Hearts+Minds

Perhaps you feel like you're skimming the surface of life or stuck in a rut ... from a Catholic perspective, it can be a very positive reality because renewing yourself is very much anchored in Christ. Ideas mentioned - What is our life project? - Leaning on God - We are made in His Image and Likeness . - The power of prayer - Positive approach to life's limitations Resources Video - Hum...

When we think of boundaries we may think it sounds selfish.   In this episode, we look at how boundaries are all about kindness to yourself and kindness to others. If setting boundaries hasn't worked for you in the past, maybe it is because you haven't given them a chance. We discuss how setting boundaries is not quick or easy but it is always worth it.  The advantage of boundary setting...

Grace Hoffman is a Fellow at the American Council on Women, Peace, and Security. In this episode, we talk about how her studies in Trinity College, Dublin influenced her professional and personal journey to the current position at the Defense Security Cooperation University. Her PhD focused on the 1641 Depositions in Irish History. We talk about human dynamics in history and how this is repeated i...

Advent can be a bit of a blur for most people. And yet, if you can give it a moment it can really make an impact on these last few weeks before Christmas. It is a time of opportunity - or grace as we would say in the Catholic tradition. God is coming and we cannot wait! But in the midst of the rushing, frenetic activities, how can we shift our focus? In this podcast episode, we discuss the attitud...

When we think of the word or virtue of diligence we automatically think of someone who is hard-working and gets things done. But the etymology of the word suggests that it means a lot more. Diligence embraces the notion of choice and love. In this podcast episode, we explore how we can approach our work with more diligence. In other words, freely choosing what we do each day (including the hard an...

Hans Christian Andersen once said "Where words fail music speaks". It is not surprising that music has been called the universal language of mankind.  On this podcast episode, we are joined by Alex Loewe. Alex is a performing artist – a mezzo soprano, a mindfulness practitioner, and an ADHD coach. Music has always been part of her career and personal trajectory. She talks about the beaut...

Pope Francis has reminded us that our faith is a revolution. It always asks for something new, something radical. Do we inspire others in the way we practise and show up in our religious faith?  So often we feel we are not up to the task.   In this podcast episode, we explore the freedom of God’s children which doesn’t entitle us to a roadmap, or a detailed calendar of coming events. Instead, we d...

Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality.  Making and keeping commitments are foundational for our everyday lives, careers, and businesses.  In this podcast episode, we discuss how making a commitment to something, whether in your personal life or your professional life, is one of the most fundamental activities of success.  Commitments are extremely powerful because they influence how...

You may have heard the saying that love is a 2 way street constantly under construction. In this episode, we are joined by Sallyann O’Brien.  Among other things, Sallyann is involved in Retrouvaille , a programme designed to help heal and renew marriages. We discuss how to improve communication in marriage and how couples can work through problems and build a stronger marriage as a result. We talk...

Can you be the master of yourself? Why is self-mastery something we should strive for? It is not something that is controlling or negative. Instead, self-mastery is about cultivating an openness to constant improvement In this episode, we look at 10 tips to help you develop self-mastery.  This is a journey each of us is called to make with our sights fixed on what our future self could look like....

Do you find yourself rushing through your days ... your life? Perhaps getting impatient with those around you? In this podcast episode, we explore the virtue of patience.  Why is our age always in such a rush?  How can you engage in healthy procrastination and make decisions slowly? We discuss the importance of core values and how to live in time instead of rushing against it.  We explore how to l...

In this podcast episode, our guest Carmel Kelly, a family doctor, talks to us about her life growing up in Boston, Clare and her working life in the other Boston - Boston, Massachusetts. We explore the influence family and upbringing have on us as adults and the impact they have in shaping our core values. As a doctor, we explore how Carmel has been able to root herself in her local community in B...

Joy is what we are called to as Christians. And yet, so often, we find we are less than joyful. In this podcast episode, we explore why we need to let go of expectations. We discuss the connection between joy and the virtue of hope and ask the question of whether we are seeking joy in the right places? Joy is infectious but we need to struggle to find it and also to keep it! Resources Pope Francis...

