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Resiliency Within

Health & Wellness Podcasts

Elaine Miller-Karas will amplify the message of hope, healing and resiliency she has learned from our world community as she has traversed the globe after human made and natural disasters. Hope often springs forth in response to suffering and trauma. Our beliefs and our wellbeing are being challenged during these unprecedented times. The program Resiliency Within is about cultivating individual and community resiliency. Resiliency is the capacity to lean into our strengths with compassion during the most challenging of times and to remember what else is true? about our lived experience. Her guests are inspiring global leaders actively promoting healing and resiliency from a variety of backgrounds. The goal is to spread wellbeing and give individual and community examples to inspire how wellness skills, including ones based upon neuroscience and the biology of the human nervous system, can be integrated into one's life, family and community during challenging times.

Location:

United States

Description:

Elaine Miller-Karas will amplify the message of hope, healing and resiliency she has learned from our world community as she has traversed the globe after human made and natural disasters. Hope often springs forth in response to suffering and trauma. Our beliefs and our wellbeing are being challenged during these unprecedented times. The program Resiliency Within is about cultivating individual and community resiliency. Resiliency is the capacity to lean into our strengths with compassion during the most challenging of times and to remember what else is true? about our lived experience. Her guests are inspiring global leaders actively promoting healing and resiliency from a variety of backgrounds. The goal is to spread wellbeing and give individual and community examples to inspire how wellness skills, including ones based upon neuroscience and the biology of the human nervous system, can be integrated into one's life, family and community during challenging times.

Language:

English


Episodes
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The Life-Giving Resource of Friendship

1/5/2025
Dr. Peggy Rowe Ward and host Elaine Miller-Karas will explore the meaning of friendships, the joys and sorrows that come from loving relationships, and reflect on their nearly two decades of friendship. Recent research indicates that friends can strengthen our immune system, help us recover from illness more quickly, sharpen our memory, and help us live longer. This knowledge reassures us of the healing and life-extending benefits of friendships, filling us with optimism and a sense of security. Dr. Rowe-Ward, Co-Founder of the Lotus Institute, will share the elements of an innovative offering - a soul mentoring program beginning in September 2024 called Anam Cara. Anam is Gaelic for soul, and Cara means friend, so Anam Cara signifies a soul friend. An Anam Cara was a person to whom you could reveal the hidden depths of your life. This friendship embodied recognition and belonging, transcending all conventions and categories. In Buddhist teachings, the Buddha was once asked about the importance of friends on our path. He responded that we benefit from friends who can support and celebrate with us. Ananda, a beloved senior student of the Buddha, knew that having good and encouraging friends was crucial for the path. He even wondered whether having good friends was half the path. “No, Ananda,” the Buddha told him, “Having good friends isn't half the Holy Life. Having good friends is the whole of the Holy Life.” This profound statement underscores the transformative power of good friends in our lives, inspiring us to seek and cherish such relationships. The Bible’s Proverbs also emphasize the value of friendship: A true friend shows love, no matter what; gives heartfelt advice, bringing joy to the heart; rebukes when necessary, but the correction is done with love; enlivens, influences, and sharpens; and forgives, not holding grudges. True friends are loyal and help in times of need. Join us for a lively, heartfelt dialogue as Elaine and Peggy share their friendship journeys.

Duration:00:55:31

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Healing without Borders: The Trauma Resource Institute

