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Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (219)

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (219)

Welcome!

In this episode I take a look at a Harvard study on what is needed for a successful re-entry. At first it seems to be the same old stuff but there is a surprise addition to this particular study. It's something I've been saying for a long time! Check it out....

Also, I've got some information on a telephone scam that targets felons. You should be aware of this. The scammer almost got me!

If God is for you, who can be against you?

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (218)

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (218 

Welcome! Throughout the time I've been doing this podcast, I've stayed away from looking backwards. Things like prison conditions, abusive guards, sentencing, and other topics related to being in prison are not the purpose of the podcast. I want to put prison behind me and move on with life in a way that proves I am worthy of the second chance I've been given. 

However, that 7 years and 11 months I did, is a reality that can not be denied. I think about it all the time. I think maybe I've been a little too harsh about staying away from all that on the podcast. 

My guest on this episode is Shane Flemmons. Shane did a few a years and has written about his experiences in two books: Conviction and Deep Convictions. The books are are evidence of the disfunctionality of prison and the lessons learned from the experiences and stories of other inmates. Join us as we chat with Shane about these things and more on this episode.

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (217)

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (217):

 Hello!  

 Sometimes I think it's good to focus on ourselves. We' are not being overly self-centered when we think about, consider, and execute strategies to improve "anything" about ourselves.  By the word "anything" I mean aspects of our physical and mental health. As we all know, the hurdles to be jumped to achieve successful  reintegration are very, very, tall. In my opinion, taking inventory and addressing our physical and mental health is an important part of life after incarceration. 

My guest this week, Jenny Mannion, has some ideas on how to address these rough spots  - whether they be physical or mental. This is the focus of my chat with Jenny and I think you will find what she has to say insightful and worth exploring.

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (216)

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (216) 

Let's do some thinking about expectations.  Is it possible to expect too much from ourselves? Is there a difference between expectations and goals? How about our expectations of other people? How do we keep our expectations reasonable? 

My guest on this episode, Ben Winter, helps us figure out how to manage our expectations. He wrote a book about this, What To Expect When Having Expectations. Check out my interview with Ben Winter.

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (215)

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (215): 

Welcome!  I hope you're doing well!

I've been thinking for quiet some time that doing an episode on sex addiction would probably be a good thing to do but frankly, actually going about doing it has seemed a little awkward. I've looked at guests to interview and there are some experts in recovery with professional credentials that I may still try to interview. But ultimately,  I decided to share some facts, look at the negative issues that arise from sex addiction, and share some resources for getting help. 

As we work to become productive citizens, we don't need something like this getting in our way!

Bottom line: Sex addictions are a very bad thing. Nothing good comes from porn in general and I'm convinced it's a one way street that goes nowhere.  If you need help,  it's available for free. I've included three resources below.

 SAA -  12 Step

S anon - for familiy members of addicts

sexhelp.com - povides a self evaluation and therapist search tool

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (214)

Journey of Hope With Rodney Mathers (214) I hope everyone is safe and warm. It has been a rough week here in the Houston area! Three has been record cold, ( 11 degrees a couple of nights ago),  major power outages,  water outages,  and empty grocery store shelves. All of this is on top of Covid. Wow! My heart goes out to people walking out of prison into this mess because while freedom feels great, there is a reality here that can make getting restarted even tougher. 

My guest this week, Lois Hollis will help us to address some the emotions we feel while getting ourselves going again. Namely, we will be talking about guilt and shame. 

Lately, I've been turning down interview requests because I just haven't seen anything we haven't covered before. I can not recall however devoting an entire show to a discussion on how guilt and shame can adversely affect our progress as we reintegrate. Lois talks about the importance of eliminating shame and guilt and how to go about doing that.