Living From Happiness

Grief, Loss, Mortality & Living Well

Yes, it’s possible to live well while holding our grief and sorrow for what’s been lost, and knowing that we are simply mortal beings. And Martha Crawford is the perfect guest to share some big ideas and deeply personal experiences in this episode of Living From Happiness. Martha earned a master’s degree in social work, followed by an advanced certificate in clinical social work from NYU. After working for 25 years in New York City, she relocated to Santa Fe just in time to hunker down when the ...

Building Your Relationship to Joy

Kelsey Blackwell is a cultural somatics practitioner and author dedicated to supporting women of color to trust and follow the guidance of the body. She’s a facilitator, coach, and speaker who's brought abolitionist embodied practices to such diverse groups as riders on Bay Area Rapid Transit trains to students at Stanford University to the offices of LinkedIn. She has a new book called "Decolonizing the Body: Healing, Body-Centered Practices for Women of Color to Reclaim Confidence, Dignity, an...

Food, Travel & Happiness

Cheryl Alters Jamison is the Queen of New Mexico food (at least, that’s what Melanie calls her)! Cheryl is a 4-time James Beard award winning cookbook author. She’s published 22 cookbooks, and sold over 2 million copies. Not one to rest for very long, she’s also been voted Edible New Mexico’s Local Heroes Best Food Writer award twice, is the founder of the online Excited About Foods community, a Contributing Culinary Editor for New Mexico Magazine, culinary tourism consultant, and a radio host a...

Having Fun Learning About Psychoanalysis

Really! Melanie and guest Jon Baskin have a lot of fun talking about psychoanalysis in this episode. Things like what it is, why there are so many negative biases against it (at least on Melanie’s part), and what motivated Jon to become a candidate psychoanalyst-in-training at the Chicago Psychoanalytic Institute. Jon Baskin is already a seasoned psychotherapist. He’s a licensed clinical social worker, completing his bachelor’s degree in philosophy at UCLA along with a master’s degree in social ...

Healing Shame

This episode takes a deep dive into healing the shame of childhood sexual abuse. National expert Beverly Engel is Melanie’s guest as the two of them explore some of the many unhealthy consequences of shame. An acclaimed advocate for victims of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, Beverly’s a psychologist and best-selling author who’s published 22 books, including four bestsellers on emotional abuse. Her most recent book is Freedom at Last: Healing the Shame of Childhood Sexual Abuse . Even tho...

Joyeux Noel

Who's the most fascinating French scientist-turned-baker in Santa Fe? It's Marcel Remillieux, of course! This is a warm, gentle, delightful conversation about all things French and food (especially the sourdough bread) and families and growing up on the island of Corsica. Marcel shares lots of stories about his family's legacy of baking, along with how he ended up as a scientist at Los Alamos National Lab for eight years. He also gets up close and personal as he shares the story of why he chose ...

12/07/2022 Holiday Happiness Pitfalls

Melanie shares several tips for enjoying the holidays in this episode. She also highlights some of the common holiday happiness traps that can cause folks a lot of sorrow, resentment and anger. As she says, “ while almost everyone has fantastical dreams of perfect holidays that go all the way back before we were able to talk and encode explicit memories, almost as many of us are stressed, overwhelmed, sad or depressed, and can even become bitterly disappointed … every holiday season. ” There’s a...

How to Survive Toxic Holidays

Silvia Stenitzer returns to the studio for this episode. Silvia’s a licensed professional clinical counselor in Santa Fe. She has a private practice as a psychotherapist. And she also trains the trainers, offering continuing education workshops throughout the year for licensed counselors. She has specialized training in some important areas, including somatic therapy and interpersonal neurobiology. Melanie and Silvia share ideas about how to manage the holiday season when it feels overwhelming, ...

