Down with Religious Intolerance and Racism

(Picture Credit ABC dot com)

More than 100 children killed by the Taliban in a Pakistan School. Hostages and killings in a Sydney Café. Hostage in Belgium. Now cartoonists shot dead in Paris. What is wrong with the world? Why can’t we just get on?

December 2014: Three outrages in two days. The victims: innocent school children in Pakistan, coffee-drinkers in Sydney and at least one other innocent civilian in Belgium.

Now journalists shot in Paris. (Then some police shot as the chase goes on for the perpetrators). What is the world coming to? All in the name of a worldwide Islamic state apparently. Meanwhile CIA Agents and others are investigated for torturing their captives. Pakistan is accused of attacking innocent communities in their North West. Wrongs on all sides.

Let’s face it there is a racial element too. Islam is equated with black people, Christianity with Whites. A horrible blend of racial and religious intolerance.
Why can’t we just all get on? The colour of your skin is such a superficial matter. Just like the colour of your hair or eyes. We are all human beings.

And religion: every religion involves having faith in some deity. Every worthwhile religion preaches Love and Peace to all living things.

These Muslim Extremists talk of world domination and universal Sharia Law. Impossible! Apparently when some extremists conquer a place they ask the people there whether or not they are “Muslim”, and if they say “No” they are executed.

Yet surely any decent person is at least in part a Muslim. Look at the opening of the Quran (I’ve re-arranged it a little):

“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds,
The Beneficent, the Merciful.
Owner of the Day of Judgement,
Thee (alone) we worship;
Thee (alone) we ask for help.
Show us the straight path,
The path of those whom Thou hast favoured.
Not (the path) of those who earn Thine anger
Nor of those who go astray.”

Just substitute “God” for “Allah” and you are left with something that might have come straight out of The Bible. Even a reference to “Judgement Day”! NB those words “Beneficent” and “Merciful”. “All Worlds” gives an image of Godly Omnipotence. We are implored to follow the path of “Good” rather than “Evil”. We ALL believe this. What is there to fight about?

Okay, so the rest of the Quran might contain some more aggressive passages. The Bible too contains, in The Old Testament, “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” But these are ancient texts. They were written when civilisation was still in its infancy. Together we still have that same basic belief: that we are the human race in need of some all-powerful deity to look after us.

Look, I’m a Church of England Christian (a “Protestant” apparently) just because I was BORN in such a community (in England). I could just as easily have been born to become a Buddhist, Shintoist, “Jew” or indeed Muslim. Had I been born much earlier, I might have worshipped Odin, Ra, Zeus or Jupiter. Maybe ALL these religions have something to offer me. And YOU.

To be honest I was brought up only to know about Christianity. I think I will start to study these other religions now. The Buddhist notion or Rebirth or Reincarnation intrigues me for a start. (Pythagoras, Plato and others apparently believed in rebirth). As I say, perhaps any religion contains something to believe in.

Let’s not forget that in the UK before Christianity appeared there were the Druids with their “Mother Earth” (and again belief in Rebirth). There is a lot to commend the Druid religion too.

Why can’t WE belong to ALL good Religions? Perhaps what we need is an Eclectic World Religion, drawing from the best of them all. Maybe Religion needs to be Modernised, keeping the wheat but discarding the chaff. I’m on it. Watch This Space.

Paul Butters

Do You Need Therapy?



 (Picture Credit - Locally Healthy co uk)

Think you might need some sort of therapy? Here are some personal thoughts on the subject.

I was a Careers Adviser in Grimsby, then Humberside (mainly) for 24 years. My training was done in 1981 at the then Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham (now Nottingham Trent University). My main tutors were the “fab four”: John Malkin, Dave Howe (or Howes), Trevor Perrett (or Perritt) (my personal tutor) and Richard Broadley. They taught me the “Trent Model” of careers interviewing, which was essentially a “counselling” approach. I liked that this was a “Helping Interview” model which looked very useful.

We were the last students to be taught the “Seven Point Plan”: a checklist for compiling useful information from our “clients” or interviewees. Once we mastered the 7 Point Plan we then went onto the “Trent Model” proper. In other words we were trained to ask young people nice questions so that they could “tell us all about themselves”. Then we were taught to “diagnose” what these young people were telling us.

Did our client think he or she could be a rocket scientist without doing science? Did he or she think he or she was good at science when in fact he or she was garbage at it but good at the arts and music? Was the client aiming to be a banker because “Dad” wanted this? Did the client need help with decision-making because his or her “plan” was flawed? Or was the client like me at that age: aiming to be a teacher yet unable to say “boo to a goose”?

Some of my fellow students bragged loudly about using the “Trent Challenge”: “Why do you think you are suitable to be a vehicle technician?” “Do you think this is the right career path for you? In what way?”

