Soul Focused Group Podcast

Hank Azaria and Cyndi Carnaghi-Collins continue their discussion on healing the wounded inner child in this new podcast. Our Chief Operations Officer, Dustin Washington, opens this episode by asking our guests to share their experiences with their inner child while working in social justice. Social justice work is important to our future, but it also create spaces where we are trying to create change without healing. Cyndi found herself exhausted in the social justice movement after she realized how much work she had put in and it still didn't feel like a lot of change. This exhaustion and frustration can lead to us acting as wounded children in our everyday work. Cyndi shares how she felt the most love and success when she was able to enter spaces with a healed inner child. In the second segment of this episode Cyndi and Hank explore the internal pain many of us have from our childhoods. If we do not learn to identify and accept our internal pain we cannot help heal this world. Hank and Cyndi have both found that identifying their childhood triggers has helped them heal their wounded inner child. Their end goal was to understand their feelings to find better reactions that worked for them and the important people in their lives. Show Notes:1:35 Healing Our Wounded Inner Child In Social Work8:21 Inner Child Versus Inner Teen14:49 Addressing Your Internal Pain19:37 Identifying Triggers and Accepting Your Feelings24:08 Outro With Martin FriedmanThe Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/power-for-liberation/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Our Chief Operations Officer, Dustin Washington, leads our new podcast on healing our wounded inner child. He is joined by Hank Azaria and Cyndi Carnaghi-Collins to discuss their journey in healing their inner child, and how they created a new mind that works for them. The wounded inner child is an unhealed part of us that was formed by our survival strategies that help us ignore our trauma. Hank and Cyndi begin this episode with their definitions of the inner child, and what healing tools have helped them in their journey. Hank believes that no trauma outweighs the other, and that we are all walking around with a wounded inner child as a result from our socialization. Cyndi describes the inner child as a piece of her that she never got to fully express. She goes on to explain how our childhood experiences can cause us to form habits as adults. Cyndi had to look deeply inside of herself to find the cause of her anxiety, and she found that her instability during her childhood was the root. Dustin asks Hank to share his thoughts on the dysfunctions and costs the wounded inner child has on us as adults. Hank has found that a lot of the roles and survival strategies we form do not fully serve us. Hank found himself self medicating and forming a persona at a young age to cope with the dysfunction he was experiencing at home. These survival strategies served him well as an actor, but they did not serve him well when building important relationships in adulthood. This episode closes out with Hank and Cyndi discussing how they identify and react to their childhood triggers. We all are walking around as adults with childhood trauma that can be triggered at any moment. Cindy and Hank remind us that we are not our reactions. Healing our wounded inner child is a process that will take time to achieve and understand.Show Notes: 1:36 Hank and Cyndi Introduction2:34 What Is The Inner Child?15:18 How Our Childhoods Shape Us As Adults23:28 The Cost Of A Wounded Inner Child32:12 The Inner Child Creating Workaholics  35:11 Identifying Childhood Triggers43:20 Reacting To Childhood Triggers As Adults The Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/power-for-liberation/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Anuar Velazquez and Jerry Elster sat down with our host, Martin Friedman, to share their thoughts on restorative justice in the American prison system. Anuar is a former police officer and Jerry was formerly incarcerated. Jerry begins by sharing that restorative justice started within himself and progressed into building, maintaining, establishing, and mending relationships. Jerry realized that he brought harm to his community when he committed his crime, and that was a relationship he needed to mend to heal. Anuar also thinks relationships are crucial to restore justice in America's criminal justice system. When Anuar was a police officer he felt like he was participating in restorative justice the most when he was building relationships in the communities he grew up in. The three men go on to discuss how restorative justice is reconnecting with humanity. We are socialized to believe that our titles are more important than our vulnerability and honesty. Jerry shares how he judged everyone in the justice system by their title and this caused him to realize he didn't have the ability to see the humanity in others. To build and maintain relationships within our communities we must learn to look beyond labels, titles, and identities.Show Notes 2:14 Jerry Elster shares his experience in the criminal justice system5:19 Jerry shares how looking within himself changed his view on restorative justice8:37 Anuar talks about his relationship with restorative justice as a former police officer11:19 Martin shares his thoughts on restorative justice as a racial equity worker15:08 Jerry reacts to Anuar and Martin's definitions of restorative justice17:50 Anuar talks about how restorative justice also restores humanity 19:12 Martin asks Anuar and Jerry to share how to be accountable when restoring justice29:44 Martin talks about how society has to take accountability in restorative justice33:35 Jerry talks about taking accountability in patriarchy37:30 Anuar explores how accountability can be weaponized in restorative justice41:19 Martin and Anuar explore how we shape our own reality 42:39 Jerry talks about how we avoid responsibility in restorative justice work46:29 Anuar explains how we can all find a place of connectionThe Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Our CEO, Berwick Mahdi Davenport,  joins our Soul Focused Radio hosts to continue talking about innerwareness. Innerwareness is a Soul Focused Group term that we define as the way our first mind communicates with and directs our second mind. In this podcast M begins by exploring why he and a lot of other racial equity workers felt defeated. M spent years being a racial equity trainer and after all his hard work he felt like there was something missing from organizations and movements. He believes that the side effect to being social conscious is only being able to see the world's problems, and losing sight of our own self work. A big portion of this podcast consists of our hosts and M explaining how self work is not selfish. We are often socialized to believe that focusing on ourselves is a selfish act. We learn from our peers that taking the time to focus on ourselves makes us self centered, selfish, greedy, and egotistical. We want all of our listeners to know that putting yourself first is not selfish. Christin shares how she followed her innerwareness, and found herself lonely after doing all the work. Becoming spiritual conscious can feel lonely when you are the only one doing the work. However, we can demonstrate how integrating our social and spiritual consciousness can improve our way of life.Show Notes:2:08 Mahdi questions why social and spiritual consciousness are becoming so important6:06 M explains how becoming spiritual conscious can benefit all aspects of your life8:55  M and Christin explain how self work is not selfish14:26 M explores the idea of how we are socialized to be used18:54 Martin asks Christin and M to elaborate on being stuck in suffering25:38 M explains how negative thinking can impact our mind28:15 Our hosts and M discuss how the world tricks us into doubting ourselves34:16 Christin asks M to explain how we rid ourselves of conflict 38:34 Martin talks about how we can shift our focus to ourselves42:37 The podcast closes out with a discussion about the power of our imaginationsThe Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Berwick Mahdi Davenport sat down with our hosts Martin Friedman and Christin Farmer to discuss how he got in touch with his innerwareness during his spiritual journey. M explains how innerwareness is our ability to listen to our intuition and our intelligence. We come into this world and ask for guidance in things we should learn about ourselves. Christin and M discuss how the world gets us to listen to other voices instead of our own intelligence. As children we are discouraged to ask questions and be curious. M believes that we learn the most abut our authentic selves through fun and play. We learn the best parts of ourselves when we are having fun. Many people were deprived of play as children because they had to focus on survival. As adults we can take the time to have fun and learn more about ourselves to understand our souls better. Our souls are asking us to let go of our egos and have confidence in ourselves. M closes out this podcast by explaining how we can learn to let go. We can reconnect with our egos and let go of all of the doubt we have about being ourselves. We can use our egos to help us confidence in ourselves to be whoever we want.Show Notes: 1:48 Our CEO, Berwick Mahdi Davenport, shares his spiritual journey7:00 M explains how we develop spiritual amnesia12:56 Christin asks M to elaborate on innerwareness 17:45 Our hosts and M share their experiences with children asking questions21:37 Christin and M explore the restrictions around fun26:52 Martin asks M how innerwarenesss is demonstrating self care32:16 M explores the meaning of home and how sharing can heal us 41:28 Martin and M explain how to give ourselves permission to heal43:48 Christin asks M to explains how we let go of our egos and subconscious thoughtsThe Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Martin Friedman and Dustin Washington sat down with Gabriel Lugo to learn more non-duality and spiritual leadership. Gabriel was a former atheist that became skeptical and curious about his consciousness. He began to investigate what the nature of reality is, and he found many teachings that brought him closer to understanding his own mind. Gabriel started with The Law of One, but he was really interested in non-duality. From spirituality, mysticism, and psychology, to quantum science and cosmic evolution. Non-duality is at the core of its mystical teachings. Gabriel takes an hour of his morning to meditate and understand his mind better. He has found that finding time to himself has brought him closer to seeing everyone and everything as one. Gabriel also explains how non-duality is very independent but also holistic. Meditation is very independent, but he takes his mindset into the world viewing the whole world. Gabriel believes that our reality and power flow from within us. Our mind is the portal to our true selves, and by implementing everyday spiritual practices we learn more about ourselves.Listen to Gabriel Lugo's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-law-of-one-non-duality-w-gabriel-lugo/id1618689018Show Notes:1:39 Gabriel Lugo shares his spiritual journey and curiosity about science6:10 Martin asks Gabriel about how he was raised spiritually9:49 Gabriel defines non duality 13:10 Dustin asks Gabriel to share some of his daily spiritual practices17:20 Gabriel explains how reality and power come from within us24:48 Martin and Gabriel explore non-duality and how close it is to non-attachment 30:40 Dustin asks Gabriel to share his view on everything having love36:01 Gabriel expands on how the mind is a portal to our true self42:59 Martin and Gabriel close out the podcast discussing how holistic non-duality isThe Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

