Episodes
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Episode 88 - AI Wellness & My Strata Break
Welcome to another episode of The Hopeful Humanist Cafe. It has been awhile ... A quick correction In this episode I refer to nine protocols on a few occasions - there are ten. This was simply a lapse in memory. The protocols developed gradually over time, and in the moment I was recalling an...
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Episode 87 - Drift
Welcome to The Hopeful Humanist Cafe. In this one-take, unedited episode, I look at this thing I call "Intrapersonal Drift" and the eight dynamic questions of self. If someone has drifted from one's self, how can one come back to one's self? I look at just one of many possible options. Maybe it...
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Episode 86 - Making a pitch for Generation Nexus
Welcome to a windy day walk alongside the might Saugeen River near Denny's Dam in southern Ontario. In this episode, I cast an idea that I hope might catch your interest! Here, I propose a different name than the placeholder name Generation Beta for the generation after Gen Alpha. Who wants to be...
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Episode 85 - Effort
Join me in episode 85 where I talk about hopes best companion effort! There are four directions we can apply effort for our wellness. A starting point is to ask the questions: 1) Why do I say what I say when I say it? and 2) Why do I do what I do when I do it? These questions allow one to "get...
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Episode 84 - Hope and Openness for Healing and Recovery
Welcome to another episode of The Hopeful Humanist Cafe. In this episode I attempt to tie a number of threads together from some of the pitfalls of self-care to the importance of hope, openness, and compassion for a healing or recovery journey. Quotes: 1) "Hope" is the thing with feathers - That...
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Episode 83 - Pickleball Etiquette as an Allegory for Life
In this episode, I provide articles for listeners to access who might be interested in learning the unwritten rules of etiquette for Pickleball. I then suggest that pickleball itself might be the meaning of life and offer ideas about what might constitute the good life. Quote: 1) "Pickleball is...
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Episode 82 - Getting right with being wrong
How well do you do with managing being wrong? Are you able to recognize internally when you are wrong? Are you able to acknowledge being wrong and take ownership for your thoughts and actions? Is there a difference between being wrong and making a mistake? Join me in this tip-of-the-iceberg...
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Episode 81 - The Novel First Sentence & Journal Prompt Project
Welcome to another unedited, blithering episode of the Hopeful Humanist Cafe. In this episode, I share with you a leisure project I have been experimenting with on X (formerly Twitter) and Minds. I believe that everyone has within them one book to write. Having said that, however, it should be...
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Episode 80 - Dreaming about the Hero’s Journey
Salutations and welcome to episode 80 of the Hopeful Humanist Cafe. This episode starts with a question from Danielson about the Hero's Journey - How far must one travel from one's home before it is fair to call the experience a journey? Can simply stepping outside one's door of one's home...
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Episode 79 - Locating Dawn, Activating Empathy
This episode talks about an essential ingredient and starting point for being a "good mentor" for Dawn, the-every-young person-becoming-young-adult. Before sharing one's wisdom, one must know who one is sharing one's wisdom with. Hence the question, "Who is Dawn?" Only after activating the...
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Episode 78 - Savouring Spring, Walden, and ChatGPT
Many of us have so much on our plates and have been pulled in too many directions by the various greedy institutions in our lives that we might have lost sight of the fact that SPRING IS HERE. It is time to step outside and do some savouring. T-shirt Idea: "One Good Book" or "One Good Poem."...
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Episode 77 - The Hard Case for Self-Care - A time to Notice
What is the "Hard Case" for self-care? Why do we so often, when helping others, try to get to offering solutions instead of just being there to honour and validate another person's reality. Sometimes the first step in the change process is just taking time to notice. Quote for the year: "I went…
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Episode 76 - Getting my ACT together
In this episode, I invite the listener to join me as I provide a summary account of a virtual, two-day training workshop that I attended about a therapeutic counselling modality called, "Acceptance and Commitment Therapy" - otherwise known as ACT. The total listening experience includes six audio...
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Episode 75 - On being responsible for the words we use - A question ...
