ChooSELove Movement

"Bullying is not acts of cruelty; it's the omission of kindness." That is a powerful statement from Jodee Blanco, activist and author of the New York Times Bestseller Please Stop Laughing at Me: One Woman's Inspirational Story. Scarlett Lewis and Jodee have an eye-opening conversation on the subject of bullying. As the first survivor of school bullying to look back on those experiences as an adult, Jodee shares her feelings as a victim and how she turned her pain into purpose. As she explains how bullying has been misunderstood and mishandled by so many, she addresses relevant topics such as the invisible student, the need for tolerance and forgiveness in schools, compassionate forms of discipline, how parents need to adjust their approach to bullying, and offers a child's perspective of both a victim and bully, and so much more. As you listen, you'll learn steps to take to make a difference in a child's life, and how, according to Jodee, everyone needs to "Connect, motivate and inspire (bullies) from the inside out." --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

In honor of Autism Awareness Month, Scarlett has a candid conversation with her friend, Judy Thomas, who is an advocate for autism. Judy shares her son Lyle's journey after he was diagnosed with a pervasive development disorder. She defines the disability disorder, shares Lyle's experiences in school, and points out the need for change in the school system to better serve children who have autism or other developmental condition. Since these disorders can impact a person's social skills, ability to communicate and form meaningful relationships, and more, Scarlett also reinforces the need for schools to teach essential life skills and attitudes. Judy explains how tough it is on parents and offers advice on ways they can help their children flourish and live an independent life with hope and positivity. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Scarlett chats with Lyle Vetare, a young man with Autism, who works at a local hotel. They have an honest conversation about his experiences in school, both the good times and the bad. Lyle shares how he was bullied by other students and how it made him feel a lot of sadness. With insight and intelligence, Lyle explains ways people can make life better for people like him. The biggest piece of advice he offers is "give kids confidence in their abilities." Lyle is facing life with a positive mindset and his story shows how anyone can overcome challenges and find success. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

"Love Wins." That's Julia Richter's mantra in life. After discovering the Choose Love Movement, Julia says her life was transformed, and now as Director of C.A.R.E.S. (Cultivating Authentic Relationships in the Education System), she's helping educators improve their well-being, cultivate authentic connections, support the needs of their students, and create a safe and loving environment. Scarlett and Julia talk about how Choose Love workshops and professional development help educators flourish and nourish their well-being as they practice the Choose Love Formula. Julia opens up to Scarlett about her journey from being a 4th grade teacher and a coach, to how she found her calling in art and music programs, finding Choose Love, and being an Ambassador, to where she is today. You'll appreciate Julia's positive energy and mindset and learning how she and our facilitators are helping educators be the best they can be through experiential workshops, and also the importance of more care and love in homes, schools, and communities. As Julia says, "We need to open our hearts to learning new things . . . to support ourselves and spread nurturing healing love." --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Scarlett and TJ Stevens, author of Once a Shooter: Redemption of a High School Gunman, continue their riveting conversation on this second part of their podcast. They share insightful personal stories and discuss effective ways we can help kids take responsibility for their lives through music, religion, love, hope, and essential coping skills. They agree that children can be their best selves if they choose love and it will ultimately make the world a better place. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Last year, Scarlett had a compelling conversation with TJ Stevens, author of Once a Shooter: Redemption of a High School Gunman. Stevens talks openly and honestly about how he was a high school shooter at a Virginia high school in 1982 and recounts the events of the hostage standoff where no one was injured except himself. This very emotional discussion delves into the inner turmoil Stevens felt and how he felt a higher power lead him out of the darkness. As Stevens takes the listener step-by-step through his traumatic day-long hostage standoff, he shares his emotional and mental state and explains how he found his way toward freedom, forgiveness, and faith. After serving prison time, Stevens went on to a successful life, but this event will always be the catalyst that brought him to a deep spirituality and understanding of himself that led him to help others realize there is hope and light at the end of the darkness. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

