Anfang April bin ich für eine Tageswanderung in den Süden Englands gefahren. Dabei ist etwas passiert, das mich noch länger beschäftigt hat … und mich im Nachhinein wirklich überrascht hat. [Read more…] about Mit dem Frühling wird nicht alles heller
depression
How to support someone in a really difficult place?
I had started to collect my 450 client-therapy hours towards becoming a UKCP registered Psychotherapist. It was tough, as I was exposed to psychological and personal challenges I was absolutely not used to as a Coach.
I was trying my best, but something wasn’t working. Some clients came for a few sessions, then abruptly stopped. That was hard to take emotionally, and I began to question my ability to support psychotherapeutic clients.
As I was talking the cases through with my supervisor Steve, he leaned back, looked at me, and asked if I knew the story of the wind and the sun. I did not. It’s quite profound.
“The wind and the sun were talking one day as they observed a man sitting on a bench. It was rather cold, so the man was dressed in a scarf and a coat. Out of the blue, the wind suggested a little challenge to the sun. The wind said, “I’ll bet I can blow that man’s coat off.” The sun scoffed. “I’ll take that bet and I raise it. You can’t do it … but I can.”
“You?” said the wind. “What power do you have? No way.” And so, the contest was on.
The wind began to blow in chilly winds from the north. The man tugged his coat up tighter around his neck. So, the wind kicked up the intensity of the wind speed a few notches. As the wind blew stronger and stronger, the man struggled to sit upright on the bench. The more powerfully the wind blew, the tighter the man wrapped his scarf and coat around himself. Now, the wind was blowing at full force and it was freezing cold. The man, gripping the bench with both hands, pulled his knees up and huddled in a kind of ball in a desperate attempt to keep from freezing. No way to take of his coat! The Wind had failed.
Now it was the sun’s turn.
[Read more…] about How to support someone in a really difficult place?
Even if you think you can manage it – reach out!
Our former principal of the National College for Hypnosis and Psychotherapy, Shaun Brookhouse, wasn’t feeling his best in March 2020. He “didn’t think it was anything in particular. He just felt a bit unwell.”
Shaun took a week off from work, but things got worse, and people around him started to worry when his breathing became more laboured. One friend eventually insisted on calling an ambulance, and Shaun reluctantly followed through.
From then on, he doesn’t remember anything… until 5 long weeks later, when he was revived from an induced coma, as the doctors tried to bring his respiratory tract back online. It turned out Shaun was one of the first COVID patients.
[Read more…] about Even if you think you can manage it – reach out!
Was getan ist, ist erledigt – „Feierabend“!
Mein absoluter Favorit unter den buddhistischen Mönchen (und gleichzeitig auch Lieblingskomiker) Ajahn Brahm erzählte einmal die Geschichte von einem seiner „Kollegen“, der den Bau einer neuen Halle in seinem Kloster in Südthailand beaufsichtigte. Die Arbeiten seien bis Anfang Juni gut vorangekommen, berichtete er, was auch wichtig war, denn dann beginnt die Regenzeit, in der die Mönche aufhören ihre „weltlichen“ Arbeiten zu verrichten, um mehr Zeit mit Meditationen und kontemplativem Lernen zu verbringen.
Als nun die täglichen Monsunregen einsetzten, befahl der Abt, die Tätigkeiten auf der Baustelle einzustellen und schickte alle Arbeiter nach Hause.
Das Kloster blieb allerdings weiter für Besucher geöffnet. So kam es, dass einige von ihnen sowohl das unvollendete Gebäude als auch die ruhig in innerer Einkehr versunkenen Mönche sahen. Und so fragte einer der Besucher den Abt, wann denn der Bau der neuen Halle abgeschlossen sein würde. Der Abt antwortete: „Die Halle ist fertig!“
[Read more…] about Was getan ist, ist erledigt – „Feierabend“!
What is done is finished – “Feierabend”
My favourite Buddhist monk and comedian, Ajahn Brahm, once told the story of a fellow monk, who was overlooking the building of a new hall in his monastery in southern Thailand. The work progressed very well until the beginning of June. That’s when the rainy season sets in, usually lasting until October. During this time, the monks stop doing their regular work and spend more time in contemplative study and meditation. It’s often referred to as “Buddhist lent” or “rain-retreat.”
As the daily monsoon downpours began, the abbot ordered a stop to the work on the construction site and sent all the workers home.
It happened that during that rainy season some visitors came to the monastery and saw the unfinished building and the abbot sitting quietly in reflection. With no builders in sight, a visitor asked the monk when the construction of the hall would be finished. The abbot without any hesitation answered, “The Hall is Finished!”