This episode is simply a short question. It is an invitation to put one's "self" under the metaphorical microscope. This can be a hard thing to do, but it is essential for living a deliberate and mindful life. I anticipate that I will follow-up this question with a future episode where I intend…
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Episode 74 - Getting to Dry - A short ”Sounds-Story” & ”Audio-Sound-Blot”
In this very brief episode of the Hopeful Humanist Café, I will showcase what I will simultaneously call a "Sound-Story" & "Audio-Sound-Blot." The episode is simply a listening experience. One might just sit back and get comfortable or grab one's journal and open up to the possibility of an...
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Episode 73 - Uncommon Role Models & Gained Perspective
Welcome to another spontaneous & unedited blithering at The Hopeful Humanist Café. When you do not got the motivation to tackle the Mount Everest challenges on your metaphorical life plate, tackle the small stuff. The small stuff can create momentum. For me that was focusing on the backyard shed....
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Episode 72 - Hot tub blitherings - ”What will you do today?”
This episode is from a Substack article I prepared for my news letter, "Hopeful Humanist Cafe Newsletter." The article is called, "What will you do today." I really enjoyed making the episode and wanted to include it into the library of episodes available on "The Hopeful Humanist Cafe" podcast....
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Episode 71 - Advice for a young person - A Steve, Captain Jack and Danielson book and podcast debrief
Welcome to The Hopeful Humanist Café. In episode 71, I am joined by Captain Jack and Danielson for an organic discussion and debrief about an episode from "The Psychology Podcast" with Scott Barry Kaufman. The specific episode we talked about is called, "How William James Can Save Your Life,"…
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Episode 70 - Poetry - An antidote for aloneness - A deeper connection with Emily Dickinson
"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words." - Robert Frost Episode 70 with Danielson has finally arrived. Another unedited, one take blithering session with "Just Two Ones." As indicated in the "Antidote Primer for upcoming Episode," Danielson and I will...
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Episode 69 - Rising Thoughts with Emily Dickinson
Where do thoughts come from? In episode 69, we turn to a poem from the American Poet Emily Elizabeth Dickinson (Dec. 10, 1830 to May 15, 1886) where she shares her experience of an arising thought. It is a beautiful poem. The poem provides one with the opportunity to become aware of one's…
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Episode 68 - Life Coaching Questions Answered by Sarah Crawte
In episode 68, I am joined by Life Coach Sarah Crawte who talks about what life coaching is and is not, her journey toward life coaching, and the benefits of connecting with a life coach. Maintaining your health is often challenging and, at times, requires reaching out for help. During difficult...
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Episode 67 - Expanding the dashboard: Covid-19, mental health and substance use
Join me for a one-take, unedited discussion about the importance of expanding our dashboards of wellness to include mental health and substance use information. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada "24 626 apparent opioid toxicity deaths between January 2016 and June 2021" were…
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Episode 66 - ”I don‘t have enough time for self-care” and other constraints to Inter-Being Wellness
Welcome to another episode of the Hopeful Humanist Cafe. In episode 66, I will talk about some obstacles, barriers, and constraints to our ability to take care of ourselves. The invitation will not be to despair about such a reality but to sit with it and "notice" what is happening in our inner...
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Episode 65 - Blithering Thoughts about Generations
Welcome to Episode 65 of the Hopeful Humanist Cafe. In this episode, I hope to provide a definition of generations, share a cautionary note about the limits and dangers when talking about generations, and raise some questions about the benefits of continuing to talk about these…
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Episode 64 - Reclaiming Your Lens: A Presenting Moment During Another Covid-19 Lockdown
In this episode, I take the "Ten-Word Description" podcast activity from Eric Nuzum and take it to make my own to "Reclaim my lens for a journey toward my authentic self." Entering into another lockdown during a third wave assault from covid-19 where everything is fixated on a one-pointed...