The importance of compassion in our lives. This is just one compelling topic Scarlett Lewis delves into with Dr. Spyros Smith in this extremely informative podcast. Dr. Smith, a former Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, has been practicing hospital internal medicine for 20 years at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut where he served as its Chief of Hospital Medicine, and is now Medical Director of the Danbury Medical Group. Well-known and highly respected, Dr. Smith was the recipient of the Top Doctors of America Award from the Consumer Research Council of America and the Physician's Recognition Award, AMA, among others. Scarlett and Dr. Smith explore the difference between empathy and compassion and the great need for more compassion and kindness in the medical field and the world. Scarlett brings the Choose Love Formula into the conversation with Dr. Smith noting how his practice offers a heart-centric approach. With a background in nutritional biochemistry, Dr. Smith shares how he helps patients use proper nutrition and other forms of preventative medicine to complement their treatment and explains the role of guided imagery, mindfulness, and the power of prayer in healing. Other areas of discussion include the impact of technology on critical thinking, life skills needed to help manage emotions, and positive coping strategies for dealing with the social and physical effects of the pandemic. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

"Believe in your dreams and rise above obstacles." Those are inspiring words from Steve Pemberton, best-selling author of "A Chance in the World" and "The Lighthouse Effect," a visionary youth advocate, acclaimed speaker, and Chief People Officer for Workhuman. Scarlett has a powerful conversation with Steve about their shared experiences through trauma. Growing up in the foster care system and overcoming an abusive childhood, Steve shares his insights and addresses how people can overcome their pain to live their best lives. He discusses the power of parenting and the role it plays in a child's life and future actions. Through their shared life experiences, Scarlett and Steve speak about navigating challenges and dealing with pain and loss and how our response to difficult times is part of the healing process. Steve explains the importance of having courage and taking on the responsibility to encourage and help others through pain and to be a lighthouse. Their conversation also covers fear and division in the workplace and the need to give and receive love in all facets of life to unite humankind. This meaningful podcast will stay with you and remind you of the importance of hope and working toward having 'lighthouse moments' to help you change the world. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

I am so thrilled to have Serena Dyer Pisoni and Saje Dyer, daughters of my lifetime mentor Dr. Wayne Dyer, join me on my podcast. We share memories of their dad, who was an internationally renowned author, speaker, and pioneer in the field of self-development. We have an in-depth conversation about various topics, including the subconscious knowing of events in our life, spiritual awareness, understanding grief and loss, having compassion to forgive and live life, and the influence of Wayne Dyer's wisdom in my life and also in his daughters' lives. Also, we discuss compelling aspects of their book, The Knowing: 11 Lessons to Understand the Quiet Urges of Your Soul. We touch on the power of silence, listening to your inner self, releasing thoughts and fear, having courage to move forward, understanding death and being open to signs, and how we can thoughtfully choose to respond with love. It's such a powerful podcast filled with so much wisdom. After you listen to this, you will come away with such a feeling of fulfillment and a new way of seeing and appreciating life and death. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Scarlett and her mom discuss how to cultivate connection with your kids. Kids are craving our connection and will do desperate things in order to get it. The ultimate connection includes eye contact and being present. Our kids are craving this and we discuss how to mindfully implement this on a daily basis! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

"We are all hoarders." That statement was made by Peggy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D., author of Release: Create a Clutter Free and Soul Driven Life. It applies to everyone, myself included. After reading her inspiring book, I started uncluttering my cabinets and it felt like a new beginning. Peggy explains that we can become imprisoned by our mental, emotional, energetic, relationship, and especially physical clutter so we need to continually evaluate our lives to declutter and cultivate a healthier way of living. Peggy has worked in counseling and healing for over 25 years, counseling adolescents and adults with mental health and addiction issues in a variety of clinical settings, including private practice, wilderness therapy, psychiatric inpatient, and residential treatment. She expanded her clinical work to include holistic and mind-body approaches by training for several years in Hakomi Body-Centered Psychotherapy, as well as Intuition Medicine®, a practice of intuitive energy healing and has lived and worked at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in New York and was a consulting producer on Oprah Winfrey's Emmy-winning TV series Super Soul Sunday. Peggy's book offers practical insights about decluttering to help people improve their lives by freeing them from clutter and living in alignment with their true soul nature. In this podcast, we have an insightful conversation about the difference between the ego and soul aspect that co-exist and what they represent; how we are in service to others; becoming present; how to experience and learn from loneliness; our need for socialization; how release affects our lives; love and spiritual aspects of life; and the different types of grief and trauma and how to move through it. This is such a deep discussion that delves deep into all aspects of our lives, including courage to release rather than hold on, to accept rather than resist, and to live with only things that help you share your love and connect with the world in your own unique ways. Peggy reinforces that we need to be present to make choices and appreciate each other. Trust yourself, she says. "We're all in this together and my book is an invitation for us to help each other." --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

