Brave a Moment Podcast

Guest: Dr. Sheila Sweeney 

In this episode, Breni and her guest Dr. Sheila Sweeney discuss topics of intuition, authenticity, self-kindness, mindfulness, and our journeys with learning how to listen to our inner voice and living in a way that is in alignment our true selves. We explore how we can be better to ourselves by implementing Dr. Sweeney's 3 brave steps: 

1. Pause daily - quiet your mind for 5 minute pauses throughout the day
2. Listen to yourself - your mind, your spirit, and most importantly, your body will tell you what it wants and needs, when it is in need
3. Give yourself grace when you fail to pause and listen.  Repeat steps one and two every day. 

Visit https://www.braveamomentpodcast.com/ for blog posts and resources and follow Brave a Moment Podcast on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. 

Guest: Dr. Doug Kennedy

1. You cannot fail at this! Doug and Breni debunk many of the myths about mindfulness including you do not have to be sitting up in a straight line, you do not have to be in complete silence, you do not and should not turn your brain off or empty your mind, you do not have to have your eyes closed! If your mind wanders and you bring your attention back, you are doing mindfulness! 
2. Brave Steps: Step One: Soft Belly Breathing. Step Two: Daily 10-20 Minute meditation. Step Three: S.T.O.P. - Slow down, take a breath, observe bodily/physical sensations, and process the possibilities/be curious about the situation 
3. In a study, most participants elected to give themselves an electric shock instead of being alone with their thoughts- so you are not alone if this is difficult for you! But know that it is possible to personalize mindfulness to fit your life and who you are as a person- it doesn't have to look the way we describe it! It can be transformative if you let it :)

Check out resources here and the blog here! Thank you so much for being here!

Episode topic: The experience of eating 

Guest: Cuong Nguyen 

1. Everyone's relationship and experience with eating can vary! Mindful eating can change the way you approach food and even make it a more enjoyable experience. Cooking and offering food can be a meaningful way of expressing love and care in various cultures. Cuong discusses how this was prevalent in his family and his parents are Vietnamese. 

2. Brave Steps: 

Step One: Watch a video/documentary about a specific food

Step Two: Eat that specific food at a restaurant

Step Three: Create that dish yourself and see how your dish compares to the restaurant's dish

3. People's connection to food can be a big part of who they are, a big part of their culture, a way to connect with friends and family, which is certainly the case for Cuong. Whether you plan your day around your meals or your meals around your day- you will see two different perspectives when it comes to eating meals and the meaning behind them. 

Next time you eat with someone and they say they "like" their food, maybe ask them what about the food specifically- do they like? Is it a specific flavor? A specific texture? A blend of both? 

Visit the website https://www.braveamomentpodcast.com/ to view the blog, more resources, and to stay connected with all things B.A.M.!

Today's episode is on GRATITUDE!

Guest: Dr. Viann Nguyen-Feng

Main Points:

• Gratitude is more powerful than you may think. Writing and reading gratitude letters to people in your life can fuel your soul.

3 Brave Steps

1. Mornings: ~10-minute gratitude meditation. Pick any that's calling to you that day, e.g., Jack Kornfield's or others, or find one to repeat for 7 days.
2. During the day: On Day 1, write a gratitude letter to someone. On Day 2, call/video chat/meet up with that person and read them the gratitude letter. Then give them a copy of the letter, in person or via postage mail. Alternate doing this through Day 6. On Day 7, write a gratitude letter to yourself. Read it aloud to yourself. Then read it aloud to yourself while looking in a mirror. Then tape it next to the mirror.
3. Evenings: Write down 5 things that made you smile that day. Write expressed gratitude for each of them. Write down 5 more things that you feel grateful for today.

• Show yourself gratitude more often. You are amazing. Acknowledge it. Feel it.
• Try asking someone what makes them smile! 

Visit www.braveamomentpodcast.com for resources, blogs, and more information.

Today’s episode is all about SLEEP!

Episode Title: Sleep is for the weak..or is it?

Guest: Tina Lagman (Socials: @martinalagman)

• Tina discusses her experience with a sleeping disorder- hypersomnia!

3 Brave Steps

1. No electronics or screens 30 minutes after waking up
   
2. No electronics or screens 30 minutes before going to sleep
   
3. Get 8 hours of sleep every night
   

• Shifting your relationship with sleep can improve your life!

Visit the website www.braveamomentpodcast.com to view blogs and all the resources mentioned in this episode!

Today’s episode is all about SLEEP!

Episode Title: Sleep is for the weak..or is it?

Guest: Tina Lagman (Socials: @martinalagman)

• Tina discusses her experience with a sleeping disorder- hypersomnia!

3 Brave Steps

1. No electronics or screens 30 minutes after waking up
   
2. No electronics or screens 30 minutes before going to sleep
   
3. Get 8 hours of sleep every night
   

• Shifting your relationship with sleep can improve your life!

Visit the website www.braveamomentpodcast.com to view blogs and all the resources mentioned in this episode!

This mini-episode is all about Season One- Not So Basic, Basic Moments. This episode will discuss: 

• How this season will provide you with the information or ideas to contemplate, that will help make the other seasons not only make sense but also be more meaningful. 
• The topics in this season will also be things that we all do in some way shape or form. So it acts to unite us all from the start.
• These episodes aren’t here to imply that I myself or anyone listening are doing these things wrong. Things like eating, sleeping, breathing, resting, etc. - don’t want to give all seven episodes away. All of these things are seemingly automatic. 
• They’re basic in the sense that they’re fundamental to life. But not so basic because many of these things we never formally learned how to do.

Visit www.braveamomentpodcast.com to learn more! Surprise: the first full episode is available NOW! 

This mini-episode introduces you to all things about the host- Breni! 

• You will hear voice messages from Breni's family, family friends, and college friends. Breni provides a mini autobiography and interlaces each group's recordings within it to provide more context about her and her life. 
• Hopefully, this mini-episode provides enough context about who I am to encourage you to join me on my journey.  

Thank you for listening! Be sure to visit my website: www.braveamomentpodcast.com to read blog posts and stay up to date on all things BAM! 

This mini-episode introduces you to all things BAM! Including:

• The origin story behind the title
• Inspirations for the idea, the goal of the podcast
• Why the time for BAM is now
• The typical layout of an episode
• Topics I may cover
• More about the guests/who will be on the podcast
• Who this podcast is for
• When to listen to it, and more! 

Visit www.braveamomentpodcast.com to stay up to date! You can also follow @BraveaMomentPodcast on Instagram and Facebook, and @BraveaMomentPod on Twitter.