Podcasts about smiling

In a season of Stillness, but I'm still here. ❤️‍

Why do you avoid conflict, over-apologize, or say “yes” when you really mean “no”? In this powerful episode, Dr. Aziz unpacks the deeper reasons behind people-pleasing and “nice” behavior—and reveals what's really driving it. You'll discover that these habits aren't just random quirks—they're part of a system designed to keep you “safe” by earning approval and avoiding disapproval. But this comes at a huge cost: your authenticity, your confidence, and your freedom. Dr. Aziz shares key signs of hidden people-pleasing and offers a compelling invitation to look at what you're really afraid to feel. Once you understand the emotional root of these patterns, you can start breaking free—not by fixing a dozen behaviors, but by going straight to the source.

You wanted our King Kong episode didn't you? This is the second week in a row where we promised our Son of Kong and Kong Skull Island episode and didn't deliver. I get it. You're mad. Promises broken is never a good thing. Well... Too bad. The world is going to hell and we didn't have a chance to record that episode... Maybe next week. You'll have to tune back in and find out.This week instead we are releasing a back up episode we recorded at the end of October of last year. So long ago that even as I'm writing this out, I cannot tell you what the ranking is. This is our top 10 Action and Horror Movie Killers.Listen along and let us know how much you agree with Josh's picks and how bad you think Jesse and Kelly's picks are. If you think this description is heavy handed in one direction it's not. The person who writes these up is an impartial listener. He or rather I write these up for the love of the podcast. It just so happens that Josh has the best of opinions of anyone I have ever met.We encourage everyone to watch along while you listen and make sure to comment and let us know what you think. If you haven't already please follow us on Facebook, TikTok, "X" and Instagram @bloodygoodfilmpodcast and remember...Keep it bloody buddies!!!https://linktr.ee/BloodyGoodFilmPodcast...#dragons #top10 #godzilla #rodan #ghidora #sorceress #doommetal #smoulder #epic doom metal #Horror #ActionFilm #ActionMovie #ActionMovies #HorrorFilm #HorrorFilms #HorrorMovie #Podcast #NewPodcast #HorrorPodcast

Taking the skeleton out of the closet and creative real estate deals, and learning how to dance with it. For years, I've watched investors celebrate their "successful" creative deals on social media, at meetups, and in coaching groups. Smiling faces. Victory lapse. Success stories. But in this episode, we are going to share what they are not telling you. And I called these the skeletons. You need to see them coming and not run when you discover them. And navigate them and sometimes exploit these skeletons. This is the dancing part. After today, you will have the full, undisclosed truth about the ups and downs of doing Creative Real Estate transactions. You'll start seeing what others miss, you'll ask questions others avoid. And you will structure deals others will walk away from. Most important, you will actually understand that Creative Real Estate entrepreneurs aren't just optimistic, they are realist if you learn: The bigger the problem, the bigger the profit. Let's get started…

Want more GallowgateShots content? Then why not become a member of the channel for as little as £2.99 per month; you'll gain early access to videos; extra member only perks along with a link which will allow you to join our very own NUFC community via our telegram messenger group. Sign up below https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLHhMdZOBv6BGYU9aWVNjQ/join Follow our other social media platforms by clicking the link https://linktr.ee/gallowgateshots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Kate and Carolyn cover The Valley season 2 episode 9: “When One Door Forecloses.” Britt's Bar is open! Her marriage is closed! Jax's clothes are out! Danny Darko says hi, and Nia says bye! All this, plus a national fast food shortage and one more J name introduction. Listen in! 11:00 - Valley Recap Starts

Episode Summary:

For a school that hasn't caught much in the way of a break when it comes to sports lately, you have to say fortune is shining on Oregon State going into the College World Series. Not only are the eighth-seeded Beavers riding tons of momentum after smashing Florida State in the third game of their Super Regional on Sunday, they enter the eight-team field in Omaha with perhaps the most favorable path to the championship series. They are the highest-seeded team in the top half of the bracket, while No. 3 overall seed Arkansas and 6-seeded LSU will have to duke it out in the bottom half of the bracket. On this week's episode of the Oregonian Sports Podcast, hosts Bill Oram and Brenna Greene break down the Beavers chances in Omaha, while also trying to prepare for the regional delicacies of the Great Plains. Also discussed on this week's episode: • Takeaways from last weekend in Corvallis • How Bill found himself watching the Beavers clinch their return to Omaha from the roof of a parking garage. • Should the Beavers be wary of their opening-round opponent, Louisville? • A detour into the greatest high school mascots, just because • Will the Blazers use their lottery pick on a player who started his career at a local Division III school? • ... and much more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to today's podcast... Want to live longer? Then smile more. Smiling is contagious.  It changes our mood. It fights stress and builds your resiliency. Smiling boosts your immune system. It lowers your blood pressure and blocks pain. Part of National Smile Month is about maintaining good oral health. I just recently went to see my dentist and I didn't have it in me to lie about flossing my teeth. I just don't take the time, especially as life gets busy and rushed. And I am not the only one. Currently, research shows that a significant number of us have taken time off work in the last five years due to poor oral health. Most problems with teeth and gums are preventable with a good daily routine. Furthermore, a quarter of all adults have not visited a dentist in the past two years and a similar number only brush their teeth once a day. Take One Action Today To Build Your #Resiliency! Here are today's Tips For Building Resiliency and Celebrating National Smile Month: The Oral Health Foundations recommends that we brush our teeth right before going to bed at night and on at least one other occasion throughout the day with a fluoride toothpaste. We should also cut down on how much sugary food and drinks we have, and how often we have them. And finally, we need to go to see our dentist regularly. Ultimately, the aim is to help us achieve good physical and mental wellbeing by improving our oral health. A smile might be a small gesture, yet it can have a remarkable effect on our state of mind, as well as the emotional happiness of others. Remember, If you like today's wellness tips, let me know. You can leave me a review on amazon or through your #alexa app. Looking for more ways to build your resiliency? Take my free on-line resiliency test at worksmartlivesmart.com under the resources and courses tab. #Mentalhealth #hr

Want more GallowgateShots content? Then why not become a member of the channel for as little as £2.99 per month; you'll gain early access to videos; extra member only perks along with a link which will allow you to join our very own NUFC community via our telegram messenger group. Sign up below https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLHhMdZOBv6BGYU9aWVNjQ/join Follow our other social media platforms by clicking the link https://linktr.ee/gallowgateshots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 Karen Saves The Universe: Part 2Can a strange marriage survive?Based on a post by LingeringAfterthought, in 3 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.I want you, Red. I need to make you mine; mine forever. I've never felt like this before; I know I never will again. Marry me." Cal pleaded."I;” Karen murmured, glancing around their group to make sure she wouldn't be overheard, "I don't know what to say. You're wonderful; and you've done so much for me, but this has all been so fast. We're still just getting to know each other; and half the time it doesn't even make sense to me why you would want me; but I; I just; can I just finish school?" she asked."How you can even think about school when someone like me is ready to give you everything you ever wanted, to take care of you completely, it's just crazy;” Cal murmured, sliding his hand up between her legs and brushing along the edge of her panties.Karen blushed and squeezed her thighs together, looking around embarrassed. "I just; I just worked so hard to get in. Juilliard's been my whole life for so long," she said, looking up into his eyes pleading.Cal looked at her through hooded eyes, "Keep looking at me like that and we won't be waiting for anything." His eyes heated as he pulled her closer, dominating her with a hungry kiss while she squirmed self-consciously. The couples around the table smirked as Cal grew even more bold in his explorations.When he released her, Karen hid her face in his neck as the others cheered. They were his friends, happy to see him happy. Cal glanced at a waiter nearby and gestured for more drinks for the table. The opening act on the stage below finished its last set, but the crowd refused to let the show end. Cheers filled the club, with the crowd demanding an encore.Castor, the lead singer, waited for the crowd to quiet with a grin, then his eyes drifted upward and his face lit with excitement. "Thank you, thanks guys, you're a great audience. For an encore, we'd love to give you a taste of our next album. We've been banging it out in the studio and I can't tell you how excited we are for it to be released. Problem is, it's got this insane keys part that can't be played by just anyone, but I think I see our studio angel in the audience tonight. Kare, baby; will you come help us out?" he asked, reaching upward to where Karen sat.Cal's friends turned to look at Karen in surprise. "You play? Like, for real?" Cal's friend Tony yelled across the table to her in surprise. Karen nodded in embarrassment, glancing at Cal.Everything suddenly froze as Karen rose and walked over to the table, standing over her younger self looking at Cal's face. "Look, you little dummy; look at it! It's right there!" she yelled at Young Karen."What's there?" Holland asked, craning his neck to try to see what she was yelling about."Cal, for all his big words, rich gifts, and grand gestures; he hadn't told his friends anything about me; because nothing of who I really was mattered to him. Only the things he wanted about me mattered to him ; that I was shy, and submissive, and just grateful to have someone pay attention to me. And here ; look at his face! It fell!" she yelled, gesturing to where Cal sat, leaning back in his chair."His face appears still to be attached, to me;” Holland said, doubtfully."It's just a phrase. His face didn't actually fall, but his eyes; look, he's still smiling, but you see it in his eyes. He's not happy for me. He's not happy because the moment stopped being about Cal and how he was the great boyfriend spoiling his new stupid girlfriend on her birthday. Once the moment became about me; that I was asked up on stage; that I could do something his friends admired; ugh, why didn't I see it?" she moaned."What happened?" Holland asked.Karen rubbed her eyes with her hand. "I was young. I was asked to do something. I was asked for help. I was a stupid ninny that had absolutely no ability to say 'no' without thinking the world would end; so, I went up and played with the band.""Oh; was that bad?" Holland asked."No, it wasn't bad. It was a great song. I played well and I was just tipsy enough to not feel all the eyes that were looking at me, making my skin crawl. And you know; some part of me; I wanted to do it. I wanted to show myself that I could play for people; outside a quiet studio," Karen admitted. "Everyone always went on and on about how I needed to get over being so self-conscious and how it would hold my career back. That, and part of me wanted to show Cal's friends that I was more than just another girl in the long line of girls that he had gone through; that I was worth something.""Sometimes I wish our crew would see that I was worth something more;” Holland said, ruefully."Yeah; it's hard when you're young. You're dying to show the world what you're worth, how you're special, but they mostly just need you to work hard and do as you're told," Karen sighed, looking around the club. "Some people will never see what's special about you. They see what they want and they really don't care about the rest. It's those people that see who you really are; without wanting anything from you; those are the ones you need to hang onto."Karen turned her back on the club and the room re-formed into her Newark apartment. The intercom buzzed and Dana rolled out of bed to answer it. "What's up?" she asked."Hey; um, I don't have my keys. Can you buzz me in?" Karen's voice shakily asked through the intercom. Dana frowned in confusion and pressed the button to allow her entry. Soon, she opened the door after Karen's tentative knock."What happened, Kare? I thought you'd be gone all weekend," Dana said, taking in her roommate's appearance. Karen looked unharmed, but her face was puffy and her makeup was streaked from crying and trying to wipe it away."I; uh; I played at the club tonight. Castor Graham was the opening act and he asked me to come up for the encore, so I did.""You played in front of rowdy drunk people? That's fantastic! How did it feel?" Dana asked, offering her back for Karen to lean on while she took off her heels."I was scared; but after a while it was fun. The keyboard was facing the crowd and after a while I looked out over the people and; they looked happy. They liked it. It felt good, then.""God, I wish I'd been there. I'm so proud of you! What did Cal and the entourage say?""Um; I; don't know," Karen blinked and looked around the apartment. "When, uh; when I um; when I got back to the table, they were all gone." Karen wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and cleared her throat."Wait, what?" Dana said, her tone darkening like a storm cloud, threatening imminent destruction. "Say that again. You get called up on stage to perform, you play in front of all those people; like the freakin' keyboard genius you are; and when you got back, those motherfuckers were gone?""I; I think they were gone? The table was empty from what I could see; and the, uh, the security guy; he couldn't let me into the area. He really only knew Cal, and um;” Karen choked and turned her face away, trying to breathe through it and stop herself from crying."Karen; that's not; wait, how did you even get home?" Dana asked, unzipping Karen's dress and grabbing a pair of yoga pants for her."Well, my purse and phone were gone from the table, so I couldn't call anybody and I didn't have any money;” Karen choked. "The security guy was really nice and said I could use his MetroCard if I returned it, so;”"Oh, Christ On A Crotch-Rocket!" Dana yelled, throwing a sweatshirt at Karen, who caught it and pulled it over her head. "Kare. You gotta stop dating this guy. He's a piece of shit. Trust me. I didn't know it when I sent you over there to play, but he's walking excrement;""It's probably just a misunderstand;""And believe me, I'm sure he'll come back with some half-assed explanation, because that's what they all do;""And he tells me all the time that he;""Yeah. He ‘tells ‘; you pretty stuff. He ‘buys ‘; you pretty stuff. Problem is, words and money are nothing to him. Where the hell is he when you're walking home in fuck-me club clothes from the train station and trying not to lose your virginity, huh? Kare. I know you've been through hell, but you are worth more than this. You need a guy that walks you down the sidewalk and puts himself on the traffic side; just in case, because that's who he is. You deserve that. Don't you get it?" Dana asked, taking Karen's hair down and brushing it out, gently."Cal isn't; it's probably just; something;” Karen whispered, biting her lips closed.Dana stopped brushing and wrapped her arms around her roommate, squeezing her hard. "There is real love out there, Kare; and if you don't deserve it, I don't know who does. Someday, you're going to meet a guy that actually loves you and it's going to blow your mind when the games and bullshit are gone. It's like; when a guy is in love, gravity changes for them, or something;”Holland jumped up and pointed excitedly at Dana. "She's right! When I met the Zendayans, my tongue swelled up and;""Are you listening to my story at all, or are you just fantasizing about pretty girls?" Karen huffed."Um; both?" Holland replied, smirking. "I mean, you and Dana were really pretty; and there's just one bed here, and;"Karen shot him an exasperated look and he shrank back behind the bulkhead. "Anyway;” she said.The room dissolved and re-formed, both girls sleeping in the queen-sized bed they shared, morning sunlight streaming in through the dirty window, when the buzzer sounded. "Day, c'mon time to go," a man's voice sounded from the intercom. Karen's head peered out from under the blanket and she ran over to the intercom, tripping over some bottles of wine that they (mostly Dana) had consumed the previous night, trying to rid Karen of her birthday misery."Um; she's almost ready!" Karen replied, then ran to the bed and shook her hungover roommate awake. "Day, someone's here for you; they say it's time to go."Dana grunted and turned over, away from Karen. "Go do it for me; just say you're me again," Dana grumbled into her pillow.Karen swallowed nervously, but gamely grabbed Dana's dress, quickly got ready, and ran out the door. Upon leaving the building, she stumbled into the guy waiting outside. "Um; I'm ready! I'm ready! Dana Stevens. Thanks for waiting;” she panted.The man gave her a quick considering look, then walked her to a large extended-cab pickup truck that looked ridiculously out of place on the streets of Newark. "Miss Stevens," he said, opening the passenger side door and offering his hand to help her up into the vehicle."Thanks. Thank you;” she said, precariously climbing up the runner board in her heels until she settled herself up onto the seat."Just wait there, a bit," he said, after closing the door. Walking back to the building, he selected a key from his collection, opened the building door and walked in. Not long after, he emerged from the building carrying Dana over his shoulder and carrying a bag stuffed haphazardly with clothes. Opening the door behind Karen, he dumped Dana unceremoniously into the back seat and tossed the bag of clothes on top of her. Dana, still in her pajamas, put the bag under her head and turned away from the sunlight streaming into the cab."Dean, this is Karen. Karen, my brother Dean," Dana mumbled, as she draped a pair of sweatpants over her head to block the light."Oh; um, sorry," Karen said, flushing red as she glanced over at Dean's face. "I didn't mean to; um, I'll just go;""Lock the doors, and get us out of the city, Dean. She's coming with us," Dana ordered. "She's on asshole detox!"Karen jumped as the truck's doors locked and Dean wordlessly pulled out into the street and started out. She clasped her hands in her lap nervously. She hadn't packed anything. She had no phone. She didn't have time to let Dana drag her to West Virginia for a visit. Dana had been trying to talk her into coming with her to where she had grown up with her grandparents, but in the excitement of her birthday, Karen had forgotten the trip was this week. She knew better than to say anything, though. Dana wouldn't care, and Dean; who knew what Dean Stevens the brother would think. He didn't say much, but he obviously knew better than to argue with hungover Dana, which was something they had in common."She knows where we're goin?" Dean asked, checking his mirrors as he merged onto the freeway. Dana grunted in assent. "Why ain't she singin' it, yet?" he rumbled, seemingly amused."Because She's Not A Drunk College Kid, Idiot!" Dana howled, holding her head in pain.Dean smirked and started humming "Country Roads" to himself."I hate you so much;” Dana growled, pulling the bag of clothes over her head again. Dean only laughed.After a few miles of road, Karen looked at her roommate in the back seat, and unbuckled her seatbelt. She began to turn to lean over the front seat when Dean reached over and pushed her back down and pointed at her seatbelt. "Um sorry; I just;” Karen trailed off, horrified that she had done something wrong. She couldn't finish her sentence and sat back down, blinking back tears as she put her seatbelt back on.Dean glanced over, looking her up and down for a moment. With a sigh, he put his turn signal on and pulled off the road into a gas station at the next exit. "Do what you need to do," he said, curtly.Karen jumped up, turned around and loosely buckled the seatbelt across the sleeping Dana's hips, then turned, sat down again, and buckled her seatbelt. "Thank you," she mumbled. Dean turned to the back seat where his sister continued sleeping and his face softened. He looked at Karen a second time, sitting with her hands in her lap again, clenched like she expected a tongue-lashing from him for delaying the trip. His eyes drifted down to her feet, where her cold toes were turning pink in the strappy, uncomfortable-looking heels she wore when she came running out of the apartment building on his sister's fool errand. Reaching back, he grabbed a pair of thick socks that had fallen out of the bag of clothes and tossed them to her. Smiling gratefully, Karen removed the strappy heels and pulled on the warm socks as he pulled out onto the road again.The road stretched on. The scenery gradually becoming more rural, the traffic less crowded. Karen found herself relaxing and breathing more slowly as the land passed by. She occasionally glanced at the gas gauge and compared them to the passing road signs to try to discern when they might be pulling over to refill the tank. The third time she did it, Dean shook his head. "Bedford, hon," he chuckled. "You know, you could just ask me. I might be a longshoreman, but I don't bite.""Not like Dana, then," Karen replied, biting her lips so she didn't smile."Hm. Sounds like a story," he said.Karen nodded. "The first time we met, I was waiting to audition for our agency and I was almost going to leave, I was so scared. Day asked to see what I was playing and I handed her the music. Instead of looking at it, she took my hand and bit me. Said it was 'for luck,'" Karen said, laughing to herself."It worked, too. Kare needed to get of her head. She plays better when you throw her off balance, first," Dana said, rising to a sitting position and running her fingers through her hair."Is that so?" Dean asked, looking over at Karen."Yeah. I think too much. My teacher always said I played things perfectly, but he could hear me thinking about it the whole time. Day's a true performer, though. She doesn't think at all - she plays with her feelings, and that's what an audience connects with," Karen said, smiling proudly at Dana."Thoughtlessly playing with feelings; sounds about right," Dean said, chuckling when Dana punched him in the shoulder. "Speaking of, we're coming up on Bedford. Let me know if you need anything."Dana growled at this but said nothing as Karen blinked in confusion. Soon, Dean pulled off the interstate into a gas station and up to a gas pump. Dean hopped out of the truck and began filling the tank. After noticing the bug-splattered windshield, Karen changed back into her strappy heels and walked over to where the island held the squeegee and mop. Dean watched, bemused, as she diligently scrubbed the dried carcasses of insects off the glass while dressed to the nines. Karen finished and climbed back into the truck, only to have Dana grab her shoulder and start whispering in her ear and pointing at the convenience store. Karen, appearing distressed, blushed and said something back to Dana, who gestured emphatically.Dean kept watching as Karen seemed to screw up her courage, took her purse, and walked quickly into the store. He shot his sister a flat look. Dana only grinned, stretched, and put her feet up on the front seat. Shaking his head, he followed into the store."And what would you be needing all those for, hon?" the guy at the till asked while ogling Karen, who looked like she wanted to disappear under the rug."Um; it's uh;” Karen stammered."I need to ask for state regulatory purposes," the guy continued, as he put a large box of condoms on the counter and rang it up."They're for me," Dean said, as he tossed some drinks, chips and cookies on the counter. "Uncut and hangs to the left. Anything else the state needs to know about my cock?" The till guy cleared his throat and began ringing up the additional items and bagging them without further comment. Annoyed, Dean grabbed the bagged items in one hand and took Karen's hand in the other and left the store. "You know, you don't have to do everything my little sister tells you," he said under his breath as they walked to the truck."Then why'd you buy them? Seems like you can't tell her 'no' any more than I can," Karen replied, a little surprised that she had the guts to argue with him.Dean laughed, "I don't want her knocked up any more than you do." He helped her up into the truck and tossed the bag of items to his sister.Dana went digging through the bag and retrieved the box. "Wait a minute, these are just regular. Didn't they have lubricated?" she complained. Karen swallowed uncomfortably, searching for an answer as Dean pulled her seatbelt out and buckled it around her."Don't need lubricated if the guy does his job right," Dean said, grinning at her cheerfully. "Raise your standards and you won't need so many, either.""Hum; lower yours, and maybe you'll actually need some," Dana retorted, opening the package of cookies. Karen just shrank in her seat and covered her flaming cheeks as they pulled back onto the freeway.The scenery turned into wooded hills with mountains growing in the distance. Steering down the curved roads, Dean sighed quietly, a peaceful smile on his face. Karen leaned forward in her seat, trying to see everything as it passed, excitement lighting her face. Dana had fallen asleep again.Near evening, Dean turned the truck down a long, dirt road and reached behind him to shake Dana awake. "Watch for him, Day;” he said. Dana sat up, suddenly alert and scanning the darkening woods around them."What are we looking for?" Karen asked.