I was so happy to chat with Carin Winter, founder of Mission Be, a non-profit organization that offers mindfulness-based educational programs to help students better manage stress and regulate emotion, and the creator of our Choose Love Brave Breath. We start off with a grounding meditation that moves into the interesting story of what led Carin to create her organization. After seeing children struggle with pain, neglect, and feeling unseen, she recognized the need for social emotional learning on a daily basis to help them feel valued, loved, and appreciated. She discusses how the tragedy propelled her forward to launch mindful programming, shares how Jesse inspired her, explains the organization's relationship to 9/11, and the power of love. We also talk about the various benefits of mindfulness for both children and adults. Carin is filled with lots of information on how we can move forward in our brave new world. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

This fascinating podcast focuses on the effects of COVID on adolescents and teenagers. Jacqueline Simpson-Dunne, a Board Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, founder of Child Mental Health Solutions, and member of the Choose Love Advisory Committee, offers insight into the mindset and behavior of children. We discuss trauma, anxiety, lack of human connection, effects of technology, and social and emotional intelligence. Jacqueline offers ways parents can help and guide their children at their developmental level. She perceptively states: "There is no perfect pandemic parent," and offers effective solutions for parents to help their children deal with adversity and uncertainties and develop resilience. She also explains signs parents can be aware of that signify a need to seek professional help. This is a full discussion of cultivating a healthy relationship between children, parents, and even spouses. You will gain so much knowledge from this far-reaching podcast. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Dr. Eve Goldstein, a licensed clinical psychologist and learning specialist, and Danielle Matthew, a licensed family therapist and bullying expert, join me in a very eye-opening podcast to discuss their mission to help children learn social and emotional skills and support our educators in their shared experiences. Both therapists strive to eliminate the stigma around mental health and advocate for mental health training and empowering educators and parents to equip children with the skills and tools to cope and thrive in the classroom. We talk about their seminars and e-courses on post-Covid stress for educators and post-traumatic growth for students. In the podcast, you'll learn about the need to build socially intelligent children, ways to alleviate divisiveness and anxiety to strengthen connection with each other, and the importance of being more self-compassionate. It's all based on a foundation of hope -- to make the future a better place by working together in supporting our educators and students and giving them the resources to positively move forward. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

After the loss of her newborn daughter in 1994, Dr. Joanne Cacciatore devoted her life to studying traumatic grief and conducted a groundbreaking study on mass grief after Sandy Hook. A research professor at Arizona State University, founder of the MISS Foundation (an international organization for families experiencing the death of a child), and author of the award-winning book, "Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief," Joanne and I have an honest conversation about the different kinds of psychological and emotional loss, the effect of loneliness, the importance of compassion, understanding death, how animals and pets are powerful crisis support systems, and the human need for emotional connection. You'll also learn how she founded the Selah Carefarm in Arizona for the traumatically bereaved that also houses rescued and abused animals. This podcast will make you think, feel, and understand how you can live a more meaningful life. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

‘Take care of yourself.' Those are wise words from Elly Kukk, a dear friend, Reiki Master, Certified Positive Discipline Family Trainer, and creator of the original Choose Love for Home program that is now also a Master Class. On a recent episode of our ChooSELove podcast, Elly shares her wisdom about energy work for healing and dealing with stress and explains the importance of focusing on how we're feeling and responding. She offers quick, useful tips for self-care to feel better every day. A mother of three boys, Elly also talks about positive discipline, how parents are role models for their children, and we share personal examples of how we relate to our children. This episode is jam-packed with excellent ideas to form a closer, more loving bond with our children where we have fun while growing and learning together. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

