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In this podcast, Mary Hayes Grieco talks about her upcoming class “My Beautiful Life – Self Mastery and Life Purpose,” a weekly online workshop that kicks off on Saturday, January 16, from 10 am to 12:30 pm CST. This winter, enjoy a delightful mentor, a lovely group, and a rich and interesting class that will teach you new tools for confidence and joy … Psychosynthesis theory, Intuition, Intention, Forgiveness, Boundaries, Self-love, and more! Join us in community as you forge ahead through winter into spring, and into your beautiful life. The 12-week zoom class runs from January 16th through April 3, 2021, and costs $595. Reduced fee available for economic hardship or late sign-ups. Register at www.maryhayesgrieco.com Questions? Contact Mary at mary@maryhayesgrieco.com or call  612-874-6622.

Once again, Mary Hayes Grieco jams optimistically with a community of spirited women who want to invoke the best for 2021, despite the epic losses of 2020. In the deep wintertime, with the pandemic toll rising, how do we dare to sparkle? Mary talks about ways to boost your light with the active practices of Compassionate Attention, Radical Mercy for All, Radiant Faith, and a vigorously declared commitment to Your Beautiful Life and Joy, Anyway. Forgive the disappointments of 2020 and open up to the best version of yourself in 2021 – Happy New Year! Mary Hayes Grieco website: https://maryhayesgrieco.com/ Podcasts episodes about Mary’s Forgiveness Method: https://riseandthriveshow.com/start-now/

On this Christmas Day, we revisit a podcast that aired in our first season of podcasts, Life Gets Better Now, at Christmas time in 2015. Today the Christian world celebrates the birth of Jesus, but beyond the historical and religious Jesus, there is a Universal Spirit that he fully embodied; each of us can tap into that spiritual consciousness to some degree, no matter what our level of church affiliation or non- affiliation is. Let’s call it “Christ Consciousness.” It’s when you discover a space that is inside you, and you are inside it, where you remember what is so easy to forget: We are all One. In this moment of awareness, you feel encouragement, bliss, a desire to serve, blessing, thriving, unity. As John Lennon put it, Imagine all the people … living life in peace … you may say I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one. I hope one day you’ll join us, and the world will live as one. As winter’s darkness grows, it brings us the gift of knowing how much we love the light, and that we want to “be a light” for ourselves and for everyone else. Take some time amid the noise and bustle of the holiday week to cozy up with Mary and Erin as their conversation leads you down and in to find that quieter, deeper place of peace. The blessing of being in Christ Consciousness can happen in a moment. We wish that moment for you, whoever you are, wherever you are in your journey – Merry Christmas!

Join Mary Hayes Grieco and friends for an afternoon of uplift and encouragement as we enter 2021 together. It’s on zoom this year, and it’s free! When:  Sunday, January 3rd, from 2-4 PM How to join in:  Send Mary Hayes Grieco an email that says, “I’m in!” — mary@maryhayesgrieco.com You’ll receive a zoom link the day before, on Saturday January 2nd. See you there! (You’re welcome to invite your friends) 

Mary and Erin re-group together, as winter deepens and the pandemic stretches on before us. Enjoy hanging out with these two again as they support each other for best practices for center and sanity during this difficult time. Savor winter solstice with Mary as she shares her enthusiasm for this very special day of the year. Mary’s website: https://www.forgivenesstraining.com/  

Mary’s point of view from Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis: “Our solutions need to be holistic.” Welcome to this special edition of the Rise and Thrive podcast. In the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the civil uprising that flamed across Minneapolis, there came a call to end systemic racism in police departments across the nation.  The question of how this will be done – reform the system or dismantle the system and transform our approach to police-ing –   is a very controversial question. As a block leader for 35 years in Powderhorn Park, Minneapolis, Mary Hayes Grieco is familiar with working directly with both the city police and the people that they arrest for the crime in her neighborhood. In this podcast, Mary shares her perspective on the questions surrounding the future of policeing in our cities. We hope you find this valuable, and if so, that you’ll share the podcast with the people you know who are interested in this issue.  

