
We are entering a New Year. And with that, there are plenty of folks making resolutions to change something in their lives– resolutions that often don’t happen.
Why does this happen?
In this episode, I talk about the cycles of perfectionist fantasies that disable people from accomplishing what they want in life. A perfectionist fantasy is when you think you believe but you don't really believe. When you say you believe, what you mean is you intellectually agree that it's conceivably possible for a person like you to do such a thing.
It's important to understand the cycles in our lives that do not help us. This enables us to identify them and change them. Perfectionist fantasies and tomorrow thinking is an incredibly disempowered way to live because we make plans that never happen…
In order to break the cycles around us, we must also break the cycles within us. I hope that you can use this as a tool to navigate the plans that you have for the New Year.
Important links:
Sign up for the Sharity Global Grant Writing Academy: https://info.sharityglobal.com/grant-writing-academy?utm_source=ghl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Grant%20Writing%20Academy
Visit my website: www.thisishope.us
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Dec 27, 2021
32 min

In this episode, I speak with Reverand Cece Jones-Davis, a graduate from Yale Divinity School, ordained minister, death penalty abolishinist, womens advocate (as well as many other roles). Cece championed the Justice for Julius cause as an abolitionist against the death penalty– Justice for Julius gained momentum over the past year and led to the clemency by the Oklahoma governor. She also released an album called Alive, which is available on Apple, Spotify, Google and Amazon Music.
Cece shares with us her wisdom on healing, perspective on retributive justice and capital punishment and shines light on what it means to be a firestarter. This episode was recorded one year ago, when the case for the exoneration for Julius Jones looked BLEAK. Yet, she chose to continue championing him and his family until the thing snowballed.
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Sign up for Sharity Global's Grant Writing Academy:
https://info.sharityglobal.com/grant-writing-academy
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Cece Jones-Davis’s website: https://cecejonesdavis.com/
Alive album: https://cecejonesdavis.hearnow.com/
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Watch the documentary and get involved in Justice for Julius:
https://www.justiceforjuliusjones.com/
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If you want to learn more about the theology behind abolishing the death penalty and against retributive justice:
https://www.amazon.com/Executing-Grace-Penalty-Killed-Killing/dp/0062347373
https://sojo.net/tags/death-penalty
https://www.relevantmagazine.com/current/all-christians-should-oppose-death-penalty/
https://www.relevantmagazine.com/current/death-penalty-pro-life-issue-too/
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This is Hope Podcast
Discovering hope through stories of struggle and transformation // This podcast interviews social entrepreneurs and people who are actively engaged in transforming their communities to better understand the process of hope and social transformation.
https://www.thisishope.global/
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Dec 14, 2021
53 min

Show Notes:
No one lives a lifetime without facing a tragedy (or two, or three or four of them!)
In this solo episode, I share three ways that we can find hope in tragedies. I know that every tragedy is different and presents its own unique challenges... I know tragedies are painful. But what if tragedy is life's way of forcing us to stop-- think-- reorientate-- and in some cases... reset.
1. Tragedies force us to stop.
2. Tragedies teach us what is really important.
3. Tragedies present opportunities to start over, reset or make major changes.
I use the analogy of a train, because that's exactly what life is like. We are all like trains running on railroad tracks, carrying loads that only increase as we grow older-- but occasionally our train gets derailed.
So what can we learn from it?
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Do you want to learn to write grants? Join me and other experts at Sharity Global-- and learn how to shake the money tree!
Sign up here: https://info.sharityglobal.com/grant-writing-academy?utm_source=ghl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Grant%20Writing%20Academy
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Visit my website: www.thisishope.us
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Dec 2, 2021
30 min

Links
Order the book:
https://justharvestbook.com/
Get in contact with Greg:
www.realtoughlawyers.com
View the book trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LeiD_QyThQ
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I want to talk about the largest civil rights case against the U.S. government that you’ve never heard about. Even crazier, this case is quite recent, happening within our lifetimes….
This month, I sat down with Greg Francis, the lawyer who won the $1.25 billion settlement for black farmers against the U.S. Government. He rallied black farmers and civil rights advocates and provided enough evidence to prove the inherent racism of the USDA throughout its history, which caused black farmers to lose much of the generational wealth that could have impacted today’s generation for the better. Better said, this land was stolen.
If you are listening to this-- and you have a hard time reconciling or hearing this truth. You are probably living on stolen land… than good. I hope that you lean into that discomforting thought until you find yourself there. I digress…
I enjoy talking to Greg Francis because so much of his story reflects what it means to actual hope. I think that hope starts out with a smile or a conversation-- but if you let it catch fire… it’ll start disrupting systems and sometimes burning down the frameworks that make us safe-- so that we are forced to reconcile with truth--- Greg’s story about how winning this case took getting out of the law firm and into the kitchens and living rooms of real people changed his life-- and while 1.25 billion is a lot of money… it’s not even a drop in the bucket next to human dignity that comes with stating your plight-- and being heard by the people and powers that be. That’s what these farmers wanted.
That’s what people all around you want. And if you are intentional and critically aware… you probably have the ability to do more healing than you’ll ever know.
People start to heal the moment they feel heard-- Greg fought to have that happen. And he’s still fighting for that.
Enjoy the conversation.
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Aug 18, 2021
58 min

There's too much to talk of transformation and not enough action. This is often, because situations in life seem so big and people don't know where to start. So, they throw their arms up and say... "I wish there was something I can do."
And then do nothing.
This is a form of learned helplessness. We feel we can't do anything or that whatever we do will impact nothing. So we do nothing.
Not in this community!
In this episode, I explain a practical tool to help anyone start a project of their own-- from beginning to end. So, that anyone in the This Is Hope community can start taking proactive steps to personal and communal transformation.
Find out more about me and view other episodes at www.thisishope.us
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
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Jul 20, 2021
39 min

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Carina Lopez a naturopathic doctor who dedicates her life to offering integrated services to the community she was raised in as well as other communities facing systematic oppression.
Transformation cannot be compartmentalized. A person is a whole body, spirit and mind and so is a community. Learning how to integrate these elements is important when addressing personal and social transformation.
This episode is important for anyone who is working with social changes or transformation in any sector. We talk about:
Ways to address roots issues and not symptoms of an issue
Unique challenges that underserved communities face within their bodies
Transgenerational trauma
Birthing trauma
Traditional medicine
Dr. Lopez has written for the Daily News, Huffington Post, Riverdale Press, NDNR, Latinista and has studied under world-renowned healers, so she's really got some wisdom to drop.
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Show Notes:
1:00 What was your origin story?
2:00 Birthing trauma
7:00 What have you overcome to get to where you are right now?
The title MD is only going to give me a license to medicate my own community.
Trangenerational trauma
14:00 What are unique challenges that people who are coming from oppressed communities face within their bodies?
20:20 What kind of advice do you have for someone who has a lot to unpack, but is rarely in a social environment that allows it?
25:00 Sistine Madonna and the relinquishment of power and beauty. View here: www.thisishope.us/blog
28:00 How did you get from New York City to Greece?
33:15 Pitfalls to the compartmentalization of transformation
36:00 What happened to homeopathy?
40:00 Learn from your community
____________________
Contact the Guest
Doctor Carina Lopez
vitalisthealingtraditions.com
[email protected]
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Contact the Host
Amethyst Rodriguez
www.thisishope.us
[email protected]
____________________
Health Disclaimer: By listening to this podcast or reading this blog, you agree not to use this podcast or blog as medical advice to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others, including but not limited to patients that you are treating. Consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having. This entire disclaimer also applies to any guests or contributors to the podcast or blog.
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Jun 26, 2021
46 min

The blog I referenced during the episode (about the year I spent "licking my wounds") is: https://www.thisishope.global/blog/2019/1/11/a-2018-marked-by-gratefulness
This episode explains my personal account as a twelve-year missionary who spent a decade in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This account explains the beauty and woes of working as a woman and minority in a faith-based organizational context. It is both a reflection, a critique and a tribute to all those who build and break.
It also puts the nails into the coffin of one life-- so that I can truly live with the one that I have now.
𝙇𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙀𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙚 8: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘞𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘦𝘭𝘭
𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆: tinyurl.com/thisishope8-Spotify
𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲: tinyurl.com/thisishope8-Apple
Anchor: anchor.fm/thisishope
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Jun 11, 2021
1 hr 11 min

Episode 7: Turn a Disability into an Ability + Tea and Social Work in Japan
In this episode, I speak with Yuko Satoh, the director of the Tsubasa Institute and owner of the Tree of Life Aroma & Herb Cafe in Takarazuka city, Japan. Yuko contracted a rare disease when she was 24 years old that hospitalized her for 10 years and left her wheelchair-bound. Despite her setbacks, Yuko pursued her dream to start a small cafe.
This eventually led her in starting an organization that offers social services for the physically and mentally handicapped.
This interview is conducted through a translator who is a friend and fellow social entrepreneur, Eriko Miller who is also from Japan. This interview in anyone interested in how to:
Turn your disability into an ability
Serve the mentally and physically handicapped
Listen to transformative voices
Serve the country of Japan
How to stay in contact with Yuko Satoh and the Tsubasa Institute:
tsubasa-support.love
Instagram.com/inochinoki_surumesyok
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May 16, 2021
25 min

Show Notes:
Intro
The story behind Gatorade and the wide world of sports drinks.
6:30 Water Deprivation in Sports
8:30 Growing up in a family of inventors
9:45 How a sports drink became famous
12:00 The Gatorade lawsuit
13:15 How the conflict was the blessing
15:00 Leveraging Funding to bring in more funding
17:00 Selling your idea
17:30 What is the difference between an inventor and an entrepreneur?
20:30 Addressing Sustainability
23:00 Defining Inventivity
24:00 What is the Invent possible curriculum?
25:30 What does the Cade Museum do?
26:00 Bringing invention into a computer
28:00 Addressing the fear inside of yourself
30:30 Addressing your wounds and your scars
32:00 Embracing the parts of your story that you want to hide
33:00 How do you know that a wound is now a scar?
34:30 How do you find your community partners?
36:45 What happens when things don’t go your way?
37:15 What is the Cade Museum?
38:30 How did you build the Cade Museum
39:45 What it means to be a bridge
41:00 Solving a community problem
43:00 How to organize communities
45:00 How to be in contact theo Phoebe and the Cade Museum
Quotes:
It is what is to be human is to be creative
Failure is just as important as success because you learn better from what you did wrong. It’s a launching point to move forward and continue.
The inventive mindset is -- using your (23:30)
Inventivity in a person is someone that is motivated by problems, not overwhelmed.
The invention is never a solitary endeavor.
You are so much more effective in your ministry if you minister from a scar, rather than a wound-- or even something you’ve never experienced at all.
Links:
https://www.cademuseum.org/
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Apr 29, 2021
47 min

In this episode, I talk with Idalia Martinez, an educator and writer who has dedicated her life to helping women and their families through traumatic situations. Idalia shares her story of domestic violence and gives insight into some of its causes and effects. She also shares practical steps toward prevention, healing, stopping generational cycles.
1:10 - Intro to Voicelessness, Anger and Violence
3:30 - Idalia Martinez's Bio
4:30 - How Idalia and I met
5:45 - What’s not in your bio?
6:10 - What is domestic violence?
7:30 - Idalia explains her experience with domestic violence
10:00 - How can domestic violence affect life later
12:00 - Don't forget about the babies
12:30 - "Children speak when the chickens urinate"
14:00 - Importance of a child's voice
16:00 - The Silent Generation
17:00 - What makes a person voiceless?
19:00 - How can a person identify that they are voiceless?
22:30 - Where does the "Angry Bitch" stereotype come from?
24:00 - What is "the monster"?
29:00 - Is there a morality to anger?
29:30 - How do we identify anger?
32:20 - What are practical ways to express anger?
38:40 - What advice can you give to someone who is staying silent to survive?
44:45 - How does violence, anger and voicelessness affect the next generation
46:15 - How can we reframe our narrative around anger, especially regarding the gender norms associated with women
50:00 - Contact info for Idalia
BOOK INFO
Turn Domestic Violence to Victorious Dignity by Idalia Rosa-Martinez
For pre-order ebook or info send email to [email protected]
MENDING THE SCARRED INFO
Contact me - [email protected] OR mendingthescarredbypjm.com for ministry and retreat information.
ANGER MANAGEMENT INFO -
Total Life Counseling
www.totallifecounseling.com
Orlando - 407- 248-0030
Anger Management courses $99 8 hr in person course
Orlando Anger Management
407-622-1770
No Insurance - Intern scale counselors available
Celebrate Recovery www.celebraterecovery.com
Pind a local meeting http://celebraterecoverygabc.com Freedom from Anger for Men
Alejandra Proaño
Healing Anger 778-322-3329
email - [email protected] https://healinganger.ca
Redeemer Counseling 407-405-7677
New Life Counselors 800-New-Life https://newlife.com
Love UnVeiled
Transforming Women into God’s Image of Beauty 407-385-5796
email - [email protected]
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Overcomers aceovercomers.org
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE INFO -
Florida Hotline - 1-800-500-1119
Finding Your Voice - TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL
www.toastmasters.org
Find a local club to help you Pind your voice
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Apr 10, 2021
53 min
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