 Karen Saves The Universe: Part 2Can a strange marriage survive?Based on a post by LingeringAfterthought, in 3 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Steamy Stories.I want you, Red. I need to make you mine; mine forever. I've never felt like this before; I know I never will again. Marry me." Cal pleaded."I;” Karen murmured, glancing around their group to make sure she wouldn't be overheard, "I don't know what to say. You're wonderful; and you've done so much for me, but this has all been so fast. We're still just getting to know each other; and half the time it doesn't even make sense to me why you would want me; but I; I just; can I just finish school?" she asked."How you can even think about school when someone like me is ready to give you everything you ever wanted, to take care of you completely, it's just crazy;” Cal murmured, sliding his hand up between her legs and brushing along the edge of her panties.Karen blushed and squeezed her thighs together, looking around embarrassed. "I just; I just worked so hard to get in. Juilliard's been my whole life for so long," she said, looking up into his eyes pleading.Cal looked at her through hooded eyes, "Keep looking at me like that and we won't be waiting for anything." His eyes heated as he pulled her closer, dominating her with a hungry kiss while she squirmed self-consciously. The couples around the table smirked as Cal grew even more bold in his explorations.When he released her, Karen hid her face in his neck as the others cheered. They were his friends, happy to see him happy. Cal glanced at a waiter nearby and gestured for more drinks for the table. The opening act on the stage below finished its last set, but the crowd refused to let the show end. Cheers filled the club, with the crowd demanding an encore.Castor, the lead singer, waited for the crowd to quiet with a grin, then his eyes drifted upward and his face lit with excitement. "Thank you, thanks guys, you're a great audience. For an encore, we'd love to give you a taste of our next album. We've been banging it out in the studio and I can't tell you how excited we are for it to be released. Problem is, it's got this insane keys part that can't be played by just anyone, but I think I see our studio angel in the audience tonight. Kare, baby; will you come help us out?" he asked, reaching upward to where Karen sat.Cal's friends turned to look at Karen in surprise. "You play? Like, for real?" Cal's friend Tony yelled across the table to her in surprise. Karen nodded in embarrassment, glancing at Cal.Everything suddenly froze as Karen rose and walked over to the table, standing over her younger self looking at Cal's face. "Look, you little dummy; look at it! It's right there!" she yelled at Young Karen."What's there?" Holland asked, craning his neck to try to see what she was yelling about."Cal, for all his big words, rich gifts, and grand gestures; he hadn't told his friends anything about me; because nothing of who I really was mattered to him. Only the things he wanted about me mattered to him ; that I was shy, and submissive, and just grateful to have someone pay attention to me. And here ; look at his face! It fell!" she yelled, gesturing to where Cal sat, leaning back in his chair."His face appears still to be attached, to me;” Holland said, doubtfully."It's just a phrase. His face didn't actually fall, but his eyes; look, he's still smiling, but you see it in his eyes. He's not happy for me. He's not happy because the moment stopped being about Cal and how he was the great boyfriend spoiling his new stupid girlfriend on her birthday. Once the moment became about me; that I was asked up on stage; that I could do something his friends admired; ugh, why didn't I see it?" she moaned."What happened?" Holland asked.Karen rubbed her eyes with her hand. "I was young. I was asked to do something. I was asked for help. I was a stupid ninny that had absolutely no ability to say 'no' without thinking the world would end; so, I went up and played with the band.""Oh; was that bad?" Holland asked."No, it wasn't bad. It was a great song. I played well and I was just tipsy enough to not feel all the eyes that were looking at me, making my skin crawl. And you know; some part of me; I wanted to do it. I wanted to show myself that I could play for people; outside a quiet studio," Karen admitted. "Everyone always went on and on about how I needed to get over being so self-conscious and how it would hold my career back. That, and part of me wanted to show Cal's friends that I was more than just another girl in the long line of girls that he had gone through; that I was worth something.""Sometimes I wish our crew would see that I was worth something more;” Holland said, ruefully."Yeah; it's hard when you're young. You're dying to show the world what you're worth, how you're special, but they mostly just need you to work hard and do as you're told," Karen sighed, looking around the club. "Some people will never see what's special about you. They see what they want and they really don't care about the rest. It's those people that see who you really are; without wanting anything from you; those are the ones you need to hang onto."Karen turned her back on the club and the room re-formed into her Newark apartment. The intercom buzzed and Dana rolled out of bed to answer it. "What's up?" she asked."Hey; um, I don't have my keys. Can you buzz me in?" Karen's voice shakily asked through the intercom. Dana frowned in confusion and pressed the button to allow her entry. Soon, she opened the door after Karen's tentative knock."What happened, Kare? I thought you'd be gone all weekend," Dana said, taking in her roommate's appearance. Karen looked unharmed, but her face was puffy and her makeup was streaked from crying and trying to wipe it away."I; uh; I played at the club tonight. Castor Graham was the opening act and he asked me to come up for the encore, so I did.""You played in front of rowdy drunk people? That's fantastic! How did it feel?" Dana asked, offering her back for Karen to lean on while she took off her heels."I was scared; but after a while it was fun. The keyboard was facing the crowd and after a while I looked out over the people and; they looked happy. They liked it. It felt good, then.""God, I wish I'd been there. I'm so proud of you! What did Cal and the entourage say?""Um; I; don't know," Karen blinked and looked around the apartment. "When, uh; when I um; when I got back to the table, they were all gone." Karen wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and cleared her throat."Wait, what?" Dana said, her tone darkening like a storm cloud, threatening imminent destruction. "Say that again. You get called up on stage to perform, you play in front of all those people; like the freakin' keyboard genius you are; and when you got back, those motherfuckers were gone?""I; I think they were gone? The table was empty from what I could see; and the, uh, the security guy; he couldn't let me into the area. He really only knew Cal, and um;” Karen choked and turned her face away, trying to breathe through it and stop herself from crying."Karen; that's not; wait, how did you even get home?" Dana asked, unzipping Karen's dress and grabbing a pair of yoga pants for her."Well, my purse and phone were gone from the table, so I couldn't call anybody and I didn't have any money;” Karen choked. "The security guy was really nice and said I could use his MetroCard if I returned it, so;”"Oh, Christ On A Crotch-Rocket!" Dana yelled, throwing a sweatshirt at Karen, who caught it and pulled it over her head. "Kare. You gotta stop dating this guy. He's a piece of shit. Trust me. I didn't know it when I sent you over there to play, but he's walking excrement;""It's probably just a misunderstand;""And believe me, I'm sure he'll come back with some half-assed explanation, because that's what they all do;""And he tells me all the time that he;""Yeah. He ‘tells ‘; you pretty stuff. He ‘buys ‘; you pretty stuff. Problem is, words and money are nothing to him. Where the hell is he when you're walking home in fuck-me club clothes from the train station and trying not to lose your virginity, huh? Kare. I know you've been through hell, but you are worth more than this. You need a guy that walks you down the sidewalk and puts himself on the traffic side; just in case, because that's who he is. You deserve that. Don't you get it?" Dana asked, taking Karen's hair down and brushing it out, gently."Cal isn't; it's probably just; something;” Karen whispered, biting her lips closed.Dana stopped brushing and wrapped her arms around her roommate, squeezing her hard. "There is real love out there, Kare; and if you don't deserve it, I don't know who does. Someday, you're going to meet a guy that actually loves you and it's going to blow your mind when the games and bullshit are gone. It's like; when a guy is in love, gravity changes for them, or something;”Holland jumped up and pointed excitedly at Dana. "She's right! When I met the Zendayans, my tongue swelled up and;""Are you listening to my story at all, or are you just fantasizing about pretty girls?" Karen huffed."Um; both?" Holland replied, smirking. "I mean, you and Dana were really pretty; and there's just one bed here, and;"Karen shot him an exasperated look and he shrank back behind the bulkhead. "Anyway;” she said.The room dissolved and re-formed, both girls sleeping in the queen-sized bed they shared, morning sunlight streaming in through the dirty window, when the buzzer sounded. "Day, c'mon time to go," a man's voice sounded from the intercom. Karen's head peered out from under the blanket and she ran over to the intercom, tripping over some bottles of wine that they (mostly Dana) had consumed the previous night, trying to rid Karen of her birthday misery."Um; she's almost ready!" Karen replied, then ran to the bed and shook her hungover roommate awake. "Day, someone's here for you; they say it's time to go."Dana grunted and turned over, away from Karen. "Go do it for me; just say you're me again," Dana grumbled into her pillow.Karen swallowed nervously, but gamely grabbed Dana's dress, quickly got ready, and ran out the door. Upon leaving the building, she stumbled into the guy waiting outside. "Um; I'm ready! I'm ready! Dana Stevens. Thanks for waiting;” she panted.The man gave her a quick considering look, then walked her to a large extended-cab pickup truck that looked ridiculously out of place on the streets of Newark. "Miss Stevens," he said, opening the passenger side door and offering his hand to help her up into the vehicle."Thanks. Thank you;” she said, precariously climbing up the runner board in her heels until she settled herself up onto the seat."Just wait there, a bit," he said, after closing the door. Walking back to the building, he selected a key from his collection, opened the building door and walked in. Not long after, he emerged from the building carrying Dana over his shoulder and carrying a bag stuffed haphazardly with clothes. Opening the door behind Karen, he dumped Dana unceremoniously into the back seat and tossed the bag of clothes on top of her. Dana, still in her pajamas, put the bag under her head and turned away from the sunlight streaming into the cab."Dean, this is Karen. Karen, my brother Dean," Dana mumbled, as she draped a pair of sweatpants over her head to block the light."Oh; um, sorry," Karen said, flushing red as she glanced over at Dean's face. "I didn't mean to; um, I'll just go;""Lock the doors, and get us out of the city, Dean. She's coming with us," Dana ordered. "She's on asshole detox!"Karen jumped as the truck's doors locked and Dean wordlessly pulled out into the street and started out. She clasped her hands in her lap nervously. She hadn't packed anything. She had no phone. She didn't have time to let Dana drag her to West Virginia for a visit. Dana had been trying to talk her into coming with her to where she had grown up with her grandparents, but in the excitement of her birthday, Karen had forgotten the trip was this week. She knew better than to say anything, though. Dana wouldn't care, and Dean; who knew what Dean Stevens the brother would think. He didn't say much, but he obviously knew better than to argue with hungover Dana, which was something they had in common."She knows where we're goin?" Dean asked, checking his mirrors as he merged onto the freeway. Dana grunted in assent. "Why ain't she singin' it, yet?" he rumbled, seemingly amused."Because She's Not A Drunk College Kid, Idiot!" Dana howled, holding her head in pain.Dean smirked and started humming "Country Roads" to himself."I hate you so much;” Dana growled, pulling the bag of clothes over her head again. Dean only laughed.After a few miles of road, Karen looked at her roommate in the back seat, and unbuckled her seatbelt. She began to turn to lean over the front seat when Dean reached over and pushed her back down and pointed at her seatbelt. "Um sorry; I just;” Karen trailed off, horrified that she had done something wrong. She couldn't finish her sentence and sat back down, blinking back tears as she put her seatbelt back on.Dean glanced over, looking her up and down for a moment. With a sigh, he put his turn signal on and pulled off the road into a gas station at the next exit. "Do what you need to do," he said, curtly.Karen jumped up, turned around and loosely buckled the seatbelt across the sleeping Dana's hips, then turned, sat down again, and buckled her seatbelt. "Thank you," she mumbled. Dean turned to the back seat where his sister continued sleeping and his face softened. He looked at Karen a second time, sitting with her hands in her lap again, clenched like she expected a tongue-lashing from him for delaying the trip. His eyes drifted down to her feet, where her cold toes were turning pink in the strappy, uncomfortable-looking heels she wore when she came running out of the apartment building on his sister's fool errand. Reaching back, he grabbed a pair of thick socks that had fallen out of the bag of clothes and tossed them to her. Smiling gratefully, Karen removed the strappy heels and pulled on the warm socks as he pulled out onto the road again.The road stretched on. The scenery gradually becoming more rural, the traffic less crowded. Karen found herself relaxing and breathing more slowly as the land passed by. She occasionally glanced at the gas gauge and compared them to the passing road signs to try to discern when they might be pulling over to refill the tank. The third time she did it, Dean shook his head. "Bedford, hon," he chuckled. "You know, you could just ask me. I might be a longshoreman, but I don't bite.""Not like Dana, then," Karen replied, biting her lips so she didn't smile."Hm. Sounds like a story," he said.Karen nodded. "The first time we met, I was waiting to audition for our agency and I was almost going to leave, I was so scared. Day asked to see what I was playing and I handed her the music. Instead of looking at it, she took my hand and bit me. Said it was 'for luck,'" Karen said, laughing to herself."It worked, too. Kare needed to get of her head. She plays better when you throw her off balance, first," Dana said, rising to a sitting position and running her fingers through her hair."Is that so?" Dean asked, looking over at Karen."Yeah. I think too much. My teacher always said I played things perfectly, but he could hear me thinking about it the whole time. Day's a true performer, though. She doesn't think at all - she plays with her feelings, and that's what an audience connects with," Karen said, smiling proudly at Dana."Thoughtlessly playing with feelings; sounds about right," Dean said, chuckling when Dana punched him in the shoulder. "Speaking of, we're coming up on Bedford. Let me know if you need anything."Dana growled at this but said nothing as Karen blinked in confusion. Soon, Dean pulled off the interstate into a gas station and up to a gas pump. Dean hopped out of the truck and began filling the tank. After noticing the bug-splattered windshield, Karen changed back into her strappy heels and walked over to where the island held the squeegee and mop. Dean watched, bemused, as she diligently scrubbed the dried carcasses of insects off the glass while dressed to the nines. Karen finished and climbed back into the truck, only to have Dana grab her shoulder and start whispering in her ear and pointing at the convenience store. Karen, appearing distressed, blushed and said something back to Dana, who gestured emphatically.Dean kept watching as Karen seemed to screw up her courage, took her purse, and walked quickly into the store. He shot his sister a flat look. Dana only grinned, stretched, and put her feet up on the front seat. Shaking his head, he followed into the store."And what would you be needing all those for, hon?" the guy at the till asked while ogling Karen, who looked like she wanted to disappear under the rug."Um; it's uh;” Karen stammered."I need to ask for state regulatory purposes," the guy continued, as he put a large box of condoms on the counter and rang it up."They're for me," Dean said, as he tossed some drinks, chips and cookies on the counter. "Uncut and hangs to the left. Anything else the state needs to know about my cock?" The till guy cleared his throat and began ringing up the additional items and bagging them without further comment. Annoyed, Dean grabbed the bagged items in one hand and took Karen's hand in the other and left the store. "You know, you don't have to do everything my little sister tells you," he said under his breath as they walked to the truck."Then why'd you buy them? Seems like you can't tell her 'no' any more than I can," Karen replied, a little surprised that she had the guts to argue with him.Dean laughed, "I don't want her knocked up any more than you do." He helped her up into the truck and tossed the bag of items to his sister.Dana went digging through the bag and retrieved the box. "Wait a minute, these are just regular. Didn't they have lubricated?" she complained. Karen swallowed uncomfortably, searching for an answer as Dean pulled her seatbelt out and buckled it around her."Don't need lubricated if the guy does his job right," Dean said, grinning at her cheerfully. "Raise your standards and you won't need so many, either.""Hum; lower yours, and maybe you'll actually need some," Dana retorted, opening the package of cookies. Karen just shrank in her seat and covered her flaming cheeks as they pulled back onto the freeway.The scenery turned into wooded hills with mountains growing in the distance. Steering down the curved roads, Dean sighed quietly, a peaceful smile on his face. Karen leaned forward in her seat, trying to see everything as it passed, excitement lighting her face. Dana had fallen asleep again.Near evening, Dean turned the truck down a long, dirt road and reached behind him to shake Dana awake. "Watch for him, Day;” he said. Dana sat up, suddenly alert and scanning the darkening woods around them."What are we looking for?" Karen asked.