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Episode 63 - Is Critical Thinking Critical: Another Just Two Ones Discussion
Welcome to another "Just Two Ones" episode where Danielson and I talk about a bunch of thoughts connected to Critical Thinking with a short special appearance from Woodrow. Let's blither ... ORIENTING THOUGHTS: 1) “Moving beyond I don’t know” (Danielson) 2) Memorizing is not learning. (Danielson)...
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Episode 62 - Xanadu Relaxation Manoeuvres - Soaking in Vulnerability, Mindfulness, and Waxing Poetic about Critical Thinking
Welcome to a glimpse into a snippet of a private sharing from myself to Captain Jack. From the outside, I must say, this episode is definitely unconventional and hopefully it will not prove to be a slippery slope (haha!). The flavour of this episode is reminiscent of my "T-shirt ideas, novel…
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Episode 61 - One last look in the mirror of Hesse's "Siddhartha"
This episode is the unexpected part two to episode 60. Danielson and I continued to explore our respective relationships with the book "Siddhartha," a book we both initially picked up in early adulthood and have revisited a number of times over the different chapters of our unfolding lives. The...
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Episode 60 - Just Two Ones Blithering about Hesse's "Siddhartha"
In this historic episode, I am joined for the first time ever with a guest - the one and only Danielson - for an unedited, in-the-moment, blithering conversation about Hermann Hesse's classic novel, "Siddhartha." Although we initially intended to start the conversation off by providing a synopsis...
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Episode 59 - ”Audio Sound Blot” - Lot#1 Growing Old & Sardines
This is my creative take on a psychometric tool referred to as the "Rorschach Test." Subjects are presented with ambiguous inkblots and invited to share their perceptions/interpretations with clinicians to analyze. The goal is to discover underlying personality traits. My goal is not so lofty. It...
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Episode 58 - Self-Care Self-Assessments & Inter-Being Scaffolding
Quote: "Right now the world is entirely focused on people's physical health, and for good reason. But I urge everyone to take mental health just as seriously as you do your physical health. Use preventative measures and learn to spot the signs when you are struggling. Reach out to family, friends...
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Episode 57 - BOOMPF ..."It's Create a Word Day!"
Join me as I talk with Captain Jack and Danielson for over 30 minutes about a word - BOOMPF - we collectively brought into existence merely with the socially constructed wags of the tongue - this is the power of the declarative speech act! To prevent confusion, note that we are birthing the word...
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Episode 56 -Putting Oneself Under The Microscope: A Conflict Resolution Tip
Welcome to episode 56! Before making our way to constructing for ourselves a list of action steps to resolve conflict in a future episode, in this episode, I will provide a definition of conflict, make brief mention of Kilmann's conflict resolution styles, and share a tip about what a person can…
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Episode 55 - A Long Pause Tribute ... ... ... ... ... ... To the Long Pause
Salutations and welcome to a very brief tribute to the ... ... ... long pause!! For me, this was one full minute of fun. I invite you to experiment with the long pause for dramatic effect. Show Case Resource: 1) What do you think about this long pause? Caught off guard, unprepared, or a pause for...
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Episode 54 - Two Thought Experiments and Initial Meanderings about Conflict Resolution
Conflict is inevitable. As the saying goes, "Conflict is not the problem ... the problem is how we approach and solve the conflict." In this episode, by inviting you the listener to participate in two thought experiments, I hope to raise thoughts about what the conflict resolution landscape might...
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Episode 53 - Harvesting Seeds of Mindfulness, "Expectancies," Store/Mind Consciousness & Thanksgiving
Let me start off by saying, "I very much enjoy long pauses as they provide 'fill-in-the-blank" interactive opportunities for the listener." Having shared that, it should come as no surprise then that this episode concludes with an ("awkward"??) long pause that will invite you to think about what...
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Episode 52 - Reviving the Nostalgia of a Childhood Chestnut Game in the NOW
Aesculus Hippocastanum! In this episode, I will tell you how to have a chestnut fight. I believe it is a North American variation of a game that is called ¨Conkers¨ in England and has been played for generations. I try to weave some additional thread-like thoughts from Thich Nhat Hanh and…
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Episode 51 - Two Self-Care & Happiness Calendars and Self-Care as Interbeing Wellness
Why not start your morning with a daily dose of inspiration about self-care and happiness? Below, I have provided links to calendar creations from both Action for Happiness and the Greater Good Science Center. Also, I share some thoughts about the idea that self-care is selfish and indulgent. My...
