The Shrimp's Life

Recently I received a magnificent gift – an Ecosphere. This self-contained environment was inspired by NASA, as they researched into how to support life on future space colonies. It truly is a carefully constructed system which can support life for several years. Inside the glass bulb, which contains water, air, beads and an artificial grid on which bacteria grow, there are also two tiny shrimps swimming around. They add a flash of orange to this otherwise black and white world. I thought this gift to be the ultimate in executive toys. Of course busy executives don’t have time to muse on metaphors, but if they did, what similarities might they find between their own lives and that of the shrimp? How many of us live hermetically sealed lives whose not-insubstantial challenge is to find enough food to live for the day? How limited is our outlook beyond the bubble of our immediate environment? Can any of us control the hands that play with our lives? What would happen if someone decided to juggle with our home for sport? What would happen to us if they dropped and burst the bubble of our existence? When I read that the shrimp may live for up to 20% of their natural lives in the Ecosphere, I had a Buddhist moment. I felt guilt at the idea that this tiny being was swimming purely for my curiosity and delight and its forced incarceration would shorten its life. It might indeed be a cause of concern if the situation didn’t reflect the reality of so much of human existence. We live in closed environments, encouraged to fear events over which we have no control and are told what to think. By accepting this we artificially close down our depth of social engagement and restrict our loci of control. Society encourages us to compete for an ever greater share of limited resources so that we can better defend our bubbles rather than cooperate and share the abundance. We are infused with suspicion of our neighbours so that while engaged in petty squabbling we cannot collectively respond to the greater existential threats of global warming or nuclear war. These stresses may indeed shorten our lives. A still sadder thought crossed my mind. How many relationships are as stagnant as an Ecosphere? How many partners feel trapped in a controlled environment? As coaches, what can we do to lift the veils of illusion? What is the safest way to release tensions so that people choose collaboration and advancement rather than competition and retrenchment – or separation?

Job, Career or Vocation?

There is a massive difference between suffering through a nine-to-five job just to make ends meet and working long hours to answer a vocation often with no financial inducement. The career role usually falls somewhere in between, often accompanied by the demands of a growing family. Life is so hectic that the years fly past and, if there is a guiding star, you don’t have time to look up for it. It’s a common enough trap yet we run like lemmings to fall into it. Some weeks ago I was reminded of the Biblical story of the talents given by the vineyard owner to three of his staff as he left on business. To the first he gave five talents and this entrepreneurial soul invested shrewdly so that he made five more. To the second he gave two talents and the servant similarly doubled his money. The vineyard owner was annoyed to find that the third servant had done nothing with his talent so he was dismissed. I started to ponder on the plight of workers in the UK today. Imagine the single Mum, with five children, run ragged every day and wondering which way’s up as she struggles to raise her family. In time these kids reflect Mum’s work ethic and determination and become stars in their community. John and Louise, son and daughter of the town doctor, go up to Oxbridge and dutifully follow in Dad’s footsteps working 80 hour shifts in a London hospital. Snatching some time off at Meribel, they meet the loves of their lives and settle down quickly to repeat the formula for the next generation. They have demanding careers and march unquestioningly to the incessant drum – Chop-chop, busy-busy, work-work, bang-bang. Tim, nice-but-dim, chokes on the quail’s eggs he attacks with his silver spoon. In frustration he takes off to Morocco to live a little and explore the bazaars and Hashish dens. Sadly, he quickly turns to cocaine, fries his brains and wraps Dad’s Bentley round a tree in a fit of pique that ends his piques. So finally all come before the review board; how did they get on? “Well done Mum. Have a well earned rest and don’t worry, we’re not giving you another five. Instead we’ll give five each to your kids and you’ll be revered as Best Gran” “John and Louise, you can stop now, the game’s over. Did you manage to see anything of life?” “Ah Tim, bad luck about the Bentley, but worse about your brain. Coke addictions seldom end well. I tell you what, have another go and see how things work out next time – when you’ve no money and five kids” If you had the gig of coaching these individuals, where would you start? Self-Actualisation looks very different for each of them. If the busy ones had a moment to themselves would they want coaching? Long before they hear an outside voice they must learn to hear their own. Coaching, like Alcoholics Anonymous, isn’t for people who need it; it’s for people who want it. Perhaps our gift is to help people recognise the vocation they have in the very ordinary situations of their everyday lives?