Are you feeling stressed, “off,” or disconnected? Do you wish to increase your peace of mind and strengthen your assurance on your life path, day by day?  Take 20 minutes for yourself, and Mary will guide you into a good “check-in” with yourself, and then lead you into a connection with your soul. Your soul is available to you for wisdom and refreshment, today. Mary Hayes Grieco is the author of The New Kitchen Mystic and Unconditional Forgiveness, and she is a respected Spiritual teacher who lives in the Twin Cities. Visit Mary’s website and sign up for her newsletter and check out future classes at: https://maryhayesgrieco.com/

Mary and Erin check-in with each other as the reality of Covid-19 takes hold.  Mary shares a vision that inspired her back in the 1980s, and it’s giving her comfort now… and helping her see where this all may be leading.  Have a listen! Mary Hayes Grieco is the author of The New Kitchen Mystic and Unconditional Forgiveness, and she is a respected Spiritual teacher who lives in the Twin Cities. Visit Mary’s website and sign up for her newsletter and check out future classes at: https://maryhayesgrieco.com/ Erin Warhol is an enthusiastic spiritual student of Mary’s Self-Mastery trainings, and the producer of the Rise and Thrive Show podcast.

Mary Hayes Grieco talks in-depth about how to heal emotional pain through her recipe: “8 Steps to Freedom”, in part 3 of this forgiveness workshop lecture. The Eight Steps to Freedom(Forgiving another person or a life situation) Prepare yourself for healing and change. Step One: State your will to make a change. Step Two: Express your feelings exactly as they are inside you. Step Three: Release expectations from your mind, one by one. Step Four: Restore your boundaries. Step Five: Open up to the Universe to get your needs met in a different way. Step Six: Receive healing energy from Spirit into your personality. Step Seven: Send unconditional love to the other person and release him or her. Step Eight: See the good in the person or situation. Integrate this change; get used to feeling lighter. Mary’s next Forgiveness Workshop is happening May 1st – May 3rd, in St. Paul, MN. https://www.forgivenesstraining.com/training-programs/the-wonderful-forgiveness-weekend/

Mary Hayes Grieco talks about her recipe for healing emotional pain in this lecture taken from a recent forgiveness workshop. Forgiveness is not what you thought it was – it’s so much better than that. It’s NOT: forgetting, excusing, saying it’s OK, giving up, being a doormat, staying open to further abuse, tolerating injustice, or reconciling and working things out. Forgiveness is the refreshing experience of letting go of unrealistic expectations that are causing you to suffer; it’s a private act that clears stress from your body and mind, turns your bad story into wisdom, and sets you free to move forward in a new and better way. When we forgive someone, we are not saying that what happened is OK. If you have been wronged – by someone’s bad behavior, childhood abuse, social injustice, or an unfair life situation – that’s not OK! And it never will be. But even though a terrible thing has happened to you, you deserve to have a good life anyway, and that’s where forgiveness comes in. Most people don’t understand what forgiveness really is, and so they hold on to resentment, and resentment hurts you. Mary's next Forgiveness workshop is happening May 1st - May 3rd in St. Paul, MN. https://www.forgivenesstraining.com/training-programs/the-wonderful-forgiveness-weekend/

Mary Hayes Grieco talks about letting go of expectations that are causing you to suffer, in part 2 of this forgiveness workshop lecture. Here’s the best part: you do not have to talk to the person who has harmed you, or work things out, or reconcile your differences. Forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation – you can forgive someone and never see them again if you wish. You can forgive them and divorce them, or forgive them and proceed with a lawsuit, if that’s what the real-world situation calls for.  Forgiveness is something that you do for yourself, so you can breathe easy and sleep well at night, no matter what other people are doing or not doing. Real forgiveness is a profound and refreshing healing experience: an influx of fresh spiritual energy that dissolves your stress, re-sets your attitude, and brings you forward. It is separate from whatever worldly actions you might take in regard to the other person. And if you forgive someone you like and love, and you do want to remain connected? Ahhhh. More love, more ease. A better relationship, now and into the future. How do you forgive? There is a simple, step-by-step method that reliably brings swift and permanent relief to a painful emotional issue, no matter how long you have held it. There is a way to forgive others, and a way to forgive yourself, which is of vital importance. There’s even a way to forgive life situations, or God. Our approach is based in holistic psychology and universal spiritual principles, and it can be used by people who practice a traditional religious faith, as well as by people who are spiritual but not affiliated with a church. Mary’s next Forgiveness Workshop is happening May 1st – May 3rd, in St. Paul, MN. https://www.forgivenesstraining.com/training-programs/the-wonderful-forgiveness-weekend/

