Resources for a Teenager – YouTube

The sixth in a series of posts detailing those resources I’m finding useful on my own particular (life) journey.

This date of publication is particularly pertinent, which is why I’m publishing today.

Meta

Thankfully, I haven’t had a TV since 2009. I don’t watch TV shows via Netflix, Amazon Prime etc., and I don’t want to.

However, with an internet connection, I am fortunate to be able to watch-free-to-view content (albeit advertiser supported).

The List

The rationale

1. Listening to Shame: Brené Brown closes out the main TED conference, which (I believe) is the top slot. And she nails it! #goBrené This talk has 8m views on TED.com, and a further 2m on YouTube.
2. The power of vulnerability: this is probably the first talk I watch of Brené. It’s had 33m views on TED.com, and 7m on YouTube. I think these watch numbers means that her work resonates deeply and widely. Her work has given us a great gift, a way to reframe vulnerability and consider it as a superpower [cf IN-Q below].
3. Oscar & Clark: I love this playful scat singing by Clark Terry, which seems to be the best example I can find of his
4. Bach’s Blues: the piece which I can still remember Oscar playing and the first one which ‘broke through for me (and one which still brings tingles)
5. Kendra: Kendra is / was the scrum-half for the Black Ferns team which won the rugby World Cup.
6. Lt Gen Silveria: in amongst all the posturing and double-speak, a leader truly stands up for right action and makes clear the vital importance of treating each other with dignity and respect.
7. TryLife Jacob: a resonant clip which is a trailer for TryLife’s interactive movie. I have had one go at this, which actually was difficult / challenging to experience [probably as it should be]. I need to find time to go again. A fantastic creative endeavour.
8. Huygens’s descent: it’s awe-inspiring that we can send machines to other planets and then watch as they land. Footage like this helps challenge our delusions of grandeur, and reframe how we consider ourselves.
9. Holocaust denial: the Nazis truly are ‘a warning from history’. We can re-learn the lessons through these materials
10. Antisemitism Today: one of my best friends happens to be Jewish. By standing up for him, I believe I am standing up for all of us
11. Building a psychologically safe workplace: the idea of feeling safe enough hardly seems revolutionary, but sadly it is. Amy Edmondson’s work is brilliant and vital.
12. Over the wall: one of my favourite movies. One of my favourite scenes. Articulates CG Jung’s concept of ‘The Middle Passage’ en route to our 'Second Adulthood’, and reminds me of Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Journey” [h/t Parker Palmer].
13. Haka Documentary: I’m fascinating by the sentiments articulated in this piece, which shows Maori culture as being deeply rooted to the land, to nature, and to one ancestors. A powerful groundedness.
14. Legacy: this book is on my wishlist. The video briefly summarises the key points, and the importance of humility in the lore and culture of the All Blacks rugby team [aka the male version of the Black Ferns; the name for the work they do with children is called ‘Small Blacks’…!]
15. Healthy Romantic Relationships: a work in progress for me…
16. オスカー・ピーターソン リユニオン・ブルース: oops, this just sneaked in [couldn’t resist]. Classic line-up (I think) of Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen.
17. The Incredibles: I love Violet’s forcefield (although I love Brené reframe of the need-for-armour more…)
18. Deactivating HAL: how do we do this for ourselves and reach our second adulthood. You may be discerning a pattern here… ;)
19. Living from the Inside: Parker is epic. And he’s speaking at Naropa University. It’s all good.
20. The Growth Mindset: Carol’s work is so important for us all as humans, and as role models for each other and younger generations which we nurture.
21. Life is Good Superpowers: “we have superpowers too”. IN-Q’s poetry is brilliant. This poem is important and suggests we need to rethink our own abilities.
22. Saying yes: clearly I’m projecting with all these clips #whatevs
23. Excited for now: what soulwork do we need to do so we can be fully present?
24. The Navigators: starting with an obituary in The Economist, I became intrigued by the connection of Papa Mau with nature and the ocean in all its forms. I think there is an authenticity which comes from being connected to the land and ocean. All this still lives on in the Polynesian Voyaging Society

The Task

When folk we say we live in challenging times, or change is a constant, IMHO it was ever thus.

Therefore, how do we discern our path? How do we find courage to voyage alone and with no guidance? How do we self-actualise, when (as ever) all about us are encouraging us to conform.

Here are some clues. It’s like a vision quest. We must journey alone, and create a path – the pathless path – and one which is only discernible once we’ve made it.

Feedback

Any thoughts, additions, amendments – whatever – please add in respectful and constructive comments below. Thank you!

Resources for a Teenager - blog series

Intro

Living can be a challenge. Feeling like you’re connected - a jigsaw puzzle when the pieces fit together – is a challenge for most of us.

When you love a parent, and lose them before you might reasonably expect to, I can only imagine it’s incredibly difficult.

I thought it’d be helpful to breathe life back into this blog - after a prolonged quietude – by making a record of those of the resources I’m finding useful on my own particular journey.

I’m offering them here so that others may refer to them, choose what resonates, and read, watch, mark, and inwardly digest to support a life more fully lived.

I hope they are useful!

Materials

I’m planning to coalesce my findings – to begin with – about ‘Living’; Economics; and Fiction.

These signposts will (probably) be books; videos; blogs & online articles; and podcasts.

I’ll hopefully have bandwidth to provide a minimalist commentary.

Series

I plan to embed a number of widgets in these posts.

