Richard Barratt on Communal Values

 

Instead of being 'The Best IN the World', we need to be thinking of being 'The Best FOR the World!' Richard Barratt was a Civil Engineer for 20 years and then became involved in Eastern Philosophy, the work of Abraham Maslow and the importance of personal and societal transformation. To transform ourself - and our world - our soul needs to be activated. Our conditioning creates discontent, but by working on ourself, we become contented. He suggests there are 7 levels of consciousness which lead to a new paradign for leadership. 

Yoga Is Skill In Action

The basis practice of yoga is self-inquiry which, through this process, we create change within ourselves. Before I started practicing yoga, I was more selfish and immature. The grass always seemed greener on the other side of the fence. Yoga changed my world perspective and philosophy in a way that has helped me live my life with more grace and integrity. I care for myself and others more deeply, my eating habits have become conscious choices and my friendships have evolved. I no longer spend time with people who are addicted to drinking and drugs, or those that spend their time gossiping about other people. I look for people who help me feel good about myself and those who are more happy and have goals in their life.

Sustainable Lifestyles

Jonathon Porritt reflects on sustainability: Governments are failing to meet their responsibilities on climate change and population explosions, pollution, global warming and vital loss of trees. In the USA, it is often city mayors who are making the running, sometimes with the active support of state governors. It was Mayor Bloomberg of New York who succeeded in forcing climate change into the presidential election, endorsing changes he immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In China, there’s an extremely active network of eco cities, enthusiastically competing amongst themselves for government support and new industry investments.

Calm Down Easily with Zen

No matter what is happening, we do not have to react impulsively, but can learn to respond quietly and appropriately. Giving into automatic negative reactions is usually u productive and it’s important to learn how to diffuse negative emotions. The steps offered are simple, but powerful. The more we practice them the stronger we become.

26,500 Species Facing Extinction

Wildlife trafficking is cruel and ruthless. This global trade is one of the greatest evils of our time. Over 1000 rangers have been murdered trying to defend wildlife. 

Over 2,500 species are imminently in danger of extinction. The extraordinary pre-historic pangolin has been living on the Earth for 80 million years. This is the most trafficked species in the world as body parts are sold on the black market. More than 1 million pangolins have been stolen from the wild since 2000. The Sumatran Tiger, this magnificent big cat needs to be saved for posterity. Only 500 remain in the wild. Every species needs a core number to produce offspring that are not inbred. These incredible big cats are slaughtered for their fabulous skin, bones and teeth which are used in Asian traditional 'medicine'. Theey are also at risk for habitat loss due to palm oil production, coffee and acacia plantations. The Coral Reef is dying, home to many wonderful species, such as the ray, sharks and turtles and numerous fish species. 50% of the coral reefs from around the world have died in the past 30 years. This is a small selection of our dying biodiversity as a result of human ruthlessness. 

Person Centred Therapy

 

What is PCA? 

Carl Rogers (1902-1987) was the founder of Person Centred Approach otherwise known as Client Centred Therapy and this developed into Student Centred Learning and additional practices. He developed this method of counselling and therapy to counteract a patriarchal, dominant and overbearing and sometimes abusive power dynamic that therapists and teachers had in the past. He came from a Christian background in the USA and researched the data in order to find out which type of therapy helped the client to recover most from neurosis and even more serious mental illness. 

Family Constellations Theory

 

Family Constellations Therapy is a powerful method to solve difficult feelings and situations that occur in families. The therapy takes place in a group with each person representing a family member. Similar in some ways to Psychodrama, it can be powerfully insightful and cathartic and bring about change in relationships. 

Eco-Tourism! The Holidays of the Future

When you are taking a holiday, remember the huge resources this costs our planet, especially in air flight, water provision and non local produce. When you take a trip abroad, consider visiting a national park or wildlife reserve where funds are ploughed back into nature conservation. Remember that bush meat is cruel in its hunting and often kills endangered species, that the changes in land use causes a loss of species territory, pollution, climate change, and all affects  wildlife and causes conflict with humans. The human population grows exponentially and takes from the planet and it’s other soecies, often those teetering on the very edge of extinction.

The story of the New Age

So what is the New Age about? This term means different things to different people, just as the word ‘spirituality’ means different things to different people. Terms need to be defined if we are to be able to understand each other. The New Age is a time of great atomisation, as it applauds individuality and everyone’s right to define the world as they please. It is a huge worldwide movement, made possible by the explosion of free information which is available on the internet. Many spiritual seekers find themselves getting lost in its vast choices and some become cynical about its more trivial aspects.

Spiritual Bypassing by Karen Tate

Spiritual Bypassing

According to Wikipedia, spiritual bypassing is a "tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks."

This term was introduced in the mid 1980s by John Welwood, a Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist who believed bypassing stunts people’s emotional development because it gives them an excuse not to look at painful issues. These issues can be political, social, cultural, familial, religious, etc.  In other words it’s a defense mechanism, a stall tactic, an avoidance mechanism for traumatized people to avoid what’s uncomfortable in their life.  We probably all do it to some degree to avoid the pain of our traumas and we might not be aware. 

Whirling Dervishes

     

This whirling dance of the dervishes is conducted to produce a trance state where the dancers gain meditation union with the Divine. The word 'dervish' is a 'holy man' of the Islamic faith who follows the mystic path of the Sufis. The dervish, Jalal al Din Rumi, was taught whirling by Shams of Tabriz. He was a Sufi poet from Persia was born in Northern Afghanistan in 1207 and wrote 25000 poems of great wisdom and profound spirituality, often based on love and transporting the reader to mystical states. Rashad Field travelled widely through the Himalayas and also studied Sufism in Turkey where he was initiated into the Mevlevi Order of Dervishes. He is the author of a series of esoteric books which are highly recommended for those interested in mysticism. 

