Zen Pop

Among the topics of todays podcast: We discuss a blog title “Is Disney TV poisoning our kids”?  Some people thinks so.  Some shows are OK, whereas others are just not good for your kids to be watching. Where’s the balance between prohibiting certain shows for your kids and letting them figure out for themselves what is good/bad and then having a discussion about the shows.  We co...

We talk with Annie Burnside, author, blogger, and teacher who focuses on spiritual development for individuals and families. In this podcast we discuss the problem with parenting books, why personal growth is the key to parenting, and how to infuse spiritual language and lessons into digestible bites. Annie also talks about raising teenagers and the true definition of success. Towards the end of t...

The theme for this week is forgiveness (big and small) and heroes.  Cathy and Todd talk about a  mugger who apologized to his victim on facebook…35 years later. In the spirit of the holiday season they discuss other forms of forgiveness – to ourselves and others. They illustrate this with the story of the two monks. and they also talk a lot about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. As we a...

We discuss 4 ways to reduce your holiday stress: Dealing with family, How to cope with a case of the “shoulds”, Setting an intention for the holidays, Register for the 8 days of Holiday Calm Virtual Retreat . Todd features the first of four weekly shout outs to a a holiday movie.  This week we feature National Lampoons Christmas Vacation. The Tournament of Bad is in full force as we debate delayin...

We talk with Nancy Mullen, social worker, author, pastry chef, and advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. Nancy worked for several years in the HIV/AIDS field and shifted to her work with LGBT youth in 1998 as the executive director of a small, grassroots agency. She is a sought after public speaker on topics such as LGBT Youth and Adolescent Development and Current Tren...

What is Thanksgiving about? Being with family or finding the best deal? Many retailers moved Black Friday deals up a day and now people are expected to work on Thanksgiving or they feel the need to shop instead of relax.  We subscribe to not feeding into the frenzy – will you join us? We also discuss a book titled Triumphs of Experience by George Vaillant.  The book is the longest longitudinal stu...

We were inspired by a 60 Minutes segment about a group of billionaires who took “The Giving Pledge”.  It’s headed up by Bill/Melinda Gates and Warren Buffet, and the only requirement is to give away at least half of your fortune.  Sometimes it’s easy to look at the super rich and say, “Well if I was that rich, I would do the same thing.”  The bottom line is that most people in the U.S. are rich co...

Conversations With People We Love- We interview a self admitted former bully.  Mark Schultz is a friend and somebody who told Cathy and I that we had to watch the documentary Bullyand then interview him on his experiences as a former bully with the hopes that we can all learn a little bit from his experience.  He shares with us how he became a bully and the unlikely person who showed up to change...

We are talking about bullying…. again, but this time it’s about the adults (Rich Incognito/Jonathan Martin story).  We discuss “man code” and the culture of the NFL, but recognize that many cultures have a “code” that is expected to be kept. It’s easy to direct anger at the an individual, but we are reminded that most bullies were a victims at some point in their lives. We also discuss end of life...

Are you sure about that?  Parents of boys say this to us a lot, but this can be a matter of experience or expectation. Sure, it may feel true in many situations, but not hearing a peep from your boys about anything doesn’t mean that nothing is going on – they may just be less comfortable expressing their emotions and asking for help. Maybe a girl does become more frustrated or unsure about emotion...

Do you ever feel like you don’t have time to live your passion?  You are not alone. That’s why we invited Chicago musician Gerry O’Keefe to talk with us about living his passion while taking care of work and family business. We discuss how to keep your passion despite the responsibilities we have as a parent, employee, spouse, etc., his new album titled “Whatever Suits You”, Van Halen, David Cassi...

Failure is important right? We learn a lot from failure, right? Then why do we try to protect our children from ever failing? We have a discussion between the relationship between failure, confidence, narcissism, self worth, etc. The people who have made the largest impact on our world had significant failures, too. We also discuss families who send their kids to an “athletic boarding school” Is t...

In the Jewish tradition there are two different words that describe fear.  The first is called Pachad – “projected or imagined fear,” or the “fear whose objects are imagined.”  The second is called Yirah – the fear that overcomes us when we suddenly find ourselves in possession of considerably more energy than we are used to.  We discuss the video below  from Tara Sophia Mo hr describi...