The good news was that we did help young people with their career decisions and planning. The bad news was that sometimes all we did was cause a family row.

The good news was we helped people. The bad news was we treated people like medical patients: diagnosing some “illness” then seeking to “cure” whatever was “wrong”. Yes I have mixed feelings about having been a “therapist”. We often said that we were there to “empower” people, but were we just meddling?

The same could be said of any therapy of course. Is there a point where the client becomes a “victim” of the therapist, or at best “dependent” on therapy?

The other day I read some stuff on sites similar to “Alcoholics Anonymous” in the UK. According to them I’m an Alcoholic, along with about 80% of the world’s population. Of course we are: Alcohol is addictive and can make people think about drinking. So best see a therapist and let him or her meet some target for diagnosing and treating an Alcoholic. That will draw funds into the “service” and keep everyone happy.

Same with mental health counselling: get someone who is “troubled”, come up with a psychological diagnosis and treatment, and bingo. Sorry if I sound cynical. But at its worst that’s what “therapy” can be. Thankfully there are many good therapists about who really do empower people. All I can say is do take care with your choice of therapist. And do first of all consider carefully whether you need therapy at all. Nuff Said.

 Paul Butters

How to be Assertive

(Picture Credit - 2eng iprock dot com)

Let me introduce you to a great social skill: Assertiveness. Traditionally women have suffered most from being too submissive and unable to make their needs known. Yet this is a universal issue and we ALL need help to be Assertive. Please read on.

I myself have been on at least two Assertiveness courses. They were very useful and the second one did indeed make me more Assertive. This has long been an issue for women but also for many men such as me.

My problem is that I tend to be very passive and just do as I’m told, even at 61. Then I get fed up and frustrated, and break out in an explosion of aggression etc. What I need is to be more Assertive in the first place. It is interesting that in my earlier “Beat the Bullies” article I put great emphasis on the value of Assertiveness.

But what is “Assertiveness”? To me the title is somewhat unfortunate, as it sounds rather like a form of “Aggression”. Yet I cannot think of a better name for this social skill.

The trick with Assertiveness is not to be either Aggressive or Submissive. It is more about Negotiating on a level playing field. The aim is to achieve a Win-Win situation, where both parties emerge satisfied.

To be Assertive, you must say to yourself, I am a unique, Valuable individual with the same Rights as everyone else. Yes it all starts with Self Esteem. Then you need to behave and act with Confident body language. You must be cool, calm yet firm with the other person during any engagement.

The word “I” is very important here. You must make it clear what you feel and think about the matter under discussion. Avoid blaming the other person: do not say “you...”, instead say “I feel...” or “I think...” You might say something like, “I am hurt when you talk to me like that, please stop.”

Another key word is “No”. People can find saying No very difficult and just agree to do things that they do not really wish to do. You simply must say “No”. No to doing babysitting when you want to go out, for example.

A technique often mentioned is the “Broken Record”, where you repeat your request over and over again until the other person acquiesces. There are many techniques in Assertiveness. I am by no means an expert in all this.

I am not claiming that Assertiveness is an easy skill to acquire or put into practice. Nor will I kid myself that doing a couple of courses will fix everything. Indeed I will keep reading the many websites and books which describe Assertiveness in more detail.

This is but an introduction to Assertiveness. To be honest, Assertiveness is not always enough anyway. Sometimes naked Aggression and even violence is required. Assertiveness is but one valuable addition to your kit-bag of social skills.

So remember, Esteem yourself, stand firm for your Rights as a human being, and make it crystal clear what Your needs and feelings are. Negotiate with all others on an equal footing. If you can’t get a Win-Win outcome then at least get one that satisfies You. Keep learning and practising this skill. What more can I say?

Paul Butters

How to Live



(Photo Credit - Landlopers)

I have spent lots of time wondering whether there is an Afterlife. Yet you and I need to focus on what we do with our lives as carbon-based beings. There is much to be desired in our efforts so far... The Rat Race continues. Surely there is a better way. 

You and I are carbon-based life-forms who will live for about 70 to 110 years at best. What should we do with our lives? As some have said, it’s not the afterlife that matters so much as what you do while you still live in this present form.

What should be our Priorities in life? What Values should we have? Most Religions seek in some way to answer such questions. Yet can we do this logically, without recourse to myth and legend? I can but try with this.

The Wrong Way

First off, let me explore what I think we should not be doing. Where we are going wrong.

When I cast my imagination high above the Earth, what do I see? Frankly, much of our planet is like “Hell”. Where to begin? So much Evil going on. A dazzling black light. Genocide, terrorism, poverty, social injustice...

