Christian Salvation by Tim Heaton

In the season of Lent, the 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Day, it is traditional for Christians to embark upon a course of Bible reading, study and meditation as a way of preparing themselves in mind and spirit for the great festival of Easter. (The six Sundays of Lent are excluded, hence the popular understanding of Lent as matching the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness.)

One of the best-selling Lent Courses of all time (and currently #1 in popularity on Amazon UK) is Tim Heaton's "The Long Road to Heaven", which uses the brilliant film "The Way" starring Martin Sheen as a springboard into discussion about Christian understandings of salvation. In the film, Sheen plays a bereaved father walking the Way of St James to the shrine of the Apostle at Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain - carrying his son's ashes.

Heaton's book ends with a short story called "El Camino", which is reproduced here, and which Church Times, the world's leading Anglican newspaper, said "could stand alone as a powerful and moving allegory of salvation."

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.

Letting Go - A Sample Ritual

 We all have things in our life that are outmoded, no longer useful or just a nuisance. Letting go of difficult people, things or situations can be a process that takes time. If you have something you want to change, performing a ritual for 'letting go' can make it happen quicker and easier. Using string or cotton, tie one end to yourself and another to another person representing someone or something you wish to be released from. Call out your discomfort and feelings of control and entrapment. Cut the tie that binds you and speak about how free you are and use affirmations 'I am free'. 

For more information: http://www.wisebrain.org/LettingGo.pdf

Can You Be an Ocean Elder?

Queen Noor of Jordan is speaking about how pollution of the oceans affects everyone's health and how we must not be complacent in handing on to the future generation, a planet that can sustain life. Everyone can play a role in creating a healthier planet. Many countries in the Middle East are affected by water issues and climate change. 

Indigenous Kogi Shamans

Perhaps you have never heard of the Kogi people or knew that they regard themselves as the Elder Brothers to the rest of the world? However, the leaders of this tribe from Colombia, who are known as the “Mamas,” spoke out in a BBC documentary back in 1990. From the Heart of the World: The Elder Brothers’ Warning was directed by Alan Ereira, and was made as an urgent message for the people of the world, in the hope that big changes would be made.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy

 

What is DBT? This video explains!

Richard Bandler and NLP

Richard Bandler is the co-founder (with John Grindler) of Neuro Linguistic Programming and here he is speaking with a person who has painful memories. His attitude is more comedic than therapeutic but it demonstrates the method that is used to wipe away a memory. This approach is not specifically classed as a 'therapy'.

Craniosacral Specialist

 

Hugh Milne is Scottish and was born into a family of Osteopaths (his mother, father, grandfather and 2 uncles). Became a highly successful private specialist in Kensington early in his life but was hearing the voice of Spirit and became interested in psychodrama, gestalt, rolfing and other therapies and personal growth disciplines. Travelled to Bombay and met Bhagvan Shree Rajneesh (Osho) and spent seven years as the guru's bodyguard, in India and in Oregon. He returned to UK to become a writer, spiritual teacher and specialist practitioner.  

Pulsing

What is Pulsing Therapy? 

Pulsing as a style of massage with soft movements and rhythmic rocking. It gently releases tension, harmonises, energises, and nourishes. It is bodywork without being painful. It is powerful yet soft.

Rhythms are the breath, peristaltic digestive rhythms, the heart beat, the rhythms of sleep and wakefulness, brain rhythms, hormonal, endocrine and many others within the body and mind.  

Pulsing was developed in the mid 1970s by Curtis Turchin who was originally a Postural Integration therapist. He took some aspects of the Trager Approach to create a stretching and lifting style of bodywork to rock the client's body in order to release tension and stress. It is Rhythmic and meditative. Ideal to relax hyperactive children, Aspergers and other disabilities.  Releases tension! 