"I will never give up." Those are powerful words from Dana Liesegang who is not only my dear friend and Colorado Choose Love Ambassador, she is a survivor. At age 19, Dana was sexually assaulted by a fellow Navy sailor, thrown off a cliff, and was on the brink of death. In this podcast Dana takes you on her incredible journey of waking up in a hospital hours later paralyzed from the neck down, with doctors giving no hope for recovery. She explains how tapping into her resilience, inner spirit, and stubbornness allowed her to persevere, and how forgiveness was the key to her recovery and allows her to live a life of happiness and gratitude. We talk about the Choose Love Formula and how choosing love helps Dana in every area of her life and allows her to move forward every day. As Dana says, she hopes to be the light for others to show that they can survive anything and her powerful memoir, “Falling Up: My Wild Ride from Victim to Kick-Ass Victory,” proves it's possible. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

You are going to love this podcast. I talk with Prescott Ellison, a multi-faceted Emmy and Grammy Award-winner and creator of Superfood Friends. Prescott is partnering with Choose Love to bring his multifaceted nutrition program into homes, schools, and communities. We have a great conversation about our shared mission of changing the lives of children around the world because, after all, love and compassion, nutrition and fitness, and also brain health all work together. Prescott shares his interesting backstory of learning the importance of food as a youth and how he developed his nutrition program that also extends into sports, music, and agriculture. Oh, and he explains how he invented the Body Bench that facilitates body weight exercises. Listen in to get Prescott's special herbal tea recipe! https://www.SuperFoodFriends.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Did you know the brain of babies develops at a rate of 1 million connections per second? You'll learn crucial information about the brain in my conversation with Deborah McNelis, founder of Brain Insights, whose mission is to make the understanding of early brain development common knowledge for every adult for the benefit of all children and the entire community. We explore Deborah's neuro-nurturing model for early brain development and the 4 components for brain health. Also, we talk about the importance of unstructured play, making connections, being present, and social and emotional intelligence. I know you'll appreciate the way Deborah breaks down the complicated terminology of brain development into simple, easy-to-understand terms and the interesting real-life examples she offers. https://www.braininsightsonline.com/pages/our-mission --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

I had the most wonderful conversation with Shari O'Loughlin, CEO of The Compassionate Friends and author of the fascinating book Life From the Ashes: Finding Signs of Hope After Loss. Shari talks honestly about her feelings upon losing her 14-year-old son, Connor, in an airplane crash and how she went on to live her life in mindfulness gratitude. We discuss the topics of guilt, forgiveness, hope, and healing, and the self care tool kit she created to help her move forward after experiencing profound loss. Shari and I bonded over our shared experiences, how we appreciate precious moments in our daily lives, and the special signs our children leave us that give us much-needed comfort. https://www.compassionatefriends.org/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

It's always a wonderful day when I spend it with my mom, Maureen Lewis. She joins me again in this podcast as we're enjoying a weekend together in the Hamptons and pondering life. This time my mom shares stories about everyday situations and what she learned from them. We talk about how the Choose Love Formula can help us be better people, our shared interest in Havening, a trauma technique that has helped me tremendously, and how to live life with respect, kindness, and always Choosing Love. Also we ponder the question, "What am I afraid of?" and discuss negative thoughts and the benefit of positive affirmations. You'll learn so much from our chat. I guarantee it will make you feel good! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

The loss of a child due to violence. My dear friend, Donna Cimarelli, also knows what that feels like. In 2014, her 16-year-old daughter, Maren Sanchez, was murdered in her high school by a male classmate. In this emotional yet uplifting episode, Donna shares memories with me of her daughter as we discuss compassion for those who hurt our children and how we experienced post-traumatic growth that turned into something productive to make us stronger, better people. Donna founded the Maren Sanchez Home Foundation that educates and empowers girls and young women to defend themselves against emotional, psychological, and verbal manipulation and physical violence. In the podcast, Donna explains the importance of awareness for young people to remain alert to possible danger in situations, and she also shares her feelings on the power of intuition and the role of our "gut feelings" in our lives. Listen in and learn how Donna conquered her pain and is now on a mission to protect the lives of other young women. https://www.facebook.com/marensanchezinourhearts/ https://twitter.com/marensanchezhf --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

