New Paradigm Will Be a Game Changer

Psychology and psychotherapy are subjects which still appear to divide people. If you surveyed a cross-section of the population about their thoughts on these  you would get diverse opinions about their effectiveness, some of which would probably be quite dismissive.

One of the reasons for this could be that there is vagueness and conflicting views about how it all works. Most people have heard of Sigmund Freud of course, and many have a rough idea of his theories. But how many people can say for sure that they work or can be used to reliably treat mental illness?

Since Freud there have been a huge number of new practices and methods to treat mental illness, but none have apparently won through as being irrefutably effective or 'True', and the 'science' and practice of psychology could still be in its relative infancy.

From New Age therapies which often recycle and repackage ancient teachings for the contemporary world, to semi-scientific methods such as NLP or CBT, to psychiarty or complex approaches such as Transactional Analysis, there are a  bewildering array of treatments, almost all of which claim to be the best or sometimes the ONLY path to a true sense of peace and well-being!

But surely not ALL of them can be the most effective? So, how can we tell which ones work and which don't? Should we go mainstream or left-field to enhance our mental and emotional wellness? Meditation or psychoanalysis? Life coaching or Prozac?

According to author and coach Jamie Smart, a new principle is emerging that will unify and clarify our approach to treating mental problems, and if the implications are played out in the way he suggests, far more than just these challenging issues.

In his books 'Clarity' and 'Results', Smart goes into this basic principle in some detail, reiterating it in a variety of ways that have the potential to transform many areas of our lives.

Personally I discovered Jamie Smart's books a year ago and have been working with his principle(s) over this period and I can report an overall lessening in feelings of stress and a clearer idea of how to position myself in relation to challenges that come up daily.

One of the problems is that the principle is counter-intuitive. In other words it goes against the way things feel and appear and requires long and sustained re-programming and unlearning to acquire. We are so accustomed to believing that our feelings about the world come from outside, whereas in Jamie Smart's teaching NONE of our feelings come from outside of us.

Unlearning, or 'subtractive' learning is at the heart of the CLARITY principles that Jamie Smart teaches, which is one of the most refreshing aspects of his work: it's more about taking away the stuff that's obscuring the reality of our situations and our relationship with the world to expose the clarity and connection that are our natural condition.

The CLARITY principles do appear to be a game-changing paradigm that could transform not only the way we deal with stress and mental health, but ultimately how we relate to the world around us including our interior life.


You can find Jamie Smart's book on Amazon HERE:

Taking small risks can lead to big transformations

Having an ordered life is great and highly recommended. The feeling of things being in the right place is certainly conducive to focus and well-being. But as you may be aware, there is a catch here; too much order can become limiting because our minds are simply not aware of all the possibilities around us.Control-mania can lead us to having an over-orderly life, a sort of spiritual constipation that can sap the life out of....well, your life.

The remedy for this is to throw in the occasional random element to break open new potential. This may involve taking a risk of some kind and allowing your life to become disrupted temporarily.
Here are possible ways to do this. Simply choose which ones appeal and give them a go when things start to feel stale.

- drink one or two more glasses of wine or beer than you usually would.
- call someone you haven't contacted for a while.
-do something totally different next weekend.
- take a social risk such as asking someone to go out with you who you might have considered out of reach.
- give up your job without knowing what you're going to do next.
- move to another city or country.
- take a different route to work
- go to a different cafe or pub
- go to an event or networking even if you can't think of a good logical reason for doing so.


You might want to make your own list and pin it somewhere. The point here is that throwing in a random element you are inviting the universe to bring something new into your life and opening the door to providence. It's so easy to get stuck in routines and being 'busy' to the extent that we are no longer receptive to possibility. Our minds are far too narrow to see what's possible for us, but random elements and actions can give the universe a chance to nudge us, jolt us or gently guide us in a new direction.