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Episode 50 - Open Pod Ruminations about Common Sense with Danielson
In this open pod (open mic) episode, part 2 of a possible 3 in a series on Common Sense, I hand over the discussion, without introduction, to Danielson to share his ruminations about common sense and politics or maybe more aptly the politics of common sense. Danielson brings to the conversation...
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Episode 49 - Trying to make sense of common sense
In this episode, I wrestle with the relative and universal qualities of common sense. While I do not have anything definitive to offer, I still believe there is value in having conversations that generate questions, even in the absence of answers. It is a "seed" conversation about an "idea in...
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Episode 48 - The New Covid-19 "Bubble World" of Professional Sports and Virtual Spectators
In this episode, I talk about an idea worth writing about. I have attached the article that sparked for me a number of interesting questions about the impact of covid-19 on professional sports. I leave my meandering thoughts with this question: So what do you think? Is it in fact an idea worth...
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Episode 47 - Life Spheres & Fidelity ... be on guard against blurring, creeping, and infringement
With the rise of remote work, it could be helpful to look for the red and green flags in our ability to separate our work lives from our personal lives. If we are not careful life spheres (what I like to call "Life Domains), might blur in such a way that one sphere creeps into and violates the...
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Episode 46 - Things on my plate mind-map
Join me, Steve, The Hopeful Humanist, for another unscripted blithering moment as I talk about an activity for standing up to anxiety called, "The Things On My Plate Mind-map." In this episode, the activity is the showcase resource. While it is pretty straight forward it is none-the-less very...
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Episode 45 - Fostering Creativity - Generation Alpha and Driver-less Cars
Join me for a creativity-building activity as we imagine working in the "Off Script Living" department for a car manufacturer to explore ways to help Generation Alpha adjust to a mobile existence in a jobless world. In order to equip our children and youth for the world of tomorrow, creativity…
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Episode 44 - "What if ..." - The Optimist Edition
"What if" is an example of an automatic negative thought (ANTs) that fuels anxiety. In this episode, instead of turning away from the debilitating "what if," with mindfulness the "what if" is compassionately embraced to nurture more positive empowering thoughts (PETs). The episode ends with the...
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Episode 43 - Computer Fatigue/Vision Syndrome
As the accidental experiment of remote work/telecommuting unfolds in response to a Covid-19 reality, what are the implications we will discover downstream of this new social reality as people sit in front of screens for inhumane amounts of time, looking at surreal representations of co-workers on...
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Episode 42 - Beach Party and Words of Wisdom from Viktor E. Frankl about the Meaning of Life
What does a beach party have to do with the meaning of life? In this morning file, I invite you to join me and Woodrow II as we start off the day with some music and a thought for the day to make one think. The thought of the day is a quote from Viktor Frankl which is one of my favourites about…
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Episode 41 - Morning Prayer to Start Off the Day
Open the curtains, get comfortable, and sip some tea for a moment of mindfulness to orient the day. I discovered this gem while reading, "Awakening The Buddha Within," by Lama Surya Das. I would like to quote what Lama Surya Das wrote about this prayer on page 184: "The Buddha himself said that…
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Episode 40 - The Essence of One Word in a Three Word Poem, other Word Contestants, and Its Motivation
Jump into this episode (#40 and not #37 as would be expected) with me as I talk about the importance of showing care in the way we talk to one another to avoid avoidable regrets. Words, while limiting, are also powerful. We need to be mindful and practice "Right Speech." During this episode,...
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Episode 36 - One Word
A two word title for a "One Word" podcast episode - possibly the shortest podcast episode ever! In this episode, Blazing Phoenix takes centre-mic for another Sanity Quickie. Before listening to the episode, I would like to invite you to join me in a creativity challenge. Imagine you have been…
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