Internal Family Systems

Brief History of Humankind

 

With a PhD in History, the eminent Dr Yuval Noah Harari speaks about the history of human beings, from the author of best-selling book 'Sapiens'. A fascinating lecture from RSA Animate. 

Psychosynthesis

Psychosynthesis is described as the 'psychology with a soul'. It was developed by Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974), an Italian psychiatrist who travelled widely in his early life and spoke many languages. He was the creator of Psychosynthesis, a form of humanistic and transpersonal psychotherapy. It is principally based on the understanding that our personality is comprised of many sub personalities which act like musicians playing in an orchestra without a maestro. By gaining understanding of these sub personalities, we can bring them into harmony, so they create a wonderful piece of music that enables us to have a flourishing life. Love, wisdom and creativity are goals of this therapy. Psychosynthesis uses creative visualisation (also called guided imagery) to access our unconscious mind and inform our understanding of the way we think and feel. Assagioli was imprisoned by the Faschsts and spent his time in meditation. This influenced his work later in life. 

Peter Levine - Somatic Experiencing

 

By observing wild animals and their behaviour to traumatic experiencing, through fight and flight response, the psychologist, Peter Levine, from Berkeley, University of California, has developed a method of treating people who had experienced traumatic incidents in their life. He has written a number of books over the course of decades. 

Hellerwork

   This is an excellent video on Hellerwork (founder Joseph Heller) which is a body therapy which releases and realignes the body so that the body can work well and comfortably. When this is done, the emotions and mind automatically feel better. The method is suitable for repetitive strain injury or for long term structural pain caused through an accident but here, working on the theory of body armouring through emotional distress, the muscles and joints tense and result in stored tention which can be released through bodywork. 

Neuro Linguistic Programming

What is NLP? 
NLP was developed in the early 1970s by John Grinder, a linguistics expert at the University of California, and Richard Bandler, a Gestalt therapist and computer programmer. Together they made a study of three leading therapeutic practitioners, Fritz Perls, Virginia Satir and Milton Erickson. They discovered that patterns could assist learning and development and that these could be applied to psychology in the areas of education, business and counselling.

Weight Loss Hypnosis

 

This is a weight-loss hypnosis video created by Zoe Featherstone with text by Wendy Stokes for salt, sugar and fat reduction. 

Music for Sleep

 

Recommended music for sleeping.

Joy, Peace and Happiness - 10 simple steps!

Your Simple Path to find Joy, Peace and Happiness!

We live in a mad, crazy world, and it is easy to become overwhelmed with the pace of life and expectations placed upon us by others! Bestselling English author Ian Tucker takes a look at how we can slow down and begin to take care of ourselves. He offers ten simple steps towards a happier and more peaceful life:

1.  “Live just for today.”

Your past is now your story, nothing more, it has gone forever -  regret is a total waste of your time, see that what came to test you is an opportunity to grow, be kind to yourself and focus on cherished memories.

What of the future and it’s total uncertainty? Well, 99.9% of anything that you and I have ever worried about has never happened, think about that for a moment, all that worry sometimes to the point of illness and for nothing, worrying is like praying for things you don’t want.

Once you realise that the current moment is all that you can be certain of you will unlock the shackles that keep you tied to the past or worried about the future and liberate you to live each day.

Miek Pot - on Silence

 

Miek Pot speaking on Conscious TV on the Information Channel about her life as a recluse. Miek, a spiritual counsellor began her search for silence in her early 20s by visiting and investigating the traditions of India, the Greek Orthodox and eventually a strict Christian Carthusian hermitage in Belgium (similar to the Desert Fathers) where she stayed for 12 years. Her parents were allowed to visit her twice a year. 

James Kambos September Spell

 In the spell you will petition May Bourne for his help. He is known as the keeper of the mysteries, and his power at this time of year is very strong. You need the following items a piece of brown fabric a black candle with a far safe holder Orange or gold pill candle and a fire safe holder of white candle with a far safe holder a glass of red wine or grape juice and seasonal decorations such as pumpkin squash, corn, autumn leaves autumn flowers and apples. Drip the fabric over your order. Close the candles from left to right with black orange gold and white in front of the candles set your glass of wine or grape juice. Decorate your auto with seasonal items. Carefully like the candles. As you do think of the meaning of each colour. Black represents the shadows of the dark season. Orange and gold symbolise the abundance of the harvest. What signifies the lengthening light of winter when Bourne returns. Gaze at the burning can was. Hold your hands in front of you palms facing up. Speak these words to me, Bourne The apples blush and the corn turns gold May Bourne Lord of shadows keeper of the mysteries bring me wealth to hold. Visualise abundance filling your hands. In your mind, see your harvest increasing. Pause and take a few sips of wine or grape juice. When you’re ready, fully extinguish each candle. Take your wine or grape juice outside. And the ritual by respectfully pouring the liquid on the Earth as an offering to me Bourne.

By James Kambos for Llewellyn’s Witchcraft 2025 Calendar. 

The Spotlight Effect

People don't pay as much attention to us as we think they do!

What is Doublethink?

What is doublethink? From the book 1984 explained. Reversing concepts by those is power to confuse and manipulate. 

What is Newspeak?

What is newspeak? In the book 1984 this concept was described. How the government controls and manipulates us. 

The Halo Effect

What is the Halo Effect? Idolisation! Only seeing the positive about someone!