Not so much about me…rather about my Influences and Inspirations
Sir Terence Conran
For showing post war Britain the possibility of beauty rather than only utlility
For running a business where design and profit were equally important
For being willing, when I asked, to come and meet Habitat Youth Training Scheme trainees.
For the best kedgeree recipe I have.
Gabrielle Roth
For the lightest spirit I know
For five rhythms dance that you can’t do wrong, can only do your way
For encouragement to keep exploring your way till you’ve seen the very edges of it and push on out even from those edges
E.F.Schumacher
For economics as though people mattered
For the schumacher society
Thorwald Dethlefson & Rudiger Dahlke
For The Healing Power of Illness
For telling me what our symptoms are telling us
Thomas Moore
For embracing the darkness. How to be with yourself on a dark night of the soul
John O Donohue
For the softest Irish soul and fellow celt who wrote amongst many others Divine Beauty, a gentle but urgent call to awaken.
Scilla Elworthy
For being an inspiration, for wanting to be ‘powerful in a way that is not in itself abusive’ and for rolling her sleeves up and getting into ‘how and by whom nuclear weapons decisions are made worldwide’
Marshall Rosenberg
For founding nonviolent communication which provides a model for changing lives and consciousness everywhere.
Julio Olalla
For making listening to your body a credible thing to do with ontological coaching.
Julia Cameron
For The Artists Way which has the power to bring my flagging spirit back to life in 12 weeks
Nancy Kline
For ‘Time to Think’, the most human management process and writing about management I’ve read
David Whyte
For guts in the workplace and in poetry
Eckhart Tolle
For the ultimate clarity in our reason for being
Margaret Benefiel
For ground level research in what spirit looks like when it is present in the workplace
Isabel Briggs Myers
For providing a way of looking at personality preferences that encourages the best from people, viewing preferences as gifts and to look for where those gifts would be valuable rather than where they’re not valued and are viewed as weaknesses requiring correction or improvement. Ah. What a relief.
M Scott Peck
For turning my head early on with ‘The Road Less Travelled’
Iris Murdoch
For blending philosophy and fiction like no other
The Sea The Sea probably still my favourite for the meals concocted in amongst the philosophy
Gabriel Faure
For his requiem which takes me to other places
This is the recording I have
Giuseppe Verdi
For his requiem which also takes me to other places
This is a one and a half hour live version
Keith Jarrett
For losing himself in performances like The Koln concert
Arvo Part
For ‘Alina’ the adult’s lullaby
Buena Vista Social Club
For making age no obstacle
My Auntie Madge
For her light spirit in an otherwise dreich north east Scotland. Whilst others trudged, Auntie Madge sprung, whilst others bleated, Auntie Madge fairly sang (metaphorically speaking). She had the capacity to lighten the mood of every room she entered. She also loved her husband, as he did her. They were a joy to be around. And fun.
She had the capacity for finding pleasure in everything.
For connection to countless, countless sources of beauty, ideas, conversations, spirited people doing amazing, beautiful things that are inspiring and good. An entirely refreshing view from the mainstream which I had wearied of a long time ago.
