This blog is about curiosity. We will get to the great scientist a bit later. There is more to learning than being taught. Learning is not simply an exercise in logic or linguistics, even if societally we tend to elevate these ones above all others. Our capacity to learn did […]
embodiment
29 posts
In 1656 Christiaan Huygens invented the pendulum clock. In this electrical and digital age we easily forget how important this was. A means by which the clock's mechanism will keep itself working. And as such means by which we were able to mechanically measure the passing of time. I spent this […]
As facilitators and coaches (and similarly for those in therapeutic practice) we are often charged with, or engaging in, working with the idea of supporting change or developing in individuals. Yet so often we encounter a degree of resistance, even if our clients wish for it. Kagan and Lahey, in […]
The ABC of Somatic Presence defines what I call the cycle of Somatic Presence. It is all about actively being. A being that is constantly shifting and redefining itself, and shaping our actions and behaviours. In the third decade of this century we live in an age of persistent distraction. […]
Outside-in or Inside-out is a reflection on how we see ourselves and our minds, and our relationship with what goes on there within. As someone for whom mindfulness serves as a consistent foundation I often express the idea that we are not our thoughts, any more than we are our […]
Let me introduce you to the basis of my work. In so doing I am going to talk about idea of you, me and of everyone else, as living within individual "learning machines." More specifically an experiential, and constantly active, learning machine. I emphasize that this is foremost my view […]
Emotions as motion - really? A few years ago when running an event at Athena Herd Foundation somebody asked me “how horses react to human emotion?” My flippant response in the moment was, “well they move". But that was exactly the point. On reflection this has got me thinking. So, […]
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 […]
“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 […]
When we learn to watch our mind, we see just how much distraction it offers us. It is like we are forever open to stumbling from the path as when we walk on unsafe ground. Loud noises, assertive others, physical sensation, bright shiny objects; the list is without end. Each […]