Love Your Self For No Reason

Psychologist - Fresnaye Cape Town

Mark Kahn

Grasping For Peace!

I ran a meditation workshop for some teachers last week.

They all wanted more peace in their lives.

I was helping them to let go of the past and the future to get into the now, where peace resides.

I asked them what it would feel like to let go of wanting peace. The sense of horror in the room was palpable. “How can I let go of wanting peace when that is the one thing I’ve come here to get?” is what they were saying to themselves.

It’s counterintuitive. The more you grasp for peace the more it slips away.

Grasping for anything whether it be peace or happiness or enlightenment, it will run from you.

This is the essence of my Gateway to Peace workshop.

Don’t believe me, or not.

Test it out for yourself.

Is There Magic Inside You?

I’m watching the latest season of the X factor UK.

I so love music.

I mean, I really love music.

I play the guitar and the piano, not too well and you might know that I believe that failure is not a fact, it’s just a concept. Well, according to societal conditioning I have failed to learn to read music for the piano. Multiple attempts over many years and I still can’t read beyond grade 1 level.

But is it in fact a failure or just a disappointment?

I think the latter.

Interestingly our cat Guinevere, who died a few months ago – wrote a blog about that – loved my piano playing. She would approach from some distance and rub up against my legs whenever I played. Amy, another cat hates it. As soon as my fingers touch the keys, she bolts from the room.

I wonder who is the better judge of my music?

Back to the X factor. [Read more…] about Is There Magic Inside You?

Loving An Injured Scrub Hare

Last night gorgeous cat Frank brings home a gorgeous little scrub hare, who is innocence beyond the naming of it.

Frank is showing off his prize catch.

As I reach to save the hare, Frank drops her and she limps desperately to get away.

After a few phone calls I am in the car with said hare, snugly wrapped up in a shoe box, on the way to the 4 Ways Veterinary Hospital. I notice my somewhat desperate ‘wanting’ to keep this beautiful furry thing alive.

I think, “This ‘wanting’ the rabbit not to die is nuts, it’s not helping this fragile creature at all. In fact it’s probably making things worse!

It’s contracted and anxious.

It’s a screwed up energy.”

I let the ‘wanting’ go.

I drop softly into love and the atmosphere in the car transforms.

Perhaps this endless ‘wanting’ we do, is the antithesis of love.

Are You A Moody Parent?

A couple of weeks ago a friend of mine asked me to write about the impact of parent’s moods on kids. She was concerned about how her mood and the mood of her husband was impacting on her seven-year-old child.

The short answer is, parent’s moods have a very deep impact on their children.

Here’s the long answer: [Read more…] about Are You A Moody Parent?

The Mind Is A Dangerous Place!

I just watched a video by Michael Singer, author of The Untethered Soul.

He talks about the mind being a dangerous place. It bullies us endlessly with its paranoia and need for control everything that’s happening on the outside.

I just love that.

I’m a danger to myself!

Like a suicide patient. On a daily basis I am on a mission to die.

Tragic and somehow quite funny.

As I smile at myself, the danger seems to dissipate.