News, Blogs & Updates from Shining Tree

Retreat feedback January 2012

February 6th, 2012

“Dear Kim and James,

It was lovely meeting you. Thank you for providing such a wonderful place for my much needed “me” time. Although brief, my stay here did teach me some valuable concepts that I will incorporate into my home routine. Keep up the good work, and I hope to return one day- perhaps with a friend.

Take care, Julie. ”

” The experience was very personal. James and Kim have a lot of knowledge to offer on more than just what was involved in the workshops and classes. I feel that I learned a lot of very important things. It was so nice to feel at home and taken care of amidst all my travels alone. I felt I was staying with family which was wonderful!! Thank you so much for sharing your home, knowledge and way of life with me, /thanks for taking care of me and making me feel so welcomed in you home! Fiona. “

Shame on you British nurses!

January 6th, 2012

David Cameron told British nurses to be more caring towards their patients today, that nurses should be more patient and not paperwork orientated. Shame on you British nurses! Did you really have to be told that??

I trained and qualified in nursing in 1986 and stopped nursing in 2004 to open Shining Tree. My area of nursing was always acute medical and elderly nursing. The pay was poor and the work was hard, but that was what I signed up for and loved doing . Nursing to people like myself was a profession, a vocation…….not a “career”. The priority was always the acutely ill patients, whether medical or surgical and patients who were helpless and needed our care -we were their advocates. There has always been indifferent and lazy nurses in the ranks, just as there will always be soldiers who are less than courageous; but if the negative elelment start outweighing the positive then you will have serious problems.As we do now in nursing. Not every nurse liked me when I was on duty, because I made them work when I was in charge of the ward; but they respected me, because I led from the front, I didn’t sit on my arse doing paper work while they gave the care. I gave the care because this is what I trained to do and loved doing. There is really nothing more rewarding than finding a patient covered in poo and pee and leaving them all clean and comfortable, but doing it with their dignity in mind. I can remember many a hellish night of hard, hard slog, but then, we British nurses were the best in the world! Nurses cannot blame management or lack of resources for their poor care to the patients. We have a code of conduct, which states that if a nurse feels that the environment that they are on is unsafe, they can refuse to work. Nobody complains, they just don’t give the care…..it could be your mother or grandmother they are neglecting. How can they do it……..I really don’t know.

It is always people that make things work. Hard work,stamina, compassion, empathy, common sense, intelligence, kindness and a wicked sense of humour are the attributes of a good nurse, not loads of academic qualifications and a reluctance to participate in patient care

Picture is of King’s Lynn School of Nursing class of 1982-86.

Every one of these girls are angels... ….except for the bloke with the dodgy haircut

I had a bad dream the other night. I dreamt that I was back in nursing . I needed to turn a elderly patient and give her some care, but I couldn’t find any nurses who would help me do it.

Meditation rears its ugly head

January 5th, 2012

Meditation has been featured on Breakfast television on BBC over the last two weeks. Usual format, a reporter gives a stereotypical Western viewpoint of what Meditation is, speak to some scientists, joins a group that meditates and see if there is any improvement in any of the participants; say: “mind over matter”, another time slot on the programme filled. Maybe I am been a bit cynical.

There does seem to have been a ground swell increase in interest about “meditation” lately. I can’t figure out whether it is a natural increase in people’s consciousness in their search for spirituality or whether there is some market led manipulative force at work here- i.e. very soon their will be “meditation lounges” in all Tesco stores and Gyms, and sheeple being sheeple will all flock to do meditation because if Tesco and Gyms have it, it must be good!

Now don’t get me wrong, I am really looking at a gift horse in the mouth. I should be jumping on the bandwagon, getting in touch with local papers, local radio, saying “look at us, we do meditation at Shining Tree”. But we have never been very good at marketing ourselves - ranting and raving yes.The outcome of the BBC feature was positive. Basically it concluded that meditation brings about a change in your brain activity and relief of pain http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16406814 It also featured a lady with Lupus ( an auto immune disease characterised with imflammation and pain) who said that meditation helped her. Basically, it finished off with saying its “mind over matter” if it works use it.