12/30/2024
Resiliency Within’s host, Elaine Miller-Karas, co-founded the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI). She resigned as Executive Director in 2020 when she welcomed Dr. Michael Sapp as the CEO of TRI. They will discuss the international organization's past, present, and future. The Trauma Resource Institute (TRI) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that cultivates trauma-informed and resiliency-focused individuals and communities worldwide. TRI is known internationally for its innovative perspectives promoting individual and community well-being. Two types of training, the Trauma Resiliency Model (TRM)® and the Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® have been developed by Elaine Miller-Karas. Both models are biologically based and teach wellness skills, cultivating well-being in mind, body, and spirit. While TRM is oriented toward mental health professionals, CRM focuses on public health and has been taught to professionals and natural leaders of communities. TRI has brought its healing modalities to more than 70 countries. Dr. Sapp and Elaine have traveled to many places worldwide, including China, the Philippines, Germany, Turkey, Northern Ireland, India, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Nepal. TRI has built meaningful collaborations with diverse organizations such as the Center for Contemplative Science at Emory University, EdCamp Ukraine, Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, Fighting Back Santa Maria, and the Christopher Wolf Crusade. Dr. Sapp and Elaine will elaborate upon TRI’s values and its mission. TRI’s mission is: To take people from despair to hope through simple skills-based interventions based on cutting-edge research about the brain. To expand access to biologically based treatments by training frontline service providers, community leaders, and clinicians to build local capacity in diverse communities nationally and internationally. TRI’s values include: Every individual, child, and adult has a natural-born ability to cultivate well-being and can learn an array of self-help skills. When a traumatic event has resulted in symptoms, individuals are entitled to treatment that is gentle, effective, and culturally sensitive. Education and intervention about the common reactions to traumatic experiences must be available to diverse populations and cultures. Treatment of individuals suffering from traumatic stress reactions must be accessible and affordable to all members of society. __________________________ About Our Guest: Dr. Michael Sapp Michael Sapp serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI), where he has been actively involved since 2010, initially as Senior Faculty for both TRM and CRM. His educational background includes an M.A. in General Psychology and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, both earned at The New School in New York, NY. Dr. Sapp is deeply committed to disseminating TRI's innovative healing approaches to a global audience. In 2016, he assumed the role of Associate Executive Director, and his exceptional leadership skills led to his appointment as CEO in 2020. A notable aspect of Dr. Sapp's work lies in his keen interest in neuroscientific approaches to trauma healing. This interest culminated in his co-authorship of the chapter "The Nervous System, Memory, and Trauma" in Ms. Miller-Karas' book, Building Resilience to Trauma: The Trauma and Community Resiliency Models, first published in 2015 and subsequently in its second edition in 2023. In collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund, Dr. Sapp played a crucial role in establishing a CRM Teacher Training program for Angola in 2023. This program aims to educate 180 Young Adult Social Mobilizers (YASM), impacting up to 6,000 Angolan Youth His humanitarian work was further shaped by experiences in Istanbul, Turkey, supporting Syrian refugees and assisting survivors of the "troubles" in Northern Ireland. He was instrumental in launching TRI's training programs in Belfast, Northern...

Duration:00:55:56

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Coping With Seasonal Sorrow

12/23/2024
The holidays often come wrapped in ribbons of joy, but for many, they conceal threads of grief, suicide, and seasonal depression. In this episode, Elaine Karas-Miller invites Dr. Jamie Gamboa and Brian Stefan from Spotlight On Suicide (SOS) to explore these difficult truths, offering compassionate insights into the darkness that can creep in under the glow of holiday lights. They unpack the weight of unspoken sorrow and share their practical Suicide Prevention Toolbox — strategies to help when the season becomes too heavy to bear. If you or someone you know has ever struggled to keep going while the world keeps celebrating, this conversation holds a lifeline of understanding and hope.

Duration:01:00:00

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A Resilient Perspective by an African-American Pastor/Councilman

11/25/2024
Clifford D. Barnett, Sr. is the Senior Pastor of Warner Temple A.M.E. Zion Church in Wilmington, NC, where he is a dedicated community organizer and team builder, passionate about connecting individuals in need with essential resources. Elected to Wilmington’s City Council in 2017 and re-elected in 2021, he currently serves as Mayor Pro Tem. Joining Resiliency Within, Pastor Barnett brings his perspective on resilience, drawn from his extensive experience in ministry, government, and community advocacy. He will share insights on navigating challenging times by uncovering what else is true?

Duration:01:00:00

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A Memoir of Love and Suicide, Finding the Good in What Remains

11/18/2024
RACHEL ZIMMERMAN, an award-winning journalist, is the author of Us, After: A Memoir of Love and Suicide. Her book examines domestic devastation and resurgence, the struggle between public and private selves, life’s shifting perspectives, the work of motherhood, and the secrets we keep. She will share how she confronted the unimaginable and discovered the good in what remains. When a state trooper appeared at Rachel Zimmerman’s door to report that her husband had jumped to his death off a nearby bridge, she fell to her knees, unable to fully absorb the news. How could the man she’d married, a devoted father and robotics professor at MIT with no history of mental illness, have committed such an act? How would she explain this to her young daughters? And could she have stopped him? A longtime journalist, she probed obsessively, believing answers would help her survive. She interviewed doctors and suicide researchers. She spoke with a man who jumped off the same bridge and lived. She got answers, but not the answer—the answer to the question of why her husband killed himself. And so began years of learning to make peace with not knowing.