We invited Jim McCarty back as our special guest to continue his discussion on The Law of One. In this episode Jim dives deeper into how The Law of One will show up in our lives, and he also share some tools to help us see the creator in everyone. Jim shares his amazing mediation breathing technique that has helped him find balance in his life. This technique can be used to feel closer to humanity by reflecting on an experience at the end of your day. He also uses mediation that focuses on recreation and imagination to help heal his inner child. Jim explains that our perspective on trauma is holding us back, and we have to see every experience as a learning opportunity. Jim shares a beautiful story about his anger coming out when he was frustrated, and this would cause him to break something. He recalls the last time he broke something out of anger because that night he cried to himself as he accepted himself.  Jim believes that reoccurring patterns in our lives are opportunities for us to learn and grow. We hope that by sharing this podcast we can encourage everyone to treat the world and ourselves with love. We are ready to be one with ourselves and we are all one. Thank you for listening, and visit llresearch.org to learn more about The Law of One. Show Notes:2:28 Martin asks Jim McCarty to share how the The Law of One has impacted his life4:46 Jim shares how he uses balances exercises to be closer to humanity7:39 Dustin asks Jim how he has found ways to keep his heart open13:35 Jim shares how he has integrated love into his intimate relationships18:36 Martin and Jim explore how we can heal our inner child through meditation24:41 Jim explains how preincarnation fits into The Law of One27:11 Jim shares a beautiful story about learning to accept his anger33:18 Martin and Jim explore how difficult it can be to accept every part of yourself37:27 Jim shares his thoughts on what true human nature is40:25 Dustin and Jim explore the idea of wanderers 44:09 Jim explains how we can collectively healThe Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Martin Friedman and Dustin Washington will be collaborating on our new podcast series A New Mind. The first episode of the series features Jim McCarty. Jim started as a teacher in the inner city of Jacksonville, FL after his involvement in the hippie revolution. After Jim found his spiritual consciousness through dreams and journaling he moved to Kentucky where he spent 6 years living a self-sufficient lifestyle. While there he he founded the Rock Creek Research and Development Laboratories in 1977. Two year later he met Don Elkins and Carla Rueckert to begin their work with The Ra Material. Jim discusses The Law of One, and how important it is to understand The Law of One to create human solidarity. Jim defines The Law of One as seeing everyone as one regardless of their religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and physical abilities. When we see everyone as one we see their humanity and we see them for who they are. This allows us to adjust our spiritual journey to be in service to others and to find how we can become one with ourselves. Jim explains how we all have the ability to travel a positive path even with negative entities in our world. He has found that through meditation he can make spiritual connections with himself and the creator. Thoughts and concepts can come to us during meditation that are beyond words. Meditation can bring us thoughts and feelings from our creator that can bring us closer to ourselves. Jim's biggest piece of advice that he has learned from studying Ra is to show more love. He has found that going out into the world showing everyone love has helped him love himself. We are excited to share Jim's beautiful wisdom with the world and we can't wait to have him back on Soul Focused Radio.Show Notes:2:20 Jim McCarty introduces himself and his spiritual upbringing6:59 Jim explains The Law of One 11:52 Martin has Jim explore the purpose of the veil of forgetting16:43 Dustin and Jim explore positive and negative polarity in our lives20:52 Martin questions Jim on how difficult it can be to stay on the positive path24:56 Jim shares his experience witnessing the downloading of Ra material29:34 Jim explains why mediation is essential for The Law of One36:14 Jim discusses how negative polarity is causing political conflict and street violence43:08 Martin and Jim talk about the power of love and lightWant to learn more about Jim's research?https://www.llresearch.org/The Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Martin Friedman, Martina Tam, and Christin Farmer are back to continue their beautiful discussion on cultural appreciation. In their last podcast together they defined cultural appreciation as having a  understanding, transactional, and empathetic relationship with a different culture . Martin begins this podcast by sharing his thoughts on cultural appropriation. He believes that appropriation involves someone in a position of power stealing something spiritual without consent. Martina goes on to point out that taking something spiritual for monetary gain is also considered cultural appropriation. Our hosts have had to honor and collaborate with other cultures in the past. Christin shares a beautiful story on how she honored indigenous and tribal baby wrapping by inviting traditional women to teach a class. She understood that she was not an expert and found a respectful way to offer baby wrapping to her mothers. We want everyone to feel comfortable exploring other cultures without the fear of being accused, criticized, and cancelled. Our hosts agree that doing the work to understand ourselves is the most important step. When we understand our own culture and purpose we accept different cultures in a more loving way. We hope that this podcast can help others understand how to approach  cultures in a respectful way so we can begin building human solidarity together.Show Notes: 4:11 Christin and Martin discuss how we move from appropriation to appreciation8:13 Martina shares her thoughts on what cultural appropriation looks like11:55 Our hosts explore the idea of asking for cultural permission and approaching appropriation in a healthy way16:41 Christin shares a story about the time she asked for help from indigenous and tribal people to help teach her clients how to wrap their babies19:47 Our hosts share their thoughts on the different feelings with white people appropriating versus another race/ethnicity appropriating25:09 Christin shares with Martina how she has had to build a better relationship with her own culture to feel secure in exploring different cultures29:35 Martin shares his own thoughts on how he has to hold himself accountable as a white man to be respectful when learning about new cultures and how weaponized accountability is a part of cancel culture.32:19 Christin talks about how learning collective cultural appreciation can help build human solidarityThe Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