Carl Jung - Helping Psychology

Extraversion-Introversion is a key component of what makes up the human personality. More aggressive and gregarious individuals are generally referred to as extraverts, while introverts tend to prefer solitude and worry less about being social. By no means are introverts lonely people, they simply prefer to socialize and work in smaller groups. Extraverts live to meet new people and constantly expand their circle of friends, and they often do this quite actively.

“Codependency No More” Book Extract

Codependency Patterns: Think they are responsible for other people, for other peoples feelings, thoughts, actions, choices, once, needs, well-being, lack of well-being, and ultimate destiny. Feel anxiety, pity, and guilt, when other people have a problem. Feel compelled to help a person solve a problem, such as giving unwanted advice, giving suggestions, or fixing feelings. Fear when the help isn’t effective. Anticipate other peoples needs. Wonder why others don’t do the same for them. Find themselves saying yes when they mean no, doing things they don’t really want to be doing, doing more than their fair share, and doing things other people are capable of doing for themselves. 

     Not knowing what they want or need or, if they do, tell themselves what they want and need is not important. Trying to please others instead of themselves. Find it easier to feel and express anger about injustice done to others, rather than injustice has done to themselves. Feel safe when giving. Feel insecure and guilty  Feel safe when giving, feeling insecure and guilty when someone gives to them. Feel sad because they spend the whole lives giving to other people and nobody gives to them. 

Primal Therapy

Primal Therapy is a form of psychotherapy based on relieving the repressed feelings that result from childhood trauma or abuse by giving vent to the pain through the voice, often by crying and screaming. This allows the trauma, which might have been hidden from others for a lifetime, to be fully experienced, heard, to be exorcised, and then for the person to be supported and cared for, thereby healing the pain on the past, a process of catharsis. Dr Arthur Janov (born 1924), a psychologist and therapist, is the creator of this therapeutic technique and his book which describes his ideas, beliefs and the method of this therapy is titled 'The Primal Scream'. He also his written other books on psychotherapy. He was very influential in the 1970s, especially in California, and had some very high profile clients, such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Naikan Therapy

Naikan Therapy was developed by a Buddhist monk in the 1940s. It involves self examination, looking inside and is an aid to mental health. It asks three questions:

What have I received from this person?

What have I given to this person? 

What trouble have I caused this person? 

The GROW Approach to Coaching

Milton Erickson

Who was Milton Erickson?
1901 - 1980 Erickson was a hypnotherapist who was successful due to his personal experience and innovative mind. Pacing, intense listening, acknowledgement and acceptance of the client's perception, is a vital tool to change. Respecting another's way of seeing the world! Families, work environments, politics, health, schooling, all can benefit from pacing - a person centred method! He described their ongoing experience, what they felt, thought and saw. It gave access to the unconscious mind. The Milton Model was a way in which he used vague words to produce a trance like state in his clients.

Improving Your Sleep

One of the greatest complaints physicians hear is that patients have poor quality sleep. This either comes in the form of insomnia, or feeling tired after a full night's rest. 

LomiLomi Foot Massage Demonstration

Self Actualisation Qualities

 According to Maslow, self-actualizing people share the following qualities:

• Truth: honest, reality, beauty, pure, clean and unadulterated completeness
• Goodness: rightness, desirability, uprightness, benevolence, honesty
• Beauty: rightness, form, aliveness, simplicity, richness, wholeness, perfection, completion,
• Wholeness: unity, integration, tendency to oneness, interconnectedness, simplicity, organization, structure, order, not dissociated, synergy
• Dichotomy: transcendence, acceptance, resolution, integration, polarities, opposites, contradictions
• Aliveness: process, not-deadness, spontaneity, self-regulation, full-functioning
• Uniqueness: idiosyncrasy, individuality, non comparability, novelty
• Perfection: nothing superfluous, nothing lacking, everything in its right place, just-rightness, suitability, justice
• Necessity: inevitability: it must be just that way, not changed in any slightest way
• Completion: ending, justice, fulfillment
• Justice: fairness, suitability, disinterestedness, non partiality,
• Order: lawfulness, rightness, perfectly arranged
• Simplicity: abstract, essential skeletal, bluntness
• Richness: differentiation, complexity, intricacy, totality
• Effortlessness: ease; lack of strain, striving, or difficulty
• Playfulness: fun, joy, amusement
• Self-sufficiency: autonomy, independence, self-determining.

