Why a Deep Connection to Nature is so Vital For our Children

Guest article by Simon Paul Harrison

In a world of cell phones, computers and technology, our children have become increasingly separated from nature. With every step away from the earth a real sense of identity has been lost. Peace, joy, creativity, and a true sense of connection to all life have been eroded. In the place of these have risen fear, greed and violence. Away from nature, children have forgotten who they really are.

If we are to support our children in regaining what we know deep in our hearts is their birthright, to walk as one with life, we must start by re-connecting them with nature.

There are numerous studies showing that time in nature is good for our physical health, but that is not the full extent of the benefit. Arguably far more powerful is the connection with the flow of life that is nourished. With positive experiences close to nature, children no longer see themselves as separate individuals, all fighting against one another for their survival. They realize they are as connected to the trees as they are to their legs, as much a part of the oceans as their hair is to them. This is undoubtedly life changing, and it’s so wonderfully simple!

Nature is such a miraculous teacher for our children because she expects nothing from them. The river doesn’t expect them to think certain thoughts. The plants don’t expect them to say certain words. The mountains don’t expect them to act a certain way. And so nature reminds our children that they have always been free.

This is easy to forget because children become so rapidly heavy and burdened by all the expectations they take on from modern society. We force them to carry hundreds of beliefs, perceptions and judgments around with them that they forget their true, peaceful, connected nature. In particular we educate children to live the illusions that they must chase happiness, run after success, and compete against everything and everyone.

But when we support our children in stepping gently on the earth they find they can let go of all those illusions and plug themselves back in to the flow of life. Without all those expectations a shadow is lifted and they remember who they really are. There’s nothing to chase, nothing to run after, nothing to outcompete. They are perfect. Here, and now. Nature expects nothing from children, and so she gives everything.

We tend to think that the solutions to the challenges we have created for our children are terribly complicated. That it must require special technology, new drugs, different research, or more information. But time and again we see what simply being allowed to play in nature does for children. Through my work I’ve had the privilege of supporting thousands of children on the path to re-connecting with nature and I’ve seen the same things happen over and over again. Children know deep down who they are. They know they are peaceful, joyful, creative and deeply connected. That seed of re-connection is nourished perfectly by nature, and when it is, the blossoming of children is one of the most beautiful experiences to witness.

As adults we can all support this re-connection right now. Children don’t need the names of plants or facts about animals. They just need to be allowed to play, without the pressure of society wondering if their activity will help them get ahead, be successful, or help them pass exams. Their unburdened play in nature is already bringing them the ultimate success: The experience of walking as one with life. Peace, joy and creativity are with them every step of the way.

Simon Paul Harrison is the author of The Truly Alive Child and the founder of Wild Earth’s Children. For more information, free resources and to order your copy of the book, go to www.simonpaulharrison.com

Author Bio

Simon Paul Harrison is the author of The Truly Alive Child, a visionary and life-changing book, and the founder and director of Wild Earth's Children, a non-profit dedicated to re-connecting people to nature.

Simon began working with children as an elementary school teacher in his native England. Here the seeds were planted to seek a way to connect children with the flow of life and return children to experiences of deep peace and joy.

After a number of years he came to America to learn from world renowned nature teacher Tom Brown Jr. Simon fell in love with the natural world and never looked back. He has taught people how to re-connect with nature and a deeper sense of peace, joy and creativity all over North America, including Alaska, New England, and the Cree Nation in Quebec.

Simon felt the calling of his vision urging him westwards where he founded Wild Earth’s Children and wrote The Truly Alive Child. He lives in Colorado with his wife Katherine

Book Review ~ The Truly Alive Child For Those Who Seek A Grander Vision For Our Children

Divine intervention appears to have been running through author Simon Paul Harrison's veins as he wrote his book. The Truly Alive Child For Those Who Seek A Grander Vision For Our Children is full of so many simplistic, realistic tools and answers for the world to read. 


"An educational system isn't worth a great deal if it teaches young people how to make a living but doesn't teach them how to make a life" Author Unknown


It is perfect timing for such a book to be presented to our world at a time when our education system is at its worst.


"I would urge everyone who wishes to share their passions with children to explore or at least entertain the ideas that we each have a soul that is connected to all things. ~ Simon Paul Harrison ~ The Truly Alive Child




You want break downs? He's got them. You want answers? He's got them. From the soul, to parenting, to education, to nature, to love, to changing our reality for all our children's futures. If your looking to be inspired in your journey of child rearing this is definitely a must read!