In this podcast Martin Friedman sits down to discuss becoming powerful with Berwick Mahdi Davenport and Dustin Washington. Together the three men explore how individual power can create collective power. They have all found that when we are in our internal power we create healthy collective power. We have to see and acknowledge that we came into this world to participate with our power. Mahdi and Dustin also explore how we are programmed to believe and celebrate collective power over our own. Mahdi explains that many of us don't see our power because we don't discuss power until we are adults. Many of us grew up in households that did not discuss power and self empowerment. Dustin shares that as a child he felt shame and guilt when he would celebrate how powerful he felt. We have to move beyond this idea that we cannot be a powerful individual.  In the second portion of this podcast our guests introduce The Soul Focused Power Summit. This summit was developed to help leaders recognize what is in their subconscious programming and  reprogram their mind to believe in their power. We hope to see amazing leaders at the power summit to begin building human solidarity with us. Visit our website for more information!Show Notes 2:16 Martin asks Dustin and M what they think becoming powerful means4:38 M explains how different authority and power are6:07 Dustin discusses how important it is to teach young people to be powerful7:48 Mahdi shares his childhood experience with power9:43 Dustin shares how he became powerful through his life coaching process14:22 Mahdi discusses how he coaches people to change their own reality17:57 The three men explore how powerful our imaginations can be24:04 Martin and Mahdi explore how fear can create power27:29 Mahdi and Dustin introduce the upcoming Soul Focused Power Summit32:13 Mahdi talks about how we have to be ready to accept power36:41 Martin asks Dustin about hearing concerns and discomfort with power in workshops39:01 Mahdi shares his thoughts on showing up out of power41:39 Dustin explores the idea of being able to create whatever we want46:24 Martin explains how we are programmed to believe and accept negative comments about ourselvesThe Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Martin Friedman is flying solo this week on our new podcast. In a recent episode Martin shared a story about learning to forgive his mother, and he is back to discuss the spiritual benefits we get from forgiveness. Martin explains how forgiveness meditation helped him learn how to see other people and how to treat himself better. The forgiveness meditation he listened to broke down forgiveness into three parts. You learn to forgive yourself for the things you have done to other people, you forgive yourself for the things you have done to yourself, and you forgive other people for what they have done to you. Martin believes that these forgiveness steps worked best for him and allowed him to be honest with the people he needed to forgive. He has found that by forgiving his mother it has opened up their relationship to be more understanding. Martin's mother has shared things with him she has never told anyone, and Martin feels like both of their souls are more free with open communication. Martin has found that by forgiving his mother he has been able to have a spiritual relationship with her. When we forgive people we are seeing them for who they are and it shows us that we can meet people where they are at. The spiritual benefits of forgiveness will move us towards our authentic selves and allow us to have spiritual relationships with others. Thank you for taking the time to listen to Martin's beautiful journey, and remember to always stay Soul Focused!Show Notes 2:40 Martin shares what he thinks spiritual benefits should feel like3:01 Martin shares his experience with forgiveness mediation5:16 Martin tells a story about his mom's thoughts on forgiveness and generational trauma7:30 Martin shares how he has found physical and spiritual benefits to forgiveness9:21 Martin explains how generational trauma can cause spiritual blockers17:47 Martin shares his spiritual journey with learning to forgive his ancestors and learning new ways to honor them19:45 Martin shares how we limit ourselves by not learning to forgive and how this can cause conflict within usThe Soul Focused Group is a leadership development & consulting company for organizations that want to build stronger connections and create lasting solutions.More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Martin Friedman interviews Chantel Prat in this new podcast. Chantel is a professor in the department of psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience at The University of Washington. Martin and Chantel explore the power of the mind from a scientific perspective. Together they dive deep into what they think makes the mind so powerful. Chantel believes that the perceptions we develop in our minds are what make it the most powerful. We develop our own perceptions of the world based on our observations and experiences. Chantel explains that our brains process data based on our lifetime experiences. Every single mental experience shapes our brain. It is important to understand how our minds are developed because we will be fighting against a lifetime of experiences to reprogram them. Martin and Chantel also explore how difficult it can be to create human solidarity when our minds are constantly in conflict. Chantel explains how we can try to convince others to see our way of thinking instead of trying to understand another perspective. We are starting in the wrong place when we begin with trying to change someone's mind. Martin and Chantel believe that leading with honest communication about our reality is the best way to approach conflict. Thank you for taking the time to listen to this amazing podcast. We are so excited to be exploring new podcast topics and we hope to have Chantel back very soon. Learn more about Chantel Prat by visiting her website!Show Notes:2:30 Chantel Prat is a professor at The University of Washington. She is a professor in the department of psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience. 4:02 Chantel Prat shares her thoughts on how powerful the mind is7:53 Chantel discusses the viral color of the dress debate and how that can show how powerful the perceptions in our mind are16:45 Chantel and Martin explore if we can program our minds to have a different perception20:39 Martin asks Chantel what she thinks the difference between the mind and the brain is34:04 Martin and Chantel explore how powerful our mind is when in conflict 41:58 Chantel explains how we can be more loving and understanding to other minds45:53 Martin and Chantel have a quick discussion about love and empathy in our mindsMore from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Our amazing Soul Focused Radio hosts come together in our new podcast to discuss cultural appreciation. Our hosts define cultural appreciation as a practice to connect with other cultures from a place of interest, reflection, and relationship. It is important to see how cultural appreciation is being self aware and trying not to be someone else. In Kenya Martina saw groups of children playing in the streets, and she shares how free spirited the children seemed there. She realized her toddler was the only child she witnessed having temper tantrums while visiting. She believes that the independent culture has helped children learn to express and grow their creative genius. Martina shares how she found food as an opportunity to exchange cultural knowledge. She was able to share her own culture with her in-laws by sharing the food she grew up eating. Cultural appreciation can be in a form of an exchange, but we also want to honor the differences in each way of life. We don't want to continue looking down on cultures that are different from ours because we think our way of living is better.In the second segment of this podcast our hosts talk about how we can practice cultural appreciation in America. Before we set out to appreciate and learn from others it is important that we are grounded in our own culture. Christin shares how she stays rooted and grounded in who she is before entering new spaces. She acknowledges that she lives within various cultures as a Black American woman, and it is important to bring those unique cultures with her. The difference between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation is our approach to the new culture. At The Soul Focused Group we want to help everyone learn to appreciate and honor each individual. We can learn to appreciate other cultures in a respectful way by coming from a place of interest. Cultural appreciation is building human connection.Show Notes3:43 Martin explains the shift towards cultural appreciation from cultural appropriation  7:40 Martina shares the differences in African culture she witnessed while visiting10:58 Christin and Martina discuss how independent children are in different cultures and how a sense of community can be stronger in some cultures14:10 Martina shares her thoughts on how letting children be independent helps their creative genius and how she saw children raised in extended family households18:58 Martin and Martina explore how to navigate entering and respecting a new culture22:44 Christin and Martina explore how sharing cultural practices can be a form of appreciation30:29 Our hosts discuss what cultural appreciation looks like in America35:56 Our hosts explain how cultural appreciation is building human connections More from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

This week our new hosts come together to discuss reclaiming their inner power. Martin Friedman, Martina Tam, and Christin Farmer have a moving conversation about the importance of self empowerment when healing trauma. They all have found that exploring their inner child has helped them find their inner power as adults. There is a feeling we all get when we get to feel like a kid again. By doing things we use to do as children we return to our natural selves. Our hosts share some of their everyday practices that help them maintain their inner power and innerwareness. Some practices that our listeners could try are writing in a journal, watching animated movies, self affirmations, meditation, and dancing. Christin shares how her innerwareness helped her realize all her accomplishments weren't fulfilling her. She explains how certain life decisions can bring us fear, but we have to learn to let go of our past titles to take on new ones. Leaving an old way of life behind can be very frightening and feel like a risk. Christin and Martina also discuss how healthcare providers can feel out of power because they are stuck in a cycle. Martina explains how difficult it can be to not see any change in patients and feel like she has power as a physician. She believes that western medicine relies on prescribing medication rather than healthy life style changes. We think it is important to share how our healthcare workers are also feeling powerless, because unhealthy people are relying on doctors to help them find their power. We believe that our toxic groundwater and subconscious programming has distracted us from our inner power. We want to shift our focus towards restoring and reclaiming inner power in everyone.Show Notes8:48 Christin Farmer discusses how inner power relates to birthing and building healthy communities16.05 Christin shares practices and decisions that have helped her reclaim her inner power 29:20 Martina and Christin explore the power that physicians and healthcare providers have36:50 Christin questions how much everyone gets back to recognizing their inner power40:22 Martin talks about being out of power and how his mother has inspired him by finding her power at age 9146:25 Christin shares her thoughts on effecting change in others and how inner power isn't selfishMore from The Soul Focused Group here:https://soulfocusedgroup.com/https://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-groupMore from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Join our host, Martin Friedman, as he shares his story about the recent spiritual and emotional healing journey he is on. For the past couple of month Martin has been helping his mom transition into a different living situation. He has found that this is a difficult journey to take with a parent. Martin and his mother have a complex relationship that has had to go through a lot of healing. In the past few years Martin and his mother have began to explore spiritual and emotional healing together. Martin shares how he began this journey with his mom by starting his own forgiveness process. When he returned home to forgive his mother it caused her to think about her own forgiveness process, and how she also needs to heal from childhood traumas. Martin has found that being honest with his mother about his childhood experiences has strengthened their communication. Together they are navigating a healing journey together, but also doing the work to better themselves. Martin shares how amazed he is that his relationship with his mother has evolved to what it is. We hope that by listening to Martin's beautiful story it will help inspire everyone to take the time to spiritually and emotional heal. We deserve to heal and our parents deserve to heal.Show Notes2:00 Martin explains his complex relationship with his mother3:00 Martin shares how he forgave his mother6:25 Martin and his mother share a beautiful healing moment8:12 Martin learns to live and care for his mom while healing11:25 Martin and his mother learn to live in the now together13:25 Martin's new relationship he has with his mother14:00 Martin's shares his evolving intersecting healing journeysMore from The Soul Focused Group here:https://www.soulfocusedgroup.comhttps://www.facebook.com/TheSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.instagram.com/theSoulFocusedGroup/https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-soul-focused-group Learn about subconscious programming by signing up for our FREE eBook today!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/living-as-part-of-the-solution/ Check out our FREE monthly virtual event!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/strength-for-the-struggle/ Looking for Soul Focused gear? Shop at our apparel store now!https://soulfocusedgroup.com/shop/

