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Share The Love

Have you ever noticed that in any reasonably large group of people, there’s always one person who you just don’t seem to get on with? One person who gets in your face, and just doesn’t seem to agree with you or like you, no matter what you say or do? How do you deal with them?

Earlier this year I went to a Shamanic Practitioner’s training course, up near Byron bay. The purpose of the course was to learn shamanic healing techniques for dealing with spiritual, emotional and sexual problems. I had been lured by the promise of dealing with three of my biggest bugbears: guilt, fear and shame. It was one of those courses where you just know everyone’s going to wind up getting naked.

This was a residential course lasting 6 days, in the beautiful, warm Byron hinterland. There was a lot of stomping, pillow-hitting, tantrum-throwing and other … Continue reading…

By Graham Stoney, ago

Path of Love

I went to Path of Love hoping that it would help me deal with a constant feeling of mild anxiety that I was experiencing. Whenever I wasn’t engrossed in some activity, I felt anxious and I just couldn’t seem to shake it.

David Guetta’s “When Love Takes Over” (Featuring Kelly Rowland) always reminds me of my Path of Love Experience. Play it as you read along:

There were some obvious contributing factors: I had been ill with Chronic Fatigue for over two years, and although I was gradually recovering, my limited energy and feeling constantly unwell for such a long time was a constant source of frustration. I was also lacking direction generally: it had been about six years since I’d had a full-time job, and I was unsure how to find a new vocation earning money doing something that I loved again, especially with the added burden of illness. … Continue reading…

By Graham Stoney, ago

Anger Management by Crockery

One of the rules that had to be obeyed when I was growing up was: Don’t run in the house, because you might break something. Walk instead. Stay calm. Don’t get too excited. Getting excited might cause you to hurt yourself, something or someone else. It also seemed to irritate the grown-ups; it seemed that grown-ups just weren’t supposed to get excited.

Not when they were happy anyway. The only time grown-ups seemed to get excited was when they were angry; and then there seemed to no limits to how excited they could get. The rest of the time they seemed to be holding their excitement inside; but when they were really angry, they really let loose. I found that terrifying. I got in real trouble when I acted like that, but grown-ups were allowed different rules to me. And so I learned that I wasn’t allowed to get … Continue reading…

By Graham Stoney, ago

Not Everyone is Going To Like You

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve felt a burning desire to have other people like me; to be accepted. It’s not unusual to want to fit in with other people, and perhaps you can relate. Often when I didn’t feel accepted by other people, I thought the problem lay with me. But a recent interaction with a rather extreme neighbour was an opportunity in disguise to learn otherwise.

A few years back I moved into a block of flats in a neighbourhood not far from where I’d previously been living for several years. I knew the area well, but the immediate neighbours were all new. It wasn’t long before I met a neighbour who I’ll call Edward, who lived upstairs in the same building quite close to me. At first he was friendly and appeared very charming. A little too charming perhaps, to the point of being a bit … Continue reading…

By Graham Stoney, ago