This is a 15 Minute "Inner Guide" Meditation led by Certified Meditation Teacher, Shawn Diddy.

Special thanks to Hector Marcel, Three Jewels NYC (www.threejewels.org) for the teacher training, community, and guidance. And thank you Jeannine Cahill-Jackson for being an excellent mentor and meditation teacher.

Want to join us regularly? Check out www.mammadiddyphd.com

This "Taking 20" Conversation was recorded LIVE in 2021. Jacklyn Zeman is a five-time Daytime Emmy® Award-nominated actress best known for her role as Bobbie Spencer on the ABC daytime drama, General Hospital, and as Lana McClain on ABC's One Life to Live. Winner of Hollywood International Favorite Actress Award and Soap Opera Digest Award Winner, Zeman's additional Television and film appearances include National Lampoon's Class Reunion, Young Doctors in Love, Jury Duty, Montana Crossroads, Mad TV, Chicago Hope, Love American Style, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, Make This Place Your Home and more.

In this Taking20, we are traveling to Los Angeles to visit with my dear friend Jackie Zeman. We cover several topics, including being a mom, going through a divorce, and how life and career can change unexpectedly. 

You have probably seen Jackie as Nurse Bobby Spencer on General Hospital on ABC, or as a guest on Good Morning America, Oprah, Donahue, Live With Regis & Kathie Lee, Hollywood Squares, Family Feud, or Wheel of Fortune. Jacklyn hosted a popular cable special profiling the Men of Daytime and co-hosted a series of specials for EPCOT Magazine. You can also watch her on the multiple Emmy® Award-winning digital drama series THE BAY. We met in 2004 when Jackie was working on a Jewelry Line and I was a TV Shopping host. 

Jackie is also the host of Make This Place Your Home on TLC. I love visiting Jackie's home because she has the BEST taste. I feel like a princess when I spend the night in her guest room. She always has the best food and everything is detailed and beautiful. I think immediately of her guest towels and napkins. I know it sounds silly, but those little touches really make me feel special. 

Jackie has also literally given me the shirt off her back, as one time my luggage was lost for DAYS, and she kindly kept me from going "naked" in Santa Monica, CA. :-) 

Not only is she a wonderful person, mom, and friend. She is a talented actress. Honors and awards over the years include four Daytime Emmy Award nominations, including one for Outstanding Lead Actress in 1998, a Soap Opera Digest Award and the Les Etoiles de Coeur Award from the American Heart Association, the Left-handers Society's Outstanding Left-hander of the Year award, and the Hollywood International Favorite Actress Award. She has also been nominated as Best Supporting Actress Drama and Comedy in the Indie Series Awards for Misguided. 

Jackie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacklyn.zeman/?hl=en

Jackie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackieZeman

The Bay Series on Instagram: https://twitter.com/TheBaytheSeries

The Bay Series: https://thebaytheseries.com/watch

General Hospital on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/generalhospitalabc/?hl=en

All new episodes of THE BAY are available on Popstar! TV. THE BAY Seasons 1 through 5 are available on 

This "Taking 20" conversation was recorded live in May 2021. I met Monique Parent when I was conducting red carpet interviews at the Dances with Films festival. Funny enough, we ended up acting in a movie together in a film that made the Hollyshorts film festival a few years later. The movie was called L.A. Drag Race (produced and directed by our mutual friend, Clay Westervelt.) 

Monique has appeared in well over 100 films, in a career spanning 25 years, but at age 50, she re-worked her entire life and career. 

Monique is the friend I call when I just need a break – a moment to talk about a situation with someone who doesn't judge me, and she is also the friend who calls me out when I am being too judgmental of myself. 

After 25 years in the film business, Monique has certainly picked up a few tips and tricks in the makeup and hair department and shares what she has learned on her YouTube channel. She focuses on keeping fit and healthy as part of any beauty or self care routine. Monique also has a blog (SortaHealthy.com)

This episode of Taking20 is called "Happy Hour" because Monique and I want to remind you to let yourself have a little fun from time to time. This is a reminder to check in on a friend and make sure he or she is "doing okay". 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/moniqueparent

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moniqueparent/?hl=en

This "Taking 20" conversation was recorded LIVE in 2021. Steve Schott has over 40 years of experience in TV, film, and advertising production. His credits include movies like The Final Season, TV shows like The Jeff Foxworthy Show, and hundreds of commercials for companies such as Walmart, Hy-Vee, and McDonalds.

He lived and worked in Los Angeles for 15 years, and then spent six years commuting between L.A. and Des Moines while his children were young. He has produced pilots, series, and musical variety specials for CBS, NBC and ABC, including The Carol Burnett Show and The Bonnie Hunt Show. He has negotiated contracts and worked with stars including Sean Astin, Haley Joel Osment, Tom Arnold, Dolly Parton, and George Clooney. Yes! Dolly Parton!!!!

Steve is the friend I call when I am looking for a "voice of reason". We often discuss business decisions and we have partnered on some projects including a television pilot and a script for an awards show. Steve and I taught an acting class together and it was a wonderful experience. It is interesting to hear the "producer/ director" point of view when you are an actor. Steve taught and oversaw the David Lynch Masters in Film program at Maharishi International University and is a professor at DMACC. 

He has some GREAT stories about working in Hollywood, and it's fun to hear about all of the people he met. Steve tells a few of the stories in this Taking20. I'm glad you get to meet him! 

This conversation was recorded LIVE in 2021. I met FOX11's weather anchor Maria Quiban Whitesell through our mutual friend Brook Lee. 

In this Taking20 we talk about loss, and grief. We also talk about living life to the fullest. I think you will like Maria. She's like a ray of sunshine – and no, I didn't mean to throw in a weather joke- though she is a meteorologist :-). 

I got to join Maria and her team on a few Mommy Loves Tech events. She was married to Sean Whitesell at the time and they had a young son, Gus. Sean asked my daughter and a friend to act in a PSA project he was working on, and we had a lovely day at their beautiful home. I felt at "home" because Maria is from Hawaii and she has that wonderful, warm, never-met-a-stranger feel about her, and her husband Sean, was originally from Iowa. My home state. It's really such a small world. 

Part of my story: After a two year separation, I got divorced in 2004 when my daughter was 4, and her father was killed in an accident 4 months later. I don't think I dealt with the grief well. I read Maria's book and found it helpful, even now, 17 years after my personal experience. I think hearing someone else talk about it , made me feel somewhat "normal". 

Maria had also been a single parent, raising her older son, before she found Sean and they had Gus, so she knew very well the struggles I was going through, trying to do it on my own, with a teenager in Los Angeles. Maria was always very honest with me. Really, without Maria's help, I'm not sure how I would have made it through that first year of my daughter's high school – okay, or the rest of the years. You know you need a friend who has "been through it " when you have a teenager!

After Maria's husband Sean was diagnosed with Glioblastoma (GBM), a deadly form of brain cancer, she says she was completely unprepared. She wondered how she would possibly explain what was happening to their young son, Gus, and about just dealing with the details of the day-to-day.

Maria recently wrote a book about her experience. Lauren Schneider LCSW joined Maria and adds information at the end of each chapter as she is a nationally recognized authority on grief. We talk about the book, but we also talk about "life after" and just life in general. Here's where you can get the book and follow Maria: 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/You-Cant-Do-Alone-Journey-ebook/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MariasEarth

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariasearth/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariasearth

This "Taking 20" Conversation was recorded LIVE in 2021. I met Athena Demetrios on a commercial shoot in Los Angeles in 2008. I believe a "higher power" had a hand in our meeting. As you may know, 2004 was a rough year for me. I got divorced, my ex-husband died 4 months later, and I became the only parent of our 4-year-old daughter. The following year, I lost my job due to a company closure. Athena had been a very successful Hollywood makeup artist, but had basically retired when the director of the commercial called her and asked her to join the shoot. She decided to say yes - and that is how Athena and I met. 

Athena was doing my make up, and because she is a medium – though I didn't know it at the time – she gave me a message from my former husband that eased my mind. Now here's the thing, I get it if you don't believe in messages from "beyond" or mediums, or past lives. I understand if you want to skip ALL of that. I think you will still enjoy this "Taking20". 

Athena wrote a wonderful book called "Walking Between Worlds: A spiritual odyssey. In it, she tells the story of her life. She addresses childhood sexual abuse and how her repressed memories came up years later in therapy. She talks about her relationship with her family, healing and ultimately a healthy state of forgiveness. We talk about forgiveness in this session of "Taking20" and Athena shares some tools and insights that helped her heal and feel true joy. 

You can get Athena's book here (and if you get it on Audible, Athena is reading the book, and you might recognize my voice on the introduction): https://www.amazon.com/Walking-Between-Worlds-Spiritual-Odyssey-ebook/dp/B07FL11HR8/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2IMRPOR1VM8DO&dchild=1&keywords=walking+between+worlds&qid=1604189959&sprefix=walking+between+worlds%2Caps%2C146&sr=8-2

You can learn more about Athena and book sessions at https://www.iamwithin.com

This conversation was recorded LIVE in 2021. In this Taking20 session, you get to meet one of my college friends and my sorority "Pledge mom" Diana Tedrow. I am DEFINITELY not what you would think of when you say "sorority girl". In fact, I left the University of Iowa in the middle of my Sophomore year to go be a singer in Florida. That also lead to me selling shoes and running karaoke shows to make ends meet. But, THAT is definitely a story for another time. Diana and I instantly connected and we have stayed friends since college. Back in the day, we had big hair (Diana had VERY big hair :-)) and big dreams. We were often the late night people and we joke now that we are always the first ones to sleep on girls' trips and we often share the latest books we have read, rather than the latest pop music gossip like we did in the 80's and 90's. 

Diana says her biggest turning point was when she went into foster care at 16. She says her foster parents became role models and gave her a sense of responsibility to others and passion for making a difference.

Diana has been married for more than 20 years to her husband Brian Tedrow. They have three sons and Diana talks about them in our Taking20 segment. Diana's husband has taken on a role they never expected when two of our sons had some chllenges that required a lot of doctor visits, additional overlay programs at school, and special care at home. Diana says, "Brian has been a stay at home father to ensure we had the attention and flexibility to give our children whatever structure they needed to ensure their best outcomes." 

She is the Director of Learning and Implementation/ Sales at Cox Communications.

Diana.Tedrow@Cox.com 

This "Taking 20" Conversation was recorded LIVE in 2021. Tami Hedrick is well-known for her work as the Director of Vikings Women and Strategic Development for the Minnesota Vikings, as well as the Head Coach and Director of the Minnesota Vikings Cheerleaders. Tami has coached professionally for over 20 years, in the NFL and for the NLL. Before Tami took the leadership position as Head Coach, she proudly cheered as a Minnesota Vikings Cheerleader for the 1997-1998 season. Tami’s career path led her to roles as Vice President of Marketing, to a Director level role in Sales, and as the founder of several startup companies/groups in the Midwest. Tami has also appeared in multiple national pageants – She was Mrs. Minnesota when I met her. She was a television host for ShopNBC/EVINE, and has been a judge and choreographer for International, college and high school teams. Tami is proudest of her roles as a wife and mother to four children and three step children.

I have gotten to meet a lot of wonderful people through my career as a TV Shopping host. Some of the best friends I have, are TV Shopping people - hosts, production folks, vendor representatives. In a live 24/7 setting, you really go through "fire" sometimes, so relationships form in a way that is hard to explain. Tami and I both worked overnight and "swing" type shifts at a network that was going through transition and boy, were we tired. Meanwhile, she was going through life changes, and her son was injured in an accident. The thing is, Tami was ALWAYS kind and graceful and prepared at work. She kept it together and was very professional, and she was also a fun person to work with. Tami is the type of friend who will drive across town, in the snow, to see you if you are just passing through. I know, because she has done that for me and we have had a quick meal at the Mall of America. She always asks about my daughter and genuinely cares about how I am doing. 

One of the "coolest" things I have gotten to do, is judge the Vikings Cheerleader try-outs. I also got to attend a game while Tami was coach of the cheerleaders. I won't tell you who my favorite football team is, but I will tell you that day, was the BEST overall experience I have had. And we got to see waaaaaaay down in front so we could watch the cheerleaders and a couple players high-fived my daughter. Thank you for the "cool mom points" Tami. We have had some wonderful times just hanging out and talking over coffee while the kids played. 

In this Taking20, we talk about some of the things Tami has gone through, included the challenges she faced. She's not only a great friend and mom, she was also recognized as one of the Top 50 Women in Business Honorees in 2016 with the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal and she's board member with one of the fastest growing non-profit organizations in Minnesota, Matter. 

We hope you enjoy this Taking20 with Tami. 

You can follow her here: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tamilynnhedrick/?hl=en