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Showing posts from November, 2016

Origami - How make some basic origami forms. Origami is a wonderful experience to practice during times when life needs to slow down and when regaining a sense of control is needed. I hope you enjoy the process. Just remember to take it easy and slowly breathe your way back to calmness.

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Music : Great Masters of the Oud A tribute to Nasser Shamma نصير شمة

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Busting five myths regarding eating disorders and mental illness Catriona Bastian

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https://www.sane.org/media-centre/the-sane-blog/1448-busting-five-myths-regarding-obesity-and-mental-illness

37 Techniques to Calm an Anxious Child : Renee Jain - Chief Storyteller of GoZen! Anxiety Relief Programs for Kids

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/5829fe2ee4b057e23e31481f?timestamp=1480342698579

A Fun Experimental Claymation Short by Alexander Ungerby Christopher Jobson

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I came across this little animation at  thisiscolossal.com  ,a wondeful site promoting the combination of art, imagination, science and engineering. " Swedish animator and sculptor Alexander Uner runs a popular You Tube channel where he shares sculpting and animation tutorials " I am inspired !

In Flux 8 Common Traits of the Toxic People in Your Life How they make you feel and what you can do about it. Abigail Brenner M.D.

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www.psychologytoday.com/blog/in-flux/201608/8-common-traits-the-toxic-people-in-your-life?utm_source=FacebookPost&utm_medium=FBPost&utm_campaign=FBPost

Exposure Therapy: Today is a day that I have been both dreading and deeply longing for. This afternoon I will enter the old monastery which housed my sexual abuser all those years ago, the place where my childhood innocence was cut short. My hope is to draw a line at the gate and put this ordeal back into my past where it belongs. I am not expecting miracles to occur but from past experience, I know that facing childhood fears from an adult perspective can be very healing. Thank You, John, for your years of support, care and love. It has been you who kept me strong. I love you. Mairead xxx

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                                                         Change 'Woman' for 'John' Thanks for your support Svetlana. Live your Bliss Mairead

The Food Hospital 101: Look out for the rest of the seasons and episodes on You Tube

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Music - Gerry Rafferty - City To City.1978.

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How Vacations and Meditation Heal the Body and Mind Harvard research reveals how going on vacation, especially if you meditate while you're on vacation, restores your body and mind on a genetic level. By Crystal Goh

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http://www.mindful.org/vacations-meditation-heal-body-mind/ This will be me on one month's time, lazing in the warmth of Darwin in the wet season. I plan to stare at the night sky and watch the sheet lightning flash across to vastness of the heavens. I will have many more holidays now that all 7 children are finished school and able to care for themselves, particularly after reading this article. It has been 15 years since my last trip with my husband and I am looking forward to it immensely. Live your Bliss Mairead

Forget Willpower — Try Avoiding Temptation Instead By Cari Romm

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http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2016/10/avoiding-temptation-is-easier-than-exercising-self-control.html?mid=facebook_scienceofus&utm_content=buffer5866f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Apologies in Trauma Recovery

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https://gowiththat.wordpress.com/2016/11/14/apologies-in-trauma-recovery/

What makes you happy? Everyone wants to be happy. But how, exactly, does one go about it? Here, psychologists, journalists, Buddhist monks and more gives answers that may surprise. Playlist of 14 Ted Talks

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https://www.ted.com/playlists/4/what_makes_you_happy

5 Signs That You're Giving Negative People Too Much Power

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https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201611/5-signs-youre-giving-negative-people-too-much-power?utm_source=FacebookPost&utm_medium=FBPost&utm_campaign=FBPost

Mom Abandons Deformed Baby Inside A Shoebox 17 Years Later He Brings The Judges To Tears : I have had the great honour of meeting this inspiring young man and his swimming paralympic brother. Each of us have our own challenges to bare. as Christopher Reeves once said, “Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.”

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Between Therapy Sessions: 3 Handy Coping Skills for Trauma: By Anastasia Pollock

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http://www.goodtherapy.org/blog/between-therapy-sessions-3-handy-coping-skills-for-trauma-0305154

Kangaroo-bone nose piercing is oldest bone jewellery ever found: By Alice Klein

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https://www.newscientist.com/article/2113247-kangaroo-bone-nose-piercing-is-oldest-bone-jewellery-ever-found/?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook&utm_term=Autofeed&cmpid=SOC%7cNSNS%7c2016-Echobox#link_time=1479466680

Boundary-setting and mental illness Tanya Peisley

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https://www.sane.org/media-centre/the-sane-blog/1923-boundary-setting-and-mental-illness

Between the Folds, The Art of Origami By Vanessa Gould : Origami may seem an unlikely medium for understanding and explaining the world. But around the world fine artists and theoretical scientists are abandoning.

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Art Therapy Invitation: Explore how the past informs the present: By Lisa Mitchell - How to find flexibility instead of rigid rules and use past experiences in the healthiest way possible.

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http://www.innercanvas.com/2013/06/06/art-invitation-explore-informs-present/

Pure & Pureland Origami - origami-resource-center.com : Japanese art therapist Toshiko Kobayashi has explored the use of origami for over ten years with a range of clients, particularly with children suffering the effects of trauma and sexual abuse. She has found the structure of origami activities and achievable outcomes can provide a sense of security and hope for the future and repetition can build resilience and achievement in overcoming what may seem like obstacles or difficult tasks (Kobayashi 2007)

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http://www.origami-resource-center.com/pure-pureland.html Ref: Kobayashi, T 2007, Use of Origami for Children with Traumatic Experiences , in Brooke, S, The Use of Creative Therapies with Secual Abuse Survivors, pg: 102 - 120  

Walking for Peace with Satish Kumar

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How long does it Take Your Body to Physically Heal From Addiction: By Rose Lockinger

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http://stigmafighters.com/how-long-does-it-take-your-body-to-physically-heal-from-addiction/

Attachment Styles: By Trauma and Attachment Model Expert, Therapist, Author, Trainer Diane Poole Heller, Ph.D.