From a wish, to a prayer, to God’s Idea -- Mary Hayes Grieco kicks off the new year with a fun message steeped in both the sacred and the silly, supplying you with support to nourish new and bright prospects in 2020. Mary’s questions for your New Year reflections: In what way or area of my life do I need to give myself full permission to be my real self this year? What do I need to release, in order to shine and to share my gifts more fully from now on? What action step will I take now in 2020 to bring new focus and energy into my dreams? MARY HAYES GRIECO:  Forgiveness coaching & Spiritual Direction. The Well Healing Arts Center – 2100 1st Av. South, Suite #103, Minneapolis, MN 5540 Mary’s contact info: 612-874-6622   mary@maryhayesgrieco.com The next Wonderful Forgiveness Weekend will be May 1 – 3, 2020, in St Paul, MN

Mary and Erin share their personal stories that inspired them to create Rise and Thrive. The peace, joy and freedom they found in healing sadness, anger, fear, anxiety, and depression caused by disappointments, abuses, traumas, mistakes and tragic losses in their lives. Their hopes and dreams for creating a place where friends help friends get through and get over negative emotions and crappy feelings and heal the wounds they leave behind. A place with fun conversations filled with inspiring real-life stories, fresh attitudes and new ideas for living a healthy life full of peace and joy. Episode Highlights, Ideas and Wisdom: Our worst stories can become our best stories. How Mary became who she knew she was inside – strong, bright, wise – when outside she was stumbling along with old issues hanging around that left her feeling shy, troubled, and full of fear. There are ways to handle negative emotions and crappy feelings besides drinking an extra glass of wine and beating your dog. How Erin got through and got over the pain of a stressful job, a messy divorce and terrible problems with anxiety. How Mary healed her seething anger, let go of feeling abandoned and developed a loving relationship with her dad even though he drank heavily and was often in his cups until she was 16. Good coexistence with other human beings is not easy because we're all a rather dicey lot. When it comes to our emotional health and our psyche, there are no quick fixes. We all have little characters inside us that are either helpful or unhelpful. Some of them really cause us trouble. Like the inner addict. The one that makes you eat a whole bag of cookies at 11 o'clock at night even though your goal is to lose 15 pounds. These characters really get in our way at times. We have to learn how to work with them. It's so important to get to know yourself. Get to know what it means to be you and how to be happy as the creature that you are. If you're an extra sensitive person, you need extra tools. A few more ways of being in the world where extra sensitivity is a gift and not a liability.

AMBUSHED BY BABIES Silly, Sorry, & Sacred Tales from my Reproductive Adventures, is now available as an ebook and an audio book. It’s a fat, feisty feast of storytelling in which Mary shares her life adventures with pregnancy, birth, and mothering.  If you enjoy listening to Mary’s wisdom and animated storytelling on the Rise and Thrive Podcast, you will love this sweet and funny spiritual memoir. From Irish Catholic wise child to pregnant teenager, to hippie home birth mama , and all the way to The Tale of the Reluctant Grandmother, Mary’s stories span six decades and our culture’s changes around women, sexuality, choice and childbirth. Satisfying and delicious - enjoy it now! Learn more, read or listen to the foreward, and order your book today at www.ambushedbybabies.com Here’s a 10-minute podcast with Mary’s invitation to you to share in her story, and some reflections on this creative work, which was 25 years in the making  – a long pregnancy indeed!