Shaking the Tree

As an engineer, and a reluctant DIY ‘enthusiast’, I used to live by the maxim ‘If it’s not broke, don’t fix it’. Today as a coach I’ve come to realise that a degree of subversion may be required to effect change. I’m not thinking Earthquake so much as Oyster sand, but both cases cause irritation. It is said that new ideas are assimilated in three phases – • First they are ridiculed • Then they are strongly opposed • Finally they are accepted as self-evident The degree of ridicule and opposition encountered is directly proportional to the amount of money and prestige involved. Care should be taken when approaching a nation’s crown jewels like the NHS, Bio-tech industries, Pharmaceutical giants, Food Manufacturers, Big Agriculture and Defence. I learned long ago how gardening too close to a wasp’s nest was painful. The experience taught me that to deliberately poke a hornet’s nest is not a good idea. Today I like to think of myself as more of a benevolent bee-keeper. The golden honey made by the bees is a miracle of nature. We need no deep knowledge of the complexities of their processes but instead intervene systemically to nurture their growth and improve their productivity. There are many trees with hanging bags alive with flying defenders. With experience we learn which we are appropriately clothed to approach, even shake, and how best to do so. What do we do if we see real dangers in the proposed directions of the executives we coach, or real opportunities in alternative directions that are not yet on their radar? To what extent can we inform without directing? At what point do our well-intentioned interventions appear meddlesome or subversive? How much ridicule and opposition should we invite? As an engineer I learned how to make the levers others would pull. As a marketer I got to pull some of those levers and define new ones. Now as a maturing human being, when I can foresee some of the consequences of pulling certain levers, and I believe other choices better serve humanity, the coach and change agent in me says – ‘it’s not broke – so fix it’, but do so carefully!

Corporate Intermittent Fasting

It is known that Intermittent Fasting is good for the body as it reduces blood glucose levels and circulating insulin. It helps move the body toward Ketosis and the burning of fat for energy. It allows the digestive system recovery time and encourages cleaning and detoxification. Could it be that similar benefits could apply in an organisational setting? Breaking the habit of continuously ‘grazing’ is difficult. I used to insist on having a full coffee cup and a pile of biscuits between rounds of toast with marmalade. The quality of the food was poor but it satisfied both habit and craving. I finally weaned myself off the biscuits by substituting them with nuts and very dark chocolate. How might organisations wean themselves off ‘busy work’ so that they could spend their time re-orientating their businesses toward ‘For Benefit’ working? The 20th century Capitalism model has failed. The drive for constant, and unsustainable, growth is threatening our very survival as a species. Sadly it’s already too late for the hundreds that we have driven to extinction before us. For too long the fixation on maximising quarterly profits has dominated business culture. Today’s industry needs to adopt the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ accounting model of People, Planet and Profit recognising that protecting our environment is the only way we can protect our future and respecting people is the only way to create equality and engagement. Millenial workers are not interested in following in the footsteps of Baby Boomers who have trashed their inheritance. They want to know what their organisation’s values are and why they should spend their precious time working for them at all. Perhaps the time has come for greater selection working where unless a job fits with an organisation’s values it just isn’t taken on. Will it strengthen my community? Is it good for the planet? Is it carbon neutral? And of course, is it profitable? Initially it may feel economically suicidal not to maintain the momentum of the operation but our current rate of resource exploitation promises suicide of the species. We need today’s best minds working out how to transition from current business practice to models with meaning and where the wealth created is more fairly shared. Corporate intermittent fasting allows the organisation time to retrain in new skills, better understand their market and to forge a wider collaboration between companies. The aim is less of creating a ‘Lean, mean fighting machine’ and more one of ‘Healthy, happy, harmonious interdependence’. The age of ‘Co-opetition’ has arrived.

Anyone for Foreplay?

I’m guessing that many guys have, at some point, been told by their partners that ‘Foreplay doesn’t begin in the bedroom’. As with colonies of wild bees, there are guards which fly hard into people approaching in warning that to continue on their present course will lead to pain. I’ve experienced this pain; it’s very real. (One day I disturbed a wasps nest). All around us we see the way of nature is one of balance. We’re told that opposites attract. We learn of Yin and Yang, Male and Female, Differentiation and Integration, Fear and Love etc. Unfortunately, our world seems to be dominated at present by fear and differentiation, ‘boys with their toys’ and darkness. The danger is that we will drift for too long and go too far in the wrong direction, ignoring the warnings, until we bring great pain on ourselves. Evidence is all around us and the warnings are clear yet mankind continues on a road to annihilation. Under the label of ‘progress’ we drive developments for financial gain, not because mankind needs them, but because we can and ‘money talks’. We have reduced our concept of God to one of superstition so that respect for others and our environment doesn’t get in the way of ‘wealth creation’. Scientism, the new religion, demands conformance, destroys diversity and imposes a ‘One size fits all’ mentality, which doesn’t work. The idea that ‘Your Health IS Your Wealth’ only makes sense to those who’ve already lost it. Then, to their dismay, they find they cannot buy it back. Imagine instead a world in balance. In such a place everyone has clean water, real food, abundant energy, free education, shelter, music and joy, companionship and love. This is the world I’m living in; it’s great. Come and join me. Let's get the foreplay right so that together we can experience a Divine ecstasy and pass on this beautiful world to our children.