Duration:01:00:00

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Post Election Anxiety-Navagating the Emotional Landscape

11/11/2024
Join an open-hearted conversation with Psychotherapist Elaine Miller-Karas, host of Resiliency Within with Kevin McLeod, Director of Community Development, and Psychologist Michael Sapp, CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute. Together, they’ll explore practical ways to navigate the emotional landscape following the 2024 election results. As celebrations and grief arise within workplaces, homes, and communities, this dialogue offers tools to foster understanding and resilience across differing political perspectives. Elaine, Kevin and Michael will discuss how to initiate meaningful conversations with coworkers and loved ones who may hold different political views. Discover strategies to find common ground, which can create connection and serve as an antidote to distress. Whether you're wondering how to cope with four more years of President-elect Trump or how to connect with family members who supported Kamala Harris, this session will provide guidance on managing these complex dynamics with empathy and respect. In addition, they will share simple skills to help regulate your autonomic nervous system so that you can maintain inner balance, although the wake of world events is outside of our control.

Duration:01:00:00

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Appreciation of Latino Culture:from the Border to UCLA/USC

11/4/2024
Resiliency Within's host, Elaine Miller-Karas, and her guest, Martha Parra, share the beauty and values of their Latino culture. Martha's family came to California from Mexico, and Elaine's mother and grandmother came from El Salvador. They will share the values they learned from their families and how their rich heritage has inspired their personal and professional journeys as community leaders. They will also share their families' challenges as they immigrate to a new country. Martha will discuss traditional healing practices learned from her father and how he inspired her work as a social worker. They also share the challenges of racism and colonialism immigrants face. This is a time in US history when it is essential to embrace the richness and value of Latino culture to counter the disparaging comments being made. Martha will share two programs initiated by the Reagan administration that gave her and her family a pathway to legal residency. The Community Resiliency Model and the Trauma Resiliency Model and how they have been accessible to the Latino community. Martha pioneered the first Community Resiliency Model Teacher Training in Spanish in the pilot study through California's Mental Health Services Act and the County of San Bernardino's Department of Behavioral Health. Martha will share her work as an Immigration Evaluations Evaluator and her work with Asylum, Hardship, the Violence Against Women Act, and victims of human trafficking. The diverse Latino culture is rich with traditions. The identities of Latinas and Latinos are shaped by geography, heritage, race, and gender. Latinas and Latinos embrace their heritage and contribute to the culture of the United States. They will share how their families taught them compassion, courage, strength, service, and hard work.

Duration:01:00:00

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Humor and Comedy - The Elixirs of Life

10/28/2024
Julia Loken and Hughie Stone Fish, both Los Angeles-based artists in the area of humor, comedy, and more, join Resiliency Within to talk about their work. They will reflect on humor and comedy in this present moment. Elaine Miller Karas, the host of Resiliency Within, states that “humor is one of the elixirs of life.” An elixir is described as a magical power to cure and improve something. Humor and comedy play a vital role in human life because they offer a way to relieve stress, build connections, and foster resilience. Laughter has been shown to release endorphins, elevate mood, and reduce tension, promoting physical and emotional well-being. Comedy helps people cope with difficult situations, offering a different perspective or a sense of relief, allowing individuals to process complex emotions more easily. It also strengthens social bonds by creating shared moments of joy and connection, making it an essential tool for communication and collective healing in challenging times. In today's climate of political divisiveness, humor and comedy are more important than ever because they offer a way to bridge divides, ease tensions, and encourage dialogue. Comedy can help people reflect on the absurdities of divisive rhetoric, making complex issues more approachable and less hostile. In times of heightened division, humor can create space for empathy and understanding, reminding us of our shared humanity. Join Resiliency Within as we hope to reflect on humor and comedy and have a few moments of levity during these difficult times. What else is true?

Duration:01:00:00

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Bridges to Therapy, Chapter 2-Gun Violence Prevention

10/21/2024
Jordan R. Murphy, PhD, RN, is a nurse scientist who specializes in behavioral health and trauma-informed care. Dr. Murphy will share her work in Gun Violence Prevention, supporting professionals and survivors. Gun violence is a major public health and social justice issue, and yet it is preventable. For the last three years, gun violence was the #1 cause of death for children and adolescents 1-17 years of age, surpassing motor vehicle accidents and cancer. Where common sense laws are lacking to protect children, violence prevention professionals and credible messengers are working on the frontlines to mediate conflict, interrupt violence, and restore peace.

