Humansolutions Bulletin - May 21st 2015

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The idea that we should be true to ourselves has a long and honourable history, and also has much to commend it. However, much depends on how it is interpreted. A very common interpretation is that it involves being clear what your ‘true’ self is and then acting in accordance with that. This entails digging deep into yourself to find out what your ‘true’ or real self is. This is highly problematic, as it is based on an oversimplified understanding of what it means to have a ‘self’. The technical term for this is ‘essentialism’, because it is based on the false idea that everyone has a fixed ‘essence’, an unchanging underlying personality or identity. This is what is seen…

You’ve probably heard a lot about Mindfulness in the media recently. Perhaps you think it means sitting cross-legged on the floor and meditating. Maybe you think mindfulness means to simply concentrate on your breathing. You may have even heard that mindfulness means to focus on your bodily sensations? Well mindfulness is all of those things, and so much more. To shed some light on what mindfulness is, how it can be used and why it’s so beneficial we have decided to focus on the theme of mindfulness for Mental Health Awareness Week 2015. Click on the link below to read more. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/mentalhealthawarenessweek/what-is-mindfulness/

At first glance, it seems 2015 may be the year the British Armed Forces is truly embracing diversity and promoting gender equality. Last month, Staff Sergeant Kate Lord received the prestigious Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service, for challenging the opinions of young men in the Afghan National Army, who accused her of "being weak". And in January, the army's first transgender officer Hannah Winterbourne was praised for speaking openly about realising her "body was wrong" while she was serving in Afghanistan. But despite these moves in the right direction, women are still seriously outnumbered by men in the armed forces. Click on the link below to read more. https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/03/27/women-britsh-armed-forces-sexism_n_6940538.html

British Association of Social Workers – Guy Shennan, chair: “We want to see a return to a commitment to social justice. Social workers have had to deal with the fallout of the austerity agenda. It’s time for government to play fair and stop punishing the poor for the economic failures of the rich. “Blame has been heaped on the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society over the past five years. These are the people social workers work with, and for, and it is time that their voice was heard.” Click on the link below to read more. https://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2015/may/08/social-care-poor-wants-from-government-election

To be actually trapped is to have no options, no choices, no possible outcomes other than the one you fear. Most of the time, when we think we're trapped, we're actually unhappy with the short-term consequences of making a choice. Make the choice, own the outcome and you can start in a new place. This is often frightening and painful, which is one reason it might be easier to pretend that we're actually trapped. Click on the link below to read more of Seth Godin's blog entries. https://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/