Dancing With Wisdom

By Dr Sunil RahejaEducation Self-Improvement

Dancing With Wisdom episodes

December 07, 2016Podcast #024: Making sense of time
Time. Such an important part of our lives and yet so hard to get a grasp of! We all have the same amount – 168 hours or 10,080 minutes a week or 86, 400 seconds a day. But we all struggle and wrestle with it.
On top of that time is such a strange concept to grasp. What do we exactly mean by time and why does it seem to go at such a varying pace during different periods of our life? As someone once said:
If you want to know the value of one year, just ask a student who failed a course.
If you want to know the value of one month, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
If you want to know the value of one hour, ask two lovers waiting to meet.
If you want to know the value of one minute, ask the person who just missed the bus.
If you want to know the value of one second, ask the person who just escaped death in a car accident.
And if you want to know the value of one-hundredth of a second, ask the athlete who won a silver medal in the Olympics.
Do join my co-host Andrew Horton and I as we discuss:
How do we make best use of the limited time we have?
How the fundamental issue is not managing time, but handling the explosion of choices that we are constantly confronted with.
The dangers of partial attention and inner restlessness when it comes to time.
Thinking about energy management rather than time management
The significant role of rest and recuperation for living in the knowledge worker age.
Self-identity and time.
A spiritual view of time that enables me to be fully engaged in the here and now while at the same time having a heart fixed on eternity.
You may also find of interest:
Is it Work-Life Balance or Integration?
Podcast #001 Wisdom
Podcast #003 Stress
Podcast #010 Stephen R. Covey
Time Management Part 1
Time Management Part 2
Time Management Part 3
What thoughts, comments and reflections does this discussion on time raise for you?
37 min
November 02, 2016 Podcast #023: What makes for a good education?
According to the futurist and philosopher Alvin Toffler, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”
The subject of education evokes strong views from all sorts of people. It is multi-billion dollar industry.
In this podcast with my co-host Andrew Horton we give our personal reflections on education and learning.
Do join us as we discuss:
What do we actually mean by education?
How doing well at school so often has little correlation with being successful later in life.
The importance of developing much more than technical skills – there are two other attributes that can either enormously enhance your life or completely derail you.
The dangers of measuring everybody by the same standard.
How so often education systems over time can drain the creative abilities of so many people.
Developing a universal and holistic view of education.
How learning is much more than what we learn at school.
Or in a quote attributed to Mark Twain, “I never let schooling interfere with my education.”
You may also find of interest:
Do You Still Believe Your Old School Report?
What Do We Mean By Education?
How Schools Kill Creativity Part 1
How Schools Kill Creativity Part 2
Over to you: What are your thoughts and reflections on the podcast and on what makes for a good education?

