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 – ‘Economics’

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

Meta

I did Economics A Level, back in the mists of time.

Since then I’ve done a Psychology degree and an MBA.

Humans are not rational actors seeking to maximise their economic utility.

We’re meat bags, and (too) often meat puppets. Let’s treat each other – and our Selves – on the basis of that insight. I.e. with understanding, compassion, and a pinch of salt!

The List

The rationale

• Predictably Irrational – i.e. humans are irrational, but in predictable ways
• The Lean Startup – a business passion of mine, and a means to experiment your way to success. Has turned business failure into something valuable – if in the context of continual learning
• Business Model Generation – essential complement to The Lean Startup. When I first read it, half way through I thought: “this is McKinsey quality material”. Not sure if McKinsey knows a great deal about this domain though… #discuss
• On the basis of reading Moneyball(and watching the film), I am a huge Michael Lewis fan. His lighthearted style turns non-fiction subjects into page-turners. A pleasure and an indulgence to read his work

To read:

• Nudge - the book that started the Behavioural Economics movement, and brought groundedness to stale academic debate
• Liar’s Poker – Wall Street excess and nuttiness
• Flash Boys – the operations (or not) of high-frequency financial trading
• The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed the World – shining a fond light into the professional collaboration of Amos Tversky & Danny Kahneman. This will be a reward for doing something special ;D
• The Big Short – Michael’s treatment of one of the pivotal moments of this century so far
• The English Constitution – Walter Bagehot’s take on the UK’s unwritten constitution
• Lombard Street - according to Wikipedia: "Bagehot was one of the first writers to describe and explain the world of international and corporate finance, banking, and money in understandable language"
• The Madness of Crowds – definitely not rational economics actions, surely undercutting efficient market theory…?
• The Smartest Guys in the Room: epic folly, cynical pyramid schemes, and still on my shelf. The Enron story and the subsequent collapse. Whistleblowers everywhere - 

The Task

Let’s learn how to empower ourselves to make the best decisions possible, and de-mystify the jargon and de-fang the prognosticators – based on our own experiments!

Students everywhere: take control of your own learning in this domain, bring it to life with stuff more readily intelligible, and become passionate about such as important topic.

Feedback

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

Goodreads

I endeavour to record what I’m reading via my profile on Goodreads.

Resources for a Teenager – Atul Gawande

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

Meta

I think these lectures – and the thinking behind them – are extraordinary.

I listened to them in the car on a couple of long journeys.

I’ve recently started reading Atul’s personal exploration ‘Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End’. It’s also excellent, and timely for me to read it.

The List

The rationale

I read Atul Gawande’s book ‘The Checklist Manifesto’ and loved it.

I thought it common sense but which hasn’t be common practice, until Dr Gawande’s efforts to improve global public health.

I was therefore delighted to learn that he would be delivering the BBC’s Reith Lectures.

I’ve copy-pasted the following info from the BBC’s website to save time etc.

Dr Atul Gawande - 2014 Reith Lectures

Atul Gawande, MD, MPH is a practicing surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor at both the Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School.

In his lecture series, The Future of Medicine, Dr Atul Gawande will examine the nature of progress and failure in medicine, a field defined by what he calls 'the messy intersection of science and human fallibility'.

Known for both his clear analysis and vivid storytelling, he will explore the growing importance of systems in medicine and argue that the future role of the medical profession in our lives should be bigger than simply assuring health and survival.

The 2014 Reith Lectures

The first lecture, Why do Doctors Fail?, will explore the nature of imperfection in medicine. In particular, Gawande will examine how much of failure in medicine remains due to ignorance (lack of knowledge) and how much is due to ineptitude (failure to use existing knowledge) and what that means for where medical progress will come from in the future.

In the second lecture, The Century of the System, Gawande will focus on the impact that the development of systems has had – and should have in the future - on medicine and overcoming failures of ineptitude. He will dissect systems of all kinds, from simple checklists to complex mechanisms of many parts. And he will argue for how they can be better designed to transform care from the richest parts of the world to the poorest.

The third lecture, The Problem of Hubris, will examine the great unfixable problems in life and healthcare - aging and death. Gawande will argue that the reluctance of society and medical institutions to recognise the limits of what professionals can do is producing widespread suffering. But research is revealing how this can change.

The fourth and final lecture, The Idea of Wellbeing, will argue that medicine must shift from a focus on health and survival to a focus on wellbeing - on protecting, insofar as possible, people’s abilities to pursue their highest priorities in life. And, as he will suggest from the story of his father’s life and death from cancer, those priorities are nearly always more complex than simply to live longer.