Smiling should be contagious, game nights, can we update our spring style, loving with all our hearts, piercings and tattoos long term.   Red lights, what you wish for, contract, all fun and games, should there be another horror app? What's on shudder? No hard feelings. infinity pool.   Creamy lemon chicken, chicken fajita pasta bowl, pepperoni snack, grape pork chops, Crispy cheeseburger tacos, cabbage enchilada bake.   Happy Thursday stars

In this episode, Kris is joined by Deka and Besty to dig into the latest Newcastle United drama. ⚫⚪ The lads break down the fallout surrounding Paul Mitchell's sudden exit from the club.

We're celebrating the 20 year anniversary of Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers. I'll share a story about “When Kitty Eyes Are Smiling”. You'll find out how about how my first Kickstarter did 4 years before Kickstarter existed. Plus, you'll enjoy rockin 'traditional music from High Octane out of France. This is Folk Songs & Stories #300 0:45 - Marc Gunn “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” from Irish Drinking Songs: The Cat Lover's Companion 2:37 - WELCOME TO FOLK SONGS & STORIES I am Marc Gunn. I'm a Celtic folk musician living in Atlanta, Georgia and host of the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. I'm also a cat lover as you'll hear later on in the show. This show is for fans of my music. If you're new to the show, please subscribe. You can do that PubSong.com or Just send me an email to follow@celtfather. 3:00 - NEWS Poll: What's your favorite song on Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers? Merch: Buy Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers on Patreon or Bandcamp. 3:13 - UPCOMING SHOWS JUL 19: Fiddler's Green Coffeehouse Concert series @ 8 PM, First Existentialist Congregation of Atlanta. 470 Candler Park Dr. NE / Atlanta GA 30307. 404-378-5570. firstexistentialist.org, Presented by Atlanta Area Friends of Folk Music (AAFFM) JUL 31-AUG 3: Gen Con, Indianapolis, IN AUG 28-SEP 1: Dragon Con, Atlanta, GA SEP 24-28: ALEP 6, Harrodsburg, KY OCT 17-19: MultiVerse, Peachtree City, GA NOV 8: IrishFest Atlanta, Roswell, GA with Inara DEC 7: Nerdy Wonderland at The Lost Druid, Avondale Estates, GA @ 12 - 5 PM. 4:02 - High Octane “Eastern Vagrant” from High Octane 9:55 - SUPPORT THE CLUB The show is brought to you by my supporters on Patreon. If you enjoy this podcast or my music, please join the Club. You get something new every week. It could be a blog, an exclusive podcast, downloadable song, printed sheet music, or stories from the road. Plus, you'll get access to all of my Coffee with The Celtfather video concert series. Email follow@celtfather ! If you can't support me financially, just sign up on Patreon for free. Special thanks to our newest and returning patrons: --CELTIC INVASION VACATIONS Every year, I lead a small group of people on an exciting adventure to one of the Celtic nations and other exciting locations. In 2025, we're going on a Celtic Invasion of Galicia in Spain. Galicia is indeed one of the more obscure Celtic nations to those of us who are most familiar with Ireland and Scotland. Find out more at CelticInvasion.com. 11:43 - IRISH DRINKING SONGS FOR CAT LOVERS KICKSTARTER In 2005, I decided to fund my second solo album, Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers, with a Kickstarter. Well, officially Kickstarter hadn't started yet. It would be another four years before that happened. However, I ran the Kickstarter in a very similar way. I set different levels and ended up raising over $10,000 to fund the album. Admittedly, that was not all profit. In fact, I had far higher expenses back then because I didn't know how to run a fundraising campaign back then. Nevertheless, it was a huge success and I was able to order 1000 copies of this CD. I think I've printed over 3000 copies of this CD since it was released. But of course, now it is no longer available on CD with me at least. It's only available as a digital download or on an album pin. On June 6, 2005, I released the second episode of the Cat Lovers Podcast to fund this album. Here's a re-release of that podcast episode. 11:56 - CAT MUSIC LOVERS #2: “WHEN KITTY EYES ARE SMILING”, CATS STUCK IN DRAWERS (REBOOT) A tabby cat stuck in the dresser drawers A letter to Torre from Anthony Creech of Celtic Radio Keeping cats indoors Cat Galaxy, All Cats! All the Time! 24:25 - Marc Gunn & The Dubliners' Tabby Cats “When Kitty Eyes Are Smiling” from Irish Drinking Songs for Cat Lovers “When Kitty Eyes Are Smiling” is a parody of the song “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling”. The lyrics to When Irish Eyes Are Smiling were written by Chauncey Olcott and George Graff, Jr. and set to the music of Enerst Ball for Olcott's production of The Isle O' Dreams. The music was published in 1912. when kitty eyes are smiling autoharp, lead vocal: Marc Gunn flute: Hannah Gunn bass, piano: Ari Koinuma Did you find this episode entertaining? Share it with a friend. 27:12 - CREDITS Thanks for listening to Folk Songs & Stories. This episode was edited by Mitchell Petersen. You can follow and listen to the show on my Patreon or wherever you find podcasts. Sign up to my mailing list to learn more about songs featured in this podcast and discover where I'm performing. Remember. Reduce, reuse, recycle, and think about how you can make a positive impact on your environment. Have fun and sing along at www.pubsong.com! #pubstories  

Charlotte, the Sage of Abby HillBased on the work of BradentonLarry, in 6 parts.  Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.The Sage and  a Kind of Good-Bye"The Sage is ready to see you now," said Wei, the tall Asian man who they had learned was the Abbot of the brown-robed monks – or the Order of Record Keepers, as they called themselves.Don gently urged Nicole to release his cock from her mouth and promised they would get back to playing soon. As he tied his grey robe about himself, Don saw that Toshia, who had been riding up and down on Alan's lap only a moment before was also hurrying to make herself "presentable". After waking up hours ago, and the following, almost routine, morning sex (Well, that's definitely the right way to start the day, particularly when you wake up sandwiched between two naked, sexy women! Don thought to himself with a happy smile), they had had a bite of breakfast and been asked to wait until they were called for. While they learned a little bit more about the Order, most of the morning was spent in lazy sexual play. It was now shortly after midday, and at least two of them were quite eager to meet this person whom they had been awaiting, and had gone to such lengths to find.They followed Wei to the foot of a winding staircase and proceeded up. At the top, behind a modest door, they were admitted to a good sized study, complete with shelves filled with row upon row of books. Windows all around the room let bright sunlight in. There were a few comfortable chairs, and a nice desk, behind which, in a brown robe, sat a middle aged woman with thick, dark brown hair falling down around her shoulders. She was apparently reading the last page of a stack of typed material.Wei gestured to a set of chairs that had been drawn into a circle of four, and said, "Please, make yourself comfortable, she will be right with you."Sure enough, right after he had closed the door behind himself but before they could get comfortable in their chairs, the woman looked up at them and smiled. "Hello," she said as she stood up and came around the desk. "You're obviously Don, and I'm guessing you're Toshia and you're Nicole.""That's right, and you're 'the Sage'?" Toshia asked."That's what they call me," she smiled as she sat down in a high-backed chair."I admit, I was expecting someone a bit ... more wizened," Don smiled."Well, it's really just a title, like 'the Crone', though I suspect the similarities end about there. You can call me Charlotte if you prefer.""Pleased to meet you, Charlotte," Toshia said."Likewise," Charlotte smiled again. "I know you must have many questions, but let me just say, I've just finished reading your various reports, and I've enjoyed them very much. Our scribes are chosen for their skill at asking the right sorts of questions and their ability to flesh out the stories they're given, but in this case they've had very good material to work with. The three of you have had some very interesting adventures. I particularly enjoyed reading about your encounter with the Bull, Toshia.""So, everyone who comes here looking for you tells their story and you read it?" Nicole asked."Yes, that's right. I confess, my personal 'kink' is to get off reading about, and sometimes watching, the exploits of others. I would have finished reading your reports earlier, but I had to keep stopping to masturbate.""Wouldn't it have been more efficient for us to just tell you directly?" Nicole asked with a twinkle in her eye that the Sage seemed to miss."Well, yes, but there are two problems with that," Charlotte answered. "One, we keep all the stories, as a record and a source of study...""You could just have someone type it up as we told you," Toshia pointed out.Charlotte nodded, "That's quite true, but then the narrator would be bristling with questions for me, which would slow things down and cause all kinds of complications.""Is that the second problem?" Don asked."No, the second one is that there seems to be some benefit to having each person tell his or her own story, and then comparing them.""How have our stories diverged?" Don wanted to know."Well, I've only just read the three of them, and haven't had hardly any time to think about them, but Don's way of looking at your time here in Eros involves a lot of digressions and interconnections, while Toshia's is more straight-forward. Nicole's is actually rather journalistic."Don could see that Nicole had half a mind to object to this, but he cut in with, "OK, but what's the point of all this anyway?"Charlotte the Sage frowned slightly and said, "I assume you mean the record-keeping?""Well, for now, yes.""At some point, long ago, the first Sage decided that one way of trying to make sense of the whys and wherefores of Eros was to start recording the experiences of people who, like him, remembered their lives before waking up here.""And, has it helped?" Toshia asked."Well, it certainly makes for some stimulating reading," Charlotte laughed. Then she added, "It definitely has served to build up some generalizations that seem to be helpful.""Such as?" Don prodded."Every single person who has come here, to this Abbey, and this goes back for 450 Erosian years, has spoken English rather fluently. Now, the only people who we interview are those who remember their lives prior to waking up here, but none of them has ever reported meeting anyone who doesn't speak English. This suggests that either the people who don't remember spoke English before they arrived here, were somehow rewired to speak English upon being brought over, or are native Erosians. This all seems to strongly suggest that whomever or whatever is responsible for selecting people for Eros speaks English, and that seems quite surprising and noteworthy to me.""So, which is it, were they brought here or are they natives?" Nicole asked."They were brought," Don said quietly, remembering his and Toshia's visit to the Library in the Manor."Well, the evidence does suggest that," Charlotte nodded. "They seem to have various personality traits and interests that wouldn't make sense for native Erosians, for one thing.""That's what I was thinking," Don added."Also, some people have actually met people they recognized or even knew quite well from Earth, but who seemed to have no memory of that other life.""That must have been bizarre," Toshia said."It has sometimes been ... awkward, to say the least," nodded Charlotte."All of this is very interesting, but you mentioned whomever, or whatever, is selecting people from Earth – English speaking people from Earth," Don said as he leaned forward. "Who or what is doing this, and why? What's the point of it all?"Charlotte smiled again, "I honestly can't say. I admit that the question puts me in a philosophical frame of mind. Imagine if I asked you what the point of it all was on Earth. Anyway, there are theories, of course. Some Sages have thought that we were being held prisoner here as lab rats, running countless experiments on human sexuality, others that there is some power, or powers, who feed off human eroticism, or who have lost the ability to generate it for themselves – the ultimate voyeurs. There seems no question that there's some intelligence behind it, though.""Why do you think so?" Toshia asked."Well, it only selects people who are quite dissatisfied with their Earthly sex lives." Charlotte held up her hand to forestall Toshia's objection. "The fact that it is very hard to sort out exactly what counts as such dissatisfaction seems to lend weight to this consideration. No doubt, Toshia would hesitate to say that she was dissatisfied in any way with Sarah, but it seems clear from reading her story that she would hardly think of the sex life she was having before as being satisfying now. Almost every single person who has found his or her way here has thought that being brought to Eros was a wonderful gift, which has led some to speculate that this was some kind of heaven."Don couldn't resist scowling at this notion, and Charlotte noticed. "I don't buy that either," she said with a smile. "On the other hand, it's the best afterlife I've ever heard of. Going back to the question of intelligence, one of the most telling bits of evidence is the two of you, Don and Toshia."After taking a moment to scowl thoughtfully at this suggestion, Toshia asked, "What do you mean?""As far as our records indicate, the two of you are unique. No pair of friends has ever woken up together like you have. Before you ask, I have absolutely no idea what that might mean. Perhaps it's for the purposes of one of those psycho-sexual experiments."There was a moment of silence before Don decided to ask, "What's up with the black robed figures?""The Watchers," Charlotte nodded. "Another indication that there is some kind of intelligent process going on. After 450 years of accumulating data, there has never been anyone – anyone recorded, anyway – who has managed to talk to, or even catch hold of, one of those bastards. They watch for a bit; then, when you think you're going to get your hands on one, they're gone.""Is it science or magic?" Toshia asked."I'm inclined to follow Arthur C. Clarke on this one and say I don't really know that there's a difference in this context.""There are so many questions," Don muttered, shaking his head. "How many people remember their lives? What's the distribution of their wheres and whens? Is there anything they all have in common besides being sexually frustrated?""Is there a way to get home again?" Toshia asked resolutely.Charlotte, knowing this was the issue that had motivated them in seeking her out, turned to Toshia with a serious expression and said, "Yes, or so it would seem anyway. There are apparently at least two ways. The first is to become bored with life in Eros. It seems that when that happens you will simply go missing, and it's presumed that you return to your Earthly life. As to the other, more proactive, way, the lake outside is the headwater of a river that runs several hundred kilometers to an ocean or a sea – we haven't been able to get anyone to engage in any kind of systematic exploration. Along the coastline to the left of mouth of river...""To the left facing the sea?" Don asked."Yes," Charlotte smiled again. "Go down the river, then turn left, and proceed along the coast, until you find a place called the Grotto of Ishtar, or just the Grotto. There, according to two people who have accompanied others seeking to leave, you'll find a way to return home."Toshia looked like she was ready to head off immediately, but a couple of concerns occurred to Don. He said, "I'm troubled by something: how can anyone here know that people return home safely? And, now that I'm saying that, how did the Scholar know that time moves differently here in Eros? It doesn't seem to make sense that we could know these things unless someone has been able to return home and then come back.""Very good, Don," Charlotte nodded, and Don found himself thinking that she must have been a teacher back on Earth. She explained, "There seems to be a way to go back and forth between Eros and Earth more or less at will. One of the more enterprising people who have visited the Abbey several times, a Stephanie Ayers, found someone with this ability and talked to him at great length. She then tracked down two more people, and in doing so was able to confirm these rumors and suppositions.""How are they able to do it?" Don asked intently."Stephanie says they have 'magic rings' that allow them to 'decide' to wake up in either Eros or Earth; or, should that be 'on'?""Where do they get those rings, and what do they look like?""I cannot answer the first, Don, but apparently they are simple rings of a shiny black material, something like hematite."Don sat back in his chair. That sounds familiar! After a moment of reflection, he smiled broadly and said, "I think I've seen someone with one of those, and I'm pretty sure I can find her again."Charlotte gave Don a long look and said, "I can guess what you have in mind, Don, but I should warn you that these ring people are not only very possessive of their rings, but also very evasive about how they came to acquire them. Stephanie hasn't been able to get any useful information so far, and she's been at this a while."Toshia brought the discussion back to the main topic with, "I wanted to ask another question – our flying carpet stopped working and several hundred kilometers is a long way – do you know of any way to make the trip quicker?""Well, yes," Charlotte answered, "I would take the riverboat.""The riverboat?""Yes, there's a riverboat that goes from the Resort down to the city on the coast, Rendezvous, and back. You might have to wait for it sometime, it doesn't keep to a schedule very well, but it docks just outside of the Resort, through the gate opposite the one you used to come here.""Wait," Don cut in, "there's a city?""Well, it's a town, really, but it's the biggest one in Eros as far as I know."This prompted what felt like a dozen questions in Don's mind, starting with those of economics. He was still having a hard time coming to grips with the weirdness of how Eros worked."Thank you for your time, Charlotte," Toshia was saying.Although Don wanted to interject with, "Are we leaving already?" he realized how important it was for Toshia to stay on the task of returning to Sarah, so he set aside the questions he was dying to ask and stood, saying, "Thank you very much." Nicole followed suit.The Sage stood up as well, and said, "If you decide to stay longer in Eros, please feel welcome to return to the Abbey anytime."Don smiled warmly at this suggestion, and thought it was a bit odd that he was leaving this attractive, intelligent woman without having had the pleasure of, well, pleasuring her. Eros had definitely altered his way of thinking.At the foot of the winding staircase, Wei met them with one of his smiles and their clothing. Once they had changed, Wei led them back to the entrance-exit. The other "monks" seemed particularly scarce. Similarly, the huge guardian of the bridge was nowhere to be seen as they crossed it.Toshia set the pace down the trail for the Resort. She was clearly in a hurry to get on the road, or river, as the case may be, to this Grotto of Ishtar. Don kept up with her easily, but also kept an eye on Nicole, who didn't walk as fast as Don and Toshia even when they weren't hurrying. He could tell that something was troubling the pretty young woman, but his own mind was still bustling with too many questions for him to ask her what was on her mind. Still, he wasn't surprised when, as they came around the last corner and saw the Resort's gate ahead, Nicole asked them to stop for a moment."I thought I should tell you this before we found the others," Nicole said, taking a moment to sit down on a nearby rock."What is it?" Toshia said with obvious and honest concern."I'm not going back," Nicole said. "Well, not yet. I'm going to wait until I'm tired of this place. I don't really have anybody back home to hurry back to, Toshia, and I fucking love it here. I'd come along to make sure you get to the Grotto safely, but it sounds like you and Don will be able to do that without me. I don't think you'll be able to shake Shelonda anyway, but you might want to consider leaving Victor and Amy here at the Resort. You know the rest of Eros isn't so nice and friendly, and this place is safe."Don smiled at Nicole and said, "It's been great having you along with us for this long.""If they're right about time, we'll all wake up 'tomorrow' and email each other," Nicole smiled with a bit of sadness. "Well, allowing for the date difference, that is. You better come visit me, Professor."Don laughed, and said, "Of course! I'm already looking forward to it.""You can come stay with us in Florida," Toshia smiled. Don could see a tear in her eye.He decided to make things a bit easier on them all by changing the subject, "You know, she has a good point about the others."Toshia seemed to fasten upon this line of thought, saying, "Well, Shelonda's going to be very hurt if we don't allow her to come with us, I think.""I'm not sure we're in any position to allow or disallow her, actually," Don said."True," Toshia nodded. "So, the most we can do is encourage her to stay here. Probably that's the most we can do for all of them.""We could suggest that they need to stay here to keep an eye on Nicole," Don mused.Nicole laughed, and said, "Oh, I'm sure I'll be quite alright here.""And, what happens if Nicole does eventually get tired of this place and goes missing?" Don nodded. "Do people who don't remember their past lives do that? Damn, I should have thought of asking that earlier."