If you've experienced grief or know someone going through a difficult time, you have to listen to my heartfelt podcast with Beth Segaloff who explains how you can move toward healing. Beth is a licensed master of social work, life coach, reiki master, registered yoga teacher, certified firewalk instructor, and mom, who shares her story of losing the love of her life and how she processed the trauma. The physical, emotional, and spiritual journey she embarked on to come to a place of healing and peace really resonated with me as I thought of my experiences after losing Jesse. Beth says "Grief is love" and explains her holistic perspective through teaching Grief Yoga that uses movement, breath and sound to reconnect with love and provides awareness, growth, and transformation. In our podcast, Beth shares how you can allow your body to restore and release by facing what you're feeling and thinking by connecting with nature, Tapping, and giving yourself quiet time, and she also explains how you can help others through their grieving process. This is a podcast that strengthens your spirit and enlightens your soul. Join Beth and the Choose Love Movement on Wednesday, June 9th to experience Grief Yoga - register today: http://bit.ly/MonthofFun --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

In this episode I was joined by my good friend and colleague, Arthur Schwartz, President of Character.org, a national organization devoted to fostering character development in schools and communities. This outstanding organization has been the voice, visibility, and resources for educators to build nurturing and supportive school cultures that focus on a set of core values and character strengths vital to school success. Sharing my vision of creating a safer, more peaceful world, in this episode Arthur explains the importance of kindness, caring, empathy and compassion, core values needed to develop tomorrow's leaders and he also shares his research on courage. A noted expert in positive psychology, Arthur offers his keen insight into the need for our world to evolve into a more caring community, the role of our inner moral compass and intellectual character strengths as a guiding force, the positive benefits of self-talk, and his important views on equity and inclusion. Learn more about Arthur's organization at: Character.org --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Today's guest is a special one and different from what you are used to on the ChooSELove Podcast. I'm joined by Brie Sodano, a personal finance expert and the founder of Sheep to Shark, a financial planning firm that works with people who aspire to be financially successful. You may be thinking…”Scarlett, why a personal finance expert? I thought you were about education and Social Emotional Learning?” WELL, Brie coaches her clients on money, habits, mindset, and Emotional Intelligence! Learn more about how she might be able to help you take your personal power back in your finances by visiting: https://www.findyourbleed.com/af2-budgets-dont-work-v1 https://www.facebook.com/sheeptoshark/ https://www.instagram.com/sheeptoshark/?hl=en --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

I have a VERY special guest joining us today: Dr. Steven Ruden, , D.D.S., ICF/ACC, co-developer of The Havening Techniques®. When I came upon havening, I was BLOWN AWAY by the power of it, research behind it, and most of all it's simplicity and am so excited to share it with you today! The Havening Techniques are powerful tools that can be used to alleviate the consequences of traumatic or stressful events. Havening or Delta Techniques™ is a method which is designed to change the brain to de-traumatize the memory and remove its negative effects from both our psyche and body. Learn more at: https://www.havening.org/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

In this episode, I was joined by special guest, Howard Glasser, Founder of the Children's Success Foundation and the creator of the Nurtured Heart Approach. The Nurtured Heart Approach® is more than a set of strategies; it is a philosophy and practice of creating healthy relationships. It reveals exactly what makes relationships flourish and thrive and what makes them go awry, developing awareness and understanding that improve the gamut of the ways we interact with others…and ourselves. Learn more at https://www.howardglasser.com/ ChooSELove Movement - www.chooselovemovement.org --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

An author, speaker, and licensed Physical Therapist specializing in craniosacral therapy, Kate Mackinnon has been using touch to support her patients in their healing and in accessing their physical potential for the last 30 years. She's passionate about helping people create comfort and ease in their bodies. Website: https://www.kmackinnon.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