"For example, if we want children to grow up experiencing deep peace, it really does not work to continually subject them to images of violence. I am simply making an observation of the outcomes that arise from certain choices and actions." ~ Simon Paul Harrison


Review By: Stacy Toten and Carol Lawrence


Win your very own copy of The Truly Alive Child! How? Sign up for our newsletter (sign up on the right side of page) Sign up for The Intentional Conscious Parenting newsletter and receive 10 Tips For Parenting Consciously for free. The winner of The Truly Alive Child will be picked using Random.org on July 31st. 

Conscious Conception By Kathy Parra

Photo courtesy of http://www.johannas-art.com

Can we hear our children before birth? Many wonder whether it is possible to hear there unborn child before actual conception, the answer is yes we can and do hear our children before conception, before we conceive we can feel their physical presence, perhaps in the subtle wind, the smell of a flower, images come forth in your minds eye, perhaps a fleeting moment of a child’s name, a dream, or the passing of a loved one, perhaps an angelic intercession with spirit guides, fairies, totem animals, receiving messages as to when to conceive, the date, time and month to act upon conceiving, often the child will let us know what to eat, what music to listen to, what books to read, the list is abundant of the communication that children clearly share with us prior to conception. Now some might say this is our own sixth sense kicking in, yes it is, because it is normal, natural and innate for us as parents to hear from our souls connection to and from to that which brings forth this life. This is true too whether you are wishing to adopt a child as well, this child’s soul knows where it is to be.

All of this is done so with our conscious conception of the idea/thought that yes we can connect with our unborn child.  Just for a moment imagine the mere thought of this magnificence, take a split second in time and wonder what if every child were to be conceived in this way, what if each child were of conscious conception, how many times have you come across someone sharing the child was a surprise or an accident. A surprise is something you obtain when you don’t know what your receiving, and an accident is something that happens when it is unexpected, lack of intention or by chance, none of which seem to describe the coming of new life. I promise you I am here to do no harm or offend anyone, I am merely sharing/suggesting that we as a universal whole perhaps consider the idea of bringing forth new life in this way of conscious conception. How do we create a sacred place for him/her to evolve into form? Having experienced this with all my children these are a few things that ensued for me, and I am sure for you as you explore conscious conception.

First, Listen: Listen to your own intuition

CALL of the DOLPHINS~One woman's healing journey with the dolphins.

Original version was published by OCEAN Magazine, in which Diane Buccheri is the publisher and also the publisher of Love Is The Color Of A Rainbow. Dolphins are like a best friend in which they will always be there for you no matter what! ~ Kathy Parra

CALL of the DOLPHINS 
by Kathy Parra
I sat in solitude for several months asking why. I did not share my pain with anyone. 
One night while lying in bed my body felt light. Light illuminated from the corner of my eye, a sense of complete peace came over my mind, body, and soul and I drifted off to sleep. That night I dreamed of dolphins. I considered it a lovely dream, and left it at that. That next day I went to see my hairdresser friend. He sensed my imminent concern yet, “Hey, what’s up with you? You look different.” I sat there and started to pour my heart out to him just like all people do with their hairdressers.

Approaching thirty, I, like many other mothers, so very much wanted to start my family, but somewhere something was not right with my body. I, like some women, could not conceive. I went to my physician and he ran a series of tests, which concluded I had endometriosis. “What is that?” I inquired. Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus, the endometrial stroma and glands which should only be located inside the uterus, is found elsewhere in the body. 
“So what does that mean?” I asked him, “And how do we cure it?” 
“There is no cure and most likely you will not be able to bear children because of the severity.” 
I was taken aback and said I would like to get another opinion, and so I did. The second physician said the same thing. I could not stop there. I went to a third physician who said, “You know you really need to think about not having children. It is never going to happen for you Kathy. For some people it is just not in their cards.” 
“That’s absurd Kathy, of course you will have children,” my hairdresser responded. “Look here at this article. People are healing today from all kinds of alternative healing methods. I just read about people swimming with dolphins in the Florida Keys to receive healing.” 
My first thought was my dream. “I dreamed of dolphins last night.” 

Great parenting conversation about teaching children about law of attraction, universal laws and feelings.