It may well be that the order is a bit haphazard (according to the collation of various types of materials), and that the order is the type of material, rather than the theme. I’d apologise, but better to ship than be perfect… ;D

Feedback

Any thoughts, additions, amendments – whatever – please add in respectful and constructive comments to the posts. Thank you!

Brené Brown and wholeheartedness

Introduction

A quick post about a recent discovery I made, and grateful for the serendipity that brought me!

I recently gained a new Twitter follower, @kabbenbock, over at @souterconsults. I usually find out about new followers through an e-mail alert, and those with bios that resonate with me I check out, and follow back, as appropriate.

@kabbenbock IRL is Andy Smith, who I was aware of him as one of the authors of The Dragonfly Effect: Quick, Effective, and Powerful Ways to Use Social Media to Drive Social Change.

I felt flattered to be followed by someone like Andy, and checked out his Twitterstream before tweeting my thanks for the follow. One of his tweets was:

Great storytellers create a purposeful narrative, sucking us in, forcing us to make it our own buff.ly/Sy9Php @kareanderson
— Andy Smith (@kabbenbock) September 18, 2012

Kare Anderson’s article includes this quote:

Ironically, the sharing of one’s vulnerability with trusted others is one of the prime gateways to overcoming shame according to the star of one of the ten most watched TED talks, Brene Brown. In Daring Greatly, she describes the paradoxical power of embracing our vulnerability and acknowledging our fears as a path towards being more courageous and connected with others. That means letting go of the need for certainty and control.

This intrigued me, and I sought out Brené’s TED talk.

Brené Brown

The following is an except from Brené Brown’s bio page:

Brené Brown, Ph.D., LMSW is a research professor at the University of HoustonGraduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame.  

Brené is a nationally renowned speaker and has won numerous teaching awards, including the College’s Outstanding Faculty Award. Her groundbreaking work has been featured on PBS, NPR, CNN, and has appeared in The Washington Post,Psychology Today, and many other national media outlets.

Her 2010 TEDxHouston talk on the power of vulnerability is one of most watched talks on TED.com, with approximately 5 million views. She gave the closing talk, Listening to Shame,  at the 2012 TED Conference in Long Beach. 

TED Videos

The videos are below. The first has now reached 6.1m views; the second is on its way towards 1.5m. Half a dozen of these combined views are from me! ;-)

The Power of Vulnerability

The blurb for this TED talk is:

Brené Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity. A talk to share. (Filmed at TEDxHouston.)  

Listening to Shame

Blurb for this one is:

Shame is an unspoken epidemic, the secret behind many forms of broken behavior. Brené Brown, whose earlier talk on vulnerability became a viral hit, explores what can happen when people confront their shame head-on. Her own humor, humanity and vulnerability shine through every word.

IMHO even more powerful than the first talk. I love Brené’s admixture of vulnerability, insight, and joy. Thank you, Brené! :-D

I've put in YouTube versions of these talks as they're easier to tweak to fit in the blog design...

Videos for further context

I've gone a bit crazy with all these videos, but this for me is extraordinary stuff! Let me know if it takes an age to load...

TEDxKC - Brené Brown - The Price of Invulnerability

Shame & Empathy by Dr. Brené Brown

Resources

Check out Brené’s resources page for links to videos, podcasts, and online articles.

Books

I’m still in the early stages of exploring Brené’s work, however I’ve cued up Brené’s books on my Amazon wishlist:

1. I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST ME (BUT IT ISN'T): Telling the Truth About Perfectionism, Inadequacy and Power
2. The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to be and Embrace Who You are
3. Daring Greatly

Podcasts

I’m a big fan of podcasts, and have listened to the Smart People Podcast interview with Brené. The first 5 minutes or so are context, which I’ve fast-forwarded when I’ve listened to the podcast again! ;-). Direct link

You may also want to check out this interview with Koren Motekaitis with is rather tremendous. Direct link.

Wholeheartedness

On of the key outcomes for Brené’s research has been that some people are what she calls “wholehearted” – in summary, they are confident that they are ‘enough’ and worthy of other people’s love.

I guess that’s the point of her writings, so I plan to read them after Loving What Is by Byron Katie, and Coming to Our Senses by Jon Kabat-Zinn. The books-to-read pile is growing! ;-)

Graphics

These are some graphics from Brené’s website which I am posting here to bring to a wider audience. I’m seeking to “be the change I’m trying to create”.

 

Wash up

I’m sharing these materials as they have resonated strongly with me. Whilst I’m keen to read all three books straight away, I sense that part of me is seeking in them “the answer” which I am coming to realise doesn’t really exist. I am confident that they will, however, be part of the solution!

I also like the idea that they are something to ‘move towards’, rather than ‘move away from’ – in the words of a buddy of mine. That puts Brené’s work in the same category as the positive psychology movement, in that it is creating new skills, rather than sorting out the past. Time to leave the past and create the future!

UPDATE 06/10/12: Added link for podcast interview with Koren Motekaitis.

How can you learn greater well-being? What is Positive psychology? -- Some insightful concepts

Introduction

I was pleased to be able to attend another showing of the movie ‘Happy’ – hosted by Dr Deborah Jima-Otero at the Newcastle Centre for Positive Living, part of Northumbria University.

I was grateful to do this, as I had become aware of what I believe is some really insightful wording relating to positive psychology, in the context of a course run from October 2011 to help attendees improve their quality of life, and well-being.

Deborah kindly assented to me reproducing the wording – with the appropriate attribution.