Existential Crisis

The world is watching developments on the Korean Peninsula with trepidation and disbelief. How could we have come so close to a nuclear war? The time has come for an imaginative solution and a massive step forward in human consciousness. Researchers in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee in the 1960s ran a Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) for almost five years before the experiment was terminated. It proved however, that nuclear power could be derived from a Thorium fuel cycle that has many potential advantages over the water cooled reactors which were chosen. • Much higher efficiencies are achievable – approximately 50% fuel burn rather than the 0.7% being achieved by conventional uranium fuel rods. • Operation at high temperature but ambient pressure – so no danger of melt down and explosion as at Fukushima or Chernobyl; a truly fail-safe arrangement. • Relatively low radiation waste products with much lower isolation periods – 300 years rather than 100,000. • Potential for true reprocessing of spent nuclear materials and redundant warheads into isotopes requiring reduced isolation periods. • No easily fissionable products for use in nuclear weapons – which renders the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty obsolete. The availability of Plutonium from the Uranium cycle was a major factor to the US Navy when choosing which technology to fund. So now we have an opportunity to show a world response to a global crisis. Instead of imposing ever tighter sanctions on North Korea, let’s invite the US government to donate engineering expertise to an international MSR research project that will de-escalate military tensions and effectively provide limitless, pollution-free energy to the world. If they wish, the US could limit their expenditure to the sums annually spent on their military exercises in the Pacific. China, as North Korea’s key ally, is well advanced in its MSR research and has a pressing need to lower air pollution in its major cities. We already have a motivated and trusted broker. Let’s strengthen their hand and replace this macho posturing with something of true value to humanity. In addition to avoiding immediate nuclear annihilation, a bonus outcome is an end to power generation from fossil fuels and emission of greenhouse gases. So we get to keep the polar ice caps, our Pacific islands and the major port cities in every part of the world. Like good health, peace has no downside. Human progress is possible if enough of us want it.

Breast Screening Services

Yesterday I attended a public meeting of the HSCNI Local Commissioning Group, which was presenting a ‘Pre-consultation, consultation’ on the provision of breast screening services in Northern Ireland. The presentation included a slide showing a >30% increase in breast cancer deaths since 2011 yet the presenter made it clear that the intention was to address only how increased numbers of people seeking screening services were to be provided for. This struck me as a wonderful problem for a manager tasked with planning how to increase the capacity of a railway network but completely inappropriate for a branch of the National Health Service whose central function is to protect our citizens, not to ignore the reasons for their illness and the ineffectiveness of the treatment protocols provided. She then explained the complexity of the clinical teams that are assembled to support the screening programmes and how services can be disrupted when team members, with multiple commitments, are unable to attend. One possible solution being tabled was to reduce the number of specialist centres in Northern Ireland where breast screening services are provided, from the current five, so that larger numbers of staff can be trained to increase flexibility for the clinics. Cancer cells produce energy through the inefficient fermentation of glucose in the mitochondria rather than the normal process of ‘fuel and air combustion’ used by healthy cells. One of the observable hallmarks of cancer is that of ever-increasing demands for the limited resources available to the body. Metastasis in Stage 4 cancers spreads the malignancy through the body and is generally regarded as terminal. The NHS might choose to revisit the proposed concentration of ever more of their activities in fewer hospital centres as this appears to mirror the cancer process itself. An alternative proposal could be to actually increase the number of centres providing breast screening services and to lower clinical costs by simplifying the service provided. This could be done using relatively low-cost Thermograhic imaging to search for temperature differences between the breasts. Temperature differences arise as the network of blood vessels grows to support tumour development and such changes can be observed several years before a tumour has become visible on conventional mammograms. On detecting a temperature difference the patient can be presented with evidence of the need to adopt lifestyle changes that improve the capacity of the body’s immune system to prevent disease. This reinforces the understanding that we are individually responsible for our health and that it should not be abdicated to others. Our National Health Service could then engage proactively in Health Protection rather than limiting its concerns to disease management.