Even in well to do countries like the UK, USA etc. many people have the wrong priorities. Too much money-grabbing. Too much social –climbing and promotion –seeking.

They see “Communism” as “evil”, yet there is a social system that is all about fairness and equality of ownership etc. Rather, they prefer the jungle of capitalist “free trade” and globalisation. A Celebrity Culture is preferred to a real Work Ethic.

In the UK, the legacy of “Thatcherism” lingers on. Everyone is out for number one. Well, they think they are out for number one, but really they are just lemmings heading over the cliff. To use another clichéd metaphor: it’s a Rat Race.

Get it Right

There must be a better way. But what? To begin with: you are a sentient being (presumably human). So what are your needs? Well first you need shelter, security and optimum nutrition. Then you need suitable Companionship and all that might entail. You do not need lots of houses, land, food, water or adoring fans! Nor do you really need to be rich and famous. You just need a decent sized pad and regular meals etc. And I’m not talking junk food!

Long term, your Priority has to be your “Wellbeing”, especially your Health. All that advice about healthy eating and drinking comes in here. You’ve seen it countless times: fresh fruit and vegetables, plenty of water... Avoid undue Stress as much as you can.

Yes you have to look after your Mind too. That starts with having Self Esteem. Accept what you are, rather than trying to match some media-made image. Rejoice in your own Uniqueness.

I will never be a basketball and rugby- playing Mathematical genius who is great at Carpentry. Literature and the Humanities will have to do for me. (I chuckle there).

The least you should do is remember that as a Human Being you have the same Rights as everyone else: to be treated as an equal. That is the basis for being “Assertive” with people. More about Assertiveness later.

There is more than one right

To conclude, for now: there would seem to be no such thing as an “Ultimate” Right or Wrong, Value or Worthlessness, Good or Bad. What you have to do is look inwardly into your own heart and soul, and see what your “heart desires”. Or rather, what your Soul needs. That will be quite different for every individual person. In other words, as that old saying goes, just Be Yourself.

PS Just to clarify, politically I am a Socialist who usually votes Labour.

Paul Butters

Beat the Bullies with Assertiveness Plus

(Picture  Credit - Isebrook College, England)

The following piece had a good run on "Beyond Jane" (Triond), receiving thousands of Views (over 40,000 to press):

The other day I dreamt I beat up a big school bully. It felt good. But why such a dream? I wasn’t bullied at school. Or was I? Am I still bullied? What can I do about all this? Well...

Recently I woke up from dreaming I’d thumped a gross school bully. It felt great. Then I got to thinking. Have I still got issues? Yet I was seldom bullied at school. Or was I?

A memory hits me. A then new friend Michael Rose once told me he bumped into one of my primary school “friends”. That old acquaintance told Michael that he and others had enjoyed “taking the **** out of me” mercilessly all day.

My Mum says that one of my primary teachers once turned a blind eye when I actually did thump someone who was bothering me. At last I had stood up for myself.

 Bullying can be horrible

Okay, so things were never as bad for me as they were for a relative of mine: surrounded at school by gangs of bullies (probably armed) and having to complete his final years with home tuition. Girls and women brought up in the fifties and sixties like me must have had it tough too: being indoctrinated into being “obedient”, submissive, passive with men. They were nurtured to be victims of bullying.

Luckily for me those big school bullies who beat everyone up were always in the minority. Being a boy myself I didn’t have to be prim and proper or anything like that.

Yet I must have suffered from lots of “banter” over the years. On reflection I was lucky not to be very badly bullied. As a youth I was very quiet, indeed mainly silent. I was, and still am, something of a dreamer: not very street-wise. A prime target for potential bullies.

Social strategies required

You see, the trouble was I had somehow learnt to rely on just the one social tactic: keep your mouth closed and your head down. It works up to a point. But quiet, mousy people are prime targets for bullies.

To have any chance of avoiding being bullied or otherwise abused, you have to employ a full range of social strategies. Simply, you must act confidently, assertively, sometimes aggressively, even rudely if necessary. Imagine you have a bag of skills to draw upon and use wisely.

Play your cards right

The trick here, overall, is to judge what ploy will be effective and appropriate. Some have likened this to playing cards. You need to play a card of the right suit, and also the lowest card possible to win the hand. (Actually they only mentioned the lowest card but I’ve taken the simile and metaphor further).

It’s all about Acting and Behaving in a positive or intelligent way. At times you need to display the full range of emotions: be angry, soothing, aggressive, sympathetic, happy, sad, critical, supportive, thoughtful, crazy, objective, subjective. Yet within yourself you must maintain complete self-control and rationality.