The Task

Atul Gawande strikes me as an outstanding role model.

Our challenge is to rise above our everyday conditioning and aim to be as good as Dr Gawande in the things that we are passionate about, and which bring us to life.

It’s easy to quote Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

The tricky bit is sailing towards the horizon and not knowing where you're going. It's spectacularly more difficult than you might expect...

As one of my Mentors said to me:

"Justin, it's not about leaving A to get to B, it's about leaving A"

Thank you Steve!

Goodreads

I endeavour to record what I’m reading via my profile on Goodreads.

Resources for a Teenager – ‘Living’

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

Meta

I’ve chosen these books to hopefully be an accessible way into cultivating inner knowledge, and valuing our inner teacher [or whatever you would like to call it…].

IMHO there is no ‘correct’ way to live, only continual experiments in vulnerability and courage.

I’ve come to believe it’s a life-long practice, with many speed bumps along the way #crikey

The List

To grow, as I come across new materials and / or think of additions.

The rationale

1. Daring Greatly: Brené is reframing vulnerability so that we can welcome it as a superpower. I’m coming to the belief that vulnerability is a vital stepping stone to presence, and that we are fortunate to live in a time to absorb her wisdom for ourselves.
2. A Hidden Wholeness – Parker’s work powerfully resonates with me. I’ve attended three retreats – and counting – based on the insights of the Centre for Courage and Renewal. Their ‘Clearness Committee’ format is the most respectful and dignified way to hold other people which I have come across.
3. What shall I do with my Life? – I remember reading this and thinking: that’s actually really helpful.
4. Sophie’s World – IMHO we should teach philosophy to Primary Schoolers. A brilliant way to create a coherent understanding of the major schools. These are thinking skills and a mind gym we can all benefit from.
5. Mindset [& Bounce] – a vital contribution from Carol Dweck about the Growth Mindset. Aka all feedback is an opportunity to learn, no matter how difficult it might be at the time.
6. When Things fall apart [and they often do] – Ani Pema’s synthesis of this Buddhist lineage will be something I expect to return to time and again. In fact Ani Pema’s ability to convey profound wisdom is something I greatly value. I plan to return to her work in different formats, in future.
7. Man’s search for meaning – out of some of humanity’s darkest hours emerges some rays of light. Night, by Elie Wiesel, taps into the same elemental forces.
8. Quiet – I came away from reading this by thinking that I could well be an introvert, with extrovert tendencies. Perhaps an ‘ambivert’. A fascinating reframe…
9. The Hero with a Thousand Faces – who would have thought that humanity shares many ways of thinking about our existence, when so often we (collectively) seek to differentiate our wisdom traditions?
10. The Art of Asking – just ‘take the doughnuts’: aka let people help you. Something I’ve found very useful myself!
11. Heart Sutra – something to come back to whenever needed. I understand the preamble better than I do the Sanskrit…!
12. Update: Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness meditation for everyday life - Jon created the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) class [something I've done, and continue to practice].

The Task

It’s been said that there are many ways to live life. Our individual challenge is to figure out a way that works for us, at our deepest levels (and even to discover them in the first place…).
Onwards!

Goodreads

I endeavour to record what I’m reading via my profile on Goodreads.

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.

The Power of TED* - summary presentation to Action for Happiness North East

Introduction

Although I am an avid student of personal development materials in order to become more present and mindful, I am deeply indebted to my learnings from The Power of TED*. TED, in this instance, refers to the Empowerment Dynamic.

This post is a reflection on how much I have gained from my (so far) six readings of the book!

Slide deck

Way back in the Spring I presented this summary slide deck to Action for Happiness North East, a group I help found earlier this year, and about which I’ve already blogged about here.

The Power of TED* - summary presentation to Action for Happiness North East from Justin Souter
 

TED* Library

Check out the TED* library, full of podcasts, articles, and videos. Mmm, podcasts! I am still a regular listener to these podcasts, to help embed my learnings.
The following videos are linked through from the library page.

Describing TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic)

David Emerald describes TED*

Master Certified Coach Molly Gordon Talks TED*

Reflections

Key things I have learned from both reading the TED* book, and attending the TED* for Coaches webinar series:

• Decide what you’re for
  • It was surprisingly challenging to find answers to the question “what do I really want, what am seeking to create”
• Taking quiet time in the mornings
  • I benefit from the Blissitation soundtrack ‘Daily Mojo’ to get clear for each day
• See other people as creators
  • Everyone has potential – it is up to us to be connected with the creator in other people
• Interpret life situations through the lens of the empowerment dynamic
  • Although much of life seems to correspond to the Drama Triangle, I find it more empowering to keep in mind what one wants to create!
• Choose choice
  • We’re all at choice, all of the time. It’s empowering to know this, and to consciously choose choice and choose to be a creator.