Dieting is Dead, Long Live the Diet

Millions of people around the world have endured the frustration of yoyo weight gains. Often extreme methods are used to achieve some target weight, but once attained the dieter relaxes and the pounds are quickly packed back on – usually with a few extra for good measure. After years of weight losses and gains self-esteem plummets and the towel is thrown in. “I’m just big-boned”. Dieting has failed again. Yet every living creature on the planet has a diet and those animals that eat their natural foods are generally healthy; obesity is certainly rare. Why is it so difficult for humans, supposedly clever and with highly developed brains, to match the natural health of other species? The answer is multifactorial and any sustainable solution addresses the issue Holistically in Body, Mind and Spirit. Will Power is certainly important to initiate change and to achieve a target but in itself is unsustainable. We want our efforts to provide lasting benefits without fear of regression and threat of disease. So let’s get clever about it and change our approach. As they say – ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got’. So this is where we go ‘Back to the Future’ and look instead at how humans lived in antiquity; what they ate, what they thought and what higher purpose they chose to serve. From our dental construction and our digestive tract it is clear that humans are omnivores. Consuming animal proteins through wild game and fish probably gave us the evolutionary advantage of a relatively large brain mass. Sadly we have not yet learned to use it properly. We can eat meat, though we eat too much of it and we are certainly intended to eat vegetables but don’t eat nearly enough. In the last century we have drifted still further from our natural diet with the introduction of an entire industry serving us with edible products carefully formulated to create addiction and repeat purchase. Mentally we are controlled more than ever by media influences that effectively ‘dumb us down’ with a diet of soap TV and advertising that tells us what to think. We’re targeted as different market sectors yet encouraged to collectively ‘race to the bottom’ where only our most basic human instincts are held in common. Free thinking is viewed as subversive to the status quo. A fundamental curiosity pervades humanity. We have an innate desire for growth in understanding of our place in the universe and are driven to ask the big questions in life like ‘Why are we here?’. There are as many answers to that question as there are people on the planet yet there is a common reason that is revealed to us in unique ways; we are here to serve one another. In his 7 habits model Steven Covey described the journey of maturation from Dependence to Independence and finally Interdependence. It seems that Independence is only tolerated as far as it allows us to pay taxes, but true Interdependence is discouraged. It's too challenging to seek true harmony among mankind rather than divide into 'Them and Us' and seek to dominate. It’s too challenging to admit interdependence with our environment and to respect nature rather than simply exploiting it. This indifference is now causing mass species extinction as natural habitats are poisoned or destroyed. The coalmine canaries have died already. We’re just listening to recordings of how it used to be. So dieting to squeeze into tight jeans, a business suit or a black party dress can provide only temporary results and frustrating relapses. Only an honest appraisal of our behaviour, our patterns of thinking and our true vocations can provide an integrated and sustainable diet that will deliver lasting health – to ourselves, our families, our communities, our environment and ultimately our world.

Comic Heroes

Last week I watched the movie ‘King Arthur, Legend of the Sword’ in 3D. I love the ‘larger than life’ effects that 3D filming allows; they challenge our concept of reality. But, as the film progresses we quickly forget that we’re wearing the glasses; 3D becomes the norm. Also. I recently re-watched the Batman series and saw the new ‘Wonder-woman’ movie – escapism at its best. There is a common theme through all these movies – good triumphs over evil as in all Hollywood blockbusters but there’s more. Each of the heroes is on a mission in which they must fearlessly deploy their unique gifts to achieve their goals. Their mission is usually unknown to them at the outset but emerges in response to events. There is an important metaphysical interpretation of all these stories. We are all individual manifestations of the Divine, possessing infinite power, which is directed by our thoughts and beliefs. This same power, by which we are formed in the womb, by which the stars of the universe were created, by which nature has been brought to perfection, far surpasses the limitations of our mortal existence – the 2D version. Our challenge is to master our skills and be channelled by a higher purpose so that we can deploy them for the benefit of all. This is the stuff that makes really good organisations stand out. There is an inspired leadership which draws the best efforts of every employee in the service of the business as a whole. We’ve all heard of the NASA janitor who viewed his role as ‘helping to put a man on the moon’ How many of us are able to see the bigger picture in our daily toils? As a Health Coach I have come to understand that there are two essential components required for client success – - They have to want their health badly enough to rise to the challenge of lifestyle change - They have to believe that improved health is possible The manner of their discovery differs but the underlying themes are consistent. When we each become our own comic hero what appears magical and fantastic becomes our reality. We have the innate power to live inspired lives and to build a world which we’ll be proud to leave to future generations.

Drain the Swamp

Tonight I watched Leonardo Di Caprio’s 2016 documentary ‘Before The Flood’ about climate change. If it had been chilling it may have been useful but it was truly terrifying as it showed the gathering pace of global warming destruction to low lying regions across the planet. This evening we learn of President Trump’s decision to leave the Paris climate change accord with the claim that he must put the interests of the American people first. He wants to renegotiate an agreement that is fair to American businesses, citizens and tax-payers. Interestingly, his Rose Garden address did not deny that Climate change is happening, nor did he challenge the scientific consensus that our problems are man-made through excessive emissions of greenhouse gases. Without doubt, President Trump’s campaign slogan drew popular support, but the millions of American people who elected him to office could not have understood how deep the swamp is nor how many personnel of his administration are swimming in it. On this side of the Atlantic we struggle to understand how so many people can be duped and systematically poisoned through poor air quality, poor water and food quality while all the time believing that fortress America needs to increase military spending and to send its youth to die abroad. Quite literally these ‘Smoke Screen’ politics serve to distract attention from the practical steps that ordinary citizens can take to protect themselves, their families and societies by modifying their buying decisions at the supermarket each week and by campaigning against the erosion of civil liberties. As Di Caprio illustrated, individual health and global health are interlinked. Choosing to reduce our meat consumption by half would save us from excessive release of the Greenhouse Gas methane from livestock. It would also help to reduce rates of bowel cancer. Reducing our consumption of cooking oil could prevent continued destruction of rainforests in preparation for Palm Oil plantations. I enjoy breathing and I want that our planet can also breathe; but it’s easier with lungs. As ever, we elect politicians and abdicate our responsibility to them. Their shiny policies woo voters long enough to win office from where they can serve their own agendas and those who finance them. When their activities have fallen from favour we wring our hands and file our problems in the ‘too difficult’ bin. This belief in our helplessness is just as much an illusion as what we were sold during the election campaigns. When we live consciously with regard to our health, and that of the environment, we change our buying decisions. When enough of us do it we realise that we can drain the swamp for ourselves. Indeed, we’re the only ones who can.