Navigating Grief and Loss

Kimberley Brown is the guest on this episode which focuses on how to navigate grief and loss. Kim is a popular meditation teacher and author. She leads classes and workshops that emphasize the power of compassion and kindness to reconnect us to ourselves and others. She studies in both the Tibetan and Insight schools of Buddhism and is a Certified Mindfulness Instructor. Kim and Melanie talk all about her newest book, titled Navigating Grief and Loss: 25 Buddhist Practices to Keep Your Heart Ope...

Thriving as a Highly Sensitive Person

Have you ever been told that you’re “too sensitive,” thinking too much, or that you should be happy going to parties ‘cause the more the merrier? Do you hide you who are because you’ve been shamed or told there’s something wrong with you? You might be an HSP, a highly sensitive person. Melanie (Dr. Melanie Harth) explains what being an HSP means, and offers lots of ideas and strategies for coping with too much stress, overwhelm, and an over-stimulated nervous system. She references the work of t...

Emotional Safety With Author Dur E Aziz Amna

Dur e Aziz Amna is the guest who’s keeping Melanie on her toes in this insightful, wide-ranging, and delightful conversation. Aziz Amna grew up in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She graduated from Yale College and the Helen Zell Writers’ Program at the University of Michigan. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Financial Times , and Aljazeera , among others. Winner of the 2019 Financial Times Essay Prize, she was longlisted for the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award 2020. Her brand-new debut...

Finding Joy in Dark Times

This is an intimate episode with Melanie sharing an essay from the scientist, activist, humanitarian and writer Barry Lopez. The essay is from his last book, “Embrace Fearlessly the Burning World,” published posthumously. Lopez makes a poignant plea to not fall into despair and hopelessness at the state of the world. Building on the foundation of Lopez’s essay, Melanie shares several suggestions for how to find joy in dark times. The focus is on simple ways to help reset your nervous system in c...

The Trickster with Dr. Shepherd Siegel

Shepherd Siegel, PhD, has written a lot of books, including two in which he writes about the importance of the Trickster mythology. Shep is an activist, writer, musician, researcher, prankster and author of the book we talk about in this episode — “Tricking Power Into Performing Acts of Love: How Tricksters Through History Have Changed the World.” The Trickster archetype, or myth, or god/goddess, is one of the most ancient deities, found in almost every indigenous culture around the globe. In th...

Anxiety and Astrology w/ Elisabeth Grace

September 7th, 2022 There are a lot of ways to help reduce anxiety. CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), mindfulness (especially MBSR, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction), and emotional regulation can absolutely change your life for the better if you're struggling with anxiety. There are also plenty of ways to get creative when you're feeling overwhelmed. Journaling is one powerful way to help calm your nervous system and manage those anxiety gremlins. Bringing...

How Minds Change with David McRaney

David McRaney is an author, science journalist, lecturer, and the creator of the blog You Are Not So Smart, which became an internationally bestselling book, later followed by You Are Now Less Dumb. He hosts the popular YANSS podcast and speaks internationally about irrational thinking and delusion. And David has a new book called “How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion.” This is a big show, covering a lot of ground. He and Melanie discuss the psychology of c...

Individual and Collective Trauma with Inessa Mil'berg

Toxic Relationships and Narcissists with Dr. Frieda Birnbaum

The Healing Power of Beauty with Linda Durham

Linda Durham has been one of the most influential people in the Santa Fe contemporary art scene for over 30 years. Her professional and personal lives center on art, artists, global travel, and humanitarian causes. She's the founder and director of Santa Fe’s Wonder Institute , which sponsors art exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and salons focused on discovering and implementing creative solutions to contemporary social and cultural issues. For more than three decades, Durham promoted New Mexic...

The Power of Fun with Mike Rucker, The Fun Habit guy

Dr. Mike Rucker is an organizational psychologist and charter member of the International Positive Psychology Association. His work has been published in the International Journal of Workplace Health Management and Nutrition Research . Mike's ideas about fun and health have been featured in The Wall Street Journal , Forbes , Vox , Thrive Global, mindbodygreen, and more. Named one of ten digital changemakers by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, he currently serves as a se...