Descriptive text from NCPL’s “Eight week programme in positive living”

This is verbatim from the course outline:

Dr Deborah Jima-Otero and Dr Matthew Lewis from The Newcastle Centre for Positive Living (NCPL) at Northumbria University are pleased to announce their eight week programme in positive living, starting on 20th October 2011 every Thursday 6.30-8.30pm, for members of the general public.

Using scientifically validated exercises from the field of positive psychology, the programme aims to introduce participants to techniques which will enable them to experience more positive emotions and flourish in life.   It will seek to help the group of participants to assess their personal well-being and satisfaction with life; plan a meaningful and satisfying life for themselves and try out various exercises which are aimed at increasing positive emotions and decreasing negative emotions.  These guided exercises will be completed during the weekly sessions and in the participants' own time between these sessions.

What are the benefits of positive emotions beyond ‘feeling good’?

Research has shown that positive emotions have a number of beneficial effects, beyond simply ‘feeling good’. 
Happier people:

• Are more creative and better at problem solving – Positive emotions broaden people’s outlook, bringing more possibilities into view.  Greater openness makes them more creative as they are more likely to let go of preconceived ideas and think outside the box.
• Are more productive and successful – They are more engaged both at work and play and tend to take less time off work due to sickness.
• Are more resilient – They tend to bounce back from life’s setbacks more quickly.
• Experience more fulfilling relationships with others - They are also more likely to help other people and benefit from social support themselves.
• Are healthier – They tend to lead healthier lifestyles and research has shown that they even live longer!

What is positive psychology?

Positive psychology is at the heart of much of our work at the Newcastle Centre for Positive Living (NCPL).  In a nutshell, positive psychology is the scientific study of optimal human functioning and is concerned with positive aspects of human life such as happiness, well-being, flourishing, engagement, meaning, accomplishment, and positive relationships.  The aim of the field is to redress the imbalance that has emerged in the field of psychology from emphasising ‘misery and suffering’ (i.e., shortcomings such as depression, anxiety, drug addiction, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder) to understanding factors that make life worth living (i.e., potentials and human strengths).

Building ‘psychological immunity’

Positive psychology is keen to promote the idea that the full range of emotions have their place in human existence and that we need to give ourselves the permission to be human and accept that we all experience life’s ups and downs. So positive psychology is not about being ‘happy clappy’ but about being real.  However, it espouses the view that through hard work and practicing scientifically validated interventions (and experiencing setbacks along the way!)  individuals can learn resilience and build up their ‘psychological immune system’.  The idea is that, like physical immunity, individuals with a strong psychological immune system may still ‘get sick’ but this happens less frequently and when setbacks occur they get over them more quickly.

Prevention through cultivating the positive

Positive psychology is not targeted at fixing problems (i.e. remedial) but works on getting people to their upper range of well-being.  If you imagine a scale of well-being ranging from -10 to 0 to +10, psychology has traditionally focused on getting people who may be a -8 on the scale up to 0 or 1.  Positive psychology, by contrast, also focuses on those who may be at 0 or +1 or +2 and teaches them how to get to +8 or +10.  It helps individuals who may be ‘getting by’ in life to truly flourish, find meaning, and build resilience. In this respect it is much more preventative in its approach.  For example, Martin Seligman the founder of the field of positive psychology, has found in his research that learning optimism prevents depression and anxiety in ‘at risk’ children and adults, roughly halving their incidence over the next two years.

also

Finally, we would like to point out that you may find this course personally challenging at times as it may involved changing deeply entrenched habits. We do not advocate the view that there are a few ‘easy steps’ to happiness. Instead, we believe it takes commitment, motivation and hard work. We aim to support and encourage you on this journey but ultimately the main drive and effort needs to come from you. That said, you also need to accept that you will experience challenges and setbacks along the way – these are all part of being human!

Take away

Key points for me:

• Well-being and meaning is something that can be developed and grown – chiming with my recent reading of ‘Mindset’ by Carol Dweck, and ‘Bounce’ by Matthew Syed
• Well-being and happiness is about being authentic, and raising one’s “mean” state of experience
• Going through the exercises is personally challenging
• I really like the idea of a “psychological immune system”

Arguably these are incredibly important life skills that many more people would benefit from, and deserve to be part of a wider set of life skills courses that form part of everyone’s basic education. What do you think?

Happy Movie press release

Introduction

I’m also posting supporting materials to accompany the recent event where I was part of a group which showed The Happy Movie. This is the press release we prepared. Links etc. in the final section.

