Episode 47 – Gaining from the Gunas Chris and Rowan discuss a topic from Hindu philosophy, the three Gunas. We discuss the three Gunas of Tamas, Rajas and Sattva in the context of benefitting our mental health. We have found these ideas to be a good way of explaining many of the concepts that… Read more »
An article about a main theme from the recent World Congress of the International Positive Psychology Association – the importance of having a sense of agency, especially when facing adversity.
Episode 40 – The Mystery of the Mind – Beyond Conventional Healing Chris and Rowan build on the topic of placebo and talk about some of the stories related to the healing power of the mind. There are many stories of people miraculously healing themselves such as when they’ve been told they will never… Read more »
Many people feel overwhelmed if they start to experience a huge increase of weird coincidences. This may be especially unsettling if people haven’t experienced such frequent or striking coincidences before. It can be hard to make any sense of them. In such situations, people may fear that they are going mad. Otherwise, they might believe… Read more »
Episode 38 – The Sustenance of Spiritual Experience We discuss the psychological benefits of having spiritual beliefs. We discuss some of the research that has been done into the link between wellbeing and spiritual beliefs. This includes the work of Ken Pargament and others, whose research suggests that spiritual beliefs shouldn’t be dismissed or… Read more »
Episode 37 – Separating the Psycho-spiritual from Psychosis We speak about one of Chris’s favourite topics, facing a spiritual crisis. In this episode, we discuss what a spiritual crisis is, and how other mystical experiences and trans-personal phenomena can be of immense benefit to our mental health. We also look at the difference between… Read more »
This article is about the challenge of separating certain types of mystical or spiritual experiences from psychosis. This is a poorly understood issue in mainstream mental health services.
Episode 24 – Synchronicity and Psychology Chris and Rowan discuss synchronicity and how it relates to our wellbeing, the topic of Chris’s book. We share stories of meaningful coincidences and how they’ve helped people to form some sort of deeper understanding or meaning in their lives. This Week’s Links Synchronicity Unwrapped Blog Synchronicity in… Read more »
Angie Hilton sits down with clinical psychologist Chris Mackey to discuss the health benefits of spirituality. Spirituality can be seen as a private thing, so may not often be discussed unless we’re speaking to those closest to us, however, 25-30% of people in the Western world identify as being spiritual without necessarily affiliating with organised… Read more »
Many people enjoy physical and mental health benefits from acknowledging a spiritual dimension in life. This does not just mean being religious. Whereas around 60% of Australians in the 2016 census identified with having a Christian (52%) or non-Christian (8%) faith, many others would no doubt describe themselves as being spiritual but not religious. This… Read more »