Our Vice President of The Soul Focused Group, Dustin Washington, hosts this week's new podcast. Dustin is joined by Anuar Velazquez to discuss possible healing solutions in law enforcement, and how to implement trauma healing in institutions. Anuar shares his own experiences with witnessing trauma as a former police officer. He explains that many police officers come into the workforce with unhealed childhood trauma. Police officers take on more trauma while working, but have no way to heal from the traumatic events they witnessed. At The Soul Focused Group we believe that our subconscious programming is holding us back from healing. Anuar believes the toxic masculinity that is ingrained into the institution is an example of subconscious programming blocking growth. Our groundwater is contaminated with thoughts and opinions that are not ours. We must learn and find healing solutions that make us all better people.Anuar and Dustin also explore how unhealed trauma is a setup. Our first responders are being setup by being expected to not acknowledge their trauma. Anuar shares how many officers are forced to respond to various types of calls with no time to process or decompress in between. This can cause police officers to show up to incidents numb, angry, frustrated, or exhausted. Anuar shares how hard it became to feel empathy with his family because he was suppressing his trauma and not talking about the things he witnessed while patrolling. We need to stop showing up to work with unresolved stress from home, and we should stop taking our negative emotions from work home with us. Anuar and Dustin close out this amazing conversation by discussing possible healing solutions for law enforcement. Anuar believes that we train law enforcement for combat, and don't prepare them to resolve situations. Police officers need to be able to see themselves in the people they serve. Our relationship with power and ego has to change for us to start building self-solidarity with ourselves.

*Trigger Warning Discussing Police Brutality*Anuar Velazquez, Christin Farmer, and Martin Friedman come together in this new podcast to discuss the cycles of trauma that are self perpetuating between police and communities of color. Anuar has been a special guest on Soul Focused Radio in the past, and he is back to discuss police brutality from an ex-cop's perspective. With the recent events in Memphis we hope everyone realizes we are not immune to racism. Anuar and Christin share their first thoughts after learning about the Tyre Nichols incident. Christin explains how she felt like she needed to protect herself. She chose to not watch the video, read any articles, or talk about it with her peers. America has had several police brutality incidents that have now left people angry, disappointed, afraid, and exhausted. Sometimes to protect our mental health we have to ignore the narrative surrounding current events. We have to allow space for people to grieve and process traumatic events in ways that are healthy for them. Anuar shares how he thinks a lot about how far we have come in creating human solidarity, but the murder of Tyre Nichols showed him how much self-solidarity work still needs to be done. The amount of violence used by the police officers shows their lack of humanity.Christin and Anuar also explore the different narratives coming out about race in the police force. This case feels different for a lot of people because the officers were Black. Anuar shares with our listeners what it can be like for people of color to be patrolling communities of color. Police officers are often seen as the enemy in many poor communities and communities of color. Anuar also believes a lot of police officers disassociate themselves from their humanity to do their jobs. He explains how he had to treat civilians as case numbers so he wouldn't get attached to victims, witnesses, or suspects. Witnessing and encountering traumatic events are going to require healing. Police officers cannot continue to hold on to their traumas and have it come out while they are doing their job. All of our hosts agree that we need more policies, trainings, and healing opportunities for police officers to focus on their self-solidity work. We have to admit that we have been raised in a society that sees skin color before humanity. We need to bring human solidarity work into institutions and organizations after we do our own self-solidarity work. Tyre Nichols was loved by his community and was known to be gentle, kind, and joyful. He loved skating and was originally from the Bay Area in California. He was known as someone “you know when he comes through the door he wants to give you a hug” and that “he wouldn't hurt a fly.” He had never been in trouble with the law, not even a parking ticket. He was an honest man, a wonderful son, and kind to everyone. He was quirky and true to himself, and his loss will be felt nationally. -RowVaughn Wells (Tyre's Mother)If you wish to support Tyre Nichols and his family visit their GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/tyre-nichols

Martin Friedman flys solo in our new podcast to interview Christin Farmer. Christin and Martin met about five years ago, and now have come together to talk about Christin's healing journey. For many years Christin focused on racial equity in healthcare, and found herself exhausted after many years. She found that she was going to racial equity meetings anxious and leaving angry. Many racial equity workers can feel this way when they don't see any results from their hard work. Today, Christin started her own birth consulting business. She also founded Birthing Beautiful Communities, a nonprofit perinatal support agency.Christin shares how The Soul Focused Group helped her find a different reaction to racism. Just before the pandemic Christin attended The Gatekeepers Academy workshop and discovered new healing tools. She was able to see that she wanted to create new systems and institutions that valued equity. She felt tired and angry with the systems she was working in because they were never changing. Companies should be able to change and adapt to a diverse workforce. We can't continue to put different people in the same positions and expect change. We cannot stress how important it is to see that we are the change that has to happen. Change will start within us and appear in the work we do. We are so excited to invite new guests on our podcast this year. Christin is a very self aware woman and we are so happy to share her beautiful words with our listeners. Learn more about Infant Mortality Consulting by visiting Christin's website!https://www.christinfarmer.com/

This new podcast our Soul Focused Radio hosts discuss the new changes happening this year with The Soul Focused Group. One of our cohosts, Cindy Edwards, announces that she will be stepping away from The Soul Focused Group this year. She has taken a lot of time to think about this decision, and shares her feelings about her exit in this new podcast. We are very thankful for the time and effort Cindy has put in while with The Soul Focused Group. During this time Cindy would like to focus more on being a mother and being present for her children. This is a very motivating and inspiring decision by Cindy to put her family first. We respect and understand the sacrifices that have to be made for motherhood. If we want to raise Soul Focused children then we have to put in the time and effort. Moving forward we will introduce our new cohost and explore brand new topics. 2023 is the year we all become more Soul Focused!

Martin Friedman and Berwick Mahdi “M” Davenport kick off the new year with a brand new podcast highlighting The Soul Focused Group's new perspectives. This year we introduced our new podcast format and new hosts. We made this change to bring new voices and perspectives that we thought we were missing. Martin and Mahdi agree that bringing two female hosts on this year challenged them to see things differently. Cindy and Martina brought new perspectives, opinions, and suggestions that both men didn't see before. By adding Cindy and Martina we got to explore various topics on motherhood and women in healthcare. We are very happy our Soul Focused Radio hosts were able to share their leadership, wisdom, and experiences with us this last year.The second portion of this podcast is about the new vision for The Soul Focused Group. M is very excited to start exploring how we take leadership to the next level. We see our current leaders struggling to be happy and find inspiration. We want to help leaders find their clarity in 2023. Mahdi shares how many of us are stuck in jobs that don't inspire us or spark passion. He explains that we don't need to change institutions, but we need to focus on changing the people within those institutions. Our world needs leaders not managers. We will see our way of life will change when our way of leading changes. We are happy with all the changes we  made last year, and we are very excited to bring our new approach into the new year. Please visit our brand new website, and as always stay Soul Focused!

Join our Soul Focused Radio hosts as they come together to share their thoughts and feelings about hosting this year. This year we launched a new podcast format and added two new amazing hosts. Cindy Edwards and Martina Tam joined Soul Focused Radio this year to bring new perspectives for our listeners. In this episode our hosts talk about struggling with their confidence and being anxious to share their voice. We hope that by listening to our hosts it can help others find ways to get over their fears. Sometimes doing things that make us uncomfortable can help us grow.The second portion of this podcast covers the impacts Soul Focused Radio has had on our hosts, and which episodes resonated with them the most. Our hosts share how they have healed from their traumas, learned self forgiveness, and grown as parents. They have shared their stories with our listeners every week to encourage the creation of human solidarity. Our hosts covered a wide range of topics this year, and we have been so happy to share their beautiful stories with everyone. We appreciate everyone for listening, and next week our hosts will explore their plans for 2023.