The Jungle Room and The ascent to the SageBased on the work of BradentonLarry, in 6 parts.  Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.Clubbing in Eros."Maybe I should have been expecting this," Don said."What?" Victor asked.Don frowned. Where to begin? he thought. First of all, there seemed to be an actual little jungle inside the Jungle Room. Though there was a park-like lawn stretching out in front of them, there were palm trees and thick, jungle vegetation all around. Don could hear the distinct sound of monkeys and other jungle critters playing, and doing whatever else they do, from the deepening shadows. Then there was the open sky overhead. Although it was quite shady on the floor of the "jungle" they could see the blue, cloudless sky as it began to darken toward night. Strategically placed torches and a few bonfires would keep the place from getting too dark. Finally, there was the quite undeniable fact that the place certainly seemed to be quite a bit bigger on the inside! Don considered going back outside to walk around the building, and then pacing the inside off just to make sure, but then decided he would just go with it. And, he decided, if none of this bothered Victor, who was he to trouble the big guy's mind?Walking a few paces in, to get out of the doorway, Don paused to look around and get his bearings. On the right, there was a sandy area, with a big bonfire in the middle. At some distance from the fire, there were quite a few lounge chairs arranged in a rough circle around the fire and open area. There were a few people lounging there at the moment. Continuing on counterclockwise, and moving deeper into the micro-jungle, Don saw a raised platform with cushions and pillows; it really looked like a huge couch, or a sectional unit taken to extremes. Beyond this, Don made out several tree houses, accessed by ladders, as well as various sorts of beds, couches and blankets scattered about the more or less open areas between the trees. In the distance, he thought he saw a cave of some sort. To the left of that and closer to the entrance, seemed to be a pool, designed to look like a natural pond, complete with a waterfall. On Don's immediate left, then, was a large wooden structure, raising several stories from the floor.Don, followed closely by Victor, turned to this complicated building within a building and climbed the few stairs that led up to the wide deck-platform that was the first floor. Right in front of them was an open area that was apparently used as a dance floor; there were several couples dancing slowly to the music that was playing, as well as a few solo dancers, all of whom were in varying states of undress. Off to one side was a row of stripper's dance poles, around which danced a couple of almost entirely naked young women, and, at the far end, a strapping young man wearing nothing but a loin cloth. Don could also see, along another side of the platform, a set of comfortable chairs, one of which was being used at the moment as a platform for some very enthusiastic sex. Across the dance floor, there was a refreshment bar much like those that had been in the Manor, and a set of stairs leading to the upper floors of the structure.Before they could go any further, a striking woman with long legs, large, firm tits and long red hair falling down over her shoulders and down her back in an unruly tumult came up to them; she was wearing a diaphanous green silk "skirt" that was really just a pair of broad strips hanging from a narrow belt around her waist that covered her sex and her butt crack before falling down between her legs. She also wore a heavy gold necklace that hung between her generous breasts. She smiled at them and said, "Hello, welcome to the Jungle Room, would either or both of you like to dance?""Hi," Don smiled, "I'm still looking around, but perhaps Victor here would."The woman looked Victor up and down with obvious approval while the big, muscular man returned the favor."Hello, Victor. I'm Vixen. What do you say, big fella, wanna dance?" she smiled."Sure," Victor grinned.Don smiled a little himself, watching the two of them moving toward the center of the dance floor and then begin dancing, while he was thinking, "Vixen"? What an odd name. He looked around again, deciding where to explore first. His eye was caught by the long, black hair of one of the women dancing on a pole, and he decided to move in that direction for a better look.Her hair was thick, straight, hung down to her butt, or would if she stopped moving long enough, and was a lustrous black that gleamed darkly in the rather subdued light of the Jungle Room. Her skin was a reddish brown. She had long, slender arms and legs, full breasts and a lovely rear. As he drew closer, Don thought she was most likely of Native American extraction, perhaps South American. She was wearing a dark red skirt with slits that ran all the way up to her hips on each side, gold bracelets and anklets, and a gold necklace that was more of a choker, hugging her slender neck closely. He noticed that she had a black ring on the middle finger of her left hand. Her breasts were bare, and her dark nipples seemed to beckon to Don. He saw that her face was lovely, and then she smiled at him with a friendly, playful light in her eyes, and Don decided he would tarry here for a while. He stopped behind the stool set in front of the dark beauty's pole and asked, "May I?"She smiled again, and said, "Please do, welcome to the jungle.""Thank you," Don smiled back as he sat down on the stool. He was already trying to place her accent.She spun herself around the silvery pole in a gravity defying display of strength and grace. Her hair was flung about in a wide, beautiful arc. Her skirt flared too, displaying her sexy legs to considerable effect. Don was struck by the way her body moved about the pole in a wonderful combination of the athletic and the erotic. He was already finding himself mesmerized by the dancer's beauty and sensuality. She came to a stop, with her arm wrapped around the pole, leaned against the pole, and said, "This is your first time to our jungle, isn't it?"Latin, but not Spanish or Mexican, Don thought in the back of his mind. He said, "Yes, how could you tell?""I would have remembered you," she smiled as she slid from the pole and glided toward him. She bent down and took his face in her hands, looking deeply into his eyes. As he was looking back into her dark brown gaze, he thought, Portuguese? Then she was kissing him lightly and all coherent thought flew away. Don's perceptions and mental processes were abruptly focused entirely on her lips touching his and the fragrance of her perfume. As she pulled away, only a moment later, a deep sigh slipped from his lips.She smiled and laughed a little and said, "This is how we welcome visitors."Brazilean! Don's brain exclaimed triumphantly, but his mouth was murmuring, "That's a very nice welcome.""I'm India," she said as she began to dance in front of him, her legs on either side of his knees. Her hands were moving over her naked flesh as she swayed in time to the music. Don was having a hard time knowing where to look; not that there was any proper place to look or not look, but that everywhere on this woman's body seemed to be the best place to focus his attention."I'm Don," he finally managed."It's good to meet you Don," she smiled, pronouncing his name more like "Dohn", which he found utterly charming. "What have you been doing before you came here?"Don chuckled, "That's a long story.""I like stories," she purred in his ear before kissing his neck.A shiver ran through the length of Don's body, and he breathed in her scent again. "Um," he attempted, "well, I guess, it begins in the Manor.""Ah, yes, I've heard of this place," she nodded."I woke up with my friend in a bedroom there," he managed as India casually untied the knot that held her skirt in place and dropped the garment to the floor, exposing her pretty, bare pussy.She straddled his lap and sat down, placing her warm hands on his shoulders and looking him in the eye. Don's hands moved up along her firm, smooth thighs. Remembering the rules of his non-Eros life, he half expected to be told "no touching", but of course such a restriction was foreign here."Your friend is the man dancing with Vixen?""No," Don laughed. "That's Victor, we didn't meet him until much later. My friend's not here right now. She's at Ladies Nite.""Ah," India nodded. She began to caress his neck and shoulders, and Don continued to stroke her legs idly."Well, um, my friend and I didn't know where we were or how we got there, or even how to get out of that room.""That must have been frightening," India said, as her hand moved over Don's bare chest."Well, it was certainly strange. I think my friend, Toshia, was more concerned than I was. We were all alone for a bit, and very confused, but then some other people showed up... Well, they fell into the room actually! They weren't much help – well, they were helpful in a sense – but they were too horny to really answer our questions."India smiled broadly and nodded, as her hand made its way down to Don's lap and began to caress his already hardening cock."Uh, well, we did find our way out of the room – well, Toshia did – and things got stranger after that...""What do you mean? How stranger?"So, Don began to tell this beautiful woman about his adventures in the Manor, all while she listened attentively and continued to pull and stroke his now very hard cock. Occasionally she asked a question, laughed, or otherwise expressed interest. As he talked, Don let his hands roam over her warm skin, caressing and exploring. Now and then she would lean in and kiss his neck or his shoulder, and he would sometimes lean forward to kiss her breasts. He was about to tell her about the maze in the garden, when India decided they had waited long enough. She rose up off Don's legs and shifted forward, pulling his straining cock forward. He felt her hot, wet pussy against his head, and then the exquisite sensation of entering her warm, moist sex. Don groaned as she slowly but steadily sank down on him, letting his cock fill her. With his hands holding her waist tightly, Don kept her down on him, and India began to rock on his lap, working his cock in and out of her, while grinding her clit against the base of his thick cock. Her hands came up and clasped his face, pulling his mouth to hers. Their kiss was long and passionate as she rode him there in the Jungle Room. Don reached around to squeeze her beautiful ass in his hands as he struggled to push himself even further up inside her. India shifted back and forth against him, grinding herself against his body, while his tongue slipped into her mouth, slipping over her smaller tongue, and while her breast moved against his chest, their nipples brushing against each other's.When their mouths parted at last India slipped her strong, thin arms around Don's neck and tossed her head back, letting her mane of jet black hair fall down over her back. Don paused a moment to revel in the sight of this gorgeous creature riding his cock here in the middle of this strange junglesque setting. He took in her long, beautiful neck, her full, heaving breasts, and her red-brown skin, now shimmering in the torchlight with a thin sheen of perspiration. Then, he lowered his head to kiss her chest, first between her tits and then made his way to each nipple in turn, pulling and sucking on them, pinching them between his teeth now and then. This last elicited a happy whimper from India and she rocked against him with even more insistence. Don, his cock straining up inside the exquisite grasp of her pussy, pulled her forward and down, making sure she was rubbing against him as much as possible. Then, he felt her hands moving around to hold the back of his head, keeping his mouth on her breast, where he was sucking hard on her left nipple. Don heard her moaning at the same time he felt her body beginning to shake against him. Her pussy pulled and squeezed at him as she climaxed. Don held onto India as she rode his cock trembling and groaning with what seemed to him like a very long, satisfying orgasm.She finally relaxed her grip on his head and he was able to pull back and smile up at her. She blushed a little and smiled back at him. "That was beautiful," she said in her wonderful accent, "but I'm not done with you."Before Don could even think of objecting, the lithe beauty slipped off his cock and lap, and knelt between his legs. India gave him a wink with her dark brown eyes, as she took his very hard, slippery cock in her hand. She pulled it forward a bit, and ran her pink tongue up along its length. Don shuddered as she reached its head and lingered there, fluttering over it, licking her own juices off it. Then, she was sucking his head into her mouth. Her pretty eyes looked up at him as she began to move her mouth up and down, taking more and more of him into her mouth and then her throat. Don shuddered and felt a low groan building up in his throat. He was barely aware of the fact that quite a few people were watching the two of them, but he couldn't take his eyes off the vision of the gorgeous woman sucking on his cock. She had a tight grip on the base of his shaft as her lips moved up and down on his shaft. He felt her tongue pressing against the underside of his cock and her throat squeezing around his sensitive head. Almost without noticing, Don moved his hands up to either side of her head and held on to her gently, keeping her there as she sucked on him insistently."Oh god!" he cried out as he finally closed his eyes and let his own orgasm erupt. At first all he could feel was the intense sensation at the base of his balls and shooting through his entire nervous system. Then, gradually he became aware of the fact that he was pumping jet after jet of hot cum into India's mouth and throat. He opened his eyes to see her holding tightly to him as she took all of his cum in. He felt her swallowing repeatedly. Don's body was shuddering and twitching as he very slowly came down. India didn't take her mouth off him until she was sure she had gotten every last drop of cum out of him."Wow!" Don breathed. "That was amazing!""Thank you," India smiled, giving his cock a little kiss. She laid her head against his thigh as he stroked her thick, black hair happily. Don found himself thinking he would have to thank the resort's gate for insisting they enjoy the resort before leaving."That looked like fun!" said a woman's voice from over Don's shoulder, and he felt a light hand touching his left arm.India smiled and said, "It was. This is Don, Jaden."Don looked back and up to smile back at the slender woman with reddish brown hair falling past her shoulders. She had great, slim legs and full tits that looked large on her petite frame. Her cheerful smile was infectious, though Don realized that might just be the great orgasm talking. Then he felt India's hands on his thighs as she drew herself back up in front of him. For a moment, Don found himself sitting there grinning between two beautiful naked women. I really do love it here, he thought to himself, meaning the Jungle Room, the resort and Eros at once. He noticed now that India stood with an undeniable air of confidence and even authority. There was something regal in her bearing."I think it's time for a game," India smiled at Don and Jaden. "What do you think?""That's a great idea!" Jaden nodded."I'm always up for a game," Don agreed as he stood up, a bit unsteadily."Come along if you want to join the game," India called out to everyone in range of her voice as she began to saunter over to the steps down to the floor of the "jungle". Don followed along after her swaying backside as if he were bewitched."She's amazing, isn't she?" Jaden asked with a wink.Don smiled back at the pretty little redhead and said, "I think that might not be strong enough. Are you a regular here?"She smiled back. "I'm here pretty often. I heard some of the story you were telling India. It sounds very hot. I'd love to visit that place. Is it far from here?""I'm afraid so," he nodded. "I'd offer to take you there, but our flying carpet is broken.""A flying carpet? I've never seen one of those," she frowned a bit. "Why does it sound so funny?"Don looked at her carefully, thinking again about how much people remembered from their lives outside Eros. Apparently Jaden didn't remember that magic wasn't supposed to work, but somehow managed to hold onto the notion that a flying carpet was somehow wrong.While all of this was going on, they had followed India down to the thick grass of the floor and to the open lawn-like area spread out in front of the club's entrance, where there were six large colorful blankets arranged in a circle around a thick, squat wooden post with a flat top. Don was quite positive those blankets and that post had not been there when he and Victor had come in, and it looked like that post was set quite firmly into the ground."Oh, the spinner game!" Jaden said happily.India smiled warmly at her redheaded friend and walked toward the post, which came up to just under her full breasts. She beckoned to Don, who was quite happy to come closer. He saw that there was a very basic spinner, like the kind you would use to play a game of Twister, on the top of the post. Beneath the spinning arrow, the top of the post was clearly divided by thick black lines into six sectors corresponding to the six blankets."The women go to a blanket, then the men spin and go play with that woman," India explained. She held up a good-sized hourglass, which she seemed to produce out of thin air, and said, "When time is up, they stop and come spin again."Don nodded and grinned, "Sounds like fun.""It is!" India smiled back. "Now, how many people do we have?"Both Don and India looked around and did a quick head count. There turned out to be six guys, including Don and Victor, and eight women, including India, Jaden and Vixen, who was now pretty much naked, just like everyone else."I'll keep the time," India decided, and then said, "Rain and Lena do you mind sharing?"The trim brunette with the long dancer's legs and the curvy blonde with very long straight hair looked at each other, giggled a bit and said no, quickly moving together to claim one of the blankets. The other women each took a place, as India explained the simple rules to the guys. "When I call 'time' you have to stop," she said seriously, but with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "Don and Victor, it's your first time, so you go first."Don gestured for Victor to go ahead, and then watched as the big guy spun the little metal arrow, which finally stopped on the sector matching up with a gorgeous woman with an amazing body and long black hair with silver streaks running through it. While Don had to admit that there was no losing in this little game, he hoped he didn't have to wait too many turns to get paired up with that beauty.Don spun the arrow and found himself paired with an adorable woman with beautiful full breasts, thick red hair, sparkling eyes and an infectious smile. She flashed Don a big grin as he came toward her, and said, "Hello there," with an unmistakable Australian accent."Hi," he smiled, and then added, "I'm Don."She looked him over in a very friendly way and said, "Pleased to meet you, Don. I'm Bella."Don was vaguely aware that there was a bit of a hold up as one of the guys had to spin again."Sometimes we just play that you go wherever the spinner sends you, but India seems to want to make sure things are evened out – for now, anyway," Bella explained. Somehow Don was picking up on a bubbly enthusiasm in her voice.Don took the time to notice that counterclockwise, to his left, the next blanket had Vixen and the one after that had Jaden, each of whom were paired up with a male Jungle Room guest. To his right, or clockwise around the circle, were a blanket with a staggering beauty with long brown hair and then the blanket with Lena and Rain, each blanket also now graced by a guy. Victor and his partner were directly opposite Don and Bella on the circle."OK," India called, "time starts ... now!"Bella wasted no time, stepping up to Don and slipping her arms around him. He felt her soft breasts pressed against his belly as he leaned his head down to kiss her upturned lips. She responded eagerly, opening her mouth for his tongue and pulling him even closer to her. Don felt his cock rising between them, and then Bella's hand slipping around to take hold of it, pulling and caressing it.It was hard to tell whether Bella was drawing him down or he was lowering her to the blanket, but somehow they ended up lying together, still kissing passionately. His hand moved up between her smooth thighs and his fingers were stroking her outer lips, already moist with her nectar, while her hand continued to move up and down on his now very hard cock with a tight grip. Don's fingers slipped between her lips and began to push up into Bella's warm pussy. He was very happy that she was so wet already. He worked his fingers slowly up into her, pausing for a moment to find and tease her clit with the end of his thumb. She groaned into his mouth and squeezed his cock still tighter. Don pushed his fingers further up into her, pressing his palm against her clit. As he began to fuck his fingers in and out of her grasping pussy his palm ground against her clit. When they finally broke their kiss for a bit of air, Bella gasped, "Fuck!"

