Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit; for such mutilation undercuts the life principle of trust, without which every human act, may it feel ever so good and seem ever so right is prone to perversion by destructive forms of conscientiousness. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Music, sounds and vibrations of many kinds have helped me find different sorts of profound healing states. For me this has been one of the joys of becoming sensitive. I can feel both music and dance changing and healing my brain’s neurons
Someone in a linked in group responded to this post on the nature of withdrawal syndrome with what I call an "aggressive positivity" comment. They suggested those harmed by drugs are doing no one a favor by telling the truth. They are in fact being "negative" and should instead concentrate on healing. .… [click on title for the rest of the post]
THE ANSWER Do not search for the answer. It will find you in the perfect moment, when your defences are down. It knows where you live. Befriend the question itself. Fall into wonderful not-knowing. Sometimes you can trust that you cannot trust at all. Rest. Stay open. Breathe in, breathe out. Know that your true... Continue Reading →
Yes, that is sanity! This is a harm reduction method...it assumes people truly have basic needs that must be met before other issues can be face. I've worked for such programs...they are far less coercive and therefore more effective than most other sorts of social services. I worked for harm reduction programs in San Francisco which were really quite good and I've seen that they work. In fact I worked in a housing program for formerly homeless folk that neither required people be clean and sober nor that they take psych meds regardless of diagnosis...
The programs weren't perfect because the employees were still often trained in the ways of coercion (a system wide issue still) -- but they were far better than most programs out there.… [click on title for the rest of the post]
We must be the change we want to see in the world!
spiritualityMany have argued that the world's problems may be ultimately 'spiritual' in nature, and much of the population, atheists and believers alike, claim to have a spiritual dimension to their lives. But what do we really mean by the spiritual? … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Our suffering is important in that it reveals the suffering of others. There is nothing unique about our suffering. Tonglen meditation is particularly good at transforming this understanding into something valuable. Tonglen is a method that allows for the development of compassion. Compassion is necessary both for the relief of our own suffering and so that we might serve others towards the end of their suffering too.
The BODY is very much involved. We lose contact with our bodies when we are cut off from our feelings. Time to heal. Time to get embodied. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
The bill, as many people who follow what’s happening in mental health law know, calls for the enactment of assisted (involuntary) outpatient commitment laws at the Federal level and is purportedly crafted to ensure the safety of those deemed “severely mentally ill” by giving families, courts and mental health providers increased authority to commit individuals to outpatient treatment. This may involve supervisory case management and compulsory treatment with whatever psychiatric drugs may be prescribed, while also granting family members or guardians the legal right to access an individual’s medical records.
This legislation, were it to pass, would divert funds from recovery-oriented community mental health programs and would expand funding for psychiatric drug treatment, while also undermining existing legislation relating to patients’ rights. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
Brand meets a whole range of people from whom he draws insights - scientists at the cutting edge of research into the psychology of addiction, those involved in innovative recovery treatments and drug addicts themselves.
Is addiction a disease? Should it be criminalized? And is abstinence-based recovery, which worked for Brand, a possible way forward? In this documentary Brand challenges conventional theory and practice as well as government policy in his own inimitable style, confronting the reality of addiction head on. … [click on title for the rest of the post]
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