TRIGGER WARNING: Mentions suicide, violence, and death. I recently sat down with my friends Bill Lavin, a retired firefighter from New Jersey, and Yannick Kabuguza, a Rwandan Genocide survivor, to talk about how they got to know each other and how they Choose Love in their lives. Bill, founder of the Where Angels Play Foundation, shares with us why he started building playgrounds in honor of young lives lost, how he met Yannick, and why he decided to write a book about his new friend's life. Yannick, our Choose Love Ambassador for Rwanda and New Jersey, shares his story of survival and how that experience changed his life. Thank you Jesse for bringing all three of us together to help make the world a better place! And thank YOU for tuning in...join us on July 28th for a live discussion about the “Starfish From Africa” with Bill and Yannick. Register today: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEtduChrTwjG9IFAztYe_aRFumdGy2AjKKH Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/The-Starfish-from-Africa/dp/1792354789/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3D2XTXMQLHP2Z&dchild=1&keywords=starfish+from+africa&qid=1614798297&sprefix=starfish+from+a%2Caps%2C164&sr=8-1 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Caroline Maguire, M. Ed., i- the author of the award winning book, Why Will No One Play With Me?, A playbook of foolproof scripts on how to communicate with anyone, in any situation, and how to ensure the message registers with the recipient. She is the founder of a comprehensive Social Emotional Learning (SEL) training methodology for adults, parents, clinicians and academic professionals on how to cultivate emotional regulation, emotional intelligence, social awareness and responsible decision-making skills. https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolineM https://www.instagram.com/coachcarolinemaguire/ https://twitter.com/CoachCarolineCM --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

It made me so happy to invite Jud Cummings, Choose Love Youth Ambassador and the son of a dear family friend, to the ChooSELove Podcast. We talked about pausing during the pandemic, focusing on the positives, and more. Always refreshing to get the youth perspective! https://www.facebook.com/ChooseLoveYouth https://www.instagram.com/chooseloveyouth/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Some of the best conversations about life happen with my mom, Maureen Lewis, over a cup of coffee or while sitting around the fireplace. Here we share one such conversation where we talk about dealing with anxiety, how to make the most of what you have in the world we are living in, holding onto hope, and so much more. Grab a cup of coffee, tea, or your favorite beverage, and join us. Leave us a message and share your thoughts with us! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Molly Hudgens, school counselor and violence prevention specialist, shares the story of how she personally prevented a school shooting from happening at her school. She tells us how that experience has changed the way she lives her life. Molly now chooses to love and make connections wherever she goes because she says you never know just how powerful the impact a kind word can make on a stranger. Always Choose Love - being kind and caring can save lives! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Corinne Coppola (M.A., CTSY) is known for her uplifting energy and ability to create a healing space to empower people of all ages. It was a pleasure sitting down with her to talk about how to build resilience and overcome the challenges we face on a daily basis in the world we now find ourselves living in. One of the new ways we've connected is by partnering on a new 6-week project, along with Our Minds Matter and JCK Foundation, to provide Mindful Moments where we can all practice techniques for creating calm and connection together. Join us on this journey by following us on social media and tuning in at 4pm EST every Wednesday for the next 5 weeks. Enjoy a Mindful Moment with us on Facebook @JLChooseLove or on Instagram @chooselovemovement! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

