There's a strange convergence of aggression which is drawing both international conflict and personal hatred into the mainstream; social media bears considerable responsibility for this convergence, and Donald Trump's combination of his calls for peace while posting aggressive messages on Truth Social really don't help. There's a very straightforward instruction in the gospel of St. Matthew, to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, but little guidance or teaching from Church leaders on how to make this happen. Drawing inspiration from a variety of sources, here are some ideas which could work at both personal and international levels. Background music: 'Confliction & Catharsis' by Asher Fulero
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Original Broadcast: The Hypnotist
Those emotional triggers which go off when someone seems to provoke you could have their roots many years in the past. Of course, the comments that spark your reaction could be deliberate but the chances are that they're accidental. The sensitivity of your emotional triggers may hark back even as far as your childhood, when they were useful learning tools in the playground of early life. In that sense, they're a bit like landmines whose particular cruelty is in the fact that the person who buried them has no idea who is going to land on them in the future. It may prove easier to come to terms with your own emotional triggers before they accidentally harm your relationships of today.
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Original Broadcast: The Hypnotist
The body's alarm systems of pain or anxiety certainly need a medical check-out; but sometimes, rather like over-sensitive technology, they can send false signals. If there are no underlying issues, this episode might help to put things in perspective as Adam Cox explores what he describes as the control room of the mind. Once acted on, those over-sensitive meesages of pain or anxiety may stop demanding so much attention, and you can move on.
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Original Broadcast: The Hypnotist
Do time-consuming habits seem to undermine a sense of achievement for you? Whether it's social media or watching videos, an hour or two a day's unproductive time can really add up over a full year. Adam Cox puts forward a 'compare and contrast' approach to help you look back with pride for what you've accomplished rather than a sense of wasting hours and getting nowhere.
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Original Broadcast: The Hypnotist
Everyone experiences times when things are difficult, when despair and meltdown seem to be the only option. However aligning your state of mind to be resourceful, disassociating from those negative mindsets, can turn things round to help restore a calm, stoic and often forward-looking response. Try thinking of someone in your life who copes with such challenges in a more empowered way — it might help.
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The rate at which scientific discoveries such as electricity, flight, radio communication and computing have been made has been accelerating since that great inventor and artist, Leonardo da Vinci. However other discoveries have also left in their wake a legacy of redundancy: some, like the canal network, bring unanticipated pleasure, but others, including hydrocarbons, are leaving a real mess to clear up. Background music: 'Any Thing You Can Dream' by The Whole Other
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Original Broadcast: The Hypnotist
This is a metaphorical, deep hypnosis session for the UK Bank Holiday week. It uses elements of philosophy, including the quantum realm of different futures, to help you activate your most resourceful self. Relax and enjoy!
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Original Broadcast: Thought for the Week
The Gordian Knot is an ancient Greek legend of an immensely complex knot ‘so tightly entangled that it was impossible to see how it was fastened’. Whoever succeeded in releasing it was destined to rule all of Asia: that task was achieved by Alexander the Great. Today’s Gordian Knots — conflict, climate change and the polarisation of wealth — are all critical to the future of humanity, but they all share a common origin: the motivations of fear and greed. We can see the solution, but do we have the determination to apply it? Background music: 'World's Sunrise' by Jimena Contreras
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Original Broadcast: The Hypnotist
The world is facing a myriad of Gordian Knots at present — problems so intricate and complex that they need new and very different approaches to solve them. In Greek mythology, it was Alexander the Great who chopped the knot rather than struggling to untie it. If you're facing a raft of complex problems, this episode could help you find novel and creative ways to solve them. So, think of the most challenging things in your life and listen in for inspiration. Maybe Donald Trump should seek Adam Cox's guidance for resolving conflicts across the world, or the UN for dealing with climate change — or Governments across western democracies seeking an answer for intractable debt problems? Image: Wikipedia
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It's a long and lonely road for over 100,000 young people in care throughout the UK. Local Authorities and foster carers do everything possible to help with their journey through adolescence, but disrupted education and insecurity often leads up to a cliff-edge entry to adulthood at 18. In a stable family setting, parents provide resources and life skills, and help build the attitudinal transformation necessary for a forward-looking approach with which to start adult life. In its work for the DfE on behalf of young people in care, The Share Foundation helps to build that same strong foundation. Background music: 'Everything Has a Beginning' by Joel Cummins
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