Mind Mapping Demonstration

Designed by the late Tony Buzan in the 1970s, this is a very useful way of collating psychological material. This video demonstrates how to create a 'mind map'. I use them all the time as a writer to organise the information for my feature articles. The most simple form is a spidergram, which has been available since my childhood days.

Toxic Masculinity

Toxic masculinity is a set of self serving, judgemental behaviours. These destructive values and attitudes are dominant and aggressive and are fuelled by hatred of those whom the toxic male considers to be inferior. The major target is women who are seen as submissive, subservient, passive, and weak - these qualities are seen as traits to exploit. Women are objectified, used and discredited.

Toxic men like to surround themselves with caring, empathic people, but they only care about themselves, not anyone else. They believe there are winners and losers in life, and they must win through any means possible. Of course, some people are good at maths, others singing, some have excellent memories, some tell jokes well, however, to the toxic male, to consider a variety of skills is too complex, so they focus on one thing that is easily identified - money! Who has the most money is of intense interest, and they will get it by hook or by crook to prove they are best at everything, because money encompasses everything in their estimation. 

Save our Bees!

Despite the US and the UK resisting, bee campaigners are celebrating the European Union prohibition on the use of systemic pesticides which have been demonstrated to be toxic to bees. A total of 15 of the 27 European member states voted for a 2 year ban on neonicotinoids and 300,000 people in the UK signed a petition to bring in a ban. Most bumblebee species are declining and 6 species have suffered an 80% reduction in numbers in recent years. In the past 100 years, 20 British bee species have become extinct and 35 British bees are currently at risk of extinction. This is due to several factors, not just the chemicals which reduce their immune system capabilities, but loss of habitat plays a large role as does the removal of honey from hives and replacing it with sugar water which provides none of the valuable nutrients for bees throughout the winter, and does not provide the antibacterial that is needed for them to fight diseases. With 98% of wild flower meadows vanishing since 1950, we need to plant flowers that will help bees to thrive. They play a crucial role in plant pollination.  

Save our seas!

Fishing is taking place throughout the Earth's oceans at such a pace that our oceans are dying and many fish species are now extinct and many are extremely unhealthy with all kinds of dangerous pollutants both for them and for us when we consume them. Ocean acidification is caused by pollution, global warming is causing the seas to heat up, causing the death of many fish and mammals who are suffering. When fish stock are low, more farm land is required for farm animals which create more carbon emissions. Governments and institutions need to realise that the future of people - our children and grandchildren's - lives are at stake. Only buy fish from sustainable sources! 

Ecological Footprint

The U.K. uses 7.7 billion plastic bottles each year! 117 bottles on average per person per year. 

Our ecological footprint is a measure of our communal consumption levels in terms of the Earth's surface measured in hectares which are needed to support us. This figure includes crops, such as palm oil and soya, and land for farm animals for food, harvesting timber, catching fish, etc., and is caused through burning fossil fuels, deforestation, etc.
Bangladesh is 0.5 hectares: UK is 5.4 hectares; and USA is 9.5 hectares!
Rich countries are responsible for the greatest consumption and the greatest production of carbon dioxide but poorer countries are being affected most seriously.

LomiLomi Foot Massage Demonstration

Loneliness Book Extract: Ben Lazare Mijuskovic

Extract from 'Loneliness: In Harm’s Way*'  I attended this symposium and these are the verbatim notes of a talk at Brunel University, London on 30th October 2015:  The speaker wished to convey four things: (a) that all human beings are innately and universally lonely; (b) why this is so; (c) the consequences of loneliness; and (d) what can be done about it - its remedies!

         "The twin principles I propose to defend are that all we feel, think, say, and do occurs between two emotional and cognitive poles in human consciousness, between the solipsistic insularity of loneliness and the intentional desire to transcend it by attaining intimate attachments. The two terminals of consciousness constitute the dynamics of repulsion and attraction, which continually guide us through our passions, thoughts, and actions. After the biological drives for air, water, nourishment, sleep—and before sex---are met, the most insistent psychological need and motivational drive in human beings is to secure an intimate relation to other self-conscious creatures, whether animal, human, or divine. In effect, I wish to replace Freud’s principle of libidinal energy with the anxiety of isolation.

To 'Awaken' What does it mean?

Several times, the word 'awake' is mentioned in the Bible. It is also mentioned in The Koran and it is frequently mentioned in New Age philosophy; but what does it mean to awaken? We all know what it means to sleep (we spend a third of our life in this unconscious state) but why use metaphorical language when it confuses such an important matter? We can surely be more articulate and explain ourselves properly, using appropriate words in the English language.

