Live Happy Now

Building Love With Maria Baltazzi

As we approach February, our minds turn to love. For the next few weeks, Live Happy Now will look at the many ways love shows up in our lives and how we can create more of it. To kick it off, host Paula Felps talks with Maria Baltazzi, author of Take a Shot at Happiness: How to Write, Direct and Produce the Life You Want. In her book, Maria outlines eight happiness essentials and, not surprisingly, one of them is love. In this episode she talks about some of the practices we can use to build more love into our lives. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to use journaling to build more love in your life. Using photography to retrain your brain to look for love. How a loving kindness meditation can create more love for yourself and others.

Launch Your Awakening Adventure With Steve Taylor

Throughout January, we’ve been sharing practices that can help you create habits that increase your wellbeing. And now, it’s time for an adventure! This week, host Paula Felps talks with Steve Taylor, a best-selling author and senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett University in England. Steve has devoted his life to investigating spiritual awakenings for himself and others and his new book, The Adventure: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Awakening, provides a roadmap to walk through practices to help you embark on your awakening journey.  In this episode, you’ll learn: Why awakening is the greatest adventure any of us will ever experience. The eight qualities of wakefulness and why they matter. How embracing our mortality improves our spiritual awakening. 

The 3-Minute Meditation with Richard Dixey

As we venture a little farther into the new year, it’s a good time to pause, take a breath, and – if you have three minutes – learn to meditate! This week, host Paula Felps is joined by  Richard Dixey, a lifelong student of Buddhism who has devoted the past 15 years of his life to teaching meditation. His new book, Three Minutes a Day: A Fourteen Week Course to Learn Meditation and Transform Your Life, is designed to teach readers how to change their lives with simple meditation practices that truly do take just three minutes a day. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why meditation is so good for us. How learning to meditate for just three minutes a day can transform us. Simple practices to begin your meditation journey.

How Animals Help Us Heal with Dr. Joanne Cacciatore

Dr. Joanne Cacciatore knows first-hand the trauma caused by grief and loss. And she also knows how animals can help us heal. On this episode, host Brittany Derrenbacher sits down with Dr. Jo, founder of the Arizona-based Selah Carefarm, which provides a compassionate, healing space for those who have suffered trauma and loss. Listen in as they discuss how humans and animals help each other heal from abuse, trauma, and grief. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why animals are such experts at helping us heal from trauma. How working with abused animals has had a profound effect on Dr. Jo’s life. What a day on Selah Carefarm is like.

Create a Humor Habit for 2024 With Paul Osincup

What’s so funny about 2024? You’re about to find out! This week, host Paula Felps talks with Paul Osincup, a speaker, corporate trainer, and author of the forthcoming book The Humor Habit. Paul recognizes the importance of humor as a tool to relieve stress, improve our physical and mental health, and to make the world more enjoyable for ourselves and those around us. He’s here to tell us how to create a humor strategy for 2024 and make it a healthier, funnier, and happier year. In this episode, you’ll learn: What humor does for your mental health. The value of finding your Humor Homie. How to become hardwired for humor.

Take an Inner Field Trip With Leesa Renee Hall

If you’re looking for an adventure to start the new year, why not take an inner field trip? This week, host Paula Felps sits down with Leesa Renee Hall, a mental health wellness advocate and author of the Inner Field Trip workbook, which helps explore what drives us, what oppresses us, and helps us identify our personal biases. Armed with that information, Leesa says we can change the way we move through the world and transform our relationships — which seems like a great way to start the year. In this episode, you’ll learn: What it means to go on an inner field trip. How going on this journey is helpful to your mental health. Why self-reflection is such a powerful tool for healing.

Celebrate the Season With Straight No Chaser

The holidays are here, which means we’ve been filling our ears with the sounds of the season. As we hit the final stretch, host Paula Felps sits down with Jasper Smith of the popular a capella group Straight No Chaser. Since being discovered on YouTube, this group has become an international sensation and has become part of a holiday tradition for many. In this episode, you’ll learn: How a 10-year-old video from college launched the band’s career. Why Straight No Chaser has become synonymous with the holiday season. Why the band loves delivering happiness for the holidays.

Navigating Grief During the Holiday Season With Gina Moffa

Grief is a difficult path to walk any time of the year, but during the holiday season, it becomes even more challenging. This week, host Paula Felps sits down with Gina Moffa, a licensed psychotherapist specializing in grief and trauma. Her new book, Moving On Doesn’t Mean Letting Go: A Modern Guide to Navigating Loss, is a travel companion guide to the most difficult journey people will take in their lives. In this episode, Gina talks specifically about how grief is compounded during the holidays and tells us how to navigate it.  In this episode, you’ll learn: How to take care of ourselves during the holidays if we are suffering fresh loss. How grief manifests itself in our bodies and how we can practice self-care. Tips for supporting someone who is experiencing grief during the holidays (and beyond).

What Animals Can Tell Us With Joan Ranquet

If you’ve ever wished you could talk to the animals, we’ve got great news for you: Today’s guest says you can! Join host Brittany Derrenbacher as she sits down with Joan Ranquet, a well-known animal communicator, author, TEDx speaker, educator, and animal advocate. Joan and Brittany talk about the many ways we can learn to listen to our animals and they also discuss the benefits of “tapping,” which Joan talks about in her newest book, Emotional Freedom Technique for Animals and Their Humans: Creating a Harmonious Relationship Through Tapping. In this episode, you’ll learn: Why Joan believes all of us have the ability to tune into what animals are telling us. Simple ways we can learn to listen to animals. How the emotional freedom technique, or “tapping,” can ease anxiety in pets.

Managing Family Dysfunction During the Holiday Season With Trakida Maldonado

Holidays are the time for gathering with family and that can often be stressful. But having a good strategy in place can help make the season run more smoothly. This week, host Paula Felps talks with Trakida Maldonado, a licensed professional counselor for SonderMind who brings more than a decade of clinical experience to the table. In this episode, Trakida offers actionable advice for navigating common holiday situations with family members, setting boundaries before your holiday gatherings, and how to make the holidays a little bit easier on everyone — no matter what your situation is. In this episode, you’ll learn: How to handle family gatherings when your relationships aren’t going well. Managing the expectations of your extended family to make the holidays a positive experience for children. Tips for setting boundaries and managing conflict at gatherings.