My concern with the feature is that Meditation in the Western mind is still perceived as something that is done by wise man and sages and that it is just about sitting quietly. It is of course not- http://www.shiningtree.co.uk/_wp/2011/02/stir-fry-and-meditation-its-a-matter-of-technique/ the article on this link will show you that Meditation is a state of mind, it is mind, body and spirit. The lady with Lupus looked quite unwell to me, and I wonder wonder whether she has a full life style plan such as good nutrition and a comprehensive body awareness programme which covers Yoga, Tai Chi, Qigong…………and yes, meditation.

Meditation is not something that you “do” to suppress symptoms. Meditation is a way of life, it’s an attitude, it’s a synthesis of mind, body and spirit.It is not “mind over matter”, it is “mind and matter”. Whenever I watch programmes which show a very shallow understanding of a subject matter, it reminds me of a young child playing with the box rather than the present. We need to grow up.

Shining Tree Retreat feedback December 2011

January 2nd, 2012

How did you find the accommodation at Shining Tree? Homely,comfortable,warm,real, natural

a). Did the clinical therapies you received meet with all your needs ? and b). did we tailor make a programme for you specifically? Yes to treatments. Have been exactly what I needed, without my knowing exactly what I needed. I include the food as a treatment. My particular experience has been much bespoke treatment.

How did you find the Yoga, Qigong & Meditation classes that you at Shining Tree? I wanted a robust yoga retreat when I arrived- and I leave with an enormous gift of meridian yoga. Gentle, strong & harmonious. I have been learning the Qigong stances- Embracing the one, Golden tortoise and Golden plates.

Do you think that you have gained enough knowledge to continue the practice of Qigong, Yoga and Meditation at home? Its a start and I’ll include what I know into my morning practise. I will definitely seek out more qigong in London.

How was the food? Awesome.

What did you think of preparing the main meal of the day together in a workshop format? N/A

Do you think you have gained enough nutrition and cooking experience to continue what you have learnt here? Yes, sprouting, soaking, humus, puddings.

Did you enjoy our pool and sauna area? Loved it. – Right temperature, – never too busy, -great for relaxing.

Did you enjoy our woodland gardens? Yes. The tinsel in the tree, the caravan, the incredible sunset while drinking tea in the garden.

We would be grateful if you would give us a general account of your impression and experience while at Shining Tree. A gentle and healing experience I would like to support and share- especially with my father. Thank you for your wisdom and generosity,

Thank you for your time!

Ticking the boxes for Universal Spirituality

December 29th, 2011

“…..the power of a universal spirituality and its eight practical elements:

1. Solidarity for all life

2. Moral capacity

3. Non-violence

4. Self-knowledge

5. Selfless service

6. Simplicity of lifestyle

7. Daily practice

8. Serving as a prophetic witness in the causes of justice, peace, and protecting creation” The Mystic heart by Wayne Teasdall

Now you know!

On doing and being

December 25th, 2011

On this special day, whether it is because you try to follow the example set by Jesus of Nazareth, or you see this time purely as a time to spend with your family.

Just take a moment out and just “Be”.

There is a danger that we are so busy rushing around and doing stuff, we lose sight of who we are and even why we are rushing around.The example set by guys like Jesus and Buddha are about giving of themselves…not material things; but of unconditionality, of non-judgement, of gentleness, of kindness, of generosity, of love. Sadly to say, non of the above qualities are shown by the institutions such as governments and religious organisations which rules our lives. These institutions are a reflection of our collective consciousness.

They will only change when we grow and evolve. We can all “give”, we can all grow, we can all love.

Om Shanti

“You can recruit “nice” people and teach them skills, but can you teach people how to be nice?”

December 23rd, 2011

We have recently had a wood pellet boiler installed in the centre to replace the oil boiler. Those of you who also use oil know how the companies seem to charge whatever they want. Every time I make an order for oil, I almost feel violated, definitely shafted!

We were recommended to a company called CPL to buy our wood pellet. The marketing manager David came up to see us and was really helpful, even advised us on how to create a fuel store, as we would would be needing five tonnes of pellet per delivery. From there, I was directed to the sales department and spoke to a chap called Oliver who was in charge of ordering and delivery of pellets. After speaking to him, a day was set for delivery. The eventful day arrived and my electrician and heating engineers were all waiting for the delivery with eager anticipation. By three o’clock there was still no sign of the delivery, so I called CPL to find out when the delivery was coming . After speaking to someone who was no help whatsoever, I eventually got a call from Oliver…..apparently they couldn’t load the pellet this morning , so there was no delivery. I asked him why he didn’t call me this morning….no answer. I informed him that I have a team of people standing around who I am paying and who could have been somewhere else today. Did he care….no! I wanted a discount as compensation for what I have to pay my guys…..he said he wan’t authorised to do that. I asked to speak to his manager…..he was in a meeting; although Oliver said he would pass the message on. I felt that I would have got more help and sympathy from an Indian call centre. Eventually we did get our delivery, no discount, no apology, no acknowledgement from the manager.