I could carry on in this vein – however this’ll do for now ;-)

Wash up

Reading The Power of TED* and working to absorb the lessons has been a watershed moment for me. I feel really grateful to be able to take on the learnings, and happy to share them with others – and answer any questions.

Definitely worthwhile saying many thanks to both David Emerald and Donna Zajonc for their help in my growth!

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?

Combat Stress – caring for Veterans' mental health

Introduction

For my undergraduate degree, I studied Psychology, and fascinating it was – it’s related to the human condition, but both the physical and metaphysical perspectives [well, something like that – Ed.].

I was also a member of the URNU, the University Royal Naval Unit, and loved that as well. A little bit of background (i.e. a related post) can be found here.

Based on a gut instinct that our servicemen and women could be treated more respectfully and looked after better, I’ve recently donated to Help for Heroes. Based on my background though, I’ve got a closer affinity to Combat Stress, and this post is designed to help you understand why.

I realise that there are a number of quotes from the Combat Stress website, but I’m guessing you’ll bear with it…!

About Combat Stress

Why Combat Stress exists

Combat Stress is the UK's leading military charity specialising in the care of Veterans' mental health.

We treat conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety disorders.  Our services are free of charge to the Veteran.

Since 2005 the number of ex-Service men and women seeking our help has risen by 72%.  And we have a current caseload of more than 4,300 individuals. This already includes 102 Veterans who have served in Afghanistan and 400 who served in Iraq.

In March 2010 our Patron HRH The Prince of Wales launched our major fundraising campaign – The Enemy Within Appeal.

The £30 million, three-year appeal is designed to help us treat the escalating number of psychologically injured Veterans who are turning to us for help, by:

• Establishing 14 Community Outreach Teams nationwide
• Enhancing clinical treatment at our three short-stay treatment centres

If you need help yourself

This link has the map referred to below in the following quote:

Combat Stress provides effective treatment and support to Veterans of the British Armed Forces who are suffering from mental ill health.

If you or perhaps someone in your family has a problem, then please call us for an informal chat.

Our services are free of charge and regardless of War Pension/Armed Forces Compensation Scheme status.

We have people in your area ready to take your call –8.30 am to 4.30 pm, Monday to Friday.  Simply click on your region in the map [below] for contact details of your local Support Desk.

Veterans do not have to have seen active service in order to qualify for our help – but if you are in any doubt, just ask us.

Some facts re the Falklands War

At a recent Combat Stresss fund-raiser that I attended, Lieut-General Robin Brims addressed us, and mentioned the problems that service personnel faced returning home after fighting in the Falklands War.

I don’t really have time to substantiate the following quote which I believe backs him up, but it’s from here and quotes Guardian and Observer sources:

Since the war, hundreds of veterans, both Argentinian and British, have committed suicide. Numbers of suicides are not recorded by the MoD, but the South Atlantic Medal Association claimed in 2002 that more British ex-servicemen from the Falklands have killed themselves since the 1982 conflict than died in action: 264 they estimated (300 is more recently quoted).

An example is Lance Corporal Colin Deary who lost three friends in the Falklands, was discharged from the army eight years later with drink problems, and in 1994 stabbed himself to death. Similar reports have been made about the Argentinian troops.

[…]

As in all wars but still not adequately recognised by the military establishment, the servicemen and women suffer to varying degrees from post traumatic stress disorder. Many soldiers found it hard to return to normal life, ended up getting into trouble and committing crimes.

Simon Skinner suffered flashbacks and stumbled from one crisis to another attempting suicide on several occasions, becoming an alcoholic and getting into debt, and finally in 1995 having his final flashback. ‘He got out of bed, stood to attention, marched out of the room as if in a trance and, stumbling, fell down the stairs. He died five days later.’

Video highlighting the issue

The Enemy Within Appeal

Caution: this advert features a simulated flashback some viewers may find disturbing.

On 11 March 2010, His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, launched the Combat Stress Enemy Within Appeal at St. James's Palace. 

This accompanying advert highlights the emotional 
impact of PTSD on the lives of Veterans and their families.

The key aims of The Enemy Within Appeal are to:

• Raise £30 million to enhance and develop mental health services for Veterans.
• Raise awareness of the plight of Veterans suffering from psychological injury.
• Encourage Veterans and their families to seek help earlier.

