Navigating the Minefield: Offence in Modern Society
Dr Steve Parker In our closely connected society, where views circulate quickly, learning to avoid offence has become crucial. What was once considered friendly teasing can now be perceived as…
Dancing in Saigon
There is a lot for a Westerner like me to learn from how everyday people in other countries are adapting their cultures to the new age into which we are…
Songsheet
Lyrics for a singalong of Geoff’s fav’s at Trish’s Septuagenarian Celebration, October 28, 2023 Mood Up! (Cathy’s Song) © Words and Music Geoff Boyce. Saigon. October 2023(Inspired by our tour…
The Speech I Never Gave
So now we have war in the Middle-East. Have we learnt anything from during last 20 years since the beginning of the so-called ‘War on Terror’? As the growing response…
Our ‘Both/And’ World
“Art is the queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world”—Leonardo Da Vinci Da Vinci was on to something. A picture is worth a thousand…
The ‘Yes’ of Nay-Saying
In her book, The Great Emergence, Phyllis Tickle gives us some great insights. On the one hand, it is not a new thought that every change that may be thought…
The Parable of the Unenlightened Chairman
There once was a man who rose to be the chairman of a national soccer league. The national women’s team had just become the world champions and were parading in…
The Great Emergence
I have been rediscovering the writings of Phyllis Tickle. I heard her speak once about feminism and the Bible some years ago and I was really impressed. I got a…
Prophets
I’ve been wondering – prices keep rising, but where does the money go? For a while I bought the line that it’s the Russians’ fault – starting that war in…
Thessalonians 1
Some news from Verena in Greece. How to avoid depression, anxiety, desperation and the blaze of the city? Get together at a festival to express outrage for government inaction and…
Listening in to Plunkett
James Plunkett was recently appointed Chief Practices Officer at Nesta with the Behavioural Insights Team.Nesta is a UK innovation agency for social good: We design, test and scale new solutions to…
Sinead O’Connor
Many of us are sad to hear of the death of Irish singer-song-writer Sinead O’Connor this week. Understandably, the world has showered accolades on her for her music and particularly…
Footscray Cathedral
I have the opportunity to prepare an entry for the Maribyrnong Council’s art exhibition for local artists, “Show Your West Side”, due June 16 2023. Here’s what I’ve submitted and…
The Start of my Bleach Period, 22 years ago.
Embrace of the Cosmic Christ. 2000×1420. Acrylic and bleach on canvas. 2000 I had been chaplain to Flinders University for three years when veteran Italian artist Orlando Tisato visited Adelaide…
Transcendence
I was invited to create an altarpiece for a church. I decided to emulate painting as meditation which I had experienced when Italian artist Orlando Tisato held an open-air event…
Plastic Pollution?
Our Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, was on the radio this morning, having just returned from an international meeting to see if there could be global agreement on eliminating plastic pollution.…
The Power of Good Arguments: Why You Should Care About Logic and Evidence
There is no escaping the rallying calls of different viewpoints in today’s society; each offers its unique perspective with promises of being true and correct. However, not every argument is…
Father Bob
I did not know Fr Bob Maguire. I never met him.But when a State Funeral was offered for him, I immediately made plans to go. I wanted to honour him;…
The Lost Antidote
Have you stopped watching the TV News? Are you, like me, getting exhausted by the reports of crisis upon crisis at home and across the world; or fed up with…
Family Ties – a conversation with Verena in Greece
March 7. 2023 Geoff: Very sad to hear of the train disaster. Verena: Thank you Geoff. It is a nightmare as it shows that NOTHING is working here. Reprint of…
Your Strongest Beliefs May Not Be True!
We live in a world where the strength of a belief is often taken as the measure of its truth. We have become so accustomed to believing in something with…
Do We Need Evil?
