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…
MOVIE REVIEW: CODA (2021)
CODA is a heart-warming and feel-good movie that will leave audiences both crying and laughing. It follows the story of Ruby, a deaf teenager who is the only hearing member…
Is Hospitality More Important Than Love?
So many songs have been written about ‘love is all we need’, in the name of world peace. But what if we took a different tack? What if, instead of…
View from the end of a crutch
Verena, our contributor from Greece, reminds us about what matters when we are suddenly disabled.
The Purpose of Parenting: Encouraging Autonomous Human Beings
Parenting is such a challenge. I know this from experience because my wife and I have raised two daughters and the stories I’ve heard from other parents confirm it. Raising…
Keeping On
How can we not get depressed about the state of things? As you know, RootandBranches had its genesis in the early stages of the COVID Pandemic. The idea was to…
Art to Ponder
Contributors: Rose and Sandy from Facebook. Fun_Owl 1 April Ukraine… art by Vika Krokhina, a first-year student of the Poltava Technical University, Ukraine. UniteWomen.org 1 April Anja Rožen, a 13-year old elementary…
Check out the latest Film Chat: About Elly (2009)
Rated: PG (in Australia) Currently you can watch “About Elly” streaming on Beamafilm or for free with ads on SBS On Demand. It is also possible to rent “About Elly”…
Subvert the Bully
It takes wisdom to know how to respond to the bully. Most of us have been bullied at some time or another, and some of us more violently than others.…
Awakened Grief
“In the Lakota/Sioux tradition, a person who is grieving is considered most awakened and most holy. There’s a sense that when someone is struck by the sudden lightning of loss,…
We Choose
For some time I had noticed a particular International student in our Oasis centre. He sat in the same spot most days focussed on the screen of his computer. He…
Introducing Verena
I first met Verena some time ago when she was visiting Australia from her home in Munich. My chaplaincy colleague in Munich suggested to her that ‘you must go and…
Who is Jeremy Rifkin and why should we take notice?
According to Wikipedia: Jeremy Rifkin (born January 26, 1945) is an American economic and social theorist, writer, public speaker, political advisor, and activist. Rifkin is the author of 21 books about the impact…
The End and/or the Beginning
‘We are not living through an era of change, but a change of era’. Pope Francis Philosopher Antonio Gramsci would add that we are living through an inter-regnum – a…
Safety, Security, Significance: An interview with Brenton Woolfe
Safety, security, and significance are the three essential things that Brenton Woolfe believes every young person needs. Have a listen to this interview I recently conducted with Brenton. Brenton has…
Liellie’s Hopes for 2022
Liellie McLaughlan is a person with a passion for including and encouraging new arrivals to Adelaide. Maybe that is because she has first hand experience of apartheid in South Africa,…
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