Check out these new conversations from our parenting community

From the Beginning . . . Hi, glad to be starting this conversation and I hope some of you jump right in with your thoughts.  I'm reasonably new to this site and so glad I found like-minded people to share with :-) I chose this group because the 'law of attraction' or similarly,'cause and effect' is something that I... read more... Powered by BlogFrog

Stories From Unknown Authors Radio Show For Authors ~ Hosted By Renee Hand

Introducing Renee Hand.

Renee is a national radio show host for Stories From Unknown Authors Radio Show where she helps promote the unknown author. There are so many wonderful books out there but without big publishers to help them along, many books get lost in the shuffle and readers miss out on them. Renee helps the unknown author by giving them the exposure they need to possibly help the sales of their books. She believes in the concept of authors helping authors. She has had many authors on her shows, from best selling authors to first time authors, all receiving lots of exposure for them and their books. The interviews are light hearted and fun where Renee focuses her questions on the content of the book as well as on the author. For anyone interested in being on her show, please fill out the following form and she will contact you right away about securing a date.

Renee Hand writes because it is a passion in her heart. She likes to create books that educate and inspire the children of today. She was born in Michigan and still lives there with her husband and two children. She has a degree in Zoology with a minor in Chemistry. Renee is the author of the amazing mystery series known as the Crypto-Capers Series that encourages children to read by incorporating several topics of interest. 

Kathy Parra ~ One Love! The Call of the Dolphins and Whales, inviting all of you to dive in and join in One Love.

Here is a short synopsis of Kathy Parra's upcoming book One Love, surrounding the aspects of dolphins/whales and their presence of healing for us all! Content was given to Kathy by dolphins. 


Kathy is co-creating her new book with Diane Buccheri of OCEAN Magazine.

ONE LOVE
Fascination. Mesmerizing. Captivating. Healing angels of the sea. Joy. Pleasure. Love. All of these words come to mind when we hear dolphin and whale.

Dolphins and whales have sourced us with harmonious energy for centuries. Dolphins and whales alike touch each of us on many levels in some way, whether knowingly or unknowingly. The soul, the core, of our essence has received their image. Our cell memory retains dolphin and whale within each of us as One Love.

Love is the energy of life. Love is the energy of spirit.

We all know this to be the way of truth. Dolphins and whales are asking many of us to come forth with our love and share from our own dolphin or whale within. Share with the masses in communal initiation as we move through the transformation of what lies in our soul, our core, that which is and always has been, one love.

Dolphins and whales continue to guide our lives in bravura through a tangible source, a book titled ONE LOVE.

Coopers Pack Children's Travel Guides By Kyle And Groot

Created by Brandon Kyle Rudd.

Review by Stacy Toten and Carol Lawrence

Coopers Pack Children's Travel Guides is one of the best children's travel guides we've ever seen. With so many choices in our world today these books are  definitely worth taking a look at. 

As far as educational books go this is definitely well spent money that your children will benefit from many times over. The simplicity in which these books are designed will draw your child in and open up their imagination. Even if you are a world wide traveler or you've never left your town you can still travel the world with these travel guides. Each page is packed with information from top to bottom. The visuals and intricate details are so realistic, from the maps, to real live pictures of the towns, to the street signs; the details of the buildings, the features of the glaciers, even down to the details on the statue of liberty.

Review: Love is the Color of a Rainbow By Kathy Parra

Love is the Color of a Rainbow By Kathy Parra

Illustrated by Candace Keach

Love is the Color of a Rainbow is the perfect book to teach your children how to see, touch, feel and smell the world.

This book will entice the children to use their imagination. Love is the Color of a Rainbow is very explicit in it's descriptions, you can almost taste the little vine ripe tomato on your tongue or feel the little snail crawling across your hand.

It's always a thrill to us when an author teaches the children how to connect with nature and the importance of mother earth.

Candace Keach's illustrations go hand in hand with the book. It's a perfect match.

Love is the Color of a Rainbow is an echo friendly book. A portion of the proceeds support nature and environmental organizations.

Author Kathy Parra, or Kap, by her nickname, loves gardening, talking with nature, especially with dolphins, vegan cooking and baking, bike riding, and skipping for joy where she lives in Mesa, Arizona with her partner Tony and their 3 girls Ariana, Chenoa, And Asha.

Find out more about Kathy.