Duration:01:00:00

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Disaster Response & Community Resiliency Model

10/14/2024
Mike Sapp, the CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute, and our host, Elaine Miller-Karas, the Co-Founder of the Trauma Resource Institute, will discuss how to launch the Disaster Relief Mobilization: Community Resiliency Model (CRM)® Preparation Program (DRM:CRM) in your community post-disaster like Hurricane Milton and Hurricane Helene. The program is a model that can create a trauma-informed, resiliency-focused prevention program in preparation for a community disaster. The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (2022) describes disaster as “A serious disruption of the functioning of a community or a society at any scale due to hazardous events interacting with conditions of exposure, vulnerability and capacity, leading to one or more of the following: human, material, economic and environmental losses and impacts.” They will discuss how DRM:CRM grew out of the Trauma Resource Institute’s experiences around the globe after disasters to provide CRM workshops and Teacher Training Programs to community members. They will share how individuals around the world when have reached into the best part of their humanity to help themselves, their families, and the wider community during and after the most difficult life experiences with courage and strength.

Duration:01:00:00

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Helping Survivors of Hurricane Helene-Hurricane Florence Lessons

10/7/2024
Bo Dean and Jvanete Skiba of Wilmington, North Carolina, join Michael Sapp, CEO of the Trauma Resource Institute, and Elaine Miller-Karas, host of Resiliency Within, to discuss valuable lessons learned to enhance the well-being of survivors from Hurricane Florence and other disasters. Their reflections and the interventions they have adopted offer crucial insights for the people of the Northeast United States, who are grappling with the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. Hurricane Helene revealed that even inland, high-elevation areas are not immune to flooding and destruction, especially in a world where planetary warming fuels more intense rainfall. Preliminary analyses have linked climate change to Helene’s catastrophic rains. In particular, climate scientist Michael Wehner’s study at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that precipitation levels in Georgia and the Carolinas—exceeding 30 inches in some areas over just three days—were up to 20 times more likely due to human-induced warming. Extreme weather events like Hurricane Helene are closely tied to a range of adverse mental health outcomes. Common mental health conditions that arise in the wake of such disasters include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, suicide, and substance abuse disorders (Cianconi et al., 2020). The recovery journey for those affected by Hurricane Helene has just begun. While emergency mental health workers and first responders provide initial support, the lasting impacts on the mental health of a disaster-stricken community often persist for weeks, months, or even years. Mental health systems can face severe strain as the demand for services frequently exceeds local capacity, compounding the challenges survivors must overcome.

Duration:01:00:00

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Vote-:Poor People's Campaign-Poor People claiming Full Power

9/30/2024
Resiliency Within will highlight the Poor People's Campaign to get out the vote during this pivotal time in American politics. Every vote matters. The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is organizing in more than 40 states to get out the vote of poor, low-propensity voters across the country. Studies show that small increases in the number of these voters casting ballots for an agenda that addresses their needs and concerns can change the outcomes of elections. You’ll hear how the California Poor People’s Campaign is reaching out to people experiencing homelessness, youth, young adults, and Spanish-speaking communities to emphasize our power. We are the swing vote.

Duration:01:00:00

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Mindfulness and Movement: Attuning to Safety and Connection

9/23/2024
Chia-Ti will share her years of experience teaching movement, mindfulness, somatics, and resiliency building in New York City. She will address how she uses movement practices, including yoga (hatha, vinyasa, restorative) and qigong, which she offers to a wide range of age groups, including elders, adults, and teens, through community-based programs. Chia-Ti will share her personal journey of resilience - — from factors of developmental safety to learning how to move from anxious attachment to secure attachment in relationships as an adult. In her teaching, Chia-Ti emphasizes that presence, groundedness, and play are just as essential, if not more so, than the content itself, as they help create a transformative experience for her students. Chia-Ti’s wisdom about the body will be expanded in her interview with Resiliency Within. Chia-TI states, “When we have experienced trauma or chronic stress, our bodies may learn the habit of constantly bracing, constricting, and tensing. Bracing is a natural protection against threats. For example, we may get startled by a loud noise, and the body may respond by tensing up. But when there isn't a threat, can we develop a sense of softening and letting go? In other words, can we learn how to attune to safety within ourselves and our environment?” She will help us understand the connections between mind and body and how to understand our nervous systems. Chia-Ti believes that when we can attune to and access safety and connection, we can begin to support ourselves and others. We can increase our embodiment of resilience. We can trust, hope, and feel — these beautiful markers of being human.

Duration:01:00:00

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Contemplative-Based Resilience:Trauma-Informed ABCs.

