This is the only podcast I listen to on a semi-regular basis and is a reliable source of inspiration. I love Tami Simon's crisp and clear interviewing style and how she brings a skeptical approach to spiritual topics. The folks being interviewed are leaders in the field of spirituality, healing, and growth. Some of the memorable topics that I've come across include setting boundaries, approaches to couples counselling, and the challenges of motherhood as a spiritual path. 

Here's the link if you feel called to explore it: https://resources.soundstrue.com/podcast/

This is one of those books that I kept hearing about as being an important read. I finally got around to reading it and swiftly joined the fan club! It's written for busy parents (or other adults who support kids, like therapists or teachers), so it's simple, chunked into sections, and practical. With real life examples, comic illustrations, and simple analogies, it manages to make complex neuroscience digestible for the busy adult reader, along with strategies to help kids understand their own developing brains. 

When I agreed to do the Calling in the One workbook, it was primarily to support a friend as I was more than a bit skeptical. It certainly didn't help when I found out that the author's love story shared within the book ends in "conscious uncoupling" short years after it was published! However, it remains one of my all-time favorite workbooks to the point that I've been through it from start to finish twice! I find it has so many great practices to cultivate loving relationships --first and foremost with yourself.

One of the main goals of the book is to identify and remove the barriers that are standing in your way of being able to experience your ideal loving relationship. It's set up as a daily workbook with inspirational reading followed by an activity such as a meditation or an invitation to take an active step related to your goals. It invites you to draw how you see yourself, think about how your past is getting in the way with your present, and find ways to be your own biggest supporter (like writing yourself love letters -yes please!).

Exploring our most loving selves, regardless of who else joins us on our journey, is one of the most romantic things we can experience.

A few disclaimers: It has a spiritual framework that will not appeal to everyone, and it admits to using hetero-normative language with a monogamous relationship as the end goal.

My clinical supervisor, Suzanne Thomson gushed about the 2021 book Transforming the Living Legacy of Trauma: A workbook for Survivors and Therapists and urged I buy it right away. I was not disappointed! At 109 pages it is physically far less daunting than some other workbooks I've read. On top of that, the author, Janina Fisher, PhD, has managed to take a complex subject and make it clear, digestible, and user-friendly. I still found myself wanting to read it in little chunks at a time to absorb the content (as suggested in the preamble), but the diagrams, worksheets, and relatively short sections of text made it easy to take breaks and pick up where I left off. This book is one of the ones I keep readily available when working with clients because the worksheets and diagrams can be so helpful.

I love Jon Kabat-Zinn's clear and profound way of describing meditation and being more attuned to the present moment. So, when I came across this free on-line 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course (based on the program he founded), I was very eager to try it out. The in-person courses that I've seen are at least $500 CAD, so this course being offered completely free of charge feels like a generous offering.

It takes some dedication to commit to a self-guided course, but it's chock-full of videos and articles that I found motivational. Each week also has a new mindfulness practice or meditation that gives you a chance to expand your toolbox. If you end up taking it, let me know how it goes!