Widely known as the “Mother of Mindfulness”, Dr. Ellen Langer is a foundational figure in the study of mindfulness outside of meditation traditions. Dr. Langer is the first woman to ever receive tenure in psychology at Harvard, where she has researched, in her own lab, mindfulness for over 40 years. Dr. Langer has published well over 200 research articles and 13 best-selling books, (“Mindfulness”, “The Mindful Body”, “The Art of Noticing”, “Counter Clockwise”, and “The Power of Mindful Learning”) in which she has written on the illusion of control, aging, stress, decision-making, and health without meditation. In our interview, Dr. Langer talks about these topics, and also shares lessons she has learned from her American mom Sylvia. To learn more about Dr. Langer, visit her website here. To order her latest book, visit here.  Subscribe to Ana's new "Mama Loves…” newsletter here.  To contact Ana, to be a guest, or suggest a guest, please send your mail to: info@thankyoumama.net For more about “Thank You, Mama", please visit: http://www.thankyoumama.net Connect with Ana on social media: https://www.instagram.com/anatajder/ https://www.facebook.com/ana.tajde    

A doctor I heard on a podcast said he prescribes all his patients to smile twenty times a day. It sounded very convincing on the podcast and I thought, I can do that! Then I hesitated. For women, it can be a little loaded to be told to smile more. I don't LOVE this for that reason but I do understand the benefits and the rationale. Smiling is good for you! And then I thought about how dramatically my relationship with smiling has changed over the years. As a girl, and then as a young woman, I smiled ALL THE TIME. To keep reading Twenty Smiles a Day ⁠⁠⁠visit the Songs for the Struggling Artist blog.This is Episode 449Song: Sara SmileImage by Kacey Anisa Stamats of Emily Rainbow Davis and Emily Hartford in Messenger Theatre Company's As We Like ItTo support this podcast:Give it 5 stars in Apple Podcasts. Write a nice review!Rate it wherever you listen or via: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ratethispodcast.com/strugglingartist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join my mailing list: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.emilyrainbowdavis.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Like the blog/show on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/SongsfortheStrugglingArtist/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support me on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/emilyrdavis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Or on Kofi: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://ko-fi.com/emilyrainbowdavis⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠or PayPal me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.paypal.me/strugglingartist⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join my Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://emilyrainbowdavis.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Follow me on Twitter ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@erainbowd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Me on Mastodon - @erainbowd@podvibes.coMe on Blue sky - @erainbowd.bsky.social⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pinterest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Tell a friend!Listen to The Dragoning ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and The Defense ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. You can support them via Ko-fi here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://ko-fi.com/messengertheatrecompany⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠As ever, I am yours,Emily Rainbow Davis

Come join us at the Jensen Dental (https://jensendental.com/) booth during the FDLA Southern States Symposium & Expo (https://www.fdla.net/attendee-information) - June 13-14 at Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek in Orlando, FL Register today at: FDLA.NET Dr. Andrew Turchin knew he wanted to be a dentist as soon as he shadowed one many years ago. After spending years in New York, he moved to Aspen, Colorado and opened his own practice where he created the Ageless Smile (https://andrewturchin.com/). To do this, he created a simple mathematical equation that works on almost every patient. Simple and always keeping the end in mind, he wanted to teach other doctors this method and opened Cosmetic Confidence Coaching (https://www.cosmeticcoaching.com/). He comes on to talk about how the formula works, working with in-office technicians, and how occlusion goes beyond just the teeth. Take it from Laura Prosser, the digital marketing manager for Ivoclar North America (https://www.ivoclar.com/en_us). She would like to invite you to start following them on Instagram. It's your chance to obtain exclusive updates on product announcements, industry news, upcoming educational events, and heartwarming stories about our local team and industry professionals. Let's get social together. Simply start following us on Instagram @Ivoclar.na (https://www.instagram.com/ivoclar.na/). We'll see you there. Special Guest: Dr. Andrew Turchin.

Want more GallowgateShots content? Then why not become a member of the channel for as little as £2.99 per month; you'll gain early access to videos; extra member only perks along with a link which will allow you to join our very own NUFC community via our telegram messenger group. Sign up below https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLHhMdZOBv6BGYU9aWVNjQ/join Follow our other social media platforms by clicking the link https://linktr.ee/gallowgateshots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

☀️ This warm, light-filled meditation was created to help you feel like sunshine -  glowing from within with happiness, joy, and pure radiant energy. During this practice, we'll gently move through the body, awakening the loving energy of the heart and letting it flow into every part of you,  delivering a soft, inner smile as it goes. As you visualize each part of your being smiling - (from your heart to your lungs, belly and more!) you'll begin to feel that joy radiating outward. A loving reminder that, when you smile from the inside out, it shows up in your energy, on your face, and in how you move through the world. With love, Jo 

Book 3 in a 4-volume library.The Resort along the way to the SageBased on the work of BradentonLarry, in 6 parts.  Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.Toshia found riding on the Wizard's flying carpet strangely arousing. She had heard or read somewhere that dreams about flying were supposed to be about sex, and pretty much everything in Eros made pretty much everyone, and some things, aroused. Still, there was something particularly wonderful about sailing over the countryside with the wind whipping through her hair and over her bare skin that Toshia was finding extremely stimulating. She looked out and down at the forest beneath her as she reclined on one side, half leaning back against Victor who sat closer to the center of the carpet. Nicole, still very much uncomfortable with flying on this open vehicle, huddled up next to the big, muscular man's other side. Amy and Don were up at the front of carpet piloting and looking for a tower at the head of a river, respectively. On the back part of the carpet, Shelonda seemed to be napping. Toshia was coming to think of this merry little band as something of a family – a happily incestuous family, of course, with Don and her as the patriarch and matriarch, naturally.Watching the landscape floating past below, thinking warmly about her companions, and feeling the delicious tingling in her loins signaling the inevitable return of her lust, Toshia rested her head on one hand, while letting the other hand move slowly down the front of her body. She caressed the curve of her breast through the thin fabric of the short dress she had gotten from the Wizard. Toshia thought back to how she had met the Wizard and his beautiful wife, Madeleine for the first time. True to Don's word, they had left the Sisterhood the morning after the big orgy in their honor. Daphne had agreed to "give them" Victor and Nina, but the little serving girl protested that she wanted to stay with the sisters. Victor, however, was quite happy to join Toshia and Don's little band. Then, the sextet.That's perfect! Toshia thought to herself with a smile as she gave her breast a squeeze. The sextet then climbed aboard the flying carpet and flew back to the Wizard's spacious estate. After they were bathed, in wonderfully warm water, and clothed, the Wizard and Madeleine fed them and made them welcome. At first, as something of an odd formality that made the other's chuckle and grin, the Wizard fucked Toshia with surprising vigor while his wife enjoyed Victor's hard cock. Don and the girls actually managed to wait until Toshia had her first shuddering orgasm and Victor filled Madeleine's pussy with his cum (after she had at least two orgasms of her own) before they joined in the party. That evening was a wonderful blur of sex. Toshia pinched her nipple through her dress as she thought back to the moment when she had mounted the Wizard as he lay on the floor, Victor pushed his wonderful cock into her ass, and she had taken Don into her mouth and throat. With each of her orifices truly and delightfully filled, Toshia had let the boys use her body as she rode a long series of orgasms to near oblivion.Toshia smiled to herself, as her hand slipped lower, pressing against her belly, as she thought of the easy, happy atmosphere of the Wizard's home – so comfortable after her days with the satyrs and the sisters. She thought of the strategy meeting, at which the Wizard offered them the continued use of the magic carpet as well as more clothes. It was at that meeting that Madeleine noticed that they had made an unwarranted assumption about what the Crone had told Don. They had all assumed that when she had said, "Go down into the valley and follow the river there to its source..." she meant the valley they were currently in, or at the top of. In fact, though, she might have meant only the valley of the river she was talking about. Of course, this meant that they probably had much more searching to do than they had expected, and they were now on their third day of flying along rivers looking for towers. Madeleine's observation naturally enough cast a pall on the group's mood. Seeing this reaction, Madeleine had quickly added, "Since this might take some time, and you've already been through so much, why don't you come with my husband and me?" She explained that the couple was planning a little trip to visit the Manor for the first time. Toshia found herself eagerly agreeing to take a couple of days' vacation from the quest to get home.As her hand caressed the skin of her thigh, just below the hem of her short dress, Toshia remembered how happy she had been to return to the Manor again. Making the Wizard and his wife the guests of honor, though Victor had never been to the Manor either, Toshia and the others made a point of showing them a good time. Toshia was surprised at how comfortable she was in the Manor. In spite of everything that had happened, it was actually Toshia who suggested that they split up for the first night, into girls and guys. Toshia pushed the hem of her skirt up and raised her leg as she moved her fingers up along her thigh as she thought of the fun the girls had shown Madeleine that night. It had been party night in the disco again, and Madeleine threw herself into the revelry with abandon. At some point, it became a competition to see how many men each of the women could make cum. Toshia's fingers traced lightly over her moist lips as she remembered the playful frenzy of that night. As before, things started out in the foggy pit, and all five of the women began to fuck and suck in the smoke and pulsing music. Toshia parted her lips and ran a finger up between them, spreading her juices over her eager little clit, as she remembered being on her hands and knees in the "slow dance" room pushing back on her seventeenth cock of the evening. Only a little bit in front of her Madeleine was sprawled on her back getting fucked vigorously by one guy as three others stroked their cocks over her, spraying cum all over her beautiful face and tits.Toshia was now playing with herself in earnest, her fingers stroking against her clit and occasionally pushing into her pussy. All the while, she remembered the wild, playful events in the Manor. She thought of how Don and the other guys had found her and Madeleine cuddled sleepily in the black light room covered in cum. Don had kissed her lovingly, took her in his arms, and proceeded to make love to her passionately, while the Wizard did the same with his slutty wife. Toshia shuddered a little as she thought about how she had later lived up to her promise to herself and managed to take on both the Player and Igor – a double-teaming that had left her spent and adrift in a delirious sea of ecstasy.Toshia's memories were interrupted then as Victor's big hand reached around to cup her breast and squeeze it. She sighed and rolled back a bit more to look up into his smiling face. She felt Shelonda's hand moving up along the inside of her leg and parted her thighs further to let the girl have access. Shelonda rested her head on Toshia's lower inner thigh and promptly sucked Toshia's clit into her mouth. Toshia gasped and began to work her arm around so she could get her hand on Victor's cock. Unlike the rest of the group, Victor remained naked so Toshia was easily able to take hold of his stiffening member. Victor bent down to kiss Toshia's yearning mouth. Toshia was twisted there on the flying carpet, making sure she didn't keep Shelonda from her pussy and clit, but hungrily sucking and biting at Victor's tongue as his strong hand squeezed her tit. Soon she was shaking and moaning as her first airborne orgasm swept through her body.Without letting go of Victor's thick shaft, Toshia caught her breath and managed to gently push Shelonda away from her pussy. She smiled down at the other woman's impish face, and then twisted around to face Victor, who also turned so that he was kneeling on the carpet facing Toshia. Nicole was alarmed by all of this sudden commotion, and grabbed at Victor's bicep as she took in what the others were up to. She opened her mouth to object, but immediately realized any protestation would be futile. Instead, she peered around Victor's shoulder to watch as Toshia pulled herself up into Victor's lap and got her mouth on his cock.Toshia eagerly began sucking on the thick, dark shaft, savoring the feeling of the hard, warm flesh sliding past her lips and over her tongue. She was delighted to feel Shelonda's persistent hands moving up between her legs again. Soon Toshia had two of Shelonda's fingers pushing up into her as she sucked on Victor. After only a minute or two of this, though, Toshia knew that she wanted more. She gently pulled away from Shelonda again, and clambered up so that she was straddling Victor's lap. Shelonda saw what Toshia was doing at once and quickly reached into Victor's lap to take hold of his straining cock. Holding onto his broad shoulders, Toshia lowered herself down onto the organ Shelonda aimed into her pussy. Toshia threw her head back and sighed as she felt herself wonderfully filled. She sat there, impaled, with her head back and eyes closed for a few moments, just enjoying the feeling of that cock inside her. Then she slowly began to grind and ride up and down on Victor. The big man's hands held her waist snugly, and she leaned down to kiss him. She gave herself up to the sensations her body was sending her way: the wind in her hair and on her naked arms and legs, the strong chest pressing the fabric of her dress against her breasts, the strong thighs underneath her, the mouth on her own, the tongue against hers, and most of all the thick penis sliding in and out of her grasping, wet pussy. Then she felt Shelonda's hand on her butt, squeezing and caressing it. Toshia turned to smile at the adorable young woman, who leaned in to give Toshia a quick kiss.Then Toshia watched as Shelonda turned her attention to Nicole, who obviously thought that these in-flight shenanigans were madness. Looking to the front of the carpet, Toshia saw that Don was watching her riding Victor. He smiled encouragingly and she responded by grinning back at him and increasing the tempo of her fucking. She decided that she wanted to make Victor's big cock fill her up with its cum, and then that she would have Don add his. She slid up and down on Victor's shaft, squeezing her pussy around him, and looked out to see the countryside flying by beneath them.Toshia saw that Shelonda had managed to distract Nicole enough that the two women were lying down behind Victor making out. Shelonda had her hand up under Nicole's skirt, and Nicole had one hand on one of Shelonda's perfect tits and the other squeezing Shelonda's no-less-perfect ass. Toshia heard Amy say, "Oh, now this isn't fair at all!" Don said something in response, but Toshia was preoccupied with working herself toward a second orgasm and her determination to make Victor come.She felt the thick phallus inside her swell and then Victor was shaking and shoving up into her as he pumped his thick cum into her pussy. This pushed Toshia over the edge and she threw her head back and cried out as she trembled and came, clenching and milking Victor's cock as they climaxed. When the trembling subsided and she could think again, Toshia sagged forward on Victor.Smiling, Toshia kissed Victor's forehead and turned to Don, saying, "Your turn love."Don didn't respond but kept looking ahead, in frantic conversation with Amy. Looking beyond the two of them, Toshia saw what seemed to be a walled town or something spread out on a shelf on the side of a mountain. Then, high up the mountainside by a large lake Toshia saw a pinkish tower. While she had been fucking, Don and Amy had found the tower! Then she noticed that although Don and Amy were obvious excited, they seemed more panicked than enthusiastic. Without taking the time to get off Victor's still-hard cock, Toshia called forward, "What's wrong?""We're losing altitude," Don said brusquely."Fly higher?" she offered weakly."I'm trying!" Amy said with obvious exasperation."We're going to hit the mountain!" Nicole gasped."No, we're not going to make it that far," Shelonda said. "It looks like we're going to hit that wall.""No we're not!" Amy said with more determination than confidence.Toshia had a moment to look beyond the wall in question, and saw the town she'd noticed a moment earlier consisted of several rather large buildings of multiple stories, and a bunch of smaller structures. In the center of "town" was what looked like a very large pool or fountain, and it now looked like that was where they were headed – rather too quickly, Toshia thought.They were over and past the wall then, and people in the town noticed them and there were outcries from below."Can't we just stop?" Nicole asked in a panic."I've been trying to do that!" Amy shouted.Toshia realized they were about to crash and she was still kneeling there with Victor's prick up her. She laughed and said "Damn!" at the same moment, and then they hit the water.Victor held her in his arms as they went tumbling forward and under. Toshia felt her back brushing the hard stone bottom of the pool and then Victor let go of her. She pushed away and opened her eyes, which had been closed tightly since the moment before impact. There were arms and legs everywhere in the water, all flaying about wildly. Trying to keep her wits, she pushed up from the bottom and quickly broke the surface of the water; it was only a little over chin deep. She wiped the water out of her eyes and looked around. She saw the others bob to the surface, and noticed that their few packs were floating around. Don found her and asked, "Are you all right?"She smiled at his concern and said, "Yes, I think so. Are you?""Yeah," he nodded. Then he was hugging her tightly. "It's all fun and games until your flying carpet runs out of gas, eh?"Toshia laughed and said, "Let's check on the others."They quickly found that everyone was fine, if very wet. They were scattered in a swath from the point where they had hit the water, with poor Nicole having travelled the furthest. They saw that they were in a truly humongous swimming pool, which was fortunately not too terribly crowded. No by-swimmers had been hit by the carpet or its riders. The sextet gathered up their belongings, and Victor, who had none of his own, took up the slack by hauling the sodden, heavy carpet out of the water. As they made their way to the closest side of the pool, naked people began to swim out to them with concern and curiosity. The bottom of the pool rose as they went, until they were able to wade on out. A large crowd of onlookers gathered around. Toshia, Don and the others looked back at them, trying to sort out which questions to ask first.Before anyone could make any progress, though, a tall blonde woman with cowboy boots, cowboy hat, a pleated skirt, and a light denim vest complete with a six-pointed star badge. The only thing she was missing was a six-gun at her hip. Instead she carried what seemed to be a heavy baton, which naturally enough looked a bit like sex toy to Toshia. Of course, she was pretty, though she had a stern expression on her freckled face. This fully-clothed woman fixed a coldly serious blue eye on the bedraggled newcomers, and said, "What's the meaning of this?"Don stepped forward and said, "Well, we crashed, ma'am.""Crashing into the pool is not allowed," the woman said."Is it specifically against the rules?" Don asked."As a matter of fact, it is," the woman said crossly. "The pool is to be used for swimming and sex only. I'll have to arrest you all for breaking that rule as well as reckless operation of a vehicle and careless endangerment of resort guests.""Resort?" Toshia asked, as she looked around at the large buildings she could see over the heads of the crowd. They did look a bit like hotels or casinos."Look, ma'am..." Don began."Sheriff," she asserted."Sheriff," Don smiled, "I assure you this was a terrible accident. If we come with you peacefully, will you give us a chance to explain the situation?"The Sheriff scowled at Don and the others and then nodded curtly. "Come this way. Mike, make sure they didn't leave anything in the pool. Bring anything you find to me."Mike was apparently a young woman with short, bright red hair, who nodded and promptly waded into the pool.As the curious crowd parted and then began to disperse, and the party of resort crashers followed the Sheriff, Toshia looked around more carefully. Sure enough, the poolside was lined with chaise lounges and umbrellas. Scattered about were little tent houses. Further from the pool were little bungalows and about half a dozen much larger buildings. The Sheriff led them between two of them, each with a bold sign out front. The one on the left was called "The Jungle Room", even though there must surely be many more than one room in the building. A grinning ape with a raging hard on swung from sign's "g". On the right was the "Clockwork Club", whose sign showed off gears and pistons. Not surprisingly, along the way, they passed a number of people who were busy with a variety of sexual activities. Toshia also noticed, here and there, a man or woman moving about in what seemed to be uniforms, carrying towels or beverages.The Sheriff led them to a smallish building in the shadow of the Clockwork Club. Pushing a wooden door open, she admitted them to an outer office straight out of a typical western. There was a single desk, a perfunctory wall to screen the office from the two cells in the back, a chair for the Sheriff and that was about it. After hanging her hat on a peg by the door, the constable sat on the edge of her desk, crossed her long legs in front of her, and said, "OK, let's hear your explanation."If Don was distracted by the woman's obvious physical charms, Toshia couldn't tell. He simply smiled and said, "Thank you, Sheriff. You see we were trying to reach the tower in the mountains above your ... resort.""The monastery tower?" the Sheriff asked."I don't know about the monastery," Don shrugged. "We're trying to find the Sage, and were told to look for him in a tower at the source of a river.""I believe there is a sage of some sort up there," the Sheriff nodded."Well, we were trying to get there when all of a sudden our ... vehicle just stopped working.""It 'just stopped working' right over the resort?""Well, not exactly," Amy offered. "It started losing power some distance downriver. I didn't notice at first, but then I couldn't get it to cooperate. It just kept going in the same direction, but lower and lower."The Sheriff looked at Amy carefully, and then said, "Well, you seem to be telling the truth, and nobody was hurt, so I suppose we can let this one incident pass. I'll be keeping an eye on you, though. Don't cause any more trouble or you'll end up in one of my cells.""Thank you, Sheriff," Don bowed a little."Excuse me, Sheriff," Toshia interrupted. "Can you tell us the best way to get to the tower?""There's a road up the mountain. You'll want to go out the East gate." When it became clear that they had no idea where the East gate might be, the Sheriff stepped back outside, pointed them in the right direction and gave a few basic instructions.As they continued on their soggy way, Victor made the slightly surprising announcement that the carpet was already dry, and proceeded to roll it up for easier carrying."What do you think happened?" Nicole asked."I have no idea," Amy shrugged."I do," Don said. "Remember that candle the first day we were here, Toshia? The one that went out in the secret passage?""Yeah," she nodded."And the Wizard said his power was centered on his house, or something like that. I think we finally flew the carpet too far from the Wizard, or his house, so it ran out of mojo.""Why didn't we just crash, then?" Toshia asked."What?" Nicole gasped.Don shrugged, and said, "I really don't know. Maybe it's just the kind of thing that fades out, like sound or light; it's not like you hear someone in the distance until you go one step too far – they fade out. And maybe the thing that uses up the most power is steering, then altitude and finally forward motion. I don't know; I'm just guessing here, but it does seem to make some kind of sense."Toshia and the others puzzled this over, but only for a short time, because they now came to the high wall that surrounded the resort and the very large metal gate that was set into the wall. They could look through the heavy bars and see the rocky terrain and a path outside the resort. In the center of the gate was a large impassive metallic face; it was quite out of character with the rest of the resort as they had seen it.Don stepped forward to look for a handle. Finding none, he took hold of one of the vertical bars and tugged, and then pushed. The gate didn't budge."Excuse me," said a deep voice. "Do you always walk up to people and grab them without so much as a 'good afternoon'?"They all looked around in confusion, until Shelonda pointed up at the face on the gate. It was now obviously looking at them with a deep frown."Oh, uh," Don stammered. Toshia chuckled. Even after everything they'd been through Don kept expecting things to be more mundane than they were here."We're terribly sorry," Toshia said to the metal face. "We're not from around here.""Yes, I know," said the face with an exasperated expression. "You're the folks who crashed into the pool.""Ah, you heard about that?" Toshia smiled."Heard about it? No. I experienced it.""Hello," Don blurted. "How's that?""I experience things like that," the face explained with apparent strained patience. "Things that happen to the resort happen to me.""Fascinating," Don mused."Well, we're terribly sorry about crashing into the pool... or into you, if that's more accurate," Toshia pressed. "We were just going to continue on our way up the mountain path through there, er, you.""But you just got here," the face frowned."Well yes, but we weren't trying to get here, but to the tower," Toshia explained.