Review by Carol Lawrence and Stacy Toten

7 Tips: How Does Emotional Abuse Damage Children's Self-Esteem? Part 2

7 Tips: How Does Emotional Abuse Damage Children’s Self-Esteem? Part 2

By Michael David Lawrience 

Previously, I gave the 1^st three tips in http://www.emotionalhealthtips.com/healing-emotional-abuse

1. Emotional Repression – Feel and express your feelings in healthy ways.

2. Emotional Violence – Heal your own inner child.

3. Parents Use Children to Satisfy Their Own Needs – Strengthen your self-esteem.

Emotional abuse includes verbal violence and the lack of positive emotional support. Abusers control, criticize, demean, ignore, make children less then, powerless, and victims.

So how does emotional abuse damage a child’s self-esteem?

Part 2 gives the remaining four tips:

4. Parents Lacking Ability to Meet Dependency Needs

As young children we need physical touch and emotional warmth from our parents. As children we depend on this to develop trust, connection, and a strong sense of self, core self-esteem.

My mother received little touch and warmth for her Russian parents. In addition, her mother died when my mother was still young. My mother then became the caretaker mom for her dad and six other siblings. As I mentioned before I also had an emotionally absent father.

I grew up mistrusting others and most of all mistrusting myself. I lacked confidence. I always wanted to know how to do any new project before I did it, figure it out first.

Tip: Learn how to strengthen your self-esteem over time. See The Self-Esteem Workbook by Glenn R. Schiraldi.

5. Feelings Denied

Carol And Stacy Interview Children's Author Vicki Scalzo-Savini

Article first published as The Light Inside of Me - An Interview with Author, Vicki Scalzo on Technorati.

1. What inspired you to write The Light Inside Of Me?

     I was inspired to write “The Light Inside of Me,” by a child who had anger issues. A few years ago I was in a situation where one of our elementary schools had asbestos, so they closed the school to remove it and moved our whole school into another building and we all doubled up. I worked with a friend of mine.  Together we had approximately 40 children in the class.  While one of us was teaching, the other would co-teach or prep the next lesson. One of my colleague’s students, named Bryce, was giving her an awful time.  He was very disrespectful and angry in general.  I took a liking to him because I saw that inside that hard shell he pretended to have, he was an amazing kid just looking to be noticed.  I sat down at the desk and wrote a poem titled, “The Light Inside of Me” to do a reader response with the kids. It changed Bryce’s life, my life, and hopefully millions of children in the near future!

2. Where did you get the idea to use children's illustrations?  What a fantastic concept!

     I had this book typed behind my desk for years. For fun, I would have the children illustrate different pages each year.  I never saw this book illustrated by an adult; I always knew it had to be illustrated by children because they have an amazing way of expressing their brilliance. When I finally decided to move forward to publish, there was never a question as to who would illustrate the book. I held an art contest in my elementary school and the rest is history.

    3. When did your deep love for teaching and inspiring children begin?   

Review: Frequency The Power Of Personal Vibration By Penney Peirce

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." ~ Harold Whitman

Frequency the Power of Personal Vibration By Penney Pierce 

Book includes free audio downloads to assist you on your journey.

Frequency The Power of Personal Vibration By Penney Peirce is a manual for living an energetically intuned life! Learn how to "feel" your way through life "frequency" by "frequency."

Penney's new book embraces a new way of experiencing life as a vibrational being.

"When you start using senses you've neglected, your reward is to see the world with completely fresh eyes." ~ Barbara Sher

"You might find that heightened empathy--the sense of loving the light within others and feeling connected because of it - helps you know what exactly people need, even before they do" ~ Penney Peirce

What a gift Penney Peirce gives her readers. Instructions on how to "activate your diamond light body." This should be made into a poster. Penney describes your diamond light body, how to step into it, activate it, maintain it and put it to use. This is a priceless gift.

"Transformation literally means going beyond your form." ~ Wayne Dyer

Have you ever wondered how your feeling habits were developed?

7 Tips: How Does Emotional Abuse Damage Children's Self-Esteem By Michael Lawrience

7 Tips: How Does Emotional Abuse Damage Children’s Self-Esteem? Part 1

Did you know the effects of childhood abuse can last a lifetime? Emotional abuse includes verbal violence and the lack of positive emotional support. Ab-users control, criticize, demean, ignore, make children less then, powerless, and victims. Abuse robs children of the ability to trust, healthy psychological development, and high self-esteem. These children enter adulthood with a sense of inadequacy never feeling good enough. They fall into patterns of victimhood and powerlessness. Did you know physical abuse almost always involves emotional abuse? So how does emotional abuse damage a child’s self-esteem?