Arthur Janov

Who was Arthur Janov? 

Arthur Janov was a Californian psychotherapist who developed the theory of Primal Therapy. John Lennon and Yoko Ono were clients. Primal Therapy involved screaming, crying and expressing early abuse. 

Internal Family Systems

Alexander Technique - Breathing

 

What is the Alexander Technique? 

The Alexander Technique is a simple and practical method to focus our attention on everyday activities and use our body properly. Frederick Mathias Alexander (1869-1955) was an Australian therapist who showed how bad habit reflect on our health. (He spent some time in London UK where he treated actors to stand and move well, breathe properly, add to their energy and ability to perform to the best of their ability. Aldous Huxley was one of his patients. He also visited America and developed an international reputation.) When our body is subject to stress or habit, it develops 'body armouring' which can be relieved through exercises, self-awareness and repatterning. It has no side effects.

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. 

Paradox of Choice

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

Pilates

What is Pilates?
Exercise which lengthens and stretches the body using all the muscle group is both relaxing and health giving. Pilates practitioners have an individualised programme for their specific needs. There is an emphasis on body posture and balance and on good breathing technique. The method began in Germany in 1880 when Joseph Pilates pioneered this health method due to his physical frailty as a child. He was interned on the Isle of Man where he devised this method of health and eventually worked as a boxer, circus performer, self defence teacher and body builder. He worked in Germany with Rudolph Laban , setting up,his first studio in New York.

Join the Wildlife Campaign

You can get involved with saving the wonderful species of animals and plants that have graced our planet for millennia. Many species have inspired humans in inventions, such as radar from bats, and aerodynamics from birds. Many plant and animal species have provided potent medicines and more research is ongoing to use plant and animal chemicals for health. 

The two major threats to our planet’s animal species are loss of territory and slaughtering for body parts. We can support their protection by challenging the fashion industry, confronting the lies presented as ‘traditional’ medicine, stop the decorative uses of body parts of hunted species, and by campaigning against taking animals from the wild to keep as pets in extremely poor and unhealthy conditions. 

All species on our planet are interdependent, when we lose one species, the loss has a knock on effect where others also become extinct. 60% of the planet’s mammals, birds, reptiles and fish are endangered and on the verge of extinction. Goodwill Ambassadors are coming forward, such as Aiden Gallagher, Nadya Hutagalung, Wang Junkai and Dia Mirza. 

Giant Cell Arteritis - An Elusive Odyssey

Mind Body & Soul Book Review - Giant Cell Arteritis - An Elusive Odyssey by James Rupp. 168 pages, published by Lulu. 

This book is dedicated to Pearl Rupp, James's wife, whose photo fronts the text. We are introduced to Pearl and to her illness, Giant Cell Arteritis - inflammation of large and medium blood vessels - and its related, disabling condition, Polymyalgia Rheumatica. We read of symptoms, tests, scans, diagnoses, flare-ups, procedures, medications, treatments, X-rays, biopsies, disabilities, complications, drug conflicts, and the advice of numerous doctors and health care workers. There are confusions, speculations and assumptions and doctors who argue with each other about who has most wisdom in treating this extraordinary illness which requires an individualised care plan.

Dealing with Depression

How to deal with depression! 

Depression is a lonely existance that other people often don't understand. It is a low energy illness, a feeling of meaninglessness, guilt, shame, worthlessness and hopelessness. It is not just a state of mind, but an illness, a disability and can sometimes lead to suicide in very serious cases. Advice does not usually work, even when meant well because the person is often totally unable to take it. There is much the person can do to help themselves, but they need to feel well enough to find them for themselves.
Suggestions: breathing exercises, walks in nature, meetings with friends, an uplifting book, dancing, gardening, handicrafts, exercise, join a club, travel, volunteering.
Learn more, and conquer this affliction without drugs...