34 min
October 05, 2016Podcast #022: The stories we tell ourselves
Everyone loves a good story. Stories are part of what make us human. But I am not talking about the novels and classics many of us love to read.
There is already a story going on in each of our minds. It is those stories that we tell ourselves about what happens to us that can have huge implications for our lives. How do those stories come from the way we see the world?
Do come and join my co-host Andrew Horton and I as we discuss:
The see-do-get model of human behaviour.
How the way you see the world profoundly affects what you will do.
How stories create our paradigm (or mental map) of the world.
The power of changing your story by changing your paradigm.
Why we resist listening to other people’s stories.
The part of the podcast Andrew was tempted to delete about our own personal stories (don’t worry its not that scandalous!)
Stories and paradigms of how to approach God and the implications in our own lives.
You may also find of interest the following related posts and podcasts:
What Is The Story You Are Telling Yourself?
Podcast #010 Stephen R. Covey
Podcast #007 Religion
31 min
September 07, 2016 Podcast #021: Grit
In a world that is becoming increasingly volatile, unpredictable, challenging and complex, the development of grit has arguably never been more necessary. On the one hand, especially in the more prosperous parts of the world, we have never had more access to technology and labour saving devices. At the same time it is incredibly easy to become overwhelmed and exhausted by the never ending demands on our time and the things that need to be done at what seems to be greater and greater speed.
Do come and join my co-host Andrew Horton and I as we discuss on this podcast:
What grit actually is and why it is so important.
Examples of grit in the lives of people like JK Rowling, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill and Steve Jobs.
Dissecting grit into 5 key components.
7 simple ways to develop grit in your own life.
The Jewish carpenter and His development of grit.
You may also find of interest:
The difference grit can make to you.
Do you need more grit?
Should living in a VUCA world matter to you?
An interview with Baroness Caroline Cox, a lady of remarkable grit.
What thoughts, questions and reflections does grit raise for you?
37 min
August 03, 2016Podcast #020: Being a voice to the voiceless
Baroness Caroline Cox founded Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) in 2004. In the video and podcast below we find out about the inspiration behind the charity and its work in making a difference. HART seeks to reach those who are off the radar screen of the mainstream media and cannot be supported by major aid agencies.
https://youtu.be/KdzqRIWXWJQ
Do join us on the podcast as we discuss with Baroness Caroline Cox how HART was founded to fill a need to support and encourage those in desperate need and without a voice.
On the podcast we find out about:
How and why Caroline was initially inspired in the 1980s to travel by truck to Poland when it was under martial law and control by the Soviet Union.
The power of ideas and the dangers of taking blank computer paper into a totalitarian state.
Caroline’s calling to “share the darkness”
A 12 year old Polish boy’s words, “I believe in the sun even when I cannot see it. I believe in love even when I cannot feel it.”
The literal translation of enthusiasm as ‘God in us’.
Making a difference with the freedom and plenty that many of us have.
The sacrament of the present moment.
Why Caroline has visited Nagorno Karabakh 83 times so far – a place that in 1991 was subject to ruthless ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan
Caroline feeling overwhelmed after walking through destroyed churches in India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Sudan, and saying “I’ve done this too often.”
The incompleteness of the Western view of Christmas that ignores the suffering after Jesus’ birth
Having a world view and theology that can deal with modern Herods and contemporary evil.
Baroness Cox writes:
“During my work with the persecuted church I have met many people who are suffering for their faith and I always return from my travels humbled and inspired by their courage, faith, dignity and miracles of grace. Many stories of those living on the front lines of faith illustrate spiritual blessings such as joy, peace and love in ways which are far from depressing.”
If you haven’t listened to the life story of Baroness Cox do also go to Podcast #019 and find out about this extraordinary grandmother. In both these podcasts she talks openly of her own battle with depressive thinking and what she insightfully calls ‘faithless fearful dread.’
You can find out more about the work of HART at their website which is linked here.
We also refer to Baroness Cox’s work in challenging religiously sanctioned gender discrimination in the UK via the Equal and Free website that can be accessed here.
In summary she reminds us, “I cannot do everything, but I must not do nothing.”
What thoughts and reflections does this raise for you?
<br />
48 min
July 06, 2016Podcast #019: Baroness Caroline Cox
Caroline Cox is a remarkable lady. 6 July 2016 is her 79th Birthday. She is mother to 2 sons and a daughter as well as grandmother to 10 children. But she is no ordinary grandmother who likes to sit at home knitting, baking cakes and watching television.
She has been accused by some of being a secret agent because of her ability to enter countries whose oppressive governments are intent on keeping her out. Her work in protecting the rights of Muslim women from oppression through Sharia courts in the UK has bizarrely also led to her being called Islamophobic.
She was created a Life Peer in 1982 for her contributions to education and has served as a Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords from 1985 to 2005. Lady Cox now sits in the Lords as a crossbencher and is a frequent contributor to Lords debates on Sudan, India, Nigeria, Uganda, and Burma.
In 2003 she founded the relief organisation HART. Her humanitarian aid work has taken her on many missions to conflict zones, allowing her to obtain first hand evidence of the human rights violations and humanitarian needs. Areas travelled include the Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabakh (where she has been so far 83 times); Sudan; Nigeria; Uganda; the Karen; Karenni; Shan and Chin peoples in the jungles of Burma; and communities suffering from conflict in Indonesia. She has also visited North Korea helping to promote Parliamentary initiatives and medical programmes. Additionally Caroline has been instrumental in helping to change the former Soviet Union policies for orphaned and abandoned children from institutional to foster family care.