You Will Know

Last year I decided to put my insomnia to good use. Remembering the Old Testament story of how Samuel responded to a call in the night, and his master realised that he was hearing the voice of God, I started to keep a notebook by my bedside to jot down ideas that came to me. Typically I might sit up in bed for 90 minutes writing whatever entered my head. In the mornings and often days afterward I’ve been amazed at what’s arrived. A regular favourite is planning how best to grow the community by spending millions won on the lottery. I return to sleep smiling and feeling great; thus I have all the pleasure of a win without any concerns that commonly accompany great wealth. For several years my primary passion has been for Health Protection and Disease Prevention. Deciding how best to spend my day requires that I’m pursuing this primary purpose. Most recently it’s been focused on learning the ways of Organic Agriculture and Permaculture schemes. This is totally synergistic with Health Coaching since I’ve come to realise that our health is directly related to the quality of the food we eat. A common coaching question is “What do you know today, that you’ll find out next year?” This is an invitation to listen to your inner voice. Each of us is guided with a unique mission just as an acorn becomes a tree. Our task, often very difficult in this busy and exploitative world, is to stay on task and get out of the way of our inner knowing. As each cell of the body has a unique function so too does every member of the human race. Where do your passions lie? What are your talents? What do you most enjoy? How can you make your best contribution to society? Be still and you will know.

Living Standards

As we approach the election the main parties are vying with each other to win our affections. All of them claim to support the best interests of the common man. From one side we hear that the National Health Service is under intense pressure and needs massive investment – tens of billions extra! From the other side comes a promise to improve the working conditions of ordinary people by imposing further requirements on employment contracts. Universally comes the cry that in real terms, disposable income is falling and that living standards can only be maintained by voting for their party. This time I’ve decided to buck the trend. First of all I recognise that I’m looking at life through a different lens than most. Every day I can climb, pain free, from my bed is a good day. Every day that I can avoid medication makes it better. Being of service to others and helping to heal our community tops it off. Then learning something more about chiropractic or naturopathy with their focus on Health Protection engages my grey matter and makes me potentially more useful. Enjoying robust good health, for the moment, makes me sad for the many who don’t. Zero hours contracts, hailed by some as the ultimate in flexible working practice, are certainly exploitative. But to me, the worst of all exploitation occurs when organisations profit from depriving people of their health, and governments, of all persuasions, ignore the root causes to focus instead on quick-fix patches that maintain the status quo. In truth we need a complete reassessment of our priorities. Health is Wealth and health is God’s gift. We can squander our health but we cannot buy it. Our best strategy is to protect it carefully in every area of life whether physical, mental or spiritual. We do this when we eat real food, engage in stretching mental activity and seek to build a better world by protecting the one we have. Some years ago I was hospitalised and underwent emergency surgery; the NHS saved my life. Only slowly however, did I start to realise that I’d scored an ‘own goal’. My illness resulted from a sick lifestyle – but one which I thought was better than good. I exercised hard and frequently and followed national guidelines on healthy eating with emphasis on whole grain breads, healthy vegetable oils, low cholesterol spreads and no saturated fats. Only when I was prescribed statin drugs and blood pressure medication, which I’d be on for life, did I stop to examine what was really going on. I’ve come to realise that ‘Living Standards’ has less to do with the pound in your pocket and more to do with the purpose in your life, the thoughts in your head and the food in your belly. Don’t let any political party short change you with promises they can’t keep. Instead, follow Ghandi’s example and ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. Take personal responsibility for your health and be guided in your decision-making by asking how best we can protect the world’s resources for future generations.

