First up, because it has the biggest agenda, is On The Commons. This blog covers the whole of our social lives from the perspective of what we share – rather than private ownership. It is biased to the US in its coverage. Consistently well written and clearly argued. If you want a place to go to get a broad view of a better way to live, this blog would be a good place to start.

The single biggest and most urgent issue facing our planet (and all us inhabitants of it) in my view is climate change a.k.a. global warming. (If you have any time for the climate change deniers reading Tim Lambert’s Deltoid blog about the antics of the deniers should cure you of it.) There is a good blog called Fight Global Warming. It has links to the science and also has practical suggestions for what to do. It is a great place to start to change what you do to help save our planet.

Finally at a smaller level is Coffee Kids: Supporting Coffee Communities to Support the Coffee Industry. This is not just about providing a good price for the coffee, or about just conditions. It is about working at the village level to decrease reliance on coffee as the sole crop: to give a wider economic base to the villages. This seems a very worthwhile and important initiative to me.

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People may be more willing to do therapy online as they may feel that it is less confronting – it is done in their space for instance, not the therapist’s office (as is usually the case). People can also feel a little more anonymous and so willing to reveal more. Online therapy also has the advantage of being more accessible for some people – as long as you have a computer with an internet connection you can access therapy – no need to travel (this can especially be a problem for those not in a major city).

If you would like to try online therapy then my personal recommendation is Sarah Luczaj – who has done a number of guest posts for me on this blog. If you do a search for these posts you will get a sense of the kind of person she is. She also has her own site at http://www.mytherapist.com where you can also check her out.

If you are looking for therapy then I think online therapy in general, and Sarah in particular, is definitely worth considering. I have added the link to the blogroll on this blog.

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I do believe eating too much soy can cause problems. My partner, who had been vegan and had eaten lots and lots of soy, started having trouble with weight control – possibly due to the soy affecting her thyroid. It took her eighteen months of not eating soy to get her weight back to normal and where she felt healthy. So, my experience means I am inclined to accept what these books have to say.

I do have some problems though.
Some of the writing seems over the top. Soy seems to be being blamed for just about all our health problems. I think this is partly due to the style of writing and partly because it is easier to get attention this way.

Some of the evidence sited isn’t particularly strong. Some of it is based on correlation – eg. sperm count is lower in men with higher consumption of soy. It may be true that these men have other things in common – perhaps they follow football rather than tennis for instance. It may be that soy is the reason, but it may be that this isn’t the reason too. However, this is the only kind of evidence that can be available before more in depth work is done. Most things start out as observation of correlation. And there is some better quality evidence available.

For me, it is worth drawing attention to the possibility that soy is causing you some problems. Especially if you are a vegetarian, especially if you are a vegan, who has a lot of soy in your diet.

There is a website that presents well the case for the dangers of soy, called Shireley’s Wellness Cafe.

I think it is worthwhile having this kind of information out there. Shirley is quite consciously promoting the view that is not mainstream at the moment. She says:

One aim of my website is to present views which do not necessarily conform to the views of the establishment. It is very easy to find views which conform to the establishment’s views. It is very often difficult to find opposing views. Therefore, you can read the views presented on my website and then visit other websites which present opposing views, and then you can make up your own mind. For example, John Robbins, author of Diet for a New America writes: “There are legitimate questions about certain soyfoods, and much we have yet to learn. Becoming soy-a-holics and automatically downing anything made from soybeans is not the road to health, but neither is shunning and stigmatizing soyfoods. The anti-soy crusade has needlessly frightened many away from a food source that has long been a boon to humankind, a food source that can, if we are respectful of our bodies and of nature, nourish and bless us in countless ways.”

Shirley has many links to resources about the dangers of soy. I think it is a great resource.

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Meditation is usually taken to be at worst harmless and usually very beneficial. In my experience meditation has been beneficial.

This post is about the experience of a zen practitioner who found that meditation was (at least) not enough. His practice fitted his childhood learning of dissociation. During psychotherapy he learned that he wanted a witness to his trauma and an authentic relationship.

I guess advocates of meditation might argue that this was a misuse of meditation.

It is however a very stimulating post. For me it goes right to the heart of what psychotherapy (and meditation) are about. It is called What Everybody Should Know About the Dangers of Meditation. Highly recommended.