*Trigger Warning In 1st & 3rd Segment*In this new episode Martin Friedman has a very moving and informative conversation about healing from trauma with Jackie Roby. Jackie is a wellness and healing travel expert. She is the founder of Inspired Journey Consulting and is the host of The Though Inspired Eyes podcast show. Inspired Journey Consulting provides sales and marketing consulting, curated training, and coaching to wellness and healing travel businesses. Martin was featured on Jackie's podcast earlier this year, and we are very excited to have her as our special guest on our podcast this week. Together Martin and Jackie discuss what healing strategies have worked best for them. Jackie started her healing journey by finding the difference between mental health and mental wellness. She started therapy to begin to navigate her mental health, but still felt like something was missing. Our mental wellness is an active process of thinking and functioning that helps us build resilience. We need to recognize how valuable it is to have a healthy mind. Jackie and Martin also share their battle with confronting their shame. In their healing journeys they found it difficult to deal with their shame from past traumas they weren't responsible for. We deserve to not carry the shame and guilt from our traumas anymore. It is important to also remember that healing is an ongoing process. We are always learning new ways to heal and move on. Thank you for taking the time to listen to our new podcast, and we appreciate having Jackie Roby as our special guest. https://inspiredjourneyconsulting.com/https://inspiredjourneyconsulting.com/podcast/ 

Our Soul Focused Radio hosts are back together in this new podcast to interview Berwick Mahdi Davenport, AKA "M". Cindy Edwards, Martin Friedman, and Martina Tam dive deep into the path to emotional vulnerability with M. Our journey will always begin and end with healing from our trauma. M explains how we stay emotional intoxicated for a very long time because we don't allow our souls to grieve. We have to grieve to be able to purge out our pain. We will continue to be stuck in resentment and regret by not takin the time to heal from our trauma. You will hear how important it is to revisit our past and stop protecting our inner child from our traumas. Our path to emotional vulnerability doesn't start until we stop waiting for someone to come heal us.How we heal from our traumas is what makes us unique. The tools, strategies, and methods we develop while healing are ours to copyright. Our journey to self actualization is a process that will make us all unique. As we grow and learn we will be able to help others heal. M and Martina share a moving story about learning to heal to be a better parent. As parents we will get a glimpse at what our life could have been like if our parents were there for us. We can break generational curses by confronting our own traumas and building healthy homes. At The Soul Focused Group we want to help everyone to come out of survival and move into living. We can all become leaders of change by taking responsibility for our healing. Thank you for listening, and join us again next week to learn more about emotional vulnerability. 

Martin Friedman and Martina Tam come together to interview Dr. Stephanie Jupiter in our new podcast episode. Last week Dr. Stephanie Jupiter was our special guest and she is back to close out her discussion about emotional vulnerability. Emotional Vulnerability can be difficult to introduce into healthcare. Martina and Stephanie agree that to provide good care to their patients they have to set boundaries. As healthcare professionals they can't let their vulnerability interfere with their patients healing. Martina has found that her empathy and sympathy can get in the way of healing her patients. Healthcare workers can bring their full selves to work, but have to learn when to hold the space for vulnerable conversations.It is important to also remember that being emotionally vulnerable doesn't always have to be associated with sadness. Dr. Jupiter shares how she is emotionally vulnerable with her patients by offering physical comfort and positivity. She does not present her vulnerability by crying, so she offers patients forms of vulnerability that are true to her. It is important to see that we can bring our own perspective to healing. Our healthcare providers can be emotional vulnerable by simply being themselves. We can introduce emotional vulnerability in healthcare by learning to create and hold space. Thank you for taking the time to listen, and we are so happy to share another amazing conversation with you.

Dr. Stephanie Jupiter is back again as our special guest on Soul Focused Radio. She joins Martin Friedman and Martin Tam in our new podcast to discuss her experience with emotional vulnerability in medicine. Dr. Jupiter begins by sharing her core development and the difficulties she has had with suppressing her emotions. Her medical training was always focused on solving the problem and never finding the root to the problem. She believes medical professionals focus on the physical aspect of healthcare, and this causes no emotional connections to be made with patients. If we can find the root to our stress we can begin to build healthy habits to maintain our stress. We have to find and maintain balance in our lives to make healthy connections with others. Dr. Jupiter also shares her long healing journey she has had this year. She shares that by trapping her stress in her body caused her body to stop working. She became ill after over working herself and her body was telling her it needed a break. We can overcome these stressful parts of our life by finding our balance. Dr. Jupiter explains how she navigated her inner labyrinth to find her balance and harmony. She listened to what her body wanted and developed healthy strategies to reduce stress. Thank you for taking the time to listen, and Dr. Jupiter will return next week to be interviewed by Martin Friedman.

Cyndi Carnaghi-Collins and Neelofar K. Butt, MD return in this new podcast to close out their conversation about trauma. Martina opens up the podcast by asking our special guests about their experiences with secondary trauma. Our healthcare workers, social workers, and safety workers witness traumas daily. We have been socialized to think that the people taking care of us can handle our traumas. We have to realize that the people taking care of us are human as well. We see our healthcare providers as warriors that can handle anything, but they also have their own traumas to heal from. Cyndi and Neelofar explain how our healthcare providers are not trained to hold space for healing. Society expects our doctors and nurses to provide health services without feelings. Our healthcare workers risk burnout, depression, and anxiety with the more stress they take on. Healthcare workers are doing a disservice to their patients if they are not finding the time to heal themselves. There is always space for self love and self growth in our careers. If you find yourself constantly surrounded by trauma remember that it is important to find the time to heal from the secondary trauma you take on.

Martina Tam is joined by Cyndi Carnaghi-Collins and Dr. Neelofar K. Butt in our new Soul Focused Radio podcast. Cyndi has been featured in a previous episode on Soul Focused Radio. Neelofar K. Butt, MD is currently working at Westmed Medical Group, a Summit Health Company. In this new episode the three women come together to have an amazing discussion about healing from childhood trauma. They start by sharing what trauma means to them and how trauma can present itself in our lives today. Cyndi shares with our listeners how trauma is anything that threatens our lives. She prefers this broad definition because trauma can be spiritual and physical. Neelofar K. Butt, MD  goes into more depth on how trauma can show up physically. She explains how epigenetics has improved the study of generational trauma over time. Scientist have found that trauma can change how the body reads a DNA sequence.The second segment of this podcast is about the importance of validating and holding space for others to express their traumas. Martin and Neelo share how they are not trained to hold space to understand their patients as physicians. They were never trained to hold space to be more understanding and make genuine connections with their patients. Trauma shows up in our body and will stay there if we do not give it the attention it needs. If our doctors were able to understand why our bodies are stressed they could care for us better. We hope this podcast can help someone on their healing journey, and we encourage everyone to try to hold more spaces for healing. Thank you for taking the time to listen, and join us next week for another podcast on childhood trauma. 

Join Cindy Edwards and Martina Tam this week as they have a beautiful conversation about self love and self care. Together our hosts explore the difficulties mothers can have when caring for themselves, and how shameful self love can feel in different cultures. We are excited to share this unique take on motherhood and growing as a mother. Cindy and Martina both share how difficult it can be to find the time for self care. Between work and motherhood they both find it difficult to give themselves time to decompress. It is very important for our mothers to find the time they need to care for themselves. If we can learn to take care of ourselves we can care and support others in a much healthier way. Our children deserve healthy and loving parents that understand how important self love is.A major part of this podcast that we want to share with our listeners is the cultural beliefs around self care. Cindy and Martina share their experience with learning self care as an Asian American woman. Cindy explains how difficult it was to not feel selfish when loving yourself. She explains that she was raised to be a woman of service, and it can make self love feel selfish. Martina has a different experience with self love and self care. Martina explains that she was raised to work so hard and service others that she feels shameful when taking care of herself. With working and motherhood women can feel shame when taking time for themselves. We have been socialized to believe that self care is selfish. We are here to tell you that everyone deserves self care and self love. Thank you for taking the time to listen, and we challenge you to find more time for self love. 

Cyndi Carnaghi-Collins returns in this new episode to close out her conversation about trauma. This episode begins with Cyndi and Martin discussing how difficult it can be to navigate recovery. It is a common misconception that we have to reach an end goal to heal and recover. We see other people on their healing journey and compare where we are. We constantly rush our recovery process because we think healing should be fast. It is the process that is healing it is not the end result. The second segment of this episode focuses on our responsibility to heal and how recovering from our traumas can strengthen our relationships. It can be very unfair for us to be in charge of our healing when we did not create our trauma. That's why it is important for us to feel empowered and responsible to recover from traumas. No one is going to come heal us, and we have to realize how healthy our relationships can be when we are healed. Thank you for joining us again on Soul Focused Radio, and we wish you the best in your healing journey. 