Separation and Divorce

A commonly used coaching question is – “What do you know today that you’ll find out in a year’s time?” This is an invitation to use one’s intuition in our conscious life. It is not irrational to use all our senses, especially those from deep within that help us know right from wrong. Also, when explaining how coaching works, I often find it useful to consider the re-entry to the atmosphere of a vehicle from deep space. If it hits the atmosphere obliquely it might bounce off and be lost forever. If it comes in too steeply it burns up. Even when it comes in at the optimum angle things get so hot that communication is temporarily lost. Massive adjustment resulting from separation and divorce is difficult and usually very painful. Following the Brexit vote the UK and EU must now negotiate for their new reality. After a 40 year union it will be hard to pick apart the legislation that has governed our existence. Predictably, both sides are posturing and preparing for difficult talks. Within all the political parties in the UK there have always been rumblings of dissent about the EU. To some this reflects a lack of commitment. To others a justifiable response to an increasingly strident European Commission composed of non-elected bureaucrats. To those tuned in to an inner voice, the UK zeitgeist was clearly disengaging for some time under a sickening display of xenophobia. There are turbulent times ahead for all parties to the talks. Initially there may be brutal recriminations as hurts are expressed but maturity makes it clear that only a Win-Win mentality makes any sense. In sexist terms - as the ex-wife learns to change the engine oil or the ex-husband learns to cook, there are new skills to be gained and new accommodations to be made. In the heat of relationship meltdown it is inevitable that self-preservation kicks in. The UK and the EU are squaring up as do couples entering mediation or the divorce courts. But afterwards there is always great scope for growth. New perspectives open up new possibilities. Great pain can open minds like little else. As the modern day beatitudes put it – ‘Blessed are the broken, they let the light in’. Coaching sessions will seldom get fiery. The coach’s gig will be short lived if she becomes confrontational with her client. Rather the aim is to create a safe learning space for the client, wherein the only heat generated emanates from the client confronting the image he views in the mirror. The skilful coach will assist her client’s greatest learning and help him ride the rapids of change to emerge at a new level of consciousness when the heat subsides. He will consciously listen to his intuition and extend his sense perception creating new options, new outcomes and a richer life.

Gardening Leave

For as long as I can remember ‘Gardening Leave’ was a term used to describe the state of Limbo that surrounds an employee who’s been sacked on full pay while he / she awaits a review or formal settlement. It was usually accompanied by the immediate appointment of a successor – ‘The King is dead; long live the King!’ There’s often a mild embarrassment about the former employee who fell from favour and was excluded. Except in the case of a ‘public hanging’, speculation about the circumstances is discouraged; the business just wants to carry on with minimal disruption. Only recently have I started to imagine the benefits of this situation. Over the last two years I’ve volunteered at our local community garden. Now in April everything is coming alive as spring awakens hundreds of seeds and ‘weeds in wheels shoot long, lovely and lush.’ On arrival at the garden my everyday situation is suspended for a few hours while the work takes over. Wet or dry, inside or out, there are a thousand things to do. There is true nourishment here in the moment. Mentally I’m fully absorbed and Spiritually I can contemplate the perfection of nature and seek to work with it. Our harvest is a few months away. There’s a promise and a trust of physical nourishment in due course. To the displaced executive, or the jilted lover, there’s a non-judgemental, peaceful haven where she can gently come to terms with her new reality and recover. In time she may be able to extract some useful learning and awaken to new possibilities. Spiritual healing is as real as physical healing. When we create the right environment the body heals itself; so also does the soul. In the vast majority of cases medication is unnecessary. Mental anguish and emotional wounding heal naturally when we’ve cultivated a strong community to support us in our times of trial. This is our spiritual immune system; and just like the physical immune system we can take action to strengthen it. As we work together and eat together in the garden, so we grow together. We become conscious of the miracle of life that surrounds us. In our life outside the garden we must similarly invest in the family, friendships and relationships and become conscious of the miracle of Oneness that unites us. Today ‘Gardening Leave’ has a totally different meaning for me. Rather than a shameful fall from favour and exclusion, or an emotional battering from bereavement, this is a time for reflection and spiritual healing. Just as localised inflammation is an essential part of our physical immune system, our work in the garden provides a mental engagement to momentarily distract us from the spiritual wounding that we’ve suffered. The Irish wake system is a wonderful example of emotional inflammation in action. As news of a death spreads through the community, friends arrive from near and far to be with the family. The family in turn, busy with hosting duties, are shielded, if only briefly, from the impact of their loss. In the Christian tradition, as Lent draws to a close, we look forward to abundant new life. The darkest days are swept away by the promise of new beginnings. But as every gardener knows, each season brings its own challenges and the work is never done. So let us draw from the Light of Easter, the nourishment we need for our spiritual journey. And through our daily practice of prayer and meditation may we tend to the strengthening of our spiritual immune system. Gardening Leave was never so good.

