mind – and so she thinks

Moving Pieces Taster Workshop

admin — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 11:02:18 +0000

As writers we spend a lot of time in our heads. Thoughts form words that form phrases that we process in the mind and present to the page. Sometimes the stories in our heads represent our experience in the world, but at other times they are born of mental processes than our bodily knowledge. Neither is wrong or right, but the difference is worth acknowledging.

Moving Pieces‘ work is about finding the stories that reside in the body, and allowing them the space to breathe and be with freedom. Founder and director Charlie Blowers has a background in physical theatre and arts and somatic psychotherapy, and through her work explores the relationship between wellbeing and theatre. The goal of Charlie and co-director Jose is to support wellbeing and mental health as well as create theatre with a compelling narrative.

Their approach uses body based approaches emerging from neuroscience, many of which stabilise the nervous system and support self regulation. Through mask work, mindfulness, Feldenkrais method, storytelling and improvisation, participants are invited to bring their awareness to their experience, notice the subtle shifts in the body as it responds to its surroundings, and bring forth the stories that are held in the body. As Charlie explains, ‘sometimes our thoughts hold our body prisoner.’ Moving Pieces aim to liberate the body and the stories within. It’s an opportunity to process many of the feelings that often go unnoticed; or are pushed away so as not to notice them.

Through mask work I’m struck how much time we spend pretending to be someone else. Improvisation makes me reflect on the structures and ideas that stop us truly presenting ourselves to the world. Slow flowing movement is a welcome reprieve from the fast paced and frenetic pace of life.

Open to artists, mental health professionals, anyone with mental health challenges or those who simply want to explore personal story in a creative way, Moving Pieces offers a distinctive approach to exploring the body, building resilience and devising theatre.

Derren Brown – Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2016 13:18:36 +0000

Derren Brown’s job is to use psychology to convince. When he’s up there on stage and entertaining audiences, he guiding those in front of him to believe things – to tell themselves stories that may not be true. So he’s pretty well versed on how the brain works. You’d think we might be by now, having lived with our brains for…oh, all our lives. but the trouble is that they are clever things, and capable of fooling even themselves.

It’s why the diet industry, entrepreneurial get rich quick schemes and self help happiness field is so saturated with ‘solutions’ – that don’t work. You’d think that we would have figured by now that there’s something that the elusive ‘top 5 steps’ approach can’t be readily taught, or perhaps even achieved.

Derren Brown’s new book Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine is about stepping back from that. Finding a place of ‘good enough.’ Not the catchy title that usually grabs you in the book shop, but one that might help us to find, if not blissful nirvana, a state of contentment.

Because, most stuff is alright. And even when it’s not, those negative events themselves rarely hurt us; it is usually our beliefs, feelings, or judgments concerning those events which do. Instead, it’s the gap between our expectation and reality that is the source of unhappiness. If you lower your expectation, your contentment tends to increase. Does this mean giving up and not striving to be all that we can?

Far from it. He is scathing of books like The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, the 28 million copy bestseller that preaches the premise that the law of attraction is the key, and by thinking positive thoughts we will get all we need. The message that if you work and wish hard enough you’ll get what you want, and if you don’t, it’s your own fault, is one that he says is ‘toxic.’ And I agree.

One danger is the constant goal setting and planning that stops us being present. It’s very difficult to appreciate what you have, when you’re not really there, but ‘consistently orientated toward something that’s always on the horizon.’ Life just passes you by – and so of course you’re not satisfied with it.

But Brown isn’t coming up with anything particularly groundbreaking and radical here. He is heavily influenced by the Stoics, and quotes Seneca –‘ A man’s as miserable as he thinks he is’ – and Epictetus – ‘Man is disturbed not by things, but by the views he takes of them’ – amongst others. There’s echoes of Stephen Covey’s sphere of influence idea from his classic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and I’m reminded of The Serenity Prayer by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) and it’s plea to God to ‘grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.’