*Trigger Warning*Cyndi Carnaghi-Collins is our special guest this week on Soul Focused Radio. Cyndi joins Cindy Edwards, Martin Friedman, and Martina Tam to have a beautiful conversation about growing beyond our traumas. Cyndi helps our hosts understand and navigate the multiple types of trauma we can encounter in our lives. Cyndi explains that measuring traumas can be difficult because everyone has different experiences. Everyone's resilience is different and we can experience our traumas at different ages. In the second segment of this podcast you will hear our hosts reflect on last week's podcast episode, and how our bodies don't forget our traumas. It can take months or years for someone to openly talk about their traumas. It is important to remember that even though our minds can forget our traumas our bodies cannot. The longer we carry and hold on to our traumas the more stress our bodies endure. Cyndi Carnaghi-Collins suggests holding more space for our loved ones to talk about past traumas. We are not defined by our traumas. Thank you for joining us, and we encourage everyone to grow beyond their traumas. 

*Trigger Warning*On Soul Focused Radio this week our hosts come together to have a vulnerable and moving discussion about healing from trauma. Cindy Edwards and Martin Friedman have a very emotional conversation about healing from their childhood traumas and how their traumas still effect them today. They start by sharing their definitions of trauma, and they share their experiences with learning to heal from their parents. Cindy shares a beautiful story about the cultural differences that we can encounter when talking about trauma. Cindy's mother fled to Vietnam from war, but Cindy remembers hearing no sadness when listening to her mother's story. With this story we can see the perception of trauma for Cindy's mother shifted to resilience. Trauma can be passed down for generations and it is important for us to heal from traumas we shouldn't be carrying.The second half of this conversation is about learning to heal as adults. As children we tend to hide or ignore our past traumas. As adults we can choose to live with our traumas or heal from them. Cindy has found that talking about her traumas helps her unpack what has been done to her, and she can learn from her past to help her children heal from their traumas. If we do not heal from our past traumas we risk projecting our traumas onto our children. This is a very emotional conversation and we want to thank our hosts for sharing this with the world. We send love to everyone on their healing journey, and we will continue this discussion on healing from trauma next week.Listen to Soul Focused Radio:https://soulfocusedgroup.com/podcast/https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSoulFocusedGrouphttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1210895

This week our hosts come together to have an amazing conversation about emotional vulnerability as a parent. Cindy Edwards and Martina Tam are both mothers working on raising Soul Focused individuals. They start out by sharing their experiences with showing frustration, vulnerability, and sadness with their children. We all have an idea of a supermom, and we expect our mothers to show no emotions when raising children. However, our mothers can feel overwhelmed with the idea of perfection. Cindy has found that when she is vulnerable and honest with her children it allows them to see her for who she is. She also suggests being more vulnerable with your children to open up safe spaces for them to vulnerable as well. We can build stronger relationships with our children by apologizing, taking accountability, and being honest with them. When our children see us being vulnerable it encourages them to do the same. We can't expect our children to know when to apologize and take responsibility if we don't show them as parents. Thank you for listening to this new episode and coming on this journey with us. We encourage everyone to try to be more emotional vulnerable with the people close to them, and we challenge parents to tell their children how they are feeling. Listen to Soul Focused Radio:https://soulfocusedgroup.com/podcast/https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSoulFocusedGrouphttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1210895

This week on Soul Focused Radio our host Martin Friedman is joined by Jay Martin Jr. to have an amazing discussion about emotional vulnerability. Jay is the host of The Drive Project Podcast show on Apple Podcasts! We are so happy to have him on this new episode to offer a new perspective for our listeners. We hope to have him back on very soon to dive deeper into vulnerability. Jay begins this episode by sharing his experience with emotional vulnerability as a a black man, and what he learned about vulnerability as a child. He explains how many men and people of color see vulnerability as a weakness. During his childhood Jay saw many family members breakdown, but they would never go get help for their mental health. As a society we have to realize therapy isn't just for rich people or white people. Our bodies and minds need maintenance to continue to grow. In the second part of this podcast you will hear Martin and Jay talk about  vulnerability in relationships. Being vulnerable strengthens all types of relationships. When we show up with no insecurities we can build honest and trusting relationships with anyone. Thank you for listening, and remember being vulnerable does not make you weak!www.soulfocusedgroup.com

Martin Friedman and Martina Tam are joined by Megan Wilbert in this week's new episode on Soul Focused Radio. Our hosts are back to continue discussing personal accountability, but will get a healthcare provider's perspective in this new episode. Megan is a third generation nurse that begins by sharing her thoughts on the lack of humanity in training to become a healthcare provider. We expect our healthcare providers to show up to work and only focus on health. There is no room for our healthcare providers to think about their lives, their patients' lives, and any stressors that could be causing trauma. How can our nurses and doctors provide great healthcare if they have no time to focus on themselves? Megan explains how she holds herself accountable for her own boundaries and needs to allow herself to show up as a better healthcare provider. Megan and Martina explain that by taking care of themselves it allows them to be more understanding healthcare workers. They have found that they can meet with patients with an open mind, they aren't irritated, and they are more open to listening to their patients when they take care of themselves first. We loved having Megan as a guest star and we will have her back very soon. Thank you for listening, and we hope that conversations like these have a space in the healthcare industry. We hope this new perspective has helped people understand more about the health of everyone. Listen to Soul Focused Radio:https://soulfocusedgroup.com/podcast/https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSoulFocusedGrouphttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1210895

This week on Soul Focused Radio Cindy Edwards interviews Kelly Edwards about personal accountability and soul focused parenting. Cindy and Kelly are raising three beautiful children together. They come together to share their parenting journey with our listeners, and offer some advice for parents. As parents they have found that creating a healthy and trusting environment has helped them have open conversations with their children. These healthy and open conversations have allowed Cindy and Kelly to grow together.Parents have to learn to hold themselves accountable for their actions. Kelly explains that learning to hold himself accountable as a parent has helped him set an example for his children. A huge part of holding ourselves accountable is also apologizing. Cindy and Kelly share their experiences with learning to apologize to their children. They have found that they need to take accountability for their reactions and how their reactions make their children feel. Both Cindy and Kelly want their children to feel comfortable enough to tell them what they want and how they feel. Soul Focused parenting is moving away from dictatorships and moving into providing understanding spaces. We are so excited to see a new generation of parents are raising independent and loving individuals. We hope that this week's episode can help parents and future parents build healthy relationships with their children. Thank you for listening and as always stay Soul Focused!Listen to Soul Focused Radio:https://soulfocusedgroup.com/podcast/https://www.youtube.com/c/TheSoulFocusedGrouphttps://www.buzzsprout.com/1210895

On Soul Focused Radio this week we are joined by Ragivah Mahdi. M joins our hosts as they have an in depth conversation about self accountability. The three of them begin by discussing the idea of soul, and how we need to hold ourselves accountable for our own well being. Our souls are eternal, and that idea can be hard to process for some. M explains that our self is our soul. We manifest and create the life we want to live. However, many of us are stuck waiting for our lives to get better. We cannot keep waiting for our destiny. We need to hold ourselves accountable to our full potential. We all have the ability to create the life we want, and we want to help you learn to hold yourself accountable. Thank you for taking the time to listen, and we will be back next week!#SoulFocusedRadio #StaySoulFocused #SoulFocusedGroup #SelfAccountability #HumanSolidarity #BetterTogether #Powerful #Podcast #PodcastShow #Spotify #ApplePodcasts #Healing #Audiowww.soulfocusedgroup.com