Since then I have found another supplier called Billington Biofuel and spoke to a guy called Andy McIvor. Andy was very helpful in setting up an account for us. Typically we got caught out and required an urgent delivery on the week of Christmas. No problem, Andy sorted it out and we got our delivery two day after our order was placed.

At the end of the day, it is people that matters. People that we interact with,not organisations. It really does not cost anything to be sympathetic and helpful, maybe a heartfelt sincere apology is what a customer requires. Andy is a nice person. You can hear it in his voice and see it in his action. In me,he has gained an admirer for life. Just by me thinking about him and sharing this experience with you, his karma has changed . positivity creates positivity. Negativity and indifference creates more negativity and indifference. Niceness is unconditional, it’s like the sun, it is not selective in what it shines on.

One of my patient use to be in human resources for five star hotels. She tells me that their policy was to recruit nice people to train up, as you couldn’t train people to be nice.

In nearly thirty years of nursing, I have met nurses who were not very nice people, at best, they were competent…..but its a job and the patient can feel it. Whereas other nurses are like angels, and besides from working very hard they really care. Every one of us wants to be treated nicely when interacting with others, so why do some people think it should only be a one way traffic?

Can horrible people become nice people? The question should be : why can’t some people be nice? Is it to do with their upbringing? Weren’t they given love and made to feel secure when they were children? Why do some people feel so small that they fear to do anything different?

I met a very lovely gentleman call Pershant many years ago, time when I was in need of spiritual guidance. Pershant heads the Cambridge branch of the Bhrama Kumaris, an international spiritual organisation. Before moving to Cambridge Pershant was a Ears, nose and throat Consultant working in London. He told me that he wasn’t a very nice person then, he was always angry, irritable; horrible to people. Then he came across the Bhrama Kumaris and was introduced to meditation…….the rest is history.

Niceness, compassion, empathy and love is our true nature. Meditate, find that stillness within, feel it, connect to it. Find your Buddha nature.

Contemplation of imperfection and peace of mind

December 3rd, 2011

Achieving peace of mind is a lovely way of describing the meaning of life. It is something that everyone aspires to. However, peace of mind is often like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow- it tends to be elusive for most people. I would like you to reflect on the times when you were the happiest. You would probably find that your happiest times were when you experienced a deep sense of contentment or peace of mind. But when you reflect on these experiences, you realise they didn’t occur because everything around you was perfect. On the contrary you realized that peace of mind occurred in spite of your surroundings not being perfect in spite of difficulties problems and imperfections of life.

That is my first important point. Don’t think peace of mind only comes once you have fixed up all your problems and finished all your business.All your worrying, all your striving and struggling, has it ever got you where you really wanted to be? You can’t control the world and change it the way you would like it. Therefore you can only find peace of mind and achieve the meaning of life by embracing the imperfections of life. How do you do that? By knowing that imperfection is the nature of the world. So make peace with imperfection. Another thing you can’t change is the past and yet lingering on the past, people worry about and feel guilty and angry about it but since you can’t change it the only wise thing to do is to make peace with it. But how do you do that when there is so much unfinished business? You make it finished.

by Ajahn Brahmavanso

Jesus was a Yogi

December 3rd, 2011

“Father Gabriele Amorth, who for years was the Vatican’s chief exorcist and claims to have cleansed hundreds of people of evil spirits, said yoga is Satanic …” He obviously hasn’t seen the Jeremy Kyle Show. Ignorance, fear, bigotry and hate……wonderful tools of control and subjugation aren’t they?

Blogs are wonderful things; they give people a chance to express themselves, to rant and rave and sometimes even to share some wisdom or knowledge which others might find useful on life’s journey. It is always rewarding when you find that others share you view point, but the main objective is to help others think about issues that they might take for granted; even if it means they disagree with you to the point of being angry.