The 7 O’clock News this morning had me jumping straight out of bed and heading to my computer. The Avalon Airshow is on again after Covid. Almost 800 companies are…
Compulsion
So we are in the season of Lent. If Lent is about giving things up (which some people seem to think it is), here is a list I spotted in…
The Disappeared
I came across this video of U2’s ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’ on YouTube and was immediately impressed, not only by the quality of the music and…
How to make better mistakes
I’ve made so many mistakes in my life that I have lost count of them. I used to feel bad when I made mistakes. I’d (metaphorically) beat myself over the…
SCRIPT
Newly elected Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, has proposed what I think is a refreshing proposition to empower positive political change. Refreshing, considering the history of recent governance by…
True love: it’s for everyone
Love has got to be one of the most talked about, argued over, and misunderstood concepts in human history. But what is true love? Is it a feeling of intense…
Telling the Story
Story-telling is an ancient tradition that has always been used to illustrate spiritual lessons and promote faith. It helps us better understand our lives, particularly at an emotional level, as…
Revisionism
Martin Luther King Day is observed in the United States of America on the third Monday of January each year. This year it fell on January 16. It is a…
Ideologism
Let’s go to Brazil and sit back to enjoy the brilliance of Playing for Change musicians – in this case, featuring Carlos Santana. The piece is “Oye cómo va”. It…
Irony Season
Christmas is the ultimate irony, isn’t it? Christmas – the birthday of Christian history, two thousand years ago. And that world was so full of horror. An occupied country…a king…
Retrospective
Two professional artists turned up to ‘The Listening Table’ this week. As you might expect, all of us were interested in their work. They themselves would be happy to talk…
The value of mischief in enriching our lives
Until recently, I never thought much about mischief — what it is and how it can enrich our lives. Then I came across an article in Aeon magazine by Alex…
A Listening Conversation
I wonder whether you will be as surprised as I was to find out that, according to my computer’s Thesaurus and Dictionary, listening is an antonym (an opposite) to conversation?…
More Than a Shop
In my last post I introduced you to Jeremy, who runs the Acustico Cafe, just off Sydney Road in Brunswick, Melbourne. He ‘gets it’ – the way Radical Hospitality builds…
Personal Boundaries and Why You Need Them
Do you ever feel as though people are constantly taking advantage of you or crossing your boundaries? If so, then it might be time to start setting some personal boundaries.…
Discovering a Listening Place
I was so impressed with the atmosphere of a local cafe in Melbourne I visited earlier this year that I couldn’t resist having a chat with Jeremy, its owner/manager. I…
Urban Confessional
A man walks out on his marriage. He walks the streets. In his anguish he calls someone. He gets ‘heard’. This moment gives birth to a world-wide movement of all…
Sidewalk Talk
The Sandy Hook Massacre and subsequent other mass shootings in US schools convinced a psychotherapist she had to do something as a citizen outside the limitations of her professional practice.…
Heart On My Sleeve
This is one person’s story about finding release from the pain of pretending that ‘I’m OK’ when I’m not. It’s a story of extremes: of wealth and success on the…
What’s up with the people?
From Verena Fink, Thessaloniki, Greece, 03/10/2022 Listen to, or read along with Verena… War in Ukraine, refugees all over the world, pushbacks everywhere in Europe, especially in my country, in…
The Obsolete as Opportunity
Today, this first Monday in October, many workers in Australia return to their offices, virtually empty during the COVID period. Some organisations are allowing their workers to transition from working…
“The Map is not the Territory”
“The map is not the territory” is a well-known saying that is often used to illustrate the idea that all models of reality are not reality itself. James A Lindsay,…
Film Chat: The Quiet Girl
Steve brings us another beautiful, thoughtful and meaningful movie that has just hit the cinemas. It’s showing in cinemas in Australia – check your movie guide for your local show…
Film Chat: Juniper
Looking for an escape from the emotionally confronting times we’re living in? Action packed super-hero movies with stunning visual effects, or romantic comedies, might fit the bill. But Steve has…
The risks of searching for a soul mate
When it comes to finding a soul mate, the risks may outweigh the rewards. There are several dangers associated with looking for a soul mate, and the chances of finding…
Nice
How many times have I heard it said that someone is a ‘really nice bloke’, as if all is well. Yet, it eventually becomes apparent that something is missing in…
Miracle or coincidence?
Everyone has experienced one or more coincidences that seem so amazing it feels like they must be unique and somehow have meaning for our personal lives. For example, we dream…
What foundation is needed for morality?
I have observed and been the subject of many discussions with members of theist religions (that is, those who believe in a god of some sort) about what foundation is…
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