PRESS RELEASE

Issued: 27 January 2012

POP-UP CINEMA BRINGS GLOBAL ‘HAPPY’ EVENT TO THE NORTH EAST

A merry band of happiness promoters is bringing the documentary film, Happy, by Oscar nominated Director Roko Belic, to the North East. It will be screened for one day only at a ‘pop-up cinema’ at the Centre for Life, Newcastle on World Happiness Day, February 11th. On the same day the film will be enjoyed in communities across the globe, from Sao Paulo to Singapore as people celebrate what it means to be happy, who is happiest and how we can contribute to the happiness of others.
Despite the credentials of the Director, the film does not currently have a distribution deal through cinemas and can only be seen at special screenings like this one. It is being hosted by a small group of North East based supporters of happiness, wellbeing and positive psychology who hope it will inspire viewers to join them a new movement to promote happiness in the region.
With real-life people and stories, the film brings to life the findings of most happiness and wellbeing research which shows that good family, social and community relationships, rather than wealth and status, are what really make us happy. Roko Belic learned a lot about the nature of happiness and what is important in life while making the film. He said,
“I learned something simple but completely illuminating. Research showed that just about all happy people have strong relationships. They are healthier and have happier children. They are more likely to find a creative solution to a problem and to help a stranger in need. Happy people have fewer conflicts and are less likely to commit crimes, pollute the environment or go to war. In other words, just about everything I cared about, everything I wished I could change in the world, was improved with being happy.”
“The greatest lesson I learned while making this film is that my pursuit of happiness is not about me. It's about our relationships and how we help each other. It's about us.”
Paul Hemphill, one of the organizers of the Centre for Life screening said:
“Our event will be so much more than a typical cinema screening. The doors will open an hour beforehand for the chance to chat and make new friends over a drink. And then afterwards, for those who want to stay, there will be time to discuss the film with a panel of local experts. We hope that the whole event will be an incredibly rewarding and potentially life changing experience for everyone who attends.
Tickets to see the film should be bought in advance online and cost £10 or £7.50 (concessions) from Eventbrite.com. The doors open for the matinee screening at 2pm and for the evening screening at 6:30pm.
##Ends##

Notes to editors

1. The organisers of the event in Newcastle are five small business owners with interests in coaching, personal development, training, wellbeing and organisational improvement. They are; Mike Cockburn (Sogno), Paul Hemphill (Horizons Coaching), Jan Etoile (Etoile Enterprises), Justin Souter (Souter Consulting), and Emily Sweetman (Emily Sweetman Limited)

Contact details:

Mike Cockburn: @mikesogno
Paul Hemphill: @HorizonsLife
Jan Etoile: @etoileenterprises
Justin Souter: @justingsouter
Emily Sweetman: @emzo1968
2. The quote from Director Roko Belic is taken from an article in the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/roko-belic/happy-documentary_b_1220111.html
3. World Happy Day 11 February 2012: “World HAPPY Day inspires action for increasing happiness in our own lives and in the world. A growing body of research shows that happy people are healthier and live longer. They are more likely to care for the environment and less likely to commit crimes or go to war. Happy people help others more often... and are more likely to find creative solutions. Increasing happiness benefits us as individuals and communities in infinite ways and is a goal worth sharing.” See http://www.worldhappyday.com/
4. The film Happy combines cutting-edge science from the new field of positive psychology with real-life stories of people from around the world whose lives illustrate these findings. We see the story of a beautiful woman named Melissa Moody, a mother of three who had a “perfect life” until the day she was run over by a truck. Disabled for nine years and disfigured for life, amazingly she is happier now than before her accident. Manoj Singh, a rickshaw puller from the slums of Kolkata, India who lives in a hut made of plastic bags with his family, is found to be as happy as the average American. Through these and other stories HAPPY leads us toward a deeper understanding of how we can all live more fulfilling, healthy and happy lives. See http://www.thehappymovie.com
5. Screenings take place at 3pm (Doors open 2pm) or 7.30pm (Doors open 6:30pm) at Centre for Life conference centre, Newcastle on Saturday 11 February 2012. Tickets cost £10 or £7.50 (concessions). Matinee tickets from http://happynortheastmatinee.eventbrite.com and evening tickets from http://happynortheastevening.eventbrite.com/
6. This Happy movie press kit includes biographies and photographs
www.thehappymovie.com/files/HAPPY-Press-Kit.pdf

Happy Movie - reflections

Intro

This posts details how we got on at the Centre for Life with our matinee and evening showings of The Happy Movie.
I’m also posting some supporting materials, which I will update in a couple of weeks – I want to get this all live before it gathers dust! ;-)

Centre for Life = fantabulous

I’d firstly like to say how grateful we are to the Centre for Life and their team, led by Owen, who did a tremendous job making everyone feeling welcome and putting on the show without a single glitch – bravo!

Photos

I took these before everyone arrived. We sold 20 tickets for the matinee, and nearly 40 for the evening. Happy times! :-D

Discussion sessions – interesting thoughts / quotes

It’s them what came that made it

We had a great bunch of people who came, watched the movie, and discussed their thoughts afterwards. We had some really interesting points made, mainly around communities rather than individual happiness. The following sections represent a sample of them.

Afternoon

• “I’d sacrifice the pawn to save the queen any day”
• “There’s no one key to happiness, it’s different for everyone”
• Concerns about the lack of community in our Communities; and a related discussion about the Diamond Jubilee – it doesn’t matter what you think of the Monarchy, “the point is to have the party”
• Targets / key performance indicators in schools – “measurement kills happiness”
• We talked about the concept of ‘Pay it Forward’
• A passionate point about giving children the chance “to be aware”
• It was felt that managers in any organisation could be kept ‘grounded’ by having them rolling up their sleeves and often working with customers and front-line staff

Evening

• A quick discussion about choosing to be happy
• We discussed meditation, e.g. mettā bhāvanā
• “After a week on my own, I craved the company of other people”
• Our focus also took in random acts of kindness [see also The Kindness Offensive]
  • There was a great point made – if  you’re doing random acts of kindness, then you’re more likely to notice them in other people
  • Check out this awesome London Underground site which document stories of kindness :-D
• “If you’re looking for good things, you’re more likely to see them”
• We talked through the difference and relative merits of experiential versus existential happiness – i.e. is happiness something that can be built and increased, or is it something that is innate?
• “it’s about the acceptance of yourself”

My thoughts

• The movie is quite challenging: in a constructive way
  • We all have our preconceived ideas, and it’s healthy to have them compared to other perspectives, and ways of living
  • Amazing to watch a rickshaw puller, living with his family in a shanty - who is obviously a very happy person, and lives in harmony with his neighbours
• Not everyone is thinking “how can I be happier – or more fulfilled?”; I was instructive to remember that “nobody is broken, and nothing needs fixing”

Thanks to my colleagues

Whilst I don’t wish this post to turn into a schmaltzy love-in, however I’m really grateful that we as a group were able to make this happen, and share the movie with the North East. So, credit where it’s due to:
Mike Cockburn: @mikesogno
Paul Hemphill: @HorizonsLife
Jan Etoile: @etoileenterprises
Emily Sweetman: @emzo1968
Onwards!

