CEN

Make 2019 the year you stop waiting for it to be okay!

As another year ends, we can be grateful.

Some, however, will not be feeling a desire to express gratitude as 2018 was yet another year of psychological pain and turbulence. They wonder if these symptoms will ever leave – and peace and non-suffering will ever come to them.

We know there will always be suffering but to what extent, is in our own hands. The world may often be chaotic, but we can remain separate from that chaos if we elect to skilfully and mindfully observe more, and judge less.

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The China Doll That Got Picked Last for Teams

Once again, Tim hardly needs an introduction to this series based around the China Doll. He evokes many emotions and continues to enthral us.

I promised myself that the third piece I wrote about China Dolls would be the last. Then, as I sent the last piece to Bob for him to decide about suitability to publish this one crept into my head. The last three had ready made titles. They forced their way into my head and insisted I write them whereas, this one snuck up behind me and whispered into my ear. [Read more…]

Some China Dolls are Not Smashed

Resident guest author, Tim, continues on from his last post This China Doll Failed Quality Control and Must be Smashed. Read, digest and take something away.

I could quite possibly make a series about the collection and care of the China Doll. Some people seek out dolls that they deface, somehow, in order to create rejects out of perfection. Or, rather, they create their debased perfection out of true perfection.

If you’ve read This China Doll Failed Quality Control and Must be Smashed, which will open in a new tab for you, and, while not required reading, is a piece I suggest to you, you’ll learn more about me, and you’ll learn more about China Dolls; how parents can be terrifying, how some children (well, me) were afraid of their parents. Since I wasn’t smashed because I refused to show imperfection until I escaped you may have worked out that I am not writing about me this time. [Read more…]

This China Doll Failed Quality Control and Must be Smashed

We welcome back Tim, our resident guest author, who continues to enthral us.

That’s what they do in china doll factories – they smash them. Sure, we’ve heard of ‘seconds’ but that’s for plates, cups, saucers, and for the Outlet Store. China dolls are the perfect collectables; imperfection might make one unique, like a misprinted postage stamp, and thus have inherent value above the rest. Collectable china dolls are not ‘run of kiln’ or ROK items. [Read more…]

Emotional Neglect: The Hidden Parenting Problem

The majority of clients I work with are adults suffering emotional turbulence associated with anxiety and low self-esteem, often inherited as a direct result of parenting styles. When we think of the ’emotional neglect’ of our children, we may envisage a rundown home, drugs, violence, or abuse – and while these may well be causal factors for many, others will come from what might be observed as “good homes, normal parents”. Our guest author, Helen Weir, covers The Hidden Parenting Problem.

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