                                                                                                  


1. Emotional Repres-sion
Feelings denied or unacceptable in a family and unexpressed by a child became repressed. Children resist feeling by tensing muscles, shallow breathing, and repeating internal critical self-talk. They in essence numb themselves which I did as a child, teenager, and adult. I ran constant records of self-talk like, I have nothing to say. I falsely believed myself to be the lowest man on the totem pole in terms of self-worth. Limiting the expression of our feelings and also the creation of false beliefs erodes our self-esteem, as it did mine. Tip: Learn to feel and express your feelings in healthy ways. Examine your critical self-talk and choose to change it. See Self-Esteem: A Proven Program of Cognitive Techniques for Assessing, Improving, and Maintaining Your Self-Esteem by Patrick Fanning and Matthew McKay. 
http://ow.ly/8wI31                                                                              


2. Emotional Violence
This violence stated to be prevalent in most physical abuse stunts our psychological devel-opment as children. My parents verbal yelling and fighting with each other over my fathers constant drinking violated my family’s emotional well being. I knew unconsciously as a child that if I spoke up or stood up to my father he would physi-cally beat me. For survival I shut down the expression of my feelings, retreated inside my-self, and became the invisible lost child. As an adult I felt different and separate from any group I joined. As a result of my parents emotional violence, I attracted women who verbally belated and criticized me for my lack of emotional expression. They reinforced my feeling of inadequacy. Tips: Learn to parent and heal your own inner child. See Healing The Child Within: Discovery and Recovery for Adult Children of Dysfunctional Families by Charles Whitfield M.D. http://ow.ly/8wIcg               


3. Parents Use Children to Satisfy Their Own Needs
A healthy parent reflects back as a mirror a child’s behavior and feelings in a positive way. This builds and validates the child’s core of self-esteem. Some parents, however, use a child to validate their own narcissistic needs. This type of parent has little or no awareness of the child’s needs. They also have little ability to mirror back to the child. The child then gives up some or all of their needs for the parent. This parent never ac-knowledges when a child does something right or praises them. Children build their self-esteem through positive reinforcement from their parents. With my father physically absence when he drank and emotionally absence even when physically around, I unconsciously as the eldest, took on the male role for my mother. I give up my core being and become the codependent caretaker. Tips: Learn recovery methods for codependent behavior. See Emotional Health: The Secret for Freedom from Drama, Trauma, and Pain by Michael David La-wrience. http://ow.ly/8wIme 

Do you know someone who has suffered emotional abuse as a child? See 7 Tips: How Does Emotional Abuse Damage Children’s Self-Esteem? Part 2 for the other 4 Tips next week. Michael David Lawrience is giving away free 50-pages of his book, The Secret for Freedom from Drama, Trauma, & Pain. His complete book gives more ways to improve your emotional health, chronic pain management, emotional healing, stress release, and ways to heal emotional abuse. This article may be reproduced with a live link back to http://www.emotionalhealthtips.com/healing-emotional-abuse

Connect with Michael

Amazon Book http://ow.ly/80FCq 
Blog http://www.emotionalhealthtips.com
Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/unity3
Facebook http://ow.ly/586po
LinkedIn http://ow.ly/586qd

Interview With Author, Mother And Psychotherapist Loren Buckner

Interview with author, mother and psychotherapist Loren Buckner, LCSW

Interview by Stacy Toten and Carol Lawrence

Loren Buckner, LCSW grew up in White Plains, New York. She graduated from American University with a B.A. in the Administration of Justice and earned a Master of Social Work degree from Tulane University. Loren writes about the impact of parenting on parents. She has articles published in Tampa Bay Parenting, Family Magazine, and Healing Magazine. Her new book, ParentWise: The Emotional Challenges of Family Life And HowTo Deal With Them is available now for purchase.

1. Loren, when did the idea strike you to write a book?

 

I was invited to write a paper for a professional conference. About this same time, in my personal life, my son was a teenager and was going through a rough patch, so I was going through a rough patch too. Because of how difficult parenting had become for me, I decided to write the paper on the importance of helping parents understand their own emotions. The paper was very well received. After the conference, someone in the elevator who had been to my presentation said, "You should write a book about that." I remember thinking, why would anyone want to write a book? The idea percolated, though, and a several months later I started writing.