Join us for the North East Premiere of 'HAPPY' on World HAPPY Day

Background

You may be aware that I’ve been working at happiest Limited since last June. I feel very fortunate to have learnt a great deal, and discover a treasure trove of resources around the practice of happiness. I.e. that one’s level of happiness and well-being is something that one can grown, through regular practice and habitual behaviour.
This post provides the context to a happiness-related event I’m involved in organising in Newcastle upon Tyne, and invites you to attend and bring your friends!

Happiness at Work event

I was thrilled to attend the recent Happiness at Work event, organised by Codeworks:

This month we’re taking a different approach to our Think and a Drink event with the topic of Positive Psychology and its effects in the workplace.  We’ve got speakers and discussions and even a chance of taking part in some of the very first research studies on the subject with our friends at Northumbria University.  Here’s a little taster of what you can expect.
Positive Psychology is a new branch of Psychology which focuses on enabling people to grow and fulfil themselves. Professor Martin Seligman, who is generally credited with igniting the interest in positive psychology when he was appointed President of the American Psychological Association in 1998, describes it as enabling people to ‘flourish’. A positive psychological state in which we feel positive emotions, engagement, achievement, positive relationships and a sense of meaning in our lives.
Research also demonstrates that a positive psychological state seems to protect against illness and prolong longevity. It also enhances resilience, very important given the challenging and unpredictable economic climate we are experiencing.

At that event, the seeds of local action were sown, so please read on for details of the event in February.

We’re showing a movie, and you’re invited!

We’re showing a movie on 11th February in Newcastle upon Tyne. Once in the afternoon, and for the second time in the evening. Please use these links to book online.
The following is the descriptive blurb:

Happy People = Happy World

On World HAPPY Day, February 11, 2012, thousands of people will join together in communities across the globe to watch the film HAPPY and begin their journeys toward healthier, and happier lives. We want everyone in the North East and Cumbria to be part of this amazing, worldwide event so we are screening the film twice, at 2.00pm and 6.30pm, at The Centre for Life in Newcastle.

World HAPPY Day inspires action for increasing happiness in our own lives and in the world. Research suggests that happy people are healthier and live longer, they are more likely to care for the environment and less likely to commit crimes or go to war. Happy people help others more often and are more optimistic and creative. Increasing happiness benefits us as individuals and communities in infinite ways – it is a goal worth sharing.
Roko Belic, director of the Academy Award® nominated “Genghis Blues” now brings us HAPPY, a film that takes us from the bayous of Louisiana to the deserts of Namibia, from the beaches of Brazil to the villages of Okinawa to explore the secrets behind our most valued emotion.

---

Screening Programme

Afternoon

2.00pm ‘Happy Networking’ – an opportunity to relax over a drink, catch up with friends and meet lots of new, like minded people
3.00pm ‘HAPPY’ – be one of the first in the North to experience the inspiring new film by Roko Belic
4.30pm ‘Happy talk’ – share your feelings about the film, learn more about the psychology and growth of happiness and find out more about forthcoming Happiness events, including the foundation of a Happiness group in the region.
5.30pm Event draws to a close

« Click here to book the matinee »

Evening

6.30pm ‘Happy Networking’ – an opportunity to relax over a drink, catch up with friends and meet lots of new, like minded people
7.30pm ‘HAPPY’ – be one of the first in the North to experience the inspiring new film by Roko Belic
9.00pm ‘Happy talk’ – share your feelings about the film, learn more about the psychology and growth of happiness and find out more about forthcoming Happiness events, including the foundation of a Happiness group in the region.
10.00pm Event draws to a close

« Click here to book the evening showing »

The Film

Happy - A Documentary Trailer from Wadi Rum Films on Vimeo.
For more information about ‘HAPPY’ go to - http://www.thehappymovie.com

How you can get involved

Please come and join us – the links again: afternoon and evening. Come to both if you like ;-). Key activities:

• share your feelings about the film,
• learn more about the psychology and growth of happiness and
• find out more about forthcoming Happiness events, including the foundation of a Happiness group in the region.

Movember Shave-down

Intro

As per my previous post, I promised to report in. You can skip the blurb and go straight to the photos if you’d like…

What it is

Shave-down

From the Lady Grey's Bar website:

SHAVE DOWN PARTY: 31st of October – 7.00pm

Hosted by our Mo Bro’s at The Boiler House Barbers, Jesmond, this party marks the start of Movember. Every member of our team can get a free shave from a team of professional barbers and once everyone is clean shaven we’ll be taking photos to capture the ‘before’ shot and you can meet your fellow Lady Greys Mo Bro’s.

Mo Sista’s are encouraged to come and we’ll have lots of Movember Merchandise for you to wear proudly to show your support for the cause. You can also sign up to the team on the night so bring as many Bro’s as you can find, the mo’ the merrier.

