#279 The Universal Laws of Change: Habits of Mind to Live into an Integrated Life despite an Uncertain Future with Futurist Cecily Sommers

In this season finale on Living a Life of Integration after major life changes, Louise sits down with Cecily Sommers, global trends analyst, futurist, and author of Think Like a Futurist. Their conversation explores the universal nature of change—how it unfolds in our personal lives, across society, and within the cosmos itself. Cecily shares the four habits of mind—optimism, curiosity, courage, and patience—that help us navigate uncertainty, as well as her perspective on reinvention, resilience, and what it means to lose an ordered life and find ourselves again. She also reflects on her journey as a breast cancer survivor, offering hard-won wisdom on how to nurture our souls and co-create with change. This thoughtful exchange closes out Season 5 with insight and inspiration, reminding us that change, though often disruptive, is also a guide toward living with greater purpose and that we all have an inherent capacity to live a trauma healing integrated life even after life altering change.

Sending love

Resources www.cecilysommers.com

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding!

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

#278 The Long Arc of Living a Life of Trauma Integration and Resilience with Dr. Ann Kaiser Stearns

Louise sits down with Dr. Ann Kaiser Stearns, a psychologist, educator, and bestselling author whose work has touched millions through her books, lectures, and decades of teaching. In this conversation, she shares insights from more than 30 years of research and clinical experience on the long-term journey of resilience, grief, and our human capacity to integrate profound loss into a new sense of self.

Together they explore the long arc of healing after life-altering trauma, the difference between simply surviving and truly integrating, the power of one decision to live fully, and the role of meaning-making in shaping one’s future. Dr. Stearns vividly illustrates what trauma integration can look like over time, including the phenomenon of paying it forward for others. She also speaks to caregivers, the importance of their purpose, and mental health tips for how growth and strength can emerge even when loss is permanent.

Her wisdom helps illuminate the closing reflections on Tony Schmiesing’s journey—what it means to continue integrating over time, to redefine identity, and to embrace the ongoing work of living fully.

Resources https://www.annkaiserstearnsphd.com/

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding!

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com

#277 Embracing Disability Identity as part of Living a Life of Integration with Anthony Tusler

Louise sits down with Anthony Tusler, a writer, photographer, advocate, and educator who has lived with a spinal cord injury for over 70 years. Anthony reflects on his journey of embracing his disability identity in the activism of the 1970s, a turning point that shaped his life’s work in education, community building, and the arts. He shares how community and advocacy are essential to belonging, how art can change the way disability is seen, and how integration and community are key to living a meaningful life. Anthony also speaks to the importance of advocacy in today’s political climate and the responsibility we all share in protecting disability rights since it was the advocacy of SCI advocates and others who made life easier for all Americans with ramps and curb cuts. His insights offer wisdom, encouragement, and a reminder that disability is part of the human experience, something every human will face, not to be feared, but embraced.

Resources https://aboutdisability.com/

https://cripcamp.com/

Stay Connected: Subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone interested in advocacy for SCI funding!

BLINK of an Eye® Podcast is sponsored by BLINK of an Eye® Non-Profit:

A non-profit which is an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injury, originating the first SCI Navigator Program in the country for newly injured SCI Families by SCI Families as an essential national resource for Spinal Cord Injured families in the first days, weeks and months of SCI crisis when life turns upside down and few medical teams in the US have SCI expertise or lived experience. They bring essential support, connections, life expertise and resources. BLINK of an Eye non profit deploys a rapid response HEAL Team for ICU bedside support to create an Extraordinary Experience despite the devastation for SCI families and a personal SCI Navigator for 24/7 support in the first 90 days and throughout the Miracle Year. BLINK of an Eye non profit also provides a Multidisciplinary Wrap Around Team and SCI Expert Medical Panel. Stay tuned for their launch of a National Digital Resource Library, the SCI PLAYBOOK, chocked full of essential SCI information and trauma informed responses for the first hours, days and months after injury. To find out more, get involved, or make a donation, visit www.BLINKofaneye.org.

Blink of an Eye is sponsored by Baltimore Mediation:

To find out more about cutting edge conflict transformation skills courses to learn relational conflict theory and advocacy, mediation interventions and support for leaders and anyone navigating or facilitating difficult situations, conflict, or trauma, visit the website www.BaltimoreMediation.com and register for nationally certified 40 hour courses, including the Enneagram of personality for mediators to know themselves to stay neutral while offering opportunity for other’s empowerment.

To find out more about Louise visit: www.BlinkofanEye.org, www.BaltimoreMediation.com, www.BeingRelational.com