 

  

2. For those who have not read your book, can you tell us about your children?

 

A few days after my son got his driver’s license he borrowed the car, picked up some beer and a few friends, and drove to the beach to celebrate his new-found freedom. A police car eventually drove by to check out the party. A couple of hours later, the officer called and we had to go to the beach to retrieve the car and watch as the policeman drove my son and his friends to the detention center. It was shocking to me that my son could really do something like that, and it was the beginning of a very rough few years.

 

My daughter wasn’t as confrontational as my son, but she had a mind of her own and didn’t like to be told what to do. Even though parenting was way more difficult than I ever imagined, the principles I write about did, in the end, come through for us. Both my kids are doing quite well now, and I have a close relationship with both of them. My son does enjoy taking some credit for being the inspiration behind my writing!

 

3. How did you come up with your twenty intentions?

 

I wanted to write a book that spoke honestly about how it really feels to be a parent. The Intentions evolved naturally as part the writing process. They're a combination of my personal and professional insights into coping with the challenges of family life. They're meant to reflect on-going goals, not something that parents rate themselves on everyday. 

4. What gave you the idea to end each chapter with Food For Thought questions?

 

As parents, I think it's important not only to read about other parents, but to also look deeply inside ourselves. The Food for Thought questions are meant to encourage parents to explore their own inner worlds. I believe that the more comfortable we are within ourselves the better prepared we’ll be to take on the emotional challenges of raising children.

 

5. How many of the subjects focused on in your book have you experienced personally?

 

All of them.

6. Now that your children are grown, in hindsight would you have done anything differently?

 

I've wondered about that from time to time too. Sometimes, I think I should have been a bit stricter. I tended to let them off the hook – an apology with a big hug went a long way with me. Would they have acted out as much if I were a little more rules and consequences oriented? Or would they have rebelled even more? I don't know. In hindsight, I guess, alls well that ends well. They are responsible young adults with good hearts. So we certainly weren’t perfect. But, I guess, we were “good enough.”

7. Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?

 

Speak publicly about your subject: If you want a mainstream publisher you need a strong platform. Persevere: Many, many query letters will go unanswered.

Accept rejection without personalizing it: This, by the way, is very very hard to do. Love what you're doing: When you get discouraged, commitment to your message will help you keep going.

8. Are you still available as a counselor and do you still make home visits?

 

I do have a private practice in Tampa. I don't make home visits, but I do phone sessions and skype sessions too.

9. What's next for Loren Buckner? Thinking about writing a second book?

 

I think about another book but haven't started one yet. With my full-time practice along with working on getting the ParentWise message out, I'm pretty busy right now.

 

10. Are you available for speaking engagements and is there any particular topics you would like to cover during our live chat on January 10th?

 

Yes, I do speaking engagements with both large and small groups. Anything that you've read that you're interested in pursuing is fine with me.

 

11. How were you raised? With intentional conscious parents or ?

 

My parents were good to me but they weren't really emotionally involved or psychologically minded. That's partly why I've become I therapist – so other people wouldn't have to be so alone or confused by their emotions.

 

12. What would you say was the highlight of raising your kids? and the not so highlights?

 

It's very painful when your kids hate you, even if you know it's a phase. So when they hated me or when I was furious with them (and even hated them sometimes too) those were our worst times.  I should mention here, though, that even during these times, there was a line that was never crossed. Hurtful words have long echoes. Mutual respect no matter how angry we got was a rule I adamantly held to.

 

The highlights are when we have fun together and when they confide in me. I loved heart to heart talks when they were little kids, and I still love them.

 

13. Would you say you learned more about counseling in a book or hands on talking to clients and learning from them?

 

Actually, there are three important components – book knowledge, experience working with people, and exploring my own inner world. I was in therapy myself for many years. 

14. What kind of help would you suggest for a depressed or suicidal person?

 

Of course, this is a complicated question. But, in my opinion, serious problems like depression or suicidal thinking require professional help. Forcing ourselves to be different is typically a short-term solution. There are underlying reasons why people feel depressed or anxious. Most times, friends and family want to help but they just don't know how. Once the relationship with a therapist is secure, people are able to talk about their thoughts, feelings and memories in ways that they don't normally speak about in their day to day lives.  Therapy provides a safe place for people to gain a deeper understanding of themselves. It's an opportunity to work on problems from the inside out

For a complete list of Loren Buckner's services visit her website Loren Buckner, LCSW

Loren Buckner, LCSW

(813) 915-0076

Tampa, Florida 33618

info@lorenbuckner.com

Join Carol and Stacy for a live interactive online chat with Loren Buckner on Tuesday January 10th ~ 9 PM Eastern, 7 Mountain, 6 Pacific.

