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!

What is Self-serving Bias?

What is Self-Serving Bias? When making decisions we always make them in our favour! 

Anchoring Effect

What is the Anchoring Effect? Questions to answer for insight! 

What is Negativity Bias?

 

What is Negativity Bias?  Pessimism! Only hearing the negative and missing the positive!

The Ostrich Effect

 

The Contrast Effect

 

The Ikea Effect

The Curse of Specificity

 

Sunk Cost Fallacy

 

What is Sunk Cost Fallacy? Wanting to make the most of money spent!

The Political New Age Toxicity

What do our politicians want from the electorate?…. They want us to be compliant!  How do they get it? By dumbing down the ability of the ordinary person to think critically! 

We all make important political decisions based on news headlines. The more a politician is in the news, for whatever reason - even for bad publicity - the greater their popularity and the more they are worth. When they lose their MP seat, they get a well paid sinecure on the board of a lucrative bank, big pharma, a chemical, industrial, or armaments manufacturer, in the media, in construction, tech company, etc. 

Politicians who have taken us to war, sell books, after dinner talks, they invite their supportive friends to sit in the House of Lords and they can enter royal privilege as a Garter Knight, as did Tony Blair. 

How has the New Age been infiltrated by the political agenda to disempower you and to make you dependent on their desires. You will be told by spiritual teachers to be self serving, to want and get more and more, as greed becomes fashionable and desirable, not think of altruism as spirituality has told you is the foundation of a spiritual life for thousands of years. There is no right or wrong any more. 

Paradox of Choice

What is the paradox of choice? The more choice we have, the more difficult the decision. 

What is the Pygmalion Effect?

What is the Pygmalion Effect? How we listen to people who we look up to! Your belief in someone adds to their confidence. 

Scandinavian Lagom

"Moderation, centredness, natural, wellbeing, ease of life, good-enough, middle of the road, sustainable, balance, simplicity, harmony, contentment, and connection".

These words above encompass the Swedish philosophy, called "LAGOM" often translated as 'not too much - not too little'. It is a practice that enjoys social norms. All excess, greed and dysfunctional behaviour does not fit this way of life. Lagom shows consideration towards others and encourages self sufficiency, a comfortable home and work life, and quality relationships. The secret is to take regular breaks for self care and relaxation described as 'fiken' translated as time out. One finds meaning and values when exploring Lagom; contributing and volunteering are important to creating a Lagom society. It is a way of life that is suitable for our future ecological world by caring for the planet, its people and other species. Developed from the 8th century Viking world, we realise the Vikings were not the crazy people we thought they were, but a people who were disciplined, intelligent and caring.