How I plan to raise more £££ :-D

Ok, so I realise I’m going off-piste with this, and big thanks to Nathan of LGB for his willingness to go along with my idea. I’ve been growing my normal stubble into a rather itchy mass. The plan is to go to the Boiler House and have them craft something evil on my face – i.e. I figure I’ll raise more money my wearing something amusing for the whole month!

What happened

The folk at the Boiler House were very helpful when I agreed with Nathan that I would opt out of the competition, and forego any potential end-of-Movember prizes.

The goal

Inspired by Phil Wright and his “are you looking at my monkey’s tail” look – I have set out to recreate the splendour as best I can.

Lori and the clippers

I was fortunate that Lori (featured in the 3 photos towards the end of the slideshow below) choose to use me as a guinea-pig. Apparently, her rugby-player boyfriend was also thinking of having a monkey’s tail, so she was inspired. And charming, bless her!

Flickr photos

Although the smartphone images are pretty blurry, I hope you’ll get an impression of the event. The Boiler House has fantastic decor, and I did get slightly carried away with the snapping…! :$

 

Please Donate

I would be very grateful if you could please sponsor me – click on the images on this post, or on this link. I’ve led by example :-)

My profile is http://mobro.co/justingsouter – the donate button is at the top right.

Many thanks! It’s for a tremendous cause :-D

Movember: please help raise money to combat men’s cancers

Intro

Pretty much a 'Ronseal' post - does what it says in the title!
This post gives you some of the background to Movember, explains how things work (and my twist on the theme), and then encourages you to donate your hard-earned cash to a very worthy cause. Vamos!

The Details

About

From the Movember website:

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN

During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of moustaches on thousands of men’s faces in the UK and around the world. The aim of which is to raise vital funds and awareness for men’s health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.

On Movember 1st, guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face and then for the rest of the month, these selfless and generous men, known as Mo Bros, groom, trim and wax their way into the annals of fine moustachery. Supported by the women in their lives, Mo Sistas, Movember Mo Bros raise funds by seeking out sponsorship for their Mo-growing efforts.
Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November and through their actions and words raise awareness by prompting private and public conversation around the often ignored issue of men’s health.
At the end of the month, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas celebrate their gallantry and valor by either throwing their own Movember party or attending one of the infamous Gala Partés held around the world by Movember, for Movember.

Docs for more info

Fill your metaphorical boots with the docs presented in the widget at the bottom of this post.

How it’s going to work

Team

I have signed up and joined the team from Lady Grey’s bar. More information about us on the Movember website - please join us. Thanks to Michael Walsh who I bumped into when he was distributing promo flyers – and I became aware of the team :-)
I thought it’d be more fun and hopefully I can raise more money as a result of doing this other people :-)

Shave-down

From the LGB website:

SHAVE DOWN PARTY: 31st of October – 7.00pm
Hosted by our Mo Bro’s at The Boiler House Barbers, Jesmond, this party marks the start of Movember. Every member of our team can get a free shave from a team of professional barbers and once everyone is clean shaven we’ll be taking photos to capture the ‘before’ shot and you can meet your fellow Lady Greys Mo Bro’s.
Mo Sista’s are encouraged to come and we’ll have lots of Movember Merchandise for you to wear proudly to show your support for the cause. You can also sign up to the team on the night so bring as many Bro’s as you can find, the mo’ the merrier.

How I plan to raise more £££ :-D

Ok, so I realise I’m going off-piste with this, and big thanks to Nathan of LGB for his willingness to go along with my idea. I’ve been growing my normal stubble into a rather itchy mass. The plan is to go to the Boiler House and have them craft something evil on my face – i.e. I figure I’ll raise more money my wearing something amusing for the whole month!
I will report in this week!

Please Donate

I would be very grateful if you could please sponsor me – click on the images on this post, or on this link. I’ve led by example :-)
My profile is http://mobro.co/justingsouter – the donate button is at the top right.
Many thanks! It’s for a tremendous cause :-D

Docs

Movember docs if you’d like further details!

UPDATED: to get the Scribd widget to work [fingers crossed!]

NLP Practitioner – first impressions

Introduction

I’m putting this post together after completing the ‘Practitioner’ course of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), which finished on Monday.

[I’ve made extensive use of links to NLP-related articles on Wikipedia – which has a suite of pages addressing the gamut of issues in this area.]

Preconceptions

I must admit that I’m pretty sceptical of people who profess to turn your life around like Tony Bobbins (ok, so it’s a spoof), and I’m not really a big fan of TV hypnotists and Vic Reeves-style “I Will Cure You” stuff.

Loose impressions I’d picked up about NLP included such tropes as ‘vulcan mind control’ and something to do with the Dark Side. ;-D

My background

Perhaps this is all a bit of an amorphous mass of my own preconceptions, but I’m a psychology graduate, and have an interest in self-improvement and have read up about skills like Emotional Intelligence and assertiveness (amongst others).

The course itself

You should be able to find more information about the course from this link, but essentially it was about providing a practical introduction to skills that attendees could use for improving self-awareness and communication with other people.

Tutor and assistants

The course was run by Kay Cooke of The ME Group in Hexham, Northumberland. Kay is an accredited NLP Trainer, and was assisted by presence of a revolving team of Master Practitioners (i.e. people trained with skills to assist other people [my typology]).

Structure

The course comprised two 4-day clusters, run from Friday morning through to Monday night (i.e. over the weekend). Hours were 9.30 until 4.30-5 o’clock.

At times it was quite full-on, and was pretty much a synthesis of best practice tools and techniques for communication (e.g. “Deep structure and surface structure” from Noam Chomsky). There was a combination of theoretical learning, and practical exercises (e.g. visualisation) both with Kay and between other members of the group.

