Death is inevitable, but as with many things in life, music can change how people experience the journey. That’s the idea behind Threshold Choirs — an international movement in which a trio sings healing and comforting songs for people who are nearing the end of life. In this episode, Jan Stanley, a long-time Threshold Choir member, explains how sharing songs at this uncertain time not only brings comfort to the dying and their family members, but can be transformational for the singers as well.
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As children every new discovery filled us with wonder and awe. But somewhere along the way, most of us lost that — and this week’s guest is helping people rediscover it. Monica Parker is a renowned speaker and writer who has spent the past decade helping people discover their meaning and purpose at work. Her new book, The Power of Wonder: The Extraordinary Emotion That Will Change the Way You Live, Learn, and Lead, explains why we lose our sense of wonder and how we can reclaim it.
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Every day we’re surrounded by sights, sounds, and smells — but we often take them for granted. This week, host Paula Felps is joined by New York Times bestselling author Gretchen Rubin, to talk about how tuning into our five senses can make us happier and healthier. Her new book, Life in Five Senses: How exploring the senses got me out of my head and into the world, takes a deep dive into what each of our senses has to teach us and explains how we can explore them to improve our well-being.
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We know that getting out in nature is good for us, but this week’s guest understands it better than most. Mya-Rose Craig is a 20-year-old bird watcher, environmentalist and diversity activist who was raised in a home that revered nature. At the age of 14, she formed the Black2Nature organization to encourage other teenagers of color to engage with nature. Bristol University awarded her an honorary doctorate for her pioneering work in this area and now her memoir, Birdgirl: Looking to the Skies in Search of a Better Future, looks at the power of nature and birds, and the important role they have played in dealing with her mother’s mental illness.
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Every year on March 20 — the International Day of Happiness — the Sustainable Development Solutions Network releases its World Happiness Report. This week, host Paula Felps sits down with Live Happy co-founder and CEO Deborah Heisz to talk about how we’re faring when it comes to happiness, what we learned from this year’s report and why it appears that our happiness is improving.
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We know that pets and happiness go hand-in-hand (or maybe hand-in-paw), but did you know that your pet could also improve your brain health as you age? This week, Brittany Derrenbacher, a therapist and founder of The Healing Collective KY in Louisville, explains how pets can change how we age and help keep our brains and bodies healthy throughout our lifetime.
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When acclaimed jazz vocalist Allegra Levy became a parent, she began noticing that the lyrics of classic children’s songs didn’t fit in today’s world of equity and inclusion. As a mother, she was concerned about what messages children were getting from the music and as a musician, she didn’t want to raise her child with songs that had been musically “dumbed down.” So she began writing her own jazz-tinged children’s music with a positive spin on mental well-being. The result is a new album, Songs for You and Me, and in this episode she talks about the importance of experiencing music as a family.
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Burnout is a common problem for women today, but it’s also something that isn’t openly discussed. This week’s guest, Dr. Mary Sanders, is on a mission to empower women over 40 to bounce back physically, emotionally and energetically from the stresses of balancing work and life. She’s here to talk about what burnout is, why it’s so prevalent today and how an integrative approach can help you overcome it.
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This week, we are celebrating International Women’s Day, which is a time to acknowledge the diversity and achievement of women. As part of that celebration, we’re talking to Texas businesswoman Linda Allen, who has made it her mission to make women feel seen by supporting them both in their careers and their personal achievements. In this episode, she explains why it’s so important for us to lift up the women around us and how it can change them — and the world they live in.
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As we begin the month of March, Live Happy is celebrating with an entire month of #HappyActs. Throughout this month, we celebrate happiness with special acts each day, and on March 20, we observe the International Day of Happiness. In this episode, host Paula Felps sits down with Live Happy CEO and Founder Deborah Heisz, E-commerce Marketing Manager Casey Johnson and Marketing Manager Laura Coppedge to talk about why we are so excited about this month – and how you can be a part of it.
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We know that being in nature is good for us, but this week’s guest shows us how tuning into our wild side can help us connect with the earth, our emotions and our creativity. Rebecca Wildbear is creator of a yoga practice called Wild Yoga that helps us learn to listen to the earth. She explains more about it in her new book, Wild Yoga: A Practice of Initiation, Veneration & Advocacy for the Earth, and this week she’s here to tell us how deepening our connection with the earth can help us better understand ourselves.
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Sav Buist and Katie Larson were shy high school students when a music education presentation brought them together — and changed their future. Ten years later, they front a trio called The Accidentals and have earned glowing album reviews while packing venues with their live shows. But because they’ve never forgotten how that high school presentation changed their lives, they also host and lead workshops across the country to inspire young musicians to find their voice and use music to improve their mental health. In this episode, they talk about how it all came together and how they are changing young lives one song at a time.
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What better time than Valentine’s Day to look at how to improve your relationships? This week’s guest, Michelle Becker, is a marriage and family therapist who also specializes in compassion. Through workshops, online education, and her Well Connected podcast, she shares her understanding of compassions and offers couples the tools they need to relate to each other better. Her new book, Compassion for Couples: Building the Skills of Loving Connection, offers exercises and insight into how we can use compassion, and she’s here to explain why it’s so vital to a healthy relationship.
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Would your life be happier if you were a unicorn? This week, we’ll find out as host Paula Felps talks with Andrea Goeglein about her 60-Day Unicorn Challenge. Andrea, who is also known as Dr. Success, holds a PhD in organizational psychology and hosts the Hey Boss Lady! podcast. She created the 60-Day Unicorn Challenge to offer small, daily tasks that will help you take steps toward reaching your goals — either personal or professional — while learning to make yourself a priority.
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Creativity is a driving force of innovation, and in this episode, we look at how it can make us happier both at work and at home. Steven Kowalski, PhD, is a leading voice in the global movement for conscious creativity. In his new book, Creative Together: Sparking Innovation in the New World of Work, he explains that all of us are creative — whether we think we are or not. And recognizing that creativity is the first step in learning how to harness it and discover our true potential in all areas of life.
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