Soul Searching Audacious Podcasts

This show is for parents. It’s possibly one of the hardest things for you, as a parent, to hear your child utter these three little words, “I am gay.” It is also one of the most difficult confessions any child might have to make to his or her parents as the risks are enormous in your child’s mind. You could do one of several things when he or she comes out: you could either be loving, understanding and supportive; or, fuelled by the stereotypes of public opinion, righteous indignation and bigotry, you could be shocked, angered and dismayed. Some parents have rejected their children completely, as if the gay or lesbian child had suddenly died. I examine some of the strategies you as a parent can take to positively direct the outcome of your son or daughter’s coming out disclosure.

Is it conceivable that you could form intimate relationships with a limited number of other people? That’s called polyamory. In conservative worlds, this kind of sexual expression seems limited, debauched or may even hint at a mental disorder but research psychologists are noticing an increasing openness to alternative sexual lifestyles – at least in the more progressive corners of the modern-day Western world, like Australia, Canada and the US. This episode of Soul Searching informs you of the differences between polyamory, polygamy and promiscuity.

Just as Neuro-Linguistic Programming [NLP] is built around a collection of presuppositions (or foundational statements), hypnosis, and more specifically hypnotherapy, emanates from eight pivotal Rules. They are collectively known as the Eight Rules of the Mind and every hypnosis student learns them. They are obvious assumptions that explain the workings of your subconscious mind and the way it interfaces with your conscious awareness and your body. I unpack these rules in this show because the insight they give, will assist you to adjust your thinking a bit and the results from doing that can be very profound. Since a lot of hypnotherapy theory is based on the application of these rules, applying them to the way you think will open a gateway to enhanced self-esteem, overcoming pain and illness and the mastery of complex skills on the sports field or elsewhere in life. As I explain each rule, I shall give you little snippets of advice that you could apply to adjust your thinking so that you can find practical benefit.

Invited by the South African Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, better known as the CRL Commission, I agreed to participate in a dialogue on 15th March 2017, the aim of which was to understand: the phenomena of prophecy, healing, miracles, magic and deliverance; how it might affect religious followers; whether it is used as a means of capturing people; is it the workings of the Holy Spirit or just states of trance; to understand what trance is and how it is induced; why people are more likely to subject themselves to this phenomenon, either in religious settings or elsewhere; whether it is religious practice or cult; and to determine the extent to which this phenomenon occurs. What conclusions will you reach after having listened to this show?

If you attended a Christian school, you’ll probably remember singing the Lord’s Prayer in the classrooms or in the main assembly hall each day. You might even recall those words now – I can. The Lord’s Prayer is a seven petition Prayer prescribed by Jesus. By offering it as a part of our daily spiritual practices, we affirm God’s superiority in contrast to our human frailties, leaving us no other choice but to beg for His forgiveness and to seek His help. But there is a very different take on it, one that the Indian yogi and guru, Paramahansa Yogananda, taught. When Jesus’ Prayer is held against the light of Hindu teachings, and amazing parallel emerges. It becomes a calling from our most inner space, to recognise our core godhead; to simultaneously recognise our physicality as a human with all our human needs; and to strive to attain the highest possibility of self – enlightenment – which then connects us inseparably to the rest of the universe.

The waters are a bit murky when it comes to Political Correctness [being PC]. Although it doesn’t change reality, softer phrases like ‘same-sex relationships’ are far more sensitive than the offensive terms like faggots, poofters or moffies. Now, political correctness uses the abbreviation LGBTI as an umbrella term to describe what others might consider as sexual deviance. We will of course risk serious indictment if we use the k-word in public and feminists balk at third-person personal pronouns like, he, him and his – even though the English language has no other grammar to offer as a substitute. But there is a tiny revolution occurring, fueled in part by President Trump’s disregard for all forms of political correctness. Are we seeing a global shift where people drop this form of subtle censorship in favour of explicitly expressing what they think and feel inside? Find out if this is wrong or right?

People of the world seem to be slipping away from the belief that God is our Father, sitting on His Heavenly throne, somewhere up there in space, taking punitive measures against anyone who doesn’t worship Him properly. It sounds narcissistic, tyrannical, divisive and illogical. After all, He is the Almighty, the epitome of Love, glory and fullness but this side of Him is only exposed to those who obey Him. But, this externalised notion of God is not the only perspective we have of Him. In this show, I shall explore the possibility that you are God. It’s an apparently blasphemous statement to make but there is some evidence to support this idea regarding the whereabouts of God. I shall also show how this change in perspective brings Christianity and Eastern religions together. What we see today as very different sets of religious dogma, might actually have some common roots in the ancient underlying set of beliefs that arose out of the Indus Valley, many millennia before Jesus walked this earth. Surprisingly, the esoteric meaning of King Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem may also provide evidence for this perspective shift.

If Theism is belief in the existence of a god or gods. What Is Atheism? No one asks this question enough, yet people have some very strong preconceived ideas and notions about what an Atheist is and is not. Most people’s opinions about atheism tend to evolve from theistic influences which often distort matters by adding derogatory adjectives, like: “wicked” and “sinful.” But, is this so? It is incorrect to define atheism as a belief system. Atheism is not a belief that gods don’t exist; it is a lack of belief in them. Atheism is the view that there are no gods and supernatural beings. People become atheists for many different reasons. Being an atheist isn't a choice or act of will - like theism, it's a consequence of what one knows and how one reasons. Atheists are not all angry, they aren't in denial about gods, and they aren't atheists to avoid taking responsibility for their acts. It is not necessary to believe in Heaven and Hell to live a moral and ethical life, is it? We explore all of this in our show.

If somebody pulled out a gun on a crowded train you were riding on, would you notice? People in San Francisco didn't. Why? Because they were too into their smartphones. Smartphones run people’s lives at every level. But unless you exercise restraint and caution and become a responsible digital citizen, the convenience of modern technology may be far less rewarding than the trouble it causes. Indiscriminate smartphone use may lead to full-blown mental addiction and obsessive compulsiveness. The way you interact with others via your smartphone sends out subtle waves of information which can alter your social landscape by either drawing you in or pushing you away from your friends. Learn how smartphones give commerce and government a way of profiling and tracking you. Never before has one device gathered so much data about an individual. Indiscriminate use of your cellphone may get you into some serious legal hot water and if it doesn’t do that, it can easily undermine your productivity, erode your relationships and dilute your friendships, leaving you depressed and listless towards life. Is the nature of social media and smartphone usage so strong so that it is becoming a human plague? Does the proliferation of the smartphone create an atmosphere of shallowness and weaken the human capacity for empathy?

There is a very important question and one that has been asked for millennia, “What is suffering?” We delve into this in detail in this show and we’ll try to find ways to change suffering. We cannot easily duck the stream of hardships the world flings at us, not unless we hermit ourselves away in a cave and get right off the grid, but even then, life tends to throw curved balls. However, if we can’t change what gets lobbed at us, can we at least modify the way we perceive the things we have to deal with? The happy answer is that we can, and quite readily too! But it requires a radical overhaul of the way we think. Eckhart Tolle says, “You don’t run your body, your intelligence does. It also is in charge of [your] response to [your] environment.” Intelligence gives rise to our instinctive reactions as an organism. This instinctive response is the body’s direct response to some external happening, whereas an emotion is the body’s response to an inner happening, a thought. Join me to learn how you eradicate all suffering from your life by changing the way you think.