4.5 Theta Binaural Brain Waves for Healing, Meditation and Deep Relaxation- Thank you, Yellow Brick Cinema!

Teaching Mindfulness to Children, to Teachers, to Lawyers, to Judges- My Playlist from June, 2015, "Mindfulness - Awareness"

During this turbulent & heartbreaking month.. perhaps, we all need some  Mindfulness-Learn-Speak?

This is a great introductory video to a series called "Go Strengths Online" which is designed to teach Mindfulness to children at home and at school. It is produced by a group called "gozenonline." Don't you wish you'd thought of that name? 

I have left my "2015 Mindfulness- Awareness" Playlist "Public" on the "Valerie Houghton" YouTube channel. This playlist includes a TEDx Talk by Dr. Daniel Siegel, MD on Neural Integration, another one by Megan McElheran, PhD titled "Trauma, Change and Resilience" plus three inspirational video clips from "Remember the Titans" and  public health video short film titled "The Best Medicine: Why Relationships Matter" by WatchRelate. 

AND if you want to find any of these goodies on your own, please do! As always, take what you like and share what you like. During this turbulent month... we need to practice MINDFULNESS. As they say in Titans, "teach (us) to trust the soul of a man rather than his look... no matter what aspect of our lives, I hope we can live by these words. 

Happy Sunday. Peace be with you.

Five Steps to a Powerful Apology: Thank you, Julie Hanks, LCSW!

"The Science of Neglect" is a Brief Video from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University: Brain Architecture's "Ground Zero"

This it the first of a series about the impact of neglect on our babies and young children. Neglect is the most common type of child maltreatment in the United States. It literally causes an immediate change in the development of the child's brain architecture and thus, alters the lifelong trajectory of their health and well being. Our community pays a huge price when we endanger the well being of our children- whether or not they are a part of our biological or familial relationship circle. The Center for on the Developing Child is a fantastic resource, to which I often return for updates and encouragement from my pediatric/public health "roots." :)) Happy Sunday!

The Power of Being Vulnerable- Brene Brown Says None of Us Can Do It Alone...

Depression: "I Had a Black Dog" The Equal Opportunity Mongrel... 450,000,000 People Affected by Mental Illness, Worldwide and We CAN Do Something to Help and Heal! Reach Out, Be Authentic and Practice Empathy and Gratitude... That's a Start :)

Morning Memo: The Importance of the Morning Sales Meeting

I've been reading a lot about neurological research and bias lately. I particularly am fascinated by how easily we are influenced by our "hard wired" desire to keep our lives "predictable" even though life is anything BUT predictable. So, if our brain is designed to believe that  whatever we tell it is TRUE, then it seems like the wisest course is to consciously direct what our brain is telling us. I tell my brain "X" and then my brain tells me "X".  So... if I tell myself "I am going to create my very best effort today" then I am prescribing a direction and a purposeful action plan for my day's activity. If I focus on having an "attitude of gratitude" as I begin this daily trek, I can arm myself with the patience, compassion, and sense of humor(!) I will need as I greet each day. I find that the easiest way to develop that is by making my "Gratitude List." "I am grateful for..." And that's how we "sell" ourselves on actualizing the plan! Simple...

Guided Relaxation Exercises for Teenagers and the People Who Love Them!

Beautiful Short Video on Helping Families Get "Un-Stuck"- Thank you, Ackerman Institute, New York City!

New Brand with Wordle and Facebook Page Launch

I am catching up with "modern times" today. On the strong advice from others (ya, ya, ya...) I have made this new Wordle, which includes various "synonyms" with my mission statement and my professional foci (I learned that is the plural form for the word "focus".) 

I also started my professional Facebook Page:

(https://www.facebook.com/CounselorsConsultantsInc.) 

That was absolutely frightening... There was no time to do a "draft" or think it over! I tend to value and fully embrace the beauty and wonder in reflection, running ideas and drafts by my "FOCI GROUP" (gotta work in that new word) and generally operate by the principle "When in doubt, DON'T." 

However, I discovered today that this is not how social media works. I have been inspired by Stephanie Kimbro, my MILO listserve mates, Brandify, MyCase, Virtual Mediation Labs and numerous clients to forge ahead. These folks have no idea of their inspirational impact and are not responsible for any of these decisions. Thank you for your kind tolerance. 

"There is no such thing as bad feedback. Good news or bad news; it is all valuable! Thank you."

"Broken Trust Depicts the Impact of Harsh Anti-Immigrant Sentiment: Harming Children

Flow- The Secret to Happiness- Thank you, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi!

Families Come in Many Varieties- Like Ice Cream!

Inspirational Attitude Adjustment: "Get Back Up, Nick Vujicic"