Pre Flight Checks

Holistic approaches to health protection result in more sustainable lifestyles such that robust health, and resilience to attack, require attention to all the dimensions of our being in Body, Mind and Spirit. Recently I’ve been considering that, for most of us, these dimensions wax and wane in importance as we go through life. In our youth our bodies and physical prowess dominate our psyche and before engaging in our day our typical pre-flight checks might ensure that teeth are clean, breath fresh, hair combed and makeup is properly applied. Attention is also given to whether our clothing projects the image we want the world to see - grunge, alluring, sharp etc. We are self-possessed with the emphasis on the physical as we explore our world through the senses. In mid-life we are often pre-occupied with our work and our sense of identity comes from what we do. Our journey home from work, and our return next day if not also the hours in between, is often devoted to mental rehearsals for meetings or revisiting those of the day just past. Our pre flight checks are concerned with gathering salient facts, analysing situations and planning on how to control events. Hands-free car phones encourage us to squeeze every productive moment from our day and be in office mode while still on the motorway. From a worldly perspective this is the really productive time of life when we establish ourselves professionally and socially and seek to provide for our own families. It’s too easy, during this busy time of life, to neglect those around us and so scuttle the very foundation of our relationships. At some point we ask ourselves ‘Why are we here?’ and the spiritual dimension of our existence comes to the fore. Stephen Covey used to refer to this as ‘spending all your life climbing the ladder only to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall’. Only in recent years have I made a deliberate practice of spiritual pre-flight checks before starting my day. Based on the idea that we’re all one in spirit and have a unique role in the natural order of life, my ritual seeks to clear away ‘detritus’ from yesterday so that I approach each day with gratitude and openness to new experience. I also have a deep trust that my day is ordered perfectly for my growth and that I am a conduit of love and healing in the world. My role is to be of service. Interestingly, attention to the spiritual dimension of life demands of us that we protect our mental and physical faculties as best we can. Our capabilities fade naturally as we age but we now appreciate that being of service, for as long as possible, requires that we maintain physical and mental health. Finally, as we approach end-of-life, we must surrender our physical and often mental faculties. It’s through our dotage that we are of service by allowing others to care for us and to witness the inevitable decline that awaits them too. May my final pre flight checks ensure adequate supplies of courage, kindness, gentleness, acceptance and preparedness for the journey that needs no fuel.

Hallmarks of Cancer

Hanahan and Weinberg described the six ways in which cancer cells differ from ordinary cells – - Self-sufficiency in growth signalling - Insensitivity to anti-growth signals - Evasion of apoptosis (cell death) - Limitless replication potential - Sustained vascularity (angiogenesis) - Tissue invasion and metastasis As I think about these characteristics I’m struck by the similarities with our large corporate enterprises. When our banks have become ‘Too big to fail’ we definitely have a problem. Normal growth might reasonably be expected to reflect the needs of an organisation to respond to its markets and host communities. However, if an organisation becomes inward looking and inter-departmentally competitive, it is quite happy to grow internal fiefdoms simply because it can and at the expense of its customers and the communities which depend on it. Internal politicking can prevent balanced growth and result in the abandonment of moderating (anti-growth) influences. Turkeys don’t vote for Christmas. Internal demagogues persuade and bully their way to continued financial support – even at the expense of the health of the organisation. They have no sense of timely withdrawal, handover or graceful decline. Any ‘winning formula’ is quickly replicated to strengthen the functionality of departments. ‘Departmental angiogenesis’ is a process by which required resources are channelled to the departments and new pipelines established. Finally, in the competitive fray between departments, similar ‘winning formulas’ become established throughout the organisation resulting in a self-serving scramble for resources which the organisation cannot sustain. In short, customer service allows organisations to thrive; internal politicking causes them to die. Conventional approaches to managing such illnesses might involve the appointment of management consultants to ‘streamline’ operations, a euphemism for job losses – the corporate equivalent of surgery. Severe internal competition that requires workers to interview for a reduced number of jobs, closure of pension schemes, pension fund ‘holidays’, changes of ‘Ts and Cs’ etc can create a toxic environment that causes good people to leave. Such ‘corporate chemotherapy’ aims to bring the organisation to the point of death in the hope of saving it. Corporate radiotherapy might look like the victimisation / destruction of a particular department and holding it as an example to others of what happens to those who step out of line. Enlightened approaches to corporate health will in future ‘cure’ them by retaining the focus on why they exist at all – in the service of the whole and of their host communities. The emphasis will shift to creating ‘leaderful environments’ where local decisions are made using clear guidelines that refocus attention ‘back to basics’. Sadly, such common sense is seldom common and the ‘Slash, Poison and Burn’ model is likely to be with us for some time.