Please help us in any way you can.

N.B. You can now follow us on:

 

Enemy within appeal leaflet

This gives info on the appeal mentioned above – probably best viewed in Fullscreen mode…

The Enemy Within appeal leaflet

Wash up

Hopefully you get the general idea. I’m expecting to do another Byte Night sleep-out in the Autumn, but plan to devote any future fund-raising activities to help this cause. I hope you can support me. :-)

Crowdsourcing Mycological Response Teams to help with the Gulf #oilspill?

Introduction

In my previous post on this subject, I recapped my personal take on the overall situation.

Having drafted this posted a couple of days ago, I now learn that:

Almost three-quarters of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico has been cleaned up or broken down by natural forces, the US government has said.

A government report says only a quarter of the oil from the BP well remains and that it is "degrading quickly".

The majority had been captured, burned off or evaporated, it states. But more clean-up is necessary officials warn.

The report was released after BP announced its "static kill" procedure to seal the leak was working.

So I thought I’d better post in case something else major happened. Doh!

Challenges

I’m guessing that despite the good news re the oilspill, that there will remain a challenge to clean up that oil which hit the Gulf coast.

Having pinged an e-mail to Paul Stamets’ team, their response pointed me to a page with the following quote:

The Petroleum Problem

Thank you for visiting fungi.com, and for your interest in the BP oil spill disaster and the potential for mycoremediation.

We are being inundated with requests and cannot individually address all of the questions we have received. We are in direct dialogue with the EPA at the highest levels, and are teaming to implement solutions to this huge disaster. Since we are such a small company, we are stretched to our limits. Your support allows us to dedicate as many of our resources as possible, and for this we thank you. Again, please accept our apologies if we cannot individually address your concerns. Our statement at below will be updated periodically as we gather more information.

[my hyperlink for mycoremediation btw]

I am assuming that Paul Stamets and his team are the primary resource in this domain – i.e. to use fungi to break down pollutants in an ‘eco-friendly’ way. What seems clear is that there are problems with scaling, getting the idea to a wider audience and gaining a following & critical mass.

The article continues:

How can we help?

Knowing that the extent of this disaster eclipses our mycological resources should not be a reason to not act.

I proposed in 1994 that we have Mycological Response Teams (MRTs) in place to react to catastrophic events, from hurricanes to oil spills. We need to preposition composting and mycoremediation centers adjacent to population centers. We should set MRTs into motion, centralized in communities, which are actively involved in recycling, composting and permaculture—utilizing debris from natural or man-made calamities to generate enzymes and rebuild healthy local soils.

I see the urgent need to set up webinar-like, Internet-based modules of education to disseminate methods for mycoremediation training so people throughout the world can benefit from the knowledge we have gained through the past decade of research. Such hubs of learning could cross-educate others and build a body of knowledge that would be further perfected over time, benefiting from the successes and failures of those in different bioregions. The cumulative knowledge gained from a centralized data hub could emerge as a robust yet flexible platform that could help generations to come. Scientists, policy makers, and citizens would be empowered with practical mycoremediation tools for addressing environmental disasters.

Going social

My argument here is that a social approach, akin to the PeopleFinder wiki created in response to Hurricane Katrina, might help MRTs self-organise and conduct operations under a loose ‘umbrella’.

A similar tool might already have been implemented by Deepwater Horizon Response website – but apologies – I’ve not had time to check it out (or the follow-up site RestoreTheGulf.gov).

Tooling

I’m going to kick speculation about what tools to use into touch for now, as my priority is to post – and update this or post separately as appropriate. However, potential requirements could be:

• Repository of successful mycoremediation techniques
• Communications tools
• Team-based areas where teams can get themselves sorted and manage their activities
• Connections with mainstream social media tools

Staci Stoller

I wanted to tip my (Stetson hat) to Staci Stoller, a former colleague of mine in London, who has offered to help in getting the message out in Texas. Thanks, Stace! :-)

The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X CHALLENGE?

I saw an item on the BBC news site, which took me through to the main page on this, which explained thus:

It is a $1.4 Million competition designed to inspire a new generation of innovative solutions that will speed the pace of cleaning up seawater surface oil resulting from spillage from ocean platforms, tankers, and other sources.

This X CHALLENGE, announced on July 29, 2010, is a one-year competition that begins on August 1, 2010 and culminates in the summer of 2011, with head-to-head competitive demonstrations taking place at the National Oil Spill Response Research & Renewable Energy Test Facility (OHMSETT) in Leonardo, New Jersey, USA (www.ohmsett.com).