In recognition of her work in the international humanitarian and human rights arenas she has received a huge number of awards. She had been awarded the Commander Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland; the prestigious Wilberforce Award; the International Mother Teresa Award from the All India Christian Council; the Mkhitar Gosh Medal conferred by the President of the Republic of Armenia; and the anniversary medal presented by Lech Walesa, the former President of Poland, at the 25th anniversary of the Polish Solidarity Movement. Lady Cox has also been awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Honorary Doctorates by universities in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the Russian Federation and Armenia.
Do join us on this podcast as we discuss with Baroness Cox her fascinating life:
The influence of her father , Robert McNeill Love, an internationally renown surgeon.
Her life long battle with shyness, depression and what she calls ‘faithless fearful dread’.
Her 40 year marriage to Dr Murray Newall Cox until his death in 1997. He was a renown psychiatrist who applied insights from Shakespeare to his forensic patients.
Her unexpected transition from nursing to sociology.
A 5 year crucible of fire in becoming a lecturer at the Polytechnic of North London in 1972 when it was infiltrated by Marxists and Communists.
The serialisation in 1975 of these experiences in ‘The Times’ newspaper by the journalist Bernard Levin of a book she co-authored called ‘The Rape of Reason’. His description of the Polytechnic of North London at the time as “In All It’s Brutality, The Making Of An Intellectual Concentration Camp.”
Coming to the attention of the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1982 to become a life peer in the House of Lords.
The important work she is currently doing in the UK to ensure that Muslim women are not discriminated against by Sharia courts.
Her remarkable journey of being a nurse and social scientist by intention and a baroness by astonishment.
Where she finds the courage and passion to show grit as well as be so determined and resilient.
Her message to those who look ahead to what to do in the second half of their lives.
How God looks no so much to our ability, but our availability.
For more on work with the suffering of vulnerable women in the UK who experience religiously-sanctioned gender discrimination do see the Equal and Free website here.
We will be discussing the work of HART in more detail in a future podcast, but you can find out more information here.
What reflections, comments and thoughts does Baroness Cox’s life raise for you?
<br />
52 min
June 01, 2016Podcast #018: Spiritual Maturity
When many people think of those who are religious, it seems to me they go to one of two extremes. Either they think of someone who is arrogant and opinionated in their beliefs (especially to those who believe or think differently) or someone who is so nebulous and abstract in their thinking about God that they appear to accept anything and everything.
On this podcast interview my co-host Andrew Horton and I attempt to go beyond these stereotypes to something we call spiritual maturity.
We discuss what does a spiritually mature person look like in the most positive sense?
Whether you are of no faith or any faith tradition, do join us in this fascinating discussion.
Here is a taster of our discussion (but to really benefit you will have to listen to the full 33 minute conversation):
We define spiritual maturity in terms of:
Who am I becoming as a person?
How do I look at my weaknesses and failings?
What kind of person am I like to be around others?
We also unpack the following characteristics of spiritual maturity, or as Gordon Macdonald describes them, ‘deep people’:
Demonstrating a consistent loyalty to Jesus: His life, His teachings, His challenges.
Have a hunger to keep on growing in every aspect of their lives regardless of age.
Love to inspire and lead others to grow in their personal faith.
Are people you love to be with because they love life and seem to know the best ways to live it.
Gordon Macdonald describes much more than this, but we summarise with an observation from the theologian Chris Wright in his observation of the late John Stott (1921-2011), former minister of the church my family and I attend at All Souls Langham Place in London:
“There are (three) characteristics I have observed (in John Stott) that I will emulate for the rest of my life. The three are rigorous self-discipline, absolute humility, and a prayerful spirit. Perhaps the most important thing I’ve learned is that faithfulness to God is a combination of these three things.”
A helpful practical understanding of this from Chris Goswami is how prayer concerns how I relate to God; self-discipline is about how I relate to myself and humility is about how I should relate to others.
What questions and thoughts does this discussion raise for you?
You may also find of interest the following posts:
What Does A Spiritually Mature Person Look Like?
Spiritual Maturity
Podcast #007: Religion
Discovering Silence and Solitude
Why I Struggle With Religion
34 min
May 04, 2016Podcast #017: The last taboo subject?
Death may well be the last taboo subject in modern Western society. The comedian Woody Allen is humorously quoted as saying, “I’m not afraid of dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens!” And yet while we try to put the topic out of our minds, a clear understanding of our mortality is so important in bringing clarity to our complex and at times challenging lives. As Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, said two years before he died, “Remembering I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.”
And how true that is! The death rate the last scientists checked was 100%!
In the great Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, one of the characters Yamaraja asks, “What is the most wonder-full thing in the world?” The answer he is given:
“Hundreds and thousands of living entities meet death at every moment, but a foolish living being nonetheless thinks himself deathless and does not prepare for death. This is the most wonder-full thing in this world.”
On today’s podcast we have the privilege of speaking to Professor John Wyatt. John is Professor of Neonatal Paediatrics at University College, London and a Senior Research Fellow at the Faraday Institute, Cambridge University. He is married to Celia and and they have three grown-up sons.