New Administration

Every January millions of people embark on their get fit programmes to reclaim lost youth and shed the pounds acquired over the festive season. A New Administration in their head dictates what they cannot eat and how long they must stay on the treadmill or in the sauna. The bathroom scales take a pounding and guilt drives compliance – at least in the short term. Gym owners everywhere are accustomed to the surge in membership each January and rely on a rapid disillusionment and high drop-out rate to ensure that their facilities can cope adequately with their regular members – the rank and file, dutiful attendees who take their exercise seriously, if perhaps ineffectively, as part of a healthy lifestyle. Across the Atlantic Donald Trump has just become the 45th President of the United States and his dictates and his new administration are already causing distress. Behind the headline grabbing Supreme Court appointments, Tweet pronouncements and phone call tantrums there are tens of thousands of administrators struggling to keep up and implement leadership decisions. There are also provocative military manoeuvres in the world’s oceans and along Russia’s borders. Already there are reports of bewildered administrators refusing to implement decisions from above. They face punitive sanctions of course, it wouldn’t do to encourage civil disobedience, but the heightened state of tension, fear and hatred among the masses is generally accepted as normal. The dutiful patriots take their NATO exercises seriously but certainly ineffectively and grossly unhealthily as far as de-escalation and world peace is concerned. Here in Northern Ireland we will also be asked to choose a new administration at the start of March. One can hope that we elect representatives that see a bigger picture and dedicate themselves to improving society rather than just their bank balances. Here, more than in any other part of the UK, there is a dependence on the public sector for employment. So there tends to be an ineffective use of public funds and an unhealthy reliance on state support. There is also a reticence to think about how things can improve as though it’s too risky to stand out and stand up for change. Until we do however the absurdity of failed policy will continue buoyed along by the momentum of the status quo and fuelled by ignorance if not deliberate deception. At the Ark Community Garden in Newcastle a serious movement is gathering pace. As Aldous Huxley would have recognised, it’s subversive in the extreme; it’s based on truth. The idea that God has provided everything we need to thrive if we only seek to work with nature rather than against it. Yes, as spring approaches the propagation trays are ready to provide a bumper crop of seedlings for the raised beds containing the richest soil we can make. God willing, the garden will be transformed this summer so that our community witnesses an abundant harvest of organic vegetables that can bring us robust health. This is true resistance to a world gone mad. It’s called Regeneration. More than campaigning for sanity and simply resisting the status quo, we can show the superior yield and better health resulting from simple practices of yesteryear before our agricultural and medical systems were hijacked by the petrochemical industry. Resist the ‘Special Relationship’ between the US and the UK becoming an excuse for an influx of GMO patented seeds to Ireland and an acceleration of the poisoning of our people. We don’t need sabre rattling in Poland, Mexican walls, attacks on immigrants or resource squandering wood-chip stove scandals distracting us from the fact that we have everything we need right under our feet. Let’s build a united and healthy community. Let’s install a new administration of our own. Let’s regenerate our own special relationship with the soil and live a better way of life.

Tissue Rejection

Yesterday I went to see the movie ‘Silence’, a thought provoking portrayal of the brutally effective persecution of the Christian church in 17th century Japan. The spread of Christianity in Japan was certainly halted at that time. The human body has developed a complex immune system to protect us from infection caused by invading bacteria. It has evolved over millennia to become very effective. The innate immune system causes an immediate response to combat external threats. There is no doubt that on a cellular level the system is brutally effective. Macrophages consume and destroy invaders. Modern surgical transplants can prolong life but donors and recipients need to be closely matched lest the organ is rejected by its recipient. Even then, it is common practice to give the patient drugs to suppress the immune system so that the organ can imbed and function as intended. It’s a little like flooding a country with blue helmeted UN troops to prevent hostilities from breaking out between tribal enemies or between native residents and unwelcome immigrants even though, when properly integrated, they have a great deal to offer and can rejuvenate a community. ‘Boots on the ground’ is seldom an effective intervention. Also today the world is threatened by the introduction of GMO crops. To many people GMO means ‘God Move Over - we know better!’ GMOs present a long-term danger to the human body whose biology takes millennia to adapt to new foods so that they can be digested and their nutrients used to build healthy new tissue. Instead, longitudinal studies show that their introduction to the food of lab animals leads to cancerous mutations and premature death. Humanity needs an effective immune system to combat their proliferation. The cuckoo goes to extreme lengths to introduce its offspring to the nests of host birds. It destroys the eggs of the nesting bird so that its own egg will be incubated. Scientifically we can examine this behaviour and marvel both at the ingenuity and the treachery of the bird. Nature has permitted the evolution of the cuckoo, again, over millennia. The bird has evolved a self-limiting mechanism for survival and no one would advocate its extermination - except the host nesting birds if they knew what was going on. Whereas the cuckoo adds to the diversity of nature, GMOs only add to the bottom line profits of corporations and potential human extinction. Will our descendants look back and marvel at the greed of today’s corporations, and the stupidity of our species for introducing GMO foods, or will there be no descendants to look back because the resulting tumours and sterility have killed off the human race? Will we still imagine we can flood a country with blue helmets to quell riots between warring neighbours? Will imperialist military forces continue to impose solutions that favour their economic interests? Will civil protest curtail the arrival of economic migrants or will such ‘Tissue Rejection’ be suppressed by cries of xenophobic racism? Will we cause such social inflammation that we trigger a nuclear holocaust that results in the Silencing of the human species - a brutal persecution on a global scale? The planet will still be here even if our species is long gone. Eventually the nuclear winter will thaw and some radiation resistant insect will emerge into a Garden of Eden to start the whole game over.