“It’s not working!” (Part 1)

Therapy

(1352 words – 6 1/2 minute read)

Why doesn’t some therapy or technique always work? Maybe we’re not doing it right, maybe there is something wrong with us, and of course maybe it’s a lousy technique. But given that there are so many workable techniques out there I have come to the conclusion that doing almost anything will work if the person is receptive to change.

I have made up, (or “spontaneous intuitive insight” as one of my kinder clients has said) a new method in the middle of a session just because I felt like doing something different, and it’s worked just fine, sometimes brilliantly.

So if it’s us, what is it and can it be fixed? And, just as important, what is the state we are seeking to attain that makes us susceptible to beneficial change?

What does a “perfect” session look like?

Continue reading “It’s not working!” (Part 1) →

Strawberry Moon

Personal Info

(462 words – 2 1/2 minute read)

Strawberry Moon 6/23/16
Full moon and solstice on the same day yesterday. Last time it happened was 1967 – Summer of Love (to be followed in 1968 with Year of Protest) and the coincidence of the full moon on the solstice before that was in 1948 when Britain began the National Health Service (I was four years old). A hopeful prognostication.
My astrology (Sagittarius) says this full moon will be a new focus for me, and I feel it. Maybe because I’m taking a couple of weeks off of working at the Assisted Living Home. Time to rest up and and consider things.

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“Are we done yet?”

Therapy, Uncategorized

(676 words – 2 1/2 minute read)

I make bread, and I’ve just kneaded some dough and set it out to rise, and making bread is a useful analogy to knowing when a session is “done”.

I used to have a bread-maker but after fifteen years the motor packed in. I thought of popping down to the local WalMart for a new machine but I was in a “simplify” frame of mind and decided to give it a go at making it by hand.

I now enjoy kneading the dough by hand it can be therapeutic: I can work out my frustration, or I can use the time to practice patience – or I can simply be kneading dough, with nothing added.

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Bingo

Personal Info

(940 words – 5 minute read)

I’ve never played bingo, even though I’m English and Bingo was invented in England. Nevertheless I now run the bingo game at an Assisted Living facility.
I spin a wire cage and little wooden balls with numbers pop out, B-1 to O-75, I call out the number and place the ball on a wooden board with a place for each one of the 75 balls.
Bingo has a Zen-like meaninglessness to it. For me at least. On the other hand it holds an intense and focussed fascination for the players, as does Zen meditation for some people.

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In Memoriam for Oliver

Personal Info

(55 words – 1/2 minute read)

Our nephew Oliver died recently – too soon.

Here is a photo of him and his brother as kids running on the beach.

“The Net of Heaven is vast, and even though it’s mesh is wide – nothing is lost”
Tao Te Ching

Bon Voyage Ollie, our love goes with you.

Amy and Rod.

Harry and Oliver on the beach

Side Effects

Health

(1942 words – 10 minute read)

Aside: “Side Effects” is a great movie starring Jude Law and Rooney Mara, directed by Steven Soderberg.

Disclaimer: This is not medical advice. I am not a doctor. This is just my opinion. Discuss all medical concerns with your primary care physician or your prescribing physician.

Doctors are scheduled a limited length of time to see patients so make a list of things to discuss. Deal with each item in turn. Be succinct. However you should feel free to discuss your concerns and get a sympathetic response.

The days of the dictatorial doctor are over – along with house calls and the horse and buggy.

The take-home message of this article is: “take responsibility for your health and well-being”. (Because generally speaking, no one else knows you so well and/or gives a shit.)

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Why is PTSD still a thing?

EFT, Therapy

PT(604 words – 3  minute read)

I came across this article the other day about using the drug propanolol to help the brain get over being traumatized at unknowncountry.com (a great website for news on the edge).

A comment to that post (which I agree with) says:

“Two therapies – EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) have successfully treated phobias for decades – without drugs.”

Amy and I have been successfully treating traumas, PTSD, phobias and compulsions since the 1960’s. The techniques we learned back then still work very well and now we add in  EFT and other energy therapies to make them even more effective.

I worked for ten years in a hospital behavioral health center helping people with severe abuse recover completely from their trauma.

So why is PTSD still a thing?

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Why ‘Pastoral Counseling’?

Therapy

(483 words – 2 1/2 minute read)

This blog is about why we are ministers in the Church of Healing Energy, and why what we do is called pastoral counseling.

Being pastoral counselors is more than a protective umbrella under which we may freely practice our healing arts – it’s about how we see you and how we get good results.

When I (Rod) was employed at our local hospital Behavioral Health Unit the clinical director, and good friend, Dr. T. and I would spice up otherwise deadly boring clinical staff meetings with interesting discussions.

One of our exchanges was about consciousness and chemistry.

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Getting On

Health, Meditation, Personal Info

(1019 words – 5 minute read)

There is a TV show called “Getting On”. It takes place in a nursing home. I work part-time in an assisted living home, which is one step up from a nursing home. I have worked in nursing homes. Waiting to die is what they are doing. I call it the dead zone.

My mother, when she reached her 80’s, said she was in the departure lounge (waiting for her flight out of here) and that’s how it is in assisted living. I call out the numbers at bingo and give an exercise class. The rest of the time they watch TV, eat and sleep.
It’s a backwater; out of the stream of life and it’s involvement in becoming this or that, in gain and loss. The game is over; all that remains are pastimes to pass time. Maybe an occasional thought arises: “What was that all about?” But as well as the body the mind is tired. All we have are vague reminiscing, stories of farm life, husbands gone, children far away; scraps of fragile memory; faint reminders of who we used to be.

Bernie Sanders is 74 and running for president so we’re not there yet, but it looms on the horizon. There is a chill in the air of my endless summer. Priorities shift. If you’re going to do it, do it soon.

Continue reading Getting On →

Tai Chi

Tai Chi

(411 words – 2 minute read)

TAI CHI

We teach tai chi and we have copies of a teaching video (1990) by our teacher Loo-chi Hu.
We’re sending a copy to our dear friend Victoria, (webmaster of this site) who has done some tai chi in the past and wants to take it up again. It’s not an easy practice. Eighty or so moves performed in an intricate, slow moving dance. So I sent her this note, which Amy suggested I post. So here it is.

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