The book is long, and there’s a rather lengthy few chapters on dying that could be trimmed down. But it’s a compelling and important message that deserves being repeated.The words we tell ourselves matter. Stories are powerful and create our worlds. Tell a better story, and accept that ‘The route to real happiness is about realising what you have now, rather than focusing on what could be.’ says Brown. It’s nothing new, but continues to be very true. When will we realise it?

Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine by Derren Brown is published by Random House. Available on Audible, narrated by Jot Davies.

Mind Body Spirit Festival London

admin — Mon, 27 Apr 2015 18:57:00 +0000

Mind, body, spirit. The triad of the self and life. All three are worth celebrating, and that is exactly what the Mind Body Spirit Festival aims to do. The four day event of complete wellbeing, including self-development, self-empowerment, yoga, natural healing, meditation and music takes place this bank holiday weekend at Olympia London. The festival will feature some of the most inspirational and motivational speakers in the spheres of wellbeing, international workshop leaders and innovative teachers, along with musicians, artists and performers from across the globe, as well as a whole host of exhibitors presenting wellbeing products, organic food, therapies, jewellery, holistic retreats, treatments, meditation, supplements and healing products. As well as the dedicated yoga studio, food demo area, chill out space and mantra lounge, the 2015 event sees the introduction of a a silent disco, soul cinema and ‘Wild Wellbeing Spa.’ Go along to discover fresh, invigorating, empowering and transformative skills and activities to help you create the life you want. Tickets are available here.

Reasons To Stay Alive – Matt Haig

admin — Thu, 12 Feb 2015 13:15:00 +0000

In the last couple of years the topic of mental health has been afforded more column inches, and there have been many campaigns and movements to encourage us to speak more about our mental wellbeing. Yet we are still light years away from ‘parity of esteem’ with physical health, and as the illustrations from Robert Hugs shows, comments such as ‘chin up’ and ‘it could be worse’ are considered to be helpful.
There’s no rhyme or reason to depression, no cause. The rich and beautiful are not immune, as the tragic death of Robin Williams last year demonstrated. Abraham Lincoln, Halle Berry, Jim Carrey, Emma Thompson, Mozart, Tennessee Williams ad Buzz Aldrin are all successful people who also suffer or suffered depression. Scientists disagree on the neurological basis of it. Haig suggests that one cause may be the Pressure of the modern world and its overwhelming bombardment of stimulation and demands, but he certainly does not lay the blame here. The problem is that the brain is so complex, infinitely unfathomable. Our brains alone have a hundred billion cells, each cell being made up of roughly a hundred trillion atoms. The brain is capable of great things and vast thought, as well as ‘the capacity to feel a whole universe’s worth of darkness.’
Although the signs were there earlier on, it was Haig’s first intense anxiety attack aged 24, whilst living a hedonic lifestyle in Ibiza, that triggered his severe depression. Describing the physical sensations of this mental illness – sweating, dizziness, asphyxiating pressure on the lungs, a chest feeling like it is about to cave in, thirst, tension – as well as the sensations in the mind of darkness, ominous fear, consuming fire and a strangling intolerable sadness. Over the next few years he uses the tools of yoga, reading, writing, running – and love – to life himself out of these severe phase, and find reasons to live once again. It’s not easy. As he says, ‘People say “take it one day at a time”. But days were mountains and a week was a trek across the Himalayas.’
For a book centring on suicide and depression, this is an uplifting read. It’s sad to know that the brain is capable of feeling this way, but also reassuring to see a way out of it. There’s a calmness that comes with the thought that to ‘just be’ is not only enough, but a viable alternative.
This is a book about finding that ‘break in the clouds’ and noticing it, riding the flickers of hope until moments become minutes become hours become days. Haig is not angry at his illness, but thanks it as the ‘price of feeling life.’ And of course, it’s testament to the wonder of writing. Before depression Matt Haig was not a writer. Now he is a published author and award winning novelist. ‘The process of writing, combined with an increase in self-esteem that being published gave me, has helped more than I can say. It was a defence mechanism. It gave me purpose. It might have even saved my life.’
Published on March 5th 2015 by Canongate.