Something that often comes up in my work as a therapist and role as teacher of therapists is “intimacy”. We might crave it, we might push it away, we might do both. How on Earth as people with different needs, do we “meet” – how do we form relationship in a satisfying way? Can we …
Read more “Safe intimacy: simply an oxymoron or a relational necessity?”
I mentioned a few weeks back how being in groups can offer a useful experience in which to explore aspects of ourselves; to look at dynamics that feel familiar to us – literally familiar, as they often originate in the family. I had the privilege of working with a group of trainee therapists at the …
I’m probably not the only person experiencing “a mood” on a Monday morning mid November…but it can feel like it. This is one of those days that I could easily find myself spiralling in to a worsening “mood”, and then projecting that on to everyone I meet, everything I do, the entire external situation of …
I sat down this morning with the intention to write about a seminar I attended Friday evening in London: the topic was “The Red Book”. Those of us from a certain generation will no doubt be thinking ‘Eamon Andrews’ and his jumping out on poor unsuspecting celebrities to reveal their life stories. But that isn’t …
I’m just back from a holiday in Sicily. A wonderful week in so many ways. The beauty of the country, the stunning backdrop of the Mediterranean, the charming narrow streets, and of course, the exquisite food. Hard not to enjoy especially nowing the cold snap had taken a grip back home! Yet there was also …
At the end of last week’s blog, I said I’d share more thoughts about the emotional and psychological healing that can come through groups. I’ve had a busy weekend seeing friends and family, a really enjoyable and nourishing one, a weekend that could so easily have provided the fuel and content to talk more about …
Robert Thurman, a renowned Buddhist scholar once remarked “all this talk of practice, what about the main performance?”. Something important is being said here, and I’ve been thinking about it in the context of the working environment. A good friend was sharing with me at the weekend the challenges he has been facing at work. The …
In last week’s post, I started setting the scene for my recent contemplations: whether a view that focuses on the basic goodness of humanity might get distorted and become the root of harm. Many Tibetan Buddhist lineages and schools hold fundamental the view that all beings are “basically good”; yet there is a seeming paradox. …
Study of the lojong slogans at a time when my Buddhist community is in a state of instability has me working with a interesting conundrum. On the one hand, these ‘post-it note’ type proverbs remind me of our basic nature, which according to the Buddhist view is one of an inherent goodness; the Shambhala lineage …
As I witness progress the clients I work with make along their therapeutic path, there comes a point where our discussions uncover less new insights and attention switches to their “remembering”. We may have been talking about a certain relational dynamic and how they contribute to it and the following week, the same ‘complaint’ has …