In this new episode our hosts Cindy Edwards, Martin Friedman, and Martina Tam come together to have a beautiful conversation about personal accountability. They begin by sharing their thoughts on what accountability means to them. Cindy and Martina agree that accountability is a responsibility we all have to build trusting relationships. If we are able to hold ourselves accountable and forgive ourselves it changes how we show up in our relationships. We have no problem holding other people accountable for their actions, and it is important for us to learn to do the same for ourselves. Martin explains that accountability in relationships has to come from both parties, or it can feel like a form of abuse. We hope that Martin can help you in your journey in creating healthier relationships with others and yourself. To close out this episode Cindy shares an amazing story on how she had to take personal accountability in a relationship, and learn to forgive herself for her own actions. She explains her feelings of sadness after being told that she had hurt the other person. It is important to understand that even after making amends we can still hold on to emotional toxic feelings. We can feel sad, frustrated, and guilty when dealing with personal accountability. However, we have to hold ourselves accountable for our own healing. We encourage everyone to hold themselves personally responsible to forgive themselves. We have to be more understanding and loving towards ourselves to grow. Thank you for listening, and we would love for you to reach out if you have any topics you would like to hear on Soul Focused Radio.www.soulfocusedgroup.com

This week our host Cindy Edwards interviews Tirza Barnes about parenting from the soul. Tirza Barnes is CEO of Tirza Motivates, and a facilitator with The Soul Focused Group. Cindy and Tirza discuss how they have found self forgiveness helpful for them as mothers. As mothers it isn't uncommon to experience guilt and shame when losing control of situations. Tirza has found that she had to learn to forgive herself to become a more understanding parent. She explains that holding on to guilt will only slow down your growth as a parent. Parenting is a gentle balance of caring for your child's light, but also not letting your own light dim. Children come into this world with so much soul, but we also can't sacrifice our happiness  when becoming parents. We have to learn to forgive ourselves, let go of shame, and set boundaries. Tirza and Cindy explain how hard it was to shift their focus on themselves when also caring for little ones. It seems like a selfish act to put yourself before your child, but we have to be healthy to build healthy relationships. We hope that Tirza and Cindy have given parents a new perspective on forgiveness that can help them as they grow. We want to thank you for taking the time to listen to this beautiful podcast, and thank you for coming on this self forgiveness journey with us. Soul Focused Radio will return next week with a brand new topic and more special guests.www.soulfocusedgroup.com

We are so excited to have Felicia Savage Friedman and Stephany Ashley back to finish their conversation with Martin about self forgiveness. This week will only be our Teddy Bear Moses Moments segment. Cindy Edwards and Martina Tam will be back next week! Felicia, Martin, and Stephany begin their segment with discussing the importance of self forgiveness and responsibility. Stephany has found it best to hold yourself responsible for your way of life. We have to hold ourselves accountable to do the work, and we have to learn to respect everyone's forgiveness process. We all have the choice to have a forgiving relationship with ourselves to live a healthier life. The three of them close out their segment by having a very powerful conversation about the relationship between self forgiveness and self love. Both Felicia and Stephany have found that you become more open to love when you forgive yourself. Stephany points out that we do so many things for romantic partners, but we don't treat ourselves with the same respect. If we can learn to forgive our partners we can learn to show ourselves the same forgiveness. We show ourselves love and trust by forgiving ourselves. Forgiveness allows everyone to grow and learn. We hope that by listening to this beautiful conversation you will be able to find everyday practices that will help you learn self forgiveness. Be safe in your journey, and always remember to stay Soul Focused.www.soulfocusedgroup.com

Cindy Edwards, Martin Friedman, and Martina Tam return to Soul Focused Radio to continue their beautiful discussion about self forgiveness. This week our hosts are joined by Dustin Washington, Felicia Savage Friedman, and Stephany Ashley. We are super excited to share these amazing conversations with you this week. You will hear from everyone as they go into more depth on how self forgiveness has changed their life, and how self forgiveness has become a part of their healing. In the first segment you will hear Martina Tam interview Dustin Washington. The two discuss how illness is associated with identity, and how self forgiveness has helped their healing process. Dustin shares his experience with recovering from diabetes and how he has learned to treat his body. He explains how much shame comes with learning you have any type of illness, and how important it is to forgive yourself if you do something unhealthy. Martina's segment offers a unique perspective for our listeners to learn about the correlations between self forgiveness and health. We hope you come back next week to hear more from Martina. Martin concludes this week's podcast with his brand new segment! This week Felicia Savage Friedman and Stephany Ashley are guests on our new Teddy Bear Moses Moments podcast segment. Together the three of them share a beautiful conversation on learning how to forgive. Felicia and Stephany share their experiences with learning to forgive men, and how forgiving others has helped them learn to forgive themselves. We are so excited for you to hear from Felicia and Stephany again. Come back next week to listen to Teddy Bear Moses Moments as they wrap up their discussion on self forgiveness. Thank you for listening and as always stay Soul Focused!www.soulfocusedgroup.com

Devon Adams returns to Soul Focused Radio to talk about self forgiveness with our hosts Cindy Edwards, Martin Friedman, and Martina Tam. You may remember Devon from a previous episode with Anuar Velasquez. We are so excited to have Devon back as he shares his thoughts and experience with self forgiveness. Devon describes his self forgiveness journey as an ongoing process as opposed to a linear process. Self forgiveness doesn't just happen overnight. We need to start being realistic about our own healing process, and the time it takes to unlearn toxic behaviors. Devon also shares how difficult it was for him to separate past and present self forgiveness. Many of us don't even realize we are showing up as traumatized children. We have to be able to forgive what has happened in our past because it is effecting how we show up right now. We hope that by listening to Devon's story you can see that your past doesn't have to define you. Your past traumas do not define who you are as a person. Thank you so much for listening to Soul Focused Radio, and we will be talking more about self forgiveness next week!www.soulfocusedgroup.com

Cindy Edwards, Martin Friedman, and Martina Tam are back on Soul Focused Radio to continue their discussion on emotional sobriety. This week our hosts begin this episode by interviewing Dustin Washington. Dustin is the Vice President of The Soul Focused Group, and has been featured on many of our previous episodes. Dustin was invited to explain why it is so important to recognize what triggers you. When you can realize what triggers your past traumas you can begin to show up as an emotional sober person. You will hear Dustin conclude his interview with discussing the benefits of reparenting your inner child. We know what harmed us when we were children, and we don't want our children to go through those same experiences. After Dustin's interview you will hear from our host Martina Tam. Martina's segment is about emotional sobriety in the healthcare system. We are so excited for you to hear this very interesting and unique segment from a doctor's perspective. You will hear from Dr. Tam as she takes you through the emotional intoxication medical students experience unit they become doctors. She points out that our healthcare workers are trained to save lives, but they are also trained to not show emotions. We can't expect healthcare workers to watch someone die, and move on to the next patient as if nothing happened. We hope that by listening to Martina's experiences it can help you see numbness as a symptom of emotional intoxication.Cindy Edwards closes out this podcast as she talks about parenting from an emotional sober place. Cindy introduces the the thought of slowing down as a parent. As parents we can get so overwhelmed with our own lives that we forget how our reactions make our children feel. Cindy has found that taking a break is the best way to approach stressful situations with her children. When you take a break you are shifting away from negative energy, and you allow yourself to approach situations with your children differently. After Cindy's segment that will conclude our emotional sobriety versus emotional intoxication podcast. We want to thank you for listening and don't forget to always #StaySoulFocused 00:00 Intro6:07 Interview With Dustin29:38 Emotional Intoxication In Healthcare50:17 Emotional Sober Parenting1:03:00 Outro

Cindy Edwards, Martin Friedman, and Martina Tam come together again to host this week's episode on emotional sobriety. Our Soul Focused hosts begin with discussing their knowledge and introduction to emotional sobriety. After their research they have all come to understand that becoming emotional sober is getting sober from emotional intoxication. Martin defines emotional intoxication as an act of indulging in emotions that are the least constructive. Some emotions that aren't constructive for you can be anger, jealousy, and guilt. Our hosts go on to explain that even though you may feel sad or mad that doesn't mean you aren't emotional sober. Emotional sobriety is finding the strength within yourself to work through tough emotions, and seeing your growth when overcoming adversity. Martin closes out this podcast with a discussion around emotions versus feelings. You will be surprised to hear that there is actual a big difference between the two. Cindy and Martina will return with their segments in next week's episode! We thank you for taking the time to listen to this podcast, and remember to always stay Soul Focused.www.soulfocusedgroup.com

