Family and Consumer Sciences

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Cultivating Loving-Kindness

Loving-kindness practice, also known as Metta meditation, can increase benevolence in our lives. Metta has also been translated as universal goodwill or loving-friendliness or unconditional positive regard and has been used for thousands of years. Research on this type of mindfulness practice has shown increased happiness, feeling more connected to others, and some have found […]

WRITTEN BY: Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension, Lucas County, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator

REVIEWED BY: Shannon Carter, OSU Extension, Fairfield County, Family and Consumer Sciences, Assistant Professor

REFERENCES:

  • Crawford, J. (n.d.) Mindful parenting for parents and caregivers, Washington State University Extension, https://pubs.extension.wsu.edu/mindful-parenting-for-parents-and-caregivers
  • Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1045-1062.
  • Hofmann, S. G., Grossman, P., & Hinton, D. E. (2011). Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical psychology review, 31(7), 1126–1132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.07.003 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3176989/
  • Loving Kindness Meditation, Greater Good in Action, https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/loving_kindness_meditation
  • Loving-Kindness Meditation, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, https://extension.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/loving-kindness_meditation.pdf
  • Metta Meditation: A Complete Guide to Loving-Kindness, Lion’s Roar https://www.lionsroar.com/metta-meditation-guide/
  • Neff, K. (2021), Cultivating loving kindness https://self-compassion.org/blog/cultivating-loving-kindness/
  • Williard, C. (2019), A Kindness Practice for Families, mindful, https://www.mindful.org/kindness-practice-families-christopher-willard/
  • Wong G, Sun R, Adler J, Yeung KW, Yu S and Gao J (2022) Loving-kindness meditation (LKM) modulates brain-heart connection: An EEG case study. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 16:891377. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.891377 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2022.891377/full

Making Every Day Sweet

While there might be an expectation of cards, gifts, or candy to be shared by romantic couples on Sweetest Day (third Saturday in October), this tiny bit of history reminds us to make it a celebration of kindness, time, and love. In the early 1920s, Herbert Birch Kingston worked at a candy company in Cleveland, […]

WRITTEN BY: Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Extension, Lucas County, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator

REVIEWED BY: Caitlin Mathews-Smith, OSU Extension, Guernsey County, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • Pixabay

SOURCES:

  • Davoodvandi, M. Navabi Nejad, S. Farzad, V. (2018). Examining the Effectiveness of Gottman Couple Therapy on Improving Marital Adjustment and Couples' Intimacy. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry. 2018 Apr;13(2):135-141. PMID: 29997659; PMCID: PMC6037577.
  • Dollard, C., (2024). Invest in Your Relationship: The Emotional Bank Account, The Gottman Institute. https://www.gottman.com/blog/invest-relationship-emotional-bank-account/
  • How Sweet It Is: The History of Sweetest Day, Ohio Memory, A Collaborative Program of the Ohio History Connection and the State Library of Ohio https://ohiomemory.ohiohistory.org/archives/5519
  • PAX Tools - Emotional Deposits, PAXIS Institute, https://youtu.be/I80VhmAT2fU
  • PAX Tools - Kudos Notes, PAXIS Institute, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE2iCC_xyVQ
  • PAX Tools, PAXIS Institute, https://www.paxis.org/community-based-programming/
  • Poulsen, S. (n.d.), Purdue Extension, A Fine Balance: The Magic Ratio to a Healthy Relationship. https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/cfs/cfs-744-w.pdf
  • Stanley, S., Kline Rhoades, G., Markman, H. (2006). Sliding Versus Deciding: Inertia and the Premarital Cohabitation Effect. Family Relations. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00418.x
  • Sweetest Day, Hallmark, https://corporate.hallmark.com/holidays-occasions/sweetest-day/

Unite, Serve, and Transform on MLK Day to Create the Beloved Community

The Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service encourages Americans to volunteer to honor Dr. King’s legacy. Through service and volunteerism, we all have the power to bring people together, help others stand together against hate, build bridges, heal divides, and create the Beloved Community of Dr. King’s dreams. August 2023 marked the 60th anniversary […]

WRITTEN BY: Danae Losey, AmeriCorps Member, Extension Public Health AmeriCorps, OSU Extension, Lucas County

REVIEWED BY: Patrice Powers-Barker, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, OSU Extension, Lucas County

SOURCES:

  • “I Have A Dream” Speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963, https://www.marshall.edu/onemarshallu/i-have-a-dream/ Extension Public Health AmeriCorps, Ohio State University, https://fcs.osu.edu/programs/extension-public-health-americorps
  • Martin Luther King, Jr., National Day of Service, AmeriCorps, https://www.americorps.gov/serve/volunteer/mlk-day and https://socialpresskit.com/daysofservice
  • Nicol, B., Wilson, R., Rodrigues, A., Haighton, C., (2023). Exploring the Effects of Volunteering on the Social, Mental, and Physical Health and Well-being of Volunteers: An Umbrella Review. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. doi10.1007/s11266-023-00573-z
  • ServeOhio, Ohio Commission on Service and Volunteerism, https://serve.ohio.gov/ and Get Connected https://serveohio.galaxydigital.com/ and https://serve.ohio.gov/home/news-and-events/all-news/mlkday24
  • The King Center, https://thekingcenter.org/

Insurance for Hidden Financial Obstacles.

Title: Insurance for Hidden Financial Obstacles. Earlier this year a former high school classmate, a couple of years behind me, and his son were killed in a motor vehicle accident. The emotional impact on those families involved must have been devastating. My thoughts went to a woman that lost her spouse and her son, children […]

WRITTEN BY: Ken Stewart, Family and Consumer Sciences Educator, Ohio State Univesity Extension, Monroe County

REVIEWED BY: Courtney Warman, State Specialist, Healthy Finances

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • Stock Photo

SOURCES:

  • Andrew Hurst, January 2021, Value Penguin Most Americans Can Be Fully Insured for 20% of Income
  • Consumer Glossary (naic.org)
  • 8 Types of Insurance You Can't Go Without - Ramsey (ramseysolutions.com)
  • What is Insurance? | Principles of Insurance | Types & Benefits (byjus.com)

REFERENCES:

  • https://byjus.com/govt-exams/principles-of-insurance/#:~:text=To%20ensure%20the%20proper%20functioning%20of%20an%20insurance,Indemnity%205%20Subrogation%206%20Contribution%207%20Loss%20Minimization

Save Money by Lowering Vacation Costs

Lower Vacation Costs While I was growing up my father would sometimes say this about vacations, “It is not what you are doing that makes it a vacation, it is what you are not doing.” While it is true that we never went to “Wally World” we did go on a vacation of sort every […]

WRITTEN BY: Ken Stewart, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Monroe County

REVIEWED BY: Dr. Roseanne Scammahorn, Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences, Ohio State University Extension, Darke County

PHOTO CREDITS:

  • Photo by Ken Stewart

SOURCES:

  • https://www.kasasa.com/blog/travel/cheap-vacation-ideas "Cheap Vacation Ideas: 11 Tips for More Affordable Summer Travels" March 22, 2022
  • https://www.ramseysolutions.com/saving/cheap-vacation ideas "15 Cheap Vacation Ideas for your Whole Family"- March 9, 2022
  • https://www.travelinspiredliving.com/things-to-see-in-ohio/

REFERENCES:

  • http://www.senic.org/
  • http://www.travelinspiredliving.com/
  • http://www.withintheworld.com/no-money-traveling

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