Well, you’ve come to the right place. In our very first bi-monthly “Conversations with People we Love”, we talk with Heather Criswell, author of “How to Raise a Happy Child” . Crawl inside the mind of Heather, a noted “kid whisperer”, and see how she discovered (through 25 years and 30,000 children) what works with every child, in every situation, every time. Heather also shares some of her own st...

Science now tells us that if we react to our children’s “failures” with compassion instead of criticism, our kids will have a greater likelihood of succeeding. We discuss these ideas and the book  Self Compassion by Kristin Neff. We also discuss the different ways men and women measure acts of love.  The good news for the guys is that we use a  point system, the bad news is we ha...

A listener emailed and said her husband becomes agitated when she discusses personal growth or suggests listening to our podcast. We discuss the importance of honoring where your partner is in this moment (maybe he doesn’t want to listen to the podcast), and still speaking up about your own needs (but he can appreciate that you enjoy it). Change can be scary, but it’s a necessary and n...

Do you have a spouse who travels? Are both the exit and reentry a challenge? Do you feel appreciated for what you do while your spouse is away, and does your spouse feel appreciated for the hard work involved in work travel?  We discuss the importance of validation and communication when your partner travels, and why it’s important to say what you need. We also discuss the importance of prio...

We discuss the 5 different love languages based on a book by Gary Chapman.  The discussion will help you decide your dominant love language and help you figure out the love language of your children (and spouse!).  This can be the first step toward a deeper and more understanding relationship with your family. Todd also discusses a feel good story about a homeless man named Glen James and what he...

We discuss “ Rachel’s Challenge ”, a presentation for schools that focuses on kindness and self-awareness. This program that has reached over 19,000,000 people.  Each day 160,000 students do not go to school because they are bullied, teased and harassed. By turning the story of a tragic death at Columbine High School into a mission for change, Rachel’s Challenge is helping create safer learn...

We discuss a blog  titled The Conversation You Must Have With Your Sons by Carina Kolodny.  One out of five college girls are sexually assaulted.  As parents we do everything we can to help our daughters make smart decisions and stay out of difficult situations. Are we having conversations with our sons about making responsible decisions?  Or does this kind of conversation feel unnecessary or unco...

What does it mean to “succeed”?  To us it means self awareness, connection to the whole, and sharing your gifts and talents.  On this show we share a few ways to help your child find greater success. 1)      (6:10) Send them to overnight camp. Benefits- Give your child a sense of independence that is hard to duplicate in their normal day to day lives. It’s a safe setting They can “shed...

We discuss an article in Psychology Today   titled What Happy People Do Differently  The Real Rewards of Risk- When anxiety is an optional state A Blind Eye to Life’s Vicissitudes- The benefit of seeing the forest but not the trees The Unjealous Friend- We’re buoyed by others’ good fortune A Time For Everything- The upside of negative emotions The Well-Being Balancing Act- Pleasu...

8 things to help deal with back to school anxiety Why Ashton Kutcher’s stock skyrocketed for Todd One man’s message to his daughter- “I hope you have great sex” 4:27 Anxiety is normal.  Sometimes parents tell their kids not to feel anxious. Listen Ask questions Be engaged Own your role in the situation Know you’re not alone It gets easier Advocate for your child in dealing with “inschool” sadness...

What can Taylor Swift teach our daughters?  3 more things every parent should know  Hunger Games Camp- Good idea or bad idea? Time Stamp 1:39 Taylor Swift Concert Review 5:14 Men/Boy perspective on music 10:05 Habit #9 The secret to parenting is knowing when to let go 14:30 Habit #10 Trust yourself, you’re the expert on your child 16:20 When people dump their fear upon you 17:35 Stories Todd hears...

We discuss how feeling “bad”, whether it’s emotional or physical, is actually not so bad. Should grief be a diagnosable disorder or is it normal human emotion? Movie quotes from Airplane, Talladega Nights, and Billy Madison Talking about patience as a virtue and Todd Todd sings “Patience” (G n Roses a cappella) Time Stamp .30 Looking at your kids illness differently 1...