Soul Focused Radio is back and has a brand new format! Join Cindy Edwards, Martin Friedman, and Martina Tam as our new podcast hosts. We are so excited that we are able to offer new voices for our Soul Focused Radio listeners. In the first segment of this podcast you will hear all of our hosts interview our very own Ragivah Mahdi. Mahdi discusses the power of the mind, and the relationship the mind has to the soul. Our minds possess a great power that has been hidden from us. Our souls are just begging for our egos to get out of our minds. We hope that by listening to M you can have a deeper understanding of the first and second mind.In the second half of this podcast you will hear from our new hosts as they introduce their new segments. In Martina's segment you get to hear about the power of the mind from a doctor's perspective. She uses the placebo effect as an example of how powerful our minds really are. Our minds have the ability to heal us, but also have the ability to make us sick. Martina offers a unique perspective to this podcast topic, and we can't wait for her next segment. To close out the episode you will hear Cindy's segment about a parent's mind power. Cindy shares a very touching story on how she realized the power of her mind during her child's meltdown. She has learned that Soul Focused parenting requires patience and grace. We are very grateful for Cindy stepping in to speak up for the parents striving to raise Soul Focused children. Soul Focused Radio will be back next week with another episode. Thank you for listening, and stay Soul Focused! www.soulfocusedgroup.com

Dustin Washington and Martin Friedman return this week to continue discussing the war in Ukraine. Last week you heard from both of the men as they talked about the egos that have been developed by people in leadership positions, and the disconnect war has on humanity. In this new episode the two of them begin by discussing their thoughts on the fear that comes from war. Dustin remembers participating in nuclear war drills in elementary, and he remembers the fear he had at such a young age. He goes on to explain that the fear he experienced as a kid stayed with him all the way into adulthood. Martin agrees with Dustin and goes on to explain that we can also get generational fear passed down to us by our families. The wars that our parents and grandparents lived through do get passed down, and it can result in us carrying their fear as our own. We as a society don't realize how much fear seeps into our ground water which can effect our lives as adults.The second half of this podcast is about the advancements we must make as a society to successfully grow out of fear. Both Dustin and Martin share their thoughts on the production of deadly weapons, and the money behind the technology to create those weapons. We often talk about how far we have advanced in technology, but we never stop a think about what our technology could be doing to others. The world has been disconnected from each other for a while, and you can see it more as wars begin to happen. Martin shares his experience with learning to love everyone, and how hard of a concept it can be for society to grasp. He explains that by having an us against them mentality we create a war in ourselves. We can all move out of fear once we learn to love everyone. At The Soul Focused Group we truly believe in humanity, and we believe that everyone deserves to be loved. We hope you are able to see the same future we see when you listen to this podcast. Don't forget to check out our website and see everything we have to offer. #StaySoulFocused 

Dustin Washington and Martin Friedman come together to talk about the war in Ukraine in our new podcast. Together they share their thoughts on the current leaders' egos, and how ego can effect their decision making. The current conflict in Ukraine presents the perfect opportunity for western countries to have an us against them mindset. Dustin stresses the importance of moving out of this mindset and moving towards seeing people for who they truly are. The war has caused many of us to have a disconnect from what is going on in Ukraine because we can't see ourselves in those people. Dustin shares some beautiful advice on how to see this war as an opportunity to grow. He believes that by witnessing this current war you can observe the lack of humanity by world leaders, and find the areas in your life that could use more love.Dustin and Martin move on to talk about the value of human life in wars. Dustin and Martin agree that the value of human life goes down when entering a war. Leaders send armed forces to other countries for economic benefit sometimes, and don't care how many lives are lost in the process. Over time both men have seen multiple wars covered on the news and they have observed the way human lives are discussed as expendable. Dustin remembers vividly that the coverage of the Iraq War on most news channels portrayed the war as violent and thrilling. He felt that the U.S. was almost celebrating that they were in another country killing other human beings. There will always be another war as long as we are all stuck in ego. We hope by listening to this podcast you can get a better understanding of why human solidarity is so important to The Soul Focused Group. Humanity needs change and we believe in each and every one of you. #StaySoulFocused

Martin Friedman and Ragivah Mahdi return in our new episode. They are back again to continue discussing their experiences with toxic masculinity. This new podcast is about their thoughts on the true strength of a man. From a young age boys learn that their physical strength and work ethic will determine how masculine they are. So many men are taught to work as hard as they can to provide for their families to become the man of the house. M shares his experiences with feeling overworked and feeling like he didn't have a choice to do what made him happy. So many men live each day by surviving instead of living. The truth is we all have a choice. We can choose to become what was taught to us for so many years, or choose a path that fulfills our happiness. The Soul Focused Group believes we can all break away from learned behavior that is making us unhappy. We hope this podcast can inspire everyone to trust their truth, and believe in their strength. This podcast will be the last episode in our New Man series. We hope you have enjoyed all our episodes, and we wish you the best. www.soulfousedgroup.com

Dustin Washington, Felicia Savage Friedman, Martin Friedman, and Ragivah Mahdi are back again this week to wrap up their intimate conversation on what it means to be a new man. In this new episode you will hear from all three men as Felicia continues to ask them challenging and intimate questions about their growth as men. They begin by talking about the impact football has had on their lives. Felicia discusses how violent football actually is, and the idea of bonding over something that isn't physically being played together. The three men share their experiences with watching football, and agree that the energy that comes from football can negatively impact men. M points out that football takes the time and energy away from men that could be used to focus on the real problems. Felicia then opens up a very vulnerable and intimate conversation about men's sexuality. As the three men continue to grow they admit that they have seen a change in their sex lives. As young men they were all socialized to believe that sex was an achievement. Dustin and M have explicit and vivid memories of their peers glorifying womanizing. As young men they learned that sex wasn't an act shared between two loving people, and were taught that a man should strive to have sex with multiple women. They explain that the journey to becoming a new man has helped them realize the value of sex, and the true value of a woman. As the podcast wraps up you will hear Dustin share a beautiful thought on how he is currently making a positive impact on the young men in his life, and how all men can help the next generation. We hope you enjoyed this amazing conversation, and we hope this helps more men have the ability to have these conversations about toxic masculinity. www.soulfocuedgroup.com

In this week's new episode we are switching it up. Felicia Savage Friedman hosts our new podcast. She is joined by Dustin Washington, Martin Friedman, and Ragivah Mahdi. Together the four of them discuss who they are, and their path to reclaiming their power. They stress the important difference between who and what you are. We hope you are able to distinguish all the important parts of yourself after listening to their answers. Felicia also starts by asking the three men about the end of their lives. Felicia has them explain what they see the end of their journey looking like, and what they wish to be said about them.Felicia helps close out part one of this podcast by addressing the regret that comes with growth. She has the three men share their experiences with reconciliation and forgiveness. We all have traumas that we have to deal with, and they will need to be addressed in order for us to grow. You will hear from the three men that the growth process is a journey towards forgiving yourself more than anyone else. We are so happy to be able to share this beautiful podcast with our listeners. Come back next week to hear the rest of The Soul Focused Group's learning journey.www.soulfocusedgroup.com

Daniel Jahn and Kelly Edwards join Martin Friedman in our new release this week. You may remember Daniel and Kelly from their introduction podcasts they were featured on in the past. In this new episode Daniel and Kelly share their knowledge and thoughts on raising the next generation of young men. Both Daniel and Kelly coach young children, and are both fathers of their own children. You will hear about their experiences teaching young men communication, vulnerability, and integrity. You will also get to hear the three of them express their thoughts about the way men speak about women. Daniel sparks an amazing conversation about the language associated with putting women down, and the words that we have all been socialized to use when calling someone weak. Our New Man series is coming to an end very soon, and we are so happy we were able to have Daniel and Kelly on this new episode to offer a parent's perspective. We hope you enjoy listening, and stay Soul Focused!www.soulfocusedgroup.com

Martin Friedman and Matt Remle return in this week's podcast to continue their discussion on the concept of a new man from an indigenous perspective. Matt begins with telling us about his childhood, and what it was like having a white father. He explains that he was very lucky to grow up in a family that accepted help. Matt's father understood how important it was for Matt to learn about his indigenous identity from other native men. Matt and Martin also discuss the traditional ceremonies that are used by tribes to help individuals return to themselves. Matt describes a ceremony that focuses on taking care of yourself and fully cleansing yourself of negativity before going on to help others. It is a very interesting ceremony to hear about, and it contradicts how men are commonly socialized to not focus on their own healing. Matt explains that his idea of a new man is returning to our responsibilities. The thought of a new man feels like it is just now appearing, however after hearing Matt's story we hope you realize it has always been there. www.soulfocusedgroup.com