The Group

It was a small group of 5, with 3 men and 2 women. Ages ranged from late teenager to middle-age {I think I can get away with that! ;-)}.

I think the small group worked well – there is a lot of material to cover, and a larger group might well be more difficult for the trainer to optimally instruct.

Impressions

My over-arching feeling was that Kay draws upon a deep well of learning, training and personal insight to deliver a (potentially) tricky subject very adeptly. She made it look ‘simple’ when that’s definitely not the case.

When I questioned her about the wider context that NLP sits in (i.e. how we all live, in our different ways) she posited that NLP material is ‘simple’, and in many ways I would agree with her. However, NLP material definitely challenges many implicit and unconscious assumptions we all make about living.

What’s working for you, what would you like to change?

Kay made clear that the NLP framework is just that – a framework. If you’ve got things in your life which are going well, great: but if you’ve got stuff you’d like to work on, then NLP might be able to help.

There was also an ongoing discussion about process versus content: in that what I might call ‘traditional’ / ‘talking’ therapies, the therapist and client talk through issues; whereas NLP typically keeps content out of the interaction and seeks to come to a different perception of issues and events, in order to influence how the client’s subconscious is dealing with them.

Importance of ethical dimension

One of the things I struggled with at first was how one might be able to use powerful tools and techniques in such a way which was responsible and ethical. The penny dropped during the second 4-day cluster, in that:
a) I was only training for the Practitioner level, so interventions with other people were probably beyond my skill level, and
b) the ethical context was using NLP is / was absolutely crucial

I think this boils down to only ‘helping’ people if they ask to be helped, and—even then—closely observing the person to ensure any assistance was appropriate and that the flow of any intervention closely matched the situation. If you take someone on a ‘journey’, you’ve got to be able to bring them back, as it were…

Conclusions

Why the controversy?

The two founders of the NLP movement had a falling-out, and in compiling this post, I became aware of the extensive controversy surrounding NLP (e.g. vis-a-vis science).

Kay’s training is validated by The Society of NLP (logo to the right).

Whilst I understand that people often have very good reasons to get heated about things, personally I found the material pretty insightful and resonating (although not sure what that says about me! ;-D).

Part of the toolkit

Viewed in the context of many other ways of seeing the world, I felt it was an entirely legitimate subject area, and useful addition to the canon of self-improvement activity.

‘Everything in moderation’ is a useful dictum, and I personally gained some useful insights and elements of new self-awareness. What’s so bad about that? I’m still waiting to learn the vulcan mind control techniques <sigh>.

So, a summary of my first impressions. Doubtless there will be others, and I will do my best to post them here. :-)

Gastroscopy

I’m posting this bunch of bullet points as is, otherwise this ain’t going to get posted at all… :-s

I’ve got a photo of my duodenum, but need to find it and scan it…

Cast

• Pam, the super efficient ward sister with the excellent bedside manner
• Lesley, the lady with the scanner (radiographer??)
• The good Doctor
• Caroline – who took me
• My Mum, who picked me up

Chronology

1. Admittance into Gastro-enterology
2. Own cubicle, cubicle’s own hand wash
3. Explanation of choice between
   1. Throat spray
   2. Sedation
4. Explanation of procedure
5. Chose throat spray
6. Doctor arrives, I sign disclaimer
7. Go into ‘operating room’
8. I marvel at the gastroscopy equipment
   1. Looks like something out The Matrix 
9. Doctor gives me throat spray
10. Bed, turn on my left hand side
11. ‘Bit’ to go between my teeth – aargh!
1. It’s a plastic thing with a hole big enough to have the ‘camera’ put through it, and so you don’t damage the equipment by biting on it - yeeuch
12. Gizmo fed into my mouth
13. Deep breathing, steady breathing
14. Suction thing like dentists
15. Swallow
16. Swallow again
17. Gizmo into my stomach
18. Further down, into duodenum for a look around
    1. Makes me feel a bit sick
19. Air being pumped in makes me burp a lot
20. Gizmo used to take samples – duodenum
21. Back into stomach for a look see
22. Concern because of saliva & breathing
23. Back out again
24. Thanks heavens!
25. Lesley gives me photo
26. Recuperation
27. 45 minutes after spray
28. Mum comes to collect
29. Rather tired last night
30. Have a sore throat today – unsurprisingly. Rather like a ‘sore throat’ caused by illness.

Initial test results

The biopsy taken from my duodenum was put into some ‘agar jelly’ containing lactose, along with a colour indicator. Apparently those with lactose intolerances normally turn the indicator a sky blue colour. I managed to turn it navy blue, which means a severe lactose intolerance.

The good Doctor also mentioned I have mild gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (apparently). Although looking at the symptoms, I don’t seem to suffer from this…

Results of blood test? Need to recall / check documentation

Reflections

• Would have been good to have some kind of hand signals to communicate
• Lack of control
• Anxiety over pipe in mouth, & breathing
• Throat spray vs. sedation

Deep joy – not.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial Share Alike license.

Where we live

I wanted to write a brief paean to where we live, as we have enjoyed it so much.
Unfortunately we are moving when our lease expires in July because of circumstances beyond our control. So I thought I’d post whilst the going was good.
You’ll find a fair few photos of the countryside around where we live via my Flickr account.