9/16/2024
Contemplative practices have been shared across cultures and spiritual traditions for centuries. These practices encompass methods such as meditation, prayer, and mindfulness, which focus on deep reflection and awareness. Their purpose is to foster inner peace, self-awareness, and personal growth. Additionally, they help individuals cultivate resilience, manage stress, and develop emotional balance. Christa Tinari, Director of the Contemplative-Based Resilience (CBR) Project at the Garrison Institute, explains that these practices not only contribute to personal well-being but are also essential for professionals exposed to secondary or vicarious trauma, such as healthcare workers, educators, and humanitarian aid providers. Christa has been a Buddhist contemplative practitioner for nearly 30 years and has observed how contemplative and mindfulness teachers now integrate trauma awareness and resilience strategies into their teachings. This dialogue highlights the intersection between contemplative practices and the body-awareness skills taught through the Community Resiliency Model (CRM). In 2019, Christa encountered CRM while working with Emory University’s Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning (SEE Learning) program, where CRM techniques were integrated into the curriculum for both children and adults. One key realization she gained was the importance of trauma-informed approaches when introducing mindfulness practices, especially to those who have experienced trauma. CRM skills help create a safe and supportive environment, enabling individuals to benefit more fully from contemplative practices. These practices and skills work in tandem to foster not only personal but also social and systemic resilience by addressing the mental and emotional well-being of those who help others, making them more capable of sustaining their work in high-stress environments.

Duration:01:00:00

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Suicide Prevention:National Suicide Prevention Month

9/9/2024
Resiliency Within is dedicated to remembering those affected by suicide. We want to bring to light those who work tirelessly to raise awareness and reach out to those suffering silently. My guests today are Dr. Jamie Gamboa and Social Worker Brian Stefan, who are returning to Resiliency Within to discuss their work with Spotlight on Suicide. They will also discuss the Suicidal Ideation Toolbox, a resource filled with accessible skills for helping professionals and individuals experiencing profound suffering. They will also share how people can receive help through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which is a universal entry point throughout the United States and U.S. territories to reach a caring, trained counselor who can help people experiencing mental health, substance use, and suicidal distress. September is National Suicide Prevention Month, with National Suicide Prevention Week observed from the Monday to Sunday surrounding World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10.

Duration:01:00:00

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Encore Women in Leadership:The Double-Bind Dilemma

9/2/2024
This encore episode explores the double-bind dilemma faced by women leaders. With the emergence of Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for President, gender politics have emerged with ferocity. Elaine and Analiza will discuss the double-bind dilemma - damned if you do and doomed if you don't and how women and women of color can manage it. They also discuss how allies and organizations can support women of color. Because our culture has an unconscious bias of how each gender should be, women are caught in a double bind. When caught in a double bind, doing one thing we need to do will undercut another equally important thing. In this case, if we act in ways consistent with gender stereotypes and are modest, collaborative, service-oriented, empathetic, and caring, we will be liked but not seen as a leader and not seen as competent. If we display leadership qualities like being confident, tough, aggressive, ambitious, and decisive, we might be seen as a leader, but we will also be seen as cold, unlikeable, and unlikely to reach a top leadership role. It is unfair that women must navigate the double bind, which takes an enormous amount of emotional intelligence.

Duration:01:00:00

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Making Peace with Life’s Uncertainties

8/26/2024
TV reporter David Tereshchuk will be our guest on Resiliency Within as he shares his personal journey chronicled in his memoir, A Question of Paternity: My Life as an Unaffiliated Reporter. He has traveled the world questioning perpetrators and victims of war and injustice. He spent decades honing his skills as a journalist, getting tyrants and the oppressed to divulge their secrets. But there was one secret that always eluded him—that of his own origins. His mother, Hilda—the one person who knew—refused to tell him who his father was. Then, in his fifties—after some tense exchanges—she sent him a fax stating a priest had raped her at the age of 15 in the small, Scottish Borderland town where he’d been raised. So began a quest to determine the priest’s identity—years of investigations and dead ends. Could his mother—long gone by now—have been lying about the priest? Could rumors of her “walking out” with a German POW housed at a nearby prison camp be the real story behind his birth? In his book, A Question of Paternity, David Tereshchuk brings us with him as he searches for answers—not only to the question of who fathered him but to the larger questions of who he is himself. We learn of his struggle to overcome the shame of his impoverished childhood and his illegitimacy, the almost thirty years he lost to alcoholism, and the insecurity he felt despite national success as a TV journalist. Does Tereshchuk discover the truth of his father’s identity, or must he settle for simply a journey of self-discovery? Is it possible to find peace even when the uncertainties of life are impenetrable?

