Focus For Change 2020

READING THE SIGNS Life is a magical mystery tour with many twists and turns along the way. Our greatest wisdom, can be attained through learning  which paths lead us  towards the most successful outcomes.  First, as the ancient greek philosophers pointed out (literally written in stone), we need to 'know thyself' – which in itself, is the most difficult quest of all. Our passions, our preferences and general outlook on life, are constantly changing. How can we truly 'know' the person in the mirror? Firstly, we have to break the chains of self deceipt.  Dr Robert Trivers  has worked diligently over 40 years, attempting to understand the logic and role of deceipt in human life. Just 14 minutes in to  this video , Robert's research concludes that the 'truth' is in our subconscious mind. Increasingly often, it's the lies we display consciously, protected via our 'Ego, in order to avoid detection by an observer and potential rival. So adapt have we becom...

THE HUMBLE WARRIOR The warrior's path, is one littered with many trials and tribulations. As the warrior journeys onwards through a life fulfilled by an attainment of spiritual integrity, his greatest risks will be reflected more in the actions of retreat than in battle. The formidable warrior is one that accepts their vulnerability with grace and bravely struggles on with this knowledge. Men and the male archetype, are predominantly seen as the aggressor, dominator and driving force behind many violent manifestations in the world past and present. This warrior spirit will be the result of misspent energies arising from those who have not learned to direct a warrior's spirit towards the good , positive change and champion the right action in themselves and others. Female warriors are as much to blame for adopting this hardened, cold and emotionless approach to leadership, resulting in corruption, trauma, misery and suffering in the world. The warrior is defined by the...

NEGOTIATING ADVANTAGE The best negotiators, are the ones who come prepared. But often, the key moments for negotiation, will arise from unexpected situations, when there's been no opportunity to first assess the situation. It's at times such as these, that a learned negotiator will have mentally prepared themselves to respond in the right way to take the advantage in any given situation. Negotiations are always charged with emotions. Excitement, fear of the unknown and significance to the negotiator about the desired outcome, can manifest in  anxiety . Anxiety is the achilles heel in the negotiator's armour. Emotionally charged responses will lead negotiations and how we adapt to confrontational situations determines if we emerge as the winner or loser. When we enter into negotiations in an anxious mental state, the brain's responses will be coloured by emotions stemming from our ill-fated fight or flight responses. Our fear of the unknown, can create a state ...

LOCKED-IN SYNDROME We are all prisoners of perceptions. Plato's Allegory of the Cave , highlights to us how we can grasp, think and talk about the concept of our observations, but how concepts differ from what the reality of the concept actually is. And as our perceptions are purely constructs of the mind, it follows that our perceptions are unique to us and to us alone. If the above statement takes you around in circles, the statement has served its purpose: to push you the reader, to 'think'. Not merely 'thinking' as we loosely believe the term to be used, ie. referencing 'pre-learned' memorised information, recalling the information as a confirmed acknowledgement that we've already covered this topic, then quickly moving on, – but actual 'thinking' with reasoning and cross-examination of the information we seek to understand, as in the Socratic method . It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accep...