How many times does this question come up when training facilitators or delivering equine facilitated interactions? And how many different ways are there to answer it? Our understanding of horses has thankfully moved on from the view of them as mindless automaton, the Skinner’s boxes of traditional behaviouralist approaches. Similarly, […]
somatics
18 posts
This week I was lucky enough to spend an incredibly inspiring day at a conference on "Neurodiversity in the Workplace" with the Athena® team. I was struck by the Chair's (Dan Harris) prescient parting words, they were a powerful reflection on the future of the workplace, they paraphrase as best […]
I first read of Plato’s “the allegory of the cave” in The Republic, when I was in my 20’s. To be frank it was a stretch to comprehend. Now increasingly close to 60 it is beginning to make a little more sense to me. Without trying to recreate the detail […]
Trees are everywhere. Or perhaps at least they once were. Yet trees are so often invisible, or at least frequently unseen. Yet the tree is an anchor of memory – sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. It might not necessarily be the first thing recall, but ultimately how many of the images […]
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 […]
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. […]
A lesser-known element of my career these days is delivering Stress Awareness and Resilience training across the construction industry. Not always the easiest industry to share these types of messages with, but a place where these skills are of incredible importance and very much needed. I have a simple model […]
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 […]