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http://dianepooleheller.com/workshops/attachment-styles/ Honouring Children’s Rights

How people learn to become resilient: By Maria Konnikova

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http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/the-secret-formula-for-resilience Perception is key to resilience: Do you conceptualize an event as traumatic, or as a chance to learn and grow? ILLUSTRATION BY GIZEM VURAL

How to recognize a dystopia - Alex Gendler

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Calming the Rush of Panic in Your Body: How to create space between you and what you’re experiencing in order to decrease anxiety and worry. By Bob Stahl

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http://www.mindful.org/calming-rush-panic-body/

Do the dead greet the dying? "What if there really is an afterlife and you receive a message that your son or daughter will be dying soon? If you were allowed to go to your child, wouldn't you?": By David Kessler, Oprah.com

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http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/10/18/o.end.of.life/

Philosophical Meditation

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Fibromyalgia Documentary - Getting Our Lives Back

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I am in the midst of a fibromyalgia relapse, struggling every day to put one foot in front of the other and feeling exhausted before I go to sleep and just as exhausted on waking. I have had this conditions for almost 20 years and know that although things are tough at the moment, I will recover again. Recovery has never meant that I feel any better than about 80% but over the years I have learned and developed my own strategies to cope and live a fulfilling life. My greatest saviour is creativity, no matter how small the process. Having the ability to create a new focus can block the pain and fatigue of FM allowing a break in the distress created by this long term illness. Writing this blog, creating art, searching for inspiring images on the internet and listening to music relieve my pain and relax my distressed mind. Now that my children are grown I now can rest when required. This was very difficult to manage when my parental responsibilities were high. I learned to prioritise,

Music - múm - Finally We Are No One

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Dealing With PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder): The Mechanism of Trauma and PTSD - Roland Bal

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11/11 Remembrance day. As shared by the Australian War Memorial web site (www.awm.gov.au) "This year 11 November marks the 98th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War (1914–18). Each year on this day Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11 am, in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts." Mairead Ashcroft 11/11/16

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Millions of people,adults and children, from all around the world are subjected to conflict in their environments due to war. In Australia it is tradition that on this day we stop for one minute of silence at eleven o'clock to remember those who have fallen in times of conflict. I would just like to remind us all at this time that for many people, war is not a distant memory or an experience only witnessed on the television or movie screens.  War is real in present day for millions of refugees asylum seekers, returned soldiers and families and survivors of devastating confrontation. They may be remembering or even re-living their own personal trauma every second of the day. If you find that a co-worker, neighbour or friend does not wish to participate in the minutes silence, rather than see it as an insult to those who have fallen, be curious about what may be going on for them. Have they or someone that they know suffered while serving their country in some way? Were their

Cultural healing: Indigenous art as therapy By Kimberly Gillan

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http://www.sbs.com.au/topics/life/culture/article/2016/10/07/cultural-healing-indigenous-art-therapy

Break-Ups Don’t Have to Leave You Broken - When an important relationship ends : Gary Lewandowski

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Hi Every one ! You will notice that I have made some changes to my blog with a new Logo and background. After 4 years I thought it was time to freshen up all of my Art of Life social media. I hope you like it. Please let me no in the comments if you are having any reading or other difficulties with the new look.

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Web site:  http://www.artoflifewithmairead.com/ Face Book:  https://www.facebook.com/counselling.art.therapy/ Art of Life Counselling Live Your Bliss Mairead

Why Introspection Matters

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The Green Lady - Love to loving life.....I need a little more of her gorgouse attitude in my life

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Creativity Just As Important As Math And Science. By Kim Yurasits

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http://usatodayhss.com/2015/creativity-just-as-important-as-math-and-science

How a monstrous art project brought cancer patients together

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Complex Trauma and PTSD Exhaustion, Fatigue and Tiredness - 'One of the most common symptoms accompanying PTSD and Complex Trauma; to be utterly exhausted, tired, fatigued, not having the will nor the energy to do anything, and especially so after a triggering activation, when one's story, accompanying emotions and adrenaline gets going.' Roland

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https://rolandbal.com/trauma-and-ptsd-exhaustion-fatigue-and-tiredness/

Are You “Happy”? The real meaning of happiness isn’t what you think. By Barry Boyce

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http://www.mindful.org/are-you-happy/

Freeing Yourself From Overwhelm: Four Steps to a More Peaceful Life. By Jacob Devaney

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http://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/freeing-yourself-from-overwhelm/

Why crafting is good for mental health: Complex, creative activities like knitting, cake decorating or crossword puzzles can create a non-medicinal, feel-good high. By Robin Shreeves

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http://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/blogs/why-crafting-is-good-for-mental-health

A Brief History of Tarot : Whether Tarot is something you believe in or not, the archetypal symbols may connect you to an essence of self that you didn't know existed.

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http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/tarot/fl/A-Brief-History-of-Tarot.htm

Ethan Hawke: Access Your Subconscious to Achieve Creativity

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9 things people who live with an invisible illness want you to know. By Hattie Gladwell for Metro.co.uk

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http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/19/9-things-people-who-live-with-an-invisible-illness-want-you-to-know-6200557/

Music - Jethro / Cat Stevens-Remember- The Ultimate Collection

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Psychic attack doesn't exist, here's why … by Aletheia Luna

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https://lonerwolf.com/psychic-attack/?utm_source=LonerWolf&utm_campaign=fab3b62226-november_01_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4b168bb5ac-fab3b62226-95816777&mc_cid=fab3b62226&mc_eid=58a5d4934c