shifted

I have shifted this blog onto my website www.hoapham.net!

See you there!

finally some Thay pictures

Finally I got out the video camera and downloaded the pictures from Thay's tour. The best are selected here.

ACT ing with values

I'm halfway through the Acceptance Commitment Therapy course. They have a concept of no-self- what they call the observing self- sort of. Some of their techniques are very similar to Buddhism, such as accepting your emotions and not judging them, and viewing them passing like clouds in the sky. But ACT differentiates itself from religious practices in that it does not prescribe which values you should aspire to- whilst Buddhism definitely does. As a result I have been thinking about my values and what I aspire to in the near and more distant future. I either want to be a Buddhist psychologist- and go into private practice, or be a practising Buddhist with psychological underpinnings. I'm actually very happy working where I am with clients and ACT is teaching me new ways of approaching things.

no self

Just read a transcript of a dharma talk by Thich Nhat Hanh about our continuation with our ancestors. His talks can be accessed at www.plumvillage.org
What he said made a lot of sense to me. He said that Western psychology is centred around the self which means it can only heal up to a certain point. Buddhist psychology encourages the concept of no-self - the connection of you to your ancestors and other beings so you go beyond yourself. I came to this conclusion while on retreat with Thay in Vietnam- that it did not matter who I was (i had been wondering what and who I was for sometime) but my interconnection with all beings made me who I am.
I have found so far with some of my clients that I see that they take to viewing their thoughts as being outside of themselves very readily. I have not yet taken that step of trying to teach mindfulness but I will soon.

mindful counselling

I've been doing more reading on mindfulness and three models that it is used in- Acceptance Commitment Therapy which I'm going to do a short course on, Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy and Stress Reduction Therapy. I also bought a book The Mindful Way through Depression which complements what I was taught by Thich Nhat Hanh. It has been seeping into my counselling practice slowly. I've also started reading Zen Keys by Thich Nhat Hanh before I go to bed- which reminds me of where I want to be- in reality and interbeing. A friend asked me what is being Buddhist- for she has Buddhist beliefs but does not consider herself to be a Buddhist. I compared it to describing yourself as a feminist which some people do and some people don't - but still promote the core values of being feminist.

A dream

I have been dreaming of going back to Vietnam recently, always to return to temples. The most recent dream had a Buddhist nun talking to me saying that the answers to my questions lay within. This had a pretty deep and profound impact on me.
I have been reading the latest Thich Nhat Hanh book titled "ethics for a better life" or something like that which is a commentary on the five mindfulness trainings. Reading it puts me back in that space where I was on the retreat in Vietnam.
I have just begun counselling work again and I notice that my approach is different. I now open myself up to listen deeply and with compassion- rather than using theory and professionalism as a presence. it feels much more comfortable. maybe in western training theory and research and professionalism are used as defenses. we are taught how to sound like we're listening but not to really listen.

for Vin

The saddest thing happened the other day. my friend huu tran's baby passed away suddenly. his wife lucy is having trouble accepting it, during the funeral she sang to the baby's body and asked us to wake Vin up because he wasn't listening to mummy anymore.
This is a poem for Vin

Small clamped fist
Like a budded lotus flower
His stilled breath, forever

Rest in peace Vin