The seven secrets to happiness?

This week I went to the annual ‘Happiness Lecture’ which took place in the University of Birmingham’s Great Hall.

The Great Hall itself is enough to make even the grumpiest person feel a sense of wonder – it holds around 2000 people and is littered with portraits of important people and huge lanterns which dangle from the high ceiling like something from Harry Potter.

The lecture this year was given by Gyles Brandreth. As I grumpily said to my wife on the way there: “Come on. Let’s go and listen to a rich man lecture us on how to be happy.” He is a former European 'Monopoly' champion after all.

To be fair on Brandreth, he didn’t skirt around the topic and said he would give us his seven secrets of happiness by the end of the hour long lecture.

“Money in itself is not a road to happiness,” he said. Who would even think otherwise?

I suppose you don’t get to be one of the most in-demand speakers by not being topical and funny. And Brandreth was both of these things. But could he deliver when it came to helping us to be happier? It’s good to be entertaining, but was the man actually going to be any help!?

He started by telling us that the pursuit of happiness is a relatively modern notion.

“In the past happiness was to be for the next world. Life was a vale of tears and happiness was not for this world but for the next world.”

That was as deep as he got. Perhaps the superficiality in his tone was a blessing in disguise? Some truths are simple after all. He blamed America for the apparent change in attitude of people towards happiness in this life and then concluded that happiness itself is not a transient feeling so much as a lasting ‘rightness of being’.

Of course when you are as successful as Brandreth, with an ongoing commission on the BBC, you are probably going to experience a certain ‘rightness of being’. You really are going to feel as if God and the universe are affirming you for your hard work. Perhaps the successful always feel this ‘rightness of being’. And in the end you can get to lecture grumpy cynics like me on what happiness really is.

Then he told us what he believed were the seven secrets of happiness. Although he could be lying of course (in order to keep up with the Joneses in the ‘happiness competition’).

1. Cultivate a passion.
2. Be a leaf on a tree (attached to some greater organism).
3. Avoid introspection. "Introspection is death," says Brandreth, "No-one is interested in you!"
4. Be open to change
5. Audit your happiness. Do something about it.
6. Live in the moment.
7. If you want to be happy - act happy.

“And does it work?” asked Brandreth, momentarily looking introspective, “I’m not sure.”

I wasn't quite sure either. And I’m not even sure if he said anything remotely useful. Because it was the Great Hall itself which really stopped me from feeling so grumpy that night.

Comment on the latest spiritual phenomenon

Richard Taylor

Hallelujah, it’s revival season once again! Revival season is a bit like silly season but a little more of a minefield for the unwary commentator.

Let me hand the blog over to the following quote from the website of Victory Church, Wales to fill you in on the latest phenomenon in the UK Christian community.

“At almost precisely 7.35pm on April 10, 2013 the heavens opened over Wales, in the town of Cwmbran…a man who had been wheelchair-bound for ten years was healed; he picked up his chair and ran around the church with his chair held over his head like a trophy, while his wife jumped and span in grateful awe.”

We are now past day 50 of what has been called: ‘The Welsh Outpouring’.

For those of you who don’t know anything about Christian revival then I can only envy you. Basically it’s a historic phenomenon which debatably results in reduced crime rates, miracles, mass conversions and a kind of spiritual awakening in a particular area.

It is also a minefield. Half of the Christian community adamantly opposes it and say that the whole thing is disturbingly fraudulent. The other half will not hear a bad word spoken about it. And the two groups will go at it like the dysfunctional family we can sometimes be. People get polarised one way or the other and it is not a very beautiful sight.

I sense a little cynicism out there. Don’t worry, you are not alone. But I’m qualified and trained to comment. What I cannot do is perform the miracle of validating a healing which no editor seems interested in commissioning a struggling freelancer like me to write about.

Here are the basic facts.

1.      Victory Church is Elim Pentecostal in denomination.

2.      There are blog reports of 400 people attending the church and queuing outside it.

3.      The leader of the church is named Richard Taylor.

4.      Since April 10 there have been meetings almost every night with more unverified reports of healings.

5.      On Saturday 11^th May the church claims that over 60 people were baptised. They intend to baptise more people.

6.      Richard Taylor is an ex-drug user turned pastor who now spends his time trying to help drug users and offenders. He seems genuine and has written a book called ‘To Catch a Thief’. He collaborated with the BBC some years ago to produce a programme designed to help people protect their properties from thieves

.