Enjoy this excerpt from Mary’s teaching in her 2019 Self Mastery Program, as she helps her students ready themselves to tackle their first forgiveness session in the near future. Mary will put you at ease too, if you are in the process of getting your head around the mythically difficult task of forgiving someone. Mary tackles our common resistance with her ease and warm authority that is based on SO much experience of practicing forgiveness and coaching people for 30 years to a breakthrough that brings new freedom. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS, IDEAS, & WISDOM Forgiveness is for us. It’s commonly thought that forgiveness is “ha-a-a-a-a-a-r d….” and that it takes a long time to do it. Mary says that a life skill is hard, only if you don’t know what to do – you have to be taught. The average amount of time it takes to get over something that really bothers us is 45 minutes! If we know what to do, and do it. Forgiveness “launders” the pain out of a story, drains out the stress, and leaves us with a nugget of wisdom and new strength. We hold onto our pain and build a wall, because we are afraid of being hurt in a similar way again, in the future. “People cling to a wall, but what they really need is a boundary. Strangely- counterintuitively - our natural energetic boundary slides into place and we are stronger than ever, when we forgive.” There are such great benefits from expressing your anger freely and comfortably to an empty chair. You get to be fiery, irrational, and unfair as you get your angry feelings out without any harm to anyone. The Eight Steps of Forgiving Another mimic the organic way that the psyche heals itself, over time. Be an explorer on a psychological adventure – boldly going into new territory.  You are courting new ease and freedom and joy in your life!  

  In this lecture, Mary Hayes Grieco shares her New Year’s message and explores women’s empowerment through the framework of her Self-Mastery tools. THE TOOLS AND HABITS THAT MAKE YOU THE QUEEN OF YOUR LIFE: WILL – Use your will, your spiritual muscle, to create and change the things you can for the better; surrender to a Higher Will with things you must accept. “The wisdom to know the difference.” DISCIPLINE – Actions and attitudes that you do in the short term whether you feel like doing it or not because it will create greater happiness for you in the long term. Self-discipline is an act of self-love. INTUITION – Like GPS for a driver, intuition is the guidance from your soul to your personality: it’s there to help you fulfill your purposes and to make life easier. Seeing, hearing, sensing, moving & touching, pure knowing. BOUNDARIES – Know your territory! What is and isn’t yours to be concerned about. Who or what you will/will not have in your space. If you are stressed, resentful, or have no time for your real passions, you need to set a boundary. FORGIVENESS – Forgiveness is letting go of an expectation that is causing you to suffer. We do forgiveness for ourselves, to release stagnant burdens of unfinished stories, and regain our vitality. HEALTHY ANGER – Anger is the doorway to your power, but not a house you can live in. VITAL ENERGY MANAGEMENT – Grounded, contained, protected, open to Spirit’s guidance each day. Avoiding toxic spaces, people, situations. Clearing out bad energy. Restoring energy when depleted. UNCONDITIONAL LOVE – Align yourself with this Law of the Universe. See the good; be open to the spontaneous outpouring of Divine Love into you, that blesses and refreshes you, reminding you of worthiness and belonging. GRATITUDE – Gratitude is the WD40 of the Spiritual life.  Practicing gratitude makes everything work better. BE A WELL-TUNED INSTRUMENT AS YOU LIVE PURPOSEFULLY: "Relax, and Get Going!" Sing your song - your good song. Mary’s questions for your New Year reflections: In what way or area of my life do I need to give myself full permission to be my real self this year? What do I need to release, in order to shine and to share my gifts more fully from now on? What action step will I take now in 2019 to bring new focus and energy into my dreams? RESOURCES MARY HAYES GRIECO:  Psychic readings, Tarot card readings, Forgiveness coaching, Spiritual Direction. The Well Healing Arts Center - 2100 1st Av. South, Suite #103, Minneapolis, MN 5540 Mary's contact info: 612-874-6622   mary@maryhayesgrieco.com More Podcast episodes:  www.riseandthriveshow.com Mary’s suggested 3 Books about Will: The Act of Will – by Dr. Roberto Assagioli You are A Badass! – by Jen Sincero Mastering Life's Energies – by Maria Nemeth  

Mary and Erin discuss a new documentary film they love with the film’s writer-director, Dawn Mikkelson. Risking Light reveals how forgiveness is truly the path to permanently healing the pain from anger, resentment, and grief even in what seems like the most impossible situations. To learn more about the film and where to view it visit: www.RiskingLight.com.  

