In this Music & Mental Health Podcast I’m talking with Martin Kerr, British-Canadian singer-songwriter based in Edmonton Canada. Martin shares what he's found that helps him balance music, relationships and family life. We discuss many topics, including: how success is the result of years of grassroots community building, how music is fundamentally about community, communication and sharing emotional truths, how intrinsic motivation is the key to a creative life, how singing and performing are both therapeutic and restorative, and other topics! A wonderful conversation. I hop eyou enjoy it.

This roundtable explores how we manage others to better navigate difficult conversations. Topics covered included: a discussion of a workplace culture of 'feedback for redirection', which is more akin to coaching rather than telling; how asking questions for which we don't have the answer does not mean we shouldn't prepare ideas or have opinions entering into difficult conversations; how and why it is more challenging to have difficult covnersations with people we are closer to; and how important trust-building is to an honest feedback culture (where we cannot always guarantee a positive outcome to someone if they tell us the truth).

Part 3 of the Mastering Diffiicult Conversations podcast series focuses on how we manage other peoples' psychological states. Topics discussed include: how confidence reduces our avoidance of difficult conversations; how we help others to reframe, refocus and redirect; and how peolpe's needs are legitimate and helping them feel safe also helps them them shift to higher needs such as partnering and co-experimenting.

The Music & Mental Health roundtable discussing my podast with Jon Bryant was very insightful and stimulating. As usual, my friends at Nettwerk Music took the conversation to very interesting places including: an exploration of how meditative mind states generate openness and curosity to what shows up - a 'waiting-upon' rather than a predictive mode; the metaphor of the mind as a 'mobile' as a means to understand how the conscious and unconscious mind integrates experience; the maturing artist becoming less self-focused, more aware, more balancd and the healthy integration that creativity can bring; and how there is a type of 'resonance' as we tap into a more collective consciousness, feeling a part of something that transcends yet includes us. All in all, a thought-provoking discussion!

This Q & A explores issues arising from 'Mastering Difficult Conversations Part 2 (Managing Self). Topics discussed included:stepping outside one's reaction and pausing and seeing how this breaks habitual patterns in self and others; how, in dealing with personality-disordered people it is less about changing them, and more about protecting self and others around them; when we are not getting win-wins the importance of equanimity and how to get our ego out of the way and not be upset by the other person's non-willingness to change.

When we find ourselves in a difficult conversation, or when we are anticipating one, before we can manage other people skilfully the first task is usually to manage our own emotions and reactions. The best approach is to be proactive. Such ‘Approach Coping’ enables us to manage our own thoughts, behaviours and emotions and to take care of our own needs. It then allows us to better manage the needs of the other person and the conversation generally. This second Managing Difficult Conversations podcast provides strategies for self-awareness and for in-the-moment self-management.

This was a thoughtful and illuminating Podcast in which we discussed Music, Creativity and Mental Health. Themes in this conversation included: Jon's latest album "Therapy Notes" and explore the therapeutic role of music in processing emotions and life experiences; how music can help transform difficult experiences into something bearable and beautiful; the relationship between creativity, mental states, and environmental conditions; how meditation helps Jon access creative mind states; creativity as an integrating process that allows individuals to trust their own process more; the concept of love and its spiritual dimension, especially as it involves surrender; how the music industry rewards narcissistic behavior and has become a social media popularity contest, while offering little financial security; how Jon credits a more structured lifestyle focused on regular exercise, healthy eating, and balance, for his career longevity while managing multiple creative pursuits including music, acting, and visual art. It was a wonderfully diverse conversation and I hope you love it too.

This Q & A explores issues arising from 'Mastering Difficult Conversations Part 1 (What's Going On?)'. Topics discussed included: how nurturing trust over time makes subsequent difficult conversations much easier; the distinction between naive and mature trust; the distinction between reacting and responding, and how we can use analysis of conversational dynamics to shift to responding; the importance of preparing for difficult conversations; and the development of confidence in one's ability to navigate difficult conversations well.