My home office

We used to live in North Shields, so to move out into the lovely Northumbrian countryside has been a literal and metaphorical / metaphysical breath of fresh air. :-D
Other plus points is that where we live:

• It’s not too far from Newcastle upon Tyne: about 30 mins from the Metrocentre & central Newcastle
• It’s good for mountain biking
  
  • I can hit the country roads and green lanes from straight out the back door
  • It’s closer to Kielder forest, where there is all manner of cross country mayhem courtesy of Kielder Trail Reavers
• There’s a brewery half a mile away, which we can drink at the the Black Bull
• It’s nice and quiet and it gets pretty dark in the evenings (if the light from Newcastle & Gateshead doesn’t reflect off the clouds)
• Towards the North West, the sky at night is very clear and it’s possible to see some amazing stars (and a few shooting ones)
• There is a varied slew of wildlife out and about, including:
  
  • Deer
  • Bats
  • Cows / Sheep
  • Kestrel
  • Badgers
  • Foxes
  • Mice
  • Song birds
  • Toads
  • Sundry insects
  • Rats
  • Feral cats
  • All manner of birds
  • There’s a few horses knocking about, too

Jarvis, our dog, loves it as he chases the pheasants, partridges etc. that lurk in the cover around and about. We get to walk him in various places, which keeps us fit, too.
There *are* downsides:

• Winter can lasts for 4-5 months, can we windy, wet & snowy; it can be expensive to run an oil-fired central heating system
• Broadband is pretty hopeless – we’re at the end of a 9km line, at the limit of usability really
• The pigs being reared next door can get a bit smelly!

So that’s it. We’re hoping to move down the road, so watch this space.
UPDATE: This is new house [ok, so it’s the garden at the top-left corner, but you get the drift ;-)]

Technorati Tags: northumberland,north east england,nice,wildlife,broadband,home

Read all about it: Wellbank in good hands!

A post about how the namesake of this blog is prospering under new management.

Photo credit to Ajnabeee. More photos tagged with ‘Wellbank’. fyi a place in Scotland called Wellbank.

I was at the Codeworks Connect Christmas party 10 days ago. There I bumped into Andrew Robson, its outgoing Chairman. Andrew is the boss of Perfect Image, an IT systems integrator in the North East of England.

The ever-genial Andrew ventured that he knew something about me that I probably wasn’t aware of. I immediately thought “Oh no, what have I done *this* time?”.

It was therefore with a mixture of fond memories and slight wonderment that Andrew announced that he and his family now live in my Granny’s old house – blog post passim.

So, we proceeded to have a long chat about the history of the house, and what the Robsons have done to refurbish the house. We talked about:

• My Uncle floating this slippers in the bath, and jumping down the stairs
• The marvellous outside loo
• How they had found some fascinating stuff, e.g. university newspapers and some books[?] from the late 19th century.
  
  • uni newspapers
  • 1880s records
• What needed to be done about refurbishing the house

Apparently (and thankfully) they have left the garden pretty much the same. And Don the Gardener still comes to look after the garden when he can. :-)

So, a happy story and good to think that my roots are in good hands.

More news as I have it.

Technorati Tags: family,upside,good news

Separating work and pleasure (blogs)

Thanks to those of you who voted on the poll regarding whether I should separate out my postings on work and my home life.

Photo credit to wageslaves

The vote was overwhelmingly in favour of creating a work blog [thank you, 2 voters!], and therefore I have done so, here. I have also put a note underneath the blog header, just in case anyone doesn't see this post...

I will continue to post here about the divergent and the unexpected. I was going to say the posts would be less frequent, but I'm not sure that's possible! ;-D

Technorati Tags: business,common sense,enjoyable,experiment,technology,ideas,what's next,web 2.0,social media

Jarvis Cocker (spaniel)

This is Jarvis. He is a working Cocker spaniel, and this is a link to his Dad (I think). You might know him as #Jarvis, if you follow me on Twitter.

We had an Advertising exec around the week we'd got him, and there was only one name that made sense! (even if Popular Culture has passed Caroline by...!).

He's a beautiful little mutt, but his kidneys are shot, which is rather tragic.

That means that he's on a special diet recommended by our nice vet, Hilary Ross (search for Ross on this page [Midlands for some reason!]).

He gets sore kidneys and suffers quite a bit. On the upside, Caroline and I live on a farm in the country, and we can take Jarvis on the footpaths and by-ways around the local fields. Here's a photo of him in his "garden":

Technorati Tags: dog,canine kidney failure,happy,countryside

Mountain Biking in Kielder

I love Mountain Biking.

I like the exploring, the fresh air, the exercise, the fun and sometimes scary bits of it!

I ride a Merlin Malt 2.

I tend to ride out from our back door, and ride round the local bridleways (aka cross-country or XC), or else keep myself fit by riding our quiet country lanes.

Last year I was able to complete the Merida Marathon in Penrith, and also a race in Kielder Forest.

Sometimes however, it's great to take advantage of some purpose built MTB facilities, such as those across the South of Scotland - aka the 7 Stanes.

In the North East, we're lucky because a voluntary group -- the http://www.kieldertrailreavers.com/ have cut a number of MTB-specific tracks through the forest in various levels of difficulty.

The best way to describe the experience is that it's like a rollercoaster - except that one has to do the cycle up to the top, and then have the skill and courage to negotiate the bumps and swerves on the way down! This is usually known as "Downhill".

Whilst I'm at it, a nod to the North East Freeride Association for their work at Chopwell Woods and the petrifying downhill course they've built in the Forest near High Spen.

A shout also to Alan Capper of Kent Design who's been merciful when telling others of a mishap I had at Newcastleton (part of the 7 Stanes).