If you liked this post you might also like:
Meditation for relaxation
Breathing #1
Breathing #2

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I’ve decided that for the amount of content it is underpriced. I’ll be putting up the price by 50% or so (which still makes it very affordable I think).

So, now is the time to buy!

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Chris and I pretty much agreed that politics alone wouldn’t bring in utopia. I still think this – personal trauma and our relationships aren’t much affected by the laws that politicians past. But now I want to fudge this a bit.

This is because just as I was having this discussion I started reading Affluenza by Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss who at the time they wrote the book were at a left-wing (well what’s left of the left-wing these days – let’s call it the progressive side of politics) think tank called the Australia Institute. (The institute is still in existence and producing some of the most interesting social research I know of. For instance they identified ‘downshifters’ in Australia – those who had made a voluntary reduction in their life. Over the previous five years (excluding those who had retired) this was 25% of the workforce. The implications of this to me seem huge – and entirely off the party political radar.

Affluenza: when too much is never enough, is a book about materialism and how it is failing to make our lives anymore enjoyable. Why it is relevant to bringing in utopia is that they deal with politics and public policy as a way of affecting people’s happiness. Which I thought was pretty much futile.

At the end of the book they provide eight points on what governments can do to make people happier (pp.218-224). They are:
1. Measure what matters – that is people’s wellbeing rather than money.
2. Provide fulfilling work. This means favouring in legislation such things as job security, reducing unemployment, encouraging maternity and paternity leave.
3. Reclaim time. Limiting work hours, providing for productivity gains to be traded for reduced work hours rather than just money.
4. Re-do education. Focusing on developing people rather than training them for job slots (which may well no longer exist by the time they graduate).
5. Investing in early childhood. All the research shows that this returns extraordinary dividends.
6. Discourage materialism and promote responsible advertising. E.g. outlaw advertising on children’s TV.
7. Encouraging dramatically a shift to renewables. Having urban planning that preserves trees.
8. Build communities and relationships. Encouraging volunteering and supporting carers.
Any of which would move us closer to a better way of living.

This is a pretty impressive list. It certainly demonstrates to my mind that public policy can impact our private wellbeing.

And I still think that the private is more powerful than the public for our individual experience. With good friends and support people can flourish even in difficult situations but it is very hard for public policy to make up for personal trauma.

So, this book has caused to see more of the possibilities that public policy has for making our lives better. I do recommend that you read it. It is a very thorough demolition of the idea that more money will make us happier (after basic needs are met). It is well written, clear and accessible.

What do you think? Do you think that governments have a role in promoting our individual happiness? Some people regard this with horror – that government has not business trying to do this kind of thing (I understand this view and have a good deal of sympathy for it). Would you like to see the kind of changes that Hamilton and Denniss outline in their eight points? I’d love to hear your views.

The answer is living authentically. Buy the book or sign up for the course now from my Living Authentically website.

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He has an article that introduces the blog and gives you an overview of what it is about.

Alex’s blog is in the self-development field. His emphasis is on taking action rather than the more introverted (visualise, change your thinking and feeling) side of the story. He talks about these things too but emphasises the need for action. As he says on his welcome page, after inviting you to read his introduction page and some of the recommended articles,

…and then – this is the important part – stop reading for a while and actually do something and apply all this stuff to improve your life. Stop reading and get up and make something happen. Get up and Unleash Reality.

This gives a good indication of Alex’s emphasis.

I have been subscribed to Unleash Reality for a while now and have found the articles consistently well written and thought provoking. Alex brings an interesting slant to what he writes about and always has something to say. He is also young – especially to be writing this well and with this depth (I feel both paternal and envious).

So, check out Unleash Reality – I think you will find it very worth your time. I think it is definitely one of the better blogs in the self-development field.

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The trial is to examine how well acupuncture treats pain. It will last for three years and is funded by Government funding body the National Health and Medical Research Council. The funding is $400,000: chicken feed in this writers opinion.

This signals I hope the inclusion of acupuncture into Western medicine in Australia. (It also leads me to worry about doctors wanting to take over acupuncture – but that is another battle). For me this is an important and encouraging step forward.

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