What does it mean to be 'enlightened'? There is so much talk about it - but very little meaningful explanation available! It is concerning that the instantaneous moments of mind expansion so often described by spiritual teachers would be described as 'psychotic' episodes by doctors. Can one become enlightened through navel gazing? I think not! If anything an 'enlightened' state is one of awareness, where we are keenly aware of what is happening, where we take action for needs of others in a non self serving way.

Highly Sensitive People

  

Are you highly sensitive or hyper aware? With apologies for the advert at the beginning which you can skip if you like, the video is enlightening and worth watching. 

HSPs are often highly empathic and open to the needs of others, they have a keen sense of justice and are often highly intelligent. 

They might be very sensitive to loud noises, intensity of light, changes in temperature, and the moods of other people. They might be a person who needs to chose their friends, their work and their environment carefully so as not to becomed overwhelmed.

 They often like their own company, to be in the company of one other person and may find crowds are threatening to their sense of control. They are often shy, retiring or reclusive. They feel stress intensely, and might also find their energies quickly depleted. 

Laurel Woodward - June

The month of June and the summer solstice! The sun is rising at its northernmost declination. In the northern hemisphere this is the longest day of the year. Also known as midsummer. The solstice is an ancient solar celebration and fire festival celebrating light and the power of the Sun. In places like Iceland, the night is so short that the sky does not become fully dark on Midsummer night. In Finland, bonfires were lit to ensure good luck and drive out evil spirits. In Latvia Midsummer Eve is known as herb evening, for just as the Sun is at its zenith, the energy of the many plants are very potent and are gathered at this time. 

Gather handfuls of fresh chamomile, lavender, and lemon balm on this day or night to make your own feel-good herbal blend. Stuff the herbs into a pouch and carry it in your left pocket to guard against negative words, or brew the herbs into an infusion and drink it to elevate thought and bolster a good mood. 

Last words of Jacob de Molay

 I think it’s only right that, at so solemn moment, when my life has so little time torun, I should reveal the deception which has been practised and speak up for the truth. 

Before heaven and earth, and with all of you here, as my witnesses, I admit that I am guilty of the grossest iniquity - but this iniquity is that I have lied by admitting the disgusting charges laid against the order. I declare, and I must declare, that the order is innocent. Its purity and saintliness is beyond question. I have indeed, confessed that the order is guilty, but I have done so only to save myself from terrible tortures by saying whatever my enemies wished me to say. Other knights who have retracted their confessions have been led to the stake. Yet the thought of dying is not so awful that I shall confess to offences which have never been committed. Life is offered to me, but at the price of infamy. That’s a price that life is not worth having. I do not grieve that I must die if life can be bought only by piling one lie upon another.

Collective Responsibility

When the ideology of any particular faith presumes to speak with authority or impose its beliefs or ideologies on those who do not hold those same views, it only breeds division, bigotry, hatred, repression, and violence; — a very dangerous way to determine social and economic policy for a nation or the world; especially in the 21st century.

A healthy belief in spiritual teachings, should manifest values based on respect, truth, compassion, mutuality, diversity, tolerance, and inclusiveness. Our collective scientific wisdom is telling us global warming is a major problem. We are headed toward a global population of 9 billion people; 9 billion people who will aspire to achieve a middleclass life style. Yet environmental scientists are warning our planet cannot sustainably support a middleclass standard of living for roughly one billion people. In other words, we are already 6 billion people beyond sustainability. Ignoring reality is a form of ignorance that we can no longer tolerate.

By Karen Tate

My gateway into Goddess Spirituality was via the teachings of Dianic women immersed in Women's Mysteries and Goddess herstory.  I owe them a debt of gratitude for introducing me to Goddess but this relationship wasn’t without many challenges. Like a “cafeteria catholic” moving down the food line of spiritual beliefs, choosing what ideas resonated with me, I put some of their ideas on my tray of life and rejected others leaving them to dry out on the sterno.

I was interested in a Feminine Face of God and not a male God so much. Christianity and patriarchy turned me off to institutional  man-made dogma, religion and Jesus for a long time. For me, the male God could be a consort of Goddess, perhaps her equal, provided she maintained her full autonomy and authority. Think of the Super Couple of Isis and Osiris for example. The feminist aspects of Dianics also appealed to me. Coming from a lower-middle-class family, growing up without a lot, I understood the importance of feminism to lift us all up to achieve equality. So the female empowerment aspect, the primary deity as female, feminism and herstory were really attractive concepts of Dianic Spirituality.

