The effects of leaders on organizations: a 'transformational', inspirational-caring style looks particularly effective
6th December 2010
One of the joys of writing this blog is the way it encourages me to think more deeply about issues that matter to me. Another is the opportunity it provides to chew over interesting new research studies. A couple of recent papers that caught my eye were Vianello et al's …
Recent research: articles from November journals
2nd December 2010
I read a lot of research. When I find an article of particular interest I download it to my bibliographic database - EndNote - which currently contains over 15,300 abstracts. Every few weeks I scan through all the articles I've found interesting in the previous month (in the general areas …
Recent research: 4 studies on prayer and their implications for compassion, loving-kindness & goodwill meditation practices
24th November 2010
"If you want others to be happy, practise compassion. If you want to be happy, practise compassion" Dalai Lama I was struck by three recent research papers on intercessory prayer, and one somewhat less recent meta-analysis. What I found most interesting about these studies is their potential relevance for meditation/prayer …
The 'bus driver' is warm-blooded: integrating mindfulness & emotion 2
21st November 2010
I wrote yesterday about a couple of 'notes of caution' when using mindfulness approaches and the "The bus driver metaphor". I pointed out that many primary emotions & constructive thoughts help energise and direct us towards healthy goals. I also mentioned the importance of integrating head & heart in mindfulness …
The 'bus driver' is warm-blooded: integrating mindfulness & emotion 1
20th November 2010
These posts on "The bus driver is warm-blooded" are downloadable as both Word and PDF handouts. In a companion post - "The bus driver metaphor" - I've talked about how valuable mindfulness can be when coping with worry, rumination and other unhelpful mental content. The growing research supporting "third wave" …
Peer groups: Ravenstor autumn group 7 - feedback, ecology & goodbyes
18th November 2010
In yesterday's second reflection on the Ravenstor residential group, I wrote about friendship and flourishing. This last morning of the residential now moved on to a final meeting of our 11 person, medium-sized group. Checking in. Reviewing. Checking out. Deeper now. Touching. I'd come into this four day group very …
Peer groups: Ravenstor autumn group 6 - respect & friendship
17th November 2010
It's a couple of days since we drove back up to Scotland from Ravenstor. I blogged yesterday about the last morning of the group and I was thinking a bit about judgements and who we choose as closer friends. I feel a bit uncomfortable exploring this issue as I don't …
Peer groups: Ravenstor autumn group 5 - valuing, connection & disconnection
16th November 2010
It's "the morning after", back home, reflecting on the group that finished yesterday at lunchtime. "Peer groups: Ravenstor autumn group 4 - nature, father-son, flow & celebration" took us up to the beginning of the group's final half day together. This last morning was pretty compressed. We'd agreed to meet …
Peer groups: Ravenstor autumn group 4 - nature, father-son, flow & celebration
15th November 2010
So the fourth and last morning here at Ravenstor. Didn't get to bed till after midnight and was up "late" this morning a little before 7.00am. The dawn mist is already clearing on a beautiful day with the sun's glow just beginning to emerge over the ridge. It reminds me …
Peer groups: Ravenstor autumn group 3 - depth & confrontation
14th November 2010
The third morning. So moving on from where I'd described to in yesterday's blog post, we began again in the full group at around 9.30am. Almost immediately a good friend moved very deeply into distress about fathering - his relationship with his own father & fears about passing on some …