A $1 Million Prize will be awarded to the team that demonstrates the ability to recover oil on the sea surface at the highest oil recovery rate (ORR) and the highest Recovery Efficiency (RE).

So, my initial excitement about something fungi-related winning the prize was tempered by the focus on “cleaning up seawater surface oil”. However, on the ‘competition details’ page I also noticed:

X PRIZE will be finalizing the details over the next 30 days, and will post final rules in September.  We encourage you to PRE_REGISTER as a team and we will keep you informed of any changes and when the detailed rules are posted.

So maybe the scope of the compo could be widened to include prizes for on-shore cleanup efforts?

Deadwater MTB trail - Kielder Forest

A post to commemorate taking the afternoon off last Thursday, and taking my bike up to Kielder. As per my tweet:

First piece of Leave this year - taking the pm off, & the MTB up to Kielder

Named after Deadwater Fell, part of Kielder Forest, and more about which is here. Most of the trail has been built by Kielder Trail Reavers, supported by The Bike Place.

Learning points

The trail is bearing up well, but has become quite uneven, with lots of stones, where the surface has been worn away.

• My fantastic Marzocchi Bomber fork needs pumping up – it was slightly hairy going off large rocks / bumps and the forks compressing more than I’d have liked. Where is that shock pump?! Gah
• My skills & stamina definitely need a big improvement!
• Also, my brakes needs sorting / bleeding & new brake pads installed

btw, if you double-click on the photo of my bike and the associated gear, you will open a browser window at Flickr, as I have annotated the photo (and the next couple…).

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

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

… "one can't believe impossible things."

"Alice laughed: "There's no use trying," she said; "one can't believe impossible things."

"I daresay you haven't had much practice," said the Queen. "When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."
Alice in Wonderland.

Lovely quote sent to me by lovely Kay Cooke.

Props to The Victorian Web

Technorati Tags: imagination,literature,psychology

Angela Beecroft, nutritionalist

A quick follow-up post re Dairy Intolerance.

As a Christmas present, my Mum offered for me to visit Angela Beecroft, a nutrionalist based in North Yorkshire / Teesside.

I was keen to take this up, as Caroline and I thought I might have some other food intolerances and I was thinking Angela could suggest some further tests.

I managed to combine a visit to Angela with one of the “Experiences” from Croft Circuit – as the circuit is close to Stockton, one of Angela’s locations.

It was a pleasant surprise that Angela takes a holistic view to dietary health, and although wanting to do a further test, suggested that a healthy tummy might have further benefits – e.g. less fatigue, sharper thinking etc.

Anyway, I’ve started taken a treatment of powerful Bio bacteria – i.e. stronger versions of the bacteria you find in Bio yoghurts.

The plan is to have a tele-conference on 8th October to review the results from my test and see where to go from there…

Angela doesn’t have a website [although I’ve suggested looking into a blog or similar to her], but she can be contacted via Beecroft4 – at – aol – dot – com.

Useful websites she recommended are:

• www.nutri-linkltd.co.uk [through which I bought the Bio bacteria] and
• www.patrickholford.com

n.b. I’m posting this using a date just after the original DI post, as I’m trying to concentrate on business things at the mo’!

Technorati Tags: health,wellbeing,nutrition,upside,action

"How mushrooms will save the world"

I used to live in London, and spent a fair bit of time on the Tube, travelling to and from work.

Before Blogs, RSS and blog readers were invented, I used my Palm V with AvantGo software to download and read articles for these journeys.

One of my favourite sources was http://www.salon.com/; one of the most interesting articles was this one about Paul Stamets, and his drive to bring mushrooms --and fungi in general-- to a wider audience.

The article contained (amongst other things) a fascinating vignette about how Paul had used a strain of fungi to clear up a brownfield site contaminated with oil.

It's taken me about 10 years to do so, but I've finally placed an order with http://www.fungi.com/, which is run by Paul's company. Thanks to Christian Olsen for his help with the order, which was:

• Fungi to help the vegetables grow in our veggie patch;
• Fungi to help my Brother experiment with how they might help him improve the yield of his apple trees (he's a keen cider maker);
• "Plug spawn" which goes into holes that you drill in wooden logs, and gives a harvest of edible mushrooms; and
• Mycelium Running, Stamets' condensed answer to the challenge in the title.

So, inspired by this article, I now need to find the time to get my head around all this and work out what small contribution I can make in the countryside of Northumberland!

More on this anon, I hope ;-)