I got to sit down with my good friend Stephanie Bierman, whom I've known since middle school, to talk about the important work she's done with the Choose Love Movement since the very beginning. As a school counselor with 15 years of experience and knowledge of Social Emotional Learning, Stephy stepped up to help create the Choose Love Enrichment Program. Now she's come out with her own children's book to help young people recognize and understand their emotions. Stephy's purpose behind writing Feelings Are A Trip was to get families talking and normalize having open, meaningful dialog about emotions. You can order a copy here and get the conversation started in your family: https://www.amazon.com/Feelings-Are-Trip-Stephanie-Bierman-ebook/dp/B08Q61HKT2 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Iran Nazario is the owner and founder of the Peace Center of Connecticut. Iran was a foster child in the custody of DCF in his childhood who then immersed himself in to the violent street culture of gang membership and prison though his twenties. In 1990 he began to repurpose himself to helping youth avoid his childhood path. He has worked in the program management, gang prevention, youth outreach, youth engagement and support field for 29 years. He is an expert in Gang Prevention and Mediation and provides training to many groups serving youth who are deemed in risk. FB: /PeaceCenterofConnecticutinc IG: @PeaceCenterofConnecticut Twitter: @PeaceCenterofCT https://www.facebook.com/peacecenterofconnecticutinc/ https://twitter.com/PeaceCenterofCT https://www.instagram.com/peacecenterofconnecticut --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Marissa Naz, an educator at MAS Charter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, courageously joins us to share her story about being bullied as a child. She gives us important insight as to why she believes the Choose Love curriculum is a better solution to helping children than anti-bullying campaigns. Marissa and her mother, Sharon, who wrote the book “Caterpillar Kindness” in Marissa's honor, will also be joining us for a special event on Thursday, February 18th at 7pm EST to further our conversation. Register today to save your spot: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0kcemsrzMvHd2OKk3_VXdyyzA2A9jI839c?fbclid=IwAR0nyFbvjemyPkbvRxp2StWvs_nE8YsClHe6Kb3fNpn2vz5rPyDfBIb1xM0 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

It's always a pleasure sitting down with Choose Love Youth Ambassador Mia Daley. Mia is a talented young lady from Rhode Island that sings, acts, and even runs her own business - all at only 13 years old! She has done so much for the Movement since joining us a year ago and is now hosting a virtual 5k in honor of Choose Love Awareness Month. Support Mia and the Movement by signing up to run or walk to help bring essential Social Emotional Learning skills to all. Register today to join us: https://racewire.com/register.php?id=11992 ChooSELove Movement: www.chooselovemovement.org Podcasts: https://chooselovemovement.org/category/podcasts/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

"Research shows that just one trusted adult can have a profound effect on a child's life, influencing that young person toward positive growth, greater engagement in school and community activities, and better overall health." Brooklyn Raney, author of "One Trusted Adult", sat down with me to talk about how we can become those adults that the youth can rely on and create a culture based on trust and loving kindness. Brooklyn Raney is an experienced teacher, coach, and administrator who has spent the last decade in independent schools. She is the founder and director of the Girls' Leadership Camp, and founder of Generation Change, a nonprofit that seeks to embolden youth to be empathic and compassionate change makers through cross-generational mentorship. Brooklyn is a workshop facilitator, speaker, and consultant for schools, camps and other youth-serving organizations nationally and internationally. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

This episode features Katie Mitchell Walker, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Registered Play Therapist from Arkansas. Katie runs a business called Grow and Guide Kids that's mission is to provide parents and teachers with practical solutions they can use in their homes and classrooms. Katie is passionate about Social and Emotional Learning, much like myself, and helping kids better understand the root cause of their emotions to help them feel more in control of them. We uncover what trauma is, the parts of the brain that get affected, the different types, and how YOU can help those who are suffering. We are so grateful to partner with Katie in the Choose Love Movement to create the Grow & Guide Choose Love Extension Program, which you can access at no cost here: https://chooselovemovement.org/grow-guide-extension-program/ For more information or to have Katie speak to your school or community, please feel free to email her at growandguidekids@gmail.com. Thank you for tuning in and being part of the solution. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

This episode features Tony Ferraiolo who inspires people to live the life they always imagined. He is a motivating and thought provoking trainer, speaker, and advocate for transgender youth across the country and world. His story is featured in a documentary called A Self-Made Man about his own personal story of finding his true self. To know Tony is to love Tony. He truly lives his life in what we call compassion in action - identifying with other's pain and then helping to ease that pain. I have many friends with kids that are struggling with their identities and I know you have been there for them. Thank you. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Scarlett Lewis talks with Allison Morgan, founder of Zensational Kids - a partner of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement, about how to have difficult conversations with grace and kindness. They discuss how to move past our natural reaction to conflict and things you can do to have a mindful, meaningful conversation. Learn more about the Zensational Kids Choose Love Extension Program by visiting: https://chooselovemovement.org/zensational-kids-2/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