When I did my training in the Smae Institute, one of the tutors told us never to talk to patients about religion and politics. It is not something that I totally agree with, as I like to get to know my patients, but then again,they haven’t come to my clinic to hear my view on those subjects. The irony is that although religion and politics is the most contentious issues that most people would engage in. A lot of our opinions and viewpoint are based on fear, ignorance and bigotry, and those who don’t have an opinion…….,well, are they just ignorant or don’t they have the energy to care beyond just living from day to day?

How wise is it to blog about religion? Is there a danger of offending Christians? Well, that’s not a problem, because I am actually a Roman Catholic; so I can’t be accused of being a heathen Chinaman attacking the Catholic faith.I suppose I could be ex-communicated…………am I bothered? Kim and myself went to Rome for a long weekend several years ago and we went to see the Vatican. Two observations I made while I was there: 1.Why was the people who crucified Jesus of Nazareth running this massive organisation in his name? 2. If there was a God, he certainly didn’t live there.

When I give an opinion, it is usually backed up by my own experience. I would advice you all to beware of people who quote research at you, or who gives you an opinion which is of the general consensus; those who quote research often won’t have any practical experience of what they are talking about, and those who believe what everyone else believe definitely don’t know what they are talking about. So I wonder what Father Amorth actually know about Yoga? My opinion would be that besides from bigotry and fear, he would have very little practical knowledge if any of what Yoga is. To be honest, a lot of people I have come across who profess to have done Yoga for many years don’t really know what Yoga is. It’s the same when you get some “expert” who tells you that Acupuncture doesn’t work. When you ask him how many years of acupuncture training and practise he has had to come to such a conclusion, he will tell you that he hasn’t….but he has read a report on it. Well, in the early part of the last century, there were reports that Negroes and women had smaller brains….so that must be gospel then, mustn’t it?

I digress, let us get back to Father Amorth contention. For us to assess his assertion, we must understand what Yoga actually is.

The word Yoga means “union” and Yoga evolved almost 26000 years ago in India http://www.medindia.net/yoga-lifestyle/yoga-orgin.htm Union with what? Union with your self , union with others, and if you so believe, union with your God. There are eight limbs to Yoga:

1.Yamas- your attitude towards others and the world around you, including your environment.

2.Niyamas- how you treat yourself and look after your body.

3.Asanas- system of physical posture to keep your body supple and strong.

4.Pranyama- way of breathing

5.Prathayara- withdrawal of the senses, so that we look inward for wisdom and not to be deceived by our outer senses. Interestingly enough, it was material wealth and pleasures of the flesh that Satan was said to have tried to tempt Jesus with out in the desert.

6.Dharana- concentration and mindful intention

7. Dharma- meditation, reflection, looking inwards, union with your higher self and wisdom.

8. Samadhi- Enlightenment and self realisation

That is what Yoga is. Not just some girlies in leotards contorting themselves in a village hall or gym , but a whole system of spirituality and way of living. It’s gentle and tolerant,and not about guilt, fear and punishment and subjugation that Christianity is based on. Sure ,as a species, men have always fought wars and killed each other, but to kill in such vast numbers in the name of a person who represented love and peace?

No Farther Amorth, Yoga is not linked to Satan, although my spider senses tells me that you are decidedly dodgy. I would conclude by saying that Jesus was a Yogi. What do you think?

Pensioners and prisoners

November 29th, 2011

The following is part of email from Paul Roche…..hilarious!

Let’s put the pensioners in jail and the criminals in a nursing home.

This way the pensioners would have access to showers, hobbies and walks.

They’d receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc and they’d receive money instead of paying it out.

They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be helped instantly, if they fell, or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week, and all clothing would be ironed and returned to them.

A guard would check on them every 20 minutes and bring their meals and snacks to their cell.

They would have family visits in a suite built for that purpose.

They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counselling, pool and education.

Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, PJ’s and legal aid would be free, on request.

Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard, with gardens.

Each senior could have a PC a TV radio and daily phone calls.

There would be a board of directors to hear complaints, and the guards would have a code of conduct that would be strictly adhered to.

The criminals would get cold food, be left all alone and unsupervised.

Lights off at 8pm, and showers once a week. Live in a tiny room and pay £600.00 per week and have no hope of ever getting out.

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