Monday, July 16, 2012

Summer

Our ideas of summer are really being challenged this year with the weather we are experiencing.  Maybe challenging our ideas is a good idea?  What do you think?

Who best to help us challenge our thinking than Aristotle.  The ancient Greek philosopher who coined the phrase 'One Swallow doesn't make a summer.'  To learn more click HERE

Let me know what you think?  All comments and questions are welcome in confidence to info@psyche.ie

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Meeting Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Have you ever met someone who you will never forget?  Maybe you have met a few people like this?  Meeting Elisabeth Kubler-Ross was one of these memorable events for me.  She put words on experiences that were already familiar to me and many others.

Elisabeth is famous for setting out the 5 stages of grief  but these stages are more than about grieving - they are about life.  In response to people calling her the 'death and dying lady' on account of her book On Death and Dying, Elisabeth called herself the 'life and living lady' with glee.  Having had the privilege of meeting her I can agree wholeheartedly - allowing yourself to grieve your losses certainly helps to give the joy of life a chance to be felt.

Read more on these links and maybe let me know what you think?  All mails are welcome in confidence to info@psyche.ie

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross 5 Stages of Grief

Loss and grief is something we have to deal with in most of our lives at some time. Understanding the grieving process has helped many people to live through their grief.

To help you understand better the 5 stages of grief I have posted an article on my website explaining the 5 stages of grief in detail. If you are interested in learning more click on this link Elisabeth Kubler-Ross 5 Stages of Grief.

I was very fortunate to train with Elisabeth and to stay at her farmhouse in Head Waters, Virginia, USA in 1991. Elisabeth was a very special person and to the day I die I will never forget the first moment I saw and heard her speak at the Servite Priory in Benburb, Ireland in 1989. 

Elisabeth touched many people during her life.  She truly lived out her ambition to become known as the 'Life and Living Lady' although she became world famous for her work on death and dying.

Elisabeth touched many people during her life.  I will always fondly remember her passion for her work, her steadfastness, her absolute love of life, her beautiful accent as she told her wonderful stories and her wicked sense of humor.

May she rest in Peace.


Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Practical Wisdom

What is practical wisdom and how can it help me?

There is a lot of information and knowledge available to us at the press of a button but widsom is altogether different. Where it differs from knowledge is that practical wisdom is what guides us to know and do the right thing.

This sounds straightforward but in practice it is not so easy. The concept comes from the great Greek philosopher Aristotle who describes in detail what it is to be a person of character or virtue.

Aristotle tells us that we each have various internal capacities which we can develop by practice. It is by repeated practice that we develop these qualities or virtues. The virtue of practical wisdom is where we use our mind, feeling and our life experience to decide what is the right or ethical action to take in any given situation.

What is the right or ethical action is what supports the individual human person and their community to flourish. This is a short and condensed version of a paper I gave recently at a conference on Sin, Virtue and Vice in the beautiful city of Prague, in the Czech Republic. You can read my full paper on this topic by clicking here

I look forward to your feedback and welcome any questions and comments in confidence to info@psyche.ie
Go to www.psyche.ie to learn more about me and my work or call me on 353-86-8545407 - talk to you soon.

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Hand Craft as Meditation Practice

Are you interested in meditation but don't find it easy to sit? There are many other ways to bring meditation into your life - so read on for more ideas.

Any aspect of daily life can be used as a meditation practice. But to illustrate this more clearly I will focus on hand craft in this article. Most of us will likely have seen some kind of hand craft in practice. I am thinking of everyday crafts like knitting, sewing, baking, wood crafts, basket making, calligraphy, card making, pottery, candle making, painting, drawing, gardening, lace making, model making... While the list is endless the principles are the same.

While working with our hands is is useful to note what is happening in our heads? Without any deliberate effort our thoughts generally become foucssed on the task at hand. As we work our mind is following and checking our work - 'are we doing it right?' 'is it turning out the way we want it to?' and so on. When our mind is busy with one task it allows other thoughts to settle for a while - it's not that they are gone away - it is just they are less obvious when one activity becomes the main focus.

When people start to learn meditation they generally find it far from peaceful. When they sit and close their eyes the most frequent comment is 'there is so much activity going on in my head!' That is to be expected. The skill is to learn how to go around this seemingly huge mountain, rather than trying to climb over it. Hand crafts, if they interest you, are one possible route towards a meditation practice.

Try working at your favoutite craft and keeping your attention focussed on whatever you are doing. In other words do one thing only. Leave the radio and television off as you work. Experiment with doing one thing at a time and giving your attention completely to what you are doing. Notice what happens.

In the ancient tradition of Yoga there were 8 steps known as the '8 limbs.' The latter steps covered meditation. However before allowing a student to begin meditation, the teacher would give them practices to help them develop concentration as a preparatory step. Using our hands is an easy assessible activity for most people, and can be used as one way to develop our capacity to concentrate. Your mind will wander... when it does, ever so gently, return your attention to the task at hand. Try this over and over, and over again. It will take many repetitions to learn to concentrate with ease, just as it does when learning any new skill.

I look forward to your feedback on how this goes for you and welcome questions and comments in confidence to info@psyche.ie
Go to www.psyche.ie to learn more about me and my work or call me on 353-86-8545407 - talk to you soon.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Tribute to John McCarthy

John McCarthy, founder of Mad Pride Ireland died earlier this week. May he rest in peace and may our thoughts and prayers support his family in the days and months ahead.

I had the privelege of meeting John in person on one occasion. Reflecting on that meeting today a poem by Mary Oliver came to mind which best captures how his journey insipired so many others to follow their own unique journey.

THE JOURNEY by Mary Oliver

One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.


Visit my website at www.psyche.ie
I welcome your comments and questions to info@psyche.ie