The German’s have a word “Umwelt” which according to the Microsoft online dictionary means “the world as it is experienced by a particular organism.” A lot of meaning for so few letters. Let’s unpack that a little. We can look at a horse, a pig or any other animal, and […]
authenticity
13 posts
I find that this topic has come up a lot in recent facilitator training at Athena Herd Foundation. When we are observing the world around us how often do we perceive it as it is? More often we see it within a framework that is superimposed by our minds. I […]
The world can be overwhelming. Period! Each of us has a can only take so much stimulation. We each have a mental “glass-ceiling”. This limit was recognised over 100 years ago by US psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dillingham Dodgson. Their model followed a classic bell curve. In plotting performance […]
“Ask yourself if you are happy and you cease to be so.” So said the nineteenth century philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill. Give it a go! As soon as we go to look for it, it proves illusive. Even if we were in some moment of real joy. How […]
I wanted to reflect a little on the human willingness to sub-contract; and I am not just talking at work! Let’s start with a definition: think of guru in context as a collective metaphor for our those “experts” to whom we love to proffer the title wise. Those that we […]
So what is choosing EI all about? I have often written about how Mindfulness lies at the heart of my work, well at the heart of the heart is Emotional Intelligence (EI). There is a great quote from Victor Frankl which outlines the intrinsic benefit within EI, “in between the […]
Outside-in or Inside-out is a reflection on how we see ourselves and our mind. And further, our relationship with what goes on there within. As someone delivering regularly around the topic of mindfulness I am frequently expressing the idea that we are not our thoughts, any more than we are […]
What is Keeping Einstein in the moment? Well the idea here is curiosity, let me explain..... There is more to mind than The Mind and learning transcends being taught. The idea that learning is not simply an exercise in logic or linguistics has always seemed intuitively appropriate, even if we […]
I was listening recently to a podcast by scholar Joseph Goldstein. He talks about the discourses of Buddha as being invitations not instructions, as a conversation not a philosophical exposition (“Insight Hour, episode 53). In more common parlance, “here is an idea, go and try it out”. This subtle distinction […]
Let me introduce you to the Lego Batman effect? The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer said that, “as soon as you try and put a thought into words it ceases to be true". There is something that is compromised when we put it into words. Language is always a summarizing, even for […]