Sleep Paralysis

 

What is sleep paralysis? 

Sleep paralysis is a sleep state where the person thinks they are awake, but cannot move their muscles. They have very vivid dreams that they think are true life. It is very common and the person loses good quality sleep, feeling very tired throughout the day. Stress tends to make this worse. Create a stress-free bedtime routine where you have a light meal, listen to some gentle music or a relaxation meditation. Organise your life for the morning when you awake and forget the stresses of the day. 

The Hakomi Therapy Method

Using mindfulness for self study. No questions asked but experiments can be conducted with mindfulness and awareness to process unconscious vulnerability about how the client is truly in the world to release and change suffering to receiving nourishment and crating peace of mind.

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. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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

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. 

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.

Consistency Principle

What is the Consistency Principle? How we feel better when we act in accordance with the way we usually act and avoid new ways of decision making. 

Baha'i

 

The Baha'i religion was founded by Mizra Hasayn Ali in Iran and this faith has now spread across the world. It is both peace-loving and humanitarian and it praises equality and kindness. There are no clergy, rites or sacraments and there is an emphasis on caring for all species, and for the planet, hence vegetarianism.

Ambiguity Effect

 

What is the Ambiguity Effect? We avoid the unknown and move towards what is known. We love the predictable and shy away from uncertainty. 

Survivor Bias

 

What is survivor bias?  Examples where people manipulate stories about how dangerous activity, is not really dangerous.

Bystander Effect

What is the Bystander Effect? An interesting story, a true story! A hard look at how people decide to get involved with trauma or difficulties. Kitty died because people did not want to get involved. 38 people saw the murder! 38 Witnesses but everyone deferred to someone else to call the emergency services. 

Transcendental Meditation

 

Transcendental Meditation was introduced to the West by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1960s. It is a simple method that anyone can use anywhere, but best done in a quiet place alone and without interruption. The technique is a mantra which has no meaning and has no philosophy or religious structure or belief. 

Children with sleep problems

Teachers report children falling asleep during classes. Many of these children are highly stressed and keep going on adrenaline. Over stimulation is often the cause. The way to deal with this is a strict routine. At the end of the day, children need at least an hour to prepare for sleep. Lights need to be switched down, all TV and Internet off. Parents need to have words and behaviour that is consistent every night, a strict time schedule set for regularity of bedtimes. Bedrooms should be very dark. Very soft instrumental music, the same every night can be used. 12 hours is ok for most children.

Via Hedera - Bramble in August

When summertime is here so is the power of the lush blackberry bush (also called the bramble). Mother of waysides, father of highways and byways, caretaker of lands and feeder of people – we hail the high summer call to its sweet and thorny guidance, its constancy, its inherent sweetness. Blackberries, fruitful and swift to grow, long to linger, hard to kill! This is the magic they bring us come summer. Bramble is not a fickle plant spirit. They are enduring, grasping, and persistent. In your circles, spells, rites, and magic work, turn to this hearty and intrusive spiritual force to grow a thicket of protection around yourself and your work, to sweeten a guarded love, and to inspire endurance. Create a vessel for these spirits to dwell in. A cotton, linen, wool, hemp, or silk bag, a woven basket, etc., will suffice and are a biodegradable option. Do you remember that the devil of the crossroads, graves and hilltops are said to cast this herb, spitting upon it, tramping it, and honouring it from Michaelmas to Hallowtide, so take the sunny days of August to bless your home with this vigilant spirit that is favourable to Venus the sphere of romance and kindness. Let the scent of its baked petals and the prick of its wisdom guard you and guide your soul. 