In this podcast episode, we explore humility as the virtue of greatness. Why did Saint Teresa of Avila describe it as the only truth ? We discuss vulnerability, why humility is a key cornerstone of the spiritual life, and some tools you can implement to grow in humility. We also explore the importance of looking upwards to God as our inspiration and cultivating a carefree approach to life with a g...

In this episode, we speak with Sally Read, the well-known British poet. Sally was once an atheist and as she says herself, deeply anti-Catholic. Sally tells us about her conversion story and how her views on the teachings of the Catholic Church shifted over time and how she began to get closer to God. We explore the influences on her early life, the importance of her father, and the life-changing...

Springtime brings to mind spring cleaning and for some of us it’s a reminder of what is not so clean and tidy in my home. On this podcast episode, Jennifer Kehoe talks about how to get your house clean and welcoming while even enjoying the process, within the time and budget you have. No FOMO or keeping up with the Jones. We discuss how to make it a common project for all of the family even if you...

Charles Feltman describes trust as “choosing to risk making something you value vulnerable to another person's actions” ... that is, what are you willing to risk with someone? In this podcast episode, Catherine and Maire delve into this topic of trust and look at how it can empower our relationships with those around us and indeed our relationship with God. You might like to ask yourself, wha...

Katie is a television and news presenter for Shalom World , and the co-founder and presenter of Called to More , a Catholic apostolate based in Dublin with the mission of helping people know their faith as a way of life and relationship with God. In this episode, we talk about: - her background in growing up in Ireland and studying Science in UCD - her life's challenges and discoveries, that...

It’s always good to consider the ways that we need to improve. But there’s a difference between self-reflection and negative self-talk. Negative self-talk isn’t constructive, and it rarely motivates us to make any changes: “I can’t do anything right” versus “I need to find ways to manage my time better.”  And sometimes it can start out small, like picking out little things we don’t like about ours...

Audrey is the Chief Operations Officer of Citywise Education.  Citywise is a not-for-profit organisation which was set up to run education, sporting and personal development programmes. It began in 1991 in Dublin as a response to educational under-achievement of young people living in difficult city backgrounds. In this interview, we discuss how Audrey came to know of Citywise and the impact it ma...

There has been a real trend in the last while of finding meaning in less. Rather than searching out bigger and better experiences which were very in vogue in the early noughties (remember the craze for bungy jumping?), people have reached saturation point and want to find greater simplicity in their lives (minimalism, sustainability, detoxing, etc.).  So what about little things? Our lives are mad...

Is poetry something that is incomprehensible to you? Our guest on this episode is British poet and writer, Sally Read.  Sally didn’t always “get poetry” and yet poetry had a transformative effect on her.  It helped her to connect in a profound way with her patients when she worked as a psychiatric nurse.  She explains how in her own poetry she attempted to “grasp the interconnectedness of everythi...

At this time of year – New Year’s resolutions have worn off - they are sort of pushed to one side while we get on with the job of living.  We have got through nearly 2 years of Covid so we may almost resent the idea of New Year's Resolutions.   How can we do less but accomplish more? But we can be fearful – it is not to eliminate the things you care about from your life.  It’s simply to get l...

Our guest on our latest podcast episode is Margaret Kane-Roe, a multi-award-winning scriptwriter, filmmaker, actress, and voice-over artist.  She has described the best films as metaphors for life. The inspiration for her writing comes from her love of telling yarns and finding the best way to help other people to tell their yarns.  She talks about school, how she started writing in her 30’s after...

Peace and serenity is something we crave and yet it can seem so unattainable. In this podcast, we talk about what kind of peace we should be striving for? What happens when we lose our peace and the importance of prayer.  The importance of anchoring oneself in reality and what the Garden of Gethsemane can teach us. ------------ Hearts + Minds Official website - hearts-minds.ie IG - @heartsandminds...