Exploring Mental Illness, the Brain, and Psyche with Daniel Bergner 06/15/22

Daniel Bergner is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and the author of five previous books of award-winning nonfiction. His writing has also appeared in the Atlantic , Granta , Harper’s Magazine , Mother Jones , Talk , and the New York Times Book Review. Finally, his newest book, the most personal, is "The Mind and The Moon: My Brother’s Story, the Science of Our Brains, and the Search for Our Psyches." So many issues are explored in this fascinating episode. From questioning ...

What's Emotional Health & Wellbeing, w/ Daryl Van Tongeren

What's emotional health and wellbeing, and why does it matter? That's a big question, and Daryl Van Tongeren has lots of answers and ideas. Daryl is a social psychologist, college professor, a person who now knows how to swim (which I learned about after reading his newest book), and author of The Courage to Suffer . His latest book, Humble: Free Yourself from the Traps of a Narcissistic Wo r ld , is the focus of this thoughtful and thought-provoking podcast. Click here to listen to information ...

Feeling Sad, Feeling Anxious 05/17/22

Feeling sad and feeling anxious are two common signs of ambiguous loss. Dr. Pauline Boss , one of the world's leading experts on ambiguous loss, shares insights and research in The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change , her newest book. Dr. Boss is a psychologist, thought leader, emeritus professor, and author of the seminal books Loss, Trauma, and Resilience: Therapeutic Work with Ambiguous Loss, and The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss In A Time of Pandemic and Chang...

Self-Awareness & Self-Compassion 05/04/22

Self-awareness and self-compassion are the touchstones of this fascinating episode. Silvia Stenitzer is a licensed psychotherapist in Santa Fe, NM. She's gathered an eclectic array of well-researched techniques she uses to help her clients, and to train the trainers. Silvia "trusts the deep wisdom of the body, our innate self-healing abilities, and the magic of interpersonal connection. Movement, action, psychodrama, improvisation, art expression, dreams, play, meditation are our allies on the j...

CPTSD, Activism and Hope 04/20/22

What's the connection between C-PTSD, activism and hope? Melanie and Artemisio Romero y Carver dive into all of it in this fast-paced episode. Arte is a Chicana artist, poet, and grassroots organizer. Santa Fe Youth Poet Laureate in 2020, Arte's voice is informed, intelligent, and vibrant with hope. Sharing openly about his diagnosis of CPTSD, as a result of his early childhood experiences, he and Melanie talk about the stress of living in a chaotic world with so many challenges facing his gener...

Anxiety, Depression & Addictive Behaviors 04/06/2022

Anxiety, depression, and addictive behaviors can be best friends. I'm talking about the kind of "best" friend that can suck you in so deeply that you forget who you are and how it feels to be healthy and thriving. Yvonne Castaneda is a licensed social worker, adjunct professor of Boston College Graduate School of Social Work, online facilitator of BC School of Theology and Ministry, and author of the new book, Pork Belly Tacos With a Side of Anxiety: My Journey Through Depression, Bulimia, and A...

Living From Happiness - October 25, 2021 Duff McDonald, Journalist

Guest Duff McDonald, journalist and New York Times bestselling author, discusses his philosophy, and his new book, "Tickled: A Commonsense Guide To The Present Moment."

Living From Happiness - October 18, 2021 How To Relieve Pressure From Yourself

Living From Happiness - October 11, 2021 Aliza Einhorn, Part 2

Melanie continues her conversation with Aliza Einhorn, astrologer, and author of A Mystical Practical Guide to Magic: Instructions for Seekers, Witches, & Other Spiritual Misfits.

Living From Happiness - October 04, 2021 Laura Werlin

Guest host Diane Tegmeyer talks with author and expert on American cheeses, Laura Werlin.

Living From Happiness - September 28, 2021 Cynthia Fulreader