John has written extensively on the subject of medical ethics and his latest book is entitled, “Right To Die? Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide and End of Life Care.”
It is an important book that sensitively explores this difficult subject with both compassion and intellectual rigour.
Do join us for this discussion where we explore:
Why dying well is something we all need to think about, even though we instinctively want to avoid the subject.
How valuable is a human life, especially a life that cannot reach its full potential?
Are some people’s lives so painful and full of suffering that they are not worth living?
We naturally assume that doctors, nurses and health professionals are caring and compassionate, and have our best interests at heart when it comes to these complex issues. Why is it not as straight forward as that?
What are lessons we learn from history about assisted suicide, assisted dying, eugenics and euthanasia?
Those who advocate for euthanasia and assisted dying talk less about pain reduction and more about choice and control. Why is that?
Why is it important to talk about these issues not just in a theoretical way, but with tears in our eyes?
How the United Kingdom is a world leader in end of life and palliative care.
How contrary to popular perception, becoming dependent on others and getting old are not necessarily evil or bad things.
Why, as is commonly expressed, dying suddenly in your sleep with no warning may not be the best way to die at all.
How does the Bible look at suicide and suffering that reaches the point of despair?
How does the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ speak to these issues?
In the light of all this what does it mean to die well?

What thoughts, comments and reflections does this important subject raise for you?

<br />
55 min
April 05, 2016 Podcast #016: Harry Potter and the Hindu Priest
They say truth is stranger than fiction. In many ways the life story of Rahil Patel illustrates that. To read about it in a novel would sound implausible, even fantastically impossible. And yet here is his life story with such surprising and unexpected twists and turns. But what has this to do with Harry Potter? You will have to keep reading and listening!
Rahil is of East African Kenyan Gujarati origin. He was brought up in North West London from the age of 5. At the age of 16 he gave a speech in a Hindu temple in London to 3,000 people that won him great acclaim. So much acclaim in fact that the head of the denomination, the Guru, who was there, encouraged him to become a Hindu priest.
And that is what Rahil became. A Hindu priest in a 200 year old denomination with 8,000 centres around the world and 1 million dedicated loyal followers. For 20 years he travelled first class around the world, clocking up 70,000 miles a year and speaking to crowds of thousands.
But at the same time there was a growing sense of inner restlessness and unease. He found himself struggling with doubts and questions. He searched through literature and devoured the Harry Potter series, unpacking for him a fantasy world of friendships and relationships that he previously never knew existed.
It was in 2016 that Rahil did meet J K Rowling and was able to tell her how her Harry Potter books were part of the journey to his spiritual awakening.
But we are getting ahead of ourselves! On this podcast I have the privilege of interviewing Rahil about his life and search for spiritual fulfilment. Do join us in this fascinating discussion that really shows how truth can be stranger than fiction.
After you have listened to the interview with Rahil you may well be interested in his book ‘Found By Love’ that is available below.
How does Rahil’s life story speak to you?
<br />
1 hr 15 min
March 02, 2016 Podcast #015: Why your leadership matters
Leadership. What is it? Why does it matter? How should it matter to you and me? And also why whoever you are and whatever you do, you owe it to yourself and the world to see yourself as a leader.
These are some of the questions my co-host Andrew Horton and I discuss on this podcast. We unravel some of the confusion around leadership. We also look at why it is not pompous or grandiose to think of yourself as a leader.
We unpack the following definitions:
“Leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less.” (John Maxwell).
“Leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly they come to see it in themselves.” (Stephen R. Covey).
Do join us as we also discuss some examples of great leadership (Lincoln, Churchill, Gandhi, the Jewish carpenter) and how service is what underpins true greatness. The greatest leaders have this paradoxical blend of personal humility alongside a ferocious resolve (a professional will).
You may also find of interest the following blog posts linked to this podcast:
Why I Am So Passionate About Leadership
Who Precisely Is A Leader?
Lincoln: How Depression Moulded A Great Leader
Did Churchill’s Depression Make Him A Great War-Time Leader?
Growing In Service And Level 5 Leadership
The Art Of The Basin And Towel
What thoughts and questions does this podcast discussion on leadership raise for you?
36 min