The old male and female stereotypes need to be thrown off when you work at being socially effective. Many books have been written about one certain social strategy: Assertiveness – especially for Women. Yet I submit that you need “Assertiveness Plus”. Sometimes you have to be rude and aggressive. Often I wished I’d done at least one martial arts course in my youth.

For now, just get shuffling that pack and laying down those astutely chosen cards.

Paul Butters

Tags:      beat the bully, social skills, assertiveness, social effectiveness, assertiveness skills for women and men, acting skills, play your cards right   

 

Listen

(Picture credit - soulsistasheart:: source google images)

 One simple skill matters more than any in a relationship: to listen. Thousands of divorces are caused by a fatal mistake: nobody listened. Not because anyone said the wrong thing. More because they just did not listen.

Listen. That is what you must do. Just listen. No clever one-liners. Wit is not required. All you have to do is listen. In any relationship.

When I say “any” I mean precisely that. Marriage, Partnership, living together, friendship, even a one-off conversation at the bus stop. You must always listen.

On reflection, when I interviewed at least eight young people per day, that was rather like speed dating! No romance, of course, but lots of information gathering and taking on board the very soul of a person.

I was trained on the Trent Nottingham Careers Guidance Course, which emphasised the use of Counselling Skills. Listening was the key. After all, you have to listen in order to “reflect back” to the client what he or she is actually saying.

It is no good merely making eye contact and nodding etc. appropriately. Well, body language helps of course. But what counts is that your mind is totally clear of all distractions.

I read somewhere that unfortunately most “listeners” focus inwardly on what they are going to say next. Let’s face it, we all do that at times. Often we are still ruminating over something said a minute ago.

We are all often guilty too of hearing only what we want to hear. The UK “Jeremy Kyle Show” presents us with many examples of people refusing to accept what others are saying about them. They simply close their ears to unwanted advice. These are extreme examples, of course. Nobody wants to hear that he or she is constantly doing the wrong thing in life. Yet we all do this to some extent.

On the other hand it does help if you can express your feelings too. Males in particular are very loath to release their emotions. So they cannot be listened to effectively because they bottle it all up inside their heads. It takes two to tango, after all.

Open Questions, such as, “What do you feel about that?” or, “Tell me about it,” are useful for breaking down such communication barriers. (Avoid Closed Questions, like, “Do you feel bad about that?” or, “Did you have a good day at work today?”).

Good listening, then, is about keeping your mind open to what is actually been said. Try to avoid hearing what you expect to hear. Keep cool and objective. Stay rational. Cognitive therapy only works in an air of calm and clear thinking. All conversations work best this way if you wish to do any good.

As I say, Listening is crucial, even in the most casual conversation. Every conversation is a mini-relationship. So don’t dwell on what you want to say: just Listen.

Paul Butters

Single

(Me taken by sister Joan using my Praktica)

(The following piece has had literally hundreds of views on "Beyond Jane", a site of Triond).

I am a white English (therefore British) upper working class professional, heterosexual male. All relatively favoured categories in our society. The only thing about me that is unusual and therefore not favoured is that I am Single. But is that so bad?

As I say, I am a white English (therefore British) upper working class professional, heterosexual male. All relatively favoured categories in our society. The only thing about me that is unusual and therefore not favoured is that I am Single. I am also relatively Celibate, having a low sex-drive.

I am not Gay or a paedophile. So no drums to bang. No excuses for my inactivity. I am minded of the famous quote from John Betjeman (then 77), who’s “one regret” was that he, “ Hasn't had enough sex.”

Look, I am knocked out by the beauty of Cheryl, Tulisa, Beyonce etc. but that doesn’t mean I want to hump them. Am I unusual with this? Are there others who feel the same way? Am I low on Testosterone? Do I need to “Man Up”?

I have no regrets about being single. All that bugs me is that I have not continued my genetic line. Children as such do not appeal to me in any way. Women can be good company but marriage or a relationship as such has little to offer me. Being single suits me best.

Saying all this is very risky I suppose, but I just feel the need to “come out”. Why I have to justify myself to people, I do not know. Maybe it’s just the way I was brought up.

Most of this “confession” is taken from my “Confidential Journal”, which is unread by anyone but myself.

I read somewhere that a “nice guy” never gets the girl. The man who does do so is typically a “bar steward” who shows power, authority, confidence and so forth both in and out of bed. Duly noted.

Me? Well that insulting W word springs to word. Or even worse, that horrible masterly M word. I would rather say that myself I take care of my own pleasures.

Being Single means being free. Right now, though, my main concern is helping look after my 91 year old Mum. She is recovering after some spells in hospital. But generally I just don’t do commitment. Why should I? No, being single suits me fine. That does not make me “Sad”. I am happy with my lifestyle, whether people like it or not.

Paul Butters