Fun ~ Prizes ~ Great Conversations ~ New Connections

Introducing Loren Buckner, LCSW

Introducing Loren Buckner, LCSW

Loren began her career as a substance abuse counselor in Waitsfield, Vermont. In 1980, she and her husband moved to Barcelona, Spain, where they taught English for two years. From Spain, they moved to Tampa, Florida, where Loren worked in community mental health for many years. She is currently in private practice as a psychotherapist. Loren has spoken to parents locally, nationally, and internationally about the emotional challenges of raising children. Her book ParentWise offers parents professional counsel in the privacy of their own homes and is a valuable resource for parents to return to again and again.

Join Carol & Stacy for a live chat with Loren Buckner January 10th in their BlogFrog Parenting Community.

9 PM Eastern ~ 8 Central ~ 7 Mountain ~ 6 Pacific

~ Prizes ~

Did you miss Loren's guest articles on ICP? No problem, here they are.

Struggling with Motherhood

Childhood isn't something we get over.

Here's more praise for ParentWise: The Emotional Challenges Of Family Life And How To Deal With Them

Debra Blackburn, Step-parent. "Even if you're not a parent, you'll appreciate all you discover between the pages of this book. If you want to better understand yourself and your relationships with others, read this book!"

Cara MacMillan, Ecologist and Expectant Mother. "I love it already! I think that it is important for me to read this book, as I identify with the "conscientious parent" to-be, who also avoids some negative feelings."

Jeannie Cucher, Ph.D. Student and Mother. "It gave me hope, confirmed some of my beliefs, made me wonder about some others. I felt myself breathing in her definition of unconditional love, and wanting to retain her formulation in my mind."

Review ~ ParentWise: The Emotional Challenges of Family Life And How To Deal With Them By Loren Buckner, LCSW

Review By Carol Lawrence and Stacy Toten


ParentWise: The Emotional Challenges of Family Life And How To Deal With Them By Loren Buckner, LCSW

All quotes in this review are from ParentWise.

Becoming a parent has many highs and many lows. Brand new babies do not arrive with a training manual. Through Loren Buckner's own experience as a mother and a psychotherapist she has gained the important life skills, tools and techniques that she willingly shares in ParentWise. Loren provides real raw parenting experiences that touch on darker parenting emotions that many parents themselves have yet to deal with until their parenting adventure begins.

"Internal security is a crucial building block of children's psychological lives, and it is the backbone of their developing personalities."

ParentWise: The Emotional Challenges of Family Life And How To Deal With Them dives in depth into some really great parenting subjects. Here is some of the ones that we would like to draw your attention too.

1. Your children depend on you, physically, emotionally, and psychologically.
This is so important. Some parents think as long as they are providing food, shelter and sending their child off to school for an education they have all their bases covered. Children need emotional connection and support!

"It's more difficult to teach your children to manage their feelings if you avoid or are afraid of your own."

2. Finding a new parenting perspective.
Loren gives prime examples of how to distinguish the difference between what the parent is wanting and feeling and what the child wants and feels.

3. Being "good enough" as a parent is a common affliction. There is no such thing as the perfect parent. However there is active parenting where the parent continues to educate themselves to strive towards parenting excellence.

"Good enough is an important principle to hold onto because as a caring parent you have your ideals about parenting. However, we all inevitably fall short. You can't be perfect, not because your a failure as a parent. Perfection doesn't exist. Perfectionism, therefore, isn't good for you or for your kids."

4. There's a father universe too! ParentWise takes a look at the way some fathers may feel upon arrival of a new baby and how fathers can stay emotionally connected.

Childhood Isn't Something We Get Over By Loren Buckner, LCSW

Childhood Isn't Something We Get Over

Many adults want to deny the significance of what happened to them when they were young and vulnerable. Others believe that they should "just get over" any problems they had as they were growing up. The truth is childhood is an important part of who we all are.

Our feelings about ourselves and our expectations of family life begin when we are very small. We are dependent on our parents, not only for the necessities of every day life, but psychologically and emotionally. When needs are mostly met development proceeds at a healthy pace. When needs are not met our overall sense of security is affected, which in turn, impacts our developing confidence and self-esteem.