[WEEKEND RECAP 05-25-25] There is some poetic justice for watching them celebrate their temporary wins, only to watch President Trump give them an atomic wedgie when he wins in the upper courts.How demoralizing it must be to see all their house of cards get blown down, and the worst part is they will soon run out of OUR MONEY.No USAID to keep the war against America brewing.Trump has kicked so much DOMESTIC butt, that he is making his presence felt around the world. The Saudi trip was a roaring success. He helped heal relations between Muslims and non-Muslims like never before in the modern era.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-kevin-jackson-show--2896352/support.

Smiling through the struggle- You've Got Thishttps://lifemotivationdaily.blogspot.com/

Who is Anne?Anne Bland is an insightful and compassionate advisor dedicated to helping individuals who haven't fully received the support they need. With a keen understanding of the challenges people face, Anne empowers them to recognize their own struggles and the steps they've already taken to address them. She guides her clients to see when it's the right moment to seek further assistance, offering innovative solutions and encouraging them to take notice and make meaningful changes. Anne's unique approach ensures that people feel understood and equipped to tackle their problems more effectively.Key Takeaways00:00 Compartmentalization and Self-Care Importance07:47 Inner Wellness and Happiness Connection10:50 Balancing Personal Space in Relationships14:35 Developing Stress Management Tool Library15:49 Smiling as Stress Relief21:55 Mindfulness Techniques for Anxiety24:45 Creating Meaningful, Purpose-Filled Lives27:30 Access Free Resources Online_________________________________________________________________________________________________Subscribe to our newsletter and get details of when we are doing these interviews live at https://TCA.fyi/newsletterFind out more about being a guest at : link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/beaguestSubscribe to the podcast at https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/podcastHelp us get this podcast in front of as many people as possible. Leave a nice five-star review at apple podcasts : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/apple-podcasts and on YouTube : https://link.thecompleteapproach.co.uk/Itsnotrocketscienceatyt!Here's how you can bring your business to THE next level:If you are a business owner currently turning over £/$10K - £/$50K per month and want to grow to £/$100K - £/$500k per month download my free resource on everything you need to grow your business on a single page :It's a detailed breakdown of how you can grow your business to 7-figures in a smart and sustainable way————————————————————————————————————————————-TranscriptNote, this was transcribed using a transcription software and may not reflect the exact words used in the podcast)SUMMARY KEYWORDSselfishly happy, business people, work-life balance, compartmentalization, burnout, leader, self care, happiness, stress management, communication, personal development, mental health, professional growth, emotional well-being, self-awareness, mindfulness, nervous system, energy, relaxation techniques, positive psychology, neuroscience, self-mastery, transformation, leadership, organizational culture, parasympathetic nervous system, breathwork, inner smile, meaningful life, stress response, relationship managementSPEAKERSAnne Bland, Stuart WebbAnne Bland [00:00:31]:Hi, and welcome back to It's Not Rocket Science 5 questions over coffee. I'm delighted this afternoon to be joined by Anne Bland. Anne is a coach and mentor with a range of experience, but mostly, she's gonna be talking this afternoon about how selfishly happy you, which I think is gonna be a really fast paced topic. It's how do business people become selfishly happy. So, Anne, welcome to It's Not Rocket Times, 5 questions over coffee. Looking forward to talking with you enormously today.Stuart Webb [00:01:02]:Thank you so much, Stuart, for having me. I'm really looking forward to this conversation.Anne Bland [00:01:07]:So can we just start by sort of, helping to define or, people to understand the sort of person that you're looking to help?Stuart Webb [00:01:18]:Right. My clients often are professionals who are leaders in their fields, either as entrepreneurs or working in an organization who kind of balance try to balance the work and life and not quite succeeding in that. So maybe there is a there is a there is, you know, one of them is well, managed, but the other one is not. So it's like kind of that compartmentalization that we all kind of, resort to as, as a go to method when we try to struggle too many things. It's easier to put things in a box, if you see what I mean. Mhmm. And not realize that they're interlinked.Anne Bland [00:01:58]:I did. And they are interlinked as well, aren't they? There's no doubt about it. Even though we want to all pretend that somehow we are, superheroes, we are human beings at the end of the day.Stuart Webb [00:02:09]:Yeah. And we are really not super, beings, I think. What's the the question? We're we're we're supposed to be human beings, not human doings and definitely not super doers. So I I definitely have a lot in my CV as you said. And I think that's the, that's the culprit why I've burned out myself few times in my life. And it's not really something that I take pride in, cause you, everybody's about to in, in modern stressful life to burn out or get exhausted once in their lifetime, but not three times. I mean, you know, you start thinking, what's gone wrong there? So I think I've learned my lesson and really got my teeth in over the last 5, 6 years to understand what makes us happy, joyful, pleasure filled human beings.Anne Bland [00:03:03]:So we'll come onto that, I think in a minute, Anne, because I think there's some really good stuff you've got to say. But let's start by talking about sort of things that people have done Mhmm. Who are perhaps not quite getting the help they need that you can provide. What is it that they've done themselves to try and resolve some of these issues? How would they recognize themselves and go, oh, wait. They're talking about me. Perhaps this is this is the time when they should really start to take notice.Stuart Webb [00:03:34]:I think it is that compartmentalization I said earlier, you know, where you want to kind of put things in particular boxes and, okay, I I leave that there. You know, my marriage is not very good or my work life, I'm struggling in in particular relationships. And I try to kind of just avoid that. The other thing is, because there is some other aspects in life that are bringing fulfilment and joy and, and a sense of achievement. The, the other thing I see is that people just tend to plough through stress. So there is this kind of magical thinking that if I just get into the Christmas or if I can just get into the, before the summer holiday starts, if I can get through this week and then it's the weekend and I can catch up and relax or I can, I, but, but it doesn't happen that way, unfortunately? And then the other thing is that I see a lot is that people don't think, especially in men, that self care is something that one ought to be, investing in. And if, if, if they ask their, family, they say, yeah, why don't you just look after yourself a little bit, demon? There is that kind of, opportunity to actually learn what makes each one of us more calm, happier, more pleasure filled, and peaceful, and also joyful to be around with. And I think it's that kind of understanding that self care is not just for women or self care is something that actually needs to be one of those pillars that we invest in and get tremendous return on investment.Stuart Webb [00:05:15]:I'd say, regardless who you are, regardless of your status, regardless of your, agenda.Anne Bland [00:05:23]:So let's talk about some of those things that you you do to help people understand that self care, that, that ability to, as you put it in your your bar lines, to be selfishly happy. And it's got a bad reputation, hasn't it? But actually, you know, a bit like when you're here when you're on a flight, it tells you to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before helping anybody else because how can you possibly help somebody else if you've fallen unconscious or, and you are unable to sort of do anything. So let's talk a little bit about what does it mean to be selfishly happy. Let's talk a little bit about that. And then perhaps you could sort of I know you've got some some some things, some valuable advice, some valuable free things that you'd like to sort of bring to the audience. So perhaps you could describe those, and and talk a little bit about that.Stuart Webb [00:06:13]:Yes. So putting that oxygen mask on yourself first before helping others is, is is something that I talk a lot about because I feel that, again, it's embedded in my own experience. I'm very passionate person. I want to change the world. I want peace and happiness all around. And then I realized that, you know, when you work in that kind of social impact or environmental impact, scene, you tend to burn out very quickly because you can't control the external externalities. And the only thing I can change is how I react, how I feel and how, what kind of energy I bring into any table, any situation, any relationship, any work. And, and I think that's the, that's the key is really kind of going in.Stuart Webb [00:07:03]:And that's why I call it selfishly happy because it is putting that oxygen mask on yourself first. And also if you become selfless, like we're all told, especially women that, oh, you just need to serve others. You need to be helpful. And, you know, you know, don't put yourself, you know, it's, it's bad. It's egoistic. And I'm not talking about ecocentricity. I'm talking about, becoming more of you becoming self full in a way because selfless can, can become quite toxic eventually. You know, it can become a person can become bitter or, or, or, or a doormat or people pleaser or, or, you know, that there is, there is a balance to be had.Stuart Webb [00:07:47]:And I believe if we are in good health, if we are in good energy, we are happy, we have so much more to give out to others and to the world at large. So there is this kind of understanding that it starts from within and more we can regulate our own nervous system, just talking about sort of neuroscience spiel it's, speak it's, it's, it's more important to actually regulate your own nervous system so that you don't come across as aggressive or, or you don't come across as, as somebody who is just, there for themselves or, or, you know, just avoiding situations that actually benefit from having frank discussions, for instance. So it is, it is that kind of play with words if you like. And I do know that lots of people are, well, you can't say selfish. And I said, well, let's just, you know, really understand what's behind it as opposed to, you know, getting to the, preconceived idea. So it is kind of deliberate to stop people to think and kind of what do I actually mean by that? What is it to become happy truly? It is to know what you need. It is know how to get what you need, and it is understanding what your fears and anxieties are and taking care of those.Anne Bland [00:09:08]:So we've got a question from Mark. And perhaps this leads into some of what you're gonna talk about in terms of the valuable free advice you've got for our audience. But but Mark asked, in your opinion, what does self care look like for a man? And I suspect it probably isn't just going to the the nail spa and getting your nails done. Although, you know, let's face it. It could be that. But I mean, what is it that you would say men, in particular, should be looking for in terms of what they need to do to care for themselves to make them, efficient and effective human beings?Stuart Webb [00:09:45]:Thank you, Mark. That's a that's a very good question, and I really appreciate, you, raising your hand and asking that question. It looks very different to different people, of course, regardless what gender you are, but there is a lot of energy that men have that, that I think for instance, exercise is something that often men don't do because it is something that, you know, that there is there, there are responsibilities at home, there's responsibilities at work. So it is very easy to stop that. And maybe then just sit down when you're exhausted and open the telly, open a can of beer And, and nothing, no judgment there, but it is, it, it could be something that, what is it that, and I think whoever you are is to really ask that question to do that pausing and kind of do the list. What is it that really makes me feel good? You know, it's for somebody it is, you know, have a good, male friend who loves art. You know, he just goes to the art classes on every Saturday morning. You know, he just goes off and does art.Stuart Webb [00:10:50]:You know, whether it's, painting flowers or painting nudes, I don't know, but it is, you know, amazing that you can just kind of realise that, okay, what makes me happy? What is the time when I can, you know, play chess with somebody on the other side of the world or, or do a game of some sort? You know, it is, it is that, but also it is the need to, to spend time on your own. And I think one of the biggest things I've noticed with relationships is that often, especially if one of the, one of them in the relationship is, is a home maker. They often feel very, isolated or they, they just yearn for having an adult conversation. And the other one comes from work and just yearns for solitude and yearns for having, oh, I just, let me just get my coat off. And, you know, let me just, you know, have 5 minutes to actually state those boundaries and saying, look, can I just have my 10 minutes? And I'll just go to the bedroom, get changed, and I just lie down for a while. I just need to empty my head and land into the home life. And I think this is very important that people learn to communicate what they need so that they don't become begrudged and and oppressed and suppressed just because we tend to please people that we love.Anne Bland [00:12:16]:Just a small insight from my own life, which I think sort of illustrates the difficulties with this week. Then in my household, there were 2 busy very busy professionals both, you know, pushing hard at their career and a child. And it was a rule that the one that picked up the child from nursery or school got home, did childcare, and the other one would spend 10 minutes on the drive before they came in. Because the minute they walked through the door, responsibility passed to the other one because they haven't had their downtime. And so therefore, there was this sort of an it was, it's unwritten. We had discussed it, but it was the rule that you spend the 10 minutes in the car decompressing because the minute you walk through the door, I haven't had my 10 minutes to decompress. Yeah. And immediately, you've got you've got the responsibility for making sure that nobody's nobody's doing anything silly because I need to just go away for a few seconds.Anne Bland [00:13:07]:And it was quite difficult to balance because sometimes they'd look and go, I I may have had my 10 minutes in the car, but frankly I could do with another 10 minutes in the house. And it's like, I don't care. I'm sorry. I need the time. So we you've gotta learn to communicate these things and balance them, haven't you?Stuart Webb [00:13:24]:Yes. Absolutely. And congratulations for that awareness and that practice because that again is it's not just about yourself, but it is starting from yourself. What do you need? And asking for it, communicating it with a with a kind of nonviolent loving way and making the, making the, the, plan and whether it's outspoken, whether it's a practice, but it is, it is important to actually, have that understanding. And I would always, always, champion talking because we often think that, you know, oh, they understand, but often they don't. So it is good to actually spell it out and, and talk about it. I've got so many ideas that I could share here, but I wantAnne Bland [00:14:08]:to, I want to keep it to, to your time limit. So over to you.Anne Bland [00:14:12]:Oh, we have no, we have no time limit. If you wish to talk for the next hour, we will let you out.Anne Bland [00:14:18]:You don't know what you're leashing here unleashing here.Anne Bland [00:14:22]:Oh, maybe it can. Maybe 45 minutes. So but there is there there's obviously some stuff on your website which which we could go and have a look at. Can can you describe some of the stuff that we'll find there and and and some and how we might access, you know, what what we what we'll access it?Stuart Webb [00:14:35]:Well, my my website is not actually very much geared towards, things yet. It's, it's something I it's under development, but, I really want to create a library of tools that people can start practising because I strongly believe that there is, there is this culture at workplaces where people are demanded to push through that stress. Then the organisations are wondering, well, why the hell do we have such a staff turnover? And we all know how much staff turnover costs for organisations. Well actually not everybody understands the wider impact. You know, you might kind of look at the recruitment costs and, and, you know, teaching somebody to, to land in their new job, but actually it's not just that it's somebody else working 3 to 4 jobs at the same time whilst they are recruiting a new person or somebody is learning. So, so it is also impacts on their health and so on and so on. So it's just lots of ripple effects. So do you have a kind of, library anywhere where we can actually drop in, for instance, I was just teaching today, in another call, in another group, and an old Taoist practice called the inner smile.Stuart Webb [00:15:49]:And this is something I definitely want to put on the website is how a busy person, even during the work day can just take 2 minutes or even just 2 seconds and just practice in a smile. It's one of the most effective ways of getting your nervous system, which is often at work days during work days in, in this kind of, reactionary, you know, stress response of, of fight flight, which is important. Otherwise we don't get anything done. But we are also designed to be more a human being in that rest digest parasympathetic nervous system response where we can sleep without needing to take sleeping pills or your, your normal whisky or whatever. So it is, it is important to, not, not knowing whether you have whisky. So I'm not saying, well, I'm, I'm, you know what I mean? It's very easy to think that in the morning we need coffee in the evening, we need an alcohol, you know, drink to, to, to calm us down. So it is, it is kind of things like breath work. It is meditation.Stuart Webb [00:16:51]:It is about, doing, embodiment practices, just like, you know, sport is, you know, exercises or just, you know, shaking and dancing a little bit, to let that tension go and stretching, you know, just very simple things like this and just learning how to breathe so that you can access that parasympathetic nervous system. So it is interesting how people think of, well, of course I can breathe. Of course I can smile, but how many actually do it? You know, we could when we are in that stress response, even our breathing becomes like kind of, we hold breath a lot. And we just but when you actually get into that parasympathetic nervous system response, what I observe is that people start, oh, there is that sigh and there is, oh, isn't it delicious just to be and just just relax. And you could just do this like a microsecond, and it will be money in the bank, in your energy bank and well-being and and happiness bank. So things like that. It's quite simple things I'd like to offer to people.Anne Bland [00:18:04]:Indeed. And and I know the power of breathing, myself because I've been doing I've been learning better breathing techniques myself, for for other reasons other than standing here doing this. And one of the things that we've been trying to learn how to do is the fact that when you breathe in rather than sort of doing this with your shoulders, which is, you know, how we're able to breathe bring immediately bring the whole music tension is to just breathe deeply from down into the diaphragm down low. And then you don't hold it. You just suspend. You just relax and allow the air to be there rather than thinking about it. And it's quite difficult to sort of turn your mindset to this ability to think, well, I'm just gonna allow the breath to be in me. But it's actually really powerful because it stops you trying to sort of do.Anne Bland [00:18:53]:You learn how to sort of just enjoy the experience of saying, okay. I'm now standing. I'm completely relaxed. I'm not actually holding my my my my tension anymore. Nothing's happened. The air hasn't just suddenly disappeared. It's it's still there, and then you can breathe out later. And it is a mindset thing, isn't it? Learning how to control your feelings, learning how to control of that.Anne Bland [00:19:15]:And and it brings a sense of calm as you do it because otherwise, you're sort of fighting your body.Stuart Webb [00:19:21]:Yeah. And have you ever heard, you know, this expression that any any place, any organization is a reflection of the leader?Anne Bland [00:19:28]:Absolutely. And I'm watching it with an organization now and just Yeah. Aware of just we can talk a little bit about this. There is toxicity, and the suggestion from the management was shut down the office. We'll never we'll never change this culture. And I went, I think the culture starts here. Oh, really? And you can change the culture at the bottom if we just change 1 or 2 things around the management. And yet, there was this sort of, oh, no.Anne Bland [00:19:53]:We just sack everybody. It will solve the problem, which was a very disappointing thing to hear.Stuart Webb [00:19:59]:Yeah. I don't think transformation organizational transformation works quite like that. But just as a as a simple example, just taking your breathing, ex example. And you were saying that how it's so easy to kind of be like this, you know, and just hunch, you know, just, you know, your shoulders are 10 tense and all that. But the studies show that a person, in terms of body language, you know, just the idea that who do you trust is somebody who has a long, distance from ear to their shoulder. So when people were shown pictures,Anne Bland [00:20:38]:I was thinking, oh, I've got, shoulder pad you know, pads in this jacket. So, oh, dear. Should have chosen a different jacket or or blouse.Stuart Webb [00:20:47]:But but but it is it is that kind of when when somebody's like this, you kind of, you know, people were shown pictures. And when they were looking at people who were like this, you know, it's kind of, oh, I don't trust that person. So if there is that kind of energy that somebody is going to launch at you, you know, from the management, you know, like you said, you know, there is that toxicity. It's not going to change by changing the, the people who are below them. It is about, okay, how can we relax this, this, this boss or this, this C suit, in this organisation so that they can learn like you just demonstrated how you're breathing differently and how you can just, you know, and it's it's simple as that because we are animals in so many ways. We have that primitive, you know, ancient brain. And when we see somebody who actually holds themselves with esteem and has that posture of calmness, and I'm you know, we feel that, okay, they are in control. You know, it's not like, you know, you need to kind of because they are reflecting this fight flight, you know, all the time.Stuart Webb [00:21:55]:It's quite fascinating how this all kind of links together. And there are so many tools we can use in organizations where we kind of, okay, just mini, micro, micro pausing, just become aware, and then use habits like breathing, like in a smile, like just being present with your with your physical body through your 5 senses. What can you hear? What can you see? What can you feel? Just doing this, you know, for for, 10 seconds. Just trying to feel the ridges of your fingers with your, if if this people can't see the picture, you know, the video. It's it's just putting 2 fingers like your thumb and your, first finger together. And for 10 seconds, which is about 3 breaths to to just move your fingers and just really focus on on feeling the ridges of your skin in on on on those fingertips. And even that simple 10 second, 3 breath exercise will put you into your body, out of your thinking mind where the anxiety often lives, you know, and just fall into your body and kind of, you know, it doesn't have to be. Even if you're in a meeting in a boardroom and you can just do that when you start feeling anxious.Stuart Webb [00:23:14]:You know, it will help you to calm down and get into that, parasympathetic nervous system. And there's so many other things.Anne Bland [00:23:22]:And was there a particular book, of course? I mean, you have a a a a very, very wide career, but, obviously, this is this is this is this is something that's that's that's come to you. Is there a particular book, of course, that you, read or took that actually started this journey for you?Stuart Webb [00:23:39]:Well, I think 10 years ago when I burned out last time and I I decided to to resign and and divorce and all sorts of things happened, and started, learning everything. You know, it was I was like a sponge. I I realized that I didn't have joy and pleasure in my life. I just been on that kind of autopilot. Oh, you know, just one more day, one more week, one more month, and I'll make it through or, or whatever it is that we tell these quite toxic stories to ourselves. Which is fine because we're just trying to cope. You know, it's okay. I'm not judging here.Stuart Webb [00:24:18]:It's just that we the society hasn't taught us how to look after ourselves. So I can't pinpoint. I'm really sorry. I can't, I know you asked this and I can't just choose 1. You know, I can't choose 1 because I've studied positive psychology and intelligence. I've studied breathwork. I've studied, how pleasure works for our favor. I've studied Taoism.Stuart Webb [00:24:45]:I've studied, so many things, neuroscience, you know, neuroplasticity, all these kinds of, how do we create positive habits so that we can look after each other ourselves and then, you know, each other, because like we said, the energy and the, the nervous system, emits to others is going to impact other people just like in that organizational structure, but also at home. So I've learned tantra as well. I've learned so many different things in terms of philosophies, practices, and, ways in which, you know, I feel that if we have the self awareness that, okay, this is what I need, how am I going to get it? So what are the tools and processes and practices? So having that self mastery. And then eventually, how do we express ourselves in the world, in our relationships in a more balanced, constructive way so that we can actually have that impactful, passionate mission, purpose filled life? Because that's what every human being in the end of the day is looking for is to have a meaningful life.Anne Bland [00:25:56]:So that leads me, I guess, to the last question I have for you this afternoon. I'll let you get along with something. I know you're not you need to get on and do and that Yeah. Is there a question I haven't asked you? Is there something that you're thinking, well, he's missed the point. He's just completely misunderstood what we're trying to do here. Is there a question that I should have asked, which you would like me to have asked? I don't know. And you have to answer it.Stuart Webb [00:26:22]:Well, I don't know. I mean, in terms of the Not really. I think we've discovered quite a lot of things, and, and it's it's as long as piece of string, isn't it? It's like kind of we can talk about this much. And when you said, oh, you have an open mic, I said, you don't want that because I will talk. You know, I will talk for England. I will talk for the world. So, now I think I would I would perhaps invite people to ask questions if there is anybody in the audience that, I don't know if Mark has already letAnne Bland [00:26:58]:Well, we well, I'd say we have Mark who asked. And the only question he's he has made it, the third comment is, it's hard to be there for someone if you're going through stress and you're struggling to deal with it. So my my sympathies, if, if that's your situation. I know how difficult it can be. And, Mark has just given us a compliment. So that's very kind of you, Mark. Thank you very much for for enjoying it. And I hope I I don't think I've done very much to contribute other than ask Anne the right questions, but Anne, you've got a huge amount of knowledge, a huge amount of value that you've added this afternoon.Anne Bland [00:27:30]:I really appreciate how much effort you've put into this, and I thank you very much for coming on and speaking to us. I just one thing. If, Anne is in the process of, of of of of building things, so, you will continue to be able to see, a lot of the free stuff that we have at, for this website where people give away free advice. But if you go to go.systmise.comforward/freehyphen stuff, you'll find a list of all the free things that, people have given away. And if you would like to get an email every week, who just will tell you exactly is coming up so that you can join as Mark did today and spend some time asking questions of people I can. Go to go.systmise.comforward/subscribe. It's a simple form. First name, email address, all we want, just so that you get an email, which basically says, who's coming up this week? And you've got the opportunity to join in the live and ask questions as Anne has been here answering your questions.Stuart Webb [00:28:33]:Anne, thank you so much for spending 20 minutes with us and talking about this. Really appreciate some of the advice. We'll all be touching our fingers in meetings in future, try to learn how to be more relaxed as we are presenting and and talking to the boss. So thank you for those tips, and I really appreciate the time you spent with us.Anne BlandThank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed this discussion. Get full access to It's Not Rocket Science! at thecompleteapproach.substack.com/subscribe