So is he stealing money from people in a whole new way? Not really. From all accounts any offerings taken are voluntarily placed into buckets. There are no calls for donations in the meetings.

Someone on Mumsnet lamented that the whole thing hadn’t received any news coverage (on a discussion thread called: ’Welsh outpouring not in the news?’).

That’s because people want verification of the healing which is often very hard to get.

Another mum commented: "...the journalist who reported the first genuine healing would be set up for life.”

Hallelujah!? But sadly for your intrepid correspondent, it seems that this scoop will be earned by another. Not even considering the spiritual aspect to the whole story (which anyone who has tried to report on these things will always encounter), there are still certain problems.

1.      Very few writers want to rubbish a genuine revival.

2.      Very few writers want to support a fake revival.

3.      The rest don’t even know what a revival is.

If you want to find out more then there is a Facebook page and a livestream of the church services linked to that. So those of us in need of some kind of healing can experience the dubious joy of watching other people get healed and not ourselves.

At this point I am neither for nor against it. All I know is that this blog entry will please neither side.

Isn't it ironic?

When I look back on my life I see a lot of ironies. For example, in my teenage years I was extremely proud of my intellect. I considered that my mind and thoughts were the one thing I could rely on in any situation. I remember sitting down, like King Nebuchadnezzar and believing that I was completely in control of my little kingdom.

What is ironic about that? The irony was that around about the age of 19 I found out that my mind was not as reliable as I thought. If conscience is a compass, then my compass well and truly broke.

At university I took a lot of recreational drugs. After a while using psychedelic and recreational drugs I began to realize that I wasn’t in control at all. I began to understand that I lived in a world in which I couldn’t win every argument. I began to understand that there was also a spiritual world. It reached such a point that one of my university friends called me ‘Mad Nick’.

My middle name is Christian. That’s a bit ironic considering I am a Christian (and then there is my surname White, (I am white) and my first name is Nicholas (I don’t wear knickers (usually)).

Despite my middle name, aged 19 I was prejudicially anti-Christian in practice. The drug use was largely hedonism and was a mistake I couldn’t see at the time. The further ironies came a few years after I stopped taking drugs. My conscience was still broken.

When I was baptised as an adult I was given this scripture as a kind of message from God:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…” (Proverbs 3:5).

What I didn’t know at that point was that the drugs had caused a few changes in my brain which were to result in subsequent mental health problems.

Sitting down, aged 24 on a hospital bed with my kingdom in ruins I realized that, like King Nebuchadnezzar I had lost my power. I had lost my individual sovereignty to mental illness, mostly because of pride. The choices I had made had resulted in an ironic humbling. My drug-use caused my mental health problems. And it was my fault.

I’m trying to make two points with this blog entry. The first is my personal conviction that drug use can cause mental health problems. That is something those involved in the drugs trade don’t want you to believe. They want you believe that those with mental illness have used drugs in the past to self-medicate. Because any other possibility is simply bad for business.

The second point is to ask you to consider whether the ironies in your own life might point to the existence of God and your inherent value as a human being.

Most ironies are negative. If they point to the existence of a God who orchestrates these ironies like a good Author then obviously that leads on to a debate about the character of this Author. And that question, like the question about whether drugs can cause mental illness, is still being debated. Ironic.

New Media Regulator Plan

(Parliamentary copyright images are reproduced with the permission of Parliament)

Sick of decisions being made over your head? Distrustful of media and Government? Sick of media attitude, bias and intrusion? Worried that the new media regulator won't be independent?

If anybody wants to make a comment to the Department of Culture Media and Sport you have until 23 May to get your voice heard.

Anyone reading the new proposal will immediately realise that the language used in the plan is both archaic and inaccessible. Don't let this put you off, tell the authorities what you think about the whole issue.

You have a right to be heard. A new body will decide how all media complaints are handled. It will also draw up a new code of conduct for journalists and editors.

It would be a cruel irony if the process which is supposed to be instrumental in stopping people being misled is itself misleading and biased.

We are supposed to be equal. But, as Orwell said - 'some animals are more equal than others'. Don't let them bully you.

If you want to get your voice heard then go to the following page, read the document and email the link there.

http://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/royal-charters/petitions-for-royal-charters/

Publishing eBooks

Quite a lot of my spare time is now spent collaborating on a project with a very talented writer. Okay, I’m biased, the writer is my wife.

The book we are working on is called ‘What Rocks Your World’ - a unique careers book for 13-19 year olds.

