Fight Like a Mother Cheryl Cardall

"We are never more fully alive, more completely oursevles, or more deeply engrossed than when we are playing."  Charles Schaefer
How does play affect our mental health?  How does it aid in our healing of past traumas and struggles?
My guest in this episode is Ashlynn Mitchell.  I have followed Ashlynn for many years on Instagram and she is an incredible example of resilience and healing.  I have learned about so many tools and perspective shifts and ways of healing.
Recently I have watched her as she has incorporated FUN and PLAY into her healing.  She has rediscovered roller skating as a form of play and I have loved watching her pure joy as she skates and learns and grows.  As soon as I saw she went to a roller skating retreat with women she didn't know I knew I needed her on the show.
The benefits of laughter as a release as well as singing, dancing, PLAYING cannot be overstated for all humans.  Laughter is as effective as an emotional release as crying, and sometimes they can be done together!
Ashlynn works with women who have been betrayed in their relationships.  She runs incredible groups where women find support, healing and community.   You can find Ashlynn at the links below:
Website:
https://thisisashlynn.com
Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-ashlynn/id1575575273
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/this.isashlynn/
 
 

Creativity opens the closets, airs out the cellars and attics. It brings healing.
During this month of May which is mental health awareness month, i wanted to do something a bit differently.  Talking about mental illness and bringing awareness can often feel heavy.
This year I wanted to focus on a few lighter, fun things that can greatly improve our mental health.
Our first topic this year is how Creativity can greatly improve our health, both physical and mental and how to can open up both sides of the brain and can bring healing and fun.
My guest is someone I have followed on Instagram for years, Lynn Muir.  She has the account pocketful of paint and shares her creative pursuits and artwork on her account.  I told Lynn it feels like her need to create is as strong as her need to breathe and she agreed.  She makes beautiful artwork from pressed flowers, paints murals, gardens and hosts womens retreats where she teaches them to paint among other things.   
Lynn shares she grew up with two creatives as parents who encouraged her to take risks, to make mistakes, to make messes and that creativity was a huge value in her home growing up.
Creating art has helped Lynn heal both physically and mentally from a devastating breast cancer diagnosis.  She is the mom of 5 and encourages her kids to create and nurture their gifts and talents.
She talks about how working with your hands specifically can help our mental health, help our stress levels and bring joy and fulfillment into our lives.
You will love this episode and Lynn will inspire you to create and find your own way to express yourself.
 
Lynn's instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/pocketfulofpaint/?hl=en
https://www.instagram.com/pocketfulofpaint.studio/
Lynn's art website:
https://pocketfulofpaintstudio.com
 
 

This episode with Jill Freestone as a guest is part 2 of a series about when our children leave our faith tradition.   What do we do as parents?  How do we unpack some of the unhealthy narratives we've absorbed over the years about our role as parents in our kids faith journey?   What things have been said over pulpits in years past that have made us feel like if we are just righteous enough our kids won't leave our religion?
This episode actually focuses heavily on some of the doctrine and cultural beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and how they have affected parents reactions to their children leaving the church for generations.  How can we have healtheir responses and relationships with our children who leave?  Why is nurturing and building that relationship so important?  
What is our job as parents? 
to love, nurture, teach (not control outcome)
to do our own internal work shift from a fear based relationship with God/ church to 
agency/love/ infinite grace and compassion/ eternal progression
Honor agency and choice Focus on connection over control Respect boundaries Expand our perspective Recognize that just because we teach principles doesn't mean they will follow them Most parents and kids are operating from a Fear and control based relationship with God themselves as well - NOT AGENCY
 
Do we believe in a compassionate grace filled God? 
Do we believe in an infinite atonement and eternal progression? 
When and where does God’s compassion and grace end? 
never
What do our Heavenly Parents really want for Their children? 
Growth and to practice love
Reteach grace and atonement 
This is essential as well as 
Can we stop putting God in a box and truly trust God enough to take care of our children? 
Your kids have a Savior and it's not you.
Teens and young adults questioning and pulling away from their parents is a health and normal part of development.  Even older adult children who were never given the freedoms to question and experiment and pull away may do that often at midlife.
God is in relentless pursuit of us and eternal progression is the good news of the gospel and of jesus coming to earth to heal every single one of us.
 

This podcast episode is a bit of a shift from my normal mental health content, but I feel this topic is so vital for so many families today, I am seeing so many parents struggle.   So many families are having shifts in religious beliefs within their families and it can be challenge for relationships that were often built upon those religious beliefs and values.  Because our religious traditions and beliefs are rooted in the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day saints, we talk about our beliefs within that framework, but the principles apply to any relationship where beliefs differ.  
Today's guest is none other than my oldest child Nathan.  Nathan is one of my favorite people on earth.  He is a deep thinker, kind, steady, funny and is such a pleasure to be around.  Nathan served a 2 year mission for the LDS church to Washington.  Within the last year or so Nathan's religious beliefs have shifted and he has chosen to walk away from the church and beliefs he was raised with.   Nathan is one of my favorite people on earth and I cannot imagine not having a close realtionship with him even through this shift of belief for him.
We have been able to maintain and even improve our relationship with Nathan during this time even though we still participate in the church.   It takes humility on both side, willingness to listen, opening our hearts and minds and respectful boundaries.  For us as parents it has been vital to expand our faith and not see things in black and white. 
When our religious beliefs are deeply rooted through generations (both my husband and i have pioneer ancestors who crossed the plains to Utah with the Mormon pioneers) and so much of your life is informed by the culture and traditions of that church, it can almost feel like a personal attack when your child steps away.  The LDS church isn't just a church, it's a lifestyle and affects the very core of your identity.  So we often get defensive and angry and hurt.
In this episode we have the hard conversations and talk about what it looks like to have a deep, loving, respectful relationship when our teen or young adult (or even grown adult) child leaves the church we beleive with every fiber of our being 

I think we all know that life can be a bit bumpy, I think all of us hope that our life path looks maybe a bit rocky or bumpy, maybe a little rustic, but fairly flat, straight and really beautiful. So what happens when the life path actually looks more like hanging from a cliff from our fingertips? We are literally holding on for dear life.  That's not what most of us expected in life!
Today's episode we are talking about grieving what happens when life looks vastly different than we expected.   What grief might look like in your life and how to embrace the messy, uncomfortable and difficult emotions that surface.
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, the expert on grief, who created the 5 stages said, that grief is the healing process to get to comfort.  What a profound statement and a perspective shift on grief.  We must go through the often uncomfortable, painful process to heal and to find peace.  

Ember Pilati is a life and relationships coach who loves lots of people who struggle with their mental health.   She shares valuable tips and simple, actionable tips to care for yourself so you can care for your loved ones better.  
She shares a framework of caring for our mind, body and soul and why each step is so vital to our own physical and mental health.  
Gratitude is a practice that can change your entire outlook and how writing down what we are grateful for and SAVORING that gratitude can change our brain chemistry.
You will love this powerful episode with Ember's loving, powerful words.
 
You can connect with Ember here:
https://www.instagram.com/iamemberpilati
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/emerge-empowered-with-ember-pilati/id1543504663
http://emberpilati.com