Our expectations have so much to do with how we feel at any moment in time. Negative emotions and crappy feelings almost always show up when people around us don't say or do what we expect, when situations don't turn out the way we planned, or when we don't meet our own expectations for ourselves. Mary and Erin explore the relationship between our expectations and our happiness. They reveal how to set and manage expectations that bring peace and joy to our lives. Episode Highlights, Ideas and Wisdom Expectations are the crux and at the core of the negative emotions and crappy feelings that cause us to suffer. It's a good trick to have expectations and also walk through life with a healthy and light grip on those expectations so we can let them go as need be. Society is a web work of expectations. That's what social is. That's what society's doing. We are training our kids with social expectations. We train our dogs. We go to work. We have job descriptions. Job descriptions are a delineation of expectations. Expectations are related to our relative happiness or peace of mind. Expectations can help us. Expectations can cause us trouble. Friction in our personal relationships with siblings, parents, our kids, neighbors and others we interact with a lot usually have to do with our expectations of these people that they aren't living up to. Expectations of their capacities or their way of being. Our expectations come from our conditioning and come from our values and how we were raised. They come from what we think is "normal." Unfortunately, we're not all raised the same. Sometimes people really mean the best, but they just can't do it. There are people all around who are immature. People who are not skilled or not even sane. People with personality disorders who aren't able to think about anyone besides themselves. "Expectation is the root of all heartbreak." – William Shakespeare It's been said that expectations are premeditated resentments. We all have expectations. We need to have reasonable expectations. It's normal. They create a structure or system for working together collaboratively and in harmony. Stress or unhappiness is the gap between our expectation and reality. We need to have expectations. We can't not have expectations in order to avoid disappointment. We do need to hold expectations around what we will tolerate and what we won't. We want to have our positive healthy expectations met. We want to be treated with respect. We have certain standards and understandings of how to do this or that, but it can be tricky. Sometimes, in certain situations, we need to release expectations in order to release stress and avoid getting a headache, but not if the expectations are important for our dignity and important for our ability to stay in a relationship or in an institution or in a structure. It can be very difficult to decide whether we should stay or go. We're all going to find ourselves at times in situations that we don't prefer. Relationships or marriages or jobs or neighborhoods or families that really are not what we expected, but where we really need to be right now because the time isn't right to make a change. We can find peace by releasing expectations and closing the gap between our expectations and the reality of the relationship or situation at the moment and loving it for what it is. Sometimes we have the power and it's the right time to change situations and people in our lives. We can say, "I'm outta here. This is not okay. Goodbye. Boom. I'm done." But, we can't say that to our 15 1/2 year old son. We can't. It's hard, but that's where we are. We do have the power to get realistic about what this situation is and isn't. What this person can or can't do, will or won't do and to release those expectations that are keeping that gap there between the things that should be and what really is. We always have that power. Releasing or adjusting our expectations is different than releasing our...