The difference between this book and your average careers book is that it is written by someone who genuinely cares for young people. She also happens to be well qualified and very experienced in the careers world.

What makes this particular book special is that it is accessible to teenagers. The whole point is to capture the imaginations of young people, to inspire them and give them a sense of purpose in life. So it meets young people where they are at by using the talent show format. It then goes on to show that they too have skills and talents which they can use in many different ways on the world’s stage.

So far we have done a lot of research and trialled out the book with both young people and adults. And we’ve set up a competition for a young designer to design the cover (it seems right that a young person should do this).

Now the book is written and we have gone through most of the proof-reading and editing stages. We have a few more things to do on it before it will be launched but we’re well ahead of our deadline of September.

Doing all this has given me even more experience in proof-reading, editing and eBook publishing at all stages.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I’ve just set myself up as a freelance writer and editor. So one of the reasons for writing this blog entry is to offer my editing and eBook publishing skills to anyone out there who may have written something which they want publishing as an eBook. I can professionally edit your work for a very competitive price. I can also help with the formatting, publishing and cover design.

Please get in touch with me if this is something you would like to do. Take a look around my website www.nickwhitewriting.com.

Also, I’ve started a promotion so that my eBook ‘Compliance is Futile’ is free on Amazon today (1^st May 2013) if you haven’t read it already.

Freelance Writer - Nick White Writing

Today I’m setting up my freelance writing business. So this is the launch of Nick White Writing. What has largely been a hobby should, from here on, be a comprehensive writing service.

Back in the noughties I was a freelance journalist for a while so I have an idea of what to expect. I also have the professional training, experience and qualifications. I retrained recently to update my skills for online work.

My specialties are going to be the things I have in-depth knowledge about, which are:

•          Spirituality, faith and Christianity
•          Writing itself (most fields/genres)
•           Mental health
•           eBook publishing

Along with these subjects I also have good knowledge of computing (including retro gaming), folk-lore, poetry, guinea pigs, cats, politics, current affairs, revivals/awakenings, psychology, eschatology (end-times) and musicals (especially Sondheim). I’m not sure there is currently much of a market for eschatology, Sondheim and revivals/awakenings – but someone has got to know about these things!

I’m also planning to expand my knowledge-base with further research.

So, if you, or anyone you know needs any copywriting, proof-reading or editing done for websites, books, newsletters or anything else then please consider using my skills. I can also help with eBook publishing if you are writing a book.

More information on my website soon (www.nickwhitewriting.com).

Watch this space.

Alternative Easter message: From deep inside the Tomb - thoughts on Christianity in the UK

Today former Archbishop George Carey has said that two thirds of Chistians feel like a persecuted minority (if only my 'killer question' hadn't been stifled at the local BBC election debate!).

The whole subject of Christian freedom in the UK is a minefield. It is impossible to say anything without offending someone or other even if you say the most anodyne, placatory things. Believers who say they have lost jobs and job opportunities because of discrimination regularly suffer character assassination.

There is so much disagreement on the subject of believers freedoms in the UK even among Christians. Many  currently disagree with George Carey. When this subject gets into the news there are always a range of responses from within the Christian community. Culturally, Christians want to be Christ-like and unselfish so many will point to groups who are suffering to a greater extent - for example the poor, for example, needy people in other countries, for example, asylum seekers etc. This is a unique phenomenon particular to faith communities, a kind of tribal characteristic.

There are other Christians who don't want to rock the boat. So they will say that nothing is wrong because they are afraid that things will get worse. Fear is a powerful motivator (but kind of understandable when you take into account the history of Christian persecution and the existing persecution in other countries).

On top of this, aggressive secularists will always state that believers are complaining and whinging (the inference being that we are spoilt children). They say that Christianity gets preferential treatment as evidenced by the presence of bishops in the House of Lords and BBC (British Biased Corporation) treatment of Christianity.

Now the whole subject is getting linked to the gay marriage debate. It has to be said that there are many Christians who are not against gay marriage. There is a powerful argument for it - not least the call to love others. I am for gay marriage but understand that there is a reasonable argument against it. But the problem with Christians 'winning' the gay marriage debate is that we don't win at all. All that would happen would be that Christians get the blame for infringing on other people's freedoms. The only way to win that battle is to lose it. That way Christians can complain about the whole thing when it becomes law. And we don't get the blame.

We are not persecuted but there are huge biases against Christians in the UK, biases which are often encouraged by those in powerful positions.

What the country needs to make things better is a Christian revival. Please remember I said so at the time.

(Publish and be damned).