Duration:01:00:00

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Resiliency 2024: The Power of Connections

8/19/2024
Dr. Joy Erlichman Miller returns to Resiliency Within to share her international work on resiliency. This year, on September 12, 2024, Dr. Miller invites the world to join her for RESILIENCY 2024 in spreading the word about how to develop and nurture well-being. This year, RESILIENCY 2024 will focus on the POWER of connections and explore the influence and healing power of connections. Dr. Miller's Resiliency events have had more than 35,000 participants from 112 countries around the globe. Resiliency 2024 is offered free of charge. Her resiliency events have included 85 Celebrities, Influencers, Scientists, Researchers, Psychologists, Artists, and Leaders have included: Dr. Jill Biden, Alanis Morissette, Arianna Huffington, Dr. Edith Eger, Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield, India Arie, Kristin Neff, Erin Brockovich, Leigh Steinberg, Marta Kauffman, Glenn Close, Dr. Andrew Weil, Bobbi Brown, Jericho Brown, Pete Buttigieg, Ray LaHood, Dr. Ian, Jewel, Tito Jackson, Harville Hendrix & Helen Hunt, Pat Love, Jeh Johnson, Dick Durbin, JB Pritzker, MILCK, Naomi Baum & Michael Dickson, Rhonda Ross, Alisyn Camerota, David Kessler, Jurie Rossouw, Richard Schwartz, Amit Sood, Elaine Miller- Karas, Cynthia Tuohy, Julianne Hough, and 50 other remarkable change-makers. All speakers generously donate their time and talent to this unbelievable event. Joy leads with compassion, heart, and generosity. Join the host of Resiliency Within, Elaine Miller-Karas as she has the honor to interview Dr. Miller.

Duration:01:00:00

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New Ground: Muslims and Jews creating Lasting Partnership

8/12/2024
Elaine Miller-Karas, the host of Resiliency Within, will interview Aziza Hasan, Executive Director, and Andrea Hodos, Associate Director of New Ground, a nonprofit dedicated to bridging divides and convening constructive conversations around challenging social issues. They will share their wisdom on how New Ground envisions an America where Muslims and Jews are empowered to create lasting partnerships and engage in authentic communication and mutual cooperation. This vibrant model of engagement – not bound by history, theology, or politics – affirms that conflict is inevitable and yet not intractable. NewGround empowers Muslims, Jews, and allies to bridge divisions and leverage shared values to strengthen our communities’ well-being and our fragile democracy. NewGround is a community-building organization that creates, connects, and empowers Jewish and Muslim Change-makers in America. Through a professional fellowship, high school leadership council, and public programming, NewGround transforms Muslim-Jewish relations and advances a shared agenda for change. They will share what we need to do differently to bring about lasting change.

Duration:00:56:33

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Gender Discrimination and Empowerment: The Rebecca Effect

8/5/2024
This encore presentation is of particular importance as we, again in the United States, face those who denigrate powerful women whether it be a female journalist, the first BIPOC woman running for President of the United States, or every person who speaks truth to power. Elaine Miller-Karas, the host of Resiliency Within, is interviewed by her colleague and friend, Dr. Michael Sapp. She will discuss a concept that she calls the “Rebecca Effect” with Dr. Sapp. The “Rebecca Effect is the empowerment and transformation possible for all of us who have been oppressed, marginalized, or shamed. Her ideas were sparked by the fictional character Rebecca Welton, the owner of the fictional Richmond football team in the Ted Lasso television show. Initially, Rebecca is consumed by a desire for revenge against her ex-husband, Rupert, who betrayed their marriage. She aims to destroy his beloved football team, which she received in their divorce, by hiring the soccer-illiterate American football coach Ted Lasso. Her eventual journey is littered with reminders of her ex-husband's public attempts to marginalize and shame her. Through her self-reflections, the support of friends, and her relationships with Lasso and her best friend, Keeley, she reclaims herself. Like Rebecca, many women and non-binary persons endure betrayal, marginalization, and oppression. Despite possessing great strength, they may experience doubt and question their value. Many of us encounter individuals who espouse misogynistic views and attempt to diminish our worth. The Rebecca Effect describes the process through which women can embrace themselves in totality—their gifts and their imperfections. They gain the courage to confront injustice. This transformation includes embracing vulnerability, acknowledging their inner child, and realizing their inherent power and worth. Compassion, strength, and courage co-exist. Elaine Miller Karas has also written a blog for Psychology Today called The Rebecca Effect: Woman Empowerment.

Duration:01:00:00