Sometimes you gotta move to find your peace.

Wow you're so powerful! And to prove it, Brendan talks with the brilliant mindset coach Howard Falco, author of Invincible: The 10 Lies You Must Unlearn to Unlock Your Infinite Power. Falco's helped elite athletes, everyday legends, and curious seekers tap into their infinite potential. They get into the deep end (no lake pun intended) and explore:

Frances Fox remote views Adam Schiff's aura and his connections to members of congress-Trumps triumphant trip to Mid East- Et"s gently smile on Trump?....and more. :círculo_rojo: Watch this episode onFrances Fox remote views Adam Schiff's aura and his connections to members of congress-Trumps triumphant trip to Mid East- Et"s gently smile on Trump?....and more. :círculo_rojo: Watch this episode on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UyOuIqCOHg :círculo_violeta_grande: Remote vision Aura Analysis : store.francesfox.com/products :círculo_naranja_grande: Fox Psychic Amethyst glassses store.francesfox.com/collecti... :periódico: Newsletter: www.francesfox.com/newsletter :rezo: Become a Mantrista: www.francesfox.com/mantristas :delfín: www.francesfox.com :círculo_azul_grande: Follow our socials: Facebook: / francesfoxreveals TikTok: / francesfoxreveals Instagram: Mantrista Movement ................. :sonido: PODCASTS FRANCESFOX NEWS FROM OTHER DIMENSIONS Apple Podcasts: apple.co/3klq8Gm Spotify: spoti.fi/2ztsttt Stitcher: bit.ly/ffstitcher

Ever found yourself smiling, saying “I'm fine,” but quietly feeling like you're drowning inside? You're not alone—and you don't have to stay stuck there. In this powerful message, Pastor Akil challenges us to take off the masks we wear, get radically honest about our struggles, and experience the genuine healing Jesus promises. It's time to trade fake smiles for true joy. Watch—and step into real freedom.

Ravinder Taylor is a UK-certified psychotherapist and clinical hypnotherapist, trained at the National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy. She holds a Bachelor of Science in microbiology and has spent over 30 years researching human behavior, subconscious programming, and self-empowerment. She has co-authored more than 200 personal development audio programs and two books, and worked extensively alongside New York Times bestselling author Eldon Taylor in research, editing, and program development.Ravinder Taylor is a longtime explorer of the human mind. She authored the book Mind Training: The Science of Self-Empowerment, and she joins us for a rich and layered conversation about inner transformation, healing, mindset, and the truth behind what actually works when it comes to becoming who you truly are.In this episode, Ravinder shares her incredible story of healing herself from rheumatoid arthritis—without medications—by combining subconscious programming, hypnosis, spiritual perspective, placebo research, and relentless curiosity. She walks us through the science-backed benefits of optimism, the daily practices that truly shift your mindset, and the real psychology behind affirmations, rituals, and manifesting.We also touch on:Hypnotherapy, trauma resolution, and subconscious programmingGrowth vs fixed mindsets and the Neuroscience behind habit changeThe role of free will (or lack thereof) in transformationMedia manipulation, subconscious priming, and being aware of your inputsOptimism, journaling, diaphragmatic breathing, and the power of smilingThe journey of becoming the best version of yourself—without the fluffNotable Quotes from Episode 0114 – Ravinder Taylor“I wanted to give people the why—not just another list of what to do. When you understand why something works, you stop outsourcing your power.”“You don't always have to know which thing healed you. Sometimes it's the accumulation, the ripening—your belief meets your action, and something finally shifts.”“Free will isn't free—you have to take it. Most of our minds are running on autopilot, but we can interrupt the programming and rewire it intentionally.”“Healing isn't about becoming perfect. It's about removing what blocks your authentic self from expressing.”“Smiling is underrated medicine. It shifts your brain chemistry, helps others feel seen, and reminds you that you're safe, here, now.”This is one of those episodes that's packed with tools, reminders, and encouragement for anyone working on themselves. Ravinder brings grounded wisdom from both scientific and experiential lenses, and delivers it all with heart and clarity. I highly recommend grabbing a physical copy of her book 'Mind Training - Science of Self-Empowerment' 

In this episode, the lads reflect on Newcastle United's narrow 1-0 defeat at The Emirates — a tough result that keeps the race for Champions League qualification hanging in the balance. Kris is joined by fellow die-hard Magpies Besty, Mark, and Deka as they break down the key moments from the match and what it means for the final stretch of the season. The discussion also turns to the recent Club badge workshop. The boys share what they learned from the session — the good, the bad, and the surprising — as the club continues to explore its identity and heritage. Whether you're still dreaming of top-four or just here for the banter, this one's packed with honest opinions, laughs, and plenty of black-and-white passion. Want more GallowgateShots content? Then why not become a member of the channel for as little as £2.99 per month; you'll gain early access to videos; extra member only perks along with a link which will allow you to join our very own NUFC community via our telegram messenger group. Sign up below https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLHhMdZOBv6BGYU9aWVNjQ/join Follow our other social media platforms by clicking the link https://linktr.ee/gallowgateshots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most people love animals like cats, dogs, or tigers—but this episode is about a creature you've probably never heard of. It's small, strange, lives in water, and always looks like it's smiling. Can you guess what it is?Listen now to explore this wild animal mystery, enjoy fun facts and quiz questions, and keep learning with VivaLing!

You are in for a treat today, yinzers. Tressa welcomes Julius Boatwright to the show for a compassionate, candid, and uplifting conversation. Among his many credentials, Julius is a Mental Health Therapist, Licensed Clinical Social Worker & Founder/Managing Director of Steel Smiling. You'll hear about Julius' journey and about the incredible work of Steel Smiling, whose mission is to bridge the gap between Black people and mental health support through education, advocacy and awareness. Steel Smiling website: https://www.steelsmilingpgh.org/Steel Smiling on IG: @steelsmilingpghSteel Smiling on FB: @Steel SmilingJulius Boatwright on IG: @juliusboatwright*If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, we encourage you to call Resolve Crisis Services at 888-796-8226, or text the Crisis Text Line at 741741.*988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 to connect with trained crisis counselors for free and confidential support.Sidewalk Talk website: https://www.sidewalk-talk.org/https://www.yinzaregood.com/Want to learn more about the podcast, including all of the guests who've been featured thus far? Check out our website: ⁠https://www.yinzaregood.com/⁠FOLLOW US on social media!Instagram: ⁠@yinzaregood⁠ Facebook: ⁠@YinzAreGood⁠Have a story of GENEROSITY or KINDNESS to share with us? Want a KINDNESS CRATE dropped off at your business or school? Email us at yinzaregood@gmail.com

This week, Jeremy, Liv & Candace are joined by the co-founders of Smiling Mythos Games, Jacob Mooney and Billy Eline, chatting about the making of their game Machine: Impossible - Fast and Furious meets Cyberpunk meets Mission: Impossible meets dice! We dive into the inspirations behind the making of the game, take a brief tangent to discuss the horrors of Darth Jar-Jar, and then build a world in Machine: Impossible ourselves.Check out Machine: Impossible on itch.io!And speaking of world building...Our very first official campaign setting module, City of the Black Rose: A Dark Metropolis Campaign Setting, set in non-other than Mavros, will be launching on...---------------------------------------------- MAY 28TH 2025 ----------------------------------------------Be sure to be among the first notified of its launch, as we'll have tiers and goals featuring limited edition merch (which you can get a sneak peak at over on the Patreon!)Follow the halflings! Jasper William Cartwright: @JW_Cartwright, Jeremy Cobb: @JeremyCobb1 Liv Kennedy: @doesdarkmagicFind all of our links here: https://linktr.ee/tbhalflings You can buy all our lovely merchandise here! as featured on Critical Role - thanks Brennan!Connect with us on Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook @3blackhalflings, on our Discord, or emailSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

#562 In Today's Episode of the podcast I chat with YOU as I dive into your most pressing photo questions. I take listener-submitted questions and share advice, stories, and practical strategies based on my own experiences as a photographer. Whether you're wrestling with when to put a signature or logo on your images, trying to wrangle energetic kids during a family session, or feeling overwhelmed by all the technical settings on your camera, I'm here to help you navigate those common hurdles.KEY TOPICS COVEREDSignature & Logo Usage on Photos - Raymond explains when photographers should (and shouldn't) add their signature or logo to images, distinguishing between branding needs and concerns over theft. He notes that landscape photographers may benefit more from signatures due to wider image use, while portrait photographers often don't need them unless for advertising.Managing Kids in Family Photography - The episode offers strategies for keeping young children engaged during sessions, such as making games out of posing or incorporating playful pranks to elicit natural smiles and genuine interaction. These methods lower stress, capture better moments, and leave clients happier.Tackling Technical Overwhelm and Regaining Enjoyment - Listeners struggling with camera settings (like manual white balance, exposure, or composition) are advised to simplify their process—using presets, prioritizing aspects like “moment” over technical perfection, and even shooting for fun with fewer controls, as with film or point-and-shoot cameras, to restore joy.IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS & CONCEPTSWhite Balance: A camera setting that adjusts color temperature to render whites correctly under different lighting conditions, measured in Kelvin.Client Closet: A collection of clothing offered by a photographer for clients to use during shoots.DISCUSSION & REFLECTION QUESTIONSWhy might you choose to add (or not add) your signature to your images?How can playful interaction with children change the outcomes of a photo session?In what ways do issues of confidence versus competence appear in your creative process, and how can you address them?What steps could you take today to get more photography clients, inspired by Raymond's strategies?Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.comConnect with Raymond! Join the free Beginner Photography Podcast Community at https://beginnerphotopod.com/group Get your Photo Questions Answered on the show - https://beginnerphotopod.com/qa Grab your free camera setting cheatsheet - https://perfectcamerasettings.com/ Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

In this episode of All with Smiling Faces, Kris is joined by Mark, Deka, and Besty as the lads look back at a massive win at St James' Park, where Newcastle secured a huge three points against Chelsea. With the Magpies pushing hard for a Champions League spot and now setting their sights on catching Arsenal for second place, the discussion is full of passion, insight, and a good bit of Geordie optimism. Expect match reaction, player performances, and what this result means for the run-in. Can Eddie Howe's men finish the season with a historic flourish? Tune in for all that and more! Want more GallowgateShots content? Then why not become a member of the channel for as little as £2.99 per month; you'll gain early access to videos; extra member only perks along with a link which will allow you to join our very own NUFC community via our telegram messenger group. Sign up below https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWLHhMdZOBv6BGYU9aWVNjQ/join Follow our other social media platforms by clicking the link https://linktr.ee/gallowgateshots Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Let it rain-I am still smiling-videohttps://lifemotivationdaily.blogspot.com/

The axolotl is a salamander that always appears to be smiling, making them popular as aquarium pets or as characters in video games like Minecraft. But the species is endangered in their natural habitat in Mexico, where researchers are working hard to preserve them.