Erhard Seminars Training

 

Humanistic Psychology

The basic principles behind humanistic psychology are simple:

1. Someone's present functioning is their most significant aspect. As a result, humanists emphasize the here and now instead of examining the past or attempting to predict the future.
2. To be mentally healthy, individuals must take personal responsibility for their actions, regardless of whether the actions are positive or negative.
3. Each person, simply by being, is inherently worthy. While any given action may be negative, these actions do not cancel out the value of a person.
4. The ultimate goal of living is to attain personal growth and understanding. Only through constant self-improvement and self-understanding can an individual ever be truly happy.

Moon Goddess Diary Spring

Sound medicine. Sounds are powerful healers. They have a vibrational frequency that flows through your whole body when you listen to them and their medicinal properties help to clear, shift and transform your body mind and soul. Choose a sound that fills soothing to your soul. A classical music piece, a ballad, a meditation music, monks chanting, singing Bowls, whales singing, Waves crashing on the shore, wind chimes, rain on a tin roof, opera and so on. Use your sound medicine when you are craving some deep nurturing or a need to connect to your inner place of peace, joy and calm. Allow the music to soothe you with vibrations of love.

The Way To The Center Meditation

Meditation! 
Start with breathing exercises and close your eyes. Visualize that you are standing at the top of a staircase in a dark so complete you can´t see your hand in front of your face. Picture your body as it is standing on top of that staircase. Surround yourself with the colour red. Your whole body is enveloped in the colour red as you step down on step. Remember to breathe. On the next step you are surrounded by orange feel the colour orange and than step down one more step. Feel your body relax and while you step down, let the colour orange change into a warming yellow. Suffuse your aura with that yellow glow remembering to breath deeply and evenly. Take another step down slowly the yellow changes into a rich green light. Your muscles are relaxing more and more as your mind becomes clearer.

Spiritual Energy

I never liked Styrofoam cups, plastic bags, or aerosol cans. I always knew that they were bad for the environment. Now, I am an advocate of the green initiative. I understand that everything that we humans do affects our eco-system, including our spiritual development.

I have experienced two wars in my lifetime. Countries normally go to war for one reason, to get more resources. There are many who believe that the wars in the Middle East were all about oil. Oil is a limited resource and it is becoming scarcer with each passing day. We are inundated with commercials about Congress wanting to drill in the most obscure places. Some have predicted that the world is going to run completely out of oil in the near future.

Psychodrama

What is psychodrama? 

Jacob L Moreno (1889-1974) created this technique for gaining insight into relationships that are buried in the unconscious. A New York psychiatrist, social scientist and polymath, his very early interest in theatre in Vienna led to psychodrama as a form of therapy around 1910 and it became very popular in the 1960s and 70s amongst the personal growth movement. Moreno was a pioneer and early psychotherapist. His work is profoundly interesting and reveals many aspects of the way we relate to others, especially family members. His writing is of great interest to those who follow his innovative understanding of interpersonal relationships and is well worth further study. 

Dr Iain McGilchrist

Recorded at St James's Church, Piccadilly, the Blake Society Lecture features Dr Iain McGilchrist who is the leading expert on left brain/right brain research. We hear so much in the New Age 'I am analytical, I must be 'left' brain' or 'I am artistic, I must be right brain'. Watch this video, simply put, it is far more complex than that - we use different areas of our brain all the time! Even more complex than presented - a left handed person has their hemispheres reversed! 

Thomas Traherne

Who was Thomas Traherne?

Living from 1636 - 1674, Traherne was an English writer, mystic and religious teacher. His still popular book 'Centuries of Meditations' provides sincere moments of life to nourish and inspire. His biography is appreciated by many around the world. The attainment of a state of bliss was to experience being in the moment, to love all that is good and beautiful, and to seek and love the truth. His work influenced the Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, C S Lewis, and others. 

NLP - Part 1

In my experience there are several factors that can prevent people from getting what they want in their lives, whether in business or in other areas:

- Lack of clear goal & evidence
- Not addressing the benefits of the current situation (aka. secondary gain)
- Familiarity of the current situation (a particularly sneaky benefit)
- Lack of belief and/or limiting beliefs

In Robert Anton Wilson's book Prometheus Rising , he models the mind as having two main parts; a thinker and a prover. The thinker is extremely flexible, and can think any number of things. The thinker can think the earth is flat; the thinker can think the earth is spherical. It can think all men are poison; it can think all men are essentially good. The thinker can think that women are intuitive and men are rational; it can think the opposite. It can think that there isn't enough to go round; it can think we live in a world of unlimited abundance. The thinker can think pretty much anything. The prover is much more predictable: what the thinker thinks, the prover proves.