A Bramble Spirit Vessel

The Mandala

Mandalas are very ancient meditative designs and are international in their distribution. Their design is often circular, ornate and flowing within, to the centre and then to the outside of the boundary. Labyrinths are similar designs. The object is for meditation and to create harmony and balance within the mind. Anyone can produce their own mandalas and colour them as desired. They are especially good for children and for recuperation from mental and physical illness. 

Carl Jung - spirituality

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist who trained under Eugene Bleuler and was associated and trained with Sigmund Freud. Jung’s school of Analytic Psychology continues to be popular. He is accused of collaborating with the Nazis in WWII where he acted as a psychiatrist and promoted Hitler and Mein Kampf. Despite having a reputation for endorsing astrology, after an initial belief, he rejected it. 

Anyone who wants to know the human psyche will learn next to nothing from experimental psychology.  He would be better advised to abandon exact science, put away his scholar's gown, bid farewell to his study, and wander with human heart throught the world.  There in the horrors of prisons, lunatic asylums and hospitals, in drab suburban pubs, in brothels and gambling-hells, in the salons of the elegant, the Stock Exchanges, socialist meetings, churches, revivalist gatherings and ecstatic sects, through love and hate, through the experience of passion in every form in his own body, he would reap richer stores of knowledge than text-books a foot thick could give him, and he will know how to doctor the sick with a real knowledge of the human soul. -- Carl Jung (from "New Paths in Psychology", in Collected Papers on Analytic Psychology, London, 1916). 

Notes - Socrates - Karen Armstrong

Precis notes from The Case for God by Karen Armstrong

"An unexamined life is not worth living!" Socrates. 

Socrates did not commit any of his teachings to writing, so we rely on the writings of his pupil Plato (circa 427 - 347). Socrates preferred oral teaching when matters could be discussed and points challenged. He did not like fixed or stridently held opinions. 

Socrates sought not only to inform but also to create in the minds of his students a profound psychological change. Wisdom was an insight not an amassing information. He said he had no interest in teaching people anything because he knew nothing. His students did not come to learn anything but to have an experience and a radical change of mind. His dialogues were a spiritual exercise. Socrates was primarily interested in goodness which, like Confucius, he refused to define. 

Instead of analysing and talking about virtue, he wanted to live a virtuous life! When asked for a definition of justice, he replied “instead of speaking it make it an act of life”. This was only possible because Socrates was authentic and his mission was to awaken genuine self knowledge. Those who came to talk to him were involved in a dialectic of rigourous discipline designed to expose false beliefs,  consequently a conversation with Socrates could be disturbing. He forced students to submit to answering questions concerning their present manner of life and the life they have lived, and he would only discuss subjects that they felt comfortable with. 

Stalking - A Malicious Hate Crime

Stalking is a crime of aggression that leaves no visible scars. Yet the effects of stalking are severely debilitating on emotional, mental and spiritual levels as they leave the victim feeling increasingly powerless and traumatised. The crime is one of veiled threats, harassment, intimidation, control, intrusion and emotional blackmail and it often occurs over a prolonged period, resulting in accumulated confusion, isolation, alienation, and eventually crisis for the victim. 

Stalking may involve information gathering, importuning, parading a new victim, malicious remarks or behaviour, and upsetting remarks or language. The Readers Digest Universal Dictionary defines stalking as “to move threateningly, to pursue or track stealthily, to transverse threateningly or menacingly.” These definitions provide an example of the type of predatory prowling that perpetrators have towards their prey. 

How To Breathe!

Why do singing lessons need to discuss the way to breathe properly? Isn't breathing just part of being alive and something that we do all the time without even thinking about it. While we all breathe, not everyone breathes properly, and one of the secrets to singing success is being able to breathe properly.

Proper breathing is one of the key aspects to learning to sing. Breathing correctly affects the quality of your voice tone and also helps you sing long notes when you need to. One of the most common mistakes made by people when they first sign up for singing lessons is that they think that breathing for singing is the same as breathing for, say, aerobics or regular activity.

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!