Robert Whitaker, Irving Kirsch, Joanna Moncrieff, Pat Bracken, Giovanni Fava, Jaakko Seikkula and others are to participate in a June 14-15 conference, hosted by the Vatican, that will examine the evidence for (and against) the rise of psychiatric medication and fall of psychosocial treatment for children. Press release for the June 13 press conference associated with the event: … [click on title for the rest of the post]
RETREAT follows thirty-five Westerners as they attempt an intense, eight-week, silent, meditation retreat in Thailand led by the American Buddhist teacher, B. Alan Wallace. Some are experienced mediators, some are beginners. The practice they're learning is shamatha, or calm abiding, stilling the mind with sustained, one-pointed, concentration...simple enough sounding, but extremely difficult to master...and considered to be an essential step on the path to full enlightenment. Alan Wallace teaches it through a Buddhist understanding of the nature of consciousness and contrasts that with the prevailing materialist paradigm of modern neuroscience. ...
Biologist, mother and activist Sandra Steingraber discusses her fight against fracking and toxins contaminating our air, water and food....because...EVERYTHING matters. Your relationships with others and the planet, the food you eat, and the air you breath…. how often you move your body and the thoughts you nurture in your mind and soul. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Theatre-Maker and musician Dylan Tighe uses his own psychiatric history to probe some of the assumptions underpinning a scientific view of mental health. The play proposes artistic expression, and lived experience- as capable of offering insights into the mind (and heart) which science cannot penetrate. This alternative record of mental health centres around Dylan Tighe's psychiatric records and personal research and includes songs from his debut album RECORD exploring his diagnosis and experience, along with a collage of sonic and musical sources, documentary, dramatic scenes and archive samples relating to the science behind the concept of "mental illness" … [click on title for the rest of the post]
FREE THE MIND is the fantastic tale of how one man's vision provides a turning point in the lives of three people. Professor Davidson sets out to discover if, and how, it may be possible to physically change the brain using only the power of thought. Steve and Rich are just two out of thousands of American war veterans. Their lives have turned into painful nightmares: they are restless insomniacs tormented by their own consciences after events witnessed and deeds done during wartime. Will, just 5 years old, suffers from ADHD and anxiety. His parents are eager to try options other than those provided by traditional medicine. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
The CDC’s ACE Study summarized in 14-minute video from Academy on Violence & Abuse The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACE Study) is the product of collaboration between Vincent J. Felitti, MD, who founded and directed the Preventive Medicine Department at Kaiser Permanente in San Diego, CA, and Robert F. Anda, MD, MS of the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who designed, analyzed the data and prepared numerous scientific publications from the ACE Study. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Saturday mellow Bobby McFerrin and Chick Corea - "Spain"
An Italian friend of mine and I were discussing the meals of our youth (we are both American-Italians) when she mentioned a dish I'd never had. Dandelion soup. I grew up eating lots of dandelion but it was generally sauteed in garlic and olive oil and then served as such. The simple sauteed dish remains my very favorite vegetable dish. We've been growing domesticated (wild) dandelion for a couple of years since I love itso much and could eat it daily. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
People can heal the sensitivity to become psychotic by becoming AWARE...that is a growth and maturation process...when one matures enough to become an observer of their thoughts and become discerning about the content of their thoughts psychosis pretty much goes away... Psychosis is, among (many) other things, also, quite often, a deep attachment to one's (not consensually reasonable) thoughts and beliefs. To be clear much of what is consensually and widely believed in society and the mainstream is also delusional. It's just generally accepted. R.D Laing has much to say about the "normal" human being. Let's just say that real clarity and lucidity is not normal. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Everything matters 
You must be logged in to post a comment.