With the recent tensions between India and Pakistan, i figured it was a good time to talk about India's entrance to the nuclear club. We'll talk about the reasons why India would want the bomb and the world's reaction (particularly Pakistan's). We'll also discuss some issues of nuclear proliferation- if the US and USSR can have these weapons and be trusted to not end civilization as we know it, what's the problem with nations like India or Pakistan having them? Enjoy!

Ever feel like you're doing everything right, but the energy just isn't flowing your way? Like opportunities, people, and momentum are just... out of reach? In this episode, I dive into the unexpected habit that's quietly shaped my life for decades: smiling. Not the fake kind—just a subtle, natural smirk that shifts how people see you and how you see yourself. I share real stories—from childhood kitchens to billionaire dinner tables—where a simple smile became the reason someone leaned in, started a conversation, or opened a door. It's not about charm. It's about state. It's about magnetism. You'll hear why this small act can flip your mindset, attract aligned energy, and create real, tangible results—without you saying a word. If you're ready to stop chasing and start attracting, this one's for you.

On earth as it is in heaven and face to face with Him is the reality in which we are learning to live. For this reality to become our permanent place, we believe understanding who we fully are, not simply who we are not, sets us up for more encounters with the beautiful smiling vision.   The Holy Spirit invaded this Union session and began beautifully moving through the hearts and minds of those in the room. Leading to a worship encounter we felt to share! We hope you're touched by this moment!   The Homestead Mobile - April 8th, 2025

In this episode, Dr. David Jockers reveals how staying hydrated with electrolytes can prevent midday fatigue and keep your energy steady throughout the day. You'll also learn how simple movements every 30 minutes can boost circulation, productivity, and mental clarity. Dr. Jockers explains the power of sunshine, grounding, and cold exposure in recharging your energy and enhancing focus.   In This Episode:  00:00 Introduction to Hydration 02:39 Boosting Midday Energy: An Overview 04:08 Hydration and Electrolytes 05:17 Movement and Activity 06:05 Sunshine and Grounding 08:36 Cold Exposure for Energy 09:15 Box Breathing Technique 10:00 The Power of Laughter and Smiling 10:55 Conclusion and Final Thoughts     Are swollen legs or ankles slowing you down? Discover the power of Lymph System Support by Pure Health Research. Crafted with natural ingredients like dandelion extract, burdock root, and bromelain, this formula unclogs your lymphatic system, reducing swelling and supporting a healthy inflammatory response.   As a special offer, try Lymph System Support risk-free today and receive a complimentary bottle of curcumin extract. Visit GetLymphHelp.com/jockers to claim yours now. Say hello to renewed vitality and goodbye to discomfort!     Say goodbye to sleepless nights with Purality Health's Pure Dose Magnesium. Unlike conventional supplements, its liposomal delivery method ensures better absorption, helping you fall asleep faster and feel refreshed. Try it today and experience the difference—backed by a 180-day money-back guarantee. Visit https://puralityhealth.com/drj/magnesium for an exclusive deal!     “A quick cold shower or splash of cold water can activate your nervous system and supercharge your energy!”  ~ Dr. Jockers     Subscribe to the podcast on: Apple Podcast Stitcher Spotify PodBean TuneIn Radio     Resources: GetLymphHelp.com/jockers Visit https://puralityhealth.com/drj/magnesium     Connect with Dr. Jockers: Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/drjockers/ Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DrDavidJockers YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/djockers Website – https://drjockers.com/ If you are interested in being a guest on the show, we would love to hear from you! Please contact us here! - https://drjockers.com/join-us-dr-jockers-functional-nutrition-podcast/ 

In this week's Think Thursday episode, we explore an unexpectedly powerful topic: the science of smiling. Is being a "natural smiler" something you're born with? Can smiling actively improve your mood, or is it just a reflection of how you feel?And what role does a simple grin play in rewiring your brain for resilience, positivity, and emotional peace?Molly dives into the research on genetic influences on smiling, the concept of the facial feedback loop, and the emotional benefits of practicing intentional smiles. You'll also hear a heartwarming story about how even our beloved dogs have evolved to smile at us—showcasing the profound social importance of smiling across species. If you're interested in learning how a small daily action can contribute to building emotional resilience and improving your relationship with alcohol, this episode is for you.Key Topics Discussed:Is being a "natural smiler" genetic or learned?How smiling activates dopamine, serotonin, and endorphinsThe Facial Feedback Hypothesis: influencing emotions through physical expressionsSmiling as a low-stakes, daily practice for emotional regulationHow dogs evolved to recognize and return human smilesWhy mindful smiling can be a strategic habit change toolWhy It Matters for Alcohol Minimalists: Creating small, intentional shifts in behavior—such as practicing a mindful smile—supports the larger work of reshaping your relationship with alcohol. It's about using neuroscience-backed techniques to create positive feedback loops in your brain, promoting calmness, resilience, and emotional flexibility.Notable Quotes:"Genetics sets the stage, but your environment writes the story.""Smiling isn't just a reflection of how we feel—it actively creates our mood.""Dogs smiling back at us is a beautiful example of how emotional connection transcends species."Take Action This Week:Practice mindful smiling when you wake up in the morning, even before any external circumstances influence your mood.Try smiling intentionally when encountering minor irritations to train your brain toward a more resilient emotional response.Reflect on where you might use a simple smile to interrupt old emotional habits and create a new feedback loop.Join the Conversation:Follow Molly on Instagram: @alcoholminimalistJoin the Alcohol Minimalists private Facebook group for additional support.Subscribe & Review:If you're enjoying the podcast, please consider leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify—it helps more people discover the show! ★ Support this podcast ★

Le pedimos a nuestros suscriptores que nos enviaran canales de Youtube que No tuvieran muchos suscriptores, cuyo tema no fuera mainstream y que tuvieran suficientes videos para demostrar que la persona solo quería publicar. Al final se ganó una suscripción al patreon el que propuso el ganador. Aquí van los candidatos. - Amorenpluma, http://www.youtube.com/@amorenplumas-xg5rw - Vladímir Budapest (Владимир Будапештов), https://www.youtube.com/@VladimirBudapestov - Carreras de metras! https://youtube.com/@jellesmarbleruns?si=AgPW_4PM8I1oMWvM - Hay un canal que lleva CUATRO AÑOS publicando a diario sobre si hay noticias respecto al videojuego y es una joya. https://www.youtube.com/@DailySilksongNews -Para los que conocen Hunter x Hunter, un manga creado por Yoshihiro Togashi Las esperas entre capítulos son ya un meme en la comunidad. En medio de todo esto, aparece Totsugeki Tarue, un fan japonés que desde 2020 lleva haciendo ¡1,000 golpes al día! como tributo a Togashi y en consonancia con un personaje en la obra que hace algo similar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7fpATcsqu0&list=PLcecGWGYngAkaKYcA1Hh3rYkWYUhJLzHp - "Una historia antes de dormir" https://www.youtube.com/@unahistoriaantesdedormir - Ciencia de Sofá 🔗 https://www.youtube.com/@CienciaDeSofa El Chasqui 🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnmRCFV3Zmc -. El Cronista 🔗 https://www.youtube.com/@elcronista012 🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJDMvd4XTrY - Modo Protegido 🔗 https://www.youtube.com/@modoprotegido5290 - Peter Tran 🔗 https://youtu.be/cMb0mui5sb0?si=98QgbXIY8TRkG6pA 🔗 https://www.youtube.com/@PeTr01 - otro: https://youtube.com/@steeznutshot?si=oBJ9zEb9Mrser655 -Para canciones de cumpleaños personalizadas https://youtube.com/channel/UCr0Jl15dK5mRjHfss6Yg9kQ?feature=shared - Mi recomendacion es "float", un canal sobre imagenes de fotografias analógicas de lugares vacíos, con musica inquietante. https://youtube.com/@ffloat?si=a5IVA8rTwJHvw2Kg "Submecanophobia": https://youtu.be/5P9GMm-wXXU?si=AExn_inOpdMIYAcW "Hylophobia": https://youtu.be/3ynAoKxcLD0?si=UrEYdN6mXNV9qIcJ Reseña donuts mientras viste un flux? Creo que califica! https://youtube.com/@deanofdonuts?si=sB2ZOKusFFbJ7cUl -resulta que la gente graba la musica de los centro comerciales vacios: https://youtu.be/D__6hwqjZAs?si=x500V9VpTPvFy07b -Armando R. Este canal canal hace tops de Power Rangers de los power rangers. Acá un ejemplo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey2XwOHhNjc https://youtube.com/@BenjaminBennetttt?feature=shared Mas de 320 videos de "Sitting and Smiling" que duran 4 horas o más Esta canal es bastante extraño, de hace 7 años y solo tiene unos pocos seguidores https://youtube.com/@unknowmysteriosvedio9491?si=Yp1I6S7PWRIj2zRE PimpolloAventuras https://studio.youtube.com/channel/UC737ehJ-_dCu68IaZnC6zew https://youtube.com/channel/UCLnbV2NTl89_N_bZP6mH7rQ?si=7-pO95JLwRWtOCES Este canal de Youtube está dedicado a la música de l abadesa Hildegard Von Biden , https://youtube.com/channel/UCLnbV2NTl89_N_bZP6mH7rQ?si=7-pO95JLwRWtOCES No sé si califica porque en Uruguay sí es algo, un canal súper de joda, tiene años, https://youtube.com/@TiranosTembladTV?si=SFRFurlKaNii1kFm Top 25 Plastic Chairs https://youtu.be/rjibrwbpuPg?feature=shared Yo no se si me van a juzgar, pero este canal sobre pezunas de vaca sucias y a veces infectadas me ayuda a apagar el cerebro https://www.youtube.com/@NatetheHoofGuy Hector Chang Expediente X Files: Conspiración sobre los gigantes, con más de un video diario en promedio desde hace más de 15 años https://www.youtube.com/@expedientexfiles/featured 🔹 EPISODIO COMPLETO Y PARTICIPACION EN VIVO EN 💻https://www.patreon.com/profesorbriceno 🔸 Las Grabaciones pueden verse en vivo en TWITCH 🖥️https://www.twitch.tv/profesorbriceno SUSCRÍBETE AL PODCAST POR AUDIO EN CUALQUIER PLATAFORMA ⬇️  AQUÍ LAS ENCUENTRAS TODAS: ➡️➡️➡️ https://pod.link/676871115 los más populares 🎧 SPOTIFY ⬇️   https://open.spotify.com/show/3rFE3ZP8OXMLUEN448Ne5i?si=1cec891caf6c4e03 🎧 APPLE PODCASTS ⬇️   https://podcasts.apple.com/es/podcast/que-se-vayan-todos/id676871115 🎧 GOOGLE PODCASTS ⬇️   https://www.ivoox.com/en/podcast-que-se-vayan-todos_sq_f11549_1.html 🎧 FEED PARA CUALQUIER APP DE PODCASTS ⬇️   https://www.ivoox.com/en/podcast-que-se-vayan-todos_sq_f11549_1.html Si te gustó, activa la campanita 🔔 🎭  FECHAS DE PRESENTACIONES ⬇ ️ http://www.profesorbriceno.com/tour Redes sociales: ✏️Web https://www.profesorbriceno.com ✏️Instagram https://www.instagram.com/profesorbriceno/ ✏️Twitter https://www.twitter.com/profesorbriceno ✏️Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profesorbricenoOficial/ #podcast #youtubers

#NEWWORLDREPORT:  ARGENTINES SMILING. LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH PROFESSOR EVAN ELLIS, U.S. ARMY WAR COLLEGE STRATEGIC STUDIES INSTITUTE. @REVANELLIS #NEWWORLDREPORTELLIS 1939 BUENOS AIRES

Etiquette, manners, and beyond! In this episode, Nick and Leah tackle handling hot potatoes, claiming seats at buffets, talking during musicals, and much more. Please follow us! (We'd send you a hand-written thank you note if we could.) Have a question for us? Call or text (267) CALL-RBW or visit ask.wyrbw.com EPISODE CONTENTS AMUSE-BOUCHE: Baked Potatoes A QUESTION OF ETIQUETTE: Host gifts that are not wine QUESTIONS FROM THE WILDERNESS: What's the correct way to claim a seat at a buffet? What to say when a stranger asks if my best friend and I are mother and daughter? VENT OR REPENT: Refusing hops seltzers, Talking during a musical CORDIALS OF KINDNESS: Thanks for the turkey information, Smiling on airplanes THINGS MENTIONED DURING THE SHOW Taters scene in "Lord of the Rings" List of things to bring other than wine YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO... Support our show through Patreon Subscribe and rate us 5 stars on Apple Podcasts Call, text, or email us your questions Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter Visit our official website Sign up for our newsletter Buy some fabulous official merchandise CREDITS Hosts: Nick Leighton & Leah Bonnema Producer & Editor: Nick Leighton Theme Music: Rob Paravonian ADVERTISE ON OUR SHOW Click here for details TRANSCRIPT Episode 262 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another week of beautiful random-MESS for y'all this Monday. Camp season is on the horizon and Jeff and Jordan chat how that has changed over the years. Jordan had a recent trip to the dentist and she is all smiles with the news. Finally, someone is uncomfortable with really attractive people? Thank you to our partners  AG1 - AG1 is offering new subscribers a FREE $76 gift when you sign up. You'll get a Welcome Kit, a bottle of D3K2 AND 5 free travel packs in your first box. So make sure to check out DrinkAG1.com/togethermess to get this offer!  Select Quote - Get the right life insurance for YOU, for LESS, at selectquote.com/togethermess We would love your feedback... If you enjoyed this episode, tell us why! Leave us a review and make sure you subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. Executive Producers are Riley Peleuses + Ian McNeny for YEA Media Group If you are interested in advertising on this podcast or having Jeff and Jordan as guests on your Podcast, Radio Show, or TV Show, reach out to podcast@yeamediagroup.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if your anxiety isn't fear, and your trauma might not be real? Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett reveals how your brain creates emotional illusions. Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett is a Professor of Psychology and among the top 0.1% of most cited scientists for her revolutionary research in psychology and neuroscience. She is also the author of books such as ‘Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain'. In this conversation, Dr. Lisa and Steven discuss topics such as, how anxiety is a predictive error in the brain, the shocking truth about childhood trauma, how trauma can be contagious, and why you don't have any free will.  00:00 Intro 02:22 Lisa's Mission 04:14 Why Is It Important to Understand How the Brain Works? 10:48 Measuring Emotions 13:55 What Is the Predictive Brain? 16:08 Examples of the Brain Making Predictions 24:13 Is the Predictive Brain at the Root of Trauma? 31:27 Cultural Inheritance, Trauma, Anxiety, and Depression 36:29 How Reframing Past Events Can Change Identity 42:41 Meaning as a Consequence of Action 44:11 How to Overcome Fear by Taking Action 45:43 Prediction Error 47:37 Learning Through Exposure 49:47 Dangers of Social Contagion 54:06 Anxiety in the Context of Social Contagion 58:33 Is Social Media Programming Us to Be Sad? 1:02:08 Ads 1:03:03 First Step to Overcoming Mental Health Issues 1:05:18 Chronic Pain 1:08:23 What Is Depression? 1:09:17 Body Budgeting and Body Bankruptcy 1:12:26 How Stress Contributes to Weight Gain 1:15:00 Depression in Adolescents 1:17:02 Is Depression a Chemical Imbalance? 1:18:30 The Story of Lisa's Daughter 1:21:09 Oral Birth Control as a Risk Factor for Depression 1:24:07 How Lisa Helped Her Daughter Overcome Depression 1:29:11 Social Support 1:35:26 Lisa's Daughter's Recovery from Depression 1:39:12 Does Alcohol Affect the Body Budget and Increase Depression Risk? 1:42:45 Ads 1:44:00 Can People Change Emotions by Smiling? 1:45:49 Lisa's Perspective on ADHD 1:48:01 The Power of Words to Facilitate Emotion 1:52:26 Stress as a Burden to the Metabolic Budget 1:53:27 Lisa's View on God and Religion 1:54:25 What Is the Meaning of Life in Lisa's Opinion? 1:59:32 Question from the Previous Guest Follow Dr Lisa:  X - https://g2ul0.app.link/JlkAHKXhCSb  Website - https://g2ul0.app.link/TWOO6vZhCSb  You can purchase Dr Lisa's book, ‘Seven and a Half Lessons About the Brain', here: https://g2ul0.app.link/35oJGs4hCSb  Watch the episodes on Youtube - https://g2ul0.app.link/DOACEpisodes  The 1% Diary is back - and it won't be around for long, so act fast! https://bit.ly/1-Diary-Megaphone-ad-reads You can purchase the The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards: Second Edition, here: https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb  Sign up to receive email updates about Diary Of A CEO here: https://bit.ly/diary-of-a-ceo-yt  Ready to think like a CEO? Gain access to the 100 CEOs newsletter here: https://bit.ly/100-ceos-newsletter  Follow me: https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb Sponsors: Ekster - http://partner.ekster.com/DOAC and use code STEVEN to get an extra 10% off on top of their current Spring sale Shopify - https://shopify.com/bartlett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices