Skip to main content

The Latest Bulletin

Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – To thine own self be true

Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – To thine own self be true

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…
Dr Neil Thompson
May 21, 2015
What is Mindfulness?

What is Mindfulness?

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/
Dr Neil Thompson
May 21, 2015
Challenging gender stereotyping in the armed forces – Mixed responses

Challenging gender stereotyping in the armed forces – Mixed responses

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
Dr Neil Thompson
May 21, 2015
‘Stop punishing the poor’: What social care wants from the government

‘Stop punishing the poor’: What social care wants from the government

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
Dr Neil Thompson
May 21, 2015
Seth Godin’s blog: Are you certain that you’re trapped?

Seth Godin’s blog: Are you certain that you’re trapped?

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/  
Dr Neil Thompson
May 21, 2015
Lesson for Living – Don’t oversimplify the complex or overcomplicate the simple

Lesson for Living – Don’t oversimplify the complex or overcomplicate the simple

We live in a world of soundbites and dumbed-down media messages. Having so many people competing for our attention and trying to capture that attention in a short time is bound to lead to an oversimplification of complex issues much of the time. Add to this the fact that there are so many people trying to earn a living by coming up with simple solutions to complex problems and a strong picture of oversimplification starts to emerge. Click on the link below to read more. https://neilthompson.info/index.php/dont-oversimplify-the-complex-or-overcomplicate-the-simple/
Dr Neil Thompson
May 7, 2015
Does inequality undermine democracy?

Does inequality undermine democracy?

It is generally known that greater democracy is conducive to greater equality but the mechanisms whereby inequality undermines democracy are perhaps less well understood. It is therefore welcome that the IPPR think-tank has produced a report ... that sheds some much-needed light on this area. It defines political inequality as a situation where certain individuals or groups have greater influence over political decision-making and benefit from unequal outcomes through those decisions, despite procedural equality in the democratic process. The report finds that political inequality is intimately bound up with socio-economic inequalities and observes that as material inequalities have widened in the past three decades so has political inequality. Click on the link below to read more. https://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/news/enemy-people-how-inequality-undermines-democracy
Dr Neil Thompson
May 7, 2015
A critique of the sanctions regime

A critique of the sanctions regime

A new report ... from the Work and Pensions Select Committee lays out the case for conducting a full review of sanctions in the UK’s benefit system. It highlights the fact that “there is currently no evidence” on whether a sanction will increase or decrease the likelihood of a person engaging with employment support or actually finding a job. At the same time numerous recent reports have highlighted the arbitrary cruelty created by the sanctions regime. Cases include a person being sanctioned for attending the funeral of their best friend, another person being sanctioned for being taken to hospital with a suspected heart attack, one person being sanctioned for attending a job interview instead of going to the jobcentre and…
Dr Neil Thompson
May 7, 2015