When we feel stressed, overloaded, or scattered, it's usually because our boundaries are not in place. The lines between what we do and don't want in our lives. The lines between who we are and who we aren't. Mary and Erin explore the relationship between boundaries and our happiness and sanity. They help you define and maintain your boundaries including Mary's ingenious method for delivering the "glowing golden word NO." It leaves the person receiving your NO feeling as though they've been handed a great treasure. Episode Highlights, Ideas and Wisdom When we're in a good flow in our lives and feel like things are working well for us, it's usually because our boundaries are in place. We know what we're about and what we're not about. Boundaries clearly speak to ourselves and those around us about what we will and will not have in our space. Things that belong there and things that don't. What we will and will not allow in our lives because it's important to our integrity and our sanity and our happiness. Are you being selfish to draw a line, to set a boundary? We often learn about boundaries as adults when there's been a boundary violation. We usually find that we've lost our boundaries when we're mad at somebody. When we're resentful, stressed out, anxious or don't know who's supposed to do what when. Once you start learning about boundaries you see them everywhere. You begin to realize just how important they are. Wars are always about boundaries. We know we have healthy boundaries when we feel relaxed within the shape of our present life situation. We feel clearheaded because we know what our responsibilities are and what they aren't. We have clear agreements with people so we have good communication with them. We feel calm and confident because we're not stretching outside our appropriate space and we're not cringing inside our space because someone else is pressing into it in a way that makes us uncomfortable. When you're angry, resentful, or stressed for any length of time, it's because something needs to be adjusted. There needs to be some change around your time and energy and relationships. Perhaps the most beautiful word in the world for some of us. NO. The glowing golden word which is foreign to many women. It's been said that when a man says no, it's the end of the conversation. When a woman says no, it's the beginning of a long negotiation. Once you start growing in your awareness about boundaries and get stronger and more confident in your ability to set a boundary and say that Golden word, NO, there's a shift. People are not going to run over you. Boundaries are a lifelong pursuit because they change. We have to see our life as kind of a work of art that is shifting from time to time. We're adding and subtracting things. We have to review how things are going. We might discover that there are things we'd like to do, but there's no room for them. Sometimes we need to subtract something in order to add something. Like dropping a friend that's too consumptive and uses you and their dramas take up too much of your time and energy. When life's not going the way we want it to go, it's telling. It's giving us good information that if we can just listen to it and then work with it, we can actually get back on track. It doesn't have to be a crisis. Viewing things that upset us or make us uncomfortable as boundaries issues changes everything. Saying NO to someone is a gift because you're showing them that you trust them with your NO. You're showing them that you trust them to be interacting with the real you, not the pretend, stressed out, fakey you, but the real you. That's a gift. We need to have boundaries around our consciousness and our over concern for other people's problems. Every now and then we have to say to ourselves, “ya know that is their problem.” We need to trust them to work their path and handle their own karma. It's tricky. We're dealing with humility and boundaries together.

We all fall short in life. Feel really bad about something we've done or a decision we made. The shame, remorse and self-blame can be killers. Especially if we don't deal with it and try to bury it. Mary and Erin share candid and inspiring stories about the difficulty of facing into the pain, letting go of the disappointment and forgiving ourselves for our missteps and the wonderful wisdom and refreshing rewards that come from doing it. Episode Highlights, Ideas and Wisdom The most difficult, but most rewarding aspect of forgiveness is forgiving yourself. We often cruelly punish ourselves for errors and mistakes. We beat ourselves up mercilessly. Learning to meet yourself with mercy is important for your growth and your health and your sense of peace. Self-forgiveness is the relief and the experience that comes when we get a glimpse of our human self the way God views us. In that moment, in that glimpse of the way God views us, the shadow and the pain just melts out of us. It's just gone. It's a shift that can happen in five minutes. It's a super powerful experiential moment that we can court with the self-forgiveness exercise. The essence of the self-forgiveness experience is like the love and tenderness we feel towards a frustrated toddler who's trying to learn how to walk. They keep falling down and crying. That's how we are in our human lives. Struggling to master our tasks and lessons. Falling down and bumping our noses on the edge of the table on the way down and crying. God lifts us up and says, "Come on darlin'. Come here. You're okay. Your good. Let me hug you. Let me help you. Let's try that again." Some of the things that we've done that need self-forgiveness, we just avoid because it's so painful to even think about and feel the shame of it. We're human beings. We're flawed. We're here to learn. We're not perfect. We are going to make mistakes. We can face these mistakes and actually learn and grow. Or, we can be horrified, curl up in a little ball and let our mistakes stay with us and haunt us. There are two sides to most stories. You know it's a bad story. It ended badly. Two people walked away hurt. You have this need to forgive the other person and you have this need to forgive yourself. Some people feel like they can't forgive themselves. Its not easy being a person. It just isn't. Sometimes we just can't help what happens. We do our best and we fail, but we still have to be with ourselves. We still have to love ourselves. Self-forgiveness is often something we're struggling with when what we really need is self-kindness.