There’s often inconsistency between what people say about their own childhood and how they feel about tending to the needs of their children. We all agree that kids need to feel safe, happy, and loved. We know a nurturing environment helps boys and girls grow into healthy adults. But then as adults, we frequently tell ourselves that feelings from our own upbringing are irrelevant.

Awakening The Essential Feminine Claiming Your Influential Power Book Review

Awakening The Essential Feminine Claiming Your Influential Power
For women who know that their feminine gifts are needed now... and for women who want to know more! By: Maureen Simon

Awakening The Essential Feminine Claiming Your Influential Power is a must have guide for women who know they have a place in this world. A gift to share, a passion to ignite, a significant role to play.

Use Awakening The Essential Feminine Claiming Your Influential Power as an inspirational guide to propel yourself forward in life. Maureen Simon has beautifully written a book that supports and teaches women how to learn, claim, live and lead lives from their essential feminine.

Maureen's sincere message to women shows her heartfelt mission to empower women, showcase their inner talents and encourages them to claim their best life. Awakening The Essential Feminine Claiming Your Influential Power teaches vital feminine attributes, touches on the difference between men and women, and how women can use these skills and feminine qualities to enhance their lives.

Change is real and very possible. Maureen walks women through

Carol and Stacy Interview Howard Binkow: Author of the Howard B. Wigglebottom children's books.

1. Did you always know you wanted to be a children's writer, or did it come to you later on in life?
It came to me later on in life. I first realized the importance of being a good listener when I was sixty years old.   Practicing what I learned dramatically improved the quality of my life and finances. I decided to write Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen, a picture book to help introduce the subject of listening in our public schools.

2. How many children's books have you written?
So far there are eleven books in the Howard B. Wigglebottom series.

3. How did you come up with Howard B Wigglebottom the character?
One of our illustrators came up with a bunny character named Harold B. Wigglebottom. My family insisted the first name be Howard.

4. How long does it take you to write a book? Our team created as many as three books in a year.

5. How did you find your illustrator?  We work with a team of illustrators that we find by word-of-mouth.

6. Do you have a literary agent? Did you use traditional publishing or self-publishing? We are self-published. The only literary agent we have is for foreign rights.

7. Any suggestions for new picture book authors trying to get their books notices?  Create books that are unique, then be patient and persistent.

8. Have you incorporated social media into your book campaigns? 
Yes, we are active on Twitter and Facebook
Have you heard of virtual book tours? I have but we are not currently doing any.

9. Do you have any children of your own, if so how have they responded to your children's books? I have four beautiful children and in laws and ten grandchildren.  From time to time, one of my children will remind me to re-read Howard B. Wigglebottom Learns to Listen.

10. What is the collective message of all your books? What would you like children to gain from reading your books?
The intention of our Howard B. Wigglebottom books is to enable young children to be better listeners, learn important life lessons and feel good about themselves.

11. What would you like our audience to know about you that they don't already know?

Our books are a team effort. I am only one of the writers.

12. Are your books available on Kindle and Ereaders? There are four Howard B. Wigglebottom as Iphone Ipad apps. We plan on being on Ereaders in 2012.

13. Share with our audience what they will find on your website.
On wedolisten.org, we have lots of free parenting/educator resources:
There are animated versions of the Howard B. Wigglebottom books
Lessons and posters from the books
Songs which compliment the books
Non- violent games
A page where children can write and color their own books.
For those who prefer hard cover books, we offer them at a 50-60% discount.

14. Did you write all the songs yourself?
The songs were written by Reverend Ana Rowe and several very talented musicians.

Interview By: Stacy Toten and Carol Lawrence

Join us for a live author interactive typed chat with Howard Binkow in our BlogFrog parenting Community Tuesday November 15th, 9 PM Eastern, 8 Central, 7 Mountain, 6 Pacific.

Stacy and Carol's~Howard B. Wigglebottom Video Review

Join us for a live chat with Howard Binkow on Tuesday November 15th 9 PM Eastern, 8 Central, 7 Mountain, 6 Pacific.

Where? In our Blogfrog parenting community. Click here to visit community now and create a profile. (If you have a website or blog this is great exposure)
Live chat link. Click here.
To join our free interactive parenting BlogFrog community, create profile and take a look around start here.

Drum Roll .......Here's our video review of
"Howard B. Wigglebottom Listens To His Heart" and "Howard B. Wigglebottom and the Power of Giving: A Christmas Story."