In this episode, Scarlett talks with Terry Lee Cafferty, our Rhode Island Choose Love Ambassador and a talented photographer and artist. They discuss how she chooses love through art, the inspiration behind her new greeting card line, and more! **GIVEAWAY ALERT** We are also excited to announce that we have teamed up to give away a Curated set of 10 All Occasion Greeting Cards and a Boxed Set of 8 Thank You Cards from Terry Lee's brand new collection of greeting cards “Sending love … a Lovesome Images Collection". Terry Lee has generously offered to donate a portion of the profits from the sale of these cards to support the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement. Check out her incredible work at www.terryleecafferty.com. How to enter: a) Fill out the entry form: https://shop.terryleecafferty.com/choose-love-giveawayz69rgvb1iim b) Follow @lovesomeimages and @chooselovemovement on Instagram AND @tlcloves and @jlchooselove on Facebook c) Like the post and share or tag a friend That is it! We'll be announcing the winner on social media on October 9. Good Luck and Keep Choosing Love! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Scarlett and her mother, Maureen Lewis, discuss how to live life to the fullest with the fewest regrets by using the Choose Love Formula to make the best choices for yourself. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

In this episode, Scarlett talks with Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt, NY Times bestselling author of The Gift of Forgiveness: Inspiring Stories from Those Who Have Overcome the Unforgivable, as they both share their personal forgiveness journeys and what they learned about the importance of the topic. With this conversation, Scarlett and Katherine hope to inspire individuals to explore what forgiveness means to them. To learn how you can make forgiveness YOUR superpower, visit: www.ChooseLoveMovement.org. As well as being a friend to the Choose Love Movement, Katherine is a New York Times best-selling author, animal advocate, daughter of Maria Shriver and Arnold Schwarzenegger, sister, wife to Chris Pratt, step-mom, and expectant mother. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

This episode was recorded on Juneteenth (short for June 19th) which is also known as Freedom Day and has been celebrated for the last 155 years marking the end of slavery in the US. Scarlett talked with her friend and former colleague, Donald Smart about his work with the Stratford Police in building meaningful relationships with the community and training police officers as well as the public on de-escalation techniques. Don is a managing director in his law firm, The Smart Law Firm. He has worked in banking and investment banking, on and off Wall Street. He has TRIPLE major degrees from Harvard including Harvard College, Business and Law school. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

In this episode, Scarlett celebrates long-time friend and Choose Love's Employee of the Quarter, Betsy Carlson! Listen as they take a trip down memory lane and take a glimpse into the hard work and love that goes into making a movement. Join us as we honor Betsy and thank her for everything she does! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

Scarlett talked with Lady Gaga's mom, Cynthia Germanotta - co-founder of the Born This Way Foundation and World Health Organization's Goodwill Ambassador for Mental Health - about tips for coping during crisis situations and the work they are doing to create a kinder, braver world. We have been in partnership with Lady Gaga and Cynthia on several projects, including being a chapter in Gaga's new book Channel Kindness. While this episode was recorded a few weeks ago for covid-19, the tips and tools provided in this episode are even more prevalent now. Please visit these websites for more information, resources, or to share your stories: https://bornthisway.foundation/ https://www.channelkindness.org/ https://www.chooselovemovement.org/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

In this episode, Scarlett talks with Jonathon Gay, executive director of the New England division of Playworks. "Play is a basic human need. Kids who play are resilient, empathetic, and active. Through play, kids learn to make friends, solve problems, and believe in themselves. Even in hard times." Playworks, a nonprofit organization that helps kids be active and build valuable life skills through play, is a new partner of the Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message

“Come, come, whoever you are...Ours is not a caravan of despair." ― Rumi In this episode, Scarlett talks with Allegra Jordan - author, Architect of Change, consultant and leadership coach, AND volunteer for the Jesse Lewis Choose Love For The Workplace program. They talk about how they grew from their own personal tragedies and how they moved on to feel joy again and commit their lives to helping others. Listen to learn how the Choose Love For The Workplace program can help YOUR team and/or business flourish. Please visit our website for more information. To contact Allegra about receiving coaching for the workplace, please email her at: allegra@jesselewischooselove.org --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/jesse-lewis-choose-love-m/message