Peter Alsop‘s SONGS TO CHEW

    Our Song To Chew this week is FAMILY OF FRIENDS, from my “Uh-Oh!" album. I wrote this song because we each hold a story about our family of origin.  Some of us grew up in a family that was warm and safe.  Some of us had a family that did not 'feel so safe'.  Many of us had a family that was a mix of those two styles.  And some of our families were scattered and hard to define, or we had a number of foster families. It's important to have courageous conversations with our family members if we’re upset about something.  It's possible to caringly resolve conflicts so they won't continue to be an impediment to our loving each other.  But we have to make 'the effort'.  We can also form our own 'family of choice' as we get older.  We know that when we have safe places and people around us, we develop and grow new skills in this 'full-of-struggle' world where we live.  Some people believe that life is a school and we're here because we all have lessons to learn.  I like that idea because to have a 'family of friends', we have to work on it, and learn how to do it better, and because we're still learning, if we make a mistake, we can learn how to forgive ourselves and keep on!  Please subscribe to this podcast, so you can listen to SONGS TO CHEW any time!  Bring your family and friends!  I'm Peter Alsop.  Bye for now!
 
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
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~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads
 

    Our Song To Chew this week is LET THE WOMAN IN YOU COME THROUGH from my “Asleep At The Helm” album.  We're trained to perform as others of our birth gender have in the past.  Boys and girls are told stories about how we should behave, and those stories guide us as we mature and grow.  In fact, there are many other stories that might be 'our story', that are much different than the ones we've been taught.  We need freedom to explore our feelings and express our love and attractions if we are to discover our own story.  How else can we figure out how to survive in healthy and balanced ways as we live in our changing world?!  As boys, we've been taught to not cry or express our feelings, or we will appear weak, "womanish" and less powerful, resulting in us 'losing respect' within our community and family.  Our male brains like to define the world in 'black and white' binary terms, so our main defining story has been that we are NOT women!  In fact, when boys cry or act in gentle caring ways, we are called "sissies", as though comparing us to someone's sister is the worst insult we could be given!  Fortunately, things have been changing.  Now I wouldn't say, "Let the woman in you come through", because men can be just as caring and gentle as women, when we make the effort to do so.  It can be scary to explore and learn about ourselves as our sexuality and gender unfolds, but if we want to discover who we truly are, we must have the courage to risk facing our fears.
 ~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://peteralsop.podbean.com  or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

WAS ST. PAT SCARED?  Let's listen to our "Song To Chew" for today and find out!  This song's from my “Grow It At Home” album, to help us understand how we humans have taken over most of the world by eliminating any other creatures that threaten us or our expansion.  The Irish myth about St. Patrick, 'ridding Ireland of all the snakes' is a wonderful place to start this discussion.  It's 'fear' that drives us to completely wipe out some other living species, rather than finding some way to share space with them.  Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was a real person who lived in the 5th century. He came to Ireland to proselytize for Christianity.  One of the biggest myths in his 'story', is that he drove all the snakes out of Ireland and into the sea.  The fact is that there never were any snakes in Ireland for St. Patrick to banish!  The event that banished any snakes that might have been in Ireland, was the Ice Age that ended 10,000 years ago.  When children hear this myth, they ask, "Did he have to get rid of ALL the snakes?"  The storyline is a familiar one, so let's listen to the song, and we'll 'chew on it', and see if we can figure out some less violent ways to behave when we're afraid, because as the song says, "we can crush all the spiders with books, y'know, but killing them's kind of a crime.  Cause all life is sacred!"   If we don't recognize that we need to take of this 'Garden of Eden', we don't get to stay!  I’m Peter Alsop.  Subscribe, listen to the podcast, and I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://peteralsop.podbean.com  or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

This week our SONG TO CHEW is "WHAT IF?"  When we don't understand what's going on around us, we create stories to explain what might be going on!  And that's when our over-active imaginations take off and amplify our worst fears.  This process can stop us in our tracks and make things worse!  So, this song takes a look at how we can change our stories, and our reactions, and learn how to 'respond' instead of 'react'.  Most of us don't like to admit that we're scared, (especially us men and boys), but the stories we tell ourselves about what's going on, are often much more frightening than the reality of the situation!  So how do we stop feeling frightened?  Instead of dwelling on our fears, we can lighten things up with some humor to help us get through what's going on.  It's true!  The stories that scare us, or disempower us, or push our 'buttons', can be changed!  We can actually learn to pause, look at what's going on around us, and then respond in a more balanced way.  When my brain is full of fear, I'm not thinking straight, but if I can think of silly or ridiculous things to inject into my story, I make myself laugh, and that simple change helps me see options that I never would have seen, if I'd stayed locked in my fears!  And it's something we can practice doing!  Just because something's serious, doesn't mean it's not funny! I’m Peter Alsop.  Please let your friends know about this podcast, and I’ll see you again next week with another ‘Song to Chew’.
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://peteralsop.podbean.com  or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

    Our SONG TO CHEW today is called NEW GAMES, from my “Pluggin' Away” album. Almost all games we play in this world of ours are competitive, and it would be great to change that, so we have more choices about ways we can collectively play together.  Most games are designed with very clear rules, structured so players can build skills in outsmarting or outmaneuvering each other in order to win.  A big part of growing up is  testing ourselves to see what we can do.  We compare ourselves to others and we feel great when we see that we measure up.  Losing can be a big disappointment though.  Most of us pick ourselves up afterwards, and try again.  Some of us, though, have been disappointed so often that we stop trying.  That's when competition can be most harmful.  Sometimes winning isn't so much fun either!  Especially when the game has one winner and all the rest of the players can feel like 'losers', ... right?!  Some of us learned that working hard at play is the only way to play, and winning is the only thing that matters, when actually, that isn't play at all, it's work! Remember, if it feels like work, it probably IS work!  Cooperative games teach us skills for getting along with each other.  We learn to set healthy boundaries and take care of ourselves by having fun!  We learn communications skills and experience the joy of caring friendships and creative problem solving for the fun of it, not out of fear that we'll lose.  We need support and encouragement and safe places to learn new skills.  I’m Peter Alsop.  Thanks for stopping by.  I’ll be back again next week with another ‘Song to Chew’. 
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://peteralsop.podbean.com  or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

    Our SONG TO CHEW this week, LETTER TO MR. BROWN, is from my “Take Me With You” album. When I wrote this in 1986, there was a backlash going on because so many child sexual abuse cases were coming out in the news.  Everyone who worked with children; teachers, boy scout leaders, choir directors, even parents became very careful about not touching children at all, unless it was absolutely necessary, because they were afraid, they might get in trouble.  This song helps us talk openly about the effect these kinds of fears have on us.  It models healthy, and safe ways that adults might touch children as we physically help them go through their day.  Our kids need to know that they're important, loved and cared for, and touching them lets them know that in a very powerful way that no words can quite convey. Kids need safe touching, because when they're not touched appropriately, they're even more susceptible to inappropriate touching! Lots of other questions come up as we discuss these ideas with our children, so I hope you will take the time to do that.  And it's always okay for a parent to say "I don't know the answer to that question.  Let's think of some ways we could handle it, so it will be safe for you."  I’m Peter Alsop.  Please subscribe to this podcast and invite your friends.  I’ll see you again next week, with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = anywhere you get podcasts, or
https://peteralsop.podbean.com  or
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

    Today our SONG TO CHEW is called A FRIEND LIKE ME, from my 'In The Hospital' album.  The idea came from two nurses at Seattle Children's Hospital, Diane Grimm Gates and Penny Pefley.  I asked my buddy Bill Harley to join us, and we won a Parent's Choice BEST CHILDREN'S ALBUM award that year.  We included a booklet full of helpful notes about how the songs and stories help school-age kids and families who spend time in a hospital.  I visit Bill, and we exaggerate some of our scary concerns by 'enlarging them' to be much bigger than possible.  Our silliness minimizes the 'hospital fears', and the laughter creates a balance for the loss of control a child feels being away from home and school.  The importance of a patient's affective state has only recently been recognized by traditional allopathic medicine as being a critical factor in people's ability to recover.  This album has helped tens of thousands of children and families over the last 33 years.  A BIG 'Thanks!' to Bill, Penny and Diane for their wonderful work , and thanks to you for listening!  If you have any ideas about how we can get this album into more hospitals and to kids and families who need it, please get in touch with me.  I’m Peter Alsop.  I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now! 
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = https://peteralsop.podbean.com  or at
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156 
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads

    This week’s SONG TO CHEW is called HYPERACTIVE, from my “Pluggin’ Away” album.  This song is a satire.  The chorus says "Sugar's good for me and you!", but the verses point out that refined sugar is not healthy for our bodies.  Kids understand satire, and know that sugar is not healthy for them.  They have heard their parents say it a million times, "No!  You've had enough sugar!"  This song is actually a way for children to relieve some of their stress and frustration about the parental limitations they've had to deal with!  You can sing-along too if want!  We are all indoctrinated by advertising messages that subliminally encourage us to use sugar, by equating sugar with love and approval.  We call our loved ones Honey Bun, Sugar Pie or Gum Drop.  We give See's Candy and Whitman Samplers as Valentine gifts.  We reward ghosts and goblins on Halloween by giving them candy 'treats', to 'ward off their threatened 'tricks'.  The Easter Bunny brings chocolate eggs and marshmallow bunnies to little Christians because Jesus loves them?  And on Christmas, when Santa delivers toys, we reward that Jolly Old Elf by leaving him Cookies with sweetened Vanilla Oatmilk to wash them down.  I'll let you examine the connections between sugar and love in your own religious and family ceremonies.  There's more to chew on when you listen to the entire podcast.  I’m Peter Alsop.  I’ll be back next week with another ‘Song to Chew’.  Bye for now!
~ Listen and subscribe to my Songs To Chew podcast = https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/peter-alsop-s-songs-to-chew/id1446179156 
~ CAMPING WITH DADS = https://www.amazon.com/Camping-Dads-Peter-Alsop/dp/B08CS871QW/ref=sr_1_1
~ www.FaceBook.com/WeLikePeterAlsop
~ www.Youtube.com/peteralsop  = videos
~ www.Patreon.com/peteralsop  = support my music & other artistic endeavors
~ www.peteralsop.com/music  = CDs & downloads