:‌ ‌ 
Connect with Jillian: https://www.jillianmorris.ca/
instagram: @jk_morris_less
Collingwood Today: https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/columns/kanikonhriio/column
Wise Practices: https://wisepractices.ca/practices/feather-carriers/


To get in contact or learn more about Living Jewishly:  
Visit‌ ‌our ‌website: https://livingjewishly.org  
Follow us on Instagram: @living.jewishly  
Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO2YEegjapKpQeXG6zh6tzw   
or send us an email at hello@livingjewishly.org.  
  
Shalom!