Series: Love Talk Film Festival, Expert Panel (2015)

The videos in this series are segments of the 2015 Love Talk Film Festival (now known as the Love Talk Summit) Expert Panel. You can watch the Expert Panel discussion in its entirety (~55 minutes) on YouTube. I was invited to participate in the panel by Dr. Jennifer Gill Rosier, Ph.D., who facilitates the Love Talk Film Festival in connection with one of her communication classes (at James Madison University).

Reflections on the Divorce Rate

March 9, 2015 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: ,

This is Part 1 of 3 in the series Love Talk Film Festival, Expert Panel (2015).

Reflections on the Divorce Rate Video

Video: 6 Minutes

One of the reasons we (in our culture) can too quickly pursue divorce is that we mistakenly believe a spouse can resolve certain internal struggles for us, which in actuality can not be resolved by one’s spouse. This sets up a fantasy expectation which we can end up perpetually chasing, believing that if we can just find the right person, then we will feel complete, loved, etc. Unfortunately, this dynamic often makes it harder and harder for us to see that the resolution to our pain, loneliness, etc. actually resides within ourself.

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Ideas for Keeping Relationships Vibrant

March 16, 2015 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience: ,

This is Part 2 of 3 in the series Love Talk Film Festival, Expert Panel (2015).

Fellow panelist Aaron Bacue, M.A., ABD, (a communications instructor at James Madison University) shares some of his thoughts on how couples can keep their relationship vibrant, and I springboard off of his thoughts with some concepts about how our brains work with patterns. (This video is ~3 minutes long.)

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Facing the Unfaceable: Reflections on Challenging Work

March 23, 2015 by Sean Slevin — Intended Audience:

This is Part 3 of 3 in the series Love Talk Film Festival, Expert Panel (2015).

Video Reflections on Challenging Work Personally Professionally

Video: 6 Minutes

Growing up in a broken world, we each can have places inside of us that we can be afraid to go. This stems from repeated experiences of not having the resources (within ourself, and/or in our closest relationships) to grapple with certain emotions. When we encounter various forms of pain in life, and we aren’t able to healthily work through the emotions accompanying those experiences, then those emotions get stuck within us. And they stay in that stuck state, festering, until we encounter a relational context that can help us build the emotional muscles that we’re lacking.

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