A reading from a recent Medium post titled “I won’t wash my hands anymore”: on “opinions”, testing the truth, and maintaining relationships (even when it is hard). In it, Jason writes about a recent Facebook argument, but also how his faith reminds him to not to turn away from others, but to remain in relationship even when it is challenging. This …

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Daring to be Silent Together: listening to Howard Thurman, watching Watchmen, and listening to each other during a pandemic". This episode follows a group that I lead once a month in group spiritual direction, with lots of silence and listening to each other. We have also been rewatching Watchmen at home …

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “'Why are you looking at heaven?': letting go of the past, stepping wisely into this pandemic future". This episode explores the grief associated with the Ascension of Jesus, connecting to our collective grief during pandemic. Then just as the disciples were asked "Why are you looking at heaven?", the ques…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled "Wandering in the Pandemic Wilderness: complaining, eating manna, and building golden calves". This episode fumbles around for a good analogy for our current pandemic reality, from the biblical text, for those who want an intersection between their clinical reality within their life of faith. This post can…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled "Our hurts return at different ages and stages." Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. This episode discusses the way that difficult events in our lives seem to come back again and again, but ends on a hopeful note that this is more about healing at …

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Not on the journey alone: on walking and writing and walking and writing”. This episode is an update on our recent book contract but also the way in which the process of this book, from inception to present day, has been a journey with many good companions along the way. This post can be found at medium.c…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Nothing is ever really lost.” on birthdays, the accumulation of friends on Facebook, community, and Walt Whitman. This episode has some follow up reflections from last year when I took my birthday off of Facebook and heard ... "crickets". There is some about the faux-community of Facebook, some reflection…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Anxiety isn’t good with statistics.” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. This episode is mostly around the way that anxiety and stress lead us into all/nothing thinking patterns ... which do not lead to nuanced thinking or multiple options. This p…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “It is like a child putting on an adult’s coat.” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. This episode talks about the way in which children can be given adult roles and the ways in which these can be flattering, but then also damaging for children. Thi…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Anxiety likes a blank canvas…” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. This episode reviews the open, future-oriented nature of anxiety, the way in which a "blank canvas" give a lot of room for an anxious brain to paint fearful pictures. This post can…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Try treating those thoughts like you would a bully…” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. This episode is about how to help children and adolescents (and ourselves) deal with difficult and persistent thoughts. This post can be found at medium.com/@…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled Going Back to School Mindfully: a quick guide for students, teachers, and parents. This post can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw. Go here for Jason's book, released Spring 2019. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled "So are you a good kid or a bad kid?" Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. This episode is around the subject of parenting, focusing on the behavior instead of locating "badness" or "goodness" in a child's self. This post can be found at medium.com/…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Concrete, specific praise works best.” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. This episode discusses self-efficacy vs. self-esteem, encouraging praise that is more specific than general. This post can be found at https://medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw/co…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Don’t call it a pee-pee or a hoo-hah.” Talking with your children about sex. This episode discusses way to (and not to) talk to children about sex and sexuality. This post can be found at https://medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw/dont-call-it-a-pee-pee-or-a-hoo-hah-edbcc90a2369. You can read other Medium posts a…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled "Touching our Wounds: on approaching our pain instead of avoiding it". This episode, takes a shot at redeeming Doubting Thomas but also notes that comments like "just get over it" are not terribly helpful when we are grieving or in pain. This post can be found at https://medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw/touching…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “They leave before they leave.” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. This episode is a reminder to those of us who are parents to be present with our children in their comings and going, but also making room for their eventual (and gradual) leaving.…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “You can’t eat a whole pizza without cutting it into slices first.” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. This episode is aimed toward those of us who have a difficult time breaking tasks into parts; there is some brain science about how we tend towa…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “I wonder if something important happened around here?” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. This episode talks about how our response to trauma can be located in time just as much as in physical location. This post can be found at https://medium.co…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “The only way out is through". This episode, similar in many ways to the style of the book that I wrote, uses the last Sunday's lectionary texts, some thoughts about therapy and mindfulness, in addition to baking bread. This post can be found at https://medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw/the-only-way-out-is-throug…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Insight does not equal change.” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. In this episode, I talk about how we sometimes get misled worrying about the "why" of a behavior instead of looking at what keeps the behavior in place. While the story of "why" i…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Blessed Be the Deeply Rooted on the roots of corn and live oaks, on trusting too much on our own ability". This episode, similar in many ways to the style of the book that I wrote, uses the lectionary texts from this week to offer some reflections about the difference between the roots of corn and live oa…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Handle the emotion first, then talk…” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. In this episode, I talk about the error a lot of us make in trying to rationalize with an emotion, in other words a physiological state. It is better to soothe and calm firs…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Are we Bystanders? on reading Howard Thurman in a social media age". In this episode, I talk about starting out in services to people who are homeless, along with some thoughts after reading Howard Thurman's The Inward Journey. This post can be found at https://medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw/are-we-bystanders…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Don’t work harder than they are.” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. In this episode, I offer a phrase first given to me as a student in social work. It is about boundaries, about parenting, and a lot more. This post can be found at https://mediu…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Let’s see if we can let your trauma be a part of your story, but not your whole story." Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. In this episode, I use the analogy of writing, of thinking about ourselves as narratives, to consider how we have some amou…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “… there was love behind my shut gate.” Subtitled "on the way that fear and pain keep us away from love and each other". In this episode, I quote an episode from the writing of Rufus M. Jones, a Quaker, after the untimely death of his son. Along with the quote, there is the acknowledgement of the way that …

A reading from a recent Medium post titled “Imagine you are hiking up a mountain.” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often.. In this episode, I use the analogy of a hike to talk about the progress of therapy, handling setbacks, with a bit of talk about the transtheoretical model. This post can b…

A reading from a recent Medium post titled "Let your clay be moist": on practicing deep listening, openness, and community. In it I share some about a recent Sunday School class on Parker Palmer's A Hidden Wholeness, but also about how silence gives us space to really listen to someone else and to listen for our own "inner teacher". This post can b…

A reading from a recent Medium post “Start with small consequences first; give yourself somewhere to go.” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often. In it I review some basics about giving consequences for children's behavior so that you are helping them learn, not simply scaring them. This post c…

A reading from a recent Medium post from around Thanksgiving 2018 entitled “Think Less, Love More: On St. Teresa of Avila, Facebook, and Arguing with Propaganda”. There is a wonderful quote from St. Teresa, but also me talking about my own struggles with arguing with erroneous Facebook posts. This post can be found at https://medium.com/@jasonhobbs…

A reading from a recent Medium post entitled “Be a Habit Change Detective: the crime of New Year's resolutions”. I reference Duhigg's book The Power of Habit, but also the Transtheoretical Model, all within a tongue-in-cheek, film noir framework. Fun, huh?!? You can read Medium posts at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw . --- Support this podcast: https:/…

A reading from a recent Medium post entitled “Anxiety lives in the future.” Part of an occasional series about phrases that this therapist finds himself repeating, often.You can read Medium posts at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw .--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support…

A reading from a Medium post entitled "I took my birthday off of Facebook and here is what happened". You can read Medium posts at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw .--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support

A reading from a Medium post entitled "This is why we talk about the trauma … on how memory is like a leaf rubbing". You can read Medium posts at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw .--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support

A reading from a Medium post entitled "I can no longer say I have never been to a Quaker meeting: 43 minutes of silence then … 'Let us try what Love will do.'". Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support…

A reading from a Medium post entitled "Speaking up and being heardon the woman who Jesus told to “go away” and the man that he told to “be quiet”". Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support

A reading from a Medium post entitled "Talking to that kid: on nostalgia, loss, memory, and forgiveness". Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support

A reading from a Medium post entitled Spiderwebs: on the ways in which community holds us. Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support

A reading from a Medium post entitled: Two Women. Two Deaths. Two Cancers. Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support

A reading from a Medium post entitled: The Question Was Asked to Test Him: on seeing the goodness in others, starting with ourselves. Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support

A reading from a Medium post entitled: The Question Was Asked to Test Him: on seeing the goodness in others, starting with ourselves. Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support

This episode is a reading from a recent Medium post, part of an occasional series about statements that I find myself saying pretty often in my work as a therapist. Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support…

A reading from a Medium post entitled: Jesus tells them, "Let's go over here and sit a spell." (on social work ethics, rest, and being present for miracles). Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support…

This episode is a reading from a recent Medium post, part of an occasional series about statements that I find myself saying pretty often in my work as a therapist. Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support…

From a recent Medium post. Some ponderings about the spiritual director training program in which I am enrolled and how this intersects or is in tension with my readings in mental health and neuroscience. I end up moving back toward both/and thinking instead of either/or dualism. Medium posts can be found at medium.com@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support thi…

This episode is a reading from a recent Medium post, part of an occasional series about statements that I find myself saying pretty often in my work as a therapist. Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support…

From a recent Medium post. Some thoughts on silence, quiet, and mindfulness, and some connections to the gospel reading for this Sunday June 24. Medium posts can be found at medium.com@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support

This episode is a reading from a recent Medium post. There are some thoughts about the Isaiah passage for Trinity Sunday, but mostly about graduation, about maturity, about young people feeling that they can speak their particular truth. Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/…

This episode is a reading from a recent Medium post, part of an occasional series about statements that I find myself saying pretty often in my work as a therapist. Medium posts